They were in Jackie’s car heading south. The late September sun was setting just after seven, giving Doug a good view of the sunset through the passenger window. “Where are we headed?” he asked, not for the first time. “We’re getting awfully close to the border. Are you kidnapping me across international lines?”
She turned, keeping one eye on the road, and raised her other eyebrow at him. “No hints.”
“But there will be food?” His stomach growled, repeating the question with urgency.
“Yes, there will be food,” she promised. She hoped it was as good as advertised. Earlier in the spring, Jackie had heard of a new restaurant an hour’s drive south-east of Hopewell. It was billed as a country steakhouse, but reviews said the steaks were anything but simple country cooking. Both she and Doug enjoyed trying new restaurants. If this place ended up being competition for Donatella’s, it wasn’t her fault it was two hours closer to Hopewell.
She promised Doug she wouldn’t try to change his mind, but if an option like this fell in her lap, who was she to turn it down? She was trying to present a fair comparison. She’d attempted to arrange a trip to Winnipeg for a car show Doug had mentioned twice in August.
Unfortunately, the week before the show, Doug had flown to Toronto for a two-day conference. He’d come back cursing about city-driving and too many people and eighteen-hour workdays and had begged off her suggestion. Instead, they hit an afternoon matinee in Brandon, and the Ice Bar on the way home before it closed for the season. She couldn’t have planned it better.
Their friends, on the other hand, were pulling out all the stops in Operation Welcome Wagon 2.0. In addition to recruiting him to yet another softball team, and enlisting him as a tutor, Andie, Freddy, and Tyler had taken him to a Wheat Kings game. It wasn’t the NHL, but the Brandon hockey team was a farm team for the league, and the locals were rabidly loyal. Andie reported that Doug had thoroughly enjoyed himself, so she’d bought him a toque with a logo to mark the occasion.
But this wasn’t a ploy. It was a celebration. The Double Bar Steakhouse marked the start of her next chapter of her career in Virden, which was proving to be quite the adventure. Virden had a pediatrician on staff, and all the kid-patients and their assorted broken bones kept Jackie hopping. In fact, she’d co-opted Doug’s Cat in the Hat distraction technique and used it almost daily. She was considering expanding into other character headgear.
They arrived right on time for their seven-thirty reservation. The delicious aroma filling the large dining room encouraged them to order quickly. After the waiter disappeared, Jackie raised her wine glass.
Doug did the same. “What are we toasting?”
“Gas prices,” she said. She laughed at his confused look. “I figure I have enough money saved to manage two round-trip drives to Winnipeg a month for November through February.” She’d come to a decision over the last few weeks. Two of them. While she thought she’d given Winnipeg a fair chance in her college days, Jackie had spent hours reviewing all the pros and cons of city living again. Her final analysis? She was right. She would not be happy there. Permanently. She didn’t have a problem visiting, though. A weekend here or there suited her just fine. Especially if she had somebody to visit.
That was what worried her. Would Doug want her to visit? Or did he want a clean break?
She took a deep breath, but it wasn’t enough. It took three more before she was able to speak. “If you’re interested in keeping this—us—going after you leave Hopewell.”
Please let him say yes. Jackie wasn’t ready to give him up. The month they had left wasn’t nearly long enough. She’d take just weekends if she had to. Even alternate weekends.
Then Doug laughed.
Jackie felt her smile vanish. She didn’t try to hide it.
“I’m not laughing at you. I promise. I’m laughing because you obviously weren’t listening to me on the phone when you picked me up. Do you know what I was doing?”
Tears were too close to the surface for her to talk. Jackie shook her head.
“I was talking to a dealership in Winnipeg ordering new winter tires for my car. I specifically asked them for ones that would be good on the highway since I’d be driving so much this winter. To see you, Jackie.” He pulled her hand to his side of the table, raise her fingertips to his lips, and kissed them.
“So, come the end of October?”
“I don’t want to give you up. Not for a day. I want to keep this going for as long as we can. Okay?”
Different tears threatened to choke her. She could do long-distance if the only thing separating them was geography and not desire. “Okay.”