Second Chance: November 30 The END

This is it! The final post, the end of the story. It has been a grand journey of literary abandon, and I've had fun sharing the story with you. I never made 50K words, in case you were counting along with me, but it's really all about the adventure. I hope you've enjoyed the story.

If you are just now joining in, the story starts here.

Karin was just about to pick up the phone and call Troy when the front door to her office opened. She held the receiver against her ear with her finger on the key pad as she looked at Jay standing there in front of her.

“I want to explain some things.” He said. Karin slowly set down the receiver.

“I’m listening,” she said.

“Can we go for a drive?”

“A romantic drive isn’t going to explain away everything that’s happened,” she said.

“I know.” He said. “But, there is something that I want to show you…” he looked around awkwardly for a moment, and then said, “but, only if you want to.” She had never seen Jay act sheepish before; he was always confident and certain, always the charmer. Suddenly, she saw a vulnerability she’d never seen before.

“Okay, I’ll go with you.” She said. She took a couple of minutes to lock up the office and then she was riding along beside him in his cherry red sports car, the wind whipping through her hair. She’d forgotten to grab a hair tie and so she rode with her hair cupped in her hands, holding it out of her face.

Jay didn’t speak as they rode down the Avenue and then onto North Lakeshore Drive, but with the top down, he would have had to nearly shout to be heard over the wind. He pulled into a circle driveway just north of the public beach. He got out of the car and opened the door for her.

“This is for you.” He said.

“What is?”

“All of this,” he said and he waved his hand around in the air. “This house, the land, the beachfront… all yours, even if you say no.”

“You can’t just give me a house.” Karin said. “And, you haven’t explained anything.” She turned around and started to get back in the car.

“No, just come and take a look. I promise I will explain everything.” Karin rolled her eyes and sighed, but she followed him.

“I’m not really fond of surprises.” She declared.

“Alright, I’ll make this short and to the point then. I retired from my job and I’m moving back to Duneville. I’m keeping the farm and I bought this house for you because I know how much you’ve always wanted to live on the beach. But, I was hoping…” at this he turned toward her and took her hand. He knelt down on one knee in front of her. “…that we could live in them together.”

Karin just started shaking her head. “No, I don’t understand. What about your parents? You can’t give up your inheritance for me. We’ve already talked about this.” She tried to pull her hand away, but he gripped it tight and he didn’t move. With his free hand, he took a small box from his pocket.

“There is no inheritance to give up.” He said. “I bought a majority share in the company, so I already own more than I would have inherited. I’ll still have to show up for an occasional board meeting, but I’m basically a silent partner now.” He let go of her hand and opened the box. He held out the ring to her.

“No more secrets, no more surprises. Karin, I promise that you can trust me. Just say yes.”

Karin’s eyes filled with tears of happiness. “Yes.”