“What doyou mean you’re going to Vienna?” Dwight says.
“Exactly that,” I say, walking the long hall of the international flight terminal at Krabi Airport. “Arabella’s there for a conference.”
“That is absolutely the last place you should be going, number one being wherever Kenneth wants you to go next—”
“London,” I offer.
“What does he want you to climb there? The Tower of London?”
“No,” I say, dreading the honest response I’m about to give him. “He wanted me to meet with his design team to start work on my own outdoor gear line, but I turned it down.”
There’s a long pause, then Dwight says, “There’s something wrong with the connection because I thought I heard you say you turned down a shot at your own outdoor gear line and that would be stone cold crazy.”
“You heard me right,” I say, slowing down when I catch up to a family of tourists, who are meandering along, peering into the shops instead of watching where they’re walking.
“Was it a crap deal? Because I know you must’ve had a good reason to turn down the very thing you’ve been working so hard for these past several years.”
“We never got into talking dollars and cents,” I say, wincing yet again at what I’ve done. “The entire deal was contingent on me being available to go to London for the next few weeks, and I’m not able to do that, so I had to say no.”
“What do you mean,you’re not ableto do that?” Dwight asks, making a crunching sound which tells me it’s Tums time for him. “Of course you can. I’ll happily get you out of whatever small potatoes publicity stuff we’ve got going on here. Or you could fly back from England for a day or two here and there. We can make this work, William. This is it. This is your moment to take hold of the brass ring and … and …. do whatever people do with brass rings. For God’s sake, go to the ticket counter immediately and change your flight. I’ll call Kenneth and tell him you made a terrible mistake and that youare,in fact, interested in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
“But the thing is, I’m not,” I say, then I quickly correct myself. “Well, that’s not strictly true. Iaminterested, but the timing is all wrong. I pretty much abandoned Arabella when she needed me most. I can’t just leave things for another month and hope she’ll be waiting around when I finally get back to her.”
“Did you get sunstroke out there or something? Maybe hit your head on a rock? Because I don’t think you understand what you’re doing right now.”
Sighing, I say, “No to both, and yes, Idoknow what I’m doing. It’s called the right thing, and no matter how much it hurts, it’s what it’s going to take to make things work with the woman I love.”
More fast crunching, then, “Did shesayyou had to turn this down or something?”
“No, of course not. She would never do that.”
“So, she said youshouldtake the deal?”
“She would have if I had told her about it.”
There’s a long, drawn-out sigh, then Dwight says, “Okay, William. You’re going to need to walk me through your decision-making process because I amreallyhaving trouble understanding what in the hell is going on with you.”
I stop near a large window, drop my bag, and stare out at an airliner that is pulling into one of the gates. “Dwight, six months ago, this deal would’ve been the greatest thing that could have happened to me. But now, things are different. I can’t just be traipsing all over the planet whenever I feel like it and doing whatever I want. I have to consider what Arabella needs.”
“Traipsing? Is that her word for it?”
“No, it’s mine,” I say. “I had to do the right thing forus. Relationships take sacrifice, but that’s okay because it’s worth it. Besides, another opportunity will come along, I’m sure.”
“Really?” he asks. “Another major outdoor equipment company is going to come knocking on your door to offer you your own line of gear?”
“Not likely, but something else will pop up.”
“William, your own line of gear is…is thegolden ticket! It’s the gift that keeps on giving because you set it up and for years and years and years, they keep sending you cheques for doing absolutely nothing! Nothing, Will. Cheques with lots of zeroes.” He lowers his voice to a pained whisper and adds, “Nothing.”
“Dwight, please don’t make this harder than it already is. I’m upset enough without you rubbing salt in the wound.” I pick up my bag and start back towards my gate. “Now, I’m sorry I let you down. I know this would’ve been a great deal for both of us, and if I could have made it work, believe me, I would have. But I can’t, so I’m heading to Vienna for a few days to straighten things out with Arabella. When I get back to town, I promise, I’ll be the very best quasi-celebrity guest of all time.”
I stroll past The Travel Shop, only to see a huge sign stating their 30% off sale for Bearz backpacks and outdoor accessories. Speaking of salt in the wound…
“I let you out of my sight for a week and you lose all focus,” Dwight says.
“So you’re saying you wish I were back living in your guest room?” I tease. “I knew you secretly enjoyed having me there.”
“If it’s the difference between you throwing away your career and being a disgustingly rich celeb, yes,” Dwight says, crunching away. “I’d much rather you weretethered to my anklethan have you making horrible decisions. And I know you think I only mean this as your agent, but the truth is, I’m thinking of you right now,andyour beloved princess.”
