13. Dean: Just Another Heartbreak?

Dean – Just Another Heartbreak?

Chapter thirteen

"I wonder where she was off to in such a hurry," Coral says, as we watch Mae run from the house.

"Yeah, I'm not sure. That was pretty strange." My eyes track Mae's figure until she disappears from sight.

"You're right, though," Coral gives me a toothy grin. "She's stunning."

I roll my eyes. My assistant is way too involved in my love life. "She is."

"So, are you going to ask her out?" Coral asks.

I rub the back of my neck. "I don't know."

"Come on, Dean. You've punished yourself long enough. It's been years since Anna left." I deeply regret ever telling Coral anything.

"I know," I admit. "But in some ways, it still feels like it was yesterday."

"Except that it wasn't," she points out. "And you deserve to move on."

I sigh. "I'd love to have a relationship like you and Seamus do." Seamus adores Coral. Every time I see them together, they fawn over each other like love-struck teenagers.

"Well, you aren't going to get that by sitting and moping inside your house all by yourself," Coral points out. She tends to be right about most things, which is why I hired her. But I don't know if she's right about this. I can't deny that there's an attraction between Mae and me. But just look at Mae's behavior when she left. That wasn't how she'd act if she were head over heels in love with me.

"Of course. I realize that," I say. "But there's also the whole ‘Cornel Condominiums' thing."

"You haven't told her about that?" Coral asks.

"No."

Coral shoots me an exasperated look. "Why not?"

"Because she probably won't want anything to do with me after she finds out that my whole presence here has been for an ulterior motive—one that intends to destroy the farmhouse she lives in with her family."

"Oh, yeah. Good point." Coral looks thoughtful. "But what if you let them in on the deal?"

"What do you mean?" I ask. If there is a way to keep the condos and Mae, then maybe…

"Well, set up the deal so they get a good-sized chunk of money. That way, they can move anywhere they want."

I was always planning on doing that. But I know that even with the money I'm going to offer, Mae will still be furious with me. "Yeah, but she and her daughter are really falling in love with the land. I can tell. And honestly, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't, too."

"Wha—okay?" Coral brushes off my words with a wave of her hand. "So, find another property to develop your massive condos on." She makes it sound so easy.

"But this area's perfect." I run a paint-covered hand through my hair.

"Obviously not if you're feeling this way," Coral says.

"But the investors have already agreed to this plan. If I try to change it now, they may become hesitant towards any of my proposals in the future." I'll be just like my failure of a brother in their eyes.

Coral grabs my face and forces me to look at her. That's the second time she's done that today.

"Dean William Cornel. Nobody thinks that you are your brother, Ryan. You need to let go of that. You've proven yourself ten times over since you joined the company."

"You think?" I ask, after she releases me.

"No, I know."

"How?" Coral looks confident, but she's also my assistant. She's more than a little biased.

"Because I'm your second set of eyes and ears at the office," Coral says. "I listen, and I observe. You know Mr. Ginty?"

"Yeah." He's worked for the company since my father ran things.

"The other day, I heard him talking about how remarkable it was that you and your brother were raised by the same parents because you turned out so differently."

"I never knew he felt that way. He's so severe when I propose new projects, always asking me about the permits and environmental impact studies."

"Yeah," Coral says. "So, please. Get out of your own head for a change and do what feels best for you and your personal life."

"What are you guys talking about?" Dylan asks, walking into the room.

"About your dad and Mae," Coral says, with a self-satisfied smirk.

Dylan opens the fridge and pokes around. He's probably looking for something to eat, which reminds me that I need to make or buy something for dinner soon. Maybe I can invite the Dales over, I think yet again.

"What about them?" Dylan asks.

I wave my hand under my chin to discourage Coral from continuing, but she does anyway.

"Well, I think he should ask her on a date. Don't you?" she asks my son.

"Uh…" Dylan stops looking in the fridge. Instead, he turns serious gray eyes on us.

"I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to," I explain.

"Good," Dylan says. "Because I meant what I said about you not getting remarried." A crack of thunder rings out overhead, and rain begins to pour onto our roof, loud and angry.

"What's this now?" Coral asks.

"I don't want Dad to get remarried," Dylan repeats himself, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Why on earth would you say that?" Coral asks, confused.

"Because after Mom left, he was so sad. And he's finally starting to seem happy again." He's got a frown on his face that makes me want to find Anna and shake her.

"What makes you think that Mae and her family aren't a part of his current happiness?"

"I thought of that," Dylan says. I hadn't realized just how much this had been worrying him lately. "But that's why I've been encouraging his painting so hard."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"I know you're happy when you paint. So, this way, you can stay happy but not run the risk of getting your heart broken." Dylan shrugs. He sounds so sure of himself.

"Dyl…" Coral walks over to Dylan and takes his hand. "Falling in love always involves risk. It's one of the most vulnerable positions you can be in because you give your heart openly to someone, all the while not truly knowing whether they'll keep it safe, throw it away, or stomp on it."

"Think about Mina," I add, walking closer to them. "Has it been worthwhile getting to know her even though you don't know where the relationship will go in the future?"

"But we're—" Dylan breaks off, his face flushing red. "We're just friends."

"I don't buy that for a second," Coral says, with a massive grin. She pokes him in the ribs, and he steps away from both of us.

"It's true!" Dylan insists.

I throw my hands in the air in defense. "Okay, okay. Whatever you say." But I'm grinning at him.

Dylan looks between Coral and me, frowns, and stomps back up the stairs.

"So…," Cora says. "Who's Mina?"

"Wilhelmina Dale, Mae's fourteen-year-old daughter," I tell her.

"Oh, my gosh," Coral squeals. "How adorable would that be? You and Mae together, and then Dylan and her daughter. Wait. But wouldn't that make them stepsiblings?"

We both shiver at the thought.

"There you go," I throw my hands up. "Yet another reason why things between me and Mae can't work."

Coral dips her chin and gives me a stern look. Sometimes, she acts more like a sister than an assistant. "Seriously? You're going to let a little crush your teenage son has dictate your own love life?"

"Well…"

"That's ridiculous," Coral throws her hands into the air. "You have to remember - I have teenagers of my own. Sure, this Mina may be the light of his world right now, but wait a few more days or weeks. There'll be another girl. Or boy."

"He's straight," I say, before remembering that Coral's son, Dexter, is gay. "Of course, I wouldn't care if he wasn't—"

"Yeah, yeah. You can save me the speech. Your annual donations to The Trevor Project and The Ali Forney Center prove you're an ally."

"Good. Because I really am."

"I know," she says, grabbing her purse from the counter and pulling out her umbrella. "And you're also a man in denial." With that last shot, she flips her blonde hair over her shoulder and leaves, closing the door loudly behind her.

***

The next morning in our apartment, Dylan asks when the condominium project will be done.

"It's hard to say, bud. Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm tired of going back and forth between here and the farmhouse." He has a frown on his face and looks generally unhappy.

"Oh, really?" I ask. "I thought you liked it there."

"I used to." He's pouting.

Now, it's my turn to frown. Just yesterday, Dylan was pestering me about heading over there so he could hang out with Mina. "Well, what changed?" I ask.

"You and Mae," he says defiantly.

I sigh. I knew nothing good would come of a potential relationship between Mae and me. "I told you that I haven't decided whether or not I want to ask her out yet."

"But the fact that you're even considering it worries me," Dylan admits.

He's playing with the milk in his cereal, so I pull the bowl away from him.

"Buddy, I am so sorry that my relationship with your mom soured the whole idea of love for you. I'm truly, truly sorry. If I could change that, I would. But I can't. All I can try to do is help you see a different side of romance. One that isn't so sad and bleak."

Dylan glances up at me, then back down at his hands, tapping on the concrete kitchen island. "What if you can't?"

"Well, who knows? Maybe it won't work with me." I glance at the kitchen clock. We'll need to leave soon if we want to be on time for work and camp, but this conversation is too important to push off. "But look at Coral and Seamus. They've been happily married for forever."

"You never know what goes on behind closed doors."

My goodness, this kid is dark.

"I suppose that's true," I agree. "But we lived with them briefly after your mom left. Don't you remember that?"

"Yeah," Dylan says. He's playing with the string on his hoodie now. I know this conversation must be uncomfortable, but I can't let him continue living his life without believing in love.

"And did you ever hear or see them disrespecting each other?" I ask.

"No. But maybe they were on their best behavior because they had company."

"Dude," I say, exasperated. It's like the kid wants me to be wrong. "They had a newborn. Coming from experience, that is when you are the most tempted to rip into your partner. You can't help it due to the lack of sleep, the initial dependence, the fear of simply keeping the baby alive…" I trail off. Anna might not be a great parent now, but she was a champ back in those first couple of months. She doted on Dylan.

"I guess," Dylan shrugs.

"Plus, I've known them for years," I add. "Now, I'm not saying they're the perfect couple because that just isn't reality. But they support each other and build each other up. That's what a good partnership looks like."

"But you have me to do that for you. You don't need a woman."

"Um, ring-ring. Hello?" I mime picking up a telephone and then hold the imaginary receiver out to my son. "Oh, Dyl, it's for you. Those dirty magazines I found under your bed are calling."

"Dad!" Dylan yells at me, his face turning as red as a tomato.

"I'm just making the point that men who're attracted to women need them for more than just emotional support. Of course, that's incredibly important, but—"

"Okay, okay," he whines, reaching down to pick his backpack up from the floor and swinging it over his shoulder. "I get the picture."

"Good." I move to grab an iced coffee from the fridge. I usually like to make it at home, less wasteful, but there's no time left to do that.

"Now, let's get you off to camp while I get to go to work to pay for said camp."

"Hey," Dylan protests. "I said that if you couldn't afford it, I didn't have to go."

I mess his hair up and then put my arm around his shoulder. What did I do to get so lucky with him? "Don't worry, kid. We can afford it. I'm just messing with you."

***

"How's Dylan doing?" Coral asks, as I walk to my office.

"Um, I think he's all right. We had another good talk this morning." I stop at Coral's desk, and she hands me a pile of messages I need to look at. "Thank you, by the way, for your help last night."

"No problem."

"I really appreciate it when you jump in and help to fill that ‘maternal' role in his life. Sometimes, I feel like I don't tell you how big a role you play in our lives."

"Well, I have more than enough practice with my brood. And I'm happy to do it." Coral smiles at me and waves me into my office. She follows me in and sits in the leather chair across from my desk. I roll my eyes at her.

"What?" she asks. "Now we can at least pretend like we're working."

"So, what did you two talk about today? You and Dyl, I mean."

I turn on my computer and pull my files from my briefcase.

"I just kind of reiterated what you said last night, and then I reminded him that men like us need the company of women for other things than simply talking. For risk of getting a sexual harassment warning, I'll spare you the details."

"That ship sailed a long time ago, buddy." Coral laughs. "Right after that raunchy wedding gift you got for us."

I smile. "Oh, yeah. That's right. I totally forgot about that."

"Anyway—"

"Right," I cut Coral off. "That was about it. Oh, and I used you and Seamus as an example of a healthy, albeit not perfect, couple."

"I'm glad you said that last part. We certainly aren't perfect." Her dopey smile contradicts her words.

I lean back in my chair. It's a dark leather one imported from Italy, and I love it. "If you were," I say, "or at least thought you were, you wouldn't be living in reality. And that's what I told him. Then, I brought up the fact that for the short amount of time that we stayed with you, you two were always cordial and respectful of each other despite the fact that you had a newborn at home."

"That's right. It was right around the time Maxine was born."

"Mhm."

"Boy," Coral laughs. "Did I want to smack Seamus upside the head every time I had to get up instead of him in the night because I was breastfeeding."

"Exactly," I point out. "But you never actually did."

"No. But I wanted to."

"And that's the difference between being a good human with occasional unreasonable thoughts and a bad person that actually acts out on them." My computer is finally on, and I log on to my accounts. There are almost a hundred unread emails in my inbox, and I groan.

"I suppose," Coral agrees. "Have you thought any more about asking Mae out?"

"Uh—no." And it's not just because Dylan doesn't like it. It's a bad idea. The thought of her breaking my heart, or me breaking hers, has my hand curling into a fist. "Like I said, I don't think it's such a good idea with the condo deal and everything."

"Ugh. You're impossible." Coral gets up.

"But you love me."

"And I question why every single day of my life," she says, closing the door to my office behind her.

***

After I pick Dylan up from camp, we head to the farm. Bob asked me to help him clear some of the brush that has started crowding his garden, and I don't have the heart to say no and let an older man do all that work by himself. I also can't tell him that I'm planning to bulldoze his home—although I reason that the garden might be a nice touch that can stay.

When I get there, Bob has already started on the far end, so I begin working on the other side, figuring we can meet in the middle.

"Dylan, what's wrong? Why are you acting so weird?" I hear Mina say in the distance.

"Nothing. I just want to be left alone. Okay?" Dylan sounds so angry, and I curse under my breath. It's all my fault. I should have known that after everything that went down with Anna, we would need to have this conversation.

"Okay. But why?" Mina asks. "We hang out almost every night."

"Exactly. I just want some space."

"Why?" Mina asks again.

I stand, stretching my back, and look over at them. They're standing by the barn with their hands on their hips, squaring off against one another.

"Because my dad and I are just living here until we can buy up all of the surrounding land and build condos! Okay?" Dylan shouts.

I curse again, this time louder. Well. That didn't go as planned.

"What?" Mina asks. She sounds close to tears.

Shoot, shoot, shoot.

I look over at Bob and see that, thankfully, he doesn't have his hearing aids in. He keeps on working on the brush, not showing any sign that he heard what Dylan just said. Good.

But that does not mean that I don't have major damage control to do now. I look back over at the kids. Mina looks anguished and raises a hand to wipe away a tear. Dylan looks just as hurt, his face a mixture of shock and regret.

I never thought these condos would lead to this kind of heartbreak. What in the world have I gotten us into?