Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

***THEO***

E den was standing in front of the mirror in the bedroom when he came out of the bathroom, a thoughtful look on her face. "A penny for your thoughts," he said, wrapping his arms around her from behind. "You look very serious."

She looked up at him over her shoulder, then back into the mirror. "I was just thinking about how much things have changed," she said. "Just a few days ago, I was thrilled just to be wearing some new clothes. I feel so different from that person, like I've changed so much that she's just a memory."

"Well, you have changed, we both have," he said. "We know what's important now, and it has nothing to do with material things."

She turned in his arms. "I'm going to have to stand up to my mother, Theo," she said. "I'm not going to medical school; I want to get my teaching degree, and I don't care what it takes; I'm going to get it. If the last three days have proven anything to me, it's that I'm capable of far more than I gave myself credit for. I'll get a job, I'll work overtime to pay for it, but I'm going to teach. It's the only thing I've ever wanted to do."

"I'll be right there backing you up," he said. "We're a team now, Eden, what's good for you is good for me. I have more than enough money to support both of us, but if you want to get a job to help pay for school, I won't stop you. I just want you to be happy."

She looked up at him. "I think getting a job while I'm getting my teaching certificate would make me happy," she said, smiling up at him. "As silly as that might sound to you, I want some independence. I don't want to go from being completely dependent on my parents to being completely dependent on you."

"That's not silly. In fact, I think it's a good idea," he said. "There's a lot of the world, both good and bad, that you haven't explored, but I'll be with you every step of the way."

"I'm counting on it," she said, hugging him. "I love you."

"I love you too," he said, then pulled back and looked down at her. "I might just have to show you how much before Barbie gets here and you two kick me out."

"Hmmm……. we don't have much time," she said, her hands already beginning to roam. "Is the front door closed?"

He picked her up and threw her onto the bed. "I can work quickly when I have to," he said, sliding her dress up her legs and stripping off her panties. "We won't even have to shut the door."

True to his word, they were both straightening their clothes when Barbie knocked on the open door, and Eden answered it, still a little flushed from their lovemaking. Barbie took one look at her, then looked over at him. A smile slowly spread across her face, and she rushed over to Eden. After giving her a big hug, she stepped back, a pleased look on her face, then looked over at him .

"Well, I guess I should be going," he said. "I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about."

He could hear them laughing before he even made it to the bottom of the ladder, and the smile that spread across his face lasted until he walked into the village. Everyone turned to stare at him as he came off the trail; there were even a few whispers, and he knew that their story hadn't remained a secret. He wondered who had blabbed, but then he remembered the raft washed up on the shore and realized that it was inevitable that the story would get around.

He spotted Max on the other side of the village talking to a small group of his employees, but when Max saw him, he sent them on their way and started walking toward him. It was impossible to read the look on his friend's face and he wondered for a second if their friendship was over, but then Max held out his hand.

"I'm afraid I owe you an apology," he said. "I should have believed you; it was just……"

"Bizarre," he supplied. "Yeah, tell me about it, we lived through it."

Max relaxed, "To be honest, I still don't know what to think about the whole thing," he said, shaking his head. "And I'm already sick of hearing Mateo gloating about being right. I keep telling myself that this is a one-time thing, that nothing like this will ever happen again."

"Well, in case you missed it, this wasn't exactly a bad thing that happened to us," he said. "I still don't know what I want to do with my life, but I do know that I want Eden right by my side."

Max stared at him for a second. "Man, you've fallen, and fallen hard," he said, shaking his head. "But I guess I'm happy for you. I just hope you're ready for the fallout; your parents aren't going to be happy, and neither are Eden's. "

"They'll just have to get over it," he said. "Eden and I are a package deal now."

"Well then, I guess we'd better go celebrate," Max said. "It sounds like you're going to be the first one of us to get married."

"Now hold on, we haven't even talked about marriage yet," he said. "Let's not rush things. We still have a lot of stuff to figure out."

"All I'm saying is that I'd better get the first invitation," Max said, grinning at him. "If I hadn't invited you here, you never would have met her."

"Oh, so now you're trying to take the credit," he said. "Fate isn't going to like that. You'd better be careful, my friend."

Max laughed, "I'll take my chances with fate," he said. "I told you before, I create my own destiny, and it doesn't include love; I'm more than happy to watch from the sidelines."

"Now you've done it," he said. "You'd better watch out, or we'll be having a double wedding."

***Eden***

Eden looked up from the book she was reading to watch Theo wading in the water, trying to spear a fish, with a smile on her face and her heart swelling with love. He'd been at it all morning without any luck, but still seemed to be enjoying himself, and she hated to interrupt him, but her stomach had been rumbling for the last half an hour, and she didn't think she could ignore it any longer.

"Hey, mighty fisherman," she called, setting aside the book and getting to her feet. "Let's take a break and get something to eat, I'm starving, and it doesn't look like you're going to catch lunch for us."

Theo trotted toward her, gave her a big wet kiss, then shook the moisture out of his hair, making her scream when the cold drops hit her skin. "I think I'm done for the day," he said. "This must not be the right place to fish, I'll have to ask Max, or maybe Mateo. He seems to know the island pretty well. How's your book?"

"Just getting good," she said. "But my stomach was distracting me."

"I'll throw on a shirt, and we'll head up to the village," he said. "Now that I'm out of the water, I'm starving."

After the short walk back to the village, they made their lunch selections, then found a table in the shade with a view of the water and dug into the food like they were starving. "This was one thing I missed while we were gone," Theo finally said. "The villagers did their best with what they had available, but I missed all the variety of food we have now."

"And indoor plumbing," she said. "There's nothing like a hot shower. Bathing in the ocean was fine, but I always had a layer of salt on my skin."

"But I'll never forget those few days for as long as I live," Theo said, reaching out to take her hand. "And we have all summer to enjoy both the island and the modern conveniences Max has provided."

"Theo, I wanted to talk to you about that," she said, looking over at him. "Would you be really upset if we didn't stay the whole summer? Now that I'm not going to medical school, I have a lot of stuff to figure out. Maybe we could cut our stay a little."

"Sweetheart, I'm happy as long as I'm with you," he said. "I still have to figure out what I want to do with my life, but I can do that anywhere. "

"Then we'll go back sooner?" she asked. "I have to figure out where I want to go to school."

"You just tell me when, and I'll figure it out with Max," he said. "I'm not supposed to go back for another week."

"Another week here would be perfect," Eden said. "There are still a few places on the island we haven't explored, and I want to spend a lot more time on the beach."

While they finished their lunch, they made plans for the next week, then started to get up from the table, but Max appeared out of nowhere. "What are you two up to today?" he asked. "No naps on the beach, I hope."

She laughed, "Don't worry, we're staying right here in the modern world," she said. "I've had enough adventure for one vacation."

Max laughed, "Then you wouldn't be interested in the water skiing lessons this afternoon," he said. "That might be too exciting."

"Wait, water skiing?" she asked. "I've always wanted to try that."

"We're meeting at the dock in thirty minutes, so you'd better……" but his words died away when he looked down at the water. "I don't recognize that boat. It's not one of ours. Sorry, you two, I've got to go."

They watched Max hustle away as a boat snugged up to the dock and a young man jumped off with the lines in his hands, then began to tie up. Max got there just as the young man began helping a woman off the boat, and for a second Eden couldn't breathe. Her lungs froze up, and a feeling of panic washed over her. It couldn't be, she told herself, closing her eyes for a second, it couldn't be, but when she opened them, her mother was yelling at Max, her father standing behind her, the same beaten look on his face .

"Eden, what's wrong?" Theo asked, his voice full of concern. "You just turned white as a sheet."

"Theo, my parents just got off that boat," she said, her voice coming out as more of a squeak than anything else. "And my mother does not look happy, poor Max."

Theo turned in his chair. "Oh, my God, my parents are on that boat too," he said, then turned back to her. "Maybe we should try to go back. This might not be good."

"You're telling me," she said, getting shakily to her feet. "We'd better go save Max. He doesn't deserve my mother's wrath. That's reserved especially for me."

Theo stopped her and pulled her into his arms. "You don't deserve it either, Eden," he said. "As far as I can see, you've never done anything but give in to what she wants. It's time for you to exert your independence. If you can face being thrown back in time, nearly being raped, and then being set adrift at sea during a storm, you can handle your mother."

"You're right," she said, giving him a big kiss on the lips. "I'm not going to let her rule me anymore. I'm going to get my teaching certificate, I'm going to marry you someday, and we're going to have a house full of kids."

"And I'm going to be there with you every step of the way," he said, grinning down at her. "But I'm warning you right now, I'm not changing dirty diapers, that's where I draw the line."

"Oh, you think so?" she asked, grinning back at him. "We'll see about that. I know a thing or two about getting what I want, and I'm just learning."