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“Maybe. I guess... Actually, I know. I know when his birthday is. It’s September seventeenth,” and Clara rattled off the year, too, without even hesitating, as though it was a date that was seared into her memory.
Lana’s arm tightened for a moment around Clara as she thought about the implications.
Clara obviously was his administrative assistant, and maybe she had to field calls from people giving him well wishes on his birthday, but for her to know the year and his exact age...
“I thought maybe you like him a little more in a personal way,” Lana said cautiously. She didn’t typically butt into her children’s love lives, other than to remind them that she wasn’t getting any younger and she wanted grandchildren while she was still young enough to enjoy them.
“I suppose I do. But we’ve always kept our relationship strictly professional. I’ve never even talked about anything personal with him, until yesterday.”
“Makes sense. Although, I guess I didn’t think to wonder until just now why he showed up in Strawberry Sands. Was it really just to look for property?”
“I don’t know. He... He came to my tent, he bought all my paintings, Mom!” Clara pulled on her arm, and they stopped, facing each other. “He gave me fifty thousand dollars for the paintings that were left in my tent. That was after I had already sold at least thirty of them. Fifty thousand dollars!”
“Because he didn’t want anyone else to buy them?” Lana said carefully, unsure what exactly that meant.
“No... I don’t know.” Clara emphasized her words with a headshake, and then she slipped her arm back through Lana’s and they started walking on the beach again. “I really don’t know.”
“So...” Lana wasn’t sure whether she should say anything about the look that she saw in Alex’s eyes or not. She would be willing to bet quite a lot of money that Alex felt more for Clara than just strictly a professional feeling. Whether that feeling was tender friendship, or whether that feeling was...an attraction that would signal that he wanted a deeper and, hopefully, more meaningful relationship, she wasn’t sure.
What she did know was, “He doesn’t seem like the kind of man who will ever get married.”
“Hmm. That could be true. I was just thinking yesterday that I’ve arranged more than a few dates for him, and it’s never the same woman twice in a row. He has gone to dinners or shows or previews or premieres with the same woman once or twice, but never twice in a row.”
“Interesting. So he has a thing against relationships.”
Clara seemed like she might want to say more, and then she clamped her mouth closed.
“You don’t have to tell me anything you’re not comfortable sharing.”
Clara sighed. “Yeah. I guess... I guess I just don’t know. And this is muddying the waters even more for me, because he wanted me to go to the Cities but changed his mind yesterday, and now he’s looking for property along the beach to buy so I can work here. Actually, so he and I can work from here. He’s...going to work in Strawberry Sands just so I don’t have to move to the Cities. What that means, I can’t figure it out. And it makes it even harder because I was thinking about quitting, and somehow, he knew.”
“He knew?” Lana said, surprised.
“Yes. He said he overheard something to that effect at the water cooler. And I have no reason to doubt that, but I just don’t know what to do.”
“I guess all you can do is pray about it and try to make the right decision.”
“I spent a lot of time on my knees last night. I typically talk to the Lord a good bit, but I really had a lot of extra things to say to Him last night.”
“Just be careful. He... He seems like the kind of man who would be possessive. Not in a bad way. I really don’t think he’s a bad man, but sometimes men who are powerful have trouble letting go of things that they think are theirs. He... He just might have trouble with the idea of letting go of you.”
Lana didn’t mean that as a warning exactly, she just wanted Clara to go into this with her eyes open, because she wanted to protect her daughter from getting hurt.
The lighthouse came into view, which was where Lana usually turned around, but not before she greeted the older gentleman who lived there.
Sure enough, at this time of morning, he was on the shore already, his fishing pole stuck in the sand, sitting in a beach chair beside it.
“Usually, I talk to this fellow before I turn around and walk back. That’s all I have time for. But don’t cut your walk short just because I have to get back.”
“I thought I could help you in the kitchen a little bit this morning, Mom. Then, Mr.—uh, Alex,” Clara cleared her throat like calling him Alex was uncomfortable, “is going to pick me up.”
“For church?” Lana asked, unable to keep the surprise out of her voice.
“Yes. I got the feeling that he didn’t normally go but that he wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the idea. Maybe I can find out more.”
“I suppose if you’re going to move forward with any kind of relationship, that’s an important thing to find out.”
“I know. That was something I was praying about last night. I don’t want to get emotionally involved with anyone, whether they’re interested in me or not, if they aren’t a Christian. Not because I’m a snob, but because... Well, the Bible says not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever. So it’s important he’s a believer to begin with, but I guess I could see us arguing over those things in the future if we ever had children.”
