Callie’s Last Dance

33.

TEN MINUTES AFTER Dani and I hang up, Callie calls.

“Did I wake you?” she says.

“No. Can’t sleep.”

“Me neither.”

“What’s up?”

“You think we can make it work?”

“Yes, of course.”

“You’ve really thought this through?” she says.

I wait an appropriate time before saying, “What’s on your mind, Callie?”

“All the things you’d have to give up.”

“Such as?”

“The girlfriends. The hookers. The independence. The lack of accountability for your actions.”

“I don’t care about what I’m giving up. I care about what I’m gaining.”

“You’ll have to do something about Rachel.”

“They’ll never let Rachel out of the box.”

“What about Beth?”

“How do you know about Beth?”

“I know about everything.”

“Then you know Beth and I were never a couple.”

“I know you tried. And I know she loves you. If we’re together, that’s a door you’ll have to close.”

“No problem.”

She sighs.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m going to work hard not to be a bitchy, jealous girlfriend.”

“That sounds promising.”

“I’m going to try even harder not to interfere,” she says.

I pause. “Are you about to interfere?”

“Yes.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“Miranda.”

“Ouch. What about her?”

“Are you willing to give her up?”

“Sexually? Yes, absolutely. We’ve already agreed to that. But I hope you’re not asking me not to hire her just because we were lovers.”

“It was more than that.”

“True. But at the end of the day, she was a hooker and I was a client. And I already promised her a job when she gets back from Europe next year.”

“I know.”

“She’d be a hell of an asset to us at Sensory.”

“I agree. But as your girlfriend, it’s my job to eliminate the competition.”

“There’s no competition, Callie. Tell you what. Miranda can report to you instead of me. Would that help?”

“Are you joking?”

“If I say yes will you believe me?”

“No.”

“It wouldn’t help if she worked for you?”

“Of course not!”

“Why?”

“Because every time I look at her I’ll think about how you slept with her. And worry it could happen again.”

“It won’t happen again.”

She sighs.

“You’re willing to give it a try?”

“Probably. But I don’t want her working with me.”

“What if I station her here, at Sensory East?”

“You can’t be serious!”

“What now?”

“You’ll be traveling back and forth to Virginia all the time.”

“So?”

“You’ll go there alone. And stay for days at a time.”

“So?”

“Days…and nights. Think about it.”

I pause, looking at it from her point of view.

“You see my problem?” she says.

“I do.”

She sighs again. “I want to be the best girlfriend you ever had. I’ll try to accept Miranda.”

“We’ve got a whole year to decide what to do.”

“True,” she says. “And a lot can happen in a year.”

“True. Wait. You’re not thinking about killing her, are you?”

Callie says, “Not yet. I do like her. I just hope you don’t cheat on me.”

“You’ve got my word.”

She laughs. “Say the whole sentence.”

I laugh. “I give you my solemn word. I will never cheat on you.”

“You really think you can be happy with just one woman in your life?”

“If that woman is you, I can.”

“Thanks, Donovan. I needed to hear that. I’ll be able to sleep now.”

I say, “How about you? Are you willing to give up Gwen?”

“Yes, of course.”

“When are you planning to tell her?”

“We’ll tell her together, when we go back to Vegas.”

“We? Why do I need to be there?”

“So you can explain she can’t call you behind my back.”

“You’re pretty thorough,” I say.

“Don’t forget it.”

“I won’t. Any other concerns?”

“Just one.”

“What’s that?”

“We need a plan for tomorrow.”

“You have something in mind?”

“A date,” she says.

“Count on it. I’ll be there at one o’clock. We’ll spend a couple hours with Sal. After that we can go for a long walk along the river, and I can tell you about my plans for Sensory Resources.”

“I’d rather hear about your plans for us.”

“I thought we might get into that over dinner. Can we have dinner together?”

“If by dinner you mean room service, I’ve already got a hotel room.”

“Perfect.”

“Donovan?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re not going to have a nice long walk along the river tomorrow.”

“We’re not?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“We’ll be too busy having sex.”

“Seriously? Okay, look. From now on you get to make all the plans for us as a couple!”

She says, “I’m telling you about the sex in advance, so you’ll know it’s a guarantee.”

I laugh. “How did you come to that decision?”

“I flipped a coin.”

“You flipped a coin to decide whether or not we’d have sex?”

“Yup.”

“When?”

“The day I met you.”

“God, you’re special,” I say.

“I’m guaranteeing the sex because I want you to be yourself tomorrow, and from now on. I love you, Donovan, and you don’t need to be charming, witty, or flirty unless you feel like it. What I’m saying, I want our time together to be real.”

“It will be.”

“What I’m trying to explain is, you’ve already got me. I won’t make you work for the sex. It’s my gift to you, and it’s yours for the taking. I want you to relax, be yourself, and know you’re loved for no other reason than the fact you’re you.”

I think about what she said, and the meaning behind it, and respond, “That may be the most beautiful thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

“And I’m just getting started!” she says.