Love Conquers All

That feeling continued through dinner and hit its peak when he said, "Shay? I have something I want to say to you."

"You...do?" she said rather than a normal reply from someone who really wanted to hear it.

"Yes, I do," Ted told her.

"I...I see," Shay said as she forced a smile.

He was wearing a jacket, and it was possible there was a tiny box in his coat pocket. Shay felt her entire body growing tense as she watched his hands for any sign of movement toward a pocket.

"I know you're aware of how much I like you, Shay, and well, I...I'd like to take things to the next level."

He reached out for her hand and took it before she could pull away, but then she wondered if perhaps the 'next level' might include the possibility of something more...intimate.

"The next level?" she asked.

"Yes. The church has a three-day seminar for couples who are, you know, considering a future together. I was wondering if you might want to attend that with me. Once Alexis is out of school, of course. It's in the local area, and you'd be home each night, but it is pretty much three full days."

Ted was smiling happily, and his eyes were bright with hope as he waited for her answer.

"A...seminar," Shay said weakly, unable to muster a smile.

"Yes. Three days," he replied with genuine excitement. "It's jam-packed with the kinds of things couples need in order to make a marriage run smoothly. You know, down the line. Should things get even more serious."

"I...I don't know what to say, Ted," Shay told him honestly.

"Say...yes," he suggested with a squeeze of the hand.

"I...can I think about it?" she asked hoping that would satisfy him.

"Oh, sure. I know this is a really big step," he told her. "Take your time. It's not until after the 4th of July weekend, and I kind of know the guy who controls the classes and who gets in so that won't be a problem."

He was obviously referring to himself, and Shay tried to laugh when he did but couldn't.

"Ah, okay," Shay said, finally forcing another smile. "Well, I'll give it some serious thought then."

"Wonderful! How about we celebrate? Maybe another glass of wine?"

"Perfect!" Shay said, more for the desire to have another drink rather than to celebrate.

Ted kissed her goodnight when he dropped her off, and Shay thanked him for a...nice evening, but when he left, she found herself wondering—really wondering—how much more of this she could take, if waiting until July just for this seminar was in the future with him.

She refused to spend any more time thinking about it for now and chose rather to focus on Alexis, hoping she was having a wonderful time. She fell asleep in her favorite chair and woke up at 2 am when her daughter came home.

"Oh, hey!" she said when Alexis tried to walk on by without disturbing her mom. "How was it?"

Alexis stopped and said, "Mom, it was the best time ever! We had so much fun, and Bryce is so amazing!"

"That's great, honey! Tell me all about it."

"It's really late, Mom. We can talk tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. As long as you had fun."

"I did. It was by far the best time I've ever had."

Alexis went to go to her room then remembered her mom's date.

"Oh. How was your date with Pastor Ted?"

Shay forced another smile then said, "Fine. It was...okay. Maybe even...nice."

"That bad, huh?" Alexis said, intuitively sensing it wasn't so...fine.

"We can talk about that later, too," her mom said. "How about we both go get some sleep?"

"I'm gonna go lay down, but there's no way I'm going to be able to get to sleep anytime soon," Alexis said.

"Oh, wow. This must have been really amazing," her mom said.

Alexis turned to face her mom then said, "I know I'm too young to be in love, but if this is what it feels like, I never want this feeling to end!"

Shay got up, walked over to her daughter, and put her hand on her face, smiled again, then said, "It is a wonderful feeling, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," Alexis said.

Again she hesitated then decided to go for it.

"I want you to feel like this again, too, Mom."

Shay's smile faded as the reality of her relationship with Ted really hit her. He'd been so excited at dinner while Shay had no interest whatsoever in this seminar thing. Shay couldn't help but think Ted might be feeling for her what Alexis was feeling for Bryce. And yet she didn't feel even the slightest bit of that for him, and now that she'd finally admitted it, she couldn't help but wonder if there was any reason to continue seeing him. The only thing that made any sense to her was that it was very unlikely she'd ever feel that way about him, and not feeling that way was suddenly very unacceptable.

"Thank you, honey," her mom said. "I'd like to feel that again someday, too."

"Mom?" Alexis said.

"Yes?"

"You know that's never going to happen with Pastor Ted, right?"

Again, her mom looked down as her daughter's words hit hard and close to home.

"I know," she said very quietly.

She looked back up at her beautiful daughter, smiled, then said, "I think I've known that for some time now. But the reality of it really hit me this evening for the first time. And then my 40-year old daughter comes home and informs me that I'm right."

"I only seem like I'm 40," Alexis said as she smiled happily.

Her mom almost laughed but couldn't when she said, "I'd love to be 40 again."

"Mom, you're beautiful," her daughter told her sincerely. "All my friends say it. And they say it because it's true."

Alexis smiled at her mom then said, "What you do is your business, but please, please don't settle when it comes to love and being happy. I know Pastor Ted is...comfortable...but you're not buying a pair of sensible shoes. If you'd...move on...it's almost guaranteed you'd meet someone completely different from him. Someone more...exciting. Maybe even better looking. And if he was even a few years younger than you, would that be so bad?"

"I hadn't thought about that, but I suppose not. I don't think someone who's let's say...well...40...is either young or old, so if I met someone interesting that age, I'd be willing to consider it."

"See. Look at you. All ready to take a huge risk!" Alexis teased.

Alexis laughed then said, "For you, of course."

"Six years is a lot, honey."

Alexis was going to tell her mother that amount of difference in age was nothing these days. For that matter, even ten years wasn't such a big deal. Instead she reiterated her common plea.

"Just promise me you won't settle, okay?"

"I won't," her mom promised.

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, honey. And thank you for always being so honest with me. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Same here," her daughter said sweetly before kissing her mom on the cheek. "Night, Mom."

"Goodnight, sweetheart. And...sweet dreams."

The next morning, Shay signed up for the first available continuing-education class which was starting the following Monday evening, April 18th. She'd attend a total of five classes that were roughly 2 1/2 hours long each night that week. She had the option of doing it all in one, two-day weekend, but thought having a legitimate reason not to say 'yes' to Ted for a week was very appealing, and would give her time to think.

Once she was done with the training and had the completion certificate in hand, she could pay the renewal fee and submit her package. With any luck, she'd able to sell real estate again within a month or two, and suddenly she couldn't wait to get back in the game.

The next thing she couldn't wait to do was tell Ted she didn't think the seminar was a good idea. She knew the best thing to do would be to just call things off, but that whole loyalty business wouldn't let her do it. At least not yet.

He'd taken her gentle rebuff well the following evening, telling her it was 'no big deal' once she informed him she'd thought it over long and hard and just wasn't ready.

"This is just another challenge; one well worth accepting because you're worth the wait," he said in that overly-optimistic way she found both endearing and annoying.

As awkward as his reply had been, when he told her there were seminars every quarter and they could revisit the issue later on, she realized this had to end. So in spite of believing she would keep things going with him, it was now very clear that was no longer an option.

"Ted?" she began.

It took her several minutes of hemming and hawing to finally get around to saying it would be best if they didn't see each other again. She felt terrible for having said it, and when she saw the hurt in his eyes, it almost convinced her to reconsider.

And yet, when she finally walked away with no strings attached, Shay felt freer than she could ever remember. By the time she got home, she was nearly certain she'd done the right thing. But after she told Alexis, who nearly squealed with joy, she was absolutely positive.

Now, the 'only' thing that remained, was to try and find someone who could make her feel the way Bryce made Alexis feel.

"That'll be easy," she said to herself in her typical cynical fashion.

Shay hadn't always been cynical. It had pretty much started then grown like a cancer since her husband sprang the big surprise on her.

After less than a minute of knocking that idea around, the thought became so depressing it killed the giddy feeling of excitement she'd been experiencing.

"One thing at a time," she told herself hoping that might help.

It didn't, and as she lay there wide awake that night, she realized she was right back to square one—alone and with no prospects. Somewhere around 3 am she finally dozed off and woke up in a start when her alarm went off at seven o'clock.

Shay struggled with her decision to end things with Ted the rest of that week and through the weekend. By Monday, the first day of classes, she finally felt a little better, and found herself looking forward to the training.

She changed into something professional after working all day at the flower shop and felt very good about herself as she got ready to leave the house.

"Good luck, Mom," her daughter told her. "And you look very nice, by the way. I like your suit."

The suit was old. Very old. She hadn't worn it since she sold real estate nearly five years ago, and it was two years old then, but it still looked good, and Shay felt confident wearing it. It was amazing how just the way she dressed made her feel, and she had to admit it was a very good feeling.

Wearing heels and her beautifully-styled hair down, Shay felt both strong and confident as she walked into the room where several people were talking while a couple of others were seated and leafing through the materials on the desks in front of them.

"Good evening," she head a voice say. "Please sign in then feel free to take any open seat."

The person talking to her was a gorgeous blonde who couldn't be more than 25 or so, and Shay suddenly felt a whole lot less confident as she thanked her before signing the roster. The beautiful blonde was wearing a suit, too, and hers was sporting the same patch she'd once worn from Hanson Realty, the biggest firm in town.

She hadn't seen the owner, Lars Hanson, since she'd quit working to be able to spend more time with her then 12-year old daughter, and wondered how he was doing. Lars was quite possibly the hardest-working man she'd ever known.

He'd personally interviewed her and told her once he'd decided to hire her, "All I ask is you work any twelve hours of the day you like."

He'd smiled when he said it, but she could tell he was serious. He was well over 60 even then, and he always came in around 6am every morning, and rarely left before eight or nine at night. He did that six days a week, and 'only' worked from 10-6 on Sundays. She knew he'd married later in life and that he had a child, and although it was none of her business, Shay often wondered how well they did seeing him so little.

Shay wasn't ready for that kind of pace, but she understood selling real estate meant being available at almost all times. Once she'd made a few sales and gotten re-established, she knew she'd be fine with that, and with any luck, she'd eventually get back into the groove as she gradually reduced her hours at the flower shop until she could work full-time again selling houses.

The class was just about to start, and everyone took their seats. The pretty blonde checked the roster and said, "We're still missing one person, so maybe we'll hold off for..."

The blonde 'hottie' stopped talking when a taller man about her age or maybe a little older walked in and smiled at her.

"Sorry I'm late," he said apologetically.

"You're not late, Jordan. In fact, you're right on time," she said, smiling at him in a way that Shay understood.

She recognized the name, and it took her brain a minute to connect the dots, but she realized she knew him or at least 'knew of' him. She'd only heard the name 'Jordan' for a man a couple of times, and once was when Lars mentioned it to her when he hired her.

"That's my son," he'd told her when he saw her looking at a family photo on the wall.

"I have big plans for him to take over one day, but I don't think he shares my dream. He's young so there's still plenty of time, but I have this feeling he has other plans."

That had been...what? Ten or maybe twelve years ago? Shay had never met him, but she'd seen that photo many times, and recalled he was a very good-looking boy.

However, the person named Jordan who walked in was no boy. He was at least 6 feet tall and quite possibly a couple of inches taller than that, and as handsome as anyone she'd ever met. She tried not to stare, but he was so unbelievably attractive her eyes were drawn to him, and she couldn't take them off of him. What she didn't see was how every other woman in the room, and especially 'Blondie', was doing the same thing.

As he looked around for a seat, he said almost sheepishly, "Sorry for being late," to the class even though he hadn't actually been late. He just hadn't arrived early like everyone else.

The only open spot was next to Shay, and when he walked over to it he asked, "Do you mind if I sit here?"

There was nowhere else to sit, and yet he'd still politely asked.

"No. Of course not," she told him. She'd set her purse there and felt a little embarrassed as she moved it.

"Sorry," she said as she reached in front of him to grab it.

He sat down and quietly said to her, "Hi. I'm Jordan. Hanson."

"Oh. Hi. I'm Shay. Henderson."

She hadn't legally changed her name back yet, but for some reason, she thought maybe he'd recognize the name, even though there was no real reason to think he would.

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," he said with a smile so dazzling it made her almost feel dizzy.

The 'ma'am' comment mitigated the feelings his smile stirred up, but something had most definitely been stirred. Then again, those 'embers' were glowing red hot pretty much 24/7, and it didn't take much to fan the flames of desire in her.

"Yes. You too, Jordan," she said as he looked toward the front and waited for the class to begin.

After 45 minutes, they took their first break, and Jordan immediately turned to Shay and said, "So are you new to real estate or are you recertifying?"

"Recertifying. I...I haven't worked in real estate for nearly five years," she told him. "How about you?"

"Same here. Well, kind of. I've never actually sold real estate."

"I'm sorry?" Shay asked completely befuddled.

"I got my license right out of college, but that was just to make my father happy. I had no interest in real estate, but my dad had all these big plans for me, so I thought if I got certified he'd lay off a little."

"Is your father by any chance Lars Hanson?" she asked.

"Oh, okay. Do you know my dad?" he asked back.

"I used to work for him," Shay said.

"I take it you haven't heard then," Jordan said rather somberly.

"Heard?" she asked, her concern level rising.

"My father had a stroke about three months ago, and it's not looking good for him to make much of a recovery," Jordan told her. "He can talk reasonably well, but has problems with balance and hand-eye coordination, as well as other issues, and driving is out of the question."

"I'm so sorry," Shay said sincerely. "And no, I hadn't heard."

"Thank you. I only came home because my dad's attorney told me he can't work and likely won't ever be able to again. He also said my father will have to sell the business unless I'm willing to take over. I never intended on running it, but well, sometimes life has a way of throwing the unexpected our way."

"So...so you're going to take over Hanson Reality?" she asked.

"I am," he told her. "Reluctantly but yes. I finished my obligated time on active duty, and was getting ready to go overseas again when Dad had the stroke. I resigned my commission and put in the paperwork to get out, and well, here I am. I'm still technically on active duty. I'm on what's called 'terminal leave'. I saved up over 60 days and I'm using all of it to get started on taking over for my father, and that means taking these classes."

His hair was very short, and that helped explain why.

"College. Active duty. The business. I have so many questions to ask you, but we won't have time during the break," Shay told him.

"Then let's go have a drink after we're finished," he said confidently as though it was as normal as anything to ask a woman her age to have a drink with him.

Then again, perhaps it was purely business. As a former employee, he might want to see if she was someone he'd like to hire back. Regardless, Shay found herself more than a little bit interested, and in spite of her reservations told him that might be nice.

"Great," Jordan told her with that smile of his just as the instructor asked everyone to again find their seats.

Shay texted her daughter and let her know she'd be late getting home.

She got an immediate response that read:

"Please tell me it's because some hot guy asked you to go out for a drink."

"How does she know?" Shay said quietly but out loud.

"Who?" Jordan asked, having overheard her.

"Oh, sorry. My daughter. Alexis. She's 17, but she knows...everything."

"She doesn't read minds, does she?" Jordan asked with a laugh.

"Sometimes I wonder," Shay told him.

He didn't ask and she didn't tell, but Shay was beginning to wonder if Alexis really might have ESP.

After class, Shay picked up her study materials and walked outside in a matter of seconds while Jordan found himself surrounded by a half-dozen women of various ages to include the instructor. She didn't quite step back inside, but rather stayed just out of sight but within earshot where she could peek in and also hear the conversation quite clearly. Shay listened to him patiently answer their questions about real estate, the possibility of working for him, and no small amount of subtle flirting.

Shay hated that she still compared herself to other women, but the truth was, she did it all the time. Perhaps being left for a younger woman was the cause, and if it was, it was certainly understandable. She had no desire to live alone the rest of her life, and this Fall Alexis would be away at college, and then she truly would be all alone. Well, she had her green and black cat, Olive, but that didn't really count.

As she sized up the competition, which she really didn't see as competition because she wasn't competing, the only one she felt she couldn't 'beat' was Blondie. What Shay found most interesting about this conversation was how Blondie was doing most of the flirting but getting the least amount of Jordan's attention. He would nod, smile, or politely tell her 'yes' or 'no' then look away at someone else as quickly as possible.