Page 97 of No Such Thing as Serendipity
Despite her limitations, Helena had done well. It was Emma who’d ensured our team’s defeat. I laughed at the memory. Emma could have been a formidable athlete, like me, but she never prioritized winning. Twice today, she’d stopped in the middle of the race to help one of her opponents. Who does that? My sister. Even Dana had laughed about it when I’d expected her to rip into Emma.
Dana appeared to have forgiven me, and we’d had fun during the games. She didn’t know I’d overheard her conversation with Robyn, but I knew my less guarded reactions to her helped ease the tension between us. I wanted to thank her for what she’d said to Robyn, at least at the end of their talk, but I didn’t want to upset the fragile peace.
Then tonight, I’d become the most popular person at the retreat. Word had gotten out of how I’d helped my villa mates with their finances. As I suspected, Katlynn’s financial adviser had been engaged in questionable practices. I’d referred her to someone I trusted, who was already on top of getting her funds transferred. Before this was over, there’d likely be a lawsuit.Good.Unethical financial practitioners made the rest of us look bad.
I’d had a string of women approaching me with questions. I’d been wary at first since Emma insisted no work, but when I’d glanced over at her, she’d given me a big smile and a thumbs up. After that, I’d spent the next few hours fielding questions from the group. It was exhilarating yet still tiring.
Who was I kidding? It wasn’t the games or the consultations that had me exhausted. It was Robyn. A day and a half had passed since I’d stomped from the villa. When I’d returned from the woods after talking with Emma, I was rejuvenated and ready to tackle the world. I’d hoped to see Robyn that day but hadn’t. While disappointed, I assumed I’d see her today, but she’d not shown. Since no classes were scheduled, it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but I’d hoped she’d come to cheer us on.
I’d begun to get edgy. Was she avoiding me, or was I just being paranoid? I wanted to make it right, but I couldn’t until she showed up. Would she be here tomorrow? I’d already decided if she wasn’t, I’d drive into Madison. Show up at her bookstore if I had to.
I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was I wanted to spend more time with her, even if she didn’t remotely resemble anyone I’d ever dated. Emma had pointed out she was as beautiful as any of my other girlfriends. She just wasn’t plastic and superficial.Ouch.I recognized the truth in Emma’s words.
Enough.I didn’t need to just lie here thinking about Robyn. My emails weren’t going to answer themselves. I grabbed my phone and plopped back onto my bed.
After opening a few, I found my mind wandering. I never had trouble concentrating on business, but I seemed to now. I narrowed my focus, deciding not to read them in order. Instead, I’d pick the most interesting—the ones with the most promise.
I read through the first one and realized once I’d finished, I’d not been paying attention. If asked, I couldn’t summarize the key points. My thoughts had drifted to Marta and then further back to other women I’d dated. All much different from Robyn.
Emma was right, Robyn was pretty. I smiled as I remembered how beautiful she looked in her dress the night of the play, but she was just as beautiful without makeup in her jeans and T-shirt. She wasn’t flashy eye candy like Marta and most of the others, but thinking of her now made my heart race.
Even though she was running a tiny bookstore in Madison, not a high-powered corporation like Marta, it didn’t seem to matter to me. At least, not right now. Maybe dating someone with less drive and ambition would be good for me, someone who exuded peace and tranquility. I’d never describe anyone I’d dated before as peaceful or tranquil. Intense and hard-nosed were better descriptors.
I scrolled through a few more emails, hoping to find one that’d hold my interest. I skimmed through one from a headhunter, discussing the educational opportunities the company they represented offered to their executive team.
Education.I leaned against the pillow behind me. Marta held a master’s degree from MIT, so there was no questioning her intellect, but Robyn had a different intelligence. She could read people—situations. In the past, I wouldn’t have considered it a talent, but I’d seen her work her magic in groups. She knew when to draw people out and when to back off. It was an art, but I suspected there was more science behind it than I understood. No, there was no doubting Robyn’s intelligence.
Why was I comparing her to my previous girlfriends? It wasn’t fair to her. Besides, we had three weeks, so we couldn’t have anything more than a fling. If she even wanted one, which I’d doubted since she’d been MIA.
I tossed my phone to the opposite side of the bed before I lay back and closed my eyes. My emails could wait. I wanted to be rested in the morning for when I saw Robyn. I reiterated to myself,when not if.
I closed my eyes, and Robyn’s smiling face filled my mind. With a contented sigh, I rolled onto my side.
CHAPTER 28
I studied myself inthe bathroom mirror. After lunch, I’d slipped into my bedroom to freshen up, wanting to look good for the afternoon sessions.Right.It was Robyn I wanted to impress. I just hoped I’d see her this afternoon.
She hadn’t been our facilitator at our morning sharing circle. I kept trying to convince myself it meant nothing since the instructors rotated. Still, this morning while getting ready, I’d prepared for what I’d say to her, so it was disappointing I didn’t get the chance.
With Robyn’s absence, the sharing circle hadn’t been the same. Or maybe it was just me. The questions had been uninspired, and my housemates ridiculed me for my answers. Okay, ridiculed might have been too harsh of a description. Still, Robyn would have explored the nuance of my answer and encouraged the others to listen.
Wow.I was wound tight. It wasn’t like anybody had attacked me, but they’d interrupted me when I’d answered the questionof the morning. What fictional character would I want to be? Without hesitation, I’d responded Dagny Taggart fromAtlas Shrugged.Katlynn hadn’t given me the opportunity to explain myself before she jumped on Ayn Rand’s political viewpoint. Then Annie and Helena had joined her. A political debate overshadowed the original question, and the facilitator failed to regain control.
Why did everyone have to make things political? My answer had nothing to do with politics. I’d read the book in college and thought it would be a rush to run Taggart Transcontinental. Dagny Taggart was a badass in a man’s world. Something I aspired to, but the facilitator never gave me the opportunity to explain myself.Oh, well.My friends didn’t seem to think any less of me. Still, Robyn would have handled it differently.
I dabbed moisturizer on my face before I turned from the mirror. After almost two weeks, Emma still wouldn’t tell me beforehand what class we were attending. Did she still think I’d try to get out of it or balk? Probably, and she’d be right. Most sessions she picked, I never would have chosen for myself. Had I known the content, I would have prepared, taking away the spontaneity of the experience.
“The serendipity,” I said aloud and then laughed.
Was Robyn my serendipity? If so, what did it even mean? My stomach dropped. I’d mapped out how things would happen with Robyn. I’d rehearsed the conversation we’d have. If Robyn was interested, would she have avoided me for the past two days?
The fear had been niggling in the back of my mind since yesterday, but I’d pushed it aside because it didn’t match my narrative. In my mind, when I saw Robyn, she’d take one look at me and rush toward me. We’d embrace, and she’d confess the last two days had been the longest of her life.
Jesus.This retreat was messing with my mind, or maybe it was that damned romance novel I’d picked up at her bookstore. The one I’d devoured in two days.Curious Wine.She’d told me it was a classic, but had there been an ulterior motive since it was set during a women’s weekend away?
I opened the drawer where I’d stashed the book, and my gaze landed on my notebook. The one I kept my list in. It had been sitting there since we’d arrived, but I’d not opened it. I pulled it from the drawer now.
I ran my fingers over the well-worn cover. This was my plan, my goals, my life laid out in these pages. Was it still? I was about to open it when a knock sounded on my bedroom door. I stashed it under my romance book.
