The Dilemma

She answered the door looking breathtakingly beautiful. I almost teared up at the sight of her. She was wearing a simple short sleeved, collared blouse in a deep mauve with snug-fitting, designer jeans, and she had her hair down; it flowed around her shoulders and framed her pretty face in a lovely, alluring way.

"Hi, honey," she greeted me, rushing into my arms.

"Hi, baby, it's so good to see you."

"You too. I'm just so...well, I'm a bit wound up. I'm happy you called and told me what you did, but I'm having trouble believing it's true..."

"Look, let's go for a nice dinner and talk about it."

"Yes, let's, before I spin out of control."

"Is Italian okay?"

"Sure, perfect."

The restaurant wasn't busy and we got a table away from most distractions, so we could talk. After ordering, I did my best to put Lisa's mind at ease.

"Okay, I understand your concern, and I want you to know that I have genuinely gotten to a place where I'm no longer concerned about Candace. I'm concerned about us. That's all. About what we have, what we can have, where we go from here."

"I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that," she replied.

"Starting now, I will prove that to you, every day, every way I can. And I want to apologize for what I put you through; and I want to thank you for not giving up on me, on us."

She reached for my hand and grasped it, "Honey, thank you. I was so scared. I was so certain I was going to lose you. I honestly expected you to end up with your ex. I was afraid she had to much of a hold on you."

"She did - for two years I pined over her, couldn't get past my feelings for her. But here's the thing, Lisa, you won my heart, and Candace, my feelings for her...those were for the woman I was married to six years ago, not the woman of the last few years of our marriage, not the woman she is today; and I came to realize that. I came to realize I needed a fresh start, and a chance with you."

Lisa teared up, "Sean, you don't have to say it because I do, but I have to - I love you. I have for a while."

"I love you, too, Lisa; and I think I have for a while, too. I was afraid to admit it, but I'm not afraid anymore. Let's go home," I finished.

"Whose home?" she asked.

"Ours," I said with a smile.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Mm, yes I think so. I hoping you'll give me the listing on your house," I replied dryly.

That night, Lisa and I committed ourselves to each other.

XVII. MARTA (Not what you think)

Tuesday, I went to the office pretty much on cloud nine.

Jan greeted me, "Well, look who's in a good mood. I take it things with Lisa went well."

"Mm hmm. And you look pretty up beat. So how about you?"

She grinned, "Yes, last night, Gordon called me," she explained, "and he has arranged for movers in six weeks, and once things are moved in, he wants me to help him do some shopping, find furnishings for the house."

"Well then," I answered, "we have six weeks to find somebody and get them trained."

After about an hour, Jan called and I told her to come on back.

She came in and sat, "I think I know someone that will be perfect for the office."

"Really, well that's great news."

She smiled, "Yes, well, I know a secretary at a large office in Colorado Springs. She told me recently that her boss has been not so subtly trying to get her to have an affair with him, and he is married. She's not happy but can't afford to give up her job. There is one problem - she lives on the other side of Colorado Springs, so this would be a drive for her, but I don't think that would keep her from coming here."

"Okay, well call her, and if she's interested, set up an appointment for an interview, the sooner the better."

Jan got a hold of Marta later that morning, and she was very interested, but couldn't meet us till after work one day this week. We set it up for Wednesday to get together and talk over dinner.

When I met Marta, I was surprised. She was much younger than I expected, and quite pretty - not a knock out, but nice looking, nonetheless. She was petite, maybe 5'-3" and 110 pounds, with a slim build, long, dark, almost black hair, and a latte-hued complexion. I guessed she had either Middle Eastern or Hispanic ancestry. I could see why her boss was hitting on her. After getting introductions out of the way, I asked Marta to tell me about her work experience. She worked in an office with twelve agents, had similar duties to Jan's, and four years' experience at her current office. I had Jan explain how our office worked and what she could expect. We all agreed she would be a good fit.

"Marta, Jan tells me you live a good distance from our office. May I ask about your housing situation - do you own or rent?"

"Um, actually I'm living with a roommate, well my boyfriend, but we're kind of on the outs. I've been looking for a place but with little luck."

"Well, I may have a solution for you, if you're interested. My girlfriend is moving and her house will be available. It is a very nice two-bedroom home and is in Manitou Springs near where Jan lives. It will be available for purchase, or if you aren't able to swing a mortgage, we can arrange a lease, or lease option to buy."

"Oh, I would be very interested. But I don't know if I can afford it on my salary."

"May I ask what you are making now?"

"36,000 right now, but I'm paying off a college loan, so with my car payment and other expenses, I'm a little tight."

"Well, I'll make you an offer - I'll start you at $20 an hour for 90 days. If we are both satisfied with your employment here, I'll raise you to what I'm paying Jan now, which is $26 an hour, or about $54,000 annually, plus there are regular bonuses based on the office's monthly performance. How does that sound to you."

Marta teared up, "That sounds wonderful. I just hope I can handle everything at this office."

"Well, Jan has agreed to take whatever time it takes to train you up, before she goes. So, I don't think that is going to be an issue. When can you start?"

"I should give my boss two-weeks' notice, so after that."

"Okay, right, of course. When do you think you can give him notice?"

"I'll do it tomorrow morning, if um, if you're certain about hiring me," she said.

"Jan will draw up an employment contract tomorrow, okay?"

"Oh, yes, great. I mean, thank you, sir. Thank you very much."

"I'm Sean, and thank you. Welcome to the family, Marta. And I would like you to come look at the house I told you about; see if it will work for you. We could do that tomorrow after you get off work."

"That would be great."

"Well, I think that settles everything. Meet me at the office, tomorrow, say at 6 p.m. Will that give you time to get here?"

"Yes, I can be here by then."

"Good, and when you get here, Jan will have the employment agreement ready and we can sign it before we go."

As soon as dinner was over, I called Lisa and headed to her place.

EPILOGUE

"Hi, sweetie. What's up? How did the interview go?" Lisa greeted me at the door with a kiss and a hug.

"Great, I hired the young lady, and um, I'm kicking you out of your house, so I hope you're still serious about moving in with me."

She laughed, "Well if you're kicking me out, I guess I better be. So, what gives?"

"The young woman I'm hiring, Marta, needs a place on this side of town to live. She lives on the other side of Colorado Springs and is in kind of an untenable situation, so your place seemed like a good fix if it works for her."

"Sure, and I can leave most of my furnishings for her. Will we be selling it or renting it?"

"For the time being, renting it, as she was not getting paid well enough with her current bills to qualify for what this mortgage would be. But with what I'm going to be paying her, we should be able to get her qualified in the next year."

"So, Sean, I have to ask you, once again, are you sure about me moving in with you?"

"I'm completely confident it's the right thing to do, and after a trial period, if you can still stand me, I think we should consider getting married."

Lisa's hands went to her face, "Sean, are you asking me to marry you?"

"Yeah, I guess that was pretty clumsy, huh? Lisa, my love, will you marry me?"

She started crying and threw her arms around me, "Of course, I will."

Call me a sap, but I started crying, too.

THE END

OF

THE DILEMMA