CHAPTER FOURTEEN
 

Hours later, Laura tossed and turned in bed as her mind drifted back and forth with memories of the past five years.  Who was he to ask what would have happened with William Westfield?  He’s had more than his share of women in the past five years!  She proceeded to try counting them off but gave up after the first four.  Then it hit her.  The perfect little weapon to use against him tomorrow when he demands the answer to his question…

Remington fell asleep on the couch but was awakened by a buzzing sound coming from the television.  He opened his eyes and discovered that it was well past three.  He made his way to the bedroom and looked at the empty bed.  Laura hadn’t come home again and since their Irish “honeymoon” he’d had trouble sleeping without her next to him.  He climbed into bed and started on another restless evening of his own.

Neither one went to the office the next morning.  Instead they headed directly to Dr. Wells’ office for the follow-up to the previous day’s visit.  Dr. Wells immediately noted the tension between them as Remington sat in a chair and Laura on the sofa on the opposite side of the room. 

Dr. Wells looked to Remington and then to Laura, took a deep breath and started the conversation.  “So, where did we leave off yesterday?”  He turned to face Laura.  “Laura, I believe Remington had posed a question.”  He turned to Remington.  “What was it again Remington?”

Remington glared at his future bride.  “I believe Laura was going to tell us what would have happened if she hadn’t gotten off of the plane she was on with William Westfield.”

Laura shifted her position when Dr. Wells looked back at her.  “What would have happened?  Very good question Mr. Steele but before I answer your question, suppose you answer one of mine.  What would have happened if I hadn’t screamed?”

Remington looked confused while looking at her.  “What do you mean if you hadn’t screamed?  Screamed what, where?”

“Malta.  As I recall Mildred and I woke up to find a strange man in our room and I screamed.  When you came in half dressed, you were upset because you claimed to have been in bed.  That bottle blonde tart came in right behind you so I guess my question is would you have spent the night with her if I hadn’t screamed?”

“That has nothing to do with the issue.”

“Doesn’t it?  You’re sitting here accusing me of being potentially unfaithful to our relationship and yet within six months of the same period, it’s okay for you to nearly spend the night with a woman while I’m in the adjoining room?  How could this not have anything to do with the issue?”

Dr. Wells looked at Remington.  “It would appear that Laura has a good point here.  If you were willing to spend the night with another woman, don’t you suppose it’s a little unreasonable to think that she may not be attracted to someone else as well?”

“I admit I kissed her but I never went to bed with her.”

“And I never went to bed with him.”

“Doesn’t mean you wouldn’t have if the opportunity had presented itself.”

“I could say the same for you Mr. Steele and I’m not going to answer your question because you probably wouldn’t believe it anyway.  Although I will say this…I got off that plane because I knew the feelings I had for you were more important than the attraction I had for him.  You have no idea of what it felt like when I opened your closet and saw everything gone.”

“Perhaps it felt like the emptiness I had in the pit of my stomach when you said we needed time to re-evaluate our relationship.  Packing up my borrowed life, as you’ve so often put it, and leaving was one of the painful moments I’ve ever experienced.  After spending the majority of my life trying to find myself, I wasn’t prepared for you to take my identity away without being able to know who I was first.”

“I’ve told you I don’t care about your name or lack of one.  I don’t care about the things you did before you came into my life.  The only thing I care about is you and the knowledge that you care enough for me to keep your hands off of the women throwing themselves at you.”

“Please… Perhaps I’ll stop when you do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  Laura shifted to the edge of the couch as if she were a lion about to attack her prey.

He immediately sensed an impending fight and rose to the occasion.  “What’s that supposed to mean?  Well let’s see… William Westfield.”

Laura countered each barb of his with one of her own.  “Clarissa: the happy hooker.”

“Norman Maxwell.”

“Millicent Fairbush.”

“Bill Smith.”

“Eloise Fairchild.”

“Creighton Phillips.”

“Cleo Taplinger.”

“Butch Bemis.”

“Felicia.”

“Tony.”

“Shannon.”

“Wilson!”

“Anna Simpson!”

Remington and Laura were by then both out of their respective seats and were shouting names back and forth as Dr. Wells looked on.  Finally having heard enough, he rose from his chair and stood between them.  “Okay… Well it would appear that you both have had your fair share of would-be suitors.  I think it speaks very well for your relationship that you both managed not to succumb to temptation and are sitting here today trying to work out your differences rather than saying “forget it” and walking away completely.”

“I’ve got one more name.” Remington added as he looked straight at Laura.  “Murphy.”

Laura’s face became a mask of disbelief.  “Murphy?!  Have you completely lost your mind?  There’s never been anything between me and Murphy other than friendship.”

“You mean to tell me that in the entire time the two of you have known each other that you never once crossed the line between business and pleasure?”

“Absolutely not!”  Laura looked to the ceiling and shook her head before turning her attention back to him.  “Do you have the slightest clue of why Murphy left the agency?”

“To stop constantly having to fetch autopsy reports?”

“He left because he told me that he cared for me as much more than a friend and I told him we would never have a future together.  He couldn’t take another day of walking around wanting me knowing that all I wanted was you!”

Dr. Wells motioned for both of them to take their seats again and waited until they did to speak.  “Let me ask both of you something and I want truly honest answers from each of you.  Laura, if I were to take all of the men Remington named and put them in a line against the wall, himself included, who would you choose to spend the rest of your life with?  And Remington, if I took all the women Laura named, including her, and did the same, who would you want to spend the rest of your life with?”

Remington swallowed hard and Laura bowed her head while they pondered his question. 

“Laura, who would you choose?”

“Him.”

“Him who?”

She raised her head and peered across at Remington.  “Him.”

“Remington?”

He too looked across the room.  “Her.”

Dr. Wells looked pleased.  “That’s what I thought.  So why don’t the two of you take the afternoon and spend it remembering what it is you love about the other person.  You might just find the rest of the problems might not be so big after all.”

Remington rose from his chair and held out a hand.  “Truce?”

Laura took his hand and stood from the couch.  “Truce.” 

They thanked Dr. Wells for his time and walked hand-in-hand to the elevator.  “Which car did you bring?”

“The Auburn.  Thought I’d give Fred the morning off.”  They stepped out of the elevator and walked to the rather loud garage.

“I’ll meet you at the office then.”  Laura brushed her lips against his cheek and turned to walk away.  Remington caught her by the waist and pulled her into a deeper kiss.  As they separated he flashed his most mischievous smile and watched her walk towards her car before disappearing around the corner of the garage to the Auburn. 

The garage suddenly had a rather eerie feeling when he started the engine.  For something that was so noisy a few moments before, it was suddenly so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.  Remington pulled out of the parking space and turned the corner towards the exit but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a small black purse next to the Rabbit’s driver’s side door.  Turning off the engine, Remington jumped from the Auburn and ran to the side of her car.  He picked up her purse and looked in every direction before shouting out, “LAURA!!!”