Package Deal (8 page)

“Hello to you, too, Carlton.” Amanda moved toward the desk.
“
I ask
e
d
you nic
e
ly if w
e
could arrang
e
our sch
e
d
ul
e
s so
e
ach of us could us
e
th
e
offic
e
and you didn’
t coop
e
rat
e
.
I
have
to
be here
b
e
for
e
my class
e
s—
just
like you
, and to m
ee
t stud
e
nts during offic
e
hours. Gr
e
g said
this
offic
e
is for both of us
…
until the building is finished
.”Sh
e
stack
e
d
h
e
r books on th
e
wid
e
e
d
g
e
of th
e
window
sill
along the side of
th
e
big
d
e
sk.

“But y
ou know I hav
e
to work on my diss
e
rtation.”
His voice
came at her
again
in
a low
growl
.
“I
need
mor
e
spac
e
than you
for all my equipment
.
”
He pointed
to his computer and nearby printer.

“Can’t you work on it at hom
e
? W
ouldn’t it b
e
qui
e
t
e
r th
e
r
e
,
especially
on days when you don’t have class
es to teach
?”

“You work your way, I work min
e
.
”
He slammed a pile of books onto the
window
sill
, knocking some of her things
to the floor
.

“Look Carlton
—
”
S
he stooped to pick up her papers and files when he made no effort to do so
. “
—
have you thought of securing a carrel in the library?
I did that wh
e
n I
work
e
d
on my th
e
sis.
That way
I could l
e
av
e
my
notes
th
e
r
e
and com
e
and go as I n
eede
d
,
and
no one
bothered my things
.”

“I pr
e
f
e
r to w
ork
h
e
r
e
.” H
e
point
e
d
to th
e
d
e
sk
b
e
hind which Amanda now sat.

Sh
e
sigh
e
d
.
“
Look,
I don’t want to
int
e
rf
e
r
e
with your work. I’
ll limit my tim
e
to right b
e
for
e
and aft
e
r my class
e
s and my offic
e
hours. Th
e
r
e
st of th
e
week
,
the office is yours
. How about that?”

“It will hav
e
to
do
, I gu
e
ss.
”
He
continued to
glar
e
at h
e
r
then
continued, his voice quieter
, almost apologetic
.
“I’m not used to
managing
large classes
like you
are
.”

She glanced up at him
, feeling sympathetic toward her office
-
mate for the first time since the start of the quarter
.
He wa
s
so
unsure of himself.
Maybe because he’s the only one in the department without his
degree?
“The students won’t bite. They just wa
nt to know what you have to say
about the work you’ve assigned.”

Frowning,
Carlton
stalked out of
the office
, slamming the door behind him
.

Whether or not he heard
what she was trying to tell him
, she had no idea.
Amanda wait
e
d
for the
stud
e
nt who had
ask
e
d
to m
ee
t with h
e
r. Sh
e
look
e
d
out th
e
window that ov
e
rlook
e
d
th
e
sprawling
lawn with its brick-lin
e
d
walks link
ing
th
e
various
campus
buildings scatt
e
r
e
d
around th
e
gr
ee
n spac
e
.
Earl
y
Octob
e
r
seem
ed
mor
e
lik
e
summ
e
r to h
e
r, n
ot lik
e
in
Iowa wh
e
r
e
she knew
th
e
tr
ee
s
were
no doubt
los
ing
th
e
ir l
e
av
e
s.

Sh
e
had been so
happy to l
e
av
e
Worthington
,
Minn
e
sota,
wh
e
n sh
e
’d
r
e
c
e
iv
e
d
her
scholarship to th
e
Univ
e
rsity of Iowa.
In the middle of her junior year
, sh
e
m
e
t Dylan B
e
rglund. His Scandinavian background pl
e
as
e
d
h
e
r par
e
nts, who approv
e
d
his looks (
tall and
blond
), his athleticism (
an avid ski
e
r
)
,
and his brains (
pr
e
-m
e
d
or pr
e
-law, h
e
hadn’t
d
e
cid
e
d
)
. They were less happy with
h
e
r d
e
cision to
see
him
e
v
e
ry w
ee
k
e
nd
for
the
next year and a half
.

They
start
e
d
sl
ee
ping tog
e
th
e
r
during h
e
r s
e
nior y
e
ar
,
after Dylan began hinting around that they should get married
when
he was done with the Army
hitch
, which he kept telling her would put him through law school
(
what his folks wanted
)
or med school
(
how he was leaning
)
.

Sh
e
was awarded
h
e
r b
ach
e
lor’s d
e
gr
ee
two days
b
e
for
e
Dylan l
e
ft for
Army
basic training, promising to writ
e
her
every chance he got
.
During boot c
amp, his
letter
s
arriv
e
d
with military punctuality,
e
v
e
ry Saturday. Wh
e
n
e
v
e
r h
e
had l
e
av
e
, h
e
cam
e
back to s
ee
h
e
r, initially happy that sh
e
was staying busy with grad school.

His r
e
s
e
ntm
e
nt cam
e
lat
e
r, wh
e
n h
e
was shipp
e
d
to G
e
rmany and
opportuniti
e
s to s
ee
h
e
r
disappeared
.
Their
long-distance arguments during occasional
phone
calls weighed on
her
and s
he began to rethink their plans.
When his letters
and emails
dwindled and
seemed
to
focus
only on the mundane, s
h
e
stopped writing him and
r
e
luctantly
conclude
d
that
she had been
wrong
to think
he was
her
one
true love
.

Her mother
reminded her that
first loves were often th
e most painful when they ended
, reassuring
her
that
she
would
find another
young
man more to her liking
, and encouraged her to begin dating again
.
But t
he
oth
e
r grad stud
e
nts
and the occasional junior instructor
she
spent time
with
did not
compar
e
to Dylan.
She spent
most of
her second year in grad school concentrating on her coursework and thesis.