Since it was the last day I would have my rental car, I took a day trip down the highway to Savannah, GA one of my favorite places. I walked the riverfront and the old squares of the antebellum city. I always admired the way the Spanish moss hung on the stately live oaks. I drove the coastal highway out to Tybee Island. All the while, my mind churned over what I was going to tell Jake that night at dinner.
Lighthouse on Tybee Island, near Savannah, GA
By the time I made the long drive back up to Charleston, I knew what I was going to say.
Inflection Point
I think everyone in life has multiple forks in the road, or in my case, what I like to think of as inflection points. This was one for me. I was twenty-five years old, and had a series of less than fulfilling relationships under my belt, to say the least. I often attracted what was broken in me, clinging to relationships that weren’t working because I desperately wanted to be with someone. I felt that having a chronic illness made me in adequate to be loved.
This time, as much as I cared for Jake and he cared for me, I saw that this was not going to fulfil what I wanted and needed in life. I needed more than just a relationship with someone. I needed the right one who could support my goals and dreams. To cling to Jake and what we had, no matter how good it felt at the time, would be selfish. So I let go honestly and fully.
That night when I got back to his place and we talked, I told him I was never planning on moving back to Charleston.
I wouldn’t realize it for a long time after, but in that moment, I began to grow up.
Jake took it well. At the same time, for the rest of my stay there was a distance between us. The easy, carefree connection vanished. We made love a few more times, but it wasn’t the same. The painfulness of goodbye stole the magic.
Farewell Party
The weekend before I left, we attended a party hosted by some of his coworkers. Jake and his roommate played in the band. They covered rock classics like Watchtower by Hendrix and Whiteroom by Cream. I tend to be a wall flower in general, but this was one of the most welcoming and fun parties I had ever attended.
The following Monday, Jake drove me to the base at Charleston. In his late twenties, Jake broke his femur in a bad motorcycle accident. They had to install a metal rod in his leg. I remember him rolling his eyes as he set off the metal detector. He explained about the metal rod, but they still gave him a full pat-down. They waved the wand over his leg multiple times, then finally let us pass to the waiting area.
“Every time,” he grumbled, then laughed.
We kissed one last time before I boarded the C-130 for Norfolk. I promised to be careful and keep in touch.
It was bittersweet parting from Jake. Kenny Chesney’s Anything But Mine wouldn’t be released until the next year, but I always think of Jake when I hear that song.
A Positive Outcome
Believe it or not, there is a brightside to the story. At the party I mentioned, Jake met his future wife. They started dating and got married less than a year later. The last I heard from Jake, they had three kids and seemed happy. Jake and I lost touch around the time I moved to Alaska and met my husband. We had been friends on Facebook, but suddenly he wasn’t there anymore. I don’t know if he just discontinued his Facebook membership, or if he unfriended me. Either one is okay. I understand the need to eventually move on. But I will always think of him and our time together in Charleston as one of the best I have ever had.
Next Stop: Norfolk, Virginia
Time to fly. Off to my next adventure!
Thanks for Reading
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About the Author
I joined the Navy at 18 to escape a small town in the Mojave Desert. A diagnosis of MS disrupted my dreams of becoming an astronaut or a super spy. I made limoncello from my lemons and became a super electrical engineer instead. My fascination with live high voltage drew me to Alaska. I came for the job, but stayed for the adventure. I enjoy blogging about my journey as a woman working in STEM, my experiences dealing with everything MS has handed me, and the wonder of the Alaska wilderness. My husband and I have undertaken the task of turning 30 acres of remote land into an off-grid retreat. I write stories about unique women in STEM who save the day and the hot guys who sometimes help along the way, as well as historical fiction about the Klondike Gold Rush. Teasers for these stories can be found on my website. I self-published my first horror novella, The Dark Land, on Amazon in May of 2020. I released the sequel, The Devil’s Valley, in May of 2021. Both stories are set in the wilderness of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, and draw on the Athabascan “Head Waters Peoples” legends of the Cet’ann, or “The People With Tails”.
Some places were never meant for humans to trespass…
Those summer days hanging out on the beach, sometimes with Jake, but most of the time alone (he did have a job) were some of the best of my life. I finished The Two Towers and started The Return of the King. I managed to burn the hell out of my back because I lay on the shore too long in my bikini top and cut-off shorts on my stomach without putting on sunscreen or flipping over. Jake laughed at me that night and rubbed aloe on my back when he saw my burn (I hadn’t realized it…yet).
Isle of Palms Beach. On of my favorite beaches near Charleston, SC
He and his roommate had a band, and some nights I watched them rehearse. The Saturday before I was scheduled to leave, they were performing a huge party that one of their co-workers was planning. For the most part, it was a laid-back week of relaxing and just enjoying each other’s company. I didn’t have to put on a show or pretend to be perfect for him. He already knew who I was and liked it.
Spider Man
Me in downtown Charleston in August, 2003
Remember the giant spider the night I got there?
One night when we got home from dinner, the giant spider was halfway between the house and the tree in the front yard. No really, it was suspended by the lines it had created across the open space.
“I’m done with this. This is creepy!” Jake yelled, grabbing a shovel from the back of his truck. He annihilated the spider mid-air while I cheered him on.
A DivergenceArises
At the same time, a rift was opening between us.
A deadline loomed. It came to a head one evening.
“I wish you still lived in Charleston, and we could date for real again,” Jake said over dinner out of nowhere.
I looked at him across the table and said, ‘I wish I could too.”
In that moment, what wasn’t said was just as important as what was said.
The next morning when Jake got up early for work, I got up early too and drove to the beach. It was something I used to do a lot when I was stationed in Charleston. I would get up early and sit on the beach to watch the sunrise.
I needed to think.
I had already made one really naïve mistake with Bob.
Movies and romance novels make it sound like love conquers all. If you have amazing chemistry and you’re right for each other, relationships just magically come together. But this isn’t Sleepless in Seattle.
There’s another cold hard truth in life…
Relationships are work.
Long distance relationships even more so. Couple that with the fact that Jake and I were at two different points in our lives and diverging, and it becomes more than just work.
I was living in Seattle with the goal of getting my bachelor’s in electrical engineering. I still had three years to go in the program. Aside from the cost of moving, the program that was paying for my schooling was now set, unless I wanted to fight for my funding again, I had to stay in Seattle until I graduated.
And believe it or not, Jake understood. He wasn’t asking me to give up any of that. He, like me, just wished that somehow things could be different.
But they weren’t.
Jake had married and divorced early in his military career. He had made quite a few mistakes after his divorce (I was one of them when he ghosted me in our first go-round). He grew up and learned from his mistakes. He was almost ten years older than me, established in his career and looking to settle down and get married again.
The Hard Truth
I was leaving in a few days. Unless something miraculous happened, it was unlikely that I was ever moving back to Charleston. There was no future for me and Jake after the end of the week.
We both knew it.
Next Adventure: A Quick Trip to Savannah, A Wild Party, Acceptance, and Parting for Virginia
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I joined the Navy at 18 to escape a small town in the Mojave Desert. A diagnosis of MS disrupted my dreams of becoming an astronaut or a super spy. I made limoncello from my lemons and became a super electrical engineer instead. My fascination with live high voltage drew me to Alaska. I came for the job, but stayed for the adventure. I enjoy blogging about my journey as a woman working in STEM, my experiences dealing with everything MS has handed me, and the wonder of the Alaska wilderness. My husband and I have undertaken the task of turning 30 acres of remote land into an off-grid retreat. I write stories about unique women in STEM who save the day and the hot guys who sometimes help along the way, as well as historical fiction about the Klondike Gold Rush. Teasers for these stories can be found on my website. I self-published my first horror novella, The Dark Land, on Amazon in May of 2020. I released the sequel, The Devil’s Valley, in May of 2021. Both stories are set in the wilderness of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, and draw on the Athabascan “Head Waters Peoples” legends of the Cet’ann, or “The People With Tails”.
Some places were never meant for humans to trespass…
People complain about how the discomfort of airline seats. Don’t get me wrong, I think they are terribly uncomfortable, too. As if the airlines go out of their way to engineer the seats to dig into our legs and backsides. I’m not sure how some people can sleep on airplanes. But I can attest that not much more uncomfortable than the hard metal of the jump seat of a C-130. Fortunately, for the 6+ hour flight from Washington State to North Carolina there was only myself, one other passenger and a bunch of pallets of cargo. After takeoff, the Load Master gave us a couple of gray military blankets and allowed us to stretch out on the floor.
It was a very cold metal floor. I lay on my back in between the cockpit and the pallets, staring up at the ceiling. The plane’s engines roared as we puttered east. I hoped it would drown out the growing doubts in my head. On the surface, I was calm. Inside, I was having definite second thoughts about my impetuous plan to hop on a plane and fly across the country. The less than amicable reply from *Bob about not coming to see him didn’t help matters. An when I say less than amicable, I mean yet another profanity laced missive telling me how horrible I was.
But his reply did cement one thing: he wasn’t as nice or caring as I thought, and perhaps my only mistake was believing that this was a worthwhile relationship.
The other passenger was an attractive, divorced, retired Army Colonel named *Erin on her way to North Carolina to visit her son. While eating the sack lunch provided, we fell into a fun chat about her exploits flying Space Available all over the world in between her business trips.
At some point during the flight, I confessed to my travelling companion what I was up to. She offered to give me a ride to the rental car place. I hadn’t considered the distance from the terminal on base to the rental car facility in town. I figured I would just take a cab or walk. It was a good thing I didn’t by the time we landed almost eight hours later…
Torrential Downpour
Not only did the flight take longer that originally forecasted, but we landed in the midst of a tropical depression. Since this was back in the early 2000’s cell service was still iffy. I landed only to find out that the rental car facility with which I had made a reservation closed at six. It was seven.
I had a meltdown…
Not being very sound of mind as it was, admittedly I started to cry. I was exhausted. It was seven at night in a strange town, and I still had a four plus hour drive ahead of me—assuming I could get a rental car. My mind raced through options. Maybe I could get a cheap hotel and regroup in the morning. I checked my phone. *Jake had called several times. I needed to call him back, but I wanted to have a plan first.
The Kindness of Strangers
Fortunately, Erin was still with me. She and her son were kind enough to help me find another open branch of the same rental car company in Fayetteville. The company was still willing to honor the reservation, but all they had available was a small pickup truck.
Into the Darkness
Armed with my steed, a cherry cola and a bag of Cheetos I picked up at a gas station, I wished Erin and her son goodbye and headed of into the darkness of the I-95 corridor. Jake was relieved to know that I had made it to North Carolina, but worried that I was on the road so late. He let me know that he would wait up for me.
A Storm of Thoughts
I’ve always liked road trips. They are great for listening to music and pondering. I had a lot to ponder as the wipers did their best to keep up with the rain coming down in sheets. I had left Charleston three years before heartbroken and facing an uncertain future with a diagnosis of MS. Things were definitely brighter, in the sense that I was on track to get an electrical engineering degree, though I still had quite a way to go.
But was a heartbroken over Bob? I was struggling to come to grips with that. Dating had been tough since I had been diagnosed with MS. In Bob I thought I had found someone who was understanding. This incident opened my eyes to a different side of him. He didn’t care about me. He just wanted to use me. He also had a mean/abusive streak.
Then there was Jake…
Jake and I had tried to make it work once. Then he dumped me/ghosted me. We reconnected later. There was always that: what if?
What if I hadn’t been leaving Charleston?
What if I had stayed and gone to college back there?
Could we have had something together?
None of the songs on the radio or the constant drone of the rain against the windshield had that answer for me as I drew closer to South Carolina. Even though I was exhausted, I seemed to catch a second burst of energy as I pulled into his neighborhood. The rain let up, tapering off to a light drizzle when I pulled into the driveway and killed the engine.
A Giant Spider Web
I remember staring up at the house and noticing an enormous spider web across his front window. I’m not kidding. This thing had a diameter of about 10 feet and was clearly visible, with droplets of water clinging to the silky strands. It looked like something out of a Halloween store. Jake came jogging out into the drizzle in his boxers and a t-shirt to help me with my backpack. But first he gave me a big hug. No hug had ever felt so good in my life up until that point. We raced into the house past the giant web.
A Heartfelt Request…
It felt so good to shower and wash off the grime of the day’s travel. I finished the beer he had brought me and I lay back on his couch, grateful to finally relax. He had put out sheets, a blanket and a pillow for me to sleep there. He stood watching me, hands on his hips, forget-me-not blue eyes full of concern.
“Daniella, are you going to be okay?”
“I’m fine,” I insisted, trying to ignore that familiar tug from his expression. “I made it here, didn’t I?”
“That’s not what I meant.” He bit his lip and looked over his shoulder toward his bedroom. Then he looked back at me again. “You don’t have to sleep in the Livingroom tonight. No. Let me put it another way. Would you sleep with me tonight?”
Question, readers…what would you have done?
*Names have been changed to protect the innocent.
I’ll tell you what I did, next blog…
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About the Author
I joined the Navy at 18 to escape a small town in the Mojave Desert. A diagnosis of MS disrupted my dreams of becoming an astronaut or a super spy. I made limoncello from my lemons and became a super electrical engineer instead. My fascination with live high voltage drew me to Alaska. I came for the job, but stayed for the adventure. I enjoy blogging about my journey as a woman working in STEM, my experiences dealing with everything MS has handed me, and the wonder of the Alaska wilderness. My husband and I have undertaken the task of turning 30 acres of remote land into an off-grid retreat. I write stories about unique women in STEM who save the day and the hot guys who sometimes help along the way, as well as historical fiction about the Klondike Gold Rush. Teasers for these stories can be found on my website. I self-published my first horror novella, The Dark Land, on Amazon in May of 2020. I released the sequel, The Devil’s Valley, in May of 2021. Both stories are set in the wilderness of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, and draw on the Athabascan “Head Waters Peoples” legends of the Cet’ann, or “The People With Tails”.
Some places were never meant for humans to trespass
DK Marie is a writer I stalk…I mean…follow online. I really
enjoy her steamy poetry and snippets from her DK Masquerade, a series of flash
fiction she is writing about a woman on the run from an abusive husband. Her
character Liberty travels all around the world, seeking to find herself, and
finds love along the way. Meanwhile, her Contemporary Romance, Fairy Tale
Lies, was released in June. This is the first book in her Opposites
Attract Series published by Champagne Book Group.
I have to admit, this was a tough review to write. I enjoyed
her book immensely, but Contemporary Romance is not a genre I am normally drawn
to. I’m used to writing and reading Romantic Suspense, Fantasy and Horror. When
it came time to review it, I’m definitely worried about spoilers. Is it okay to
say the sex was hot? It’s okay to give away that they had sex, right? Lots of
it…it was pretty steamy. Did I mention they had sex…? There were lots of other
things as well, but I decided in the end to just have fun with it.
In this particular tale, the opposites are a couple from
different socio-economic backgrounds. Timid, high-society Greta and sexy blue-collar
business man Jacob have what they think is a one-time fling. When they are
thrown together again, neither can ignore the spark between them. Greta is
determined not to mix business and pleasure, but she finds that sexy Jacob is
very persuasive. As Shakespeare once said in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “the
course of true love never did run smooth.” So it will not for Greta and Jacob,
as they encounter not only Greta’s family’s displeasure over the match, but
each of the character’s own insecurities as they move forward.
Setting
Fairy Tale Lies is set near Detroit. I have never been to
Detroit (or Michigan for that matter). I have read a lot about its music and
maritime history, but I decided to do a little more research for this blog
post. I was aware Detroit took a huge hit economically in the last downturn, as
did most of US manufacturing. According to its most recent State of the Region Economic
Outlook Report (2018-2019), it is rebounding by attracting new start-ups from
cities where the cost of living has become prohibitive to business (areas like
Seattle, Atlanta, and Silicone Valley). It is re shaping itself to be the up-and
coming modern city for millennials. DK’s story (and really her Opposites series)
uses the backdrop of a city renewing and rising up, with self-starting
characters from a multitude of backgrounds.
To read the Michigan Economic Outlook Report, you can find
it here:
Myself and my husband can relate quite a bit to DK’s theme.
I started my career non-traditionally as a Naval Electrician’s Mate. My husband
started out as a welder. We both went on to eventually get degrees in
Electrical Engineering and Welding, Corrosion and Non-Destructive Testing
(respectively). There is an incredible amount of bias in our society towards
going to college and getting a degree while painting these “blue-collar” jobs
as somehow inferior. To be frank, the only reason I got my degree was my
medical condition meant I could no longer be an electrician. Yet my time as an
electrician is what makes me such a successful electrical engineer. My husband
got his degree because he was interested in corrosion and ultrasonic testing,
and he is considered to be a global expert on NDT and corrosion.
All you have to do is Google “dating down” and here is what
pops up:
There is a bias that a college education is somehow higher
than a trade job. In these articles women who have a degree but don’t date
other men with degrees are “dating down.” Fewer and fewer men are graduating
from college, where more women are graduating with degrees. As we have seen in
recent years, a degree doesn’t even necessarily guarantee a good job. It also
comes down to what type of degree you get (that’s a whole other blog article
right there).
Yet some of the most successful entrepreneurs of our time
dropped out of college. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg are a few. **Ironically,
good luck trying to get a job without a degree at Microsoft, Apple or Facebook.
Characters
Jacob
One of my biggest pet peeves in the Romance Genre is the
rise of the “Alpha-Male.” Or as I like to call it, the incredible D-bag. So
many authors try to sell you on the dangerous, bad-boy with a past that the
female main character is going to change with her magical vagina. DK doesn’t
try to make us swallow that tired pill.
Instead, DK shows us a self-made, blue-collar business man
who’s good with his hands, and has a natural talent for fixing things. His
dialog and responses to Greta and other characters are realistic. His
insecurities and changes he undergoes throughout the story are in-line with
what DK has shown us as a character. While he is definitely sexy as hell, he’s
just an average guy just a trying to get his dream of expanding his business, Rework,
off the ground. He’s finally found the financial backing to do so. Too bad it
just happens to be with the company that Greta’s father owns. Jacob also has a
“past” but he’s determined not to let it get in the way of his future.
Greta
Okay, confession time. I wanted to slap the hell out of Greta for 80% of the story. While sweet, she is possibly one of the most spineless, insecure female characters I have ever read—and it is fantastic. DK creates a woman approaching her late-twenties who is so stifled by her parents (particularly her narcissistic, smothering mother’s) behaviors and expectations she can barely breathe. She is the Queen of Non-confrontation, and this will drive a wedge between her and Jacob. I’m surprised she had the guts to dump the fiancée her mother loved (even though he cheated on her). I’m even surprised she decides to date Jacob. Greta’s character is well written in this story and really relatable (even though she drove me nuts). I wanted to scream at her to stand up for herself. While the other characters evolve and change, I felt Greta’s change was the most well-written and believable. She doesn’t go from spineless to ball-buster, but after all of the mental and emotional abuse she’s been handed, she does become a more independent woman by the end of the story.
On thing I do have to mention…
Yes—it is poor professionalism to make out with a guy at
work who is also a client. The fact that she lets her father lecture her about
this really galled me. She worried constantly about what he would think of her professionalism,
then did it anyway (which I was like—woo hoo! Way to put on your big girl
panties!). If you’re that worried about it, find an office door with a lock, don’t
kiss the guy in a room where EVERYONE and ANYONE can walk in at any time (which
of course, all the people she doesn’t want to find out about Jacob walk in and
tell daddy).
But when she got caught, she really ought to lecture her
father about sexual harassment in the work place and how her ex-fiancee, a senior
employee, is making up IT issues and stalking her at work in order to hound
her into coming back to him. The fact that all of her co-workers see this an NO
ONE calls this out to HR or the boss is hideous. Everywhere I’ve ever worked
that’s considered harassment. Granted, the one who has to report it is Greta,
and we’ve already established (at least at the beginning of the story) that she
just won’t stand up for herself, but I really wanted her to call him out. Okay—rant
over.
Supporting Characters
At the risk of spoilers (not only for this book, but the
rest of her series), I will keep this brief and avoid revealing names for those
who haven’t read the books, as DK does reveals and giveaways.
DK provides a great cast of supporting characters. Greta’s narcissistic,
snobbish mother is a piece of work. I wanted to see this woman just humiliated,
even destroyed. We’re friends with several horror writers—I want to collaborate
on a crossover and write a gruesome death for this woman. Preferably strangled
by her pearls or stabbed to death with one of her Louboutin’s.
Greta’s sister is more than she appears, having learned to
deal with their mother in a different way than Greta. I actually found her to
be one of the more intriguing side characters, even more intriguing than Greta.
I would love to see her become a main character in another book.
Greta’s ex-fiancée is a well depicted antagonist. One thing
I am surprised about is that he didn’t make another appearance at toward the end
of the book. I didn’t expect him to give up after the 4th of July
incident (avoiding spoilers here). He is the epitome of rich, frat-boy snob. He
reminded me a lot of the fiancée from Wedding Crashers. He’s another character
for whom I want to see a horrific, humiliating end—hey maybe with Greta’s
mother since she loves him so much!
Jacob’s brother is another fun character who I would love to
see more of. His dialog with his brother is realistic and yet heartfelt. I
would love to see more interactions with the two brothers (in another book
maybe? Once again, please tell me he gets his own story).
Another pair of side characters I would love to see more
from were Greta’s college neighbors. Their love story would make a great
prequel/fun short story or novella.
This novel was a fun read. I went through the entire gamut
of emotions, which meant DK got me really invested in her characters. I wanted
to slap Greta, I wanted to both shake and well, uh…do other things to Jacob. I
wanted to tell Greta’s mother to go —– herself with a rake. The wide
end. I cried during the New Year’s Day scene, that was really intense. I will
have to let you as readers find out for yourselves as to why.
If you like Contemporary Romance with believable characters
that draw you in and wring emotion from you, then you will really love DK’s
style of Romance. And I mentioned the sex, right? If you want to find out how
steamy it was, I’ll give you a tiny tease from my favorite part:
“He turned her, placing her hands on the still-warm leather
seat. The position had her bent, with his front against her back. He trailed
his hands along her arms, down her sides to her thighs. Once there, he slowly
bundled her skirts in his fists.”
Marie, DK. Fairy Tale Lies (Opposites Attract Book 1) . Champagne Book Group. Kindle Edition.
Thanks for reading. My next review will be Michael Nadeau’s fantasy novel, The Darkness Return’s!
