She needed to go, to organize and mull over everything he'd said. She needed space, not to be crowded or pressured into anything. He'd done the best he could with what he had, when he'd left her, and maybe it had been the wrong thing to do; however, he never was good with foreseeing the future.
He had accomplished what he had set out to do. He had learned to control his beast, and made sure he was no longer a threat to her, and then he had come to tell her. Bastian had never once stopped loving Reign, and that was going to be next on his agenda, proving it.
Though he needed her to see what happened when the full moon rose, Bastian imagined Reign would do whatever she could to prevent that meeting. It was obvious she didn't believe him, and as stubborn as she had always been, it stood to reason she would refuse to consider his story had merit. Yet until she saw that what he said was exactly what happened, she never would believe him. And until she believed him, he didn't see anything further being accomplished.
So even though he knew it was good and right that she leave, and that he let her go, he still felt a huge hole in his middle as he watched her walk away.
"Trust me Cara mia...there is no 'maybe'. You will see me again, and you will see, believe, and understand."
His words were said beneath his breath, and once she had walked through the door, and he could no longer see her, he visited the florist in the hotel. He had not brought her flowers tonight, but tomorrow he would make up for that. He spoke to the woman who ran the shop, and set it up so that a different arrangement of flowers would be delivered to the address on Reign's card every day for the days between now and the next full moon. The last arrangement, to be delivered the day of the full moon, would include a note, inviting Reign for dinner.
Once he paid for the deliveries, Bastian returned to his room to make some phone calls, and schedule an inspection of the ranch he'd had his eye on. A few more calls, and a couple e-mails later, he had arranged an overnight stay at a small bed and breakfast outside the city limits, for two nights before the full moon. It was exhilarating to be setting up his little surprise, and as he did he couldn't help but recall several similar such 'dates' he had arranged back in his college days.
A smile slowly crept across his face, as for the first time in years, Bastian felt like a man in love again.
(Bastian Out.)
Trials and tribulations
Barely able to close his eyes that night, Bastian tossed and turned for at least three hours before he drifted off, and then only for thirty minutes or so at a time.
Somewhere around five am he sat up and grabbed his Blackberry, sent a few emails, organized some things on his calender, and then decided he needed his laptop. Dragging that out, he did a little net map and real estate searching, trying to figure out if there was anything interesting that he might be able to check out, as far as a place to live. The hotel would do fine for a few weeks, but eventually he would want some place more private, where he might even set up a boarding kennel. Having a place to house sick animals would be necessary once his practice took off, and he never had been one to sit around and do nothing when there were things he could be accomplishing.
More or less he was just killing time until he could call Reign's assistant, Jane, and work out a meeting...or, as Bastian considered it nothing less, a date.
Sometime later the phone rang, and Bastian woke up. He wasn't sure when he'd fallen asleep again, but was pleased to see it was now eight am. As had been the custom since he'd checked into the Piazza, breakfast would be delivered in an hour, so he went about his morning ablutions, then almost inhaled the meal once it had arrived.
Pushing himself as long as he could, he managed to hold off calling Jane until ten am, and then did so quickly. He wasn't sure what to expect of Reign's assistant, except a great deal of grief, at least initially. Bastian would have bet money on the fact that Reign would have contacted Jane as soon as practical, and left explicit instructions on how to handle Bastian.
Now...how would he handle Jane in return?
Bastian
17 years ago