PHONE CALLS

Summary

This chapter concerns Lon, Allie's fiancé. He has been trying to call her since 7:00 PM with no answer. He is in his office as usual working on an on-going trial. The law is his passion and he works late hours alone quite frequently. He has reached the level in his practice where his losses are less frequent from being able to choose cases he has the expertise to win. His success has also come from a great deal of hard work and his particular ability to pay attention to details. It is that ability that is bothering him now. There is something about Allie that he just can't put his finger on. He knows that something was said, but he just isn't sure what it was.

Lon loves Allie, of that he is sure. He admires the way she has always spoken her mind. Like all the women he had dated, he had told her that he wasn't ready for a steady relationship. Allie had accepted the comment willingly, but she had also told him that his problem was that he was alone. She said he had been looking for someone who would magically fill the void, but that no one could do that but him. Those words had stayed with him and he had called her again asking for a second chance. After some time, she had reluctantly agreed, and they had been dating for four years. She had become everything he had ever wanted, but at the same time, he cursed himself for not making enough time for her. He had promised himself that once they were married, he would make sure his secretary checked that he wasn't over-extending his schedule.

The word check now makes him think back on what Allie had said - she had checked in at an inn in New Bern. He knows the town, but he and Allie have never been there together. However, his mind soon remembers something Allie's mother had said once - Allie had had a crush on a young man in New Bern. The comment itself had not bothered him, but now he is reminded how angry Allie became at the comment, and he had realized that she felt much more deeply for this young man than her mother knew. Now she is in New Bern, and Lon finds that very interesting. What's more, for the first time in a long time, he is frightened. What if she is with him? He curses his trial wishing it were over and wishing he had gone with her. And he made up his mind then not to lose her. He would do anything it took to keep her. She was everything he'd always needed, and he'd never find another quite like her. He keeps dialing the phone, but it remains unanswered.

Notes

What is interesting about Lon's character in this chapter is exactly what Allie had referred to in her thoughts - she is really second in his life to his career. He fears she may be with the man she had fallen in love with years before, and he curses that the trial is not over. However, he makes no move to find her by allowing another attorney to take his place in the trial. It is all about him, and even when he makes up his mind not to lose her, it's not because he can make her life special; it's because she is everything he has always needed. Lon will be a formidable opponent for Allie's love, but he is still much more selfish than Noah could ever think of being.