Love Me Once, Love Me Twice

"Y-you don't have to," Anna said weakly. Gabriel pawed at her thigh before nosing at her. Strangely reassured, she added, "I'm just trying to live right now."

"That's quite alright," Alex told her warmly. "I said before, didn't I? I won't ask for more than you're willing to give. You can choose as long as you've given it serious thought."

Serious thought? Choose? Alex was clearly trying to be accommodating, but there was no doubt in her mind that he had no idea what this kind of pressure felt like. Ugh, if she'd known that he was going to suddenly pile so many of his hopes and expectations on her, she wouldn't have been nearly as kind to him. This was just too much for her!

"I'll think about it," she finally acquiesced, well aware that she wasn't going to be able to explain her turmoil to him.

Suddenly, Anna perked up. She was positioned so she could see people entering through the front and she'd caught sight of Kenneth through the glass window.

Like a bolt of lightning from the sky, Anna realized that she and Alex had been there for some time now and it was usually when people ate lunch. The only person other than the staff here that she'd seen so far was Kenneth.

He couldn't possibly have…?

"Alex," she said, feeling the shock wash over her body, leaving her numb in a way that she hadn't experienced even from his awkward confession.

"Yes?" Alex looked at her, pausing in his motions to bite into his meatball sub.

"Did you buy out the cafe for this time?"

Not realizing that there were subtle undertones in her question, the innocent man nodded, telling her, "I thought you might prefer it less crowded."

Anna palmed her face, amazed at his audacity.

"Did you ever consider how that might inconvenience others?" she asked him. She felt like she was taking one hit after another, but she didn't know what else to do. This person may have lived for a long time, but his actions suggested that he was still only a kid!

"I���ve adequately compensated them," Alex was quick to assure her.

"That's not the point," Anna groaned. "What if someone else wanted to come pet puppies?"

He frowned at the question. "They can come later, after we've gone."

"Alex, not everyone has the freedom to come and go when they please," she told him. "And it's possible that some people could only come while we are here."

"If someone has a problem with it, they can just let me know," he said confidently. "I can guarantee they won't be unhappy afterward."

Anna didn't know whether to laugh or cry as she heard him say this. Wasn't this the person that had been instructing her on her poor opinion regarding the waitstaff just a week ago? Where had he gone? Who was this youth spewing that money solved everything? She wanted her honest, well-behaved stoic back! Ah!

Without the ability to speak back at such a thick face, she gave up the matter, shaking her head. Fortunately for her, Kenneth had slipped into the cafe as well, nodding politely as he approached with a folder in hand.

"Have I come too early?" Kenneth asked, slowing down. From his face, it appeared that he'd noticed the still uneaten food on the table and was hesitant to interrupt them.

"Not at all," Anna said, gesturing for him to sit.

Taking the cue, Alex immediately shifted over, making room for his employee. After a moment, he also moved his plates, sliding the heinously yellow menu in front of the man. "If you haven't eaten anything yet, you should pick something. It's not as though money matters to us, so don't hold back."

"Thank you," Kenneth spoke politely, "But I've already eaten." The slightest flicker of a grimace passes over his face before he admits, "If I don't eat what my wife makes me, she might actually kill me."

Alex only chuckled as Anna stared. Kenneth was married?

She looked at him, considering his age and appearance. Yes, he was at the age to be married, wasn't he? He was a fit man, but the age lines still showed around his face, slight, but still there.

"I didn't realize you were married," Anna muttered. Louder, she asked, "Do you have kids?"

At that, Alex burst into laughter even as Kenneth's already gloomy expression slid closer to despair.

"Don't ask him that!" Alex chortled. "His wife's been looking for children for years now, but he's still reluctant to be a father!"

Anna paused, then, she made her face into something very serious and said, "If you're infertile, you should just tell her. It's not fair for her to have to wait forever, you know. Maybe you guys can get a donor or something."

In front of her, Alex collapsed into laughter, falling to the floor in shock. Kenneth, on the other hand, looked as though he'd aged another two or three decades as he stared at Anna, mouth falling open in horror.

"I'm not infertile!" he complained indignantly. "I'm very capable, I'll have you know!"

"I definitely don't want to know," Anna shot back immediately. "But I'm sure your wife would."

"…"

"…"

What could they say to such a heavy blow?

Satisfied now that she'd gotten some satisfaction after the whole 'money fixes everything' conversation, Anna took another spoonful of her soup.

Alex awkwardly coughed into his fist and then sat up, straightening his back as though he hadn't just been actively rolling on the floor. "What did you find, then?" he prompted the man.

Sighing, Kenneth placed the folder on the table, opening it to reveal three separate thing stacks of paper, each held together by a paper clip. He passed one to Alex and another to Anna before setting the third on top of the folder in front of himself.

"I looked into things that suited your time frame best," he said to Alex. "There are tours abroad, cruises, and resort stays in here, as well as several other potential travel opportunities."

"Do you have a preference?" Alex immediately asked her. "I've spent a lot of time in many different places, so I don't have a preference as to where we go."

"Hmm, alright," Anna agreed with his statement, acknowledging that her opinion would probably be the deciding factor. "There's a lot here. Give me a few minutes to look at all of this." She'd already removed the paper clip and begun to separate the papers into category. Cruises were set to the left, tours in the middle, resorts to the right, and the other things she set on the floor, gently pressing the curious Gabriel away from them when he went to take a look.

It only took her a few moments. After a bit, she flipped the cruise pile upside down and then set the papers on the floor over them. The itineraries for the cruises didn't seem very satisfying with only a short span of time at each advertised location. If she wanted to really experience a place, she'd probably have to try the resorts. Following that reasoning, she also flipped over the tours, sliding that under the resort stays.

There were only a few pages in that 'other' pile, so she spread them out, dismissing the world fair and auction house options immediately. The last one was a trip to an extravagant amusement park that was very well known for its theming and customer-first mentality. Some even called it the happiest place in the world.

Since she'd never been there, she was sorely tempted. Still, she made sure to look at the resort options Kenneth had brought them. It was always better to make an informed choice, after all!

"Wow." The word slipped out when Anna realized the resorts were all considered top of the line and were in very popular places.

"I'm glad its to your satisfaction," Kenneth huffed, still not over the gentle bullying she'd give him minutes earlier.

"I'm actually impressed," she admitted. "I've never even dreamed of these places, so I'm kind of stuck."

"Well, why'd you remove the others?" Alex asked, trying to understand her line of thought.

"If I'm going to go somewhere, I want to be able to enjoy it. Cruises and tours only visit places for a short time," she explained. "I don't want to feel rushed when I'm supposed to be enjoying myself."

"Alright, then you'll want to save these places for later," Alex pointed at three of the five pages. "There's a lot to do and a week isn't enough to cover that."

"They're all really good," she stared down at the papers, grumpy that she had to pick between them. A mountain resort sounded lovely - there were descriptions about the trails, the lake, and more. The beach sounded great, too! Swimming, snorkeling with fish, enjoying seafood, and exploring the culture local to the area would be wonderful! And she'd always wanted to try going to the amusement park at least once…

"Well, if you're stuck on these three, why don't we leave it to chance?" Alex suggested.

"To chance?" Anna puzzled over this. "Do you want to flip a coin or something? There's three options, not two. Maybe we could roll a die?"

"We prefer to do something more fun when we get to this point," Alex grinned at her.

Beside him, Kenneth made an understanding, "Ah," sound.

A series of question marks appeared over Anna's head, but quickly dispersed as Kenneth began to gather up the papers. She let him, choosing to polish off the remnants of her food. Gabriel crawled back into her lap so she wiped her buttery fingers clean before stroking his soft and fluffy fur.

"It's nothing so mysterious," Kenneth told her. "Just, sometimes he likes to leave things to the last moment."

Anna stared at him, uncomprehending. The man only shrugged at her.

"You'll see," Alex promised. "It'll be fun!"

What on earth was he planning? Did he just like having an air of mystery?