"Are you sure about this? We still have Christina's bedroom prepared if she'd prefer," Anita questioned for the thousandth time.

Corrie lifted her bag and placed it in the back of the automobile. "She won't move home. Besides, the salt air is supposed to do her some good."

"But it's winter! I wish you girls would just both stay here. And now Jacqueline is joining you too." Corrie's mother shook her head disapprovingly.

Of course, Jack was only joining them because they were in need of a chaperone and neither of their parents could be pulled away from their busy lives in Irvington. Besides, Jack needed something to do in place of her factory work.

"We'll be home as soon as Christina's feeling better. You'll forward any letters on to us?" Corrie confirmed, eying her mother.

The lack of letters from David was the only reason Corrie had considered postponing their trip; she could only hope that her parents' disapproval of the young man would not further endanger Christina's heart and health by causing them to withhold his letters.

"Do you promise?" Corrie prodded.

"Every letter. I promise." Anita placed her hand over her heart.

Corrie nodded and offered her mother a one-armed hug. "Goodbye, Mother."

"Goodbye, Cornelia. When you return and Christina is healthy again, we'll discuss your future. I can't bear to see you waste away like your Aunt Jack." Though Anita had finally forgiven Corrie for turning down Edwin, she was still convinced that there was still time to save Corrie from spinsterhood. "I hear there's a preacher a few towns over whose wife died. He has three children and is in search of a wife to mother his children. Shall I make some inquiries on your behalf?"

Corrie closed her eyes for a moment, dread rather than rage filling her. Had she fallen so low that desperate widowers were her only prospects?

"No, Mother. I'm fine. I must be going." Corrie pried herself from her mother's grasp and climbed into the automobile.

"Do write, darling! Let me know if you need me to send you anything!"

Anita waved her handkerchief as they departed and Corrie breathed a sigh of relief once her mother's figure faded from view. She may mean well, but her good intentions were still barbed with disapproval and judgment. When Mr. Bricker pulled the automobile in front of the practice, they found Aunt Jack, Hannah, and Dr. Benjamin awaiting them with a stack of luggage.

"There you are!" Jack cried. "It's about time; I'm too old to wait around."

Corrie laughed. "I'm sorry, Aunt Jack. I was forced to hear my mother offer to marry me off to a widower and father of three so I wouldn't become..." her voice trailed off.

Jack roared in laughter. "So you wouldn't become an old spinster like me? You can say it, Corrie. My skin's far too thick to be offended by what everyone has said about me for years. At least you say it to my face."

Corrie blushed fiercely when she realized Dr. Benjamin and Hannah were hiding their own laughter at Corrie's faux pas. At Jack's broad smile, Corrie realized she would much rather be like Aunt Jack than marry someone for whom she felt no affection. At least she would have her freedom.

"I'll go fetch Christina," Hannah declared, slipping back into the practice.

"I'll help her; she needs a little extra muscle," Jack added, following Hannah's bouncing curls into the practice.

Corrie disembarked from the vehicle and stepped onto the porch of the practice, smiling at Dr. Benjamin. It seemed so strange that after everything, she would not see his familiar smile for weeks, perhaps even months. He'd become as much a staple of her life as anyone; more than a staple, he'd become a pillar upon which she could depend.

"Are there any medicines she needs?" Corrie asked, filling the silence with empty words so it could not be filled with those more meaningful ones that would only nourish hope.

"Nothing new. I believe you're fairly familiar with her regime after all this time." All this time. It seemed that years had passed. "If anything happens, you'll send for me?" he inquired.

Corrie nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. "Of course."

"I would join you if I could," he said by way of an apology.

Corrie saw the longing in his eyes; how could she miss it when he seemed to stare into her soul a thousand times a day? He had to know that any feelings he held for her must be banished. But how was she supposed to do the same to her own feelings when she saw that burning in his eyes? Releasing him was the very best gift she could give him, yet it was so hard to let go of someone who seemed to hold onto her so tightly.

"You've done enough," she murmured, unable to tear her eyes from his.

"I'm sorry; I don't mean to overstep," he apologized, and Corrie realized he had taken her words as a reprimand.

"No, please, that's not what I meant," Corrie exclaimed, stepping closer to him. "You've been the best...the best doctor we could ever ask for."

"Trust me, it's been a pleasure. If only I could have been a more successful one."

In his sad smile, Corrie was reminded of the way pneumonia had stolen his parents' lives like it demanded Christina's youth.

"Miss Walker, if I may..." he hesitated, running his hand through his hair. Corrie repressed a smile at the now familiar nervous habit. The tousled hair only added to his understated charm and framed his earnest eyes. "Would you write to me? While you're away?"

The words impacted Corrie so deeply that she took a step back. For a moment, Corrie imagined sending him one of the poems that expressed her conflict better than she ever could aloud. She imagined telling him how she felt on paper in a way she could never face to face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," Dr. Benjamin continued in response to the expression on her face. "Please, I only wish to hear how you get on with your relatives--how Christina is feeling."

Though the words should have come as a relief, Corrie instead felt the blossoming hope wither within her. "Oh, of course. You wish to hear of Christina's progress."

"Of course, but I-"

His words were cut off by the arrival of Jack and Hannah supporting Christina. Dr. Benjamin gave her one final lingering gaze, and for a moment Corrie wanted to beg him for the truth. Perhaps they both knew, however, that the truth would not set them free; it would only endanger their hearts further.

"We're ready to go!" Jack announced with a sideways grin.

"Of course," Corrie answered, backing away from the doctor and avoiding his gaze.

They loaded a weakened Christina into the Mobile T and Corrie and Jack slid into the other seat as Mr. Bricker and Dr. Benjamin threw the last of their luggage into the back.

"Safe travels!" Hannah called with a wave as Mr. Bricker started the engine and pulled the car forward.

Corrie could no longer keep her eyes from Dr. Benjamin, but she had no words of comfort to give him. Their eyes remained locked as the automobile pulled away. Corrie bit her lip so she would say nothing. He waved to her and offered a half smile. What could either of them say?

As the car jostled down the road towards the Atlantic, a small, childish part of Corrie questioned why she denied something she felt so strongly, especially if Dr. Benjamin felt it too. Why not give way to the emotions that told her he was the only future she needed? Corrie demanded an answer of herself, forcing her pragmatism to once again destroy the hope that threatened to grow. She had no guarantee of the doctor's feelings; though he held a fondness for her, it may be no more than brotherly kindness or sympathy. Even if he did feel some measure of emotion parallel to her own, she knew that any courtship between them would only cast shame and infamy on the Benjamin family, and how could she do that to him and Hannah when they were so admired and cherished by the town?

This trip to the seashore is the perfect reprieve, Corrie reasoned with herself. It would give her a chance to separate her emotions from reality and find a way to move forward and someday out of Irvington. For his sake, she would have to leave Dr. Benjamin behind.  

~~~~~

Agghhh they keep getting so close to telling each other how they feel and it's killing me! Thanks for helping Sharing Corrie get past 2k reads :) You're all fantastic.

~ Hannah