Rhea was perplexed. She said, “Just two days ago, you were sending him chocolates, and now it’s over? You’re giving up, Mr. Flores?”

“Don’t you have these fairytale stories in America where you let someone go because you care so much that you can take the pain, so their life will be better without you? Someday you meet again, and you have a bittersweet smile on your face when you see his handsome husband and their three children.”

“That’s what you’re trying to do? Did you ask him if that will make him miserable?”

Diego pulled up a chair. He said, “Alan’s life was good without me. He had a dog and a good job. He was settling down in a picture-perfect small town. Then the hot-headed Mexican reappeared, and suddenly his life was a mess.”

“Or he stepped onto one of the clouds in heaven,” whispered Rhea. “He’s got something to fight for now.”

“I don’t want to fight.” Diego looked down at the floor.

Rhea leaned in his direction and twisted her face upward to try and gaze into Diego’s eyes. “Can we talk outside of our work relationship, Mr. Flores?”

Diego looked up and brushed his fingers through his wavy black hair. He asked, “Do I have any meetings or calls scheduled for this morning?”

Rhea glanced at Diego’s morning to-do list. “None are listed here. Has anything come up since you gave me the list?”

“No, and I’ve got a crazy idea.”

“Crazy idea?”

“I think I need it, too,” said Diego.

“Can you tell me what it is?”

“We’re closing the office for this morning. We’re going down to the riverfront and taking a walk. We’re leaving work behind, and I’m talking to you as a friend. Is that okay with you, Rhea? This afternoon we’re professionals again.”

Rhea smiled. “I’d be honored, Mr. Flores.”

“Call me Diego.”

Rhea’s face flushed as she said, “Diego.”

* * *

It was a sun-drenched, warm, early summer day. Diego drove, and he stopped at the Paddle Wheel for morning pastries and a second cup of coffee. Rhea said, “I have a favorite bench down along the riverfront if we’re going for a walk. You get a perfect view of the barges as they float through the water.”

“That sounds perfect to me,” said Diego. He looked at the foam cup of coffee in one of Rhea’s hand and the small white paper bag holding the two pastries in the other. “Are we ready?”

“I think this is all we need.”

Rhea found her favorite bench, and they sat facing the broad river and the opposite bank in Wisconsin. Rhea said, “I used to come down here after my divorce. I stared out at the water for hours. I imagined all my troubles floating downstream. When I saw a log or a small boat, I thought they were gathering all of the garbage and towing it to New Orleans. It worked.” She paused and repeated the name, “Diego.”

“So, I can think about tossing all of my problems and Alan’s, too? I can think about them swirling in that muddy water until they eventually drift downstream?”

“That’s how it works,” said Rhea. “Let it all go.”

Diego sat in silence for a few moments. He visualized the troubles drifting in the muddy water. He watched until they rounded the next bend south and were gone. Then he bit his lip when his mind conjured up an ugly gringo struggling to tread water with massive waves threatening to drown him. Diego lowered his head and sighed.

“Something’s wrong?” asked Rhea.

“I have an ugly imagination.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I think about my troubles drifting away, and then I see the perpetrators drowning in the river.”

Rhea chuckled. “You do get emotional.”

“Maybe I should go back to Mexico.” Diego rested his elbows on his knees and lowered his head into his hands.

“Back to Mexico? Didn’t you say it’s dangerous in Veracruz?”

“I wouldn’t go to Veracruz. Imagine this, Rhea.” He sat up and reached a hand forward sweeping it from side to side like he was unveiling a display. “It could be Puerto Escondido, Cancun, or even near the Mayan ruins at Tulum. I could purchase a home on the beach and hire cabana boys to indulge every whim. I have enough money invested from my family’s legacy that I don’t need to worry about an income.”

“Living on the beach would be wonderful. I’ve dreamed about it sometimes, but if you move back to Mexico, Diego, what happens to M-Trak…and me? And didn’t you tell me that you called an architect about a new project?”

Diego swept his hand through the sky again. “I could sell the business and let the building idea go. I might still need some assistance with my finances and my personal contacts. Would you like to live in Mexico, Rhea?”

“Oh, would you do that? Would you take me with you to Mexico? I don’t know. I have family here in Minnesota. It would be a huge change. I don’t know if I can wrap my head around the idea. It doesn’t sound right to me either.”

“Doesn’t sound right?” asked Diego as he turned toward Rhea.

“It sounds like retirement. How old are you, Diego? Twenty-eight? That’s far too early to retire. You have a responsibility.”

Diego smiled. “Thank you for the compliment. I’m thirty-one. You think I have a responsibility? To whom?”

“Maybe I’m crazy, but I think we all have a responsibility to try and make the world a better place when we’re young. Living in leisure is too easy.”

“But I would give money to charity. I wouldn’t shut myself in a barricaded house like a miser.”

Diego’s musings were interrupted by the sound of laughter. He looked to his right and saw a pair of men walking along the path headed in his direction. One of them held a staring attached to a purple balloon in his hand, and the other was busy talking. The response to every comment in their conversation was peals of laughter.

Rhea said, “They look so happy. I love to see couples in love. It didn’t happen for me, but I still believe in it.”

“You’re such an optimist, Rhea.”

“I guess I am.” They both watched as the couple drew closer.

When the two young men reached the bench, one of them held the balloon out toward Rhea and asked, “Could we ask for a favor?”

Without saying a word, Rhea took the balloon. “What do you need?” asked Diego.

The other man held out his cell phone to Diego. “Could you take a photo of Levi and me? He’s been away for a year, and he just got back today.”

Rhea grinned and said, “Of course he can.”

Diego accepted the phone. He stood up from the bench and said, “Stand over there and look like you appreciate each other.”

“That won’t be difficult,” said Levi. “I love this man.”

“Then give him a kiss,” said Diego. “I’ll take a photo of that.”

Rhea smiled from ear to ear as they embraced and kissed. Diego snapped five quick photos with the camera.

Levi’s partner reached out for the phone while Diego asked, “Why were you apart for a year?”

“Corporate nonsense,” said Levi. “I’m giving it up to be here with James. Some things are more important than anything else in the world. I wish we could hang around, but we need to get going. Thank you so much for snapping the photos.”

“Of course,” said Diego as he handed the phone back. He turned and sat once more on the bench beside Rhea. As he watched the young men walk away, he whispered, “Corporate nonsense.” Turning to Rhea, Diego said, “That explains so much of the world.”

Rhea laughed. “It does indeed. Those two young guys are smarter than most of my fifty-year-old friends.”