Frank didn’t know what to say. He was actually stunned. He never expected to see Callie Shaw standing in his house. He quickly found his voice. “Callie? What are you doing here?”  

“I had talked to Vanessa and she told me what happened.” Callie moved over to the couch and sat down beside him. “She told me you were relatively all right, but I had to come back and see for myself.”  

Frank glanced at Caren and could see she was really uncomfortable. He was uncomfortable as well.  

“I just can’t believe you didn’t call me and tell me what happened,” Callie continued. “This is something serious and you left me in the dark. “I don’t think couples do that to one another.”  

“Uh, I need to get going,” Caren said, standing up. “I guess I’ll talk to you later.”  

“You don’t have to go,” Frank said.  

“I do,” Caren said. “Enjoy your time with your guest.” The last word was filled with sadness.  

Caren left the office before Frank could say anything. He turned back to Callie as she continued talking.  

“So, I got a ticket and was finally able to get back here,” she said. “I tried to get back here faster, but since it wasn’t one of my parents that was hurt, the airlines wouldn’t bump someone else from the flight. But I did get on the first available flight and here I am. I couldn’t just sit on the West Coast when I knew you were hurt here in Bayport.”  

“Callie, slow down,” Frank said. “You have me totally confused.”  

“Sorry about that,” Callie said. “I’m just happy to find you safe and on the mend.” Callie threw her arms around Frank and hugged him tight. “I’m just glad you’re all right. I was so worried about you.”  

Frank tried to wiggle his way out of Callie’s embrace. He felt very uncomfortable with the way she latched onto him.  

He finally said, “Callie, let go. My ribs are hurting.”  

“I’m sorry,” Callie said quickly. “I forgot about your ribs. Do you need me to get something for it?”  

“Nah,” Frank said, taking a breath. “The pain is easing up a bit. I just have to be more careful.”  

“I should say so,” Callie said. “But you don’t have to worry about that. I’m here now and I can help you with whatever you need.”  

“Callie, I know you want to help, but there’s nothing you need to do. I’m fine.”  

“Are you sure? I mean, that’s what a girlfriend does, doesn’t she?”  

Frank stared at her. He couldn’t believe Callie still thought she was his girlfriend even after she had said that she didn’t want them to be exclusive in college. He knew this needed to be addressed right away.  

“Callie, I think you and I need to talk.”  

“We don’t need to do that,” Callie said. “You need to rest and right now that’s not happening. So, I’m going to head to my parent’s place and then I’ll be back in a couple hours to help you with whatever you need.” Callie leaned over and gave Frank a kiss on the lips. “I love you, Frank.”  

She got to her feet and left the office, pulling the door closed behind her. Frank sat in stunned silence. He couldn’t believe what had happened. He wished he’s been able to stop Caren from leaving so they could talk, and he also wished he could have gotten Callie out of there sooner.  

Frank’s shock quickly turned to anger. He never expected Callie to barge into a room without knocking. He knew she had more manners than she had showed. But what bothered him eve more was that Callie still considered herself to be his girlfriend. That was something that need to remedied and fast.  

I can’t believe I allowed Caren to leave like she did, he thought. This is such a mess. I was all ready to ask Caren the question, but not its all messed up. And if I do ask, she’s probably going to say ‘no’. When did my life get so complicated? This is really insane.  

I really like Caren and I want to get to know her better. She’s nice, kind, caring, understanding and energetic, witty and can easily throw jabs at Joe as if she’s known him for years. But that might all be thrown away now thanks to Callie. I need to get to Caren and explain to her what is going on. Caren needs to know what Callie is not my girlfriend.  

“And Callie needs to be reminded of that as well,” Frank murmured to himself. “She was the one who had come to me before she had left for the West Coast to have a talk.”  

Frank had been sitting in the shade on the back porch trying to cool off. He had spent the past two hours doing yard work. He had gotten the lawn cut and had the bushing in the front yard trimmed. He had the ones along the side of the house to sill do, but had a feeling it would have to wait until it cooled down a bit.  

“Hey,” a voice said, getting his attention.  

He turned his head and saw Callie exit the house onto the porch, closing the door behind her. He smiled. “Hey, Callie. What are you doing here? I thought you’d be packing up for college.”  

“I was packing,” Callie admitted. “But I needed to see you.”  

Frank immediately noticed the concern in her voice and knew something was weighing heavily on her mind. He pulled the chair across from him toward his chair and said, “Come, have a seat.”  

Callie settled in the chair across from him and avoided looking at him for a moment. With the way she was behaving, he got the feeling something wasn’t right.”  

When Callie finally lifted her head, he noticed a sadness in her eyes, but also that she was trying to fight back tears.  

“Frank,” Callie began, “ever since we each decided where we were going to college, something has been weighing heavily on my mind. We’re about to embark on a great adventure and there are going to be so many experiences and opportunities that we will be able to take.”  

“This is a whole new world opening up to us,” Frank said. “We’ll be able to do things that we may have only dreamed about.”  

“I know, and I guess that’s what made think about this.”  

“About what?” Frank asked.  

“Frank, I know there will be activities you want to experience at college and I don’t want to be the reason you miss out on them.”  

‘Callie, you’re not making sense. What are you trying to tell me?”  

“I don’t want us to be exclusive when we head off to college.”  

Frank stared at Callie. He wasn’t sure he heard her correctly. He got the feeling she was breaking up with him.  

“Callie, I don’t understand.”  

“Frank, we are going to be attending classes on opposite sides of the country. If there is an opportunity for you to do something here, I don’t want you to pass it up because of me. There are too many things I could be holding you back from doing because we’re a couple and I don’t want something you’ve missed to become a regret later in life.”  

“So, you’re saying we’re no longer going to be a couple and we can date other people?”  

“Yeah,” Callie said sadly. “I guess I don’t want to get a letter one day saying you’ve found someone new and we’re through. That would be heart-breaking. But, by taking this time apart, we may find that our love it strong enough to hold the test of time and that we do belong together in the future.”  

“And if one of us finds someone else?” Frank asked.  

“Then that person is very lucky,” Callie said. She took a deep breath. “Frank, I don’t want the distance to come between us, but I don’t want it to hinder us from what the future may hold. If we are to be together in the future, then we will be.”  

Frank leaned back in his chair, shocked. He had known when Callie had gotten accepted to the college on the West Coast that it was possible she would decide to go there. But when she finally made her decision, he was hurt, but knew this was what had to be done. They had to embark on the paths that suited them.  

He had thought that when they did go to college, they would still be a couple. But that wasn’t going to be the case.  

Frank said, “I understand the reasoning behind this and if you think this is what needs to be done, I’ll go along with it.”  

“Frank, I think this is for the best,” Callie said. “I just don’t want to lose our friendship. I would rather have us do this than get hurt later. You are my best friend and I don’t want to lose you.”  

“I’ll always be here for you, Callie,” Frank said. “Always.”  

Callie gave him a small smile. “Thank, Frank.”  

“And now I’m going to have to remind her of that talk and the decision that was made,” Frank said.

 

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.