"Maybe that's the best way. I'll just tell you what happened and you can surmise the rest."
"Okay, shoot."
Briefly he outlined the confrontation in the feed mill. "So you see, Charly, this whole situation is impossible."
Stunned, she stared at him. "Are you asking me to move out, McKinnon?"
"Good heavens, no. I wouldn't let anybody pressure me into a decision like that."
"Then are you asking me to quit my job?"
"I don't have the right to do that either. I wouldn't expect you to do it."
"Then what do you want from me?" Puzzled and confused, she continued to stare at him.
"I don't want anything from you, Charly, except your understanding. You see, with people thinking and saying things like that, we can't see each other socially. I wanted you to know why you weren't hearing from me. I just won't have you exposed to that kind of malicious gossip."
"For God's sake, McKinnon, the gossip can't hurt me, or you either, for that matter. Didn't you listen to anything I told you? The only people hurt by that kind of thing are the originators of the thoughts and words. Not us." She placed her cup carefully on the coffee table. "Never us."
"I understand that on one level, Charly, but on another I just see red and want to punch somebody out, and that is damaging to my soul, believe me. Especially if I wallop my co-director in a public place." He set his cup beside hers and rose to begin pacing again.
"It's just no use, Charly. We had something really special growing between us, but I won't let them destroy it with their malicious gossip. So it has to be over before it even has a chance to begin."
"There's nothing I can say to change your mind?"
"Nothing. I've been thinking about it for hours and I can't see any other solution. I have to stay so far away from here and from you that no one can point a finger at either of us. It would give certain people a good opportunity to say you should never have been hired, if they could even hint that we were having an affair. And this is a very small community."
"I can't believe this is happening, McKinnon. I feel like I'm losing my best friend. Would you hold me for a minute?" She had risen and stood gazing at him, her feelings evident in her tear-filled eyes.