Ch 2 Rolf's Secret

My friends were mostly supportive of my relationship with Rolf. Alice thought his slender physique fit with mine, and his light blonde hair was a perfect complement to my slightly darker blonde. Jen liked to point out how exotic he was, and giggled every time she heard his accent. Linda thought he was too mysterious, and Natalie didn't really seem to give Rolf much assessment. They were all excited when I told them we had decided to be exclusive, but I sensed a little bit of apprehension from Linda.

"Where is he from again?" she asked.

"His family traveled a lot while he was growing up. He was born in Italy, but he has lived in London; Orleans, France; somewhere in Spain…a couple of other places," I told her.

"But he's been here a while, right?"

"Yeah, he's been studying with Master Lee for over ten years, I think."

"You think? Don't you think you should know before you make a big commitment?"

Jen sighed and rolled her eyes at Linda's comments.

"Well, I know it has been around ten years. I don't know exactly how long you've been training, but I still hang out with you don't I?" I tried to laugh off Linda's questions because they were kind of starting to freak me out.

"True," she relented. "I like him, just trying to look out for you."

"Well, he asked me to go on vacation with him…I'm not sure of his motivation…"

Linda looked at me with a worried frown, but Jen responded first.

"His motivation is to…," Jen wiggled her eyebrows and laughed.

I smirked. "No, really," I paused, not sure how much I should tell them. Rolf had revealed some personal information a few weeks ago, and I wasn't sure if I would be breaking his confidence in telling my friends. I had been debating with myself about whether to tell them. He had not expressly said not to tell anyone, but it was an unspoken understanding that the information wasn't for public consumption. His demeanor had indicated that he really didn't even want to have to tell me. Then again, it affected me – if I chose to stay with Rolf – so how could he expect me not to discuss it with my closest friends.

"What sort of motivation do you mean?" Alice asked. "Besides spending time with you…"

"Where did he ask you to go?" Natalie asked.

"On a Caribbean cruise," I told them, and looked up to see four shocked faces staring back at me.

"But Rolf doesn't like the sun," Natalie blurted. The other girls looked at her, but then nodded slightly. We had never actually discussed the fact that Rolf wasn't an outdoors person. I hadn't realized that they had even noticed.

"He doesn't not like the sun. He just prefers indoor activities. It's not like he's allergic to sunlight."

"But he's so…pale," Jen whispered. "He obviously never spends time in the sun."

"And the Caribbean is pretty sunny," Alice offered.

"I've always wanted to go on a cruise, and he knows that. I think he chose it because he thought it would make me happy, make me realize that we could be happy together even if it's just the two of us," I said.

"Just the two of you…," Jen stretched the words out in a question.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to divulge Rolf's secret, so I just let it fly out of my mouth as quickly as I could. "Just the two of us, as in no children…ever. He can't have them. He told me the other day about the condition. He was sick as a child, and whatever drugs they used on him…I guess the overwhelming amount…left him sterile."

The girls just stared at me, not knowing how to react.

"So I think maybe the cruise is a…way to make it up to me…or something. Not like I was planning on having children soon anyway." And I hadn't. But I had always thought I'd have the option. That I would be able to make that decision when I was ready. But now it was made for me…well if I wanted to stay with Rolf.

"You could always adopt," Jen offered.

"Is it really that serious?" Natalie asked.

"I'd say sterile is pretty serious," Linda retorted.

"No, I mean the relationship," Natalie rolled her eyes at Linda. "Do you really think you're going to stay with him…forever?" Natalie turned to me as she asked.

"Maybe," I said. "I think so."

"Then you should go…on the cruise," Jen smiled. "Let him show you how much fun the two of you can have. If he's willing to take you on a sunny cruise – which is so not his thing – then he loves you."

And my mind was made up. I wanted to be with Rolf, no matter what I had to give up. I love him.

The next day, we booked our flight and made the reservation for the cruise.