A Night For Old Time's Sake

Only minutes later, as she stooped to gather the remainder of the mail, did Danny notice a slip of paper had fallen out of the card along with the rose petals. Her smile vanished as she read the computer-printed note. A pair of deep eyebrows matching the level of her thought, she wandered to the phone and dialed Craig's number.

He answered, as usual, on the third ring. "Hello?"

"I, uh, got your card," Danny said. "Thanks."

"Oh. My pleasure. I take it you got the note too?"

"Yeah. Flight from Columbus to San Diego. What's that about?"

"No. I meant the poem."

"Yeah. That was nice. Corny, but cute."

"If it made you smile, it was worth it."

"It did. But what about the flight?"

"Oh. Judy and I set a date. We'd like you to be here, so we made you a reservation. That's your flight and confirmation number. I assume the truck stop can do without you for a few days?"

Danielle felt her chest tighten. She looked back to the note. "Mid-February. So soon? After you two waited this long, what's the rush?"

"Soon? It's seven weeks, maybe even eight."

"Seems soon."

"Maybe Judy is a little more nervous about you than she lets on and wants to get it over with. Anyway, you still have plenty of time to ask off. That shouldn't be any problem, right? Especially with everyone else probably wanting off for Christmas."

"I, well, I'm not sure I really want to come anyway.

"Please," Craig said. "It's important to me. I'd like to see you, of course, but I can more than see you. Judy's big into tradition, including not seeing her the night before. So I was thinking you and I could have dinner, maybe catch a movie. For old time sake, you know?"

"That does sound nice. What day is the wedding?"

"Saturday. The fourteenth."

Danny's lips formed a seething pout. She gets Valentine's Day, and every day after that. And I get Friday the thirteenth. How fucking appropriate! Tonguing her lips, she considered the possibilities. I should take what I can get, she decided. After all, I did wish for one night, didn't I?

"Judy won't mind?"

"Hardly," Craig replied. "She suggested it."

"She did?"

"Yep. Said since we weren't married yet I could do anything I wanted."

Danny's pushed her brow low over her eyes as her head leaned toward her right shoulder. "That seems a very strange thing for a bride to say. Unbelievable even."

Craig shrugged. "I guess maybe she figures you can't be much worse than a bachelor party."

Oh, I could be a lot worse, Danielle mused, a thought that quickly became a vow. "What did you have in mind; for your last night as a free man, I mean?"

"I was thinking a nice little cafe patio overlooking the ocean at sunset, for starters."

"It's winter!"

"It's never winter here."

A troubling thought crossed Danny's mind and before she even realized it, she had verbalized it, "What if we don't get along after all these years?"

"I wouldn't worry about that," Craig replied without the slightest hesitation. "But if we don't, so what? It's just one night."

Danielle nodded her agreement. "So it's dinner and a movie then."

"Sure. Or we can just walk along the beach and see what happens."

Danny's tongue rushed between her lips as she nodded. Yeah. We'll see what happens alright; and whatever it is, you're not going to forget it this time! If I only get one night with my teddy bear, it's going to be a good one. Her tongue retreated as a smile broke upon her face. "Ok. I guess we could have one night for old time's sake."

"Great! I'll have a car pick you up."

"A car?"

"Yeah. Company perk. The driver will meet you in baggage claim. And I'll get you a room too. It's all on me."

"That doesn't seem quite fair."

"Can you afford it otherwise?"

Danny swallowed. "Probably not."

"Ok, then. I want to see you and this is the only way. And it's my choice. What's unfair about that?"

"Nothing, I guess."

"Then it's a deal?"

"Sure."

"Oh," Craig began. "I'm most likely going to be busy planning things. Do you think we can skip talking on Mondays until then?"

"Not talk?" Danny gasped. "Until February!"

"Who said it was soon?" Craig reminded. "After that I'm pretty sure we can talk every Monday after we get back from our honeymoon. Judy will have met you and she won't have any real reason to be worried anymore."

"Ok," Danny agreed. "Unless you hear otherwise, I'll be there."

* * * * *

It was the longest eight weeks in the history of the universe, but it did eventually pass. Danielle could almost feel her heart melt in her chest as she saw Craig waiting by the curb exactly as he had said he would be. With a charming, natural smile, the man walked to her door to meet the limousine as it stopped. He looked so much like the picture, except he had shaved. She smiled. He looked younger without the beard.

Probably shaved for the wedding, she thought. The smile vanished. She tilted her head. Does he look younger or does he just look more like I remember him looking when I was younger? She had not decided the answer by the time he opened the door.

"You, uh, look great," Craig announced, offering his hand. "It's so good to finally see you."

Danielle paused, tried to swallow and found she couldn't. She settled for twitching her lips instead while she placed her palm within his. "You too," she replied as he helped her to her feet. "On both counts."

Both sets of eyes wandered for a second as the couple stood on the sidewalk. Then Danny eased forward, initiating a tentative hug.

"Thanks," she whispered as her lips settled near his ears.

"My pleasure." Craig pulled away, bring her face into focus. "Your, uh, bags in the trunk?"

"No, just the one in the seat."

Craig leaned into the car. Danielle glanced away, assuming he was settling the fair and tip. Her eyes found the ocean. I can't do this, she realized. What was I thinking? Planning to seduce him on the eve of his wedding? As much as I want to, it's just so wrong. But what if he tries something? Can I resist? Oh, God, I ...

"How was the trip?"

Danielle turned to find her companion holding her modest suitcase. "Fine," she said, reaching for the bag.

Craig moved his hand away from hers. "I've got it."

"Ok," Danny agreed with a brisk nod. "Thanks." Her gaze shifted behind him to follow the departing vehicle. "That's some car. Not what I was expecting. Walked right past the driver before I even realized he was holding up my name."

"Told you. Company perk."

"It was a nice surprise.

"I already have our table," Craig said, motioning along the walkway with his free hand. "If you're hungry?"

Her smile turned genuine. "Quite!" She started along the sidewalk toward the restaurant.

Craig fell into stride a half-step behind and to her left. "Good. I already ordered too."

Danny's head bobbed in a brisk nod. "Ok. Thanks."

"You don't have to thank me every other sentence."

She paused at the entry, offering a meek shrug and a grin. "I guess I'm just a little nervous."

"Me too." Craig admitted, grabbing the door handle.

"Thank you," Danielle said, passing through the entryway. She waited inside, expecting him to lead.

"There you go again with the thanks."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"And the apologies. Relax. It's natural to be tense, but everything's going to be fine."

Easy for you to say, she thought, before issuing a nod and a simple, "Ok."

"Beauty before age," Craig insisted, placing his palm just inside her elbow.

Danielle's smile returned. "But I don't know where I'm going."

"Don't worry," Craig said, enunciating each syllable in a slow, deliberate drone. "I do."

The woman tilted her head. Her gaze fell as she walked, trying to dissect the four simple words and the odd way he had spoken them. She was certain there was something more in them and, though she could not determine what, she was somehow less worried, less anxious than she had been only moments before.

He's right, she agreed with an unconscious nod. You don't need to worry. Relax. It's going to be ok. You can get through this.

"This way," Craig directed with a motion at the first intersection inside the restaurant. "Then up the stairs and onto the balcony."

Danny's mind continued to race. You were just flattering yourself anyway, thinking he was going to try something. Keep up a happy face, at least for him. You have to help him look forward, not backward.

The breeze carried the scent of the ocean as it caught her hair, pulling her focus back to her surroundings. She stopped. Her eyes moved from the floor to wander the length of the horizon. "The water's lovely," she muttered, as much to herself as anyone.

"Pales in comparison to the company."

Danielle beamed as she turned her head to face her companion. The tip of the woman's tongue was between her incisors before her entire mouth froze. She withdrew her tongue, offering a smile and a nod in place of any verbal thanks.

Craig smiled as well. "Far corner," he directed with a nod.

Danielle's eyes returned to the sea as she made her way to their table. She glanced down and started to move her hand toward a chair, but Craig's was already there. Trying, and failing, not to blush, she again resisted the urge to offer thanks, silently taking her seat.

"I hope you don't mind," Craig began as he slid into the chair opposite her, "but I thought salmon would be perfect."

A broad smile graced Danny's face, chasing away her few wrinkles. "Not at all. Than... uh, that's, yes, fine; an excellent choice."

Craig ignored her stammering and grabbed a bottle of wine from a nearby bucket. "Fume Blanc? Goes well with fish, and not bad by itself."

Danielle shuddered. Her head shook in a brisk motion. "Uh, no. I'll stick to water."

"Well," Craig began, returning the bottle to its place. "I, uh, maybe we'll wait until dinner then to open it." He turned his attention back across the table. "So, I don't think you ever said how your trip was?"

"Nothing special really. Everything went pretty smooth."

"That makes it a good trip, right?"

Danielle smiled. "Right."

The conversation turned to mundane topics as the couple dined; travel, work, the weather, the news, the scenery. There were but two subjects neither seemed comfortable broaching; the past and the future.

"Some desert for you, ma'am?" the waiter inquired as he cleared the plates from the table.

"Uh, no." Danielle moved both palms vertical before her. "I am quite comfortable, thank you."

The server turned his attention to Craig, "And you sir."

"No, we're good. Thanks."

"Very well, sir."

Danielle shivered in spite of the sun as she realized the meal was winding down. Shoulders sank with spirits, and her gaze with both. Her eyelids flapped at a more rapid pace as she sought to evade weeping at the parting she felt approaching. Prying her eyes from her napkin, she forced a smile and her attention across the table. "Thank you for a wonderful dinner."

"It was my pleasure," Craig said. "Sometimes I think I could talk to you forever."

Danny's mouth parted as she heard, and cherished, the sound of her own words. "Could you?"

"Certainly."

Danielle's eyes fell again, before she caught them and drug them horizontal. She passed a single larger breath. "Even when I lie."

Craig tilted his head. "About what?"

"Ken."

"I thought we already discussed that."

Danielle shrugged. "I still feel unworthy."

Craig smiled. "You shouldn't."

"I don't know how you can say that."

Craig shrugged, all but mimicking her motion of seconds earlier. "Because it only makes us even."

Danny tilted her head to one side. "How so?"

"Judy."

"What do you mean?"

"There is no Judy."

Danny's brows dropped with her jaw. Her neck extended as her head straightened. "What? No Judy?"

Craig nodded. "Yep. No Judy."

Danielle could feel her heart begin to race. "What happened? Did she change her mind? Because of me?" Stupid! she scolded herself at once. Don't sound so happy about it.

"No," Craig began. "There never has been a Judy. I invented her when I found you. In case you were married, I didn't want it to look like I wanted to reignite an old flame. I thought that would be wrong. Maybe embarrassing too. Then that lie led to another and, well, I think you know how that goes."

Danny blinked as she absorbed the knowledge that the woman she had been so jealous of had never existed at all. "But the picture?"

"Her name is Rhonda. She was a bride's maid at a wedding in which I was a groomsman. That's where we took the picture. And that was the only time I ever met her."

"So you made it all up?"

Craig nodded. "About Judy, yes. But not about Michelle and Josh."

"But why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I wanted to tell you in person."

Danny's brow remained low as she tried to absorb the revelation. "I don't understand. So this entire wedding thing, is just a charade?"

"I pray not." Before she could blink, Craig was on his knees by her side, diamond in hand. "Danielle Medgewick, will you marry me?"

Danny's mouth fell as she inhaled a sharp gasp. Her lips quivered as she sought to confirm she had truly heard words her heart had only dared dream of. Glazed eyes overflowed seconds later as she at last accepted it was not just another one of her many wishful fantasies with this conclusion. "Oh, G-G-God," she at last managed to stammer. "Yes!"

Danielle slid from her chair even as Craig slid the ring upon her finger.

"What are you doing?" he inquired as she joined him on the patio floor.

"I figure," she managed between sniffles, "this way I don't have far to fall if I faint."

"But why would you faint?"

"Ok. You're right. I'm not going to faint; any more than you're going to forget this."

Her hands bolted, fingers intertwining within the man's curly locks even before his eyes had moved to follow their flight. In the next instant she yanked his head, forcing her lips to his. His eyes snapped forward. Her chest shuddered as their lips meshed with one another, confirming with every caress that they never wanted to part again. When their lips at last did separate, Danielle began to weep, each tear taking with it a portion of sorrow from her soul.

Craig grinned. "Ready for that walk along the beach?"

Danny nodded, reaching for her napkin.

* * *

A quarter hour later found the couple strolling down the beach, hand-in-hand, while the sun dropped toward the watery horizon.

"That was pretty cool how everyone clapped when we stood up," Danielle recalled. "I thought Californians were aloof."

Craig smiled, recalling the moment. "I guess we did make a bit of a scene."

Danny stopped and turned to face him. "How did you know I wouldn't make a different kind of scene?"

Craig issued a meek shrug. "I didn't know. How could I know? But I was confident enough I was willing to risk it. Actually I'd have risked it if I thought I had any chance with you. But six years is what really made my decision easy."

Danielle dropped her brow as she cocked her head. "Six years?"

"Yeah. That's how long ago you divorced Ken and that's when you said you put yourself on all those websites so that I could find you. That's some pretty easy math when you bother to think about it."

Danny's gaze fell for a few seconds before she recovered to speak. "When did you really look for me?"

"Two years ago, after Michelle and I split."

"Two years!"

Craig issued a meek nod. "Yeah."

"What took you so long?"

"I looked you up right away, but since your name was different I figured you were married. But even if you weren't, I still had to recover from the divorce, both emotionally and financially."

"Still," Danielle whispered, almost whimpered. "Two years?"

"Well, I was ok after one year. It took me the other to build up the nerve to contact you."

Danny forced a pout. "You made me wait a whole year?"

Craig replied with a shrug. "You'll have to forgive me for being timid. You are the love of my life. Thinking you were married was one thing. Knowing you were married would be another. It hurt every bit as much as I imagined it would after I heard about Ken."

Danielle stepped forward bringing their forms adjacent. Looking into his eyes, she parted her lips, then ran her tongue back and forth below the upper one. "You're the love of my life too. And I never want to be with anyone else again."

Craig could but swallow in response.

"Are you still willing to wait until we're married?" Danny inquired.

Craig nodded. "Sure."

Danielle leaned into him, rubbing her modest bosom against his sternum. "I'm not," she whispered. "You made me wait a whole year longer than I needed to and I don't want to wait a minute longer."

"Are you sure?"

"If you keep asking questions, that'll be a minute longer." Still holding his hand, Danny turned and started to retrace their steps up the beach.

But Craig did not budge. Instead he offered a sly grin and a wink. "Our room's the other way."

"What? Our room?"

"I said I'd get you a room, didn't I?"

Danielle looked down the beach into the gathering darkness. She saw a few structures and some lights, but nothing that remotely resembled a hotel. Turning back to her companion, she asked simply, "Where?"

The finger of Craig's free hand traced an arc as it moved to point to the bluffs overlooking the shore. "Up there."

"What? One of those houses?"

"Yes. The smallest one, on the left end of the ridge."

"What is it? A bed and breakfast?"

"Sure. You can have breakfast there too."

"But my suitcase?" Danny protested. "You asked the waiter to watch it?"

"That's Terry and he's a maitre d', not a waiter," Craig explained. "But, yeah. He'll keep it for us. I mean, you weren't really thinking to wear anything in that bag tonight, were you?"

"But I have some things in there. You know?"

"I think you just wasted a minute arguing. If you want to spend fifteen more going to get your suitcase, then by all means; let's." Craig took one step before Danielle's cry halted him in his tracks.

"No!"

Craig tilted his head as he widened his eyes for effect. "Yes?"

"You're right. Let's go."

* * *

The sun was long gone by the time the couple hiked to the top of the bluff. Danielle shivered as the full force of the evening breeze struck her. "I thought you said it was never winter here?"

Craig peeled off his shirt and wrapped it around his companion. "I guess I didn't quite think of everything. C'mon. It'll be warm enough inside."

Danny smiled and twitched her nose. "If it's not, we'll just have to warm it up."

"Yes," he agreed, though he missed her provocative gesture in the dimness. "I suppose we will."

"Not really what I pictured as a bed and breakfast," Danielle noted as they approached the house. "It's more like a little cottage. I take it the owner doesn't live on site?"

"Oh, he does." Craig pulled the key from his pocket. "You see. I'm the owner."

"What?"

"It's mine. I own it."

"Really?"

"Yep."

Danny stepped back and gave the bungalow another look, trying to imagine how it might appear during the day. "I always figured beachfront property in California would be kinda pricey."

"It is."

"Mind if I ask how much?"

"Of course not," Craig said. "After all, it's about to be yours too. The cottage itself is near worthless, of course, compared to the lot. I paid several million when I bought it five years ago. Might be worth twice that now."

"Million?" Danny gasped. "You mean dollars?"

Craig shrugged, doing his best not to flash a gloating grin. "Yep. We use dollars in California too."

"Funny. How did you manage that just installing fire alarms?"

"I don't install fire alarms," Craig explained as he worked the key. "I started that way, of course. Just me and my partner. That was sixteen years ago. We've expanded a bit since then. Now we have about fifty employees."