January 1947
"So I've been thinking about how we shouldn't get married," her boyfriend Daniel says to her over the live jazz music at the club, causing her to nearly choke on her sip of champagne.
"Oh really?" She asks with amusement, wondering what in the hell he is getting at. They've been dating for six months, and it surprised her how fast she fell for him. He is so good to her, it's not overwhelming or exploding passion, but he is a good man and she really, really likes him, could maybe even love him. Best of all, her parent's adore him, especially Daddy, but even her mother, and it makes things so much easier.
"Mmhmm," is all he says, then takes a sip of his scotch, looking over at the jazz band from their table. And of course, they have the best table in the place, as close to the stage as you can get. It's not easy to get this table at the Excelsior Club, Charlotte's premier spot, especially not on a Saturday night, but Daniel had pulled out all the stops. It would be even better if he hadn't invited her parents (really just her mother, but inviting only Daddy would be a recipe for disaster), but her mother, for all her complaining about clubs, insists on being seen at them. Thankfully, her father whisked her mother away to go chat with some colleagues when she and Daniel sat down to catch their breaths after dancing and dancing on the dance floor between their table and the stage.
Daniel doesn't go on once he finishes his sip so she laughs and gives in, "Okay, I give up, why shouldn't we get married?"
He smirks, "Well see, that's the thing, I couldn't think of anything at first. And then, it just dawned on me. Your parents…"
Her parents love him, he is just the type of man her mother wanted her to meet. Cora had gone on and on, constantly expressing her disdain when she found out Regina was volunteering at the hospital, helping rehabilitate wounded soldiers, but the joke was on her because that is where she met Daniel Hammond, the perfect gentlemen from old southern money. "My parents?"
"Absolutely." What is he getting at? Daniel loves to joke around so she's not taking this seriously, it's not a marriage proposal (of that she's sure) but she has no clue what his point is. He goes on, "You see, the problem is that they love me."
She's still not seeing the problem. "They do."
"I'm exactly the type of man they want you to end up with." She snickers because isn't that the truth, if her mother had been able to, she would have handpicked Daniel for Regina.
"So what's the problem, huh?"
Daniel leans in like he's about to tell her some big secret, "Now just this, if you marry me… then you will have lost a lifelong battle of defiance against them."
She huffs a laugh because Daniel has no idea how true that statement actually is. To get away from the implications of that is she gives him a sassy, "Oh my goodness, whatever are we going to do?"
Daniel's eyes twinkle mischievously, "See Regina I think… I think you have to marry me."
She chuckles, "I do?"
He nods, "You do."
"And why is that?" she asks.
She takes another sip of her champagne and almost spits it out all over her white dress— wouldn't that be embarrassing—when he says, "Because if you do, your parents will always know the unhappiness that you feel for not being able to disappoint them."
She swallows carefully and laughs full-bellied, god he's ridiculous, it's one of the many things she likes about him. She teases, "I think you may have overlooked one minor detail."
His eyes narrow, "And what's that?"
Her hand trails up his arm over the pristine black tuxedo he looks oh so handsome in. "Well, you see you have to get their permission first. And I think you may have overestimated their affection for you."
She's only teasing—they would say 'yes' in a heartbeat if he asked.
"Is that right?" he asks then winks, "I don't think so."
"Oh you don't?" she asks with a raised brow.
"Well you see, 'cause I asked them already and they said yes."
Her breath whooshes out, "What?" She's a little stunned, she thought they were just kidding around, she wasn't expecting—
He drops down to one knee and oh god, this is happening. He says, "One more thing. I love you. Will you marry me, honey?"
She's frozen, words fail her, and she just looks at him, stunned.
He goes on, "I know I kid around a lot, but I'm crazy about you. Marry me? Make me the happiest man in the world."
She looks around and in her stupor realizes everyone is watching them, including her parents, who are at the bar with friends, an action she now realizes was an excuse to leave them alone so Daniel could do this.
It should be automatic, she should be celebrating, so happy, this is what every girl is supposed to want. But all she can think about is how different things are with Daniel, how she doesn't feel half as much for him as she did for Robin, her teenage summer romance. But he is out of the picture and Daniel is here and she really, really cares for him, more than she thought she ever would. What she had with Robin wasn't real or sustainable, it was too much, only so intense because of the whirlwind of it, never destined to last. This is better. Daniel will make her happy, he will and she truly likes him, and love will come, it will.
She's been silent for far too long so she does the only thing she can and throws her arms around his neck, screeching with a happiness she doesn't actually feel, "Yes. Yes!"
Who would have thought she'd end up with the beaten up soldier who flirted shamelessly from his full body cast? Certainly not her, at least not until he showed up at her school, dressed to impress, fully healed, all the girls fawning over him. He hadn't made the best first impression but then neither had the only other boy she'd ever cared for. Both had asked her out barely knowing her, and she had turned both down, and meant it. Robin, the man who stared at her so much she jokingly termed him 'staring boy', well she had turned him down multiple times.
June 1940
She spots him as she ducks into the store for some paint, 'staring boy' Robin. Robin, the boy who she finds so damn intriguing because he doesn't treat her like everyone else does. Sure he flirted with her—which was bold because she was on a date with another man, a terrible one but still—he admired her looks but it wasn't, or at least it didn't seem like, it was about her money. It really seemed like he wanted to know her, which just doesn't happen.
People aren't interested in her, they are interested in who she's been groomed to be, a perfect lady, a perfect wife for some rich old man. She knows the only reason Mother is letting her go to school is because she can learn to be a better wife and mother there. It's not about learning, or at least learning anything important, it's about making her marketable to the highest bidder. If it goes her mother's way she won't graduate, she'll find a man and be married off so she no longer needs her studies.
She hates that her mother has her whole life planned out for her, and that she is powerless to stop it. She's so happy they are here in Charleston, in a new state, away from Charlotte, North Carolina, the only place she ever knew before this summer, she's so happy that Daddy insisted on spending the summer somewhere different and new. She knows it's as much for her benefit as his, wanting to give her a taste of new experiences, the chance to have a fun summer, before she goes off to college.
She looks out the window and there he is, chatting with Belle, her only friend in town and Belle's boyfriend, Will, who she's pretty sure is close friends with Robin. She has to admit that Robin is pretty cute. He's well built, tanned, with short, light hair, deep blue eyes, and that little bit of scruff that men in her circle wouldn't be caught dead with, which just makes it better.
She picks out the colours she needs, thanks Marco the shopkeeper, and tells herself to forget about Robin. Even if she was interested, which she's not, it can never go anywhere. She's not interested in him, she's just curious about being with someone who isn't rich, who her mother wouldn't like, that's all. It's a little rebellion, one she will never indulge. She doesn't know him, she can't like him, she can only like the idea of him, and the reality will inevitably disappoint her.
She steps out onto the street to walk back home, when Robin pops up beside her, startling her.
"Remember me?" he asks, as if she could ever forget him. It's not without effort though because she's tried, unsuccessfully. Her mind keeps floating back to him, wanting to know more, see if it's all an act, or if he's really truly that interested in her.
She can't resist flirting, there's no harm in that, and maybe it will get the urge out, allow her to stop thinking about him. "Yeah, Staring Boy, how could I forget?"
"So when can I take you out?" he asks hopefully, and it hurts her to say no but she has to. They just wouldn't work and the sooner they, no, the sooner he gets over it the better.
She shrugs and tells him, "Not happening, sorry."
He smirks in that way that makes her want to kiss him senseless. God, what is wrong with her? It's just because she can't have him, he's forbidden, that has to be what makes him so tempting. She's smiling, she knows she is, can't help it.
He sasses, "But you promised."
She bites her lip, watching his gaze drop down to her mouth. The air gets hotter and she steps away a little, sassing him right back, "I guess I changed my mind."
"So you aren't honouring our agreement then? We made an honest good faith bet and now that you've lost you aren't holding up your end of the bargain."
She scoffs, "Honest and good faith, as I recall it was neither of those, you tricked me."
He mocks offence and it's so cute (god, what is wrong with her). "I did nothing of the sort, it's not my fault you challenged me to something I'm good at."
Though he's not wrong she just shakes her head and says, a touch regretfully, "Sorry."
He pushes, which she shouldn't like, but she does. She can tell if she was serious, if she said a hard no, he'd stop immediately, but she hasn't because even though she hasn't said it she's enjoying this, and he knows it. He insists, "One date won't hurt."
She shakes her head, amused by his antics and gentle persistence. "No."
She fights a smile when he asks, "What can I do to change your mind?"
She starts to walk away, with a skip in her step that wasn't there before. She turns over her shoulder to see him looking at her, just as she expected. She flushes when their eyes meet and tells him, "I guess you'll figure something out."
Secretly, though, and she'd deny it if anyone asked, she hopes that he does.