Shane McInerney stretched as she sat at her floating workstation in the Denver DLO patiently waiting for the search that was running on her computer to finish. Oliver O'Toole, Shane's colleague/boss/ new beau, sat at his desk filling out some paperwork for Becky, Shane's friend and head of Special Projects for the USPS in Washington, DC. She glanced at her watch. 8 PM. Wow, it's getting late.
She snuck a glance at Oliver. His jacket was off, his tie was loosened, he had a faint 5 o'clock shadow, and his hair was slightly sticking up from where he had been absentmindedly running his hands through it. Shane secretly adored him like this - partially unkempt, so unlike his usual perfectly put-together self. Of course Shane thought he was always perfect for her.
"Did you need something?"
Shane jumped and blushed. Oliver had caught her staring. "Just waiting for this search to finish running," she replied. Oliver smirked slightly as Shane stood up. "This looks like it's going to take a while and it's getting late. I think I'm going to call it a night."
"I think I will too," Oliver replied. "The rest of this paperwork can wait until morning." He cleared his throat.
Oliver opened his mouth like he was going to say something, hesitated, then finally seemed to come to a decision. "Would you like to accompany me to dinner this evening? I know we usually dine out on Saturday, but since it is late and neither of us have had dinner yet I figured we could grab a bite to eat together."
Shane smiled warmly. "I would love to."
"Great, I was thinking we could maybe go to Donatello's? We can see how Mr. & Mrs. Castelluci are doing."
"That sounds wonderful, Oliver."
Oliver fixed his hair and tie as Shane straightened her workstation. She watched curiously as Oliver walked over to the ancient record player. "Before we go... Dance with me?" he asked, hand outstretched.
Shane laughed when "And So It Goes" began playing. "I can't believe this song is still on the record player," she replied while reaching to take his offered hand.
"Well, to be quite honest, I listen to it on occasion when I am here... alone. It is quite a lovely song, actually. I've found it to be... enlightening."
Shane smiled as Oliver led her in the familiar steps. Every time they danced together there seemed to be this buzz about them, as if their chemistry was almost physically manifested.
In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along
We finally made it, Shane thought. Oliver had gotten his divorce from Holly finalized a few weeks before they had headed to Washington DC for the National Miss Special Delivery pageant, and had also gotten his closure at the Pony Express exhibit of the National Postal Museum. Shane, meanwhile, had tucked away the birthday card she had received from Steve as soon as she had gotten home from Washington.
Then there was the whole Dale debacle. Oliver definitely had a type,Shane thought. The police officer shared the same red hair as Holly, which threw Shane right back into her insecurity. She and Dale had come to a silent but mutual understanding, however, when Oliver and his father Joe had gotten lost in the mountains after Joe had gotten injured while they were camping. Once they were rescued and Oliver had make sure Joe would be ok, he located Shane in the hospital chapel, where he had finally made his intentions toward her clear. They had been dating for a few months now - They had a date every Saturday and many evenings after work had spent holding hands on Shane's porch swing that Oliver had gifted her for her birthday.
I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self-defense
Shane thought back to the last time she & Oliver had danced to this song in the DLO. Shane had felt the chemistry between them, and she suspected Oliver had too. However, Oliver still had had hopes of fixing his marriage, so Shane did what she thought was best - looking up Holly's address so Oliver could get some closure. That had backfired spectacularly, so Shane backed off and did what she could to support Oliver from afar.
And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose
Shane's relationship with Steve had been strained from the beginning. In the time they dated, Shane never felt as close to Steve as she wished, with his work for the Department of Defense requiring him to be secretive and taking him away what seemed like almost constantly. He would always hold a special place in Shane's heart as a friend, but that's all he would ever be.
The night Shane saw Oliver and Holly kiss at the Mailbox Grille, her heart broke. She was fully prepared to leave the USPS and Denver forever, until she arrived home to find Oliver installing a swing on her porch at 2 AM.
But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break
Only one man held Shane's heart completely, and that was the man with whom she was currently dancing. Over the course of the past several years, Oliver had slowly melted the ice around her heart while she filled in the cracks in his. They had been to hell and back, but had come out stronger together than than apart.
Oliver was always showing her he cared - be it by bringing her coffee in the morning, making sure she got home safely from work, actually acquiring a cell phone after being lost in the mountains for three days, purchasing a porch swing and installing it at 2 AM, purchasing the property her childhood home had sat on after seeing how upset Shane had been to find it torn down (which she still couldn't believe), or by the greatest gift he had ever given her - trusting her with his heart.
And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows
"Penny for your thoughts?" Oliver interrupted her musings.
"Oh, just thinking about the past few years," Shane replied. "Strange how things have changed so much since I started working for the DLO. Just a couple of years ago I was still in DC with Steve, and you were here, waiting for..." she paused. "Waiting for Holly."
So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break
Oliver took a deep breath. "This world is not for aye, nor 'tis not strange that even our loves should with our fortunes change," he said, then dipped her.
As Oliver brought her out of the dip and their eyes locked, Shane realized the magnitude of his statement.
Did he just mean what I think he means?
"Oliver?" she said questioningly. Her heart raced as Oliver caressed her cheek.
"I love you, Shane," he whispered back as he slowly lowered his lips to hers.
Shane had had first kisses in her lifetime, but none had ever compared to the one she was sharing right in that moment with Oliver. She could almost swear they were floating. "I love you too, Oliver," Shane replied breathlessly as Oliver pulled her into his arms and caressed her hair.
After a few moments, Oliver pulled back and flashed her a shy smile. "Shall we dine, Miss McInerney?"
Shane smiled back. "Yes, let's... Mr. O'Toole."
They walked out into the warm evening, hand in hand, the sunset reminiscent of a new chapter in their lives.
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows