He slowly closed the lid down on his cell phone and leaned his head against the back of the uncomfortable airport chair. It was done. The call had been made. The question posed but will the answer be given? He had sat with the phone in his hand and the number dialed, waiting for him to push the send button, for what seemed like hours before he built up the courage to finally place the call.
He put the phone in his jacket pocket and closed his eyes. She was coming, or at least he hoped she was. It was time to put all the hurt, the indecision and fear behind him. He was tired of hiding his heart, he was ready to give it freely and he knew this time whatever came he would have given it to the right person – the only person that would keep it safe. It was her, it had always been her.
"So, did she say yes?" A voice said beside him.
Lucas turned to see an elderly gentlemen sitting beside him. The man wore a dark suit with a white shirt and purple tie. He gave Lucas a gentle smile.
"What?" Lucas asked him.
"I am sorry, I couldn't help overhearing," the older admitted. "You just asked someone to marry you? Didn't you?"
"Yeah," Lucas said. "It was time. It was the right choice."
"Marriage is a big deal," the man said. "It is a commitment for life." He looked away wistfully as if his words held more meaning then he was letting on. He lifted his dark weathered hand and rubbed it across his face.
"I know. I had some things to decide the last few days," Lucas said amazed he was sharing this with the man. "I have been kind of lost, but I don't know, asking her just felt right."
"But aren't you young people always thinking about what is coming next," the man said. "Worried that you might be missing something."
"I guess," Lucas said. "I guess it would be interesting to see what life would be like if you made different choices."
"It would make things easier," the elder man said with a chuckle. "Alot easier."
"I guess it would." Lucas said. He closed his eyes again and heard the man ask another question but the fatigue and the stress of the last few weeks were finally catching up with him. He felt himself drifting off to sleep.
Lucas Scott adjusted his tie with his free hand and got a firmer grip on the dozen of red roses he held in his other hand. He stood before her office door – his wife of one year. It was their anniversary and he had come to surprise her with a fancy dinner and another chapter of his new book.
He used his free hand to open her office door and walk in. Her head was turned to face the credenza behind her desk and he could tell she was on the phone.
"That sounds great," she said into the receiver of the phone. "I will go over it with him but I am sure he will love the idea."
She swung her chair around and Lucas watched her eyes light up when she saw him. She waved her hand for him to come closer and began to wrap up her phone conversation.
"Listen, she said. "He just walked in, so can I call you later? Great." And she hung up the phone.
"Lucas, honey I am glad you are here," she said. "Come here."
Lucas walked toward her and handed her the bouquet of roses he carried. "Happy anniversary, Lindsey," he said with a huge grin. "Can you believe it's been a year?"
"It's been an amazing year, Lucas," she said as she got up from her chair and came to him. She placed her arms around his waist and pulled him close.
Lucas leaned down and kissed her softly. A year ago he made a decision, one that led him to the path he was on now. Here with Lindsey.
"Oh, Lucas," Lindsey said in a whisper. "All our dreams are coming true."
Lindsey's words hit him in square in the stomach. He heard her say the words, he knew she said them, but when he looked into her eyes, he didn't see the blue eyes he woke up to this morning. He saw another pair of eyes that looked at him with such honesty and such love.
And it was then he realized this wasn't right. It just wasn't right.
Lucas closed his eyes to try and tried to block out his life, block out his choice.
When Lucas opened his eyes he was in a taxi cab. He looked down and noticed he carried the same bouquet of roses. He was sure just a moment ago he was standing in Lindsey's office. But now being with Lindsey just didn't feel right.
The cab stopped.
"We're here," the driver informed him.
Lucas looked out the window noticing the cab was parked in front of a restaurant. He got out of the cab and leaned down to the driver, handing him a twenty dollar bill. "Thanks," Lucas mumbled as he stepped on the curb.
He felt a little lost and disoriented but then he saw a petite brunette walking his way and it all came back to him. It was THE Brooke Davis walking his way and not just Brooke Davis the famous designer but Brooke Davis, his wife. The same Brooke Davis who said in private she would always be known as Brooke Scott but the public had to know her as Brooke Davis.
Ah, he remembered. It was their anniversary. They had been married a year now and the roses were for her.
"Hey, Husband," Brooke said as she wrapped her arms around him. She leaned in and kissed him.
"Hi yourself," Lucas answered. "Sorry I am late, had to sign the final papers on my next book." He smiled down at her.
"Ah, Lucas Scott, my famous publisher husband." Brooke stroked his cheek. "Can you believe it's been a year?" Brooke shook her head. "All our dreams are coming true."
The feeling was back. The moment of uneasiness, that this wasn't right, that he wasn't meant to be here. But if he wasn't meant to be here, then where was he supposed to be?
Lucas Scott stood in the wings of a theatre stage. The strains of an up and coming band's music wafted through the theatre and Lucas smiled as he felt his foot tap to the beat. He leaned against the wall, a bouquet of roses in his right hand.
He was waiting for her to finish. To come to him, because after everything they had been through, he knew in his heart that she would always come back to him. No matter where she went or how long she was gone, she always came back to Tree Hill, her home, and to him.
He saw her coming down the hallway. She wore a short black skirt and a red shiny top. She was breathtaking and he felt his heart skip a beat as he saw her. His fingers tightened on the stems of the flowers he held and he swallowed deeply.
It had been a year since he slipped the plain gold band on her finger but it seemed like yesterday. They had been married a year and all their dreams were coming true, together.
"Hey, honey," she said in a seductive voice. "Are those for me?"
"Who else would they be for," Lucas said with a smile.
He was just about to hand them to her when her figure quickly faded from his gaze. The room grew dark and then slowly light began to envelope him to reveal a table in front of him.
An elderly gentlemen walked to the table and on closer inspection, Lucas realized it was the same man Lucas had been talking to in the airport.
"What is going on?" Lucas looked around trying to gauge his surroundings.
"Names Gus," the man informed him. "I got a game for you." Gus pulled out a deck of cards and began shuffling them. He went through the process for a good two minutes and then dealt out three cards.
Lucas looked down to see the faces of Lindsey, Brooke and Peyton.
"You have a choice, boy," the man said. "You can only choose one. And when you do, it's for life."
Lucas just smiled. "That's easy." Lucas reached out for one of the cards and just as his finger touched it, the figure and the card began to fade away.
Lucas felt a tap of an elbow on his side. He groggily opened his eyes and the glaring light of the airport assaulted his senses.
The same offending elbow nudged his side again and Lucas realized it was the elderly gentleman he had been talking to earlier. In fact, he was the same man in his dreams dealing out the cards.
"Hmm," he heard the old man say. "Looks like you made the right choice." He pointed a withered finger in front of him and Lucas followed his direction.
There she stood. All long legs and wild hair and breathtakingly beautiful like she always was. He couldn't contain him excitement. His heart was full of love for her because it finally felt free enough to give it.
He jumped from his seat and ran to her. He could feel she was about to say something but he wouldn't allow it. Lucas assaulted her with kisses and couldn't contain his joy as he held Peyton Sawyer in his arms again.
Peyton finally pulled back from Lucas' kisses. "You don't just ask someone to marry them over the phone," Peyton finally got out in a scolding tone.
"Then why did you come?" Lucas answered in a teasing manner in between continuing to kiss her.
Peyton pulled free again from his grasp and stepped back.
Her maneuver froze Lucas' heart. For a spilt second he feared she was going to walk away. He didn't know if he could survive losing Peyton again, not when he had finally decided to stop hiding his feelings for her.
But then he saw that patented Peyton Sawyer smile. Full of teasing and love just for him.
"Because you're a mess, Lucas Scott," Peyton admitted as tears began to form in her eyes. "But you're my mess and I love you." Then she pulled him to her by the collar of his blue shirt and began kissing his mouth, his cheek and his neck.
Lucas picked Peyton up and twirled her around. "I love you too," he told her. And he began to laugh uncontrollable and realize what true happiness felt like. It felt like now, when all his dreams can and could come true with her.
"So, you never answered my question," Lucas said tentatively. "You know, what I asked over the phone."
"Oh, you mean how you left a message on my cell phone telling me you were here at the airport and if I wanted to go to Vegas with you and get married," Peyton asked shaking her head.
"Uh, yeah, that," Lucas looked down sheepishly.
"Well, a few months ago, Brooke told me to go get my man and if he asks me to marry him again to say yes this time," Peyton shouldered her carry-on bag. "So, the answer is yes. YES, YES, YES!!"
Lucas began to laugh and picked her up again. His laughter was interrupted by the first call for passengers for the flight to Las Vegas.
"I think they are calling us," Lucas said. He took Peyton's carry-on bag from her shoulder and took her hand. "Let's make a Sawyer a Scott."
"Yeah, it's about time," Peyton said as they walked toward the gate and the rest of their lives.