A/N: Set after Caddy Ever After, when Caddy goes in search of Michael. My friend Permanent Rose made me post this :P
Enjoy!
Once Upon A Darling
A young woman about the age of twenty walked alone on the beach. Her bare feet were covered in sand, and her golden hair was tied up at the top of her head in a messy bun. It had been quick work of skilled hands to get it to stay right that day.
So close, she thought. So very close.
The young woman's name was Cadmium Casson, though she preferred to be called Caddy. Caddy stared at the postcard in her hand, her brow furrowing with intense concentration. Her eyes glanced over to the date. Rose Casson, Caddy's youngest sister, had sent this card to help Caddy in her quest to find Caddy's one-true-love, Darling Michael.
Caddy ran her thumb over the picture of a beach on the postcard. Michael had been here a few days ago. If only Caddy had a map, her search for Michael would be considerably easier.
Wait a minute. She did have a map! Sometimes, Caddy realized, she could be very forgetful.
Caddy ran back up the beach to her car. She rummaged through all the trash, books, letters from home, and (finally) a box of pictures of Caddy's family, including her hamsters.
Where is that map? thought Caddy. She huffed and continued her frenzied search. Suddenly her mobile rang.
"Hi, this is Caddy," Caddy said as cheerfully as she could manage.
"Oh, darling." The voice on the phone answered back, "I can't seem to find the soap, Rose needs it, the poor dear, and—"
"Mum? I think it's underneath the couch, if Rose hasn't used it for art yet."
Eve Casson paused before answering her daughter. "Thank you darling. I will look there."
Caddy sighed and laughed nervously as she hung up. She had to worry; Eve didn't even know how to take care of herself, let alone three kids and numerous small pets.
The phone rang again. Caddy smiled. Eve probably hadn't found the soap yet.
"Mum?" Caddy asked absentmindedly, cradling the receiver between her neck and shoulder as she continued her search for the map.
"Caddy? It's Rose."
"Oh, Rose, darling! It's so good to hear from you!" Where was that stupid map?
"I got a postcard from Michael today." Rose paused.
"Tell me! Please, Rosy Pose!"
"He's at Herne Bay!"
Caddy couldn't speak. She was only twenty miles from Herne Bay!
"Did—did he say when, or how long?" Caddy dared to ask.
Caddy could hear Rose giggling over the phone. "He wrote that he was staying there for a few days. The card was written two days ago."
"Rose, I have to go." Caddy said quickly, suddenly anxious to get off the phone and begin to drive.
"Why?" Rose asked, her curiosity evident.
"I'm close to Herne Bay."
"Run, Caddy, run!" Rose exclaimed excitedly.
"Wait! Rose?"
"Yes?"
"Where is he staying? What hotel?" Caddy prodded.
"It's called 'Herne Hotel'."
"Alright. Thank you so much, Rosy Pose!"
"You're welcome. Bye!" She envisioned Rose smiling into the receiver.
"Bye!"
For the first time in weeks, Caddy felt as though her heart were made of air.
Michael stood on the balcony of his dirty room. Why didn't he choose a better hotel? That's right, he reminded himself. He was broke. Staying on the third floor, in what he hoped was a non-smoking room, with his best friend away on a date with some girl he'd never met, did not go into the category of "great day." On top of all that, Michael's love, Caddy had refused to marry him, and she had given his ring back.
Michael glanced critically at the lights that spelled The Herne Hotel. The H in Herne was out, and Luke was not too happy about it.
"I came with you to escape Ernie, not find a hotel with his name on it," Luke had complained.
"I would go somewhere else, but unless you have £200 stashed in your pockets, we're stuck here," Michael retorted.
"Whatever," Luke had snapped.
"Fine," huffed Michael.
That was when Luke had left Michael all alone.
Now, he ached for the company that Caddy would have given him had they not fought, and he, Michael, had gone off in search for solitude.
Sitting in front of a card for Rose, Michael let his mind wonder to Caddy. Darling, beautiful, wonderful, Caddy.
I need some air, Michael thought. He left his dingy room to go down to the beach.
Michael was walking slowly down the beach, letting the salty air clear his mind. His long black hair waved gently in the wind. He smiled for the first time in days, and the irony of it was that he had been thinking of Caddy. Normally when he thought of her, he wanted to cry.
As he continued his stroll, he saw a figure, about a hundred yards away, near the water. The woman (for now he was close enough he could tell that it was a woman) stooped down to touch the water. She waded into the ocean, her jeans rolled up to her knees. Suddenly she jerked herself out of the tide, and walked up the beach a ways, and sat down, dejected.
I wonder what she's doing all alone, at night, no less, thought Michael. On an impulse, he purposely went to talk to her.
"Excuse me?"
For a moment, Caddy thought that she heard a man's voice. When it came again, she knew the voice was real. Then she thought that it sounded like Michael. Tears prickled in her eyes.
"I'm sorry! Did I disturb you—"
"No," Caddy snapped.
"Sorry," Michael said lamely. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Right." Michael looked at the woman, then his heart seemed to stop in his chest. Could it be?
"Caddy?" Michael gasped.
"How did you know my—" Caddy stared at the man. "Michael?"
"Oh God, Caddy, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have left! This is all my fault, and I don't de—"
"Oh, no, Michael! I just needed to realize that I really do want to marry you," Caddy whispered. Michael pulled her into his embrace and they sat there in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.
"Do you mean it?" Michael asked.
"What?"
"That you want to marry me."
"Of course!"
Michael untangled himself form Caddy and knelt before her. "Cadmium Casson, will you marry me?"
Caddy blinked tears out of her eyes again. "Oh, yes, Michael."
Michael grinned. "How long have you been looking for me?"
"Months," groaned Caddy, "Or years."
The two of them laughed, and Michael helped Caddy to her feet. "Let's go home," murmured Michael.
"Yes, let's."