Friday Night
Laura Hobson was a good cook, although an infrequent one with her awful working hours and the fact that she lived alone. Inviting Robbie Lewis to dinner was a spur of the moment decision. She had only wanted to talk to him alone, somewhere private where she could finally figure out where she stood in his world. But he had just stared at her when she invited him to her house so she had to say something.
As she prepared dinner, her mind wandered, wondering how she was going to talk to him about "them". She was tired of the flirting and guilt, and wanted to know where their relationship, if there was one, was headed.
Her doorbell rang and all thoughts of a serious talk flew out of her head. As she opened the door and saw Robbie standing there with a bottle of wine, she thought how wonderful it was to have him standing at her door. She also noticed his suit and tie and thought she should have told him to dress casually. Being somewhat old-fashioned, he would never do that on his own.
"Hi Robbie, take you coat?" She would have loved to take his tie also, but that seemed a little forward.
"Thanks Laura, something smells good." Robbie smiled at her as she hung his coat up. Laura loved his smile.
"Why don't you pour us some wine while I check on dinner."
While their dinner finished cooking, Laura and Robbie shared a glass of wine and made small talk about James Hathaway, Jean Innocent and work in general. Laura asked Robbie about his daughter, Lyn, and how her pregnancy was going. They continued this small talk while they ate.
"Laura, this meal was great. Let me help you with the cleaning up."
"Alright, if you'd like." Laura hadn't really planned on taking him up on the offer but reconsidered, thinking maybe it would be easier to talk to him while they were working.
As she washed and he dried, her mind worked hard on what exactly she wanted to say. She was entirely too worked up about this. She and Robbie had known each other for over 15 years, so why couldn't they talk about this as friends? She knew why. She had cared deeply for him that whole time. She had never believed in love at first sight until she met Sergeant Robbie Lewis. Of course, she covered it up well, making her usual smart remarks, but he had taken her breath away. Being a woman, she had also noticed his wedding ring. She vividly remembered the day she heard about Val Lewis' accident and death and her heart had gone out to Robbie and his children. He had taken it very hard and eventually was transferred away from Oxford. She was so pleased two years later when he returned. It quickly became apparent to her that Robbie hadn't finished grieving and she wondered if, 5 years later, he was ready to move on. She didn't want to push him, but wanted him to know how she felt.
As her mind came back to the present, she noticed they had finished cleaning up. As she turned around, she saw Robbie standing there, right in front of her, with a worried expression on his face.
"What's wrong, Robbie?"
As he looked at her he answered, "I'm nervous."
"About what?"
He paused, unsure about saying anything. "I want to kiss you but don't know how you'll feel about that."
Laura looked at him, what he said becoming clear in her mind, and smiled.
Robbie lifted her chin with his hand and gave her a tentative kiss. He pulled back and looked at her. She nodded and he put his arms around her waist, drawing her close. She put her arms around his neck and drew his face down to hers. They kissed properly this time. Eventually they broke apart, both breathless. Robbie took her hand and they moved to the couch.
"What made you kiss me?" Laura asked as they sat down next to each other.
"I decided I wanted to be happy and being with you makes me happy. I love you, Laura." Robbie said shyly.
Her heart in her throat, Laura asked quietly. "When did you figure this out?"
"I knew when you invited me to your place that you wanted to talk about something and that something probably was us. I had to figure out what I wanted first."
"I should have invited you to my house years ago," teased Laura.
Robbie smiled at her joke. "I talked to Lyn and she told me that I deserve to be happy and that Val wouldn't want me to throw away a chance at happiness. I thought about it and she's right. If I had been the one who died, I would have wanted Val to find happiness if she could. I guess I needed a push from you and Lyn."
As her eyes filled with tears, Laura said, "I love you too, Robbie." She reached for him.
A short time later, as Laura's lips moved up Robbie's neck, she whispered in his ear, "Stay the night?"
He nodded thinking the first date was a little soon, but they had known each other for over 15 years and that more than made up for it.
And so a relationship that both desperately needed was born.