One Wonderful Day
Karl Mayer was in love. And it wasn't the kind of love he had shared with Brandy or Marissa. No, this love he felt inside of him mostly resembled the kind he had once felt with his Susie Q. But even that couldn't begin to compare with how he now felt. This was different. This was passionate, yet classy. This was feisty, yet elegant. This was his love for Bree.
Bree Hodge was the most fascinating woman he had ever met. The cold demeanor that she put forth for everyone to see was merely a show. The put together, classy woman that she showed to the world was nothing compared to the exuberant, passionate woman that lied deep beneath the chilly surface. At first glance, Karl never would've guessed that this red-headed woman could make his heart implode with feelings he never thought he could experience again. He never would've guessed that she could give him something to look forward to again at the end of the day. He never would've guessed that she would truly make him fall head over heels for her. And he most definitely never would've thought that she would fall head over heels for him as well.
Karl looked over his right shoulder at the gorgeous ginger sitting beside him as they bounced down the old country road in Karl's red convertible. The sunshine shone down upon their faces. The sky was a perfect, cloudless blue. Bree felt his gaze upon her, and offered him a small smile. Just that tiny upward tug of her full, red lips was enough to make Karl's heart soar. He placed the top of his hand down on the arm rest, knowing that Bree would place her hand onto his without him having to ask. He loved the creamy white of her skin, and the warmth that came from it. Karl let out a sigh of pure contentment. He could honestly say that he was happy.
"You alright?" asked Bree softly, with a hint of concern in her voice; she had misinterpreted his sigh.
"Fine, Freckles." Karl smiled devilishly as Bree removed her hand from his grasp to playfully swat his arm. But Karl quickly captured her hand in his own once more, for that was where it belonged.
Bree gazed thoughtfully at their intertwined hands. "If someone had told me six months ago that I would fall in love with Karl Mayer", thought Bree to herself, "I would've called them crazy. But now, I couldn't possibly imagine my life without him."
Bree tilted her head back to rest it on the seat, automatically feeling the need to have Karl's soft, warm lips pressed against her neck. Bree quickly diminished all thoughts of the sort, instead choosing to focus on the trees outside as they whizzed by with each passing second.
"Karl, could you please tell me where we're going?"
Karl pretended to think about it for a moment. "No".
"Bu-"
"But nothing my dear. You'll just have to wait and see. I'm afraid that you might not find it all that exciting, though."
Bree pondered over this. If she wouldn't think this place to be exciting, why get her up at six in the morning to drive her five hours away?
Karl glanced at his lover. Her eyebrows were knit together, and her nose was pinched in confusion. All he wanted to do was take the pad of his thumb, and run it over her face, smoothing all the creases. He hated to see this woman distraught in any way, but it would all be worth it. That is, if everything went as planned.
Karl had put a lot of thought into today. He wanted it to be perfect, because Bree liked things to be perfect. Perfection made her happy. And if she was happy, then so was he.
The two rode along in silence for the next few minutes, each basking in the others happiness that eluded from each of them. Bree had decided that Karl was going through to much trouble trying to be a gentleman for this to be any old hum-drum surprise. So she would stop pondering the matter altogether and just let the day run its course.
Karl was going to great efforts to try and contain his excitement as they neared their destination. He could already hear the faint rumble of water tumbling down rocks, and up ahead he could see mist from the crashing water slowly rising above the trees. But the waterfall wasn't where he was heading; not yet at least.
Bree had just picked up on the faint sound of the waterfall. "He drove me five hours out into the country…to take me to see a waterfall", thought Bree. She smiled to herself. God, she was good. Six months of being with her had made Karl Mayer, infamous for his rude remarks and tawdry behavior, a caring and considerate man. Bree knew that she could make any casserole, any cake, or any entrée that she set her mind to, but making Karl Mayer sweet was something she never thought possible.
Karl hung a right turn and pulled onto a dirt road. He pulled the car over to one side and switched the ignition off. Bree, having been caught up in her own thoughts, was startled when the engine came to a deafening roar before turning off altogether. Karl saw her jump, and placed a gentle, yet firm hand upon her left shoulder. Bree looked over and flashed him an embarrassed smile. Looking at him, she saw what lay beyond.
A huge field made up of the greenest grass she had ever seen (that's right, greener than Bree Hodge's own front yard!) dawned before her eyes. It stretched on and on, and kept on going past where her field of view allowed her to see. She was in complete awe.
"Hello, earth to Bree!"
"Oh, I'm sorry; it's just so…beautiful."
Karl placed a kiss on her temple before releasing her hand and stepping out of the car into the warm, relinquishing sunshine. The sun does little good to warm you up when you're driving 45 m.p.h. in a convertible, with the cool wind blowing across your face and whipping your hair.
Bree hastily ran her fingers through her hair as Karl approached the outside of her door. He opened it, immediately reaching for her hand, gently pulling her up and out of the car. Karl walked around to the back of the car and popped the trunk open with a hit of a button on his keys. He grabbed the large blue cooler and the red and white checkered picnic blanket he had packed. Hitching the blanket over his left shoulder, and grasping the cooler in his left hand, he reached for Bree's hand and started walking toward the lustrous field.
Bree was utterly baffled. She couldn't, no, she refused to believe that this man had brought her all the way here to go to a field. It just wasn't in his nature. But Bree certainly wasn't going to complain; that was the last thing she was thinking about doing at this point in time.
Karl smiled to himself, noticing the look of awe in his lover's eyes. He loved making this woman happy. Over the past few months, Karl had learned what to do and what not to do to make Bree Hodge happy. Among the things not to do; calling her tomato head, criticizing her cooking in any way shape or form, and mentioning her husband, whose knowledge of his wife's affair had driven him to insanity. And then there were the things that he should do; call her beautiful instead of sexy, tell her that her eyes reminded him of sparkling jade emeralds, and assure her that her daughter will eventually forgive her. And then there were her secret pleasures that had taken Karl a long time to figure out. His favorite; when she got that agitated look on her face every time he called her Freckles, she secretly loved it. Karl was suddenly startled out of his thoughts by the tug he felt on his right arm as the red-headed woman beside him came to a stop. Karl glanced over at her in surprise, with worry lacing his face.
"Is something wrong?" Karl asked, with a slight twinge of hysteria in his voice. He had tried so hard to make this everything she would want it to be.
"No, no…" replied Bree in a soft, gentle voice, "everything's…perfect." The way she said it showed that she was honestly surprised at this realization.
"It's official", thought Karl to himself. "I. did. good."
Karl leaned over and bent down slightly to lightly plant a kiss upon her forehead. He wrapped his right arm snugly around her waist, and continued walking at a light pace. By this point, they had gone about 200 yards into the field, and the convertible was merely a red speck. Karl decided that this was a good place to stop. He took the blanket off his shoulder, and Bree automatically started to help him spread it out.
"No, no, allow me." He flashed her a lop-sided grin.
"Ok, this whole polite gist is really starting to grow on me…"
Bree stood to the side as she watched him lay out the blanket and then move to the cooler.
Bree tried to ignore it. She really did. But it was as if the wrinkles in the blanket were taunting her; screaming at her. Bree tried to contain herself; she stood there clenching and un-clenching her fists, her face all scrunched up.
"Bree?!"
Bree let out an exasperated sigh and kneeled to the ground. She ran her hand across the soft fabric, smoothing out all the bumps and wrinkles. When she stood back to appease her work, she felt so much better.
Karl let out a bellowing laugh. She found her need for everything to be perfect simply enthralling.
Karl shook his head. "God, I love you."
A smile graced her lips. But suddenly, a certain memory of her life, one that had occurred many years ago, came flooding back to her…
*Flashback*
Bree approached the door to the hotel room, clad in only her undergarments and heavy fur coat. She reached her hand out and knocked on the door. When it swung open to reveal a slightly disheveled looking Rex, with a gooey burrito in hand, she attempted to smile in a seducing way.
"The man at the desk said there were no vacant rooms. Mind if I bunk with you?"
Rex eyed her skeptically. "Bree, what are you doing here?"
"It's a little chilly out here, do you mind if we discuss this inside?"
Rex still looked rather disbelieving, but he said "Come on in" regardless.
Bree entered the room and walked right past Rex, stopping and turning around mid-way to the opposite wall. "Sure is nice and toasty in here."
With that being said, Bree slipped her coat down her shoulders to reveal the lacy red bra and panties she had gone out and bought upon her arrival.
Rex stared at her with a gleam of surprise in his eyes. "You look amazing", he said to her, carefully punctuating each word.
"Thanks, I was hoping you'd notice", she replied coyly as she walked around to the side of the bed. "Well, it certainly isn't the ritz", she continued, "but it has all the essentials." Bree then kneeled on the bed, and watched as Rex tossed his burrito onto the nightstand.
"I don't know what to say."
Bree smiled, and lowered her voice to a husky whisper. "Well then perhaps you should say nothing."
Rex suddenly wrapped his arm around her neck and began to kiss her deeply. He gently brought her down onto the bed, positioning himself on top of her. Bree made fast work on removing Rex's open button down shirt in between hungry kisses. Rex started to kiss down her body, and let his lips linger on her stomach. Bree's head lolled to one side as he made his journey back upwards and began to feast upon her neck. Her eyes suddenly widened as the dripping burrito on the nightstand filled her view.
"Rex", said Bree rather breathlessly.
"Yeah?" replied Rex distractedly.
"Baby", Bree breathed, "stop."
"What?"
"I, uh, just need a minute", said Bree frantically as the meat and cheese started to ooze out. She would not let this imperfect, disgusting spectacle ruin her time with Rex.
Rex followed her eyes and realized what she was looking at. "Oh, sweetie, just leave it, will you?" he said to her, impatience lacing his voice. He kissed her cheek, and tried to move her thoughts away from the burrito and back to him.
But Bree couldn't take it. There it was, only a mere few feet away, ruining this moment for her. She started breathing heavily, but it wasn't from what Rex was doing to her with his mouth. He kissed her lips hungrily, but Bree kept glancing at the burrito from the side. Finally, she couldn't contain herself any longer. She quickly reached her arm over her body to push the burrito back, and then glanced down disgustedly at the gooey concoction that was left on her hand.
She turned back to Rex and ran her hand up his thigh and over his stomach. "Ok baby, where were we?"
"I told you to leave it", replied Rex as he stood up and walked over to the window, clearly frustrated.
"I'm sorry, I just…aw, come on, you gonna make a big deal about this?"
With a slight shake of his head, Rex walked across the room to the door. "You know, to tell you the truth", he said as he was opening the door, "now is not really a good time for me."
Bree was hurt. She swallowed, and slowly got up from the bed, giving him an icy cold stare to try and mask the pain she was feeling underneath.
She wrapped the fur coat back around her body as she walked toward him. She mustered the tiny bit of dignity she had left to say to him, "Well, it's obvious you've never had to remove a cheese stain." With that, she sauntered out, and the second she heard Rex slam the door, she burst into tears.
*End Flashback*
Bree had known for a long time now that she was in love with Karl Mayer. But this was the moment in her life when she realized that she could honest to God spend the rest of her life with him. Knowing this gave Bree a sense of peacefulness and serenity that she hadn't felt since her marriage to Orson. And oh, did it feel good.
Orson had been much like Bree in the way that he wanted everything to be perfect. Because of this, Orson hadn't judged her when she made half a dozen pies, to try and make a perfect replica of Katherine Mayfair's. He also hadn't judged her when she pretended to be pregnant, so no one would find out that her 17 year-old daughter had gotten knocked up by Edie Britt's nephew, so everything would appear to be perfect. But looking back on those times now, Bree realized that the only reason he hadn't judged her, was because he would've done the exact same thing in her position. If he had not been such an utter perfectionist like she was, then he would've reacted the same way Rex did. Karl, on the other hand, was nothing like her. He didn't care if he had clothes lying all over the floor, or grit stains on the oven. Hell, if she hadn't done anything about it, he would've sat there on that rumpled picnic blanket! But, even with all that, he still didn't judge her. And this was what made him everything she had always needed, and although she had never known it until now, he was everything that she had always wanted as well.
Bree shook her head to clear it of her thoughts, and now saw that Karl had already unpacked and prepared everything for their lunch. Her eyes widened at the sight set before her. She wasn't exactly sure of what to say.
Originally, Karl was going to pack an extravagant meal from one of the local Italian restaurants. But he ultimately decided that was just taking it to far with the whole 'being a gentleman' thing. After all, a big part of marriage is about compromise, and he wanted Bree to know exactly what she would be submitting herself to in marrying him…if only he were so lucky…
Karl cocked his eyebrow. "What do ya think?"
"I…I honestly can't remember the last time I even had one!"
Karl grinned. "Somehow, I'm not all that surprised." He reached over and grabbed one of the hot dogs from the platter, and placed it in one of the buns. He then proceeded to layer it with ketchup, mustard, relish, sour kraut, onions, and chili. He placed it on one of the paper plates, and passed it up to Bree, who had still yet to sit down.
"Appetizing" remarked Bree sarcastically. But she was smiling as she spoke. She took the plate as she kneeled down on the picnic blanket beside Karl. She watched as Karl made his own "lunch." She then took a cup, and poured some iced tea into it. She took the bag of chips, and ever so carefully poured some out onto her plate. She meticulously arranged them. She took one of the napkins and intently focused on turning it into a swan. Bree looked around to find something else to occupy herself with…
"Bree…just take a bite."
Bree eyed the hot dog. Her face scrunched up, and she started to get an unsettling feeling in her stomach. But Bree thought about how much trouble Karl had gone to for her already today. And if he could do all that, then she could sure as hell take one lousy bite of a hot dog! Regardless of all the artificially processed food items that were dropping off of it.
Bree reached out her hand, and once she found a spot of the bun that wasn't covered in condiments, she picked it up, and slowly brought it to her face. She put her nose to it to smell it, and Bree had to admit, it didn't seem like it would taste all that bad. She still had her doubts though. She looked up and into Karl's eyes, and saw the hopefulness that lingered in them; she knew that Karl was happy she was really making the effort for him. Gazing back down at the hot dog, she slowly but surely brought it to her mouth, bringing it closer and closer with each passing second. The tip of it grazed her lips. Before she had time to back out, Bree suddenly opened her mouth wide open, and took a bite.
An explosion of taste infused her mouth. She had never experienced anything quite like it. Bree had come accustomed to the rich tasting foods that she had grown up with. She had always had a passion for cooking and baking; ever since her mother passed away when she was just a little girl, she had wanted to take over in the cooking department. But messy, gooey, dripping hot dogs were most certainly not on her list of specialties. But after tasting one, Bree decided that maybe her palette of foods had become rather bland after all this time, it was time to spice things up a bit. Starting with finishing the hot dog!
Karl watched, mouth agape, eyes open wide, as Bree practically inhaled the hot dog. The mustard was dripping down the side of her chin, and she had a small chili stain on her red spaghetti strap tank top. Karl had seen Bree in many different elements. He had seen her when she was ecstatic; whether it was due to over topping herself with one of her recipes, or while they were making love. He had seen her when she was distressed; once she had accidentally double booked her catering services for bar mitzvahs, and had to cater both on the same night. He had seen her when she was sad. On her daughter Danielle's birthday, she had decided to call her, and try to make peace. When the voicemail picked up, which she had been expecting, she left a twenty minute long message. She cried herself to sleep that night wrapped in his arms, wondering if she'd ever receive a reply. To this day, she still hasn't. That was two months ago now. He had seen her when she was angry. Once, he had accidentally knocked into a cake that she had slaved over for six hours straight. That was most definitely a place he did not want to visit again. He had seen her when she was feeling forgiveness. It happened to be that same night, when Karl had brought over a cake of his own, the first time he had hand made one. Written on it in Karl's signature messy penmanship was "I'm sorry Freckles." And he had seen her when her laughter filled the room. When she had tried to cut into the cake, the whole thing had fallen apart. But he had never seen her like this. And he loved it.
Karl leaned over and pressed his lips firmly against hers. Bree, taken aback at the sudden passion he had brought open her, began to move her lips in synch with his. All too soon, she pulled away. "Karl, come on, my mouth must taste revolting after eating that!"
"Mm, I hadn't really noticed." With that, he dove forward again, crushing his lips to hers in a mind-blowing kiss. He gently slid the tip of his tongue on her lips until they parted slightly, allowing him entrance. He dipped his tongue into her mouth, and the two dueled for dominance. They only pulled away when it became a necessity to breathe.
"Alright, note to self: Eat hot dogs in front of Karl."
Karl grinned. "Sorry, just seeing you take it whole in your mouth…" he said in typical Karl fashion.
"Way to ruin the moment Karl, way to ruin the moment." But Bree didn't think that he had ruined it, not really. He had made the moment. All the moments spent with him were among her most treasured.
Karl finished up his own hot dog, and wiped his face clean with a napkin. He used his hand to push himself up on his feet, and then reached the other one out to help Bree up. He grabbed two water bottles out of the cooler, and handed one to Bree. They both took a quick swig from it, and then clasped hands. Karl started to lead her away from the blanket, and towards the lush forest that stood against one side of the field.
"You're just going to leave the stuff there?"
"Yeah, no one lives within about 20 miles of her, it'll be fine."
As they were walking along, Bree leaned her head on Karl's shoulder. He removed his hand from her grasp, choosing to instead slip it around her waist. They walked in a comfortable silence, until Bree decided to break it. She knew that she had told herself that she would be patient, and let the day run its course, but she had to at least try to get it out of him.
"So Karl…"
"Bree…"
"Tell me, why exactly have you brought me here?'
"What do you mean my love?"
"Well, it's just that…this isn't really typical behavior for you.
"Oh?"
"Yes, so, I was wondering, what exactly makes today special?"
"You being here with me."
As sweet as it was, Bree wasn't having it. "Karl, stop being so…so…" Bree didn't know the word she was looking for.
"Charming? Irresistible? Devilishly handsome?"
Bree rolled her eyes good naturedly. "You took the words right out of my mouth!"
"I assumed as much."
They had now entered the woods, and were climbing their way up the steep hill, avoiding the trees and their branches as they did so. Karl, back in his 'perfect gentleman' mode, held any stray branches aside so Bree could easily passed untouched by their sharp ends. They kept climbing up for what seemed like ages. The sound of the waterfall had been heard throughout their whole time here, but the sound had now become deafening. Bree started to run forward, anxious to see the beautiful spectacle she was sure awaited her.
And beautiful it was. As Bree took the last final step to the top of the hill, a steep ledge dawned before her. Karl quickly jogged up behind her, and wrapped both arms around her. They were right at the very tip top of the waterfall. The view was breathtaking, to say the least. Bree looked down, and could see the crystal clear water tumble down the moss covered rocks, pounding against the riverbed below. They must've been a good hundred feet up. The view was spectacular. Bree was utterly speechless.
Karl laid a chaste kiss upon her cheek. "What do you think darling?"
"I think that I may possibly love you even more than I did two minutes ago, if that's even possible."
"Good, that was pretty much the plan."
They remained there, with Karl's arms still wrapped around her, for what seemed like eternity. Eventually, Karl gently led her over to a smooth rock a few yards away, still at the top of the waterfall that they could both easily sit on. They lay there, hand in hand, Bree's head resting against the contours of his chest. The moment was pure bliss.
Karl decided that it was now or never. He reached his hand up, and ever so gently started to stroke her perfect cheek with the pad of his thumb. He whispered in her ear.
"My love"
"Yes darling?"
"Do you love me?"
Bree glanced over at him in surprise. "Of course I love you!"
"Forever?"
"Forever and always", replied Bree, meaning every word.
Karl then reached over, and grabbed the small black velvet box out of the front pocket of his pants. Bree still couldn't see it, as her head was still resting on his chest. He gently pushed her up and off of him, and motioned for her to turn her body to face him. That was when she saw the box. She gasped.
Karl brought the box directly in front of her, and lifted it open. He had thought very carefully about exactly what he was going to say to this woman, as he wanted to get it perfect.
"Bree, in the six months that we have been together, I have never once been unhappy, not even for a single second. You brought the light back into my life, which has been shrouded in darkness for some time now. You opened my eyes up again, and taught me how to view the world differently. I've learned so many things from you Bree. And for that I am grateful. But among the things I have learned from you, I think that the most important thing is that you taught me how to love again. You released my heart from the cage I had built around it to protect myself. After Marissa, I had come to grips with the fact that I would never find the one woman I could be truly happy with, my soul mate. And then one day, you walked into my office, telling me you wanted a divorce…and everything changed. I had finally found the woman that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. The one I wanted to work hard each and every day to deserve. The one I would remain forever faithful to, the one I could share all my secrets and hopes and dreams with, the one I could trust to never judge me."
Bree had tears running down her face with what she was hearing come out of this man's mouth. She was holding back sobs with great difficulty. Karl reached up, and brushed the tears away.
"Bree…would you do me the honor, and make me the happiest man in the world, and be my wife?"
The sobs came now, Bree couldn't hold them in any longer. "Yes Karl! Oh, God, yes!"
Karl slipped the ring onto her finger, and gathered her up in her arms, kissing her with everything he was worth. The moment was pure perfection. And that was good. Because Bree liked things to be perfect; perfection made her happy. And when she was happy, then so was he.
And he was. He was absolutely, completely, without a doubt, blissfully happy.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed! :D By the way, in case you didn't know, the title of this fic, "One Wonderful Day", comes from the title of Season 1's Finale. Oh, and since this is my first fic I've ever posted, reviews would be very much appreciated (;