The Sweetest Thing
Chapter One
David and Anna's Cabin,
Pine Valley, PA
December 31st, 2003
"I will not inject untested drugs into any patients. No matter how willing, or desperate, they might be."
"I will not get arrested, tried, or jailed."
"I will not bury any object larger than a sea shell on a public beach."
"I will not kill that psych…Aidan… I will not kill Aidan. But only because he's Anna's nephew."
Anna Devane held her daughter in her arms, spying on David, who was lying on the lounge chair in the cabin, mumbling to himself. An amused smile spread across her face as she carried Leora towards her father. She whispered into the baby's ear, "I think your Dad is making New Years resolutions."
She gently plopped the baby girl into his lap, a gesture that resulted in an immediate wail of protest from Leora.
David held his daughter up high, "Oh…sweetheart, you're not going to show me how well you can cry again, are you?" He made a clown face for the little girl and deftly swung her up and down. The motion stopped the tears and brought on a heart-melting smile.
David grinned. "That's my girl." He hoisted her higher still, "Right, Leora? Why don't we show your Mom what a great smile you have?"
Anna smirked as she watched them, "I should know. You keep telling me she has my smile."
David couldn't stop grinning as he felt her tiny hands on his face. It was the truth. Leora Hayward might have inherited his eyes; eyes that were dark little orbs the colour of charcoal, and his even darker mop of jet black hair, but as soon as her lips parted into a smile, all resemblance to him vanished and she became a mirror image of her mother. David kissed her forehead, leaning the baby backwards, secure in his arms. He pointed towards the ceiling, "Look, sweetheart. The mistletoe's still up there. It means you have to give your Daddy a kiss."
Leora responded by drooling on him instead.
Anna laughed, "That's my girl."
She left the living room to fetch her winter coat, frowning when she looked outside the window and saw the beginnings of the snowfall the forecasters had predicted for this afternoon. As beautiful as their mountain hideaway was, trying to reach it in bad weather was often more of an adventure than she'd bargained for. Anna had to admit that neither she nor David were nearly organized or domesticated enough for a life in quasi-isolation. 'Which is why I now have to head back downtown to get the milk I left at the grocery store this morning,' she thought, annoyed with herself.
Back in the living room, she reached for the car keys on the mantle of the fireplace, unable to hide a smile when she heard David softly singing "Silent Night" to Leora, who stared at him wide-eyed, as he cradled her in his arms.
Anna bent down to kiss her cheek, "You should inform your Dad that Christmas is over."
"She likes carols, especially, don't you sweetheart? They sound like lullabies." His eyes went from Leora to Anna and he suddenly noticed that she was dressed to go outside. "Hey…where are you going?" he asked her.
"The grocery store. I…uh, left something there."
David raised his eyebrows, "No…you can't."
Anna looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?" She saw him check his watch.
"You can't leave the cabin now."
"Why not?"
A well-timed knock on the door stopped him from having to answer. David leapt up from the chair with Leora still in his arms.
Anna's puzzlement grew. "Are you expecting company?"
David grinned as he opened the door to his cousin, Maggie, and his half-brother, Trey. A whiff of cold, wintry air entered the room from outside. "I am indeed."
Anna smiled a lopsided smile, taken aback at the sudden arrival, before embracing the young woman. "Maggie? Trey? What brings you here on New Years Eve?"
Maggie offered her a conspiratorial grin, "You really have no clue do you?"
Anna turned towards David and Leora, "What's going on?"
David gently handed his daughter to his cousin, "Now you know about the feedings, right? How often and how much?"
Maggie groaned, "You only told me…oh, about five hundred times over the phone."
"And a half hour before you put her down for bed…"
Trey interrupted him, "We know, big brother, two table spoons of applesauce. It's her favourite."
"And don't forget to change her diapers once or twice, will you?" David handed Maggie a sheet of paper that he pulled from his pocket, "In case there's anything you don't remember, I wrote down everything I mentioned over the phone. You both have my cell number as well as Anna's."
"I swear, we're going to hover over her over the next twenty-four hours. Even more than you do, if that's possible."
Anna listened to the conversation incredulously. "David? What's going on? We're leaving Leora with Maggie and Trey?"
David draped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her towards him. "It's New Years Eve tonight. I made plans for us."
Anna raised her eyebrows, "Plans? You made plans?"
His smile grew, spreading across his face, "Big plans." He checked his watch once more, "And we have to get going if we're going to keep them."
"But…"
He shook his head, "No buts."
"Milk. I forgot the milk at the grocery store…" Anna suddenly remembered.
"I'll get it. No worries," Trey told her.
"Are you sure?" Anna bit her lip, "But Maggie…it's New Years Eve, don't you have plans?"
Maggie smiled as Leora took a strand of her hair into her tiny hands and pulled at it. "I do…I plan to spend it with my newest, most adorable family member."
Anna stole another kiss on her daughter's cheek, surprised that the little girl hadn't started crying yet. "I'm going to miss you, baby."
David put his arm around Anna's waist, pulling her towards the door and to the Ford Explorer that was parked in the gravel road next to the cabin, but only after he too placed a final kiss on the baby's head. "Be a good girl for your cousin. Don't tear all her hair out."
Maggie smirked as she watched them leave, her eyes on the precious charge in her arms. "Good girl, as if. " She smiled mischievously at Leora, "Poor kid. With parents like that, you're genetically predestined to be a troublemaker."
Chicago, Illinois
Approaching the Park Hyatt Hotel
A white-haired man wearing a crisp uniform and white, satin gloves opened the car door for Anna just after they pulled into the beautiful driveway of one Chicago's most opulent hotels, directly across the historic Water Tower. "Welcome to the Park Hyatt."
Anna turned to David as soon as she got out of the car, "New Year's Eve at the Park Hyatt…not bad Doctor Hayward."
David handed the man his car keys, bundled together with a ten-dollar bill. "Only the best for you, Chief."
He ushered her into the exquisitely decorated lobby, complete with a baby grand and teak wood-paneled walls rimmed with antique oil paintings. The excitement of what he had in store for them, made him smile when he looked at her. It energized him after their long drive here.
He reached over to kiss her, "Have a seat, I'll check us in."
"I think I could get to like this…"
David walked over to the check in counter, his smile still on his face when he saw a young woman, who looked like she was barely twenty years old, behind the counter. She had a thick head of black hair, tied up in a bun and an easy smile, one that was warm and genuine rather than polite. David couldn't help but stare at her, wondering what his daughter would look like in twenty years. 'She's going to be just as beautiful, and all she has to do to light up a room, is smile.'
"The name is Hayward, David Hayward. I have a room booked for one night…a penthouse suite actually. I requested a view of the skyline and the Water Tower."
He watched the young woman's fingers run across the keyboard, her eyes resting on the computer screen as she searched for his name.
"Hayward…that's H-a-y-w-a-r-d, right, sir?"
"That's right."
David felt a sinking feeling in the pit his stomach when he saw the young woman's smile fade.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Hayward. I can't seem to find your reservation."
"But I made it over two weeks ago…for a one-bedroom suite…the girl on the phone described it to me in detail. There's a window seat in that room, she told me, overlooking the skyline, we'd be able to see the fireworks from it," he pointed out.
The young woman blushed, apologetic. "I'm sorry…but I have no reservation in your name. Is it possible you made it under another name?"
"No, no other name." David raised his hands in disbelief, turning around to see Anna watching him from the lobby. He leaned in towards the young woman with the jet-black hair, whispering, "Can you just make me a reservation then?"
"It's New years Eve, sir. We've been sold out for over a week."
"You're kidding?" he asked, uncomprehending, waiting for her to tell him all this was a much delayed April Fool's joke. "This isn't possible…"
He knew without a doubt that a year ago today, he would have caused a scene.
He would have yelled, demanded, gestured, thrown his weight around… and now all he could think of was how much the young woman's features resembled those of his daughter. 'If someone were to take out their frustrations on Leora, I'd kill them,' he thought.
"I'm so sorry, sir," she apologized. Deeply. Sincerely.
"But surely's there's something you can do?" he asked. "Tonight was going to be special…I made so many arrangements. Dinner in your dining room…there were things that I had arranged to put in the room…champagne, flowers and then…" David shook his head. This really wasn't possible. It was a dream and any moment he was going wake up from it.
Instead of waking up, he felt Anna's hand on his shoulder, reaffirming his state of wakefulness. "What's going on?" she asked him.
"There's a little mix-up."
"A mix-up?"
David saw a man wearing a suit rather than a uniform, emerge from behind the counter. "Mr. Hayward, my name is Craig. I'm the Front Office Manager. I see we're missing your reservation. Allow me to see what we can do for you."
David squeezed Anna's arm, imploring rather than asking, "Why don't you have a seat, sweetheart. I'll sort this out."
Twenty minutes later David returned to sit down next to her, with two large plastic bags in his hands, the contents of which the hotel would pay for, in addition to a certificate for a complimentary weekend stay, on any weekend but this one.
"They found us a room at another hotel…free of charge, " he started.
Anna shrugged her shoulders, "Sound like a good deal. We don't have to stay at the Park Hyatt."
"It's… uh…"
Anna tried to read his expression. "It's what?"
"It's not in Chicago."
Anna raised her eyebrows, "What do you mean?"
"Apparently New Years Eve is a busy night for hotels. There isn't a single room in the entire city."
He watched Anna make a concerted effort to hide her disappointment. "So…where is this hotel?"
"It's in a little town, about 45 minutes outside of the city."
Anna sank back in the lush sofa seat, smirking, "Not quite what you had in mind, huh?"
David leaned back in the chair next to her and sighed, staring at the ceiling, "I'm sorry…I'm really sorry."
She rested a hand on his thigh, "Hey, it's not your fault…" Her smile widened into a grin. "For a change."
"This is so wrong…" he sighed.
"Really, it's okay," she said softly staring enviously at the long, steady line of guests checking in. "Come to think of it, I'm proud of you."
"Proud?"
"You didn't yell at that poor kid at the check-in counter…"
David chuckled, glancing at the young woman. "She looks a bit like Leora, doesn't she?"
"Lucky for her," Anna agreed. "Why don't we head back to Pine Valley? If you let me drive, we might actually make it back in time to have a midnight toast with Trey, Maggie and our little girl."
David met her gaze, "No…tonight was going to be about us." He eyed the two plastic bags in his hand. "There are a few things I still want to do. Even if it means doing them in another hotel without a penthouse view of fireworks."
He stood up and offered her his hand, "Come with me. Please?"
She eyed him with curiosity, "Well, I've come this far…"