Moving In
The portrayed characters are not mine, I only borrowed them; but after I had finished my fantasy of bringing them together, they came back to let me know I hadn't told their story completely. So here's how it continues.
This story is a direct sequel to Home Again: after their reconciliation, Maddie and David come to the office to find out soon that – who would've thunk it – there are still quite a few topics to discuss.
It was about 1:20 pm.
Maddie and David were heading down the corridor to the Blue Moon office. When they were approaching the door, he took her hand which was reaching for the doorknob and kissed it. She smiled and didn't withdraw it. Instead, she held on briefly, but firmly to his hand as to respond to his affectionate gesture.
"Ready to face the pack?" David asked and studied her face intensely.
Instead of an answer, Maddie kissed him lightly on the lips and enjoyed his baffled, open-mouthed expression as well as the kiss itself. "Ready when you are", she replied in a teasing tone and opened the door without waiting for an answer.
Maddie entered the main office like a spring breeze, with David following her closely on her heels. Immediately, the whole staff fell silent, and everyone's eyes were on them. She's not gonna like this, David thought anxiously.
However, Maddie said brightly; in a completely natural tone: "Good afternoon, Miss DiPesto."
"Hello, Miss Hayes, Hello, Mr. Addison!" Agnes exclaimed enthusiastically, clearly delighted to see them coming in together.
"Hello, Miss DiPesto", David answered.
Both of them stopped for a moment at Agnes's desk to pick up their respective phone messages and flip through them. Maddie didn't seem to be anxious to flee the attention. Good sign!
Agnes scrutinized them both, her eyes going to and fro between her bosses. She was pleased with what she saw; she knew immediately she had got Miss Hayes' telephone call in the morning completely right. Can it really be that both of 'em bullheads have come to their senses? she thought. I can't believe it. They both actually look happy.
"Do you want me to order something for you, or did you have lunch already?" she eagerly asked.
Maddie stiffened and froze for a moment; this was clearly a straight line Agnes had given, and she waited for an insinuating remark from David. OK, she had no problem with the fact that Agnes – and supposedly the whole staff – knew now how things had worked out between their bosses, but she still had no desire to be the subject of David's slippery jokes, at least not in the office; in private, that was a completely different question. She could feel a slight blush rise to her cheeks as her mind involuntarily drifted back to the morning they had spent at David's place with more than slippery activities.
To her endless surprise and relief, he just replied smoothly: "We're perfectly fine, Miss DiPesto." He put a barely noticeable hand on Maddie's shoulder for a brief moment and leaned in slightly towards her; as he spoke in a low voice, his warm breath brushed her neck just below her right ear and sent a delightful shiver running down her spine. "Got some files to get through urgently. See you later." He looked her straight in the eyes, and, visible only for her, his lips quickly formed the words I love you.
He winked at her, almost invisibly, for a fraction of a second, then turned to his office and strode towards it, whistling "Fever". Several of the wobblies grinned, but it was more joyful than anything else. They had all had their share of ugly mood swings during the past months and were happy to see that, obviously, these times were over.
Of course, David couldn't help expressing his mood in some way. Maddie suppressed a smile herself and allowed her gaze to follow him dreamily, attentively observed by Agnes and the rest of the staff, then she pulled herself together and headed for her own office, a barely perceptible smile on her face, and to her amazement, she almost started humming herself, hearing those lyrics in her head.
Never knew how much I love you
Never knew how much I care
When you put your arms around me
I get a fever that's so hard to bear
You give me fever
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Fever all through the night
She felt an urge to snap her fingers and hurried into her office before she started to make a complete fool of herself. Not in front of the kids, she thought and almost giggled. Now you better go to your office before you'll be the one to breach office decorum! She noticed that lately there was more music in her head. I wonder why... but then – no, not really.
Still smiling, she closed her office door behind her and put her purse and briefcase on the couch. Her office, incredibly enough, still looked exactly the same as the day before when she left it, as if nothing special had happened. Don't be ridiculous, she said to herself. Only because something – well, some important thing – has changed, doesn't mean everything else has changed as well. She sat down behind her desk, folded her hands on the desktop and waited for a moment to see if her doubtlessly elated mood would change, but nothing happened. She still felt good, and that felt good and reassuring, too.
Amazing, she thought. I know that everyone here knows what's going on, but I just don't feel uncomfortable. Far from it!
After only a few moments, there was a knock at the door. Maddie's smile widened. Ah, she should have known David couldn't keep away from her too long. The thought pleased and thrilled her. "Come in!" she called brightly.
The door opened, and to her secret disappointment, Agnes came in, holding a bunch of letters in her hand. She closed the door and hesitated, scrutinizing Maddie thoroughly with a piercing look from her big, brown eyes. Maddie smiled inwardly. Of course, after all that faithful soul had lived through with them both, and after the telephone call in the morning when Maddie had deliberately announced she would come in later because she had overslept... with Mr. Addison, Agnes was dying for confirmation that her dreams had finally come true.
"Miss DiPesto?" Maddie asked encouragingly.
"Miss Hayes." Smiling, she clutched the letters in her hands and didn't move.
"You came to bring my mail?" Maddie tried to help.
"Your mail?"Agnes repeated as if she hadn't a clue what her employer meant.
Maddie smiled and pointed at the letters in Agnes's hands.
"Oh, your mail! Of course!" Agnes stepped to Maddie's desk and put the letters on it, still holding in her hands some other papers. Obviously, she had no intention of leaving Maddie's office yet.
"Thank you, Agnes. What is that you're holding in your hands? Something else for me?"
"Oh... yes, that's..." - obviously, she wasn't sure how to continue - "Well, Miss Hayes, probably it's none of my business, but... when you were... away, we... I thought I should look for... well... I thought you'd maybe want to inform yourself about Lamaze classes as soon as you returned. So, I ordered a few flyers for you." She put them on Maddie's desk and took a step back, looking at her a bit anxiously.
None of your business? Maddie thought with mild amusement. And since when has that ever stopped you, you blessed thing? She smiled broadly. "Agnes, that was very sweet of you to think about that. Thank you, I appreciate this very much!" Eagerly, she picked the flyers up, much to Agnes's delight. "I think it's about time to sign up, you're right. Thanks again."
Agnes still stood there, watching. Apparently, she wasn't through yet. Of course, Maddie knew what was on her mind. "Yes?" she asked.
"Will you be taking classes... alone?" Agnes finally asked point-blank.
Maddie looked down at the flyers in her hand and smiled. Then she shook her head and faced Agnes again, still smiling. "I'm pretty sure I won't be going alone, Agnes."
A happy look crept over Agnes's face. "You are?"
"I am." Maddie confirmed, nodding.
Agnes had to ask. "But... you surely won't be going with... anybody else?"
Anybody else than who? Apparently, Agnes saw no need to explain what she meant. There was no need to ask either.
"I definitely won't be going with anybody else." Maddie said solemnly. "Nowhere."
Agnes beamed and nodded fiercely. "That is good news for once, Miss Hayes. Really good news." She rounded Maddie's desk, bent down and hugged her employer spontaneously. Maddie gladly hugged her back.
"Right, Agnes, it is. It is." She patted her back, touched by her strong reaction.
Finally, Agnes sniffed suspiciously, pulled back from Maddie and went for the door, still beaming at 1000 watts. Before she had reached the door, Maddie called: "Oh, and Agnes?"
She turned around again, her face all smiles. "Yes, Miss Hayes?"
Maddie cleared her throat. "I just wanted to say... I'm very glad you took good care of everything... and everybody... while I've been away."
Agnes nodded slowly and quietly, suddenly with a more serious, almost blue expression on her face that gave Maddie a twinge of guilt. Poor Agnes, who, as she realized for the first time now, had always wanted to see her and David together as a couple. She must have been through living hell those past five months as well. Seeing David being miserable, as she knew he had been during her absence, surely had broken Agnes's heart. All the same, she had welcomed her back without any hesitation, with her arms fondly opened wide, just like David had. Maddie suddenly realized how lucky she was.
"Now, I'll take over again. And... I'm gonna do it good this time. I won't let you down again. I won't let anybody down. I promise." She looked Agnes in the face, and her eyes apologized quietly.
Agnes nodded again, obviously accepting Maddie's silent apology, and replied solemnly: "I'll take your word for it, Miss Hayes, because he was a really hard piece of work to take care of, Mr. Addison was."
That remarkable woman is a gem, Maddie thought, deeply moved. Then she looked down at the flyers in her hand and smiled.
David had really tried to concentrate on the case files he had to get through, but after a few minutes he closed the files and gave a disgruntled growl. He realized that he was nervous because he didn't know what was going on in Maddie's mind right now. They had been in a similar situation before, and it hadn't ended well.
No, relax, he told himself, this time it's different. You heard her make that telephone call this morning; she practically told Agnes herself what was in store, without the slightest hesitation. But all the same, a tiny, unpleasant voice in his head answered: yes, but what if she's changed her mind by now? Wouldn't be the first time. Plus, she's on hormones.
David rose to his feet. OK, that's it. I'll just give a look to make sure everything's all right. To check she's all right. With three long, determined steps he was at his office door and pulled it open vigorously, only to find Maddie literally falling into his arms. Apparently, she had been about to knock on his door. She stumbled a bit, and he grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Whoa!" he exclaimed as he found himself nose to nose with her. Well, she didn't look displeased, uncomfortable or unhappy, that was good. He felt like an idiot. Relax, he repeated inwardly, you gotta learn to trust your girl.
"David! Were you going out?" She sounded a little breathless.
"I was, but I just changed my mind. Must be your lucky day." he said nonchalantly. He let go of her shoulders – reluctantly – and stepped aside, so she could enter his office. She smiled and walked past him.
"Yeah, I had that thought less than five minutes ago."
He frowned slightly as a reaction to her remark and closed the door behind them.
"Never mind. Have you a couple of minutes for me?" She pointed to the pile of case files lying on his desk.
"Sure, boss", he teased and placed himself on the edge of his desk. Maddie slightly shook her head, still smiling, and sat down. He saw she was holding some papers in her hand.
"So? What can I do for you that is suitable for work surroundings and does not get me into trouble for breach of office decorum?" He pursed his lips mockingly.
"I'm sure we'll find something", she replied brightly, "after all, we managed to for almost three years... more or less, that is."
She was obviously in a good mood, and David could not sense the slightest awkwardness in her voice or behavior and finally relaxed. "OK, let's give it a shot then."
"Agnes brought me these." Maddie raised her hand that held the papers. "Flyers about various Lamaze classes. I think it's about time to start them. We should check out which class to take."
His heart leapt with joy. One highlight comes right after the other! She had said we, and, obviously, she did really intend to include him in the further progress of her pregnancy.
"Definitely", he nodded. "Maybe we could talk about it, let's say, while having dinner?"
Maddie looked pleased. "That sounds good." Obviously, to his further delight, she had no intention to leave his office directly; if he was not completely mistaken, she was looking for an excuse to stay a little longer in his presence. Well, your wish is my command, Blondie, he thought, quite pleased himself.
"So, tell me..." he went on, "were you fairly well barbecued?"
She frowned. "Excuse me?"
"Be good and I'll take it into due consideration." David replied smoothly.
Maddie just shot him a fiery glance, but said nothing, and he had the impression she tried to hide how much she enjoyed their bantering. Well, he knew that she always had liked it, even if she never would have admitted it. Ah, they were easily falling back into their rhythm, and the fact that they were in the office didn't bother her.
"Did she grill you?" he went on, and as she still didn't show a sign of understanding, he finally added: "The Spanish inquisition!"
"Oh, you mean Agnes!" Maddie laughed. "No, I have to say, she was rather discreet."
"Discreet?" he echoed in complete disbelief. "Are we talking about the same person? J. Agnes Hoover DiPesto? Agnes-put-your-foot-in-it-DiPesto?"
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. You're over reacting, as usual. She was very sweet. When she handed me those flyers, she just asked if I'd be attending classes alone. She was clearly pleased when I said no I wouldn't, but she was only satisfied when I told her I wouldn't be going with anybody else either."
"Anybody else?" David repeated in an amused tone, stretching the last word in a low voice.
Maddie shrugged. "She didn't bother to explain what she meant. And it wasn't necessary either. As soon as she realized we'd be going together, she seemed to be happy."
David folded his arms in a deliberately provoking manner. "So – we're going together then?" he teased her. "Strange... I don't remember you asking me so far."
"Well... frankly, I really thought this question was settled. Besides – surely you don't want me to look for a Lamaze partner anywhere else, do you?" Maddie fluttered her eyelashes playfully.
Ooh, you wanna play, Blondie? Then let's play. David raised his eyebrows. "Such as where? On a train, for example?"
Her eyes narrowed for a moment – had that been too much? He raised his hands. "I'm sorry, it was stronger than me."
"Guess I deserve that." Maddie grumbled, but in a rather peaceable tone.
That's my girl. Always good in dishing it out, but also able to take it. Encouraged by her mild reaction, he went on: "You deserve that and a lot more, and you can take my word, I'm gonna give it all to you."
"No doubt about that." she replied, raising an ironic eyebrow.
"You deserve, for example, the best possible Lamaze partner. A skilled man and trained expert. In other words – moi." He smirked and put both hands to his chest in a theatrical gesture.
"Well, you weren't exactly a great help for Terri, were you?" Maddie challenged him.
"Don't worry, Blondie, I got a feeling I'll be able to concentrate better on the essential process if there's only one woman in the labor room hollering at me," he replied dryly.
"I can't believe my luck."
"Better believe it. Oh, and by the way, as soon as we've settled that Lamaze thing, we've got a few other things to talk about," he declared. Something that seemed absolutely logical to him had just crossed his mind.
Maddie was curious. "Such as?"
David dropped the bomb. "I think we should start to talk about moving in."
Her jaw dropped visibly. "Moving in?" she echoed puzzled.
"Moving in", he confirmed. "And we shouldn't waste time either."
"We shouldn't?" she repeated feebly.
"Well, I mean, there's gonna be be a lot to do, and time will fly by faster than you think, and we're gonna have other things on our minds" – he pointed at her swollen belly – "sooner than we can say big bamboozle, the baby's born!"
Maddie mumbled hesitantly: "I don't know..."
David sensed at once there was something not going smoothly here; he tried to go over it lightly. "No, trust me: the last trimester always goes by the fastest!"
She folded her arms. "I know that. I read a few books about pregnancy too you know, doc!"
He quickly decided it was not the right moment to remind her that it had been him to send her a whole parcel full of baby books to her parents' home in Chicago. "Then what don't you know?"
She sighed. "I don't know about moving in." Obviously not.
Suddenly, a indefinable tension seemed to be building in the office, and it was definitely not of an erotic nature. The thought David had just put in words had hit him spontaneously, but he was convinced it was right, just a logical consequence in the situation, and surely thinking it through thoroughly would lead Maddie to the same conclusion. But, right at this moment, as he could see, she was obviously not ready for it yet.
David assumed a playful tone, trying to lighten the situation. "Well, usually it's two – or, in some rare cases, more than two – people deciding to live under the same..."
"David! Stop it!" she snapped, clearly annoyed. Then she took a deep breath. "I don't know about us moving in together. I mean... I haven't even thought about it until you brought it up now. Don't you think it's a little... hasty?"
He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Hasty?" he gasped incredulously.
"Hasty." she repeated defiantly.
"Well, let's see..." he was frowning as if he was considering that option really thoroughly. "Nnnooooo, I don't think it's hasty. Granted, had we met yesterday, you'd have a point there. Had we kissed for the first time yesterday, same thing. Had we hit the sheets for the first time yesterday..."
"All right, already!" she interrupted, angry now. "I got your point, OK?"
"Good. But I'm afraid I don't get yours." David raised his hands. "Look, Maddie, it took us nearly three years to get to where we stand today, so I really wouldn't call it hasty if we moved in. Besides, don't you think everything should be ready... we should be ready when junior arrives?"
"Who says we're not?" she snapped in a high-pitched tone. At least she has said we again, David thought. We're still in line.
"Well... you may want to correct me here, but I daresay two people taking care of a newborn might be a trifle easier if the three of them lived all under the same roof." he said sarcastically.
Maddie slowly rose to her feet because she couldn't stand looking up to him any longer. God, she really hated it when during an argument he was right, and worse still, when he knew he was right. And, without a trace of doubt, there was nothing reasonable for her to hold against his latest statement. She was breathing in that heavy, almost menacing way David usually called steaming. A quite fitting description, though.
"Oh, don't be such a damn know-it-all, Addison!" she finally hissed, for lack of a better point.
David was getting a bit irritated himself now, because he didn't understand her problem, and, what was worse, she had apparently no intention to reveal it to him. No playing hide and seek anymore with me, Blondie! He was inwardly steaming himself.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quite sharp-edged. "I beg your pardon if I intruded into your preserves here, I know normally you seem to think you know it all! But I really don't understand what's nagging at your noggin!" He ruffled his hair. "Well, it's quite clear you're not very enthusiastic about moving in with me, but I'd just like to understand why. You haven't given one single logical reason so far! Why's that? Won't you be so kind as to reveal your list?"
They were standing face to face now, both steaming in silence, each one trying to stare the other down, green eyes piercing into blue ones, and vice versa.
Finally, David gave her the killer argument. "And, besides, Blondie – let me remind you that you were the one to say you wished to go to sleep and wake up next to me every day for the rest of your life."
Bad mistake! "Ha!" she exclaimed. "I knew you were gonna hold this against me for the rest of my life!"
David decided it was time to slow down a bit. "Not in the least." he said very softly, accompanied by a look that could have melted a titanium thermal protection shield. "I'm gonna hold this in your favor for the rest of your life."
That simple line completely stole Maddie's thunder; there was nothing she could say against that. Great! Why did he have to say something so sweet in the middle of a fight? That was not fair and made her feel sillier still. Maddie unwillingly blushed, which made her even more mad, and she clenched her fists.
"Terrific!" she burst out. "I hate you!"
"Yeah, I've heard that line somewhere before..." he replied imperturbably, then raised his eyebrows. "...but not for the rest of your life, I hope?"
"Hrrrrgh!" she growled, unable to reply, completely mad now. She stomped to the door, threw it open, stormed out and slammed it forcefully. After a few seconds, David could hear the slamming of her own office door.
For a brief moment he listened to the echo of the slam and murmured to himself: "Definitely too much life in this conversation."
Only seconds later, after a barely audible knock, the door opened again, and for a second David thought Maddie was back, but it was Agnes who popped in.
"Mr. Addison? Is something wrong?" she asked in a clearly worried tone.
David tried to look nonchalant. "Well, to be honest, Miss DiPesto, personally, I find it an absolute no-go to wear slippers without socks, but hey, that's only my humble opinion."
Agnes didn't even bother to look confused and simply ignored his comment; she just frowned and shook her head. She came in and closed the door. "No, Mr. Addison, I meant Miss Hayes. She seemed a little upset."
David assumed a mildly surprised, yet ironic tone. "Why, Miss DiPesto", he said, stretching the last syllable of her name, "come on, shouldn't you be used to that by now? Isn't this same business as usual?"
But Agnes was not in the mood for bantering; that wasn't her specialty anyway – she had never thought it made a lot of sense to juggle with words in the headspinning way these two were masters at. No, Agnes DiPesto had always preferred to say openly what had to be said, no matter where, no matter when and, for what it was worth, no matter to whom. She had found out that this made life a lot less complicated. Also, she never had seen any point in hiding her feelings. Another thing her bosses were masters at. Or, at least, had been. Past tense, hopefully.
So, she replied quite angrily: "Well, I dunno if I remember business as usual so clearly! She's been away for four and a half months! And I don't recall so many things being very usual during that period, Mr. Addison!"
All right, I should have known better than to try and fool La Dolce DiPesto, David ruefully thought. In a completely sincere voice he answered: "Don't worry your curls off, Agnes. She's back for good now. And she's changed."
"She has?" Agnes asked doubtfully.
"Sure, she has."
"Really? I thought that, too, but..." her voice drifted off, and she pointed her head towards the door that had been slammed minutes ago by her employer.
David shrugged. "Well, she hasn't changed completely", he admitted. "Luckily, I might add. But she's changed essentially." He put a reassuring hand on Agnes's shoulder, and his tone matched his gesture. "Believe me, Agnes – she knows now where she belongs, and she is exactly where she wants to be. Here. With us."
"With you?" Agnes insisted outright, not thoroughly convinced.
"With me." he confirmed. "Trust me, there's really no doubt about that. I'm afraid though, the rest hasn't changed so much, so I might warn you: it still is the same business as usual: we yell, we fight, we slam doors... well, mostly she does... and you pretend not to notice."
Agnes nodded slowly, thoughtfully, her gaze wandering off in that typical, inimitable way of hers, an unmistakable sign of her either being in a completely different parallel universe of her own or reflecting thoroughly on what had been said to her. Finally, she declared: "Guess I can live with that, Mr. Addison."
"Well, you lift a heavy weight off my shoulders, Agnes." David replied soberly, though with the slightest ironic touch of his voice.
"Mr. Addison?"
"Miss DiPesto."
All of a sudden, her eyes narrowed, and she pointed a very un-DiPesto-ish, very severe finger at him. "Don't you screw it up this time!"
For a moment David was taken aback, but his answer came sincerely, without the slightest trace of irony this time. "I wouldn't dare to, Agnes."
"Well, yeah... you had better not!" She finally turned around and left the office; it was clear that she would take no cute apologies from him if this thing went wrong again. David's amused gaze and honestly admiring smile followed her, and he thought fondly Bert, don't you ever dare to make her unhappy or I'll roast your guts!
After having slammed her office door behind her, Maddie threw herself on the couch and gave an annoyed grumble. "Moving in? And that would not be hasty? Ha!" She shook her head, but to her own surprise she felt her anger already wear off. She sighed and put both hands to her head in a clueless way, wondering what had just happened. She had gone over to David's office to talk about the Lamaze classes, to enjoy planning the first steps of their life as a couple, eager to show him she really was no longer set on shutting him out of her life.
Then, at some point, their conversation had taken a turn, as it had happened so many times before – sometimes a turn for the better, sometimes for the worse. This time it had led again to her getting angry at him – OK, mad, she thought – and storming out of his office with the classic Hayes slam. Granted, like so often, her anger had not lasted long, but...
What remained, though, was her confusion. She didn't even know why she had gotten so angry; if she honestly thought about it, David hadn't said or done anything wrong this time. Of course, after all they had been through, one could not possibly say things between them had been moving ahead too quickly. And, of course, David was right: things would be a lot easier if they lived together. Plus, Maddie really wanted to be with him. That decision she had already carved in stone, and she was by no means confused about that, she realized with relief.
"Good", she murmured to herself, "already one point cleared."
OK, so you love him, she thought. And you want him in your life. Every day. Well, yes, OK, every night too. Then, what is your problem? Come on, girl, this time any problem is gonna be solved and not run away from!
Are you afraid to let him not only into your life, but into your house? she asked herself. He hadn't talked about that, but it was quite clear that if they were to live together, it would be in her house, thus him sort of intruding into her , no, she was pretty sure that was not her problem. The house was spacious enough to give each one of them room to be alone by themselves if they wanted to.
Too much nearness? Is it that what you're afraid of? Maddie found she could answer that one easily, too. They had been apart for a long time, and all of the time she had felt a painful emptiness inside. She had tried not to admit to herself that the reason for this pain was that she desperately longed for him and needed him near. But now, she was way beyond this point of denial. She needed and wanted him near, and the months of self-inflicted separation had been enough for a lifetime.
So... afraid to give away too much of yourself? Luckily, she was way beyond this point, too. She was willing to dedicate herself completely, with body, heart and soul to him and to their relationship. Because now, she knew for sure she was safe with him; because now, she knew he felt the same, would do and give up everything for her. Giving herself to this man didn't mean she would be deprived of something; quite the contrary, she and her life would be enriched so much by receiving all of him and his love in return.
What then? Her inner voice demanded with a little tinge of impatience. C'mon, girl, I'm running out of clever questions here. You better come up with some smart answers. Maddie rolled her eyes when she realized that her inner voice suddenly sounded a bit like David.
"Great", she murmured, "now you're not only under my skin, but also inside my head to drive me round the bend." She sighed again. Then she frowned. Maybe that was it! Living together, spending so much time together meant numerous occasions for them to fight, and she knew habitual fighting could wear down the most solid relationship. And she was determined not to take any risk that might mess it up this time. But then again... wouldn't he take it as a further rejection if she told him that?
Oh, this is great! she thought, being at a complete loss. I got caught right in the middle between the green-eyed devil and the deep blue sea.
Suddenly, cutting right into the middle of her thoughts, there was a buzz from the intercom, then Agnes's voice was to be heard: "Miss Hayes, there's a call from your mother."
"Mom?" Maddie whispered. She jumped up and hurried to her desk to press the button of the intercom connecting her with Agnes. She suddenly realized she was very eager to speak to her mother. "Thanks, Miss DiPesto. Would you please put her on. – Mom? Hi!"
"Baby. So good to hear your voice. How are you? How's my grandchild?" Her mother sounded a bit concerned.
"Fine, really fine." Maddie tried to soothe.
"That's great. We haven't heard a lot from you, so your Dad and I were anxious that your return home might not have gone so smoothly?"
Maddie laughed gently. "Well, I wouldn't exactly call it smoothly, but... after a few detours and irritations everything's in order now."
"In order?" Virginia repeated. "That does not sound very... uhm..."
"Mom", Maddie interrupted, "please, don't worry. Everything's all right."
"What about David?" Virginia asked. "Have you talked? I mean, really talked? Settled things?"
"Yes, Mom", Maddie replied. "We have resolved everything." Brazen little liar! She blushed, even though her mother could not see her. Ah, well, but then it had not been a real lie – the important things had been solved, hadn't they?
Obviously, though, this answer didn't quite satisfy Maddie's mother. "And that means...?" She left her sentence hanging unfinished in the air.
Maddie smiled. Mom always knew. "Mom, it means what I said. I really did the right thing this time. I told him. I bared my soul to the bottom. You would have been proud of me."
"What did you tell him, Baby?" Virginia insisted.
Maddie took a deep breath. "That I love him. No ifs, no buts." And don't you ever forget about that! chimed in the inner voice. What a bothersome little thing!
"Oh, Maddie." Virginia sighed, obviously relieved. "I bet that you surprised him a great deal." She cleared her throat. "Truth be told, you're surprising me a great deal."
"Mom!"
Virginia laughed softly. "What can I say, I know my daughter. But tell me, did he like it?"
Maddie didn't see any point in hiding anything. "He said that was all he ever wanted from me, so I'm pretty sure he liked it, Mom." she answered sincerely.
Suddenly, Virginia's voice sounded very hoarse. "Baby, are you finally... truly... happy then?" she asked.
Maddie opened her mouth to give her mother a widely elaborate, well-put explanation, to ensure her that finally everything was OK with her and her life, but while she was fumbling for the right words to convey this message satisfactorily, she suddenly changed her mind and simply said:
"Yes." Slowly, a smile spread on her face, as in her head she heard the words "simple as that".
"Good," camethe equally simple retort, and after a moment: "Now, we can sleep better, and you can get back to your work. Will you please give our best wishes to David?"
Maddie nodded. "Sure, Mom. I will do that."
"And tell him to take good care of you both." Virginia added.
Maddie smiled fondly. "Believe me, Mom, that won't be necessary. Give my love to Daddy, OK? We'll speak soon."
"We love you, Baby."
"I love you too, Mom."
Maddie slowly put down the receiver and smiled. The talk with her mother had definitely cheered her up. She looked at her watch, saw that it was almost five o'clock and took a deep breath. Time to emerge from the deep blue sea and cross the bridge to face the sweet devil. Either that, she thought with a streak of black humor, or flee to a foreign country and hide under a bed. "Not this time", she mumbled and rose from her chair.
David looked at his watch and saw it was five o'clock. "That's it", he murmured and closed the file he had not really been studying. No stupid games this time. It doesn't matter who takes the first step as long as it's taken, period.
Just as he was pushing his chair back, he heard a short, somewhat hesitating knock on his door, then it was opened. Maddie was standing there with an inquiring expression on her face. Could it really be that she even looked a tiny little bit sheepish? Yes, she definitely did. And this damn sure looked like a first step to him. OK. He decided to make it easy for her this time and smiled invitingly.
"Hey, partner", he said softly and rose from his chair, coming from behind his desk to place himself on the corner of it. "Come in and have a seat."
She closed the door behind her with such deliberate caution that it made him smile inwardly. Keep it under your hat, Addison! his warning inner voice commanded. There are moments for being smug, but this isn't one of them. Maddie paced across the room and sat down in the nearest chair, still not having said a word. See? Be good to her and she won't shy away or bite.
For a moment it seemed as if she didn't know how to begin. Then she sighed, looked at him and said: "This was really hard for you, wasn't it?"
David had no idea what she was talking about. "What do you mean?"
"Today, when we came in and Miss DiPesto asked us if we'd had lunch already... I bet you were dying to say something like – " Maddie mimicked him, speaking in his trademark smooth, low voice:" – 'yeah, and you betcha we even took thirds'."
Boy, did she know him well! David managed only just to suppress a smirk, but couldn't prevent his eyes from glittering suspiciously and the corners of his mouth from twitching. "Well... I gotta admit the idea might briefly have crossed my mind, but what can I say?" He shrugged with grandiloquent modesty. "Some of us manage to change their habits, some of us... don't."
He winked a teasing eye at her to show that he wasn't too serious. Well, in fact, in the last 18 hours she had proven that she had managed to change more than one bad habit.
"Don't complain!" she protested. "You were fairly warned."
"Guess I was." This time he let the smirk out. "Anyway, gotta say I'm flattered to hear you do remember the thirds this time!"
"No need to brag, buster." Maddie replied dryly. "I recall you lost your composure yourself a couple o' times today."
He decided to let her have the final say this time and didn't reply. This was not the right time for advanced bantering; there was a possible upcoming conflict to be solved and questions were to be answered. Apparently, Maddie was in the mood and ready to face the issue of moving in. He was not going to spoil this, only for the satisfaction of winning their verbal battle. Having that kind of fun could wait until the matter was settled.
Obviously, his silence surprised her. "No wise reply?"
He smiled lightly, without mockery, and shook his head. "No wise reply."
She sighed. "David."
"Maddie." He waited for a moment, but she didn't speak. So he continued in a soft, encouraging tone: "Will you please tell me now – what is it you're so afraid of?"
She hesitated and searched for the right words. Her qualms weren't too easy to explain, and she didn't want him to think she was about to take one or even more steps back. She looked at him sincerely, almost pleadingly. "David, what I said last night, about waking up together... I really meant it!"
He nodded seriously and by no means smugly. "I know."
Maddie went on a bit reluctantly: "And of course you were right about... everything being less complicated if we moved in."
He nodded again, but refrained deliberately and wisely from another I know and asked her softly instead: "What is it then, Maddie?"
She sighed again. "David, surely you'll admit we're very..." - she paused a moment to look for the right word - "different people. We have different habits, different rhythms, different tastes..." Her voice drifted off, and she shrugged.
"No doubt about that", David confirmed, surprisingly enough, and bit back a comment about their perfectly matching rhythm. "But I still don't get your point."
She was puzzled. "You don't?"
He shook his head resolutely. "No, I don't."
She sighed. She had expected him to tell her that they were not that different, that they had more in common and agreed on more things than she thought... Instead, he had consented. But apparently he didn't see any problem in their difference. She had to try to explain it to him.
"Well, I'm just so afraid of..." Oh god, this was so difficult. How could she possibly tell him what was on her mind without hurting him, without making him feel being pushed away? He scrutinized her in silence, patiently waiting for her to continue.
Finally, she burst out: "What if living together drives us crazy?"
David raised his eyebrows. "This is it? This is what's bothering you?"
Maddie shot him an indignant glance. "Why, yes! Isn't that a comprehensible reason to be bothered? If living together drives us crazy..."
"What are you saying, 'if'", he interrupted. " – of course it will!"
She stared at him in disbelief, eyes wide open. "But..."
He raised his hands. "Maddie, Maddie, Maddie... please relax, will ya? Just because one of the housemates-to-be may have some bad habits like... let's say... leaving his dirty socks flyin' around all over the place, or listening to weird music at full blast, doesn't mean that movin' in won't work." He noticed how she glanced at him and realized he just might have shot himself in the foot. He added hastily: "Just for the sake of argument, of course. Not that I have one of these habits!"
"No, I'm sure you don't!" Maddie replied ironically, but somehow, amazingly, she seemed to be already a little less anxious than she had been before – maybe simply because they were talking about her fears this time instead of ignoring them? Had we only known this earlier...
David hunkered down in front of her. "Listen. Of course we're different. Helluva piece o' luck that is! Go figure we were alike..." He was convulsed with fake disgust. "I couldn't stand you if you were like me!"
Leaning back in her seat and folding her arms, she couldn't help but smile at his words. She noticed that he was relieved that this was not a defensive move. "A very revealing remark, I'd say, fella." she stated baldly. "And you expect me to move in with you?" He could detect the faintest touch of a smile in the corner of her deep blue eyes and felt encouraged.
We're moving forward here, he thought and decided to fire a few shots. "Not only to move in, but also to move on, over, under... feel free to use any preposition or, with regard to that, any position you can think of! In fact, feel free to pre-position yourself anytime you'd like to proposition me..."
"Addison!" she hissed, though not quite as indignantly as she would have liked to. "I thought we were having a serious conversation!"
"Right... I'm sorry, I'm not completely used to this yet. Got carried away. Talking about changing habits..." he shrugged and grinned apologetically. "Sorry again."
She observed him in silence and obviously waited for what he had to say; he took that for a good sign. He seemed to have had achieved his aim: the atmosphere had distinctly lightened. He went on, now seriously: "Point is... you wanna know if it's gonna be easy? Hell, no! Yesterday I told you it was simple, I never said it was gonna be easy! That would be... too simple." He paused and frowned. "Does that make sense?"
"Kind of." she replied dryly.
"Of course it's gonna take a lot of patience, a load of hard and dirty work..." He winked at her and curled his lips into his trademark half-smile. "Not that I mind a little dirt sometimes."
Maddie rolled her eyes and shook her head. "But believe me", David went on earnestly, "it's worth the struggle, and we'll be just... fine."
He waited for her reaction. After a short while she said: "You really are optimistic, huh?"
He shrugged. "Well... last time I was optimistic and patient, I was abundantly rewarded."
"You were?" She scrutinized him thoroughly. He held her gaze and nodded slowly.
"Yep. Turned out to be the jackpot."
She sighed unwillingly. "Why do you always have to say such things?"
"What things?"
"Nice things."
"Because they're true."
She grumbled something, more to herself, that sounded suspiciously like "S'pose I'm the lucky beggar here" and finally sighed: "I just hope you won't change your mind some day."
He shook his head reprovingly. "Lady, a bit of optimism would really become you. Why should I change my mind? May I remind you of a not completely negligible fact? I love you. We've put up a long harsh slog, and we hung in there. Frankly, can it become any worse than it's already been?" It was a rhetorical question.
Maddie was deeply moved by the fact that he hadn't hesitated for a second to put his feelings almost casually in those three, simple words. How very David. She knew she had always to be alert with him, had always to listen carefully, or she might miss, right in the middle of a cascade of his hip-hop slop, fast-talking jive or whatever one wanted to call it, a precious little gem like that I love you.
Furthermore, she noticed and appreciated that he had said "we", whereas she was perfectly aware that it had been mainly him who had held out during the past five months. He certainly had a point: if that emotional rollercoaster they had been riding hadn't been able to drive them apart, odds were pretty good that they could deal with whatever was in store, be it dirty socks or slamming doors.
A look into his eyes confirmed that he seemed to have read her mind. She could see the tender, honest little smile in the green depths there, even before it reached the corners of his mouth. She swallowed and suppressed with difficulty the strong urge to kiss him. Not before the last word is spoken on this issue!
"So... you honestly believe we can work this out?" she finally asked hopefully. "I mean, moving in? Living together? Every day?" Come on, convince me. You've almost got me.
"Maddie." He put his hands on her shoulders. "Do fleas flee? Does butter fly?"
She rolled her eyes. How could I not fold in light of such an argument? "Well... I guess, maybe it's just a question of constant compromising, meeting halfway, isn't it?" she said more to herself. "I mean, we're both used to living by ourselves, it's gonna take time to get used to having another person around all the time. We'll simply have to give enough space to each other."
"Whatever curdles your cream." He smiled understandingly, innocently, and rose to his feet again. "Look, Blondie, if it makes you feel more comfortable, I'd even be disposed to take separate bedrooms into consideration", he announced generously.
She was so aghast she didn't recognize the trap. "What?" she shook her head vigorously. "No dice, fella. That's absolutely not an option."
He playfully raised both hands in fake defeat, showing a deeply satisfied smirk. "OK, OK... if you absolutely insist on the kingsize-bed, then so be it."
She pursed her lips sourly, slightly annoyed with herself because she had so easily fallen for his line again. "I can see this is gonna be real fun." She rose to her feet.
He snatched her unceremoniously and pulled her close. She grumbled halfheartedly, but didn't object. "Come on, Maddie, I know you like your soup hot and spicy. Just like I do." He brushed her temple with his lips an inhaled the scent of her hair. The touch gave her involuntary goosebumps. "And this soup smells very spicy to me", he purred in his low voice.
She put her hands on his shoulders as if to push him away, but she didn't. "Listen, Chef de cuisine – you're not supposed to stir up a pregnant woman!"
Of course, she had furnished him with another fit occasion, and she knew it the moment the words were out. "I am not?" he cried out in faked disbelief. "Now I'm really confused. I thought that's exactly why you resent those separate bedrooms."
She smacked him on the shoulder. "Upset!" she snapped. "I meant upset! You're not supposed to upset a pregnant woman!"
"Are you kidding? Don't you tell me you wanna use junior as an excuse now!" He put up a severe face. "Well, let me put that straight for you: won't work with me! You are in the family way, you're not ill! Besides – Bambi – your close season has lasted long enough!"
Maddie shot him a fiery glance and clenched her fists. "Addison, you are really..."
David tightened his embrace and smirked. "Yeah, go on and call me names. Talk mean to me. Tell me how much you hate me. You know I'm crazy about your weird love declarations, the nastier, the better!"
She threw her hands in the air in despair and defeat. "OK! Good. Fine! You win. I surrender! If you just shut up and kiss me, so I don't have to listen to your stupid lines any more!"
He raised a mocking eyebrow. "Can I use that against you some time?"
Maddie grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him close. "Addison! Put me out of my misery and – just – do it."
She didn't have to ask him a third time.
Song: Fever by Eddie Cooley and John Davenport, congenially interpreted by Peggy Lee
Thanks again to all my 'essed friends at the forum; this one's for you!
And special thanks to my lovely private English teacher and beta-reader Nancy for correcting my grammar errors and smoothing out my style; any mistakes are my own!