Fate

1/1

PG

(For MaryFan)

Lou watched her as she slept. She was peaceful, somewhat angelic, and absolutely beautiful. It had taken him a long time to realize that she as the one for him. He had watched her flourish from a shy young woman to confident newswoman right before his very eyes. For the past six months every beat of his heart seemed to echo her name. Perhaps deep down he always knew that she was the one for him but now he was ready to admit his feelings. He wanted to tell her exactly how he felt.

He had never been an emotional man. Never the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. He was tough and stern and people respected him for it. But the way he felt now, the way he felt about Mary was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. He had never felt like this with his wife or even his first love. Mary seemed to bring out something inside of him that noone else ever came close to.

This arrangement, this unspoken agreement, between them of their relationship was wonderful at first. Dinner and movies and fun little day trips. But somehow platonic friendship had slipped into something more, what they weren't quite sure. The shift between them was a gradual one. It wasn't rushed and it didn't happen overnight, it just seemed to evolve.

Gestures became more heartfelt and somewhat more romantic. Dinners became quieter and softer and in more upscale restaurants. Mary was buying new dress and Lou was trying out new cologne. At some point something became natural and expected. Their moods were lighter, happier, and full of ease and tenderness They saw plays an ballets and baseball games. They took walks through the park on their lunch hour. And slowly they became more physically affectionate with one another.

They had tried dating the year before and it didn't work out. They were working together at the time and their dynamic was different than it was now. Before they had an obligation to their working relationship first and foremost but now all of that was gone. They were free to do whatever they wanted without answering to anyone but themselves. And before they knew it they had fallen into a serious relationship. A loving, caring, exciting relationship that neither one of them was expecting.

A year ago when they had shared their first kiss there was absolutely no spark between them. And they shouldn't have expected sparks. Nothing good ever came out of something forced. Spontaneity was all the needed. Romance was never meant to be staged it was just meant to happen. And when the time was right between them it happened. Sparks flew and the rest was history.

Lou wanted everything to be perfect. His intentions were to sweep Mary off her feet and take her for a weekend getaway in a cozy little cabin. But things hadn't quite worked out the way they had planned. The plane was late, there was horrible turbulence and a very rocky landing. They had gotten into an argument driving to the cabin. Dinner was all but ruined and there was no hot water. And on top of all of that they stopped speaking to each other altogether. The entire trip was ruined. They couldn't wait to get back home.

Mary slowly began to stir. She was still reeling from the disaster of the previous evening. She didn't understand how things could go so completely wrong. Especially when things were going so very well between them. When she finally forced herself to open her eyes she saw Lou sitting in a chair across the room. He was staring out of the window looking sad and lost. He was just as hurt and upset as she was.

"You didn't sleep in that chair all night did you?" she asked, sitting up. "Looks very uncomfortable."

"The couch wasn't much better." he offered. "You sleep okay?"

"Not really." she replied. "I had trouble falling asleep. And then I had trouble staying asleep."

A thick silence filled the room. A silence neither one of them was sure of how to break.

"You're miserable, aren't you?" Lou asked. "Let's just pack up and go home."

"I am miserable." she admitted. "But not for the reasons you think."

He finally turned his attention toward her. "No?"

"No." she said. "I don't want to fight with you. I don't like this."

Lou got up from the chair and walked over to the bed, sitting down on the side. "I don't like fighting with you, either." he admitted. "I think we got off to a bad start. We both had a lousy week at work and one top of that we had the worst traveling experience of our life. Anyone would be in a bad mood after that."

Mary smiled. "It was pretty awful." she replied. "So are we going to give this another try?" she asked. "Because I really don't want to pack up and go back to Minneapolis just yet."

"You don't?"

"Not in a million years." she said, wrapping her arms loosely around his neck "We finally have some time all to ourselves and I don't want to waste one more moment of it arguing because something didn't go as planned. Nothing ever goes as planned, that's just part of life."

"I think we should start over." he suggested. "You know wipe the slate clean."

"I think that's an excellent idea." she agreed. "Where would you like to start?"

Lou smiled. "Right here is just fine."

The End