A/N: I was about to go to sleep, but, as always, I had an idea for a story so I decided to stay up and write a bit of it. So hopefully it won't be riddled with grammar mistakes and things of that nature. I hope you enjoy the results of my insomnia. This is, Leave a Light on.
Leave a Light On
Part 1
My Own Two Feet Can Find a Way
It was a cool autumn evening, the perfect kind of evening for Trick or Treating. It's been a long time since I've written in you. One year, two months, seventeen days to be exact. I thought today would have been ad good day to start again. I'm sorry I've been gone for so long. Tommy and I had been walking around together since the beginning of the evening. He couldn't go for so long, only as long as his little legs could carry him. It was approaching the end of his stamina. He yawned, but was still so excited. It was his first year that I let him go to the door by himself. He was a Power Ranger; I didn't know the show still existed. He insisted, and, sure enough, they were there. I'm not sure if he had ever really seen the show before.
"Tommy," I said, getting to one knee, "This is going to be the last house of the night, alright?"
"But Dad!" he yawned, "I still want to Trick or Treat!"
I smiled, "You can't fool me, you're about to pass out you're so tired."
"I'm not tired, see!" He started running in circles around me. When he got in front of me again, I reached out and picked him up. He started laughing and squealing. I put him back down, "Last house, and we can go home and get some food, alright?"
He smiled, "Can we have Spaghettio's?"
"We can have Spaghettio's." He smiled and ran up to the back of the line that was forming in front of the house. I stood back up and watched him. Next to me, a young woman was letter her little girl run up behind Tommy. I turned to her, "Is that your little girl?"
She turned to me. She was, she was simply beautiful. Wavy blonde hair with striking brown eyes, and dressed in a pant suit, "Yeah, well kinda. She's my niece. Which one is yours?"
"He's the little boy at the front of the line. The Power Ranger."
"That show still exists?" she started to laugh.
"I was just as surprised," we both started to laugh, "I'm Theodore Seville, well Theo for short," I extended my hand. She grabbed it and we shook hands.
"I'm Eleanor Miller, but most people call me Ellie," we were still shaking hands. She noticed and let out a nervous laugh. I noticed and let go. We both let out a short laugh, "Who are you supposed to be?"
I was wearing a leather trench coat with a button up, dark blue jeans and red Chuck Taylor's, "Oh," I laughed, "I'm Dwight, Clive Owen's character from Sin City."
"I thought so! I love that movie!" she exclaimed.
"I do too," we lingered in silence for a second and I said, "Who are you supposed to be?"
"I'm Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. I have a poncho and an axe," she pulled them out from behind her, "I took them off, so I guess I just look a girl in a suit," We laughed again, and Thomas ran back to me from the door. When he saw I was talking to her, he slowed down then grabbed onto my pant leg.
She leaned down to his height, "So this is your son, he looks so much like you," he really did, all except his blue eyes, "What's your name, little guy?"
He looked up to me and I said, "Go on, tell her. She's not going to bite, I think," she started to laugh and shake her head 'no'.
He reached out his little hand, "I'm Thomas Seville."
She grabbed his hand and they shook, "and how old are you?" she asked as she let go. He held up five fingers then retreated behind me, "My, he's quite the little gentleman and only five years old! His mother and you must be very proud."
"Yeah," I paused and looked away, "She was very proud," I looked back at her and she stood up, "His mother passed away a little over a year ago."
She crossed her arms, "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have mentioned it."
"Oh," I smiled, "Don't worry, there's no way you could have known," her niece ran up and stood next to her, "You ready to go, Tommy?" He nodded, "Well, it was really nice to meet you, Eleanor," we shook hands again.
"Please, call me Ellie," she started going through her purse, "Listen," she pulled out a pen and a small piece of paper, "If you ever want to, um, hang out or something, here's my number," she extended her arm and I grabbed the paper. I was floored; it had been such a long time.
"Oh, uh, yeah sure! I'll, um, call you sometime."
She smiled, "Cool," put her arm around her niece and started to walk away, "It was nice to meet you too, Theodore Seville."
"Theo's fine," I said as I started to trail off, "Theodore's far too formal anyway," I said softly to myself.
Thomas looked up and me, "Who was that, Daddy?"
"That was Ellie Miller," I said as I picked him up, "You want to ride on my shoulders?" He nodded frantically.
We started to walk home when Thomas said, "She was pretty, like Mommy."
"She was pretty like Mommy, wasn't she?" He nodded, "Let's go get some Spaghettio's," You would have liked her, Mary. She was the sweetest thing. I think Thomas likes her, so that's good thing. I'll talk to you later, okay? Try not to get into trouble up there or anything. I know that might be hard for you.
The next day, Thomas and I went to go visit my brother at work. His receptionist was charged with the task of taking care of Thomas while we talked, much to my chagrin. He was some corporate type with an ever changing title. I think he's Vice President of Relations right now, whatever that means. I was sitting in his office as he looked out over the city. It was a beautiful view after all.
"Alvin, what am I supposed to do? It's been like 6 years since I've been on a date and all. Should I call her tonight? And what if she's busy, or if she's changed her mind?" I said frantically as he stood there silently. He held up his index finger and I stopped talking.
"Theo, quit talking like you're an old man. You're twenty-eight, you can still do this!" He turned around, "It's like riding a bicycle; you never forget how to do it!"
I put my head in my arms and laid them on the table, "I've completely forgotten everything. I'm screwed; I won't be able to pull it off. I'm sure she's used to suave studs, taking her fancy places. I live in a two bedroom apartment with my five year old stud, working as a patent lawyer."
"You're a lawyer; girls think that's totally hot."
"I'm not that kind of lawyer. I look at molecules and see if they're original. I've only been in a law room once, and I was just a consult. I'm doomed. She's probably used to the best, and I can't provide it."
"Theodore," he sat down, "you're a nice guy, holding down a great job that pays a lot of money. If you don't recall correctly, you don't live in an apartment."
"…I live in a condo."
"You live in a condo," he looked shocked, "Yeah, exactly. A nice condo at that, in the most happening place in town."
"Oh God, she's going to think that it was weird that we were Trick or Treating in that neighborhood. She's going to think that I'm a creep!"
"Gain a hold of yourself!" he lifted my head up and smacked me in the face.
"Hey, what the hell!"
"You needed to calm down, and I provided that," he said as he straightened his suit, "Theo, you're going to do fine, and she's not even going to think about it. At best, you just tell her the truth."
"You're right," oddly enough, his composure slap actually helped, "Thanks for the smack in the face."
He smiled, "I'm always good for a smack in the face."
"I know you are," we both started laughing as his receptionist walked in with two coffees and my son running around her. I mouthed 'I'm sorry', to her and she gave me an indignant look then walked out. I guess it was deserved, "Damn fine cup of coffee, Alvin."
"Twin Peaks reference? What next? Want a piece of pie or something?" We both laughed again.
After a short pause in the laughter I said, "Anyway,"
"Right, we need to get you ready for the ball," he said in jest.
"Right, so what should I do?" I said.
"Well, you know about the three day rule."
"..so she doesn't think I'm desperate."
"So she doesn't think you're desperate," he looked at me and I smiled, "When did you become telepathic?"
"When you started repeating yourself," I joked.
"I'll disregard that. She knows you're widowed, right?" I shook my head in affirmation, "Good, well she'll understand if you call her tonight."
"You really think so?" I said standing up.
"I know so," he said, putting his arm around me, "Would I ever lead you astray?"
"You, Alvin? No! never—"
He laughed, "You and your jokes, Theodore. If the patent law game ever gets boring, you should go into stand up!"
"I'll consider it," I opened the door and Thomas latched onto my leg.
"Goodbye Theo, Thomas. Good luck, little brother,"
"Thank you Alvin," I said.
"Bye-bye, Uncle Alvin!" Thomas yelled.
"One last thing, why aren't you at work today, Theo?"
I laughed, "It's Saturday, Alvin. You're the only professional in the world that works all week."
"It is?" he looked at his watch, "oh yeah I guess it is. I don't think I need to be here today," I closed the door and walked away with Thomas. I heard him yelling to his receptionist as I walked down the hall, "Hey, Mallory, do I need to be here today?"
She laughed, "No, but I get paid whenever you're here."
"You're a tricky woman, Mal."
"He's a Widower. That's the right word, right? Widower? Yeah. I think that's right," Eleanor was at her sister, Brittney's, house. They were sitting on the veranda, drinking coffee as Eleanor divulged the details of her night.
"Mysterious!" She said mockingly.
"Shut up, it's not like you've had a date in forever."
"Hey, I'm not an open book or anything. I don't tell you every aspect of my life."
"Let's not kid ourselves, Brittney," she said as she laughed, "You tell me everything."
"That may be true," she said, "So I guess I should have taken up Jeanette's request to take Nicole Trick or Treating last night. I could have met the mysterious Widower."
"His name is Theodore Seville, Theo for short, and I can't believe that she asked you before me. We all know who's the most responsible."
"All the insults," she said, "and after I invited you into my home," They both laughed, "So what do you think he's going to do?"
Eleanor sighed, "Probably that stupid three day rule."
"Everyone does it," Brittney said as she got up to get more coffee.
"I don't understand why, it's not like we actually think about it," Eleanor said, taking another drink of coffee, "I would just like him to call. I feel like we had some sort of connection, you know?"
Brittney was smiling as she sat back down with her sister. It was a beautiful morning, the light was soft and the birds chirped with bliss, "Are you sure he's ready to date again?"
Eleanor looked surprised, "I hadn't even considered it," she paused and thought for a second, "Well, he said that it's been over a year, so hopefully that's enough time."
"Let's hope," Brittney said, "Is there any way you can contact him?"
"No," she said sadly, "What do I do now? Just wait for him to call?"
"We can wait, or we can do something about it!" she said with fervor as she jumped out of her chair. She grabbed Eleanor's arm and pulled her out of her chair. She barely had enough time to put down her drink.
"Brittney!" she yelled, trying to readjust herself mid-flight, "Brittney! Come on, what can we possibly do?" she questioned, "Stop dragging me!" she shouted. Brittney stopped and sat down in front of the computer she had in the living room. Eleanor got behind her and watched over her shoulder.
"He might have a Facebook," Brittney said.
"That's brilliant!" Eleanor said as she watched over her shoulder.
Brittney was furiously typing as she went through the people search on Facebook, "Tell me when you see him," Eleanor was looking intently at the screen, waiting to see his face.
After about two minutes, Eleanor perked up about it, "There he is."
Brittney clicked on his profile, "He's cute, and a good father!" it was a picture of him teaching Thomas how to fish, "And he doesn't block his info from non-friends. This gives you a chance to learn more about him. What do you want to know?"
Eleanor thought for a second, "Well, let's start small. Where did he go to school?"
Brittney clicked around, "He went to U.C. Berkeley for Biochemisty. Damn, alright," she laughed.
"What?" Eleanor asked.
"He's going to be way too smart for you!" Brittney said jokingly.
"Shut up, no he won't."
"You aren't going to be to keep up for a minute." She sang.
"Just keep going."
"Brittney was laughing when she said, "Alright, alright. He went to U. of Chicago for Grad school in law. He's a lawyer?"
"I guess, but why wouldn't he be pre-law in undergrad school? Wait, look at this current work, google search that."
"Alright," Brittney opened a new window and typed in the information, "Loven and Co, what is patent law?"
"I'm not sure, I guess I'll ask him," Eleanor said.
"Oh yeah, this is important," Brittney said, "You can't let him know any of this, lest you be seen as a total creeper."
"The dichotomy of your language startles me," Eleanor responded dryly.
"What do you mean?" She turned around to say to Eleanor.
"You used 'lest' and 'total creeper' in the same sentence," Eleanor said as she started to laugh. Just then, she heard her phone ringing from the other room, "My phone!"
"Go get it!" Brittney squealed.
Eleanor ran over to her phone with Brittney closely following, "It's not a number I recognize."
"Just pick it up!" Brittney shouted as Eleanor hit the talk button.
"Hello?" Eleanor said.
"Uh, hi, hey, Eleanor, this is Theo, the guy you met last night," I was back at my condo with Thomas, who was sleeping peacefully in the other room.
"Hey Theo, how are you?" She asked.
I put my hand in his pocket, "I'm, uh, fine, yourself?" I said nervously.
"I'm good, thanks." There was a long paused, Eleanor looked to Brittney with a questioning look on her face. Brittney laid on the ground and started muttering to herself.
"Listen, I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime with me," I said, trying to sound as cool as possible.
"Oh, yeah, I would love to!" she said. Brittney took one hand off her face and looked up. Eleanor smiled and Brittney jumped back up, "Uh, I don't work on Mondays, so we could just go out tomorrow, if that's good for you."
"Yeah!" I exclaimed, "Yeah…" I said it more softly, "I'll pick you up at 7, how does that sound?"
"That sounds great, I'll see you then!" She said.
"Wait, wait, what's your address?" I asked quickly, hoping she hadn't already hung up.
"Oh man, that would have been dumb of us," we both started to laugh, "I live at 17609 East Washington street, apartment 706," she was talking and I was writing furiously, "You got that?"
"Yeah," I said.
"Great!" she said, "I'll talk to you tomorrow, then."
"Cool, great, later," I said.
She put down the phone, "I can't believe he called so soon."
"I need to find myself a widower, I guess," Brittney said with a laugh. They both started laughing. When they calmed down Brittney said, "Hey, remember that he's been out of the game for a while. You may need to make the first move."
"I didn't even think of that," she said. "You're right, he won't be used to all of this. I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
"Daddy, where are you going tonight, and why are you so dressed up?" It was Sunday night, and I was getting ready for my date. Mary, it had been such a long time since I had been on a date, but I think it was time. I hope you're not mad at me, but I don't think you would be. Thomas was following me around as I got ready, asking me all sorts of questions.
"I'm going to see that woman that we met on Friday, you remember her, right?" He nodded his head in affirmation. As I was putting on my tie, I looked out over the city. It was vibrant, but sleepy by comparison to most night. The scene looked well; crazy but not too crazy.
"What are you going to do?"
"Hmm, what do you mean buddy?" I said as I sat on the end of my bed.
He came and sat with me, "What are you going to do with her?"
"Well, we have a few things planned," I never really questioned if he knew about dating, or the concept of dating. I wonder how much he actually knows. The thing I'm worried about the most is how he's going to react. He loved you, Mary he really did. I just don't know how he'll react to me dating. And what if it gets more serious? She might move in or something, how will I explain it to him? I guess that will have to wait, "You ready to go over to Uncle Alvin's house?" He nodded with excitement, "Alright, let's go."
We drove across town to Alvin's house in the suburbs. It was a long drive; I lived downtown, and the night's traffic was troublesome. I never understood why he lived so far uptown, I understand it's a status symbol, but he was so far from the nightlife he loved so much. We drove up, and Thomas was hopping about. I was holding his hand for a while, but he broke free and ran up to the door. Thomas started ringing the doorbell and Alvin answered the door.
"Tommy boy!" Alvin yelled.
"Uncle Alvin!" He jumped into his arms and Alvin picked him up.
I ran up to the door and walked into the house. It was a lovely house, tastefully decorated, with fantastic lighting. I'd like to live where he lives one day, I just don't make the money. When we got to the living room, I put his bags down and said, "Thanks for doing this Alvin."
"It's no problem," Alvin said as he put Thomas down.
"I understand one of us, but why did you want both of us to be here?" Simon said as he walked into the room from the kitchen, "I mean, either of us could have handled it alone."
"I wanted there to be an air of normality, you know?"
Simon laughed, "What's normal about tow dudes taking care of him? It's not like Thomas has had two men taking care of him for a while or anything. It would have been more normal if just one of us did."
"He needed to see the both of you, as did I," I said, "Simon, you're always globetrotting with your company. It was nice for him to actually get a chance to see you. It's not often that you're in town."
Simon smiled, "You're right, and it is nice to see all of you again. He's gotten so big since the last time I saw him."
Alvin started laughing, "That was over two years ago, that's why!"
"I'm flattered that you're keeping track Alvin," Simon said, "You head on out Theo, it's a bit of a drive to get back downtown."
"You're right," I said. The nervousness started to set it, "You guys know how to get him so school, right?"
"We've got it handled," Alvin said.
"I've already taken work off tomorrow, so no problems there," Simon said.
"And, if you need us to pick him up after school we can," Alvin started laughing, "You never know when afternoon delight will strike!"
I grimaced, "I doubt any of that will be happening. I just met her after all."
"You never know," Alvin said slyly, "Now get out of here, you big stud!"
I laughed, hugged Thomas goodbye, and left. The night air was moist, dripping with anticipation. A light breeze floated in. I turned around and looked out the house one last time, "Thanks, guys," I said softly to myself. I walked up to my car and hopped in. I was sweating lightly. It was only sixty-five degrees outside. I must be really nervous.
I drove back downtown to pick her up. The night air was refreshing, and feeling it flow in and out of my lungs was calming to a degree. I was in a completely different world at this point. I didn't really know what I was doing anymore. It had been so long. There's no way I can pull this off. I got to her apartment building and parked out in front of it.
I went up to the intercom and buzzed her apartment, "Hello?" She called. Her voice was heavenly. I was intoxicated with anticipation.
"Hey, Ellie. It's uh, Theo, can you buzz me in?"
"Theo!" She shouted. It hurt my ear slightly, "Of course," I heard a slight buzzing from the door. I reached out and grabbed it, "Did you get it?" she asked. I wanted to respond, but I can't grab the door and buzz it at the same time, "You there?" I took off my shoe and put it in the door.
I ran over to the intercom, "Yeah, I got it. I'll be up in a second."
"Alright," she said sweetly, "I'll see you in a second," I grabbed the door and my shoe and went inside. I went up the elevator and everything that could possibly go wrong flew through my head. I got to her floor, floor seven. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. I got to her apartment. What should I say? Should I keep it cool? Should I be excited? That might be too forward. I should start slow. What if she doesn't like what I've planned? I'm going to mess up. I should probably just knock. I knocked and she started walking towards the door. I started sweating lightly again. I need to calm down. I really need to calm down.
The door opened, "Hey Theo, come on in!" she was wearing a lightly draped forest green dress, the same color as my tie. That was odd, to say the least. She had extravagant gold hoops and pearl white high heeled shoes. She was breathtaking. I walked inside; I didn't really know what I liked like, if I was smiling or anything. I was thinking of too many things. I smelled flowers, but not like they were in a vase or anything. It was strong scent, but not like an air freshener.
"Have you been cooking with White Wine, maybe Pinot Blanc. No, Chardonnay."
She looked shocked, "How, how did you know that?"
"I'm a bit of a cooking nut. I just used some Pinot Blanc in a seared chicken breast with an apple and carrot chutney. Well, since Thomas was born. I really haven't been cooking much besides kid food," I was going on and on. Why didn't I stop talking?
"I am too. I'm sorry, I wasn't sure what you had planned, but I really wanted to show you my cooking. Did you have reservations or something?" She said as she looked worried.
"I did, but they can be cancelled. I'd love to stay in," I took of my jacket and hung it up, "You, uh, look amazing by the way," I said nervously.
She smiled, "Thank you, so do you," she walked into the kitchen, "Want to see what I'm cooking? You said you're a cooking nut? You'll be able to appreciate it."
"Absolutely," I walked in behind her.
"So the main course is Polish sausage cooked in Chardonnay, you were right, by the way. It's going to be on top of a grape reduction with a Turkish styled salad," Eleanor said as she tended to the sausage, "It will be done in maybe ten minutes."
"That all sounds so delicious," I said, "Is there any way I can help?"
"Oh don't worry, I've got it covered," she said, "Want something to drink?"
I leaned against the countertop of her kitchen. It was a well maintained kitchen, frugal, but cozy, "Sure, what do you have?"
"Well, I've been saving this wine for a special occasion," she said.
"Maybe tonight would be a good night!" I said, laughing.
"I think so," she went to the other room, "It's vintage 1973 from Burgundy, France. A Pinot Noir."
"That has to be a two-thousand dollar wine, are you sure?"
"Really?" she said, "I never really knew wine prices. Regardless, a two-thousand dollar wine is probably going to taste amazing," She poured up two glasses and handed me one.
I laughed, "I'm sure it will."
We spent the rest of the night sharing our interests, our professions, talking about our families, our pasts, and our futures. She's a freelance architect. The dinner was simply amazing. This girl, she was so much like me. We shared so many of the same interests had a similar past, and everything. She's a triplet as well. Everything was so uncanny; it was like I knew her all of my life, even though it had only been a few hours.
It was eleven and we found ourselves on her couch telling each other hilarious stories from college. She grabbed the bottle of wine and was pouring her a glass, "Do you want another Theo?"
"I'm not sure, I do need to drive tonight."
"I don't know about that," she said coyly, "maybe you could just stay here the night, if you want," she smiled, put her hand on my knee, lightly bit her lower lip, and shuffled closer to me on the couch. I wasn't really sure what to do next, "Theo, I feel a real connection between us."
"I do too," I said.
"And I don't want to rush you, I'll wait, leave a light on for you."
"I don't want to keep you waiting, and I don't think I will," I leaned in and our lips met in the middle. It had been such a long time. I haven't felt this way in a long time, not since you Mary. We laid down together and continued kissing.
I wish you two could have met. She really makes me happy, and you would have liked her. I hope Thomas will too. I want this all to work out.