After finding out Beth was with another man, Diane knew she had to do something. She didn't know Woody Boyd, not very well at least, but she knew he was a broken man. He was a simple man, and he put a lot of stock into very simple things that she had come to take for granted. Where with her, love was black and white and every shade of gray in between, Woody believed firmly in true love winning out above all else. Why, to the best of Diane's knowledge, Woody hadn't even been on a date since coming to Boston! While he may not have been her type, certainly there were women out there who would love to be on the receiving end of Woody's affections.
But what could she do? She hated to interfere, but she knew that love sometimes needed a gentle push. There was only one person she could talk to about this.
"Sam, may I have a word with you?"
"Okay, but only if you promise to keep it to just one word," he laughed.
She pouted. "I'm serious. Can I see you in your office for a moment?"
"All right. Woody, can you watch the bar?"
"No problem, Sam. And by the way, Miss Chambers, that's a beautiful blouse you're wearing today."
"Thank you, Woody." With that, she followed Sam to his office.
"Do I smell a little May-December thingy going on with you two?" Sam teased as he leaned against his desk.
"What, with Woody? Surely you jest!"
"You got a problem with him? He sure seems sweet on you!"
"Don't go there, Sam. Woody is the kindest, gentlest, sweetest man I've ever known..."
"Even sweeter than me?"
"Than I. A thousand times so. But he's actually the reason I wanted to take you aside for a minute. You see, he's suffering from an ailment so strong that it can render the strongest man weak, the bravest man cowardly, and the wisest man limp."
Now Sam was confused.
"It's heartbreak, Sam! Don't you see it? Woody has had his heart handed to him in the most callous of manner, and don't you think we should do something about it?"
"What can we do?"
"Sam, don't you see how he looks up to you? You're his hero, his friend, the one he looks up to most in life. I think it's safe to say that you know more about love than he does. Don't you think the kind thing- the compassionate thing- to do is to have a little talk with him?"
He nodded. "All right. But just so you know, I didn't sign up to be nobody's hero!"
Diane smiled and took his hand. "Don't you see? You already are."
In more ways than one.
0000
"Woody, thanks for coming in the office. How...how have you been doing lately?" Sam asked as he opened up a bottle of water.
"I'm doing real good, Sam. Gee, you never call me in to your office. Have I done something wrong?"
Sam laughed. "Why would you think that?"
"Because usually the only person you call in here is Miss Chambers, and that's to yell at her!" Woody exclaimed nervously.
Sam couldn't help but smile. "I suppose you're right. But no, that's not why I asked to see you. I just wanted to find out how things have been for you, how you're adjusting to the big city of Boston."
"Oh, I like it. My folks back home tell me I've gone big time, that I think I'm too good for Hanover. That's not true. I love it there, but to tell you the truth, I think I like Boston even better."
"Why's that, Woody?"
Woody stopped to think about it for a minute. "Don't get me wrong, Hanover's a great place, but here...well, there's so much to do! And the people...everyone here at Cheers is the nicest people I've ever met in my life!"
"You don't get out much, do you?" Sam chuckled.
"I go out all the time. Just yesterday I had an ice cream sundae for no reason! No reason," Woody squealed with delight. "In fact, I called my mom to tell her about it, and she kind of lectured me. She said I would ruin my appetite with that kind of behavior. But you know what, Sam? I don't feel so bad about it. Does that make me a bad person?"
"No, no it doesn't. I think you're all right, you know that?"
"Thanks, Sam. Did you still want to talk to me about something?"
"Actually, I did. I was kind of going through my little black book, you know what that is, don't you?"
To Sam's surprise, Woody actually blushed just at the mention of the book. "I think so."
"I was thinking- well, wouldn't it be kind of nice if we went through it?"
"Won't Miss Chambers get mad at you for that?"
"It's not for me. It's for you."
Woody looked around, trying to figure out what Sam was getting at. "You mean you want me to ...to date one of ...them?"
"Yes, Woody. I do."
"Oh, Sam, I couldn't do that. I sure couldn't do that!" Now Woody began to panic, making Sam feel a bit uncomfortable.
"Woody, calm down. What did I say? What did I do wrong?"
"No offense, Sam, but I don't think those women are for me. Not that there's anything wrong with them. But you see...have you ever loved a woman?"
"Sure, why not?"
"I mean, love-love. The kind of love that keeps you up late at night even though you have to get up real early! The kind of love that makes you think about nothing else but that girl, no matter what problems you have. The kind of love, well, you just can't explain. You just love her, and you don't know why." Woody looked up at Sam hopefully.
Sam nodded. Only one woman came to his mind as his friend talked. "Yeah. I know exactly what you're talking about."
"Well then, you know that you can't do anything to ruin it, even if you feel like giving up sometimes. I don't know why, but I know it would just be...wrong."
Sam patted Woody on the shoulder. "It'll be okay. You just go about your business and don't let anyone talk you out of loving Beth. But if the day ever comes where, where she hurts you...you come straight to me. Ole' Sam'll take good care of you."
Woody grinned. "Thanks, Sam."
"Now get back to work, will ya!"
"Of course!"
As Woody exited the room, Sam found his thoughts turning to Diane. She was one hell of a woman. There would come a day where he would show her just how much she meant to him. Until then, he had a bar to run, and for that, he was very grateful.
The end