Author's note:
Contains a small reference to 'Caroline and the Hidden Talent'. Also features part of the Darren Hayes song 'Creepin' up on you' which I'm not taking credit for.
"Let's see, what shall I have?" Caroline said to herself, running her finger down the neatly printed menu of Remo's Ristorante.
Richard rolled his eyes. 'C'mon Caroline, just choose! I'm starving!' he tried to get his message across telepathically since saying it out loud would sort of wreck the mood. Besides, he didn't really feel like a discussion. It would only make the wait for lunch even longer. He sighed and put down his menu as he listened to Caroline babble on.
"Mmmm…lasagna? No…don't really feel like that. Um…soup, then? Yeah, I'll have that."
She lowered the menu and Richard sighed with relief only to see her change her mind again about 3 seconds later.
"No…wait! I had that last week. Let's see..."
She picked up the menu again and just when Richard's frustration was driving him over the edge and he was about to say something, a young man appeared at their table.
Caroline looked up at a tall gangly guy with a pale, oval shaped face. His eyes were far back in their sockets, which gave him a mysterious, even ominous appearance. He smiled friendlily at her though and he pushed a hand through his brown curly hair, which somehow seemed out of character for him.
"Hi…you don't know me, but um….you're Caroline Duffy, aren't you?" he asked coyly.
Caroline put the menu down again and smiled.
"Yeah, that's me."
The young man smiled and suddenly seemed to have lost his shyness.
"I'm Frank. I'm your biggest fan!" he added enthusiastically.
Caroline beamed.
"Really? I've never met a fan of mine before. Not in real life I mean. You know, sometimes I will get letters but…..."
Richard let out an exasperate sigh. He was never going to get his lunch now. He tried to distance himself from the conversation and looked helplessly at Remo who was behind the bar. Remo, who had overheard Caroline talking to her fan, just shrugged his shoulders and smiled. He was sort of amused by Richard's frustration and also thankful that he wasn't in his shoes. He knew what Caroline could be like sometimes.
"-… And this is Richard, my assistant."
Richard looked up to find Caroline smiling at him.
Frank extended his hand to him.
"Hi, nice to meet you."
Richard ignored his hand and ostentatiously picked up his menu to pick out lunch.
"You'll have to excuse him" He heard Caroline say.
"He's not a people-person."
"Can I have your autograph?" Frank asked.
"Sure."
Caroline smiled and took over the pen he extended to her. She scribbled down her autograph on a napkin and handed it to him along with his pen.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" Frank smiled as he backed away to the door.
Richard happily noted that Caroline finally picked up her menu again and actually seemed to be picking out lunch now that her new friend was gone. She still had a smug grin on her face but at least her eyes were focused on the menu again. Maybe he'd get something to eat after all.
Frank looked through the window of Remo's Ristorante. He actually met Caroline Duffy! He even touched her hand! He should never wash it again, he thought happily as he studied his right hand.
A pity her assistant was there, though. If he hadn't been so cold and distant he might've been able to talk to her a little longer. He lingered in front of the restaurant until the couple at the table by the window looked up. He smiled awkwardly at them, then finally tore his eyes away from Caroline and walked away.
******
"How cool was that??" Caroline exclaimed excitedly as they entered her apartment again. She slipped off her coat and hung it on the coat rack.
Richard followed her inside.
"Yeah, great" he replied sarcastically.
"Can we just forget about your stupid fan now?" he pleaded while he took his place at his side of the desk.
Offended, Caroline planted her hands on her hips.
"Stupid fan?? Frank happens to be a very sweet guy. I'm glad I met him. I don't meet my fans every day. I mean, sure I notice that my strip is popular and I will occasionally get cards and stuff but it was just great to actually meet one!"
Richard just shrugged in response.
"Oh, come on!" Caroline continued, "Surely you can imagine what it's like! Suppose it was a buyer of one of your paintings?"
He looked up. She had a point but of course he would never admit that. Plus, he wanted to avoid a discussion at all costs, so he decided to just go along with it.
"Okay, you're right I guess" he said reluctantly.
"It's nice you got to meet your fan. I'm sure he's very nice."
"Thank you!" Caroline nodded in satisfaction and sat down at her side of the desk.
Frank gazed up at the tall building. So this is where she lives, he thought.
Sure, maybe he shouldn't have followed them home, but come on! He finally met Caroline Duffy and when he noticed them leaving the restaurant the temptation to follow them had just been too big. He smiled and walked away. Now that he knew her address he had to think of something amazing to send her.
******
"Hey Caroline" Del greeted as he barged into Caroline's loft.
"Hi Del, come on in" Caroline replied sarcastically, annoyed that they got disturbed.
As usual, her tone totally eluded him. He walked over to the desk, his eyes focused on a document he was holding.
"Look at this!" he exclaimed happily. He pointed to his paper.
Caroline arched into him to look over his shoulder.
"What?"
He looked up.
"This is my latest marketing idea! It's a wonderful plan to increase your card sales!"
"Really?" she asked, now full of interest.
"Yes! Look, this is the plan: 'Create-a-Caroline-Cards', don't try saying that ten times fast by the way" he chuckled.
"Anyway, the idea is to print half a strip on these cards so the sender can finish it himself in a way he likes it. That way we'll always have a card for every occasion!" he finished triumphantly.
He sat down on the armrest of the sofa, waiting for Caroline to jump up and congratulate him with the idea. Or for her to smile broadly, telling him he was brilliant, anything that would show that she shared his enthusiasm.
Instead, she sighed and shook her head.
"Del, that has to be the stupidest idea I've ever heard" she said earnestly. She produced an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but it's not going to work."
He looked back and forth between his plan and Caroline.
"You think?" he asked, his voice a little downcast.
"Sorry…." she smiled sympathetically, touching his shoulder.
He recovered immediately.
"Hey, no problem. I'll just think of something else. Plenty of ideas up here!"
He tapped his temple with his last statement.
"Or if everything else fails, I might go through some of Charlie's ideas after all…." he mumbled under his breath as he left.
Caroline shook her head and got back to work.
******
"Look at this!" Caroline exclaimed the next day. She ran into her apartment and waved a card in the air above her head.
"Look!" she repeated.
Richard looked up.
"What?" he asked, wondering what could be so important.
"I got a card from Frank!" she explained while handing him the card.
He took over the card and studied it. It was a big card with two bears holding some flowers on it. It looked rather innocent.
He opened it.
Dear Caroline,
It was amazing to finally meet you yesterday. You're even more beautiful in real life than in the pictures!
Hope to bump into you again soon and keep up the good work.
Lots of love,
Your biggest fan,
Frank
He frowned and closed the card. He didn't like this at all. There was something about this Frank guy that gave him the creeps.
"Nice, huh?" Caroline smiled.
"Actually Caroline, I think it's a bit weird."
Before he got a chance to explain himself, Caroline interrupted.
"Not again! Why do you have to put him down all the time Richard? Why can't you be happy for me?"
"I am, I am, okay? It's just….I don't trust the guy. Where did he get your address anyway?"
"Well, I dunno" she replied hesitantly.
"The internet perhaps? I don't know, there's so many ways he could've gotten it."
Her voice became firmer as she started to feel more confident again.
"But what does it matter anyway? All he did was send me a card!"
"Just be careful, okay?" he said softy.
"I just don't want to see you get hurt."
He looked briefly into her eyes before looking down at his work again.
Touched, Caroline gazed at him.
"You're worried about me?" she whispered.
He quickly glanced up again and Caroline could swear she saw him blush.
"Well, um…you know…. "he stammered, then quickly covered his slip-up.
"You always get yourself into trouble,I just want to prevent you from doing something stupid again."
She didn't believe him for a second. He could deny it all he wanted but it was obvious he was worried about her.
She smiled. That was so sweet, to get worried over a simple card.
Just then Annie entered.
"Look Annie!" Caroline instantly called. She grabbed the card off Richard's side of the desk and handed it to Annie.
"I've got a fan! I met him yesterday and today I got this card!"
She almost bounced through the room in excitement like an eight year-old on his birthday.
Annie furrowed her brows as she read the card, then looked up.
"Gosh, he's rather impressed with you, isn't he?"
"Yeah, I guess he is" Caroline smiled, her ego climbing a few levels.
"He even says he thinks you're beautiful. Seems to me like he has a little crush on you."
"The guy is just insane" Richard interjected without looking up.
"Oooh, someone's a little jealous!" Annie teased.
"What should I be jealous of? His insanity?"
"Nah, you got that part pretty much covered" Annie grinned.
Angrily, Richard got up and approached Annie.
Caroline jumped between the two.
"Hey, c'mon you guys, you're not gonna start again, are you?"
Neither of them replied but the look on their faces was clear enough. She gently ushered Annie out into the hallway.
"Fine then, we'll go over to Annie's loft and talk" she announced.
As she and Annie left, Annie and Richard exchanged a final hostile look and Caroline hastily pulled the door shut behind her.
"Geez, can't you two ever leave each other alone?"
"I would, but it's just too much fun!" Annie chuckled.
"See how worked up he got when I suggested he was jealous?"
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that too."
Caroline took Annie by the arm and guided her inside her apartment. Caroline closed the door and backed against it, her palms pressed to the door.
"I think Richard might have feelings for me" she said boldly.
"Uh-huh, and…?" Annie replied absently, now in the process of folding her laundry.
Caroline blinked a couple of times, not sure what she'd just heard Annie say.
"What?"
Annie looked up.
"What?" she echoed. "Don't tell me this is news to you."
She picked up another towel and started folding it, totally unimpressed by Caroline's discovery.
"Well, yes" Caroline responded hesitantly. "So…you knew already?"
"Yes! That's what I've been telling ya! Even a blind man could see him swooning over you,I don't know why it took you so long to figure it out."
She started rolling her socks, placing them in the laundry basket on the already folded towels.
"So, what brought this on, anyway?" she asked, looking up briefly.
Caroline still stood there, her mouth agape.
"Um…well" she swallowed.
"He got all worried when he heard about the card Frank sent me and I suddenly noticed how nervous he got when I asked him about it."
"I see" Annie nodded, taking the laundry basket into her bathroom to put away the towels.
Annoyed, Caroline walked after her.
"Look Annie, can you just focus for a moment? I need to talk to you about this!"
Annie looked up from her task.
"We are talking, aren't we?"
Caroline bent her head.
"Yeah, I suppose we are, but I just don't know what to do now" she said softly, fidgeting with the card she still held in her hand.
Annie suddenly realized how serious Caroline was and she put down the basket.
"Okay then, what's the problem? Is it just because you found out about Richie's feelings for you?"
They went back into the living room and sat down on the sofa.
"Actually, yes" Caroline sighed.
"I suddenly don't know how I feel anymore."
Annie's look turned to one of disgust.
"You're not telling me you might feel the same towards him, do you?" she asked, as if the idea were preposterous.
"I dunno,…maybe" Caroline said softly.
Annie placed her hand on Caroline's shoulder and sighed.
"Okay then, let's figure this out. How come you started wondering about this?"
"Well, " Caroline started.
"When I found out how worried he was about me, I suddenly realized how sweet he is. How he got jealous over a simple card from a fan, or how he just wanted to make sure I was safe" she said dreamily
"And the look on his face when he realized he'd been caught."
She paused without looking at Annie, she seemed to be reliving the situation while telling Annie about it.
"I think I even saw him blush. He looked so cute!" she smiled
"And then…..-"
"Oh my god!" Annie interrupted and removed her hand from Caroline's shoulder.
"You iare/i in love with him!"
Caroline turned her head to look at Annie and quickly considered her words.
"No, no, I'm not in love with him!" she said weakly.
She paused momentarily before she continued.
"I-I just really like him, as a colorist and as a friend. And I like how he's always there for me and how he cares for me. Besides, I just like spending time with him off the clock. Does that make me in love with him? Just because I like to be in his presence and…..-"
Suddenly reality hit her as she listened to herself talk. She broke off mid-sentence and looked at Annie as her eyes instantly grew wider.
"Oh my god, you're right. I iam/i in love with him!"
Annie hardly paid any attention to Caroline's epiphany, she was the type to deal with problems instead of analyzing them, like Caroline.
She clasped her hands together.
"Okay then, now everything's finally out in the open we can think of a way to deal with this."
"So…..you're okay with this?" Caroline asked hesitantly.
"Well, as much as I'd like to go and vomit right now, I'm going to help you with this."
Caroline looked up and smiled.
"Really?"
"Yeah, sure" Annie smiled a little reluctantly.
"That's what friends are for."
"Thanks Annie" Caroline smiled gratefully.
They moved a little closer to each other and stuck their heads together to come up with a good way for Caroline to tell Richard how she felt.
******
"I'll take a dozen of these long-stemmed red roses please" Frank said to the shop assistant. The girl behind the counter nodded and started to put together his bouquet.
"Would you like to write a card, too?" she asked.
"Yes, I would actually."
He took a pen from the counter and bent down to write his message for Caroline on the little pink card. When he was done he gave her the card and she attached it to the bouquet.
"Here" he said, "They should be delivered to this address."
He handed her a note with Caroline's address and the girl took it from him.
"No worries, sir. We'll make sure the flowers get delivered there in time."
He took out his wallet and paid. Just as he was about to walk out of the store, he changed his mind and returned to the counter.
******
Caroline and Annie never got very far with their little plan. Annie was just too straight-forward with these things. As far as she was concerned, Caroline should just step up to Richard and tell him.
Of course, Caroline couldn't go for that option, she was too shy and spineless for that. So, in the two weeks that followed, she kept her mouth shut about her feelings for him while she tried to work up the nerve to tell him.
Every time he entered the room, the butterflies in her stomach were back. The words were constantly on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't get herself to say it. She knew she would have to soon though. Her nerves were getting so bad, she couldn't take it much longer.
Richard also noticed a change in her. She talked just as much as usual but for some reason it was different. Her chatter was still upbeat and about nothing in particular, but it somehow seemed to be fuelled by something other than her good mood. She almost seemed nervous, the way she was rambling on.
Also, she stammered occasionally and she even stopped to stare at him some times.
Or was that just his imagination?
Over the passing weeks, Caroline received several other cards and letters from Frank. She was extremely happy every time she received a new one and she even set some of them out on the desk. Richard grew more and more annoyed with the attention this Frank was giving her. He didn't say anything about it though, he simply paid no attention to it and he pretended it didn't bother him.
They both looked up from their work when there was a knock on the door.
"Who could that be?" Caroline asked herself as she got up from her seat. She walked over to the door and peeked through the peephole before opening it.
In the doorway was a tall man with dark, curly hair and a goatee. He was wearing small, black rimmed glasses and he was holding a big bouquet of red roses.
"Flowers for Miss Duffy?" he said kindly.
Caroline looked surprised, then smiled.
"For me?" she asked incredulously, placing a hand over her heart.
Richard looked up from his work and peeked suspiciously over at the flower delivery guy. There was something about this guy that made him uncomfortable. What was it?
"Thank you!" Caroline said. She took the flowers and gently closed the door as the delivery guy left.
"Wow…." she breathed, smelling the roses. "These are gorgeous…."
She searched through the bouquet for a card, silently praying they were from Richard.
Richard had started working again and pretended not to notice how impressed she was by this giant bouquet.
"Lots of love,
Your biggest fan,
Frank"
Caroline read out loud when she'd found the card.
"WHAT???" Richard cried out. He jumped up from his chair and angrily threw down his pencil. It bounced back off the desk and clattered to the floor.
Startled, Caroline looked up.
"Huh? What's the matter?"
"Frank!?" he scoffed.
"He can't send you flowers like that! This is going too far! What's this guy thinking??"
"What he's thinking?" Caroline echoed angrily.
"Well, maybe he's ithinking/i he likes me and decides to do something about it! Unlike some people!" she added suggestively, sick and tired of waiting for something to finally happen between them. She had no idea why she'd said what she'd said, but it was nice to get it off her chest.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked nervously, not sure if he even wanted an explanation.
"It means you're sounding like a jealous boyfriend!" she yelled
Suddenly something clicked in Richard's brain. It made a different side of him come to the surface. A side even he was unfamiliar with. A side that normally stayed deep down and would only show if it was forced out. Like now.
His feelings had stayed buried for quite some time and it had become harder and harder to keep them inside. Caroline's remark was the final straw.
"Yeah? Well maybe I'd like to be" he said softly.
He slowly approached her, never breaking eye contact.
Her expression softened and she smiled, her heart thumping wildly in her chest as she noted he was still coming closer.
"What? Jealous?" she asked coyly as she had suddenly lost her nerve again.
He was now standing toe-to-toe with her. Caroline's breath caught in her throat when she noticed his sudden change of mood. This reaction was nothing she'd expected. She'd expected the usual, a defensive, sarcastic reply. That made it even more surprising and slightly odd that he was still coming closer. She swallowed, as her body temperature quickly climbed up to what must've been 110 degrees.
"No….," he said, taking the roses from her and laying them down on the cedar chest.
His hand moved up to touch her cheek as his face came closer to hers.
"Your boyfriend…..." he whispered, then softly kissed her.
******
Frank entered the elevator and as the doors closed, he took off his glasses and put them into his bag. He then ripped off the fake goatee.
"Owwww!" he exclaimed, rubbing his chin.
She didn't recognize him, which was a good thing 'cause he now got to see her again without coming off as a crazed fan. Of course he wasn't that, he just wanted to see her as much as possible. But turning up there every day as himself would probably give her the wrong impression.
He smiled. He now had a way to see his Caroline as often as he wanted. His life was finally complete.
******
"Oh, yuch!" Annie exclaimed.
Her face contorted with disgust as she found Caroline and Richard in embrace in the kitchen.
"Annie, you'll really have to get used to this" Caroline smiled.
"I know" Annie sighed as she sat down on the couch.
"I'll just have to get used to the idea of Dracula being here after sunset."
She gave a fake shiver.
Richard just smirked and went over to his side of the desk.
Caroline shook her head and poured herself some juice.
"Do you want some?" Caroline asked Annie, holding up her glass.
"Nah, too healthy. You take it. You'll need the vitamins."
She arched her brows suggestively.
Richard coughed uncomfortably and Caroline simply smiled. She walked over to join Annie on the couch.
"So, to what do we owe this visit?" Caroline asked.
"Oh, well no particular reason really. I was just bored and I thought I'd hang out here for a while."
Annie leaned forward and reached for a magazine on the cedar chest. She started to leaf through it before looking up again.
"So, have you heard from your big fan lately?"
"No, actually" Caroline answered. She set down her glass on the cedar chest.
"I haven't heard from him in a few days. But of course I can't expect him to send me stuff all the time."
"Maybe he's lost interest?" Annie suggested.
Richard looked up from his work and smiled lovingly at Caroline.
"Maybe he's realized there's no point, 'cause you're taken…"
"That must be it" she smiled back, then looked at Annie again.
"I hope not though, I'd like to believe he was impressed with my cartoon, not with me."
"How could he not be impressed with you?" Richard interjected.
Caroline smiled broadly. She walked over and snuggled up to him.
"Okay, feeling nauseous again" Annie stated.
When there was no response, she headed for the door and left. Richard and Caroline didn't even notice.
A moment later, the door opened again.
"Oh, hey guys!" Del greeted, oblivious to the fact that Richard and Caroline were still embracing.
Caroline got up and threw up her arm.
"Well, come on in Del!" she said, even more annoyed than last time.
He looked back and forth between the pair.
"Oh, I'm sorry, am I….. interrupting something?" he asked hesitantly.
Caroline sighed.
"No, it's okay, but could you knock next time?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure. Whatever" he said quickly, dismissing her request. He took out a piece of paper and shoved it under her nose.
"Okay," he announced.
"You know how I've been trying to come up with a new marketing idea, right? Well, last night, at the office, I was thinking about it and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't think of anything and then, there was this.…-"
"Del," Caroline interjected "Could you get to the point, please?"
"Oh, sure. Well, then this song came on the radio, you know the one you and I used to dance to, and then it hit me! You should record a song! I mean, you can sing, remember that whole thing with Steve and the theater?"
"As if I could forget…." Caroline sighed, letting herself sink into her chair.
"Oh yeah, I remember that now" Richard grinned wickedly. He still loved teasing her with it.
Del ignored them both and continued.
"And since you didn't go through with it last time….Well, you recording a song would be the perfect publicity stunt! We can even make musical cards out of it and stuff!"
Caroline exhaled sharply and rose from her seat. She held up her hands in defense.
"Look Del, I'm not going to do any more singing! There's a reason things went wrong last time. I'm not going to challenge that. Besides, I don't even like it! Not outside the shower anyway."
"But it's just one song! One song Caroline! Think of all the publicity!" Del argued.
"Del, "she said calmly. "My answer is 'no'. You'll have to come up with something else."
She patted him on the back and ushered him towards the door.
He hung his head, disappointed about his second idea being turned down. He stopped in front of the door and reached for his cell phone in his coat pocket.
"Hello, Charlie? Um….do you still want to tell me about your ideas?"
He then pulled the door closed behind him.
Caroline laughed, then turned on the heel of her foot.
"Now, where were we?" she said, rushing back into Richard's arms.
******
"Well, here it is."
The woman said while swinging open the door. She let Frank enter first and then followed him inside. The heels of her black pumps clicked on the hard wood floor and it echoed through the still empty apartment. She stopped in the middle of the room and whirled around as if it were the first time she saw the place.
"So, what do you think?" she asked Frank who had immediately walked over to the window and was now gazing at the view outside.
"I'll take it" he replied shortly.
The woman looked at him in surprise.
"But…you haven't even seen the rest yet. There's the kitchen over there" she pointed to a door, which apparently gave access to the kitchen.
"And then there's two bedrooms over there and…-"
"I don't care" Frank interrupted. "I'll take it."
The woman shrugged.
"Okay then, it's your choice. I'll just go and make a quick phone call and then we can settle the paper work."
She reached in her purse for her cell phone while she walked over to the door.
"Fine" Frank replied absently, still staring out the window.
The woman closed the door behind her and Frank glanced over his shoulder to check if she was really gone. He looked out the window again, then took his bag pack and opened it. He searched inside for a moment, then pulled out what he was looking for.
A new, shiny black pair of binoculars twinkled in the sunlight as he gazed through them.
Caroline was sitting at her desk, bent over her work. Just then Richard came walking back from the kitchen and he handed her a drink, which she gratefully took from him.
Frank lowered his binoculars.
"Perfect…" he smiled.
******
"Hey guys!" Del greeted as he burst through the door of Caroline's loft.
Richard didn't look up and Caroline reluctantly turned around, annoyed that they got interrupted once again.
"Hey, don't look at me like that. I just came up with the perfect publicity stunt!" he exclaimed happily.
Caroline sighed exasperatedly, wondering what lame idea was going to take up even more of her time now.
"No, no hear me out!" Del protested.
"Look, you've got that fan of yours, right? I thought it might be a good idea if you met him again. But this time with a photographer present and all. It'll be great publicity."
Caroline thought about the idea for a moment, then a small smile formed on her face.
"You know what, Del? That's the best plan I've heard so far! I like it!" she smiled.
"Okay great!" he exclaimed excitedly. "So do you have like, an address or a phone number from this guy so I can contact him?"
Caroline thought for a moment.
"Mmmm, well he sent me dozens of letters, there's bound to be an address in one of them, I never paid much attention to it. They're over here," she said, pulling open a drawer on the partner desk. She took out a pile of letters.
"You'll have to go through them yourself though" she warned.
He gratefully took the letters from her.
"Hey, no problem, I'll just get Charlie to read them all" he grinned smugly and headed for the door again.
"Thanks Caroline" he called over his shoulder.
******
Frank pulled a heavy oak wood table to the center of the room. It was the only piece of furniture so far because the apartment had yet to be decorated. When the table was in the desired place, he started walking back and forth to the kitchen, to set the table.
By the time he was done, the room looked like a 3-star restaurant. He wanted everything to be perfect for when he'd finally meet Caroline again. This was his chance to win her over, let her see he was the man for her. As he was lighting the candles, a song on the radio filled the room with a mysterious and upbeat rhythm. The music drew his attention momentarily away from his thoughts of Caroline as he listened to the song.
Creeping up on you is the wrong thing to do
I found your address got your phone number too
Visit all the stores where you buy all your clothes
Been to secret places you think nobody knows
If I have to live without you
Nobody could
I need to be around you
Watching you
He wondered how a simple song could so accurately describe his situation. The lyrics held so much truth, he could've easily written them himself. Up until now, he always thought that his love for Caroline was unique, but now he knew there were more people out there going through the same thing and he somehow found it comforting.
No one else can love you like I do
Feel it when I'm creepin' up on you
I know that it wouldn't be right
If I stayed all night just to peek in on you…creepin' up on you
He moved away from the table to look out the window. He could see Caroline sitting at her desk, Richard wasn't there. Her left hand was propping her head up as she was working diligently on her cartoon. She looked a little helpless, innocent and absolutely beautiful he decided. He couldn't wait for their next meeting, then he could finally tell her how he felt.
I've been hanging 'round all the places you haunt
Spying on your friends to find out what you want
Drinking from the glass that you left on the bar
Follow you around driving home in your car
Do I have to breathe without you?
'Cause nobody could
I need to be around you
Watching you
No one else can love you like I do
All of a sudden he noticed a second shape in the room.
He abruptly switched off the radio, not allowing the singer to finish his scatting.
He reached for his binoculars to get a closer look, to find Richard nuzzling Caroline's neck.
"The song's right, you know…" he muttered, gazing at an enlarged vision of Caroline through his binoculars.
"No one else can love you like I do…"
******
The next day, Caroline had to work by herself for once because Richard had taken the day off to attend an art exhibition. Caroline knew nothing about art but apparently it was important enough for him to take the day off. And she didn't mind. Frankly, she was glad she had an excuse not to go. Anything was better than having to look at boring, incomprehensible paintings while Richard tried to convince her of their brilliance.
She went down to collect her mail. She was still in her robe as she stepped into the elevator on her way back up.
"Bill…bank statement…junk…bill…bill" she muttered to herself as she categorized her mail. Suddenly she found an envelope she didn't recognize. The address was printed on the envelope and there was no sender on it.
Impatiently, she ripped the envelope open with her pinkie and skimmed through the contents of the letter as she made her way into her loft. She kicked the door shut with her foot and sat down on the sofa, still reading. There wasn't even that much in the letter, but it was so surprising that she went through it several times before finally looking up.
She smiled to herself. "How sweet…."
"What's sweet?" Annie queried, standing behind the couch.
Caroline's head snapped around in shock and she placed a hand over her heart.
"My god Annie, you startled me!"
Annie shrugged and sat down on a chair, leaving one leg hanging over the armrest.
"Well, I just said 'good morning' several times when you came out of the elevator, but you didn't even hear me, you were too caught up in that letter!"
With that she reached over and quickly plucked the letter out of Caroline's hands.
"Hey!" Caroline exclaimed, trying to sound offended. "That's private!"
"Yeah, yeah" Annie said dismissively, already going through the letter.
"There's no name in it" Annie remarked, flipping over the letter in search of a name.
"Duh!" said Caroline, "What do I need a name for? It's just a matter of putting two and two together. I mean, Richard is 'gone' all day, "
She made air quotes with the word 'gone', "And then I suddenly get this romantic letter asking me to come to this address at two today."
"Yeah, I guess you're right, but he could've signed it, right? And it's right across the street! He could've come here, that would've been easier."
Caroline rolled her eyes.
"I know, but this makes it more mysterious and romantic. You'll understand when you fall in love."
"Ugh, spare me the sappy 'romance talk'. You're beginning to sound like my mother. Now, what are you gonna wear?"
When Caroline shrugged, Annie grabbed her wrist and dragged Caroline upstairs to pick out the perfect outfit for the occasion.
******
Caroline was just clipping an earring into place when Annie burst through her bedroom door.
"Hey Caroline, do you… - Wow!"
She stopped abruptly to note that Caroline had gotten all dressed up for her afternoon with Richard.
She was wearing a black sleeveless top with a high neckline that cut like a sharp 'V' in the front. It was elegant but sexy at the same time.
She was wearing black pants that were made of a velvety fabric and flared at the ankles. She had a silver belly chain around her waist that hung loosely around her hips.
She had decided to let her hair hang loose and the earrings she was putting in were the final touch to her outfit.
"Does Richard know you're going out with other men while he's gone? 'Cause I can't believe you're doing this for him" Annie quipped.
"Hey, you picked this out for me!" Caroline protested.
"I know, I'm just teasing ya!" Annie smiled, playfully hitting Caroline's upper arm. "Although my top looks better on you, I can't say that I like that."
"You'll get over it" Caroline assured her.
"Now, how do I look?" she asked again, twirling around.
"Perfect" was Annie's opinion.
"Okay, then I'm off, I don't wanna be late!"
She grabbed her purse off the bed and rushed down the stairs, followed by Annie.
"Hey Care," Annie called after her.
Caroline was already out in the hallway and glanced over her shoulder when she heard Annie's voice again.
"Can I hang out here while you're gone?" she asked.
"Sure, whatever" Caroline said with a dismissive hand-wave. She then rushed to the stairs, too impatient to wait for the elevator.
"Alright then!" Annie smiled to herself. "Let's see what kind of food you bought" she said, opening the fridge.
******
As Caroline stood in front of the door, she glanced expectantly over her shoulder a couple of times. Would Richard be there already? She was a bit early. She shivered slightly with excitement when she tried to imagine the afternoon Richard had planned for the two of them.
She decided to just go ahead and knock.
There was no answer.
She tried again, knocking a little harder than before. Again, there was no answer. She looked over her shoulder again, then tried the knob and was surprised to see the door open.
"Hello?" she called. When there was still no reply, she entered.
"Richard…?"
She walked through the room, then came to a sudden halt as her eyes caught sight of the right side of the room.
She gasped and her eyes widened in shock.
"My god…." she whispered.
******
"Let me guess," Richard started as he entered Caroline's loft and found Annie lying on the sofa.
"They're fumigating your apartment and you're trying to escape."
"Ha, ha very funny Richard. What are you doing here?" Annie asked, looking up.
"What am I doing here?" he asked, pointing to his chest. "What are you doing here is a better question."
"No, no, seriously" she said, sitting up and putting down her bag of popcorn.
"What happened to your date with Caroline?"
Richard's nose wrinkled in confusion.
"What date? I went to that exhibition, remember? Unfortunately, it turned out to be all realistic work while I prefer abstract art and…-"
"Will you shut up about those stupid paintings for a moment?!" Annie exclaimed.
"Where is Caroline?!" she asked, her tone becoming frantic.
"How am I supposed to know?" he retorted.
"Well, you sent her that letter, didn't you?" Annie asked, an uneasy feeling creeping over her.
"What letter?"
Annie pointed to the letter that was still on Caroline's side of the desk, on a pile of unfinished panels. He picked up the letter and quickly read it, then looked up.
"I didn't write this" he said, his voice slightly off tone.
"Then who did Caroline meet with?"
Time stood still for a moment and all sounds around them disappeared, as the oxygen seemed to be draining from the room at an alarming speed.
They both just stared at each other, hearing nothing but the sound of their own pounding hearts echoing through the room.
They remained locked in their stare as both bodies froze in shock, eyes growing wide as they realized what this meant….
*******
"Any luck with those letters Charlie?" Del asked from his side of the tiny office.
Charlie was sitting at his small desk that was completely scattered with letters now.
"No, not really." Charlie answered, disappointed that he couldn't seem to successfully complete his task. "They only have a zipcode and a number on it."
Del looked up rapidly.
"Idiot!" he exclaimed. "With that we can easily track the address!"
He walked over and grabbed one of the letters, leaving Charlie dumb-founded at his desk.
Del entered the information into the computer and quickly found the address that belonged with the zipcode and number of the house.
He couldn't find a phone number so he decided there was no other option for him then to just drop by.
"Hey," he said as he noticed the address "That'll be a short trip, that's across the street from where Caroline lives!"
He put the letter in his pocket and left the office.
******
Caroline looked around the apartment in awe. It was completely bare of furniture except for the wall to her right. There was a small side-table with lots of picture frames on it and every single one held a picture of her. The frames were surrounded by candles of all shapes and forms. Her eyes drifted upward to the wall behind the side-table.
The walls were plastered with innumerable photo's and clippings of her. There were articles from magazines, publicity photo's, pictures from her books and from the newspaper.
Her gaze wandered off to another wall that was covered with probably every strip she had drawn in the past year.
She stepped back and noticed for the first time just how many pictures there were. Hundreds of pictures of herself were now staring at her.
She squeezed her eyes together a little and stepped forward again to study one of the pictures on the wall. As she realized what the image on the picture was, she ripped it off the wall to take a closer look.
It was a picture of herself on Lexington Avenue, holding two shopping bags. It was obvious the picture was taken with a telephoto lens. She immediately recognized the big brown bags she was holding.
"Bloomingdale's" she mimed.
"I went there last week" she then thought out loud.
A cold shiver traveled up her spine when she realized what this meant.
"I'm being stalked…."
At that moment the front door fell in the lock and she heard footsteps approaching her. She turned around in shock.
"Caroline!" Richard exclaimed and rushed over to her.
"My god, Richard! You scared the hell out of me!"
"Yeah? And why do you think that is?" he asked angrily.
"It's not safe here, Caroline! What are you doing here all by yourself?"
"Well, I thought I was meeting you. How was I to know you didn't write that letter? How did you find me here, anyway?"
"Well, I came home early from the exhibition and then Annie told me about the letter and…-"
He broke off mid-sentence as his eyes drifted away from Caroline's to the wall behind her. His jaw dropped open in shock.
"Oh my god…." he whispered. He quickly scanned the wall with innumerable pictures of Caroline on it. He then noticed the candles and the strips on the wall. He looked down at her, mere fear etched in his eyes.
"This guy is insane!" he exclaimed.
Caroline nodded.
"I know, I just found this out myself."
He grasped her hand.
"Come on, let's get the hell out of here before that freak comes back!"
He hurried to the door, dragging Caroline along with him.
When they got to the door they nearly bumped into someone. They stumbled back slightly, then looked up.
A smug grin appeared on Frank's face.
"Well, what have we here?"
Caroline gulped and stammered nervously,
"Um…well, hi Frank. Um…I'm here for our meeting."
"I see. You're early." he replied.
He eyed Richard warily.
"And what's he doing here? I thought I only invited Miss Duffy, not her boyfriend." he said, threat evident in his voice.
Caroline quickly glanced at Richard, then looked up at Frank again.
"I know. He's just dropping me off, aren't you Richard?" she looked up, her eyes pleading with his to play along.
"What??" he asked in disbelief.
She managed to produce a small smile and started ushering him towards the door but he resisted.
"Come on, you can go now" she said firmly through gritted teeth.
"Just pick me up in an hour, like we agreed, okay?"
She started pushing him out the door, but he still resisted. One final push caused him to stumble over the threshold into the hallway though. She mouthed 'get help' before quickly closing the door behind him.
She turned around and leaned against the door to find Frank smiling at her.
"Finally alone…." he smiled.
"Yes we are…." she stammered nervously.
******
Richard frantically looked around him, searching for a clue on what to do now. He tried the door, determined to get back in and get Caroline away from this lunatic, no matter what the situation. The door was locked.
He angrily kicked against the door, consumed with anger and fear.
He turned to find a familiar presence in the hallway. It was Del.
He didn't know whether to feel angry or relieved. The decision was easily made when Del arrived. Richard tightly grabbed the collar of his shirt and shoved him roughly against the wall.
"What have you done?!" he barked.
"Thanks to your stupid marketing ideas, Caroline is now alone in there with that creep!" he shouted, his eyes showing so much rage, Del was afraid he was going to hit him.
"Hey, calm down!" Del said, carefully pushing Richard away from him.
Richard's anger died down a little only to be immediately replaced with desperation.
Del carefully stepped away from Richard, still startled by his outburst.
"Look man, why don't we talk about this? I mean, I understand you're a little jealous but it's just a fan of hers. Nothing to worry about. Besides, they haven't even gotten together yet, that's what I came here for, to set a date for their meeting."
He produced a hesitant little smile.
Richard tried to restrain himself so he wouldn't go over and hit Del after all. He took a deep breath.
"It's a little late for that," he said, trying to keep his voice steady, but to no avail.
"She has met him. Long story" he added when Del gave him a quizzical look.
"But what's important right now," he continued, "Is that the guy's insane. I saw it for myself. Annie told me he somehow got Caroline over here and now she's in there with him. He's got this little altar with a zillion pictures of her and candles and…oh my god….."
He covered his eyes with his hand and turned away.
Del's jaw dropped open as he tried to take in what Richard just told him.
"Oh my…." he breathed.
"Well um…where's Annie then and how did you end up here?"
"As soon as I found out, I rushed over here. Annie is going to call the police first."
Richard then turned around again to face Del.
"We can't wait for the police! We have to do something before he hurts her."
He painfully closed his eyes with his last few words.
Del stepped over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey come on, man. Maybe she'll be fine. We don't know what this guy's intentions are."
Richard's head jerked up.
"Well, I'd hate to wait and find out!" he retorted.
Del held up his hands.
"I know, calm down man, I didn't mean it like that. We'll get her out of there."
******
"So, you went to a lot of trouble for me" Caroline said with fake admiration, her eyes going over the dinner table. Frank had set it with crystal wineglasses and next to her porcelain plate were three sets of silver cutlery. If anyone else had done this for her, she'd be over the moon.
Frank went into the kitchen and as if on cue, Caroline's brain shifted into gear. She furiously tried to think of a way out of there. She hoped Richard would get help quickly, she had no idea just how crazy this guy really was.
"It was nothing" Frank said, returning to the table. "Anything for you" he then added as he offered her a chair.
"I'm glad you came" he continued, pouring her some wine from a crystal decanter. "You know, most celebrities would be too arrogant to even consider coming."
Caroline nodded, taking big gulps of her wine, hoping it would lessen the tension in her body.
"That's why I love you so much" Frank continued.
Caroline suddenly felt like gagging, but did her utmost to keep down the wine.
"Right," she said, setting down her glass.
"Well, too bad I can't stay, I'm very busy today you see," she gabbled, getting up from her chair, trying not to sprint to the door.
"I still have to finish tomorrow's strip and there's these new cards that need to be done. But it's been lovely, thanks for having me he…-"
Two cold, bony hands on her shoulders stopped her and forcefully directed her back to her chair.
"Not before we've finished our dinner. I've been cooking all morning" he smiled at her but his eyes were cold. The previously kind expression in them had transformed in less than a split second and his look seemed to go right through her.
She shivered unconsciously as something cold bolted up her spine. She tried to say something but her mouth had suddenly gone dry, her tongue sticking to her palate.
"Sure, w-whatever you want." she then croaked out.
******
"Can you hear anything?" Richard asked Del who had his ear against the door, listening intently.
He stepped away from the door and shook his head.
"No, this door seems pretty thick, I can't hear a thing."
"God, I don't know if that's good or bad…" Richard said, raking a hand through his already tousled hair, an action he'd been repeating ever since Caroline ended up alone with Frank. He started pacing down the hallway again.
"I wonder if we can break down this thing" Del said to the door, studying it.
"We have to do something!" Richard suddenly yelled.
"We can hardly stay out here until we think of something! Caroline could be dead by then!"
"Look, don't dramatize this, okay?" Del responded calmly.
"Panicking is going to get us nowhere. I think we should just try to break down this door first."
He glanced over his shoulder at Richard, searching for approval.
"Sure" he nodded helplessly.
"Okay, let's find something to break down the door with then" Del suggested.
"I think I saw a construction site down the road. Maybe we can find something there."
******
"Here we go," Frank announced, bringing in a large silver platter with a roast on it that could easily feed six people.
He placed it on the table.
"How does this look?" he asked.
"It looks um…delicious." Caroline managed to force out, secretly glancing at the door and windows, hoping a policeman would soon appear at either one of them.
"Okay, let's cut you a piece then" Frank offered, reaching for the knife next to the dish.
Caroline had been hungry when she'd left and normally a meal like this would make her mouth water, but now just the smell of it made her nauseous.
Frank placed a plate in front of Caroline and started cutting his own portion when the door burst open and Richard and Del stormed in, holding a large thick wooden pole that had apparently served as a battering ram.
Caroline sighed with relief, a huge load falling off her shoulders as she saw her friends were there to finally get her out.
Frank looked up in shock, his hand still poised to cut the meat.
"Let her go!" Del demanded.
Sensing his back was against the wall, Frank made a quick decision.
In one swift movement, he grabbed Caroline from her seat and dragged her to the corner of the room. The knife was still in his hand and he now placed it against her throat, the dancing flames from the candles reflecting in the sharp blade.
"Stay there!" he warned, pulling a screaming Caroline closer to him.
Richard and Del released the pole and it dropped to the threshold with a clunk. They then slowly raised their hands in surrender.
"Sit down" Frank commanded, directing the two men to the other side of the room with a head-jerk.
His right hand was still pressing the knife against Caroline's throat. She was squirming to get loose but his left arm was wrapped around her waist and arms and had her locked tightly in his grip.
She was breathing heavily, a result from the shock and her attempt to take small breaths for fear she'd accidentally get cut. She glanced down at the piece of cutlery that had suddenly become a weapon and was now threatening her life.
Richard and Del slowly sat down under the window, never looking away from Caroline and Frank who were on the other side of the room.
"Look," Richard started carefully.
"Please let her go, we can talk about this, right?"
"Shut up!" Frank shouted, his voice echoing through the empty apartment. His loud voice and angry tone incited a frightened yelp from Caroline.
Richard jumped up.
"If you don't stay there," Frank started calmly, "Your lovely girlfriend will be headless in a second."
He moved the knife an inch away from Caroline's throat and demonstrated a cutting gesture in the air. He then placed the cold metal back against her neck. Defeated, Richard sunk down to the floor again.
"Besides," Frank continued, "She's not even your girlfriend anymore. She's mine now."
"No I'm not!" Caroline protested and wriggled to get loose.
"Yes you are." Frank corrected her calmly for he knew she couldn't possibly get loose, he was way too strong.
"Look honey, that guy," He briefly gestured towards Richard with his knife, "Is not right for you. He can never love you the way I do."
"Yes I can" Richard protested.
Del leaned over to Richard and tapped his upper arm to get his attention. Richard momentarily directed his attention to Del.
"Look, Richard man, let it go, that guy is nuts" he whispered, pointing to his forehead to emphasize his words.
None of Del's words even reached him. It was as though Richard had pulled up an invisible wall around him and anything Del or anyone else would say just bounced back. He continued, his words coming out like a giant waterfall.
"You don't know what you're saying" he objected. "I love this woman with all my heart. I can't even live without her anymore. I want to marry her, I want to be the father of our kids." He finally paused for breath.
"So please, I beg you, let her go" he pleaded.
Though Del had tried to stop Richard from saying anything because starting a discussion with Frank seemed totally pointless, he now curiously looked over at Frank who'd been listening in silence.
His response wasn't what they had hoped for. It took several moments before Frank replied, as though he seemed to be giving it some thought. But in the end he just shrugged his shoulders. It didn't seem to have impressed him much.
"Too bad," he said coldly
"You'll just have to learn to live without her, because she's not yours anymore. Like I said, she belongs with me now."
"I don't want to be with you, I want to be with Richard" Caroline tried to shout as loudly as possible but her voice had gotten hoarse from her shallow breathing and the tension.
"You hear that? She doesn't want to be with you, so you might as well let her go" Richard argued, desperately trying to find something that would convince Frank to let her go.
For a moment it seemed as though Frank was seriously considering this. He looked down at Caroline, then at Richard and momentarily loosened his grip on the knife a little.
"In that case," he started, his tone not containing one hint of compassion or understanding, "Neither of us will have her, I think."
From that moment, everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. He moved the knife away from her neck, his fingers wrapping more tightly around the handle.
Caroline was certain her heart stopped beating when she saw the knife coming at her again. Frank placed the sharp point of the knife against the side of her neck, obviously planning to slit it across her throat in one fluid movement.
Richard and Del realized what he was planning to do and they jumped up. They both starting calling out whatever they could think of, trying anything to get through to Frank. They tried to approach the pair but were forced to halt at a considerable distance, for coming closer could be fatal for Caroline.
The second Caroline felt the point of the knife touch her skin she yelped with fear until the apartment was filled with desperate pleas from her and her two friends.
"No!!!" they cried out in unison.
When the knife was still coming closer Caroline suddenly thought of a solution as a last resort.
"Look," Caroline forced out, breathing heavily, "I'll be your girlfriend, okay? I promise."
Richard and Del momentarily stared at each other in shock, neither of them sure if they heard right and both tried to decide if that was good or bad.
They directed their gaze back to the drama in front of them. Though Caroline's suggestion was preposterous, it seemed to have worked so Richard and Del held their breath as they anxiously anticipated Frank's response.
He pondered the offer for a moment.
"You promise?" he asked, showing no sign that he was going to remove the knife.
"Yes, yes, anything, just please get that knife away from me" she begged.
"Forever?"
"Yes, forever! Now please, get that knife away" she repeated, fearfully looking down at the knife that was still pressed against her throat.
"Wonderful" Frank smiled to himself, suddenly looking completely relaxed.
"I'm glad you finally realize we're meant to be together. Now, let's get out of here then."
He began standing up, dragging Caroline with him.
"Wait, where are you going?" Richard exclaimed.
He and Del left their spot to follow Caroline and Frank.
"Now, what did I tell you guys about getting up?" Frank asked as if talking to a couple of toddlers.
He suggestively waved the knife in front of Caroline's face as a warning.
"You boys stay there until we're gone."
Richard and Del slowly stepped back again, never breaking eye-contact with a terrified Caroline who was probably wondering if she'd see either of the two men ever again.
"Now say bye bye" Frank instructed her as he backed away to the door, dragging her with him. Caroline held her lips tightly pressed together, fighting back the tears she'd managed to repress until now. She failed, and the tears freely flooded down her cheeks. She blinked frantically to catch a last glimpse of Richard through the mist of tears.
"No goodbyes?" Frank queried, once they stood still on the threshold. He looked down at her, taking no notice of her red, tear-stained cheeks.
She didn't respond, she was too overcome with emotion to do or say anything.
"Okay, whatever. So long guys!" Frank called.
Caroline was still sobbing loudly and fighting to get loose before Frank would get the chance to take her away. It absolutely tore her apart, having to look at Richard and Del and not knowing if it was the last time she'd see them. She couldn't possibly make rational observations at a time like this but she could've sworn she saw a slight change in their expressions through her tears.
A dull thump shattered her thoughts as the wooden pole came in contact with Frank's skull with amazing force.
His arms dropped to his sides, releasing Caroline. Frank's head fell to the side, his eyes rolling back in his head. The blood drained from his already pale face and his fingers lost grip of the knife. It dropped to the hard wooden floor with a clunk. Frank then sank to the floor on his knees before dropping to the floor completely, his head hitting the new parquet floor.
"Well, I'm just in time I see" Annie said casually. She set down the wooden pole and stepped over Frank as if she knocked down psychos every day.
"Thank god you're here Annie!" Del exclaimed, hugging Annie.
Caroline rushed into Richard's arms and hid her face in his shirt. She carefully looked up.
"I-I…is he dead?"
"Nah, I don't think so" Annie said, poking the unconscious Frank with her foot.
"Just um….in a deep sleep" she grinned.
Del stood in the doorframe and looked out into the hallway.
"Where's the police?" he asked
"I thought you were gonna call them."
"I did, but they wouldn't come because Caroline came here out of free will and there was no proof that this guy's dangerous."
She glanced down at Frank again.
"You think they'll come now?" she chuckled.
She turned serious as she noticed how upset Caroline was. She seemed in some sort of shock as she was staring at the motionless lump on the floor. She carefully touched the tender skin of her neck, her trembling fingers running over the red mark that was incised there from the pressure of the knife. It seemed as if she only just realized how close she came to losing her life.
Richard pulled her close and she began crying again. He gently stroked her hair, trying to comfort her.
Annie approached them and soothingly rubbed Caroline's back.
"It's all over hon" she said sweetly
"The police will take him away."
Caroline just nodded in response, not looking up.
"Man, you showed up just in time" Del said
"That nutcase was about to take Caroline away to God knows where."
Annie shrugged uncomfortably, not sure how to deal with this much credit.
"Yeah well, I noticed that pole on the threshold and that seemed like the best way to stop him."
Del nodded.
"It sure was. Let's get him out of here, before he regains consciousness."
"Good idea" Annie agreed. She took Frank's feet and Del took his arms. They then carried him out of the room to hand him over to the authorities. Under any other circumstance it would've looked absolutely hilarious, Del and Annie clumsily trying to carry a 6 feet 2" guy out of the apartment with a big lump on his forehead that was already turning purple.
Caroline didn't look up until they were gone. Even then she glanced suspiciously around the apartment to check if he was really gone.
She sighed with relief and rubbed her face, her hands still trembling with shock.
"You okay?" Richard asked tentatively, his voice quivering from the fear that was still in his body.
She looked up at him and smiled weakly for it was all she was capable of right now.
"Did you mean that, what you said before?" she asked, ignoring his question.
"What?" he asked, a little confused.
Her smile grew slightly bigger.
"Well, about not being able to live without me, about wanting to marry me, about wanting to be the father of our kids…"
The corners of his mouth curled up into a smile as he pulled her a little closer.
"Yeah, I meant every word of it" he admitted, not sure what the result of his honesty would be.
She cleared her throat and swallowed a few times, but her voice wouldn't cooperate, it was still hoarse from the tension.
She tried to speak anyway, so her next words came out sounding like a whisper.
"Was that just a marriage proposal?" she asked coyly.
"Only if you want it to be" he replied softly, brushing a strand of hair away from her face.
"I want it to be."
She smiled up at him and he smiled back. She then rested her head on his chest and they just stood there in each other's arms, savoring the peace and quiet and realizing that everything was going to be back to normal. Or better.
The End.