Chapter1
There he was leaning against the counter trying to shift the little girl in his arms as he reached for his wallet to pay for their popcorn. Mary smiled, she couldn't wait for him to turn around so she could see him. It felt like it had been a long time but somewhere Mary knew it hadn't been that long. He folded the wallet and shoved it in the back pocket of his jeans as the two year old girl with the long sandy brown hair tried to grab the popcorn. Danny laughed as he held the popcorn bucket and said "you really love popcorn, don't you sweetie?" That's when he noticed Mary, Mary took a deep breath knowing she would see his gorgeous smile and he would give her a welcoming hug. She couldn't wait to be in his arms again.
Danny approached Mary with the smile she was expecting but Mary felt in her gut that something just wasn't right. She looked at the beautiful little girl and Mary's smile faltered. Her eyes. They should be big brown eyes or hazel green but the eyes staring at her were the clearest shade of blue. Mary could feel her chest tighten and her breathing become more shallow. "Mary how are you? I haven't seen you in so long!"
Danny turned to the little girl he held in his arms "Sarah, this is Daddy's friend Mary, we used to play together just like you play with Jamie." The little girl looked at Mary and smiled and shyly said "Hello". Mary couldn't help but smile back, the little girl was truly the prettiest child she had ever seen with her lopsided ponytails and pink bobby socks that matched her sundress.
"How long are you in town for? When did you get in?" As Danny rattled off questions Mary couldn't help but stare at Sarah. Finally realizing Danny was waiting for an answer she turned her gaze toward the man she loved "Oh, umm, just a few days". As the conversation continued Mary searched his eyes for some sign of something, exactly what she wasn't sure. Love, tension, regret, sadness? Anything but this.
"Mary have you met my wife, Melissa? I think you may have at Mike's wedding? Melissa this is Mary- Mary, Melissa". The petite brown haired girl that had just walked over to join them turned and gave Mary her full attention. Mary felt her throat constrict and she couldn't say a word as the woman turned toward her and Mary gazed into the bluest eyes she had ever seen. "It is so nice to meet you Mary, I have heard so much about you from Danny and his friends, I hope you can come over for dinner while your back in Vegas?" Mary just nodded her head. Mary stared at the woman before her, she was taken aback by the woman's warm greeting. Mary studied her for any sign of jealousy or hesitation. Melissa seemed genuinely pleased to meet her and Mary felt the blood drain away from her face.
"Hon, we have to get going or we are going to miss the beginning of the show." Danny nodded his head at his wife as he turned to Mary "you have my number? Call me tomorrow and we will set up a day for dinner and then we can catch up, I want to hear all about Miami. It's been so great to see you."
As Mary watched the couple walk away she realized she had been holding her breath, all she wanted to do was get away from here as fast as she could but her legs didn't seem to want to move.
Mary furiously kicked at her sheets and bolted up right in bed. She was panting and felt the sweat drip down her back. She felt sick. She took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself down. It was just a dream but seemed so real. She wanted to do the dream over again, only this time the little girl had brown eyes. There was no Melissa. Mary thought hard. That wasn't what she wanted anymore, right? Isn't that what she had been telling herself for over a year now? Then why was this dream so upsetting? It should make her happy he was with someone who was sweet and seemed to treat him well. Was it because Danny had truly moved on? Although he was happy to see her he treated her like any old friend you hadn't seen in awhile, not someone you had been in love with.
As Mary settled back into the covers she thought about her and Danny's relationship and how it had changed over the past two years. Danny had always been there for her and even with the current state of their relationship she knew deep down she could still count on him if she needed him. Had she been there for him? When was the last time they even had a civil conversation about anything other than work? Did she really know what had been happening in his life? When was the last time he showed any real emotion toward her ? She realized it was when he came to her hotel room the night she broke up with Jake. She had politely but firmly pushed him away and had continued to do so over the following months.
Mary sighed as she looked back over the last few weeks. She thought about how she had acted toward Danny and his new relationship with Delinda and cringed. Mary realized she had to stop blaming Danny for everything that had gone wrong in their relationship. She didn't know if Danny was willing to be friends again but Mary knew she couldn't let this go any longer. It was time to make things right again or at least try to.