The minute Daphne woke up; she could tell that the forecasters had been right; the day was going to be sweltering. It was barely 7am and already the condo was heating up. At this rate Seattle would hit 100 degrees before noon. The mere thought was disturbing. She never dreamed it would get any warmer than 80 degrees in Seattle, much less hit triple digits. But judging from the commotion when she'd gone to the grocery store and to Café Nervosa yesterday, most Seattleites weren't prepared for such hot weather. But they were making the best of it; sporting shorts, tank tops and other clothing that rarely saw the light of day. The heat had been so intense that it made national headlines and there was no doubt that today would be a definite record-breaker.
So much for those who say it rained all the time in Seattle.
Instead of opting for her usual plush terry cloth robe adorned with coffee cups, Daphne wore a simple white t-shirt and a lightweight pair of jeans. She would have preferred shorts and a tank top but those were hardly appropriate. After all she lived with two men, and she could only guess what Dr. Crane would say if she walked around the house dressed as though she were going to the beach!
Dressed and ready for the day, she ran a brush through her hair and pulled it away from her face; anything to stay cool. The living room proved to be even warmer than her bedroom had been. "Good morning, Mr. Crane. You're up early."
"Um... yeah." Martin replied. Clad in his robe, he sat down and opened the Seattle Times that lay on the table.
But as he glanced at the front page, Daphne couldn't help but notice that he was continuously looking back toward the hallway.
"Are you all right, Mr. Crane?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe it's the way you keep starin' at the hallway. I know that look."
"What look?"
"Like you're missing someone you love."
Martin sighed. "Well I can't argue with that."
Laying a gentle hand on his shoulder, Daphne smiled. "Now, don't you worry about a thing, Mr. Crane. I'm sure that Eddie will come scampering in here sooner or later. He's probably enjoyin' a nice dream about that cocker spaniel who lives next door!"
"Actually, Daphne-."
"There you are, you naughty boy!"
Without even looking up, Daphne cringed at the voice that was becoming all too familiar. Wearing a black satin robe that barely covered her hips, Sherry paraded into the living room and made a beeline for Martin. His eyes lit up when he saw her and Sherry laughed loudly in response.
"Don't tell me that you missed me!"
When Martin blushed she ran her hand across his cheek. "But we spent all night together and... Oh, Marty Crane you are such a tiger!" For good measure she leaned down and purred into his ear. "Just wait until I show you what I have planned for tonight!"
Feeling uncomfortable, Daphne felt the color rising from her cheeks. "Spending the night again, Sherry?"
"Oh now Honey, don't worry! You'll find someone soon!"
Daphne blinked, taken aback by the comment. "Excuse me?"
"You're still young! You should be out there having fun instead of hanging around here all day! Look at Marty and I. We go out all the time!"
"Well, I-."
"Look, there are plenty of eligible bachelors around this city, but you've got to get out of the house if you're planning on meeting any of them!"
Unable to take anymore of Sherry's advice, the anger that filled Daphne's chest suddenly unleashed itself.
"Are you saying I don't have a life? Because I do you know! I work hard, takin' care of Dr. Crane and Mr. Crane... doin' the laundry, and Mr. Crane's exercises and anything else he needs!"
"Daphne-."
Ignoring Martin's warning tone, she went on... "And for your information, I have a man! He's ... A wonderful man and I love him very much!" Her cheeks burned as she told the lie and she ran into the kitchen where she began putting the egg white omelets onto plates; garnishing them with oregano, the way she'd seen Dr. Crane do so many times. And then she returned to the kitchen, a smile plastered on her face.
"Here we are, hot omelets just the way you like them, Mr. Crane."
Sherry sat down, grimacing when Daphne placed the food before her. "You call this breakfast?" she took a bite of the omelet and almost immediately began to choke.
Daphne and Martin were at her side in an instant. "Are you all right?" Daphne asked as she patted Sherry's back, suddenly feeling guilty for yelling at her.
Finally catching her breath, Sherry stood.
"Yeah. God that was scary! Marty, how do you eat this stuff?"
"Perhaps you swallowed wrong." Daphne said coldly.
"The hell I did!" Sherry retorted before turning to Martin. "Honey, how can you eat this stuff? It's garbage!" And then to Daphne's horror, Sherry marched into the kitchen and dumped the omelets into the trash can.
Daphne could feel her chest tighten. "Do you have any idea how hard I worked to make those?"
"Well apparently not hard enough." Sherry replied. "Move over and I'll show you how to make a real breakfast!"
Within minutes the aroma of French toast filled the air and Sherry waltzed into the living room, proudly carrying her creation.
"Here we are!" She sang, mimicking Daphne's earlier greeting. "All right, Marty. Come and get it!"
When Sherry put the plate in front of Martin, he dug into the French toast as though he hadn't eaten in days. "This is incredible! Much better than those..."
He stopped suddenly when he made eye contact with Daphne.
"Well, something smells good!" Frasier said as he entered the living room and sat down at the table. "So, what's for breakfast?"
"French toast with maple syrup." Sherry said before Daphne could open her mouth.
"Oh no... None of that fattening stuff for me." Frasier said. "I can feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it!"
Daphne couldn't help but smile.
"Actually, you know what sounds wonderful?" Frasier asked. "A nice egg white omelet."
Daphne glared at Sherry who quickly averted her eyes. "I'll fix your omelet right away, Dr. Crane."
"Thank you, Daphne."
In record time she prepared two egg white omelets and carried them to the table."Here you go."
Then she sat down and finally began to eat, avoiding all eye contact with Sherry.
"So Daphne..." Martin began. "Who's this guy you were talking about earlier?"
She looked up, smiling nervously. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"The guy... what's his name?"
"Oh... J-Joe." She blurted out, surprised at how much it still hurt to say his name.
Sherry's eyebrows rose. "Joe? Isn't he the guy who dumped you?"
Instantly the color drained from Daphne's face. "W-what?"
"Marty told me all about it over dinner. How you met when he came over to fix the floor and then he dumped you not too long after that."
Daphne looked at Martin in astonishment. "Mr. Crane..."
"It's okay, Hon. I understand. I really do. Marty's told me everything; especially about your troubles in the dating world."
The fork fell from Daphne's hand, clattering on the plate. "Y-You did what?"
"Look, I just told Sherry about-."
"I heard you!" Daphne snapped; in a trembling voice that that even she didn't recognize. "H-how could you?" She asked; her voice barely a whisper. "H-how could you tell her the details of my personal life?"
"Oh come on, Daphne, it's no big deal!" Sherry said. "We're all family here and besides, we were just talking about relationships that didn't work out."
"Excuse me." Daphne said, rising from the table. "I have some errands to run. I'll be back in time to make your lunch, Dr. Crane. And Mr. Crane I'll take Eddie to the park while I'm gone."
"Great!" Sherry said before anyone else could answer. "And while she's gone Marty, why don't you and I have a little fun?"
Not wanting to hear any more, Daphne began to clear the table.
"Well, I should get dressed." Frasier said. "I still have some notes to go through for today's show and I don't want to be disturbed, is that clear? I'll be in my room if anyone needs me, but like I said I'm-."
"Not to be disturbed." Daphne and Martin recited in unison.
When Frasier left the room, Daphne walked back into the kitchen and stared the dishwasher before grabbing Eddie's leash for his walk. "All right, Mr. Crane. I'll have me cell phone with me if you need anything. Eddie and I'll be at the park."
"Oh he won't need anything from you, Daphne." Sherry said. "He's got me!"
Forgetting all about the scorching heat that surely awaited her outside Daphne and Eddie walked into the hallway, Sherry's hurtful comments still heavy in her heart.
