Unlocking the door to his apartment, Don stepped back to let Mauve enter. "After you, my lady."
"Yes, my lord." Mauve laughed as she entered the dark place Don called home. After he turned on the light, she looked around at the masculine, dark furnishings. "You have a nice place, Don. Could use a bit more color though." After placing the groceries on the table, he came up behind her, and placed his arms around her waist. "I'd appreciate any help you want to give me in that area." He nuzzled her neck as she sank back into his chest. Reluctantly she pulled away from him and walked toward the kitchen.
"If we are going to ever eat, I am going to have to get started preparing the food." She handed him a bottle of wine to open while she began removing items from paper bags. Don opened the wine bottle and poured a glass for each of them. Suddenly the phone rang, and Don went to go answer it. After a few moments, Don's voice became angry and his face tightened, as he asked the person he was speaking to, couldn't they handle it. Guessing right away that it was Betty on the other line, Mauve came up to Don and put a hand on his arm. At her questioning look, Don covered the phone with his hand. "Sally is acting up, and Betty wants me to take her for a few days. I don't see how I can, with all my meetings this week ."
"Take her, Don. I'll help you look after her. I can take her with me on a few photo projects I have. It's no bother, really. I'd appreciate the company." Don drew her against him, filled with gratitude, and told Betty that he would be over to pick his daughter up. After hanging up the phone, Don frowned. "I really was looking forward to dinner. Now it will be spoiled."
"No, Don. We'll just have an extra guest. I haven't seen Sally in a couple of years and would love to spend some time with her. And...," she touched his face softly. "I'm sure she could use some time away from Betty and her new husband." Starting to lose himself in her eyes, Don pushed away from Mauve and picked up his coat and hat. "I'm going to go pick Sally up before I break my promise to you earlier about being on my best behavior."
"Take your time. I'll have dinner on the table by the time you get back. Don..."
Turning back to her, Don waited for her to finish her statement. "Don't let Betty get to you. She is very angry right now and just wants to push your buttons."
"I know." A solemn look came over his face. "You do realize that your friendship with her will be over when she finds out about us..."
"Us? Is there an us yet? We'll take it one step at a time, Donald Draper. I know what Betty will assume and I don't care. " She crossed over to him and put her hand on his chest. "When you found out about Robert, you were there for me. Betty has known about my loss for some time and never offered one word of condolence. You...well you are my friend." Donald kissed her gently on the forehead and went out the door to fetch his daughter.
Feeling relaxed and content after a good dinner and watching Mauve and Sally play cards, Don leaned back against the couch. Mauve had just put Sally to bed in his room and came out to sit alongside him. He moved his arm so that she could cuddle up into his side. Placing his arm around her he drew her in as close as he could. They just sat there for a long moment looking into the flames of the fireplace.
"Mauve, I have a confession to make. I've done some bad things in my life, especially toward the fairer sex. Betty had her reasons for divorcing me. I've slept around which I'm not exactly proud of. I've been lost for a long time, and now here with you, I feel as if I've finally found a measure of peace. But there is something you should know, something that few people know. I'm a bastard and the son of a ...prostitute. I don't even know who my father is." Mauve didn't say anything and Don feared her reaction to this news. She withdrew from him and accepting her apparent rejection, Don's shoulders slumped wearily and he put his head in his hands. Despair began to watch over him and then he felt Mauve's soft arms surround him and draw him in her embrace. He held onto her as a drowning man would cling to a life preserver, and Mauve's gentle voice soothed him.
Mauve wept as she held this strong man in her arms, attempting to chase away the inner demons that pursued him. Betty had never been the woman for Don. She had known this the first time she had met him after he and Betty had married. He was far too complex for someone as simpleminded and selfish as his then wife had been. Robert had even thought that. He had liked Don but had never had much use for Betty. He hadn't been able to imagine what Don could have seen in her. Ah...Robert. The loss was still too raw for her to think about. From the beginning they had been drawn together by a passion that had confounded both of them. Robert Grant, dashing war photographer, running from hotspot to hotspot, risking his life for the truth. They had met when he was hosting an exhibition in New York and she had come to see his photographs. Mauve's photography was much different, pictures of nature, people and animals. She had never understood the interest Robert had in photographing war scenes, and the emotions that drew him to the insanity of it all. She had loved his free spirit and self confidence, but she had always longed more for home and hearth, than the gypsy way of life Robert led. They had gotten engaged but then Robert had been killed and so went all the possibilities of their future...and so it was. Now she was here comforting a man as lonely and lost as she herself.
Waking to the smell of eggs and bacon frying, Don found himself on the couch covered by a blanket. Mauve was in the kitchen cooking breakfast for all of them. Running his hands through his hair, Don rose from the couch and walked over to stand beside Mauve.
"Coffee is in the pot. Why don't you get yourself a cup, and I'll make you up a plate. "
Don poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table. Mauve brought him a plate filled with food and poured him some fresh orange juice she had made. Pulling her into his lap, Don rested his chin on her head. "Thank you, Mauve. Thank you for staying with me last night," he said in a low voice. Looking up at him, her eyes mirrored his own emotions.
"I wanted to be here." Their lips met in a deep passionate kiss, and frightened by her feelings, Mauve pulled away. Don grabbed her hand and wouldn't let her leave. "Mauve, don't run from me. Don't run from this."
"Don, I'm not ready for another relationship. I'm still not over Robert."
"I can wait. In the meantime, I want you and need you in my life."
"That is what I want also. But as to anything else, you will have to be patient. I do care for you." Don smiled and let her go. It would have to be enough for now.
"Sally is getting ready and I'm going to take her to my apartment so I can change into something else. Why don't you go take a shower, and we'll ride a cab together to your work and then Sally and I will go on to my apartment. We'll come by your office after we are done."
