The morning sunlight filtered in, soft and warm, through the bedroom window. With a deep sigh, Betty stretched her arms toward the ceiling. Brushing the hair from her face, she blinked her heavy eyelids open. She scanned the room with the eyes of a dreamer still teetering on the border between sleep and waking.
As the hazy veil of sleep began to lift, Betty became more aware of her surroundings. Suddenly, her body stiffened and she sat bolt upright. Pushing herself free of the white, down comforter that surrounded her, she searched frantically for her glasses. Finding them on top of the nightstand, she pushed them onto her nose and gazed questioningly around the room.
Her heart beat wildly as her eyes confirmed what her mind already knew. She was not in her own bed.
She scrutinized her surroundings, desperate for recognition. A row of designer suits peaking out through the open closet door caught her eye. She knew them immediately, but this fact did little to calm her nerves. They were Daniel's suits. This was his loft, his bed. Her mind reeled as she tried desperately to recall the events of the previous night.
Peering down at herself, she realized that she was still wearing her same dress from yesterday. She couldn't decide if this was a good sign or not. Stumbling out of the large, comfortable bed, she found her shoes and slipped them on. Tiptoeing over to the door, which was already slightly ajar, she cautiously pulled it open.
The rest of the apartment was quiet. The soft, rhythmic ticking of a wall clock was the only sound that greeted her. She made her way slowly into the living room, almost tripping over a large pair of shoes that were lying haphazardly in the middle of the floor. Rounding the side of the large sofa, Betty discovered the sleeping form of her boss. Daniel was lying on his back with one leg stretched out in front of him, the other dangling idly off the side of the sofa. Seemingly as an afterthought, he had halfheartedly pulled a blanket off the back of the sofa, which was now draped untidily over his arms and part of one leg. Like her, he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday.
With something resembling a relieved sigh, Betty took a seat on the arm of the couch. She gazed at Daniel, her heart warming at the sight of him disheveled and exhausted. She couldn't help but admire what a gentlemanly gesture it had been to give her the bed, while he respectfully took the couch. She felt foolish for ever worrying about the circumstances of her arrival here. Daniel was such a good man; one of the best friends she'd ever had. She felt tears beginning to well in the corners of her eyes, but stubbornly forced them back.
Daniel stirred in his sleep. He groaned and shifted uncomfortably before slowly opening his blue eyes.
"Betty," he said in a groggy voice.
"Good morning," she whispered.
"You're up early," he said rubbing his eyes and pushing himself into a sitting position. "Have you been awake long?"
"No, not long," she assured him.
He paused for a moment, running a hand through his tousled hair.
"I apologize for holding you hostage," he joked timidly. "There was just no way we were making it to Queens last night."
"Yeah, from what I remember the traffic was pretty bad," she said, smiling sheepishly.
"I'm surprised you remember anything," he chuckled. "You were out like a light."
Betty's cheeks turned pink.
"I can't remember the last time I was that tired," she admitted.
"Well, it was a long day," he said.
She nodded, looking down at her hands and fiddling nervously with her fingernails. Daniel could sense that she was growing uncomfortable, so he quickly changed the subject.
Swinging his legs off the couch, he tossed the blanket onto a chair, stood up and announced, "So, now that we're both nice and rested, what do you say we have some breakfast?"
Betty looked up at him, her face unreadable at first. Then a small smile began to form on her lips.
"I could go for some breakfast," she admitted.
"Great!" Said Daniel, a little too exuberantly. "I mean, I'm starving. I barely had time to eat anything yesterday."
"Same here," said Betty, giggling a bit at his obvious excitement.
"Well, let's see," began Daniel. "I have a few things here."
He walked quickly over to the fridge and began scrutinizing its contents.
"I have eggs, milk, bread. I think there are a few bananas, maybe an apple or two," he said, eyeing his granite countertops. "We could make French toast or pancakes," he suggested. "I think I even have a waffle iron around here somewhere if that sounds appealing."
Betty smiled at his enthusiasm and then couldn't help herself.
"Daniel," she began with a Cheshire Cat grin. "Since when do you cook?"
He peered at her over the top of the refrigerator door.
"I will have you know," he said playfully, "that my Pop-Tart toasting skills are legendary."
"Ooh," she mimed in mock admiration.
"Of course," he added with a smile, "if you're too intimidated by my culinary skills, we could always go out for breakfast."
Betty laughed out loud. As she did, she felt an invisible weight lift off her shoulders. The air between them was beginning to clear and it felt good to be at ease with Daniel again. The enormous grin plastered across his face told her that he too was grateful for the reprieve.
"So what's the verdict, Miss Suarez?" He pressed her.
Without saying a word, Betty marched into the kitchen, leaned past Daniel into the fridge and pulled out a carton of eggs and a bottle of milk. Placing the two items on the kitchen counter, she looked back over at Daniel.
"I say, let's find that waffle iron of yours and put it to good use," she said matter-of-factly. "We've got our work cut out for us if we want to eat anytime soon. This breakfast isn't going to make itself," she added, pretending to roll up invisible sleeves.
Daniel beamed at her.
"Prepare to be awed," he warned her, pointing a playful finger in her direction. "Once you've eaten my cooking, life will never be the same."
Her eyes followed Daniel as he began rummaging through cabinets in search of the waffle iron.
"I'm sure it won't," she murmured.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
The kitchen was a royal disaster. The granite countertops were now barely visible underneath the mess of utensils, white flour, kitchen towels, and discarded egg shells. Waffle batter dripped slowly off the sides of a large, silver mixing bowl that sat next to the now cool waffle iron. It had been quite a process, but breakfast had turned out better than either Betty or Daniel had expected. The two of them now sat, slightly reclined in their chairs, recovering from their large meal.
"I can't remember the last time I ate that much," Daniel said. "I feel like I'm in a waffle coma."
"Oh, me too," Betty groaned.
"I warned you your life would never be the same," Daniel added with a grin.
Betty laughed, rubbing a hand over her stomach.
"You certainly did."
All either of them wanted to do now was take a nice long nap, but Betty knew she needed to get home before her family started to worry about her. Luckily, they were aware of how crazy fashion week could be. Betty had warned them that if the show went late, she might spend the night in the city, so they probably weren't too concerned. Of course, when she made this statement, she had assumed that if she stayed anywhere, it would be at her old apartment with Amanda. She had never expected to end up at Daniel's loft. It was funny all the different twists and turns life could take.
"Daniel, I should really be getting home," she began reluctantly. "My family is probably wondering what's happened to me."
"Of course," said Daniel. "Let me make a call and I'll have a town car come pick you up."
He pushed himself to his feet and walked slowly over to the couch to locate his phone. As Daniel made the call, Betty began cleaning up the mess they had made in the kitchen. She didn't want to go home and leave Daniel with all the cleanup duties. She was busy wiping countertops and loading the dishwasher when Daniel came back into the kitchen.
"Betty, you don't have to do that," he said.
"It's no big deal," she assured him. "I don't want to leave you with this huge mess. I'd feel terrible."
Daniel placed a gentle hand on her arm and she stopped what she was doing.
"You're my guest," he said tenderly. "You don't have to do anything."
She held his gaze for a moment and then felt the nerves start to knot around her stomach. His hand still rested on her arm and it was starting to feel like scorching metal on her skin. She released the towel that she held and took a step back from the counter, causing Daniel's hand to slip from her arm.
"I'll go get my stuff," she squeaked and rushed out of the kitchen to find her purse.
Daniel sighed. "One step forward, two steps back," he thought. He wondered if she would ever feel truly comfortable around him again. He did his best to push the nagging worry from his mind.
A short time later, the intercom buzzed and the doorman announced that Betty's car had arrived. Daniel walked her to the door.
"Do you want me to ride back to Queens with you?" He offered.
"No, that's okay," said Betty. The last thing she wanted was another awkward car ride to look forward to. "But thank you," she added.
Daniel opened the door for her and accompanied her on the elevator ride down to the lobby. They walked out into the warm spring sunlight together and stopped a few feet in front of the black town car.
Betty turned to Daniel and without making direct eye contact said, "Thank you again for everything."
"It was my pleasure," he said and without thinking, he stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.
This time it was Betty who was tentative about the gesture. Although Daniel pulled her close and held her warmly, she seemed very distant. The irony was not lost on either of them. In the span of one day, they had somehow switched roles. Betty was now the one who seemed unsure of herself. Daniel wondered if they would ever be in the same place at the same time emotionally.
He released her and she stepped into the car. Closing the door behind her, he watched as the car drove away, waving one last time before it rounded the corner and was out of sight.
Daniel was uncertain of what was to come, but he felt happy. For the first time in his life, he could see a path forward. Perhaps he wasn't quite sure where that path ended, but he could now see quite clearly where it began and he intended to follow it. Without a doubt, the important things in his life we're beginning to come into focus.
Tilting his head toward the sky, he inhaled a deep breath of spring air. And with a bit of bounce in his step, he walked back into the building. For Daniel Meade, this was shaping up to be a beautiful day. Little did he know, somewhere off in a distant corner of the radiant blue sky, a grey storm cloud was brewing.