They were at Mary's apartment this time but the routine was the same. He showed up, they had sex, talked for a while and now they had fallen asleep as the afternoon sun once again filtered in. The only sound was their breathing, almost in rhythm with each other. Neither of them had anywhere to go later so they were in no hurry. The shrill ringing of the phone ripped harshly through the silence. Mary slowly awakened and reached for the phone on the nightstand.
"Hello." She said the grogginess evident in her voice, "Who?" She asked, "Oh my god, Dan…" Lou had awoken and was listening to the conversation, "You're here in Minneapolis? For how long?. Yes I would love to see you…alright, tomorrow would be fine…me too…good bye, Dan." She hung up and turned to Lou, "That was Dan Whitfield."
Lou sat up fully in the bed, "Dan? What did he want?"
"He's in town and wants to see me tomorrow." She explained, "He's moving back here, Lou."
"How do you feel about that?" He asked
"I…I don't know. When he left I was so hurt and that's what led me to start seeing Brian." She told him even though he basically knew that already, "I can't go through that again."
"Well, he's moving back here. " Lou said, "That should mean something."
"Yes, but what?" She wondered aloud
"You'll find out when you see him. I imagine he wants to marry you."
Mary laughed, "Marry me?"
"He wanted to before didn't he?" Lou asked
"Yes, he wanted to get married, I just wasn't sure it was me he wanted to marry or if he was in love with idea of marriage. We might have found that out if he hadn't left."
"Well, you can find that out now." He told her
"Oh no, I'm not going through that." She said emphatically, "I'll see him once but that's it."
"Why?"
"Because I could fall in love with him again and I can't risk that." She told him, "I can't let my heart get broken again."
"It doesn't have to get broken, Mary." He assured her, "He may want to give you everything you say you want."
"And what is that? Marriage, family?" She asked, "That door is closed, Lou."
"Damn it, you don't know that." He said, "You've been running around the last few months doing everything you can not to feel anything. You know you can't keep doing that. You can't cut yourself off from emotion, from loving someone."
"And you haven't been doing the same thing?" She reminded him, "I haven't been alone in this, you know."
"Men are different and the Mary Richards I know wouldn't be doing this." He said sadly
She looked at him, her once expressive brown eyes had become dull and lifeless, almost vacant, "That Mary Richards is gone."
He pulled her into his arms, "No she's not. She's in there, just hurting right now. I know that same girl who came into my newsroom and changed everything with just a smile is still there."
"How can you be so sure?" She asked resting her head on his chest
"Because, above everything else, I know your heart." He explained, "It may be wounded but it's still there."
"It's too wounded to care anymore." She said pulling away from him
SUNDAY NIGHT
Mary nervously waited for Dan to arrive at her apartment. As hard as she tried she couldn't stop herself from feeling excited, hopeful, all the things she had spent months trying to avoid. She knew that just because Dan wanted to see her that didn't mean he wanted to resume a relationship, much less get married. She didn't want to care. She didn't want to think about the possibility of loving him but it seemed to be all she could think about and she hated herself for it. It looked like all the rules were going to be broken. There was knock on the door making her jump. She opened it to find Dan on the other side.
"Dan." She breathed out
"God, Mary, you look incredible." He said coming into the apartment
She smiled, "So do you."
They had a wonderful dinner and came back to Mary's apartment for drinks. It was like no time had passed at all. They talked as they always had and she found him looking at her like no one had looked at her in a long time. They sat on the couch, his arm around her.
"So, Mary, you haven't told me," He began, "Are you seeing anyone?"
She pulled away a little and looked at him, "No, I'm not."
"Good." He said, "Then I can do this." He leaned in and kissed her long and deep
"Dan…I...I…Damn." She stammered when their lips parted
"I thought that was a pretty good kiss." He quipped
"Oh, it was." She agreed, "But what are we doing here?"
"Kissing?" He asked
She laughed a little, "No, I mean, what do you want? You've moved back here and you wanted to see me but I need to know where this is going."
"Mary, I haven't stopped thinking about you since I left. I wanted to marry you before and I want to marry you now." He explained, "You're one of the main reasons I wanted to come back here when I heard about the job opening."
"You took a big chance. What if I were married?"
"Well, I looked you up in the phone book before I even got here. I assumed since you were still listed as Mary Richards, you were single. Besides, I do have family nearby too. I said ONE of the reasons and you haven't answered my question."
"What question?" She asked
"Will you marry me?" He asked
"Oh, Dan." She managed, "Can you give me some time? Please?"
"Alright, but I do love you Mary Richards," He told her, "I always have."
Something in her broke and tears came forth like a dam had broken. He took her in his arms, "Hey, what's with the tears?" He asked stroking her hair
"Dan, I'm not the same person I was when you left." She explained through her tears, "There are things I have done I can't tell you about because if you knew you wouldn't want to marry me."
He found himself laughing a little even though he knew she was serious, "Now, what could you have done that would make me not want to marry you?"
She pulled away and looked at him, mascara running down her face, "Maybe I will tell you one day but I can't now. Please understand."
He wiped her eyes, "Mary, there is nothing you could do that would change how I feel about you, nothing."
She smiled, "I don't deserve you."
"Let me be the judge of that." He leaned in and kissed her again and everything exploded. They found themselves groping and fondling, and heading for the bedroom. Before they knew it, her dress and his shirt and pants were in a heap on the floor. They made love with such ferocity it nearly left them both breathless. The hunger frightened her and as they fell asleep the tears began to fall. How could she ever tell him what she had become? The woman he thought he loved no longer existed.
The morning came and Mary sat up in bed with a start. She looked at the clock, 8:45. She was going to be late for work. She looked over at Dan who as peacefully sleeping. She jumped in the shower and got dressed as quietly as she could then had a quick bowl of cereal. She was in the kitchen when Dan came in wearing his clothes from the night before. She was sitting at the bar and he came up behind putting his hands on her shoulders.
"Good Morning." He said kissing the top of her head
She smiled, "Good morning yourself." She said, "I'm sorry but I have to get going or I'll be really late." She got up and put her cereal bowl in the sink
"That's okay. I have some meetings today too. Why don't we have dinner tonight?" He took her in his arms
"Alright." She agreed, "Why don't you come by the newsroom about seven?"
"I'll be there." He assured her kissing her gently on the lips
She pulled away and grabbed the milk to put it back in the fridge. When she did she noticed the calendar on the fridge and thought for a second, "Dan, what's the date today?"
"The twenty-second, why?" He asked
"Oh, I just wanted to make sure I hadn't forgotten my Aunt Flo's birthday and it's not until next week." She explained, "Well, I gotta run." She came over to him, "If you want to shower go ahead. There's a key under the mat so lock up when you leave." She kissed him and headed out the door
On the way to work her mind was spinning. She couldn't be, she just couldn't be pregnant. But there it was in black and white, two weeks late. Dear God, what am I going to do? She thought as she pulled into the garage at WJM.
TBC…