The next weeks passed in relative peace. Molly and James would meet up for a meal every few days and sometimes go to the farmer's market or downtown to listen to the bands play.

Molly found her heart lighter than it had been for many, many years. It got easier to be around James. She didn't mind it when he took her hand in his own as they strode through the farmer's market.

After that night at her house, though, he didn't try to kiss her again, and she was grateful for that.

Molly awoke the day of her twenty sixth birthday to her phone ringing. In the dark, she fumbled around until she found her phone.

"Yeah?" she answered blearily, still half asleep.

"Morning, cher!" James greeted, "get dressed and come outside, would you?"

"James..." she whined.

"Come on, slow poke!" before she could protest any more, he hung up. Molly got out of bed and let Chinook out. James swooped in and pecked her cheek.

"Happy birthday!" he enthused.

"It is five o'clock, James. Happy comes with the sun," Molly said glumly as she trotted to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

"Well, come on! Pack some sweat pants, too!" he pressed.

With her toothbrush in her mouth, she pulled on jeans and a flannel over a t shirt. James was letting Chinook back inside while she tied her shoes.

James drove them into town, to Old Point. As she grumbled, he pulled her into the empty bar, through a door marked EMPLOYEES ONLY, into an office, and up a set of dark, narrow steps.

Cold air rushed past her when James wrenched open the door at the top.

Molly's eyes quickly adjusted from darkness to the lightening horizon. There was a TV tray set up between two lawn chairs. A thermos and lunchbox was on it.

"Shall we, cher?" James gestured grandly.

"You woke me up at the ass crack of dawn so we could eat breakfast on the roof of Old Point?" Molly asked grouchily. James threw his head back and laughed.

"Just wait, Molls," he soothed, pouring a mug of steaming liquid into a mug for her. Molly sipped it experimentally. It was hot, spiced cider, one of the only things she would drink warmed up.

"Come on, sit down, enjoy the show!" James encouraged.

So, in the semi darkness, Molly and James ate cold waffles, slathered with strawberry jam and drank the hot cider.

"I hope you know how early I had to get up to make this," James said cheerily as the first bit of gold appeared on the horizon.

"Pfft, you could have just woken up at a normal time," Molly scoffed, totally unsympathetic. James rolled his eyes.

"Then you would have missed the sunrise," he pointed out. Molly repressed a smile and settled back into her chair.

A few minutes passed, throwing a warm, pink light over New Orleans. Molly let out a slow breath at the beauty of it.

It took about twenty minutes before the sun was fully risen. The sky went through all shades of pink and gold and purple.

"Better than your sunsets, cher?" James turned to look at her. Molly sent him a sweet smile. "Happy birthday, Molly."

But that wasn't all he had planned. They ambled around the French Quarter, watching the city wake up. James drug her into a little antique bookshop and they easily burned three hours there.

"Come on, it's time," he said cheerfully.

"For what?" Molly asked suspiciously.

"For your birthday present!"

As it turned out, James listened a lot better than he ever let on. He was taking her to a dance studio, where they were to be instructed in swing dancing.

Molly had never sweat so much. Between James and the male instructor, she didn't get a break from the dancing.

But God, she was having a good time!

After the class was over, they went out for lunch. Molly's face was flushed, still, even as she slurped her milkshake.

"That was fun, James, thank you," she said sincerely. He just smiled warmly.

"We'll go back to my place, you can shower. Lacey dropped off your birthday present there. And I've rented Casablanca. We can watch it until our reservation tonight," James told her.

"You didn't need to go through all the trouble, James," Molly blushed.

"Oh, cher, trust me, it's no trouble at all," he said cheerfully.

James drove them to his flat. It was about ten blocks away from Old Point. The walls were white and it was very open space. There was no place for anybody to hide, and Molly liked that.

"I've been warned under pain of death not to open this, so I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but it's from Lacey. She did have a lot to do with today," James said diplomatically, handing Molly a black box with a red ribbon. She felt a twinge of apprehension.

"Thanks for the heads up," she drawled.

"There's clean towels in the closet in there," James called. Molly sent him a grateful smile as she closed the bathroom door and locked it.

Yes, James seemed like a nice guy, but she wasn't going to take any chances.

After taking a quick shower and washing the sweat off of herself, she wrapped herself in a blue towel and opened up the box.

The first thing that greeted her was a lacy, teal bra and underwear set. Molly blushed red from her hairline to her chest as she pulled the note out.

Scrawled in Lacey's loopy cursive was a 'Have fun, Molly! ;)'

Under the lingerie was a long, dark blue gypsy skirt with tiny glass beads sewn onto it. A black, off the shoulder peasant blouse with a plunging neck was the last thing in the box.

For a split second, Molly considered just putting her dirty clothes back on, but then James would know something was up.

Suppressing a groan, she pulled the clothes on, pulling the neck of the shirt up as far as she could.

Everything fit her surprisingly well. Molly would have to ask Lacey later how in the hell she knew her bra size.

James let out a low whistle when she ducked out of the bathroom, clutching the box that now held her dirty clothes.

"I'll have to thank Lacey later," he decided, making her blush. "I'm going to take a quick shower. Help yourself to anything in the fridge!"

They spent the afternoon watching Molly's favorite movie, Casablana. James tolerated it very well, holding his criticisms until the end.

"He doesn't get the girl at the end!" James complained, putting the DVD back in its case.

"Not every story is a love story," Molly said simply, "and not everybody gets their happily ever after. James smiled sadly at her.

"Yeah, I know it, cher."