A last goodbye.
What if Shane McInerney left after Holly arrived. This short fanfiction is another perspective on the end of the movie, "From Paris with love." The characters belong to the talented Martha Williamson.
Oliver finished setting up the porch swing. He put his tools away but dropped a screwdriver, which made a noise. He picked it up when a neighbor came out of her house.
"Good evening, excuse me, are you the one who has been making noise since earlier. It's very late." The neighbor exclaimed.
He did not know that it was she who had the police earlier.
"My sincere apologies, ma'am. I know this is not the time, but I absolutely had to get this swing up. It's a gift for a colleague and friend." Oliver explains.
"A gift for Shane McInerney? But, she left earlier with a hand luggage." The neighbor said.
"What?" Oliver exclaimed , surprised.
"She said she was going to pick up some things at the post office and then she would leave. Shane left me her spare keys. Didn't she tell you?" The neighbor asked.
"No, thank you very much, ma'am." Oliver answered.
He quickly ran down the stairs and into the streets. He kept running and running. His thoughts were racing in his head. Why such a sudden departure ? He realized that Shane's departure was not related to the post office, but to something else. Oliver blamed himself for not seeing anything, for not understanding, all this time, that she really had secretly loved him. He ran again, and stopped, before finally finding a taxi.
DLO, Denver.
"Why did Shane leave ? And what does Holly have to do with it." Norman noticed.
"Love is complicated sometimes, Norman. It's really sad. The DLO without Shane is no longer the DLO. We're really going to miss her." Rita said, wiping away her tears.
Suddenly the doors opened.
"Oliver! You shouldn't be... !" Rita exclaimed.
"It's a long story... Where is Miss McInerney?" Oliver asked
"Shane's gone . She left an envelope on your desk." Norman replied.
The postal detective rushed to his desk, noticed that his favorite letter opener was gone, then opened the envelope to read the letter.
Dear Oliver,
This is the first and last letter I am writing to you.
Funny, I have never written a letter before.
I wanted to thank you for the great year I had at the DLO.
But today, I decided to quit.
I am leaving the postal service forever.
I don't think I belong in the service anymore.
I really enjoyed delivering the mail and seeing all the smiling faces of the people who received their letters.
The letter that touched me the most was the letter of Kelly from Washington Park.
Working with all of you at the Dead Letter Office, I understood this quote from Gary Halbert: The written word is the strongest source of power in the universe.
I was happy to meet you Oliver.
I wish you all the happiness, because you deserve it.
Goodbye.
Shane McInerney.
This letter confirmed his suspicions. Oliver tucked the letter into his suit jacket and then thought for a moment.
"Oliver, so it's over, the POstables?" Norman asked.
" No, I don't think so." Oliver said before leaving the DLO.
"But where is he going?" Norman asks.
"That is so sweet. He's going after her." Rita replied with a smile.
" Going after her what?" Norman asks.
Shane McInerney continued to walk through Washington Park. Warm tears continued to stream down her face, mingling with the cold winter night breeze.
Then she came to a bench and sat down.
As she gazed at the lake, illuminated by the beam of the moon, faces and memories came back to her.
Her meeting with Oliver, the discovery of the Dead Letter Office, Norman, Rita, the delivery of her first letter, Vivian Lasseter, Samila, the story of Billy's CD, Ellie, the treasure box with Jonathan and Katherine's letters, her first dance steps with Oliver, and then... there was that kiss Oliver gave Holly. That kiss that had changed everything and now it was breaking her heart.
Shane took a deep breath, torn between sadness and nostalgic, still looking at the horizon.
"I was sure I'd find you here." A voice said softly.
Surprised, she stood up and turned around.
"Oliver! What are you doing here?" She exclaimed.
"I'll answer that question if you'll tell me why you got all your stuff back." The postal detective replied.
"I think it's perfectly clear. Didn't you read my letter? I've ended my career with the Postal Service. I'm quitting for real this time. I'm saying goodbye to this town." Shane explains.
"I really can't believe it... Usually you choose to leave when you are faced with a situation you can't control. But I have to admit that choosing Washington Park for a farewell place is very poetic." Oliver noticed.
"I wish we wouldn't talk about poetry. Yes, Washington Park is a place I am particularly fond of. I wish you nothing but happiness, Oliver. Both of you." Shane said with a little point of disappointment in the voice , as she was about to leave.
"Miss McInerney, what happens to a snowman when he melts?" Oliver asks.
"What? I beg your pardon?" Shane asked, surprised, as she turned around and walked to him."I really don't have time for a riddle. I've made up my mind. Oliver, if you want to say goodbye, now is the time." Shane said, looking him straight in the eye, sad at the thought of a last goodbye.
Oliver took a deep breath, looked into her eyes, and pulled her in for a kiss.
Shane was surprised, and remembered Holly's words: That man can kiss.
But Shane sensed that this kiss was not just to change her mind or to hold her back. It was a kiss that hid something deeper. She had never felt so much love, warmth and tenderness in a kiss, forgetting where she was. Seeing that she didn't push him away, Oliver deepened the kiss. He was just as surprised to share a real love kiss.
When they pulled away, Shane tried to catch her breath.
"Wow! I... It was very... "She said, fumbling for words.
"Shane, my wife went back to Paris. As soon as she arrived in Denver, I knew that the chances of saving my marriage would be zero. We kissed one last time to say goodbye." The postal detective explains.
"So it was just a goodbye kiss... And?
"And it didn't do anything... Miss McInerney, you didn't answer my question?" Oliver asks
"Well, when a snowman melts, he changes." Shane replied.
"No, he becomes spring. A hard winter like this teaches us to find signs of hope in the smallest things." The postal detective added.
"Oliver, what are you talking about?" Shane asked.
"I was lost in a long, endless winter, wondering if I would ever see spring. That the wounds of the heart can only heal with words. I doubted for a long time, whether I had made the right choices in my life. And then you came along, Miss McInerney. You showed me what spring really is. Tonight, when I finally knew I was free, I decided to find you, Shane. I don't regret much of my life. The only thing I regret is that I didn't see. That I didn't see that I made you suffer, when you were always there for me." Oliver said sincerely.
Shane, had tears in her eyes, smiled at him, looked at his left hand, then took it in her.
"Oliver, I know your words are sincere."She said softly. "And I guess it's not a surprise to me anymore, you're still looking for me." Shane laughed
"That's good. Because I have another surprise for you." Oliver said with a long smile.
Shane frowned, trying to figure out what he meant.
"Thank you very much. keep the change, bye." The postal detective exclaimed after they got out of the taxi and walked towards Shane's house.
"Really, I'm curious to see what surprise awaits me at 4 a.m. and I... Oliver, what is that? It's a porch swing! How did you?" She asked moved, as she saw the swing.
"It's an early birthday present. I remembered the story of a little girl who came home from school and was thrilled to see that the swing was back on the porch. So I bought that swing." Oliver said in a low voice.
Shane gave him a big smile, then Oliver invited her to sit on it.
"Did you assemble this by yourself?" Shane asks
"Yes, I did. So, does it look like what you had when you were a little girl?" asked Oliver asks
"It's much better. I like it a lot, thank you. True, it doesn't have the view of the Potomac River, but..." Shane began
"But if you look right there." He said, pointing to something.
"A crocus! One say crocuses are the first colors of spring." Shane says, smiling.
"That's right. And speaking of spring colors, I'll be happy to show you the beauty of the Rockies for your first spring in Colorado." Oliver said.
"Wonderful. I imagine it's as beautiful as the lyrics to the song you sang the other day." She smiled.
"Yes, it is.
When it's springtime in the Rockies
I'm coming back to you
Little sweetheart of the mountains
With your bonnie eyes of blue
Once again I'll say I love you
While the birds sing all the day." Oliver said, smiling tenderly at her.
The end
Author's note: Thank you all for reading this story. I wish you a good day :)