"This isn't easy for me," Danny mumbled. "I never did this before, ya know."

            I smiled, confused, as glanced quickly up at the stars.

            "All these years, I've waited for this moment. I knew I'd come and find you, no matter what it took, to do this. And now I'm here and the truth is, Susie, I'm jumblin' all my words up and I don't know how to do this."

            He pulled me up to my feet, my bare toes digging into the soft, damp earth.

            "I-I wanna do this right," he explained, reaching into his pocket. "I waited so long to do this, I don't wanna mess it up."

            I swallowed deeply. This could only mean one thing. I pushed a wisp of hair behind my ear and watched him nervously.

            He pulled something small out of his pocket; small and shiny. Danny kneeled before me and grasped my right hand.

            "Uh…I know I'm not much, Susie. I'm not a rich man, and I'm not a genius. I don't own a business or stuff like that…hell, I don't own much of anything at the moment. But I love you. With all my heart. And I've missed you so much while I was away that I couldn't stand to spend one more moment without you now that I've found you again. You deserve better than me, and I've told you that before. But nothing would make me happier than if you were to love me back the way I love you. Please…Susanna McCawley, will you be my wife?"

            I caught my breath, feeling lightheaded. He slipped a delicate ring on my finger, gold and encrusted with sapphires, emeralds and diamonds. Danny stood up and placed himself directly in front of me. I began to smile, my eyes tearing like waterfalls.

            "Yes," I sobbed, jumping on him and wrapping my legs around his waist. "Yes!"

            He hollered and twirled me around, laughing with joy. We spun and spun until we both hit the ground, me on top of him.

            "Oh Danny, you didn't even have to ask," I panted, out of breath. "I've always been yours." I kissed him delicately and stood up.

            He rose from the ground and hugged me tightly.

            "You just made me so happy," he whispered with a childish bliss in his voice.

            He scooped me up and brought us back into the house and onto my bed, where we fell asleep in each other's arms.

~*~*~*~*~*~

            …The next morning I woke up early and left Danny alone in the bed. He looked like an angel; like the same Danny who had slept in my bed the night before he left for Rhode Island and the Air Force Base. He seemed unchanged… the same smooth skin, same long eyelashes…But then I saw the scar on his neck and remembered where he had been. It had been a week since Rafe, Evelyn, and the kids had left, and they would be back sometime today. I wished that I had warned Danny about it, warned him that he would see his son today, but I hadn't. It had completely slipped my mind. I put on my robe and slipped out of the bedroom…

            The hardwood floors were chilly against my bare feet. I eased my way down the dark, empty hallway and out into the kitchen to make some breakfast.

            The night before seemed so unreal, like a dream; and what a beautiful dream it would have made. I could hear Danny softly snoring from the room and I smiled to myself.

            This is what I will hear every morning for the rest of my life, I thought with glee. Danny and I were getting married, and life could not be more perfect.

            I ate my toast quickly, not bothering to smooth butter over it and smearing it with strawberry jam. My mama had made me toast like that. Most people hate it dry, but not me. Mama always made it for me and Pa, and Rafe always insisted on her adding butter to his.

            When I was finished with my toast, I picked up my mug of tea and stepped out onto the porch. The morning dew stuck to the grass and the wooden beams, and the air smelled fresh and crisp. I inhaled deeply, taking in the aroma and relishing it. This had always been my favorite part of living in this house. Every morning, I would step out into the fresh air and stand there for at least a half an hour, taking in every beautiful bit of it all. Fog rose up over the field and engulfed the crop duster that Rafe had left out of the barn, making it look as though it were flying through a cloud.

            I heard a car pull down the street and turned in time to see Rafe climbing out of the passenger seat of a big taxi cab. Evelyn emerged from the backseat and with her came Danny and Matthew, laughing and jumping around.

            They made their way up the path and Evelyn smiled and waved.

            "Hey Suze!" she called, waving happily. "Why are you up so early? You don't look so well."

            My mouth was ajar, trying to find a way to tell them about Danny coming back from…well…the dead.

            "Oh, I-I'm fine," I responded, walking down the steps to hug her. "I have something to…tell you. But first, how was your vacation?"

            "Oh it was great, Rafe got a bit of a tan, and so did the boys. Not me though, you know me. Pale as ghost forever." She giggled and picked up Matthew. "And this little guy was especially good. But he missed his mommy."

            I smiled and tickled his little chin. Rafe came up, two suitcases in his hands.

            "Well, nothing seems to have burned down…you did good, kiddoe. So how was your week? Anything exciting happen?"

            "Well…" I began, looking down at the ground. But I didn't need to explain. A cough from behind me called their attention, and the suitcases dropped from Rafe's hands to the ground.

            "Oh my god," he stuttered, looking from Danny to me and back to Danny again. "Oh my god."

            "This can't be right," Evelyn whispered in awe, hugging Matty and Danny close to her.

            "Hi," Danny said shyly from the porch.

            Rafe slowly walked up to him, up the steps and placed his hand on Danny's arm to see whether or not he was real.

Once he knew for sure, Rafe cried out and hugged him, sobbing and calling out "Thank you" over and over again at nobody in particular. Danny hugged him back, crying as well.

            "I came home," he whispered with a grin on his face.

            "I can't believe it," Rafe gasped, rubbing Danny's hair with his hand. "Come inside and tell me everything!"

            Danny looked back at me and winked. He and Rafe headed inside so that Rafe could hear all about Danny's adventures in China.

            Evelyn turned to me.

            "Is he a ghost?" she asked, her face even paler than before.

            "No," I answered, glowing. "He came back. He's alive."

            "But how?"

            I explained it to her, and she nodded with understanding.

            "He…he proposed," I whispered with merriment. "And I accepted."

            "Oh Susie! I'm so happy for you!" Evelyn exclaimed, grabbing me and embracing me.

            Little Danny ran up to me and tugged on my skirt.

            "Yes?" I asked, laughing.

            "Who was dat man? With papa?" he asked, biting on his thumb.

            I stood up, dazed, and looked at Evelyn for some kind of clue as to what to say. She looked equally perplexed.

            "That was Daddy's best friend," she explained shakily, kneeling down and picking him up. "That's your Aunt Susie's new husband and Matty's papa."

            I glanced at my son, who was sitting in the grass and trying to catch a caterpillar that had crawled onto his tiny leg. He had never met Jack. So did this make Danny his father? He looked so much like Danny as it were, so I decided then and there to let him believe it.

            I gathered him into my arms and carried him inside, Evelyn and little Danny behind us.

            Rafe and Danny were sitting in the living room, and they both had tears streaming down his face.

            I sat down next to Danny and presented him with Matthew.

            "This is my…our…son, Matthew. And that," I pointed at little Danny, who was at the moment picking his nose on Rafe's lap, "is Rafe and Evelyn's son Danny. Little Danny."

            Danny glanced at both of the children and remembered that Evelyn had been pregnant…with his child. He stared at Little Danny and saw what the rest of us did: no resemblance. But then he gazed at Matthew on his lap and saw himself as a toddler.

            "Hi there fella," he cooed at Matty, picking him up and holding him over his lap, grinning. "I'm your Daddy."

            "Hewwo," Matthew giggled, grabbing at Danny's arms with his small hands.

            Danny looked over at little Danny and smiled softly.

            "Hey Danny," he said tenderly. "I'm your Uncle Danny."

            Little Danny waved and then ran off to find something to do.

            Rafe looked over at him and nodded his head in appreciation, with respect. Danny knew that the boy was basically Rafe's son and to leave it alone. He didn't feel a fatherly connection with the child, and he knew that Rafe did. Plus, he seemed to have become attached to the little tike on his knee.

            I picked myself up from the couch and walked toward the window.

            "It's such a gorgeous day," I murmured, delicately pushing the lace curtains aside.

            "That it is," Danny responded, standing up. "We could go for a walk?"

            "Sure, you two should go off and enjoy the day," Rafe proclaimed, throwing Matthew up onto his shoulders. "I gotta work on the crop duster, and Evelyn's got some laundry and stuff to do. The kids'll be fine here. So go on." He patted Danny on the back and nodded again.

            Danny took my hand and led me outside, where the sun beat down and made everything seem a shade lighter. Heavenly.