Sarah opened the door of room 205 again, and peeked out. No one was in sight.
"The coast is clear," she called, slumping against the door. Dixie walked from the bathroom. "That was close. I thought you hadn't told him where you were?"
"I didn't," Dixie promised. "I even called him on my cell phone so he wouldn't be able to track me. My God," she shouted. "I checked into the hotel under a different name so he wouldn't find me. What would it take to keep the man away?"
"Sometimes there's no stopping love," Sarah shared with Dixie.
"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Dixie hoped.
"Do you want to call him again?"
"Are you kidding? After this? A phone call from me now would be too weird, don't you think?"
Sarah's answer was smothered by the ringing on Dixie's cell phone. Dixie shot her a horrified look. Holding up crossed fingers, Sarah said, "You'd better get that," and took Jenny out of the room, grinning wildly. *Here goes nothing," Dixie thought.
"Hello?" she said into the receiver.
"Dixie! It's you!" Dixie smiled.
"Tad! It's you!"
"I got your message. I'd love to do dinner with you! Or, something else if you'd like." Tad was dancing in his seat like someone who'd just won the lottery.
"I think dinner will be great," she gushed, tugging at her star-necklace.
"Great! Wow, great!" Tad struggled to find something intelligible to say. "Do you want me to pick you up?"
"No!" Dixie yelped, then said in a strained voice, "Why don't we meet somewhere?"
"Okay. But I don't want you to have to drive too far. Where are you staying?"
Dixie gulped. "Nowhere special." *Change the subject!* her mind sirened. "I hope I'm not interrupting your day or anything. What have you been doing?"
Now it was Tad's turn to gulp. "Nothing special." *Don't go there, Tad!* his mind warned. "Where do you want to eat?"
"How about the Valley Inn?" Dixie proposed the first thing she could think of.
"Super! Five o' clock sound okay?"
"Great!"
"Great! Well, see you there."
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye."
Tad hung up. "Yeeeeeeeeeeeah!" he squealed.
Dixie hung up. "Yeeeesss!!!" she cheered. Sarah opened the door immediately.
"That's a good sound, right?" Sarah laughed.
"Oh my god, Sarah, I'm so scared!" Dixie jumped up and down, giggling like a schoolgirl. "This is one of the biggest nights of my life and--" she paused. "What on earth am I going to wear?"
"Okay. So do I go with the black one, the white one, the red one, the green one, or the blue one?" Dixie wondered, laying the outfits out onto the bed.
"The skirts are nice, so I'd go with either the white one, the green one, or the blue one," Sarah gave her input as she squinted at the outfits.
"Okay, I'm not particularly crazy about the green one."
"Go with blue, definitely," Sarah finally determined. "It brings out your eyes."
"Perfect." Dixie walked in the bathroom and saw her reflection in the mirror. "Oh no," she wailed. "My hair is a mess!"
"Calm down," Sarah says. "You put on the skirt, I can help with hair."
"Okay," Dixie soothed herself. "It's going to be fine."
Tad stepped out of the shower. "Squeaky clean," he sang as he dried himself off. He combed his hair, and spritzed on some cologne. When he finally made it to his closet, he knew immediately what to choose. *Dixie always said this was her favorite shirt on me,* he thought, and walked over to the mirror. *I just need to calm down. This shirt isn't half as flattering with sweat stains. Deep breath. It's going to be fine.*
At the Valley Inn, Dixie sat in a chair and waited patiently. Sarah had curled her hair softly, and brought part of it back into a half-ponytail, which was held by a blue clip that matched the skirt perfectly. Jenny was with JR at the Chandler mansion, and Sarah had decided to stay at the hotel. Everyone was accounted for, and everything seemed ready. Dixie's stomach was fluttering again.
Through the window of the Valley Inn, Tad could see Dixie. He trotted to the door, and pushed it, but he couldn't get in. He kicked it stubbornly, then hoped nobody had seen him. He pulled the door open, and entered the Valley Inn, making a beeline for the table where he saw Dixie.
"You're here!" she waved happily as he approached the table. He held his breath-- she looked so stunning.
"Hey, you look great," Tad complimented her.
"You do too." Dixie hugged him, and gave him a polite kiss on the cheek. *Well, I guess she still likes the shirt,* Tad thought. He pulled Dixie's chair out for her. She sat down as the waiter came to greet them.
"Good evening, and welcome to the Valley Inn," the waiter said. "How can I start you two off?"
"I"ll have iced tea, please," Dixie ordered.
"Make that two," Tad said.
"Alright. I"ll be back with those in a second. You two enjoy yourselves, okay?"
Dixie grabbed her sides, which hurt from laughing so hard. Tad watched her amusedly.
"Can I get you anything else?" the waiter asked.
"No," Dixie said, suppressing her laughter. "Please, I couldn't eat another bite."
"Alright, then enjoy the rest of your night here." The waiter exited clearing their empty plates from the table. Dixie leaned in toward Tad, who pulled back slightly.
"Dixie," he began. He didn't want to say anything, things were going so well. But the question would be in the back of his mind for the rest of the night if he didn't just ask it. "At the threat of ruining this great mood we've set up here, may I ask why we're here?"
"Well," Dixie stammered, feeling the conversation take a turn towards the very direction she still felt so afraid of. "I'm back in town, and I wanted to see you again."
"Under what circumstances?"
"We're friends, aren't we Tad?"
"Yes, but you've been especially friendly tonight. Maybe I'm being a little too optimistic here, but when you say we're just friends, are you telling the truth?" There. He'd said it, and he didn't regret it. He had to know.
*Oh, God...* Dixie's mind panicked. *Just tell him. Do it now, right now.*
"No." She confessed. She shook her head, her golden curls falling around her face. *God, she's beautiful,* Tad thought. *Too beautiful for a friend.* "The truth, Tad," she blurted out, "is that I love you. I never stopped loving you. I have always loved you, I always will, and there is nothing that can change that."
Tad's heart soared. He was getting his world back, and it was lighting up, but a dark voice in the back of his mind told him it was all too good to be true. *Where is this coming from? She's been gone for months, and now we love each other again?* "Dixie, where is this coming from? You divorced me and you left. Now everything is a-okay again?" he licked his lips, hoping he wasn't sounding too harsh. Leaning in toward her again, he spoke again softly. "I'm not going to lie to you, I love you more than anything. But I don't understand why you're coming back to me, much less why you left in the first place."
Dixie's heart pounded loudly, she was sure Tad could hear it. Her fingers absentmindedly grabbed the golden chain around her neck, pulling a shining diamond star from beneath her shirt. Tad recognized it immediately.
"You're still wearing your star?" Tad questioned her in mild disbelief.
"I never take it off." She lifted her eyes, meeting his. They stared at one another for half an eternity, which lasted only moments. Tad reached his hand toward hers beneath the table.
"Hi guys," JR said brightly. Dixie jumped.
"JR, what are you doing here?"
"You know, just grabbing a bite to eat," he shrugged, boosting Jenny onto his hip the best he could.
"At the Valley Inn?" Tad raised his eyebrows.
"With a baby?" Dixie grimaced.
"Yup, I'm babysitting. Actually," he hinted, "I've gotta take our food out to the car. Would you mind holding her for a few minutes?"
"Okay," Tad said, reaching his arms out for the little girl, who gawked at him. His blue eyes totally captivated her, his voice hypnotized her. Jenny's small round face simply gaped at Tad, like someone who has just met their favorite movie star, but can only manage to stick out their hand and slur a barely intelligible "gur." "Wait a second JR," Tad hollered. "What's her name?"
"Jenny-Kate," JR called over his shoulder as he left. Dixie's hands were trembling again.
"Jenny-Kate," Tad cooed, standing the little girl on his knee. "You're lucky, Jenny-Kate. My parents named me Thaddeus. But you, Jenny-Kate, have not one, but TWO of the three most beautiful names in the world."
"What's the third?" Dixie couldn't help asking.
"Dixie."
Dixie blushed. She closed her eyes and looked down. "I think her mother gave her the name Jenny-Kate." The world outside of Tad and Jenny was a blur. They were all Dixie could focus on. Breathing was becoming more labored for her, and her mouth was dry. "Her father just gave her her last name."
Tad looked at her. "And what's that," he inquired, making faces at Jenny. The little girl gurgled in delight.
"Martin."
"Huh?" Tad asked, not really paying attention.
"Her father gave her her last name. Martin. Jenny-Kate Martin."
Tad stopped bouncing Jenny on his knee. His heart became a storm of emotions, but his brain was rendered incapable of expressing any.
"She's my daughter," Dixie continued without stopping. The words reverberated in her ears for what felt like hours, though time was standing still.
"What'd you say her father's name was?" Tad croaked.
"Martin. Thaddeus J. Martin." There was a silence.
"Dixie, take the baby. I think I'm going to faint."