2
Dr. Donald Richards returned his executive-class seat to its proper position and buckled his seat belt in preparation for the final descent into LaGuardia airport. Peering out the window, he was dismayed to note that the ground below was not visible. Dark clouds obscured the view, and Don remembered weather reports that predicted heavy snowfall. He was grateful that his flight had at least made it in before everything came down.
Returning home from a court case in Georgia that had required his expert testimony as a psychiatrist and criminologist for the prosecution had left Don feeling mentally and emotionally drained. In spite of his testimony, the trial had ended in an acquittal. He sighed and realised he probably felt the same way Susan must have felt after losing cases when she was with the D.A.'s office before she became a clinical psychologist. He smiled briefly to himself. Susan would be waiting at the terminal for him when he arrived. Even though he'd been away for two weeks, Don missed her, and couldn't wait to be back in New York with her.
She was such a contrast from what his first wife, Kathy, had been. Kathryn Carver Richards had been a top model with a tall and slender 5'11" frame, emerald green eyes and coppery red, collar-length locks. Susan was about 5'7" with expressive hazel eyes that darkened and lightened as her moods dictated, had dark blonde, shoulder-length hair, and what she ruefully referred to as a 'stubborn chin'. While Kathy with her drop-dead-gorgeous model features had made many a head turn, Susan herself was no slouch in the looks department, and was quite attractive in a quiet and understated way. Kathy had been notorious for cancelling plans at the last minute, including important work assignments. Susan, on the other hand, was always steadfastly dutiful to her vast list of tasks and responsibilities, even if she cut the timing pretty close more often than not. Maybe it was her training from the D.A.'s office, but Susan could verbally spar with the best of them. Kathy had been a little more reticent, and preferred to let others carry a conversation. But both, Don decided, had a delightful sense of humour, and a delightful laugh to match.
He knew he had been taking a huge gamble when he asked Dr. Susan Chandler to marry him. But Don had come to the point where he knew he had to move beyond Kathy. When he met Susan, he came to the sudden realization that he had finally found the right woman to move on with. It hadn't been easy breaking those walls down. Susan had fiercely guarded her independence and her emotions for a long time following Jack's betrayal, and the messy divorce of her parents - which led to the re-marriage of her father, Charles, and a heavy state of depression for her mother, Emily. Don remembered how Susan had also resented and rejected his earnest efforts to help with her investigation of Regina Clausen's disappearance.
How relieved he had been to find her that night, alive in her office after that lunatic had tried to murder her. After the initial shock of seeing her lying bound on the floor surrounded by shards of glass and her own blood had passed, he'd ripped open the heavy plastic 'shroud' with his bare hands and gently lifted Susan into his arms.
Don was aware that the feeling he experienced then was akin to redemption. For years he had blamed himself for not being there for Kathy – now he could rest assured that he had been there for Susan. Truthfully, Susan had already done most of the work to save herself that night. She had managed to tip the wastebasket that held pieces of a broken Waterford crystal vase that had ironically been a gift from Alex Wright. Her consciousness ebbing, she'd been able to use those razor sharp shards to slice through the plastic, allowing life-saving air to seep in. Unfortunately, the shards had also sliced deeply into her back and shoulders. As a medical doctor, Don knew that his arrival meant that Susan was able to receive the medical attention she needed before she possibly bled to death. The scars from those wounds were still a visible reminder to both of them of that ordeal.
The two weeks Susan had taken to think about his proposal after the murder trial were some of the most agonising in Don's life. He knew he loved her. He also knew he'd never betray or abandon her. He just hoped he'd been able to convince her of that. When she returned with her absolute "yes", he was both relieved and overjoyed.
"And I've been happy ever since," he thought to himself, as the plane gently touched down on the runway in one of the smoothest landings Don could remember in a while.
If only life could always be like that, he mused, as they taxied to the arrival gate.