The Right Touch

Disclaimers: Not mine, not mine, not mine. I wish, I wish, I wish.

Rating: still K

Author's Note: The drama continues. Thanks for the lovely feedback!

----------

Chapter 15

Monday evening

"Good evening, ladies!" greeted Myles with a satisfied smile as he swept into the apartment. He kissed Lucy soundly on the lips. "Hello, my love!" He looked at Sue. "If you feel left out, I could manage an extra kiss for you."

Sue smiled. It was the first time that she felt like smiling the whole day. "I think I'll let Lucy have the honors. But thanks for the offer, Myles. Best one I've had all day."

Myles preened a bit.

Lucy looked at him through narrowed eyes. "And to what do we owe this munificent mood?" she asked as she closed the door.

He reached into his jacket pocket. "I have here, in my hand, four tickets for this week's Heart Fund Benefit Gala which will feature, the magnificent floral arrangements of the incomparable florist, The Right Touch!" he announced grandly.

"What!" shrieked Lucy as she grabbed the tickets of his hand. "How did you get a hold of these tickets?" she demanded checking out the tickets to make sure they were legitimate. "The gala's been sold out for weeks!"

"Since I never go, I forgot my family usually buys a table," he shrugged. "However, this year, since your creations will be the floral focal point, I thought you might like to see the fruits of your labor. You ladies will don magnificent gowns while I will make the supreme sacrifice and drag my tuxedo out of mothballs and escort you." He looked at Lucy, certain she would be pleased. "Is it a date?"

"That's wonderful!" She threw her arms around Myles and kissed him. She abruptly pulled away. "What about Sue? She needs a date. You can't take both of us."

"I don't need to go," she said firmly. "The two of you go and tell me all about it."

"Nonsense," said Myles dismissing her words. "I foresaw this difficulty and have arranged for a suitable escort for our Miss Thomas. Remember? I said I have four tickets."

"Myles!" protested Sue. "I don't need a date. I'm not going."

"C'mon, Sue," pleaded Lucy. "It'll be fun. Besides, how often do we get the opportunity to dress up?"

"Best of all," pointed out Myles, "these tickets are already paid for. You don't have to dole out a cent!"

She could feel herself weakening. Bobby would be sure to be there. The temptation to catch a glimpse of him was great. "Who's the guy?" she asked.

"Friend of the family, Dan Malone," stated Myles. "He's an economist. Works for some think tank. He's a nice guy and I'm told women find him attractive."

Lucy's eyes narrowed in thought. "Is that the guy your sister brought to dinner about a month ago?"

Myles nodded. "One and the same."

She turned to Sue. "Myles is not exaggerating. He is cute and very nice."

"But if your sister brought him to dinner, isn't she interested in him?" asked Sue slightly puzzled.

"Like I said, he's a family friend," shrugged Myles. "She's seeing someone else at the moment." He looked at her. "Don't disappoint him. He's looking forward to meeting you."

"But who'll watch Levi?" Sue protested feebly. "I can't leave him alone."

"Charley will be happy to watch him," Lucy spoke up. "He's done it before. C'mon, Sue. Please?"

"All right," Sue relented. "I just hope there's something in my closet that I can wear. I don't know if we'll have time to shop for a dress. We're going to be a bit busy the next few days."

"Great!" said Lucy with a big smile. She tucked her arm in Myles'. "You know, sometimes you have the best ideas," she remarked looking at him.

"Only sometimes?" he smirked.

----------

Sue couldn't sleep. She sat at the kitchen table, a cup of chamomile tea untouched before her. She was lost in thought as Darcy's words kept scrolling across her mind. He's my boyfriend...he probably felt sorry for you...poor little deaf girl...leave my boyfriend alone...my boyfriend...my boyfriend.

Bobby was Darcy's boyfriend. She had no right to feel the way she did about him. She knew he was taken from the very first day they spoke. Soon after they started speaking, a little voice had told her to be careful each time they talked but she managed to ignore the warning and convince herself the calls were harmless. They would never meet so what was the harm in a little friendly flirtation on the phone?

Then, little by little, the calls became the highlight of her week. Besides the laughter, they seemed to share so many things in common. And when he introduced himself on Saturday, all thoughts of Darcy fled from her mind. Bobby was a man she could fall in love with.

And she had. She realized that now. It had happened over two short days. She was surprised at falling in love so quickly but at the same time, it felt right. The phone calls laid the foundation so when they finally met, her heart was ready to welcome him.

It was the laughter they shared, it was the respect and interest he showed in her work, it was the look in his eyes when they talked. She thought it happened when she watched him interact with his niece and nephew. A smile settled on her lips when she recalled how he handled Megan's distress when they lost the skee ball competition. He had handled her disappointment with sympathy and gentleness. He would make a great father.

The smile faded. A great father, yes, but not to their children. He was Darcy's. The best thing to do would be to stay away from him. And after Saturday, that's what she'd do.

-----

Lucy watched her friend from the doorway of her room. Something was troubling Sue and she'd bet all she had it had something to do with that D'Angelo woman and Bobby.

Lucy remembered her surprise when Sue had casually mentioned she had invited Bobby over on Sunday. She hadn't even known they'd met! But she was even more amazed at how comfortable they were with each on such short acquaintance. They seemed so in sync.

She'd wondered about their relationship. For two people who'd never seen each other, they seemed to get along so well over the phone. She always knew when Bobby called—Sue would light up. Her conversations later would be peppered with references to Bobby and what he said. And her radiance would always dim a bit when she prepared the flowers for Darcy.

Darcy. She thought Sue looked sick after she left. What did Miss D'Angelo say? Lucy shrewdly guessed that part of the conversation must've included a warning to stay away from Bobby, but there must have been something more. There was a hurt expression in Sue's eyes that could not be explained so easily.

She sighed as she climbed back into bed. She would need to do some discreet digging to find out what was going on but she would get to the bottom of this. Her last thoughts before she fell asleep was who she could call to get some information on one Darcy D'Angelo.

----------

Tuesday

"You look tired," commented Lucy at breakfast. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Not much," admitted Sue. "I guess I had a lot on my mind. I really want this to be a success."

"It will be," Lucy assured her. "First thing we need to do is get organized and set a timetable so we don't forget anything. We can do it, Sue," she said confidently.

"Just the two of us?" Sue asked doubtfully. The self-assurance she'd felt three days ago had disappeared. Could they really pull it off?

"We have Howie and you know Myles will pitch in," Lucy responded. "We're not in this alone. We just need to do is get organized." She glanced at her watch "C'mon. It's time we head to the shop."

----------

Lucy and Sue were in deep discussion listing everything they needed to do, what they needed and when they needed to each item when the phone rang. Both women glanced at the clock—it was ten forty. Sue's eyes silently pleaded with Lucy. Reluctantly, Lucy nodded and picked up the phone.

"The Right Touch. How may I help you?"

"Good morning to you, Lucy!" a bright voice replied on the other end. "I know Sue said not to call this morning, but I'm a creature of habit and thought I'd take a chance and see if she's in. It's ten forty, you know."

"I know and I'm sorry, Bobby," responded Lucy, "but she's not in right now."

"Oh." Disappointment dripped in that single word. "Would you remind her she owes me a call?"

"Sure. The minute she walks in."

"Thanks, Lucy. Cheers."

Lucy replaced the phone back into its base. "He said to remind you, you owe him a call."

Sue forced a smile. "Yeah. I will." She turned back to the papers on the counter. "I'll put together the centerpiece proto-type this morning so we can see what it'll look like. Then we prep everything so by Friday morning, we can start putting them together. What do you think?" she asked looking up at Lucy. Her friend was staring at her in concern.

"I think you need to tell me what's wrong," Lucy stated. "You're so unhappy it's written all over your face."

Sue bit her lip. The hours she spent trying to figure out the turmoil of her emotions left her drained. Maybe it would help to talk.

"I made a mistake," she said simply.

"About Bobby?"

Sue nodded. "I made the mistake thinking his interest was anything more than pity."

"Whoa! Where did that come from?" said Lucy in shocked disbelief. "You can't be talking about the same guy."

"Darcy said he feels sorry for 'the poor little deaf girl'. That's why he's been so nice." She turned her head away as tears welled in her eyes. People had said those words before when she was growing up. She thought she was immune to them but never had they hurt so much. She felt comforting arms around her.

"Hey, girl," Lucy said softly, "I don't know what that woman told you but Bobby does not feel sorry for you. I've seen that look before and let me tell you, Sue, that is not pity I see on his face."

Sue looked unconvinced.

"Did he know you were deaf when he started ordering flowers? When he started calling you on the dot at ten forty every Tuesday and all those other times just to say hello and chat?" she reminded Sue.

"No."

"So why would you believe Darcy?"

"Because she's his girlfriend."

Lucy's eyes gazed into Sue's. Her intel gathering flurry this morning revealed there were signs Miss D'Angelo's interest in Bobby was beginning to waver. Her sources indicated Darcy wanted to get married and at one point, he seemed ready to settle down. But something seemed to have changed his mind and to date, he steadfastly refused to make the commitment. No one knew why. They looked great together and seemed to be the perfect couple.

Lucy suspected she knew the reason. The timing of his change of heart coincided with the phone calls to Sue. Apparently, Sue was not the only one who felt the attraction.

"Do you think she's good enough for him?"

Sue blinked. "It's not my call, Lucy. The question is—does he love her?"