Disclaimer: Still don't own them (still wish I did). Still not making any money from this (still wish I was).
As Gwen pulled her jeep in to her regular spot at the dojo, she almost grabbed her gym bag. Instead, she reached for the smaller bag on the seat and climbed out. She hoped that Duncan and Richie wouldn't make too much of what they had seen and heard that afternoon. She wasn't in the mood to share the reason for the tears with them tonight.
Richie's motorcycle was parked in its usual spot and she saw Duncan's Thunderbird around the corner. As she started to open the front door, she noticed someone sitting in a small sedan a short distance down the street. It briefly crossed her mind that it was an odd place for someone to just be hanging out in their car, but the thought was cut short by Richie bounding down the stairs toward her.
Smiling, he unlocked the door, "There you are!! I just realized that you couldn't get in, so I was coming down to wait for you."
"Well then you have great timing," Gwen said, returning his smile. "I wasn't sure if I was too early."
"Nope, You're right on time." They crossed the dojo floor to the elevator. "Mac just put the bread in and opened a bottle of wine."
"I feel like I should have brought something," she said as they went up. "I could have put a salad together or bought the wine…"
"Actually, I did the salad," Richie said, "and Mac can get a little picky about wine. Besides, you did bring something. What's in the bag?"
"Well, I didn't want to be subjected to opera if at all possible," she said with a laugh, "so I made a couple of CDs. Just mellow stuff like Van Morrison, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt. I thought it might make good dinner music."
"After that discussion at Joe's, I don't think that Mac would intentionally put us through that." Just then the elevator stopped. Richie opened the gate and they were assaulted with the spicy aroma of the lasagna.
Duncan was in the kitchen wiping off the counters. He came around the corner to greet them as they entered the loft. "Hi. I'm so glad you agreed to come." He leaned over to give Gwen a light hug.
She returned the embrace. "Thank you for inviting me. I haven't had a home cooked meal in… Well, I'm not sure how long it's been. It smells great."
"What can I get you to drink?" he asked, moving back to the kitchen. "I have a good Merlot, or there's beer, water and maybe some soda."
Gwen thought for a moment, "A small glass of Merlot, I guess. Thanks." She surveyed the loft as Duncan poured her wine. "This is some place. You have some beautiful things."
Richie eagerly filled her in on the history of several objects as Duncan returned to the kitchen to check on dinner. From the kitchen, he watched the pair and wondered again at their lack of romantic interest in each other. While she wasn't a stunning beauty, it seemed Gwen became prettier the more one knew her. The timer indicating that the lasagna was done snapped him out of his reverie.
Like one of Pavlov dogs, Richie practically ran to the table. "Could you get the salad out of the fridge, please, Richie?" Duncan asked. "And make sure that Gwen has some thing to drink."
"I'd like water if you don't mind," Gwen told him. "The wine was good, but I don't need any more."
Richie cocked his head to one side and looked at her. "Now that you mention it, I've noticed that you never drink more than one drink, then you switch to water. Why?
Looking a little surprised, she opened her mouth to answer him when a cell phone rang. Embarrassed, Richie reached into his pocket. "Sorry. Hello? …. Hi! I was hoping you would call. … Well, I'm about to sit down to dinner, but I could meet you around nine-thirty or ten. … Okay, see you then."
"Hot date?" Gwen asked, grinning.
Sheepishly, Richie put the phone back in his pocket. "Yeah, kind of. Her name is Andrea and she works at the bike shop. I've been trying to get her to go out with me for a while and she finally wants to meet me for a drink. You guys don't mind if I bail after dinner, do you?"
Duncan smiled and said, "Far be it from us to keep you from furthering your love life! Right, Gwen?"
"Go for it, Rich," she told him. "Don't mind us."
"Thanks, guys. Now can we eat. 'cause I'm starving." Richie grabbed the salad from the counter and put it on the table. Gwen and Duncan followed and the started their meal.
As they were putting the last of the leftovers away, Duncan's phone rang. He reached over the counter to answer it. "MacLeod. … Me – Adam! Where are you?"
"Tell him I said hello!" Richie yelled. He and Gwen moved over to the living area while Duncan continued his conversation.
"Richie says hello. …Well, when are you coming back? … Oh, really?!? … That's a pretty good offer." He glanced over at the woman on the couch. "I think you should absolutely take that position. You might find some of your coworkers quite interesting. … Okay, let me know. … I'll talk to you soon."
"So, Mac, what's up with the old man?" Richie wanted to know.
"Old man?" Gwen looked confused.
Duncan shot Richie a warning glance. "It's kind of a private joke," he told Gwen. "Adam is still in London, but he'll probably be in by Christmas, New Years at the latest."
Richie suddenly jumped up, "Oh, man, I've got to go. Andrea is going to think I stood her up. I'll see you guys later." And he was out the door.
"Well, there goes hurricane Richie!" Gwen joked. "I always thought that I had a lot of energy, but sometimes he's hard to keep up with."
Duncan joined in her laughter, "You have no idea! Would you like some dessert? I have chocolate mousse."
"Are you kidding? I already have to run an extra mile tomorrow because of all the lasagna and bread I ate!" Gwen rubbed her stomach. "I haven't eaten like that in ages."
"How about I throw in some extra sparring tomorrow if you join me for dessert?" he suggested.
Surprised at that, she replied, "I'm not sure I'm ready for that. Richie knocks me flat almost every time we work out."
"I've been watching you," he told her, "you have made a lot of progress. You might benefit by learning another style."
"You seem to have been watching me quite a bit lately." She shifted uncomfortably.
Duncan glanced up at her then back at the floor, "About that… We didn't mean to intrude. I heard the music and leaned on the door and it just opened. We really should have let you know that we were there, but I didn't want to stop you"
Gwen rose and went to the window. She wrapped her arms around herself and sighed. "You caught me in kind of an emotional moment. I haven't played that song in a long time."
"Whoever you were thinking of meant a lot to you, didn't they?" He said softly.
Doing her best not to cry again, she turned and leaned against the wall facing Duncan. "His name was Cary. We met on our first day at Duke." Gwen smiled slightly at the memory. "It seemed like a million people all trying to move into the dorms at once. There were suitcases and boxes all over the sidewalks. We each picked up the other's guitars. It took us three days to track the other down. We had only exchanged first names so…" Her voice trailed off and she turned back to the window.
Duncan got up and joined her at the window. He started to ask her what had happened when she spoke again.
"We became best friends almost immediately. He's the one who started our band and got us the gigs. He wrote songs and poetry, painted some wonderful pictures and made the deans list every semester as a pre-med student. Talk about a brilliant individual!" She paused again and pressed her forehead to the glass.
Duncan almost reached out to touch her, but pulled back. Instead, he asked, "What happened to him?"
"Our senior year, we were playing at a bar in Chapel Hill. The crowd was really good that night and people were sending us drinks left and right. He was so energetic on stage that I didn't realize how drunk he really was. After the show, we loaded up John's van. He was our drummer and Cary's roommate. It had turned cold and I didn't have a warm enough jacket. Cary and I had ridden his motorcycle to the bar, but I decided to ride back with John." Taking a deep breath, she continued, "He always drove too fast, so we expected him to be waiting for us when we got back. About an hour later, the police showed up."
Gwen had been looking out the window during her narrative, but now she turned to face Duncan, who had been watching her the entire time. "He had taken some back roads so he could speed even more than he usually did and ended up wrapped around a tree."
"God, how horrible." This time Duncan did reach out for her. He placed his hand lightly on her shoulder.
"Anyway, that song you heard was one of his favorites. We played it at his funeral and I haven't played it since." A tear slid down her face and she turned away.
A thought suddenly dawned on Duncan, "So when Richie asked you about why you don't drink…"
"Yeah, that's why," she told him. "I was never much of a drinker anyway, but now I never have more than one."
"And is that why you don't perform any more?" he asked.
Her emotions under control again, she turned back to face him before answering. "Partly. Though lately, it's because I don't have the time. Between teaching, research, and my dissertation… Well, it just hasn't been a priority."
They stared at each other for a moment before Duncan decided to lighten the mood a little, "Do you still want dessert?"
Gwen shook her head. "It's late. I should really get going. I would like to work out with you tomorrow, though, if that's okay."
"Absolutely. What time is good for you?" he asked. "I'm free all day."
"I need to spend some time in the library in the morning, but I could be here around two or two-thirty," she answered.
"Sounds good to me," he replied. As she gathered her things, he added, "Let me walk you out."