December 21 - Afternoon
Oliver and Shane stood waiting at Gate H8. The plane had landed and passengers were coming through the doors.
Shane's eyes searched the crowd.
"There they are!"
She waved. "Mom! Alex! Over here."
Shane waited while her mother and sister navigated their way through the crowd. As soon the way to them had cleared, she walked up to her mother and threw her arms around her.
"Mom! It's so good to see you."
Christine McInerney returned the hug, then released her daughter and studied her carefully. Shane was no longer the angry, broken hearted girl who walked away from her home and her family because she could no longer deal with Alex's gambling problem and the devastating effect it had on them. There was a softness about her, a gentleness. She'd finally found where, and to whom, she belonged. The move to Denver had been good for her.
Alex stood off to the side, watching the reunion of her mother and sister. Shane released their mother and headed for Alex. She stood looking at Alex for a minute, the reached out and gave her a hug. Alex hesitated for a few seconds, then put her arms around Shane as well.
"It's good to see you," Shane said. "I'm glad you were able to come."
"Come meet Oliver," she told them.
They walked over to where Oliver was standing.
"Oliver, may I present my mother, Christine McInerney, and my sister, Alex Brighton."
Oliver acknowledged each of them with a nod.
"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. McInerney, Ms. Brighton."
"I'm so glad to finally meet you," Chris said.
Alex looked at Oliver, then at Shane. She nodded her head and winked at Shane.
"Baggage claim is downstairs," Oliver informed them.
He offered his right arm to Chris, and then gestured with his left, indicating that Shane and Alex should walk in front of them.
Alex turned her head and looked back at Oliver.
"He's absolutely gorgeous! Tell me all about him. Where did you meet? What does he do for a living? How long had you been dating before he proposed?"
Shane laughed.
"Slow down! One question at a time. Mom will want to hear this, too. Let's wait until we get to my house, and I promise I'll answer all your questions."
Alex pretended to pout, and then smiled at Shane.
"I've waited this long, I guess I can wait another hour."
"You're going to have to wait longer than that. We're having dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. Donatello's. It serves wonderful Italian food. Rita and Norman are joining us, as well as Rita's dad and Oliver's father."
"Not their mothers?"
"Mrs. Haywith and Mrs. Schmitz have both passed."
"Mrs. Schmitz?"
"Oliver's parents divorced and she remarried."
"Why?"
They arrived at the baggage claim area. Oliver headed to the conveyer to retrieve the luggage.
Shane gestured for her mother to join them. They sat down on a bench, and then Shane laid a gentle hand on Alex's arm. She spoke softly so Oliver wouldn't hear.
"Mom. Alex. There's something you need to understand about Oliver. He's very old fashioned, very proper, and very private. Alex, I'm sorry, but I won't share details about Oliver's parents. That's something that Oliver will have to tell you, when he's ready."
Oliver joined them.
"Passenger pick up is just through those doors," he indicated. "I'll return with the car as soon as I can."
Chris watched Oliver until he disappeared through the doors, then turned to face Shane.
"He's a very special man."
Shane nodded.
"He's everything I never knew I wanted."
Chris lifted Shane's left hand and studied her engagement ring.
"It's beautiful."
"It was his grandmother's."
"Have you chosen a date for your wedding?"
"Not yet. We wanted to wait until you and Alex arrived so the entire family could talk about it together."
"Can you at least tell us now how you met?" Alex coaxed.
"All right. It will take Oliver a while to get back. Parking is on the other side of the airport. We met at a coffee cart."
"Unusual place to meet the man you're going to marry," Chris commented.
Shane had a faraway look in her eyes. She looked down the hall as if she were looking into the past.
"It was my first day at work. I was running late, as usual..."
"... the post office executives were so impressed by what we'd done, freeing an innocent man from prison and reuniting a couple deeply in love, they cut through the red tape and processed my transfer to Direct Line Operations in 1 week instead of 10. I walked out and stopped for coffee, but while I stood in line waiting, I decided I didn't want the transfer. I bought coffee for all of us and returned to the Dead Letter Office," Shane finished.
Shane looked out the windows.
"There's Oliver's car," she said.
They exited the airport just as Oliver got out of the car. He opened the front passenger door and gestured at Chris.
"Mrs. McInerney."
"I don't mind sitting in the back seat," she told Oliver.
Shane touched her arm and shook her head slightly. Chris nodded and sat in the front seat.
Alex reached for the door handle. Shane looked at her and shook her head again.
Oliver opened the back door. Alex raised her eyebrows at Shane and sat down in the car.
Shane took Oliver's arm. They walked to the other side of the car so Shane could sit next to Alex.
"We should arrive at Donatello's in about 1/2 an hour," Oliver said.
"Is this your first visit to Denver?" he asked Chris as they pulled away.
"It is."
"We won't have much time before Christmas, but after the holiday Shane and I will take you and Alex on a grand tour of our city."
"One thing we must do is have tea at the Brown Palace Hotel," Shane said.
"Tea?" Alex asked.
"The Brown has a formal tea room. They also serve coffee. I highly recommend the cucumber sandwiches. They're the best I've ever had."
"The egg salad is unparalleled," Oliver added.
They arrived at Donatello's. Alex sniffed appreciatively as soon as she stepped out of the car.
"Smells delicious, even from outside," she said.
"It's one of our favorite places. We come here often," Shane told her.
A smiling young man greeted them as soon as they entered.
"Oliver, Shane, it's good to see you again."
"Good evening Joey. Is our table ready?" Oliver asked.
"It is. The rest of your party is already seated. Please follow me."
Joey led them to a secluded spot at the back of the restaurant. Shane made introductions all around while Oliver consulted with Joey regarding wine. Joe sat at the foot of the table with Norman and Bill on either side of him. Oliver sat at the head of the table with Shane on his right, Chris on his left next to Rita and Alex next to Shane. Joey returned with the wine. As soon as everyone made their selections, Oliver raised his glass.
"To family," he toasted.
Everyone else raised their glasses.
"To family," they echoed.