Chapter 13:

Daphne opened the door. It was Freddie, right on time. Of course he was always on time, when Daphne needed ten more minutes...

"Ready to go?" he asked her enthusiastically.

Aw, whatever... Daphne decided. If I look ready to him, I must not look too bad...

She looked down at her standard outfit, the purple dress. It was definitely tighter than it used to be, but it still fit reasonably well. Still, she often tried to really dress up the rest of her, to make up for it.

"I guess so," Daphne responded. She walked down to the van, holding Freddie's hand. He hadn't said where he was taking her. All he said was to expect an evening of surprises.

"Good," Freddie told her. "I always hoped you would be..."

Daphne searched for meaning in this cryptic response but found none. She gave up and simply watched the road for wherever Fred was taking her.

Three hours later, the couple stood in the park, watching the brook flow under the bridge as some small children waded in it. As it was still early June, the water was rather chilly, so occasionally a child would run shrieking back to his or her mother, who would wrap him or her in a towel and try to calm the kid down.

"Wow..." Daphne whispered to Fred. "It's a wonder those kids don't have hypothermia by now... if that were my kid I wouldn't let her in."

"Well, in a few years that will be your kid." Fred grinned.

Daphne smiled back. "I guess being a mother has turned me into a worrywart."

Fred laughed. "Just like we vowed we would never do to our kids." He gazed playfully at the water.

Daphne placed her hand on top of his. "Maybe the idea of having someone to look after 24/7 can put someone on the alert. Even when there's really no danger."

Fred looked back at her. "Well, it won't be 24/7. I'll give you some time off... I can take care of my own kid sometimes."

"Okay, 23/7..." Daphne amended. "That's as long as I trust you with him!"

"Hey! I haven't earned the title of 'Danger-Prone Daphne!' " Fred retorted, a mock expression of offense on his face.

"Now, now..." Daphne tried to put a similar expression on her own face. It didn't work. So she reached up and kissed him instead.

He kissed her back. When they were done, Daphne decided to play some more. "So 22/7... maybe Shaggy or Velma would babysit sometimes..."

Fred's expression turned more serious but still cheerful. "They've been great, haven't they?"

Daphne nodded. "Very supportive. Velma's always coming back from the library with more and more information..." A mischievous expression crossed Daphne's face. "Just don't tell her we ate at that seafood place; she'd about kill me... something about mercury levels..."

"Don't give me the technical details, Daphne, there's a reason I never dated her!"

"You were intimidated by someone who knew that Joan of Arc wasn't Noah's wife?" Daphne joked, referencing a blunder Fred had made in ninth-grade world history class.

"So what's that say about you?"

By now Daphne was laughing too hard to come up with a retort. Fred joined in, until they both realized that some strangers were staring.

Once the laughter had subsided, Fred cleared his throat and once again made his face serious. "No, actually the reason I never dated her was that I was always too in love with you."

"Oh, Freddie!"

"No, I mean... really. Even when we had broken up, I could never really forget you. The best summer of my life was the year we all went on that road trip in the Mystery Machine and solved mysteries all over the country... and you were always right there..." He smiled, reminiscing. "Ever since then, we've known when we were done with a mystery because the bad guy would mutter, 'And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for--' "

" '--you meddling kids!' " Daphne finished, as enchanted by the memory as Freddie.

Fred looked long into the water. "But I guess we really aren't kids anymore, are we? We went to college, we found actual jobs, we moved into our own houses--"

"--I got pregnant..." Daphne added.

"Yeah... a lot has changed since that summer. But there is one thing that hasn't changed, and there is one change I'd like to make..." He started pacing.

"A month ago, when we visited your father... there was something I asked him for, and he said yes..." Fred reached into his pocket. He pulled out... a square box.

"Daphne... will you marry me?"

The ring was beautiful. It slid perfectly onto Daphne's hand. Once it was there, she wondered how her hand ever looked natural without it.

"Yes, Freddie... I will."

She kissed her boyfriend... now her fiance... and felt the magic of the night. Had she noticed how many fireflies were in the park this evening, how bright the full moon shown overhead, how peacefully the wind moved through the trees...?

"Ew, they're kissing!"

Daphne and Fred looked over where a small child had shrieked. Now all the children, and their disapproving mothers, and just about everyone in the park it seemed, were staring at the couple.

"C'mon... let's go back to the van..." Freddie whispered, and Daphne agreed. As they made their way back to the parking lot, an elderly woman tapped Daphne on the shoulder and whispered,

"Congratulations... it's not every day an old lady like me gets to watch two young people who love each other... I wish you well..."

Then the woman was gone, almost instantly. But her words stayed with Daphne a long, long time.