One Fine Day

She checked the phone for messages as her class filed out. None. She checked her email account and found no new email in the inbox. A pang of loneliness went through her heart.

As Rose gathered up her laptop and purse and headed back to her office, she sighed. He'd been gone for almost a year. He wrote and called like he'd promised to, but it just wasn't the same as it had been before when she saw him everyday.

She picked up a stack of papers she needed to grade, but two sentences into the first one, Rose knew her heart wasn't going to be into it. She went to clear her head, taking her lunch outside with her.

Rose settled in on the rim of the fountain in the courtyard, her thoughts drifting to Mack once more. Rose knew Mack, knew him like no one else, really, so she realized how important it was for him to bond with his father right now. They had issues to work out.

But she needed him too, needed him to hug her and tickle her and kiss her. Needed him to tease her and make sure that she didn't overwork herself. Needed him to be the sweetheart she had fallen in love with.

The arms I long for
Will open wide
And you'll be proud to have me
Right by your side
One fine day
You're gonna want me for your girl

Ronny had called last week to announce Will showing up at her apartment and saying that he wanted to be together. Rose was happy for her two friends, but it made her miss Mack even more.

Her thoughts turned to how happy she knew Mack was. From the way he described things, the trip was shaping up to be everything he'd ever wanted. He'd told her once that he'd always wanted to be just like Indiana Jones.

'Or Kid Rock,' Rose thought, remembering Mack's "finding himself" stage with his ridiculous rock star get up. She remembered telling him later how funny he'd looked, to which he'd looked embarrassed.

"You're so supportive," he'd quipped when his sheepish smile had vanished.

I'll keep waiting and
Someday darling
You'll come to me when you want to settle down

She sighed again, wondering how much longer she'd have to wait for him. It wasn't even a question of if she would, because she knew no one could ever make her feel the way Mack did.

Slowly, Rose gathered up her belongings again and headed to her class room. She set up the laptop, plugging it into the projector and then finding the Power Point presentation she'd made to go with today's lesson. The clock told her there was still five minutes until the class was scheduled to begin.

A few students trickled in, finding seats and readying themselves to take careful notes. "Good afternoon, Professor," a trio of girls greeted brightly. Rose nodded acknowledgement and checked her phone one last time. She was so interested in this that she did not notice one curly haired man slip into a seat at the back of the room.

An hour later, her class had gone – all except the curly haired youth. Barely glancing at him, Rose turned away to pack up once again. "I've got a meeting; you'll need to be leaving now."

The man ignored her and opened the CD drive on his laptop. He slipped a disk in and started to play a very familiar song that Rose loved. She froze in her tracks at the opening notes. Their song. She turned slowly.

And there he was, like he'd never even left her for so long, playing the song that the others had once set them up with. "Mack," Rose breathed as a huge smile spread across her pretty face. She ran up the stairs to where he was now standing with his arms held out.

"Hey," he murmured as she threw herself into his arms. "Glad to see you missed me too." Mack grinned before leaning down and kissing the top of her head. "Rose, you're hurting me."

Her grip loosened slightly. "It's been a long time," Rose said against his chest. "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever coming back like you promised to. Why didn't you tell me you were going to get here today?"

"I wanted to surprise you." Mack was still smiling as he pulled away from her embrace and cupped her face in his hands. "Surprise, Rose."

"How long are you here for?" she asked quietly, wondering how much time she'd get with him before he went off globetrotting again and left her behind while pursuing the adventures he'd always wanted.

"Awhile," Mack answered cryptically.

"That doesn't tell me much," Rose frowned. "How long?"

"Til you get tired of me." Rose looked up at him in shock, hardly daring to believe what he'd just said. "I've enrolled in some classes, so I'd say it's a pretty permanent move."

"Really?" He nodded once before tilting her chin up so he could kiss her.