Dancing In The Rain by Patrick Councilor
[ No, She'll Carry The Otter ]
Comfortably laced were Daphne's fingers with her husband's almost the entire flight to Phoenix. He was her true hero and she was his everything.
"Daddy, can I have another soda?" David asked, at his left.
"Now David, you've already had one." Tough love was… well… tough. "We're about to land. We'll get you a different drink of the sorts when we land."
Daphne brought the back of her husband's hand to her lips and she delicately pressed a kiss there. "At least we won't have to deal with that dreadful rain."
"That's right," he said with no strength in his tone. Truth of the matter was that they would both miss Seattle and the frequent rain.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are making our decent into Phoenix. It's currently 78 degrees and we are getting scattered showers throughout the valley. Thank you for flying with us and please enjoy the rest of your day."
Niles shot Daphne a look and they both warmly smiled at each other. He caressed her warm, soft hand inside his. It was the best welcome to Phoenix they could have. It was actually raining in Phoenix.
Little David and Rozalynda were so excited to see this new place called "Few-next". This little adventure, they would face it together as a wonderfully loving family.
Niles looked into his wife's beautiful hazel eyes as they touched down and began their deceleration. She was so incredibly beautiful and caring. She was great with the kids. She was the perfect wife.
"You know, they have cactus pear jelly here," he informed her by leaning in to whisper in her ear. He didn't need to whisper it to her, but it gave him a chance to get close to her. Not that he ever needed a reason other than to get close enough to smell her hair. Life wasn't good, it was incredibly fabulous.
"I've never heard of that before."
"It's jelly made from cactus."
"I know that silly. I can gather that from the name."
"I know you can."
"Then why are you telling me this?"
"Because it gives me the opportunity to whisper in your ear and I love being close to you."
His words gave her a chill in a good way and gave her butterflies in her stomach. She turned to press her lips to his. "Here, let me tell you something."
He turned an ear to her.
"I love you." He soft words were warm and she purposely moved in so close that her hot breath in his ear made his heart pound like a drum.
After luggage claim, they found a suited driver with a card: Dr. Niles Crane. He had rented a cart and took care of all of their luggage. That is, all but Lynda's stuffed Sea Otter that she got when they had visited The Seattle Aquarium a month ago. She definitely had ahold of that and she wasn't giving that up for anything.
Comfortably in the limo, the driver started to pull out of the parking. The kids were looking out the windows in admiration. When they cleared the parking lot, Niles and Daphne both spoke to the driver at the same exact time, "Could you pull over for a few moments?" They looked at each other and smiled. It would be their last opportunity to dance in the rain for quite some time.
"We'd like to be a little crazy and dance in the rain," Niles told the driver.
"I've have an umbrella in the trunk, sir."
"Thank you, but we won't be needing one. We may seem a little crazy, but we've made it a tradition to dance in the rain every now and again."
"Hey, we need a little 'crazy' in our lives, don't we?"
"We most certainly do."
Daphne turned to the kids. "You both stay in the car. You can watch Mommy and Daddy from the window, but stay inside. We don't want you getting wet."
"Okay Momma."
"Tay Momma," Lynda repeated.
Niles went out his side and took Daphne's hand to help her out. It sure wasn't a Seattle rain, but it was wonderful and refreshing and they held each other in it and that made it a wonderful rain shower.
"Do you know what I'm thinking?" he asked.
"What?"
"How I love how I see you."
"And how is that?"
"Sometimes I see you as my wife…"
"Well, how else do you see me?"
"Sometimes I see you as my girlfriend."
"You're what? Your mistress?"
"Not at all. I always see you as my wife, but sometimes I see you as my girlfriend because we way we act together, the way we feel about each other, it's like we just started dating. I love you so Daphne."
Her eyes held the truth. He was her hero. "I love you too Niles. Dip me."
He did so and the rain hit her face and she smiled. It didn't matter if they had to move to the far stretches of the earth. They had each other and that is more than most people would ever even dream about. When he brought her up out of the dip he touched his lips to hers and kissed her like it was their first kiss.
Her eyes looked deep into his. His love would never fail and she would follow him to the very edge of existence.
"What are you doing for the rest of your life?" he asked and they laughed together and held each other tight.
~ Fin ~