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Chapter fourteen: A Date To Remember

Maura grabbed her cell phone and checked the time. Thirty minutes. She had been ready for thirty minutes now but Margot was nowhere to be seen. She had come back home from work only to find the French girl waiting for her in the living-room. All smiles.

Margot had rushed her to her bedroom excitedly, asking her to follow the rules that she would find in the letter next to the dress that was on the bed. Taken aback, Maura hadn't had a chance to ask for details. Any kind of explanation. She had walked to the bed and – her curiosity piqued – had unfolded the letter to read it while Margot and closed the door - quietly - then left.

It was only a list of things to do: have a shower, put makeup on, get dressed with the piece of clothing chosen for the occasion, do her hair. Nothing extraordinary in the strictest sense of the word. But Maura felt very confused before the fact she ignored the exact purpose of the whole thing.

Were they supposed to go out? Had Margot invited special guests to the house for dinner? Maura had no answer yet and the more she waited for someone to tell her to leave the room, the more an odd apprehension spread on her mind. She wasn't in control and didn't like it in spite of trusting the young girl.

Margot wasn't the type of person who did crazy things. She was wise and could easily be trusted. Maura was sure of this.

But she still has to come back to take you out of the room, Isles. Take you out for something you ignore!

Of course, Maura could have walked away at any time but she had decided to play along and do as indicated in the letter. She had to wait.

She made the few steps that separated her from one of the windows and leaned there on the wall to observe the street. It was quiet at this time of the day. The night was falling down and not a single car foreign to the neighborhood seemed to be parked there.

Was Jane supposed to do the same, in another bedroom? The medical examiner bit her lips. There were high chances for her friend to be finding herself in a very similar situation somewhere else in the house.

She hadn't overheard any conversation in the corridor, though; any voice. Everything had been very quiet so far. She pursed her lips. Her Friday night was suddenly adopting the shapes of a very unusual one.

The smell. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the smell. Chicken? She couldn't say. She was not close enough to the kitchen but it was clear that someone was cooking there.

She laughed at the incongruity of the situation. She was trapped in her own house, at the mercy of a teenager who had obviously elaborated some evil plan for the evening. As far as she could remember, it was not something that she had already lived. She didn't like surprises, besides. They made her feel nervous. Not really at ease.

She was about to hum an old song – lost as she was in her thoughts – when the door finally opened. She turned around. Margot motioned her to walk out. She was finally free.

"You're perfect."

The teenager grabbed her by the wrist and made her stop by the staircase. She checked her hairdo a very last time and nodded at nobody but herself.

"Now put this on your eyes."

Maura looked at the object the adolescent held out to her. A silk scarf. She frowned and grabbed the item.

"I have mascara on, Margot. I am afraid this isn't the best idea you..."

She didn't have time to finish her sentence. The teenager made her turn around and put the scarf into place herself before asking her to not move. Maura obliged in spite of feeling tense. She soon heard sitfled steps by her side and a moan she could identify as belonging to Jane. What was going on?

"Now give me your hands. I will guide you downstairs. We will go slow, don't be scared."

Mumbling their extreme confusion, Jane and Maura nonetheless let the teenager do and carefully took the stairs down. A slight pressure made them stop again after they made a few steps in what had to be the living-room. Maura smiled. Now it was clear: it smelled of chicken and rosemary.

"You can take your scarf off."

Both women did but froze as they came to face a candlelit living-room. Music was playing in the background, the table had been set elegantly; dishes waiting under cloches next to bottles of wine.

If a part had been revealed, Jane and Maura still needed an explanation over the whole thing, though.

Margot made a step forward then turned around to face them.

"Happy wedding anniversary!"

Silence. Under any other circumstances, Jane would have probably burst out laughing but this time, she was way too taken aback to simply react. Instead, she swallowed hard and stared at Margot.

"Angela told me it was today so... We both organized the evening for the two of you. No worries, I am not staying with you. I will spend the night with her in the guesthouse. Everything's ready, there is nothing to cook; nothing to do. You just can... Enjoy the evening. It's a special day for the two of you."

The dress. Jane looked down at the piece of clothing she was wearing. It all made sense: why the French girl had taken her on a shopping spree, why she wanted her to wear something new.

Something elegant.

And she couldn't tell Margot that it wasn't true. She couldn't tell her that it was not their wedding anniversary. What kind of mother would mix dates when it came to such important events?

"Thank you... It's... I don't have words...!" A sarcastic laugh highlighted her comment but Margot didn't seem to notice the slightest thing.

The student kissed them both on the cheek before trotting to the patio door. She winked at them and motioned out the living-room.

"The house is yours. Have a nice – memorable – evening."

...

Jane poured Maura another glass of wine. They had been drinking a lot; at first to face the surprise of such trap and then to simply go on. They had finished dinner – all cooked by Margot – and had now moved to the couch to enjoy a late-night talk by the fireplace.

The situation had completely taken them aback but – charmed by the idea – they had finally given in and spent a smooth evening together laughing at the whole thing even if none dared to mention a question that quietly haunted their respective minds.

Why? Why had Angela done this? The obvious answer was too loud to ever be said.

"Do all the French kids cook like this? That chocolate cake was... Perfection!" Jane settled further on the seat and shook her head in disbelief.

"I don't know but if they do, perhaps we should adopt one. These would be nice little extras from time to time." Maura's laugh filled the room warmly. She had completely relaxed now and allowed herself to make some jokes. "I hope that you didn't have anything else planned for tonight. If so then I am... Sorry..."

Jane took a sip of her own glass of wine. She folded her legs under herself and looked at her friend in delight.

"Aren't Friday nights our nights, anyway?"

Maura nodded. Fair point. Unless one of them was out of town on a business trip, they always spent their Friday evenings together. It was their day. Everybody knew that.

Although it was the first time one of their dates turned to be so romantic. None of them had dared to say so out loud, though.

"How would you spend your wedding anniversary if you actually were married?"

The question made Jane raise her eyebrows. She put her glass of wine down on the coffee table and sighed; stretched out her arms before settling back very close to Maura.

"Hmm let's see... Maybe a baseball game, something we'd do year after year; something that'd be... You know, like a tradition of some sort. Something simple. I hate birthday parties so I would not thrown any kind of party for a wedding anniversary either. Nah... That... That wouldn't be me!" She laughed timidly.

Maura closed her eyes. A peaceful smile embraced her lips and lit up her graceful features. Hand on the shawl she was holding tight, she nodded.

"Mine would be exactly like tonight. An intimate – romantic – dinner by the fireplace and when realizing that it is so late, we would simply cuddle and speak the night away in each other's arms." She opened back her eyes and kept on smiling as her whispered confession rose above their heads. She turned around and looked at Jane with seriousness. "Just like tonight, yes. Something sweet with the person who gives sense to my life."

Jane held her breath before Maura's meaningful words and – all of a sudden – she noticed how close to each other they both were sitting. So close it made her shiver when her friend's breath brushed her lips in silence. Had they got closer without her noticing it in the first place? Subconsciously?

She swallowed hard and didn't move an inch when Maura closed the distance between them with a kiss. A heartful one on her lips. Confusing at first; uncertain. Until logic embraced them and they full abandoned themselves to it.