Roger and Holly were seated at a table overlooking the harbor for which The Harbor Club was named. After placing their dinner orders-prime rib for Roger, pasta primavera for Holly, with a nice wine-Roger said, "So how was your meeting?"
"It went well," Holly replied. "We got everything settled. Well, almost everything. But the rest of it won't take long to settle. Ross said that I should get the final decree in mid-August at the earliest, but if not then, it shouldn't be too much longer after that."
"That's good," Roger said. "That's really good."
"I'm very relieved," Holly replied. The waiter returned with their wine then. After the waiter had departed, she asked, "How was the preparation for your big meeting tonight?"
"It went well," Roger said. "I found and corrected some mistakes on the growth rate numbers Michael had in the projections, and if this meeting goes well tonight with the Yahoo people, I think Michael might offer me a job."
"Really? That's terrific," Holly said enthusiastically. "Would you take it?"
"I think I would," Roger replied. "Michael and I always did work well together, and this is a new experience for me. He's the only person I've ever worked with that I know isn't using me and won't screw me over to get what he wants. Well, except for you when we were both at WSPR."
"I'm flattered to be in such esteemed company," Holly said. "It's obvious that you think very highly of Michael, and that he thinks very highly of you. I hope your meeting with the bigwigs from Yahoo goes really well tonight, and that Michael offers you a job with him."
Roger picked up his wineglass then. "I'd like to propose a toast," he said. Holly picked up her wineglass and looked at Roger expectantly. "To the future," he said.
"To the future," she echoed before touching her glass to his.
After they had each taken a drink, Roger said, "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, about us."
"So have I," Holly said.
"I don't want there to be any more misunderstandings between us," Roger continued.
"Neither do I," Holly agreed. "We just have to talk to each other, keep the lines of communication open at all times."
"And be honest with each other," Roger added, "even when it's not...well, not pleasant, or not pretty."
"Yes, we do," Holly said. "Communication is important. Neither of us is a mind reader."
"No, we're not. Although you know me better than anyone else in the world." He reached across the table for her hand, and she slipped her hand into his.
"And no one knows me better than you do," she replied. "I know that I have to earn my way back into your life. I want to earn my way back into your life. I want you to reach the point where you know that you can trust me to never leave you or cheat on you again, to never hurt you the way I did two years ago."
"I want to reach that point too," Roger said. Holly could see that he was considering something for a few seconds. Then he said, "Before you got to The Bayshore, Michael and I were talking about you and me, and about him and Donna, and what he went through with Donna, and I told him what I really want. And now I want to tell you what I really want, because what I really want has to do with you." Holly looked at him intently. Roger met her gaze just as intently and said, "I want to know that your face will be the first thing I see when I wake up every morning, and the last thing I see before I fall asleep every night."
Holly's expression softened. "I miss waking up with you," she said softly.
"I miss everything about you," Roger replied just as softly.
"I miss everything about you too," Holly said.
"My goal is to get to the point where neither one of us has to miss anything about each other ever again," Roger said.
Holly's breath caught in her throat at this. She took a sip of her wine, then said, "I'm supposed to be the one wooing you."
"It was never established that we can't woo each other," Roger pointed out.
"That's true," she said.
"And if we're going to make it work this time, everything has to be mutual. We have to trust each other. We have to be committed to each other. We have to respect each other, and listen to each other," Roger continued.
"Absolutely, yes," Holly agreed fervently. "That's what I want."
"It's what I want too," Roger replied. "You said that you're all in, with earning back my trust and wooing me and proving that I don't have to be afraid to let you in again. Well, I'm all in too, Holly. I don't want anybody else but you. I want us back. I want us to work."
She beamed at him. "Me too," she said. "So does this mean we're dating now?"
"Yeah, I think it does," Roger realized. He smiled at her now. "So, time, patience, honesty, communication, everything has to be mutual...am I forgetting anything vital here?"
"Not that I know of," Holly replied.
Their dinners arrived then. Somewhat reluctantly, they let go of each other's hands so they could eat. While they ate, they discussed their respective days-Holly's pre-divorce meeting, the fact that she sold her shares of the Journal to Fletcher and yes, she got a fair price for them, enough that she could explore her options now, and that she had a meeting the next afternoon about a possible business opportunity, but she didn't want to go into it until she knew more about it, because it was in the very preliminary stages at this point, and Roger and Michael's afternoon of work and plans for their meeting with the Yahoo people tonight, and how Yahoo would revolutionize computers, bringing pretty much the entire world into people's living rooms on their personal computers.
When they had finished dinner and were sipping their coffees, Roger looked a bit anxious. "I'm not sure how long it's going to take to straighten everything out with Dinah and Hart, and for me to get a divorce," he said.
"We have time," Holly said. "I'm going to be by your side every step of the way through this, no matter what happens." She reached across the center of the table to rest her hand on his arm.
Before Roger could say anything more, Donna Love appeared at their table with a big smile on her face. "Well, this is a lovely surprise!" she greeted them enthusiastically. "Hello again, Roger, Holly."
Holly gently squeezed Roger's arm before reluctantly removing her hand. "Hello, Donna," she replied.
"Nice to see you again," Roger added.
"I hope you enjoyed your dinner," Donna continued.
"Everything was wonderful," Roger said.
"Excellent," Holly agreed.
"Have you had dessert yet?" Donna asked.
"They don't have time for dessert." Roger, Holly, and Donna all three turned to look and saw Michael Hudson approaching them. "At least, Roger doesn't."
Roger looked at his watch. "I didn't realize it was getting so late," he said.
"Yeah, it's about that time, buddy," Michael replied.
Roger looked at Holly apologetically. "I hope this doesn't make me the worst date ever."
She stood up so he did too, and then she crossed to him and straightened his tie. "Of course it doesn't," she assured him. "We both lost track of time. I'm taking that as a good sign." She smiled, and Roger smiled back at her, relieved. "Go. Lock up this deal."
"How will you get back to the Bayshore to pick up your car?" Roger asked.
"I can give Holly a lift, it's no trouble at all," Donna piped up.
"Thank you," Holly told Donna. Then Holly looked at Roger again. "I'll call you when I get home."
"All right," Roger said. "Drive safely, and yes, call me when you get home so I know you made it there all right."
"I will," Holly agreed.
After Holly and Roger quickly hugged goodbye, Donna asked Holly, "Could you stay and have dessert with me? On the house."
Holly looked at her own watch now. She didn't see the harm in staying for dessert with Donna. "All right," she agreed.
Michael put his arm around Donna's shoulders and pulled her against his side then. "Donna, behave yourself," he said sternly.
"Don't I always?" she retorted with a grin. Michael's answer to that was a snort.
"Watch yourself," Roger said in an undertone so only Holly could hear him. "Michael never snorts or scoffs unless it's practically a given that what he's snorting or scoffing at will happen."
"I'll be fine," Holly assured Roger.
Michael kissed Donna goodbye with one final warning to behave herself, and then Donna and Holly were alone together. They sat down at Roger and Holly's table again, and Donna flagged down one of the waiters. "Paul, please bring us two slices of the Chocolate Raspberry Liqueur Cake, and bring a fresh pot of coffee as well."
"Right away, Ms. Love," Paul the waiter said before hurrying off.
Holly decided to take the bull by the horns. "I know you're dying to know how Roger and I ended up breaking up," she said, "so I'll save you any attempts at subtlety and just tell you. One of Roger's ex-wives set it up to look like he was cheating on me with her. I believed it, went out and cheated on him, found out it was all a lie, and I felt horribly guilty for having really cheated on Roger when he didn't really cheat on me, and I got scared and so because this other man was supposedly more stable than Roger and I didn't have a history with him other than as co-workers, I continued seeing him and ultimately I married him even though we had next to nothing in common, and it wasn't long before I realized I had made the biggest mistake of my life, which I am now in the process of rectifying by getting a divorce and working to earn back Roger's trust." Donna looked at Holly, shocked. Holly mistook Donna's shock for scandalization and said, "I know, I'm a horrible person-"
Donna interrupted her. "Well, if you are, then I am too, because I did pretty much the exact same thing you did."
Now it was Holly who looked at Donna in shock. "You didn't," she said as Paul the waiter returned with two cake plates with huge slices of Chocolate Raspberry Liqueur Cake, a pot of coffee, and a coffee cup and saucer for Donna.
After Paul took his leave, Donna said, "I did." She poured herself a cup of coffee and offered Holly a refill of her own coffee. At Holly's nod, Donna topped off her coffee and picked up her fork to dig into her cake.
"I thought Michael was cheating on me," Donna began. "He told me he was, and he moved out. He was very cold and distant to me for months afterward whenever we saw each other. I was one of the bridesmaids at his brother's wedding, and after the happy couple left the reception for their honeymoon, Michael picked a fight with me and made this big scene in front of half the town. At that point, I figured I'd lost him, so I started getting on with my own life, spending time with our daughters, our grandson-we only had one grandson at the time-getting a real job for the first time in my life, not because I needed the money but just to have something to do, and much to my surprise, I found that I not only enjoyed working, but I was good at it. But no matter how much I tried to fill my life, I was hurt and angry and finally I became very lonely, so several months after Michael left me, I slept with this man I worked with at the time. We had been getting much closer since I started working with him, and so I slept with him...so of course that was the same night that Michael showed up at the front door at 2:00 in the morning to tell me that he wasn't having an affair. He had been working for the Agency again, and he left me to protect me, but his assignment was over. The criminal he'd been after was dead, he never cheated on me, and he could come home now."
"What did you do?" Holly asked.
"I lied, of course," Donna replied. "I covered up my slip off the fidelity wagon and let Michael come home, but I gave him hell for what he put me through, and all the while, I was terrified that he would find out what I had done. It took us several months to get back on an even keel, and then, of course, he did find out, and in the worst possible way: in court, in public. One of our daughters was on trial for attempted murder. I confessed to keep her from going to jail, and I gave my one-night stand as my motive. I really thought Marley had shot him, but he had it coming. There were several suspects in his shooting, all of them women. But when Michael found out, he filed for divorce. It turned out Marley hadn't shot Jake, and neither did I, and he recovered. It took years for Michael and I to find our way back to each other. He left town for four years, and I ended up marrying someone else. Not Jake, though. That would have been a little too Noel Coward."
"Too Noel Coward?" Holly asked, puzzled. She reached for her coffee cup and took a sip.
"Did I mention Jake was my ex-son-in-law? Marley's ex-husband? And he was my other daughter Victoria's boyfriend first, because Jake and Victoria grew up together," Donna replied. Holly choked on her coffee. "Talk about a terrible person, right?" Donna said wryly.
Holly wiped her mouth with her napkin and took a deep, shuddering breath. When she had recovered herself, she said, "I wouldn't say that." She paused for a moment, then said, "You said Jake and Victoria grew up together. Don't you mean Jake and Victoria and Marley grew up together? Victoria and Marley are identical twins, aren't they?"
"Yes, but my father robbed me of Victoria's childhood," Donna replied. "Actually, he robbed me of Victoria's entire existence. I didn't know I gave birth to twins. Back then, women were knocked unconscious to give birth. He gave Victoria up for adoption, and she grew up alone, not knowing that Michael and I were her parents or that she had a twin sister. My father also forced me to raise Marley as my sister instead of my daughter. It wasn't until Michael came back into my life when Marley was 18, and Victoria came to town shortly thereafter, with Jake in tow, having learned that Michael and I were her birth parents and tracked us down that we even knew Victoria existed. That's also when Marley found out that I was her mother and not her sister. My father, pardon the crudity of what I'm about to say, was a real bastard. He killed my mother and terrorized my sister and brother and I. My sister Nicole had a promising future as a fashion designer, but first she was sidetracked by cocaine addiction, and then she killed the man our mother had had an affair with, which is why our father killed her, after which she suffered a complete breakdown. She's been institutionalized ever since...seven years now. And my brother Peter got himself in some legal trouble, then he got out of legal trouble, and then he decided that he had disgraced himself before our family so much that he disowned himself. I hear from him once a year, at Christmas. He left ten years ago and I don't think I'm ever going to see him again."
"That sounds sort of similar to my family, actually," Holly said. "My father left when I was a baby. My mother had to raise me and my two brothers alone. One of my brothers is catatonic in an institution, and the other one is in prison. And when my father came back into our lives when we were all grown, he wasn't there for long before someone murdered him because of the way he'd been living his life all those years."
"My father's dead too," Donna said. "Thankfully. If he hadn't died when and how he did, I'm really afraid that Michael would have killed him. I never loved my father, I only feared and resented him, but he did do one thing that I have to be grateful to him for: he hired Michael to work in our stables, and that's how he and I met."
"The only good thing my father ever did for me was introduce me to Roger," Holly mused. "Roger worked for my father, and that's how we met." Holly finally took a bite of her cake. "That is fantastic," she said after chewing and swallowing. "That is the best chocolate cake I've ever tasted in my life."
"Isn't it?" Donna said proudly. "My dessert chef is French. I got into this outrageous bidding war with Felicia-" At Holly's blank look, Donna explained, "Felicia Gallant. She owns a restaurant here in Bay City, too-TOPS. Anyway, Felicia and I both wanted Emile to work for us, and we're not what you would call friends anyway, but I emerged victorious, and so Emile plies his trade here. This cake is so sinfully delicious, I privately refer to it as a chocolate orgasm."
"I won't argue with that appellation," Holly said, cutting another bite of cake and eating it.
"So, we both had evil fathers, we each have a sibling in a mental institution, the men in our lives were both in the CIA," Donna said. "We're both mothers, grandmothers, businesswomen."
And so Holly and Donna spent the next few hours eating Chocolate Raspberry Liqueur Cake, drinking coffee, and talking about their sometimes difficult relationships with their daughters, their work lives, their grandsons and sons-in-law and exes (though Holly did not mention that Ross was one of her exes), their parents and siblings, and of course Roger and Michael. After one cup of coffee, Donna switched to wine, and before long Donna was well and truly blasted, and Holly let herself be talked into one more glass of wine, so she was a little bit tipsy. When Donna offered her another glass of wine, Holly declined. "I have a very important meeting tomorrow afternoon, and I have no intention of showing up to it with a hangover."
"Great! More wine for me then!" Donna exclaimed. She poured herself another glass from the bottle she had had Paul bring to the table, draining the bottle in the process. "So," she continued after fortifying herself with a healthy sip of the wine, "you and Roger...You're gonna get back together, right?"
"I certainly hope so," Holly replied. "That's what we both want, ultimately. We just have some things to work out first."
"You ever think of working them out physically?" Donna inquired, tilting her wineglass and watching the wine swirl for several seconds.
"Working them out physically?" Holly asked, bemused.
Donna sat back in her chair and appeared to be thinking. "How does Victoria put it?" She frowned, thinking for several seconds. "Oh! I remember! 'Rock his world.' That's how she puts it."
"Rock his world," Holly repeated. She was just tipsy enough to be a bit slow on the uptake tonight. "You mean sex," she realized. "At this point, that would just complicate things. The last thing I need is a repeat of Cliff House, but with our roles reversed this time."
"Remind me to ask you later what Cliff House is," Donna said before taking another drink of her wine.
"If you keep drinking like that, I expect I'll have to remind you what your name is later," Holly replied dryly.
Donna laughed at that, a boisterous, full-throated laugh. "This is fun!" she said. "I've never met any woman I've had this much in common with before. I've never had a woman friend before in my life."
"I haven't had one since I was a sophomore in high school," Holly replied.
"Are you having fun?" Donna asked seriously then.
"You know what? I am. I really am," Holly said.
"So does this mean we're getting to be friends?" Donna asked hopefully.
"I think so," Holly replied.
"Wonderful!" Donna exclaimed. "I've never been a friend before, but I'll do my best to be a good one to you, Holly. And as your friend, it is my duty to help you win Roger back. So, rocking Roger's world" here Donna tripped over the words, which made her dissolve into laughter again. "That is out for the time being."
"Yes," Holly said firmly.
"Okay, something else, something else, something romantic," Donna mused.
"It's not going to happen overnight," Holly said.
"No, I don't suppose it is," Donna agreed. "But it's fun to do romantic things for the men sometimes." Donna lapsed into silence, finished the wine, and then said, "I've got it! A serenade!"
"Excuse me?" Holly said.
"A serendade...seren...seren...Oh, you know what I mean! Where you show up unannounced late at night and sing to Roger!" Donna exclaimed.
"About the nicest thing you can say about my voice is that I can carry a tune. I'm no Aretha Franklin," Holly replied.
"And I'm no Barbra Streisand, but I've sung to Michael before," Donna said. "Did you ever hear her Broadway album? Phemonemal."
"Phenomenal?" Holly asked.
"You have heard it!" Donna exclaimed happily.
Holly hadn't, but Donna was so hammered that Holly decided it wasn't worth it to point that out.
And Holly herself was just tipsy enough that she thought serenading Roger was an interesting idea. "It's not that late," she pointed out.
Donna squinted at her watch, wasn't able to make out the time, and gave up. "It's late enough," she said, airily waving a hand.
"You're in no shape to drive, and I'm not sure I am either, not that my car is here. It's still at the Bayshore," Holly continued.
"I'll call for a town car," Donna said. "Michael and I have an account there. Now, are you out of excuses yet?"
Holly thought for a minute, but couldn't come up with any good reason not to go along with Donna's idea. "What am I going to sing?" she asked.
"You and Roger don't have a song?" Donna asked.
"Not one in particular," Holly replied. "There's more than one that reminds me of him, or has meaning for us."
"Good, that'll give us something to figure out on the car ride!" Donna exclaimed. She got up, stumbling slightly. "I'm going to go and call for that town car. Wait here." There was a phone at the bar, so Donna returned a minute later, crowing that the town car was on the way and would be there in just a few minutes.
Which is how Holly found herself in the backseat of a gray town car with Donna Love, being driven to Michael's office at almost 10:30 PM by a suit-clad chauffeur named Jerome.
Donna drunkenly chattered on, singing a few fragments of songs, mostly from Broadway musicals and '60s girl groups, neither of which was really Holly's favorite kind of music, or included any of the songs that reminded her of Roger.
When they stepped off the elevator on the twentieth floor, which was dark and seemingly deserted, Holly began to have second thoughts. "This way," Donna stage whispered.
Holly followed Donna down the hall, which was lit only by dim safety lights in the ceiling and the red exit signs at each end of the long hallway.
"Donna, it looks like they've already left," Holly said.
"They're probably having celebrity...celebratay...having a drink in Michael's office," Donna said. She continued slowly making her way down the hall, with Holly following after, becoming more convinced with each step that Michael and Roger were not here.
Donna tripped and stumbled against a closed door. Holly tried to help her stand up straight again, but Donna waved her off. "I'm fine, I'm fine," she insisted. "And we're here. This is Michael's office suite."
Indeed, they were in front of an oak door. The safety lights directly above them illuminated the writing on the door: HUDSON ENTERPRISES MICHAEL S. HUDSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO.
Holly peered through the rectangular window that was next to the door. "It's totally dark in there," she reported. "It looks like they've already left."
Donna, however, wasn't listening. She was drunkenly fumbling through her purse, muttering, "I have a key."
"Donna, they're not here!" Holly insisted, but Donna was still looking for her key to Michael's office.
"All right, FREEZE!" shouted a deep bass voice from behind them. Holly's hands instinctively shot up in the air of their own accord in the universal gesture of surrender. Donna was still looking for her key and starting to become agitated that she couldn't find the keys. Then all of the bright, fluorescent lights in the corridor went on. Holly turned around, her hands still up, and found herself face to face with a six-foot-eight-inch scowling security guard holding a gun on her and Donna.
"Um, Donna..." Holly said.
"A-ha! Found it!" Donna exclaimed triumphantly. Only then did she notice all the lights were on, and the angry security guard with a gun. "What are you doing, pointing a gun at us?" she asked the guard indignantly.
"You're trespassing after hours," the guard replied crisply.
"Trespassing?" Donna scoffed. "I'll have you know that I have a key to this office! I am Michael Hudson's..." She trailed off. "Holly, what's the word I'm looking for?"
"Significant other?" Holly suggested.
"Yes!" Donna said. "I am Michael Hudson's sinfinicant other! And this is my friend Holly, and she is Roger Thorpe's sinkifigent other, and Roger and Michael are in there!"
"Mr. Hudson and Mr. Thorpe left an hour and a half ago," the guard reported, "and I don't care if you're the Queen of England and her main lady in waiting, you're trespassing. Come with me. I'm calling the police to pick you up."
"Go right ahead!" Donna challenged, sticking her chin in the air. "My son-in-law is the commissioner!"
"Yeah, right," the guard said. "Look, ladies, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."
"The easy way," Holly blurted. "We'll come with you without any trouble. Come on, Donna."
"Michael is going to hear about this!" Donna insisted as she followed after Holly, refusing to put her hands up when the guard asked her to. "And so will your boss, and the police commissioner and the whole police force!"
In the security office, the guard told Holly, "You can put your hands down, ma'am, just keep them where I can see them."
"I guarantee you I'm not armed," Holly replied. "You can look for yourself." She gave the guard her purse. After a cursory look through its contents, he returned it to her with a nod.
"Your turn," the guard told Donna.
"Absolutely not!" Donna said, clutching her bag to her chest with both hands. "Look at how this small is. Do you really think I'm carrying a concealed weapon?"
"I wouldn't put anything past you," the guard replied, picking up his phone and dialing the Bay City Police Department.
Officer Josie Watts, who, coincidentally, was the daughter of Michael's brother and sister-in-law John and Sharlene (John was Josie's stepfather, and no adoption had ever taken place, but John had been a part of Josie's life since she was 16 years old and was the only father she had ever known, so it wasn't long after John and Sharlene's first wedding that she had started calling him 'Dad,' since that's what she considered him, and the habit had remained ever since), answered the phone at the police station. She thought she recognized Donna from the security guard's description, and when Donna began protesting the "criminal treatment" she and her friend Holly were receiving from this baboon with a badge, Josie instantly recognized the voice as belonging to Donna. "We'll send someone right away," Josie promised, and then she hung up from the security guard and called her boss and friend and quasi-relative (Michael's daughter Vicky was married to him) Ryan Harrison.
So it was that fifteen minutes after being marched to the security guard's office, a knock came at the door, and the guard opened it to a tall man in his early thirties with wavy brown hair and blue eyes, wearing jeans, sneakers, and with the sleeves of his gray-and-white-plaid shirt rolled up to his elbows. "Commissioner Ryan Harrison, Bay City P.D.," the man introduced himself as he flashed his badge at the guard.
"Ryan! Thank God you're here! Will you tell this baboon with a badge who we are and that we were not traipsing...treppsing...tresprass...that we're not here to rob the place?" Donna exclaimed.
"She claims that she's Mr. Hudson's significant other and the other one is her friend," the guard told Ryan.
"She is Mr. Hudson's significant other," Ryan replied. "Her name is Donna Love. And her friend is-" Ryan looked at Holly.
"Holly Lindsey," Holly said.
"Right," Ryan said.
"Well, even if they are who they claimed to be, they're still trespassing, because it's after hours and neither Mr. Hudson nor Mr. Thorpe are here," the guard stubbornly insisted.
"I can virtually guarantee you that Mr. Hudson will not be pressing charges," Ryan said. "I'll see that they get home."
"Have at it, and good luck," the guard said. "The redhead cooperated fully, but the brunette wouldn't listen to a word I said!"
Ryan smiled wryly. "Believe me, you're not the only one who's made that observation about the brunette," he said dryly. "Ladies, if you'll come with me?" Donna nearly fell over her own feet when she tried to stand up. Ryan said nothing, just helped her to her feet, despite her insistence that she could make it on her own.
Ryan seemed more amused than anything else in the elevator on the way down. "What's so funny?" Donna asked him after finishing her diatribe against the security guard.
"You tying one on and trying to break into Michael's office," Ryan replied.
"I was not trying to break into Michael's office, I have a key!" Donna insisted. "And I did not tie one on."
"Oh no?" Ryan asked. "I haven't seen anyone this blasted since Bridget the night Vicky and I finally got married."
"You haven't even been married a year yet and you're against romance!" Donna exclaimed.
"No, I'm not," Ryan said. "I was half afraid I'd come down here and find you wearing a trench coat and high heels until Josie told me another woman was with you. Then I figured you weren't here to flash Michael, but I still don't know what you were doing here."
"Looking for Roger," Donna said.
Ryan looked at Holly now. "Roger's your husband, I take it?" he asked.
"Ah, no," Holly said. "But we are...well...it's complicated. He's my significant other...sort of."
"I haven't introduced you yet!" Donna exclaimed then. "Ryan, this is my friend Holly Lindsey. Holly, this is my son-in-law Ryan Harrison."
"It's nice to meet you, Holly, the circumstances notwithstanding," Ryan said, extending his hand for her to shake.
"It's nice to meet you too," Holly replied. "I really don't have an explanation for my behavior tonight. I just...I had a little more to drink than I usually do, and when Donna suggested coming down here to serenade Roger, I thought it sounded like a good idea."
"She's trying to win him back," Donna said then, leaning back against the wall of the elevator and wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. "Earn back his trust. You know what that's like, Ryan. So do I. I was just trying to help." Then something occurred to her. Her eyes snapped open and she looked as hard at Ryan as she could, given her inebriated state. "You're not going to tell Victoria about this, are you?" she asked, horrified.
The elevator doors opened, and Donna stumbled off the elevator backwards, still awaiting Ryan's answer about Vicky. "She already knows. I was at home when Josie called and interrupted our romantic evening," Ryan replied. "You're lucky Bridget's still out with her bowling team celebrating their league win, or else Vicky would have come down here with me. As it is, I'm not going to get one minute of sleep tonight until I give her chapter and verse. And I owe her five dollars."
"Why do you owe her five dollars?" Donna asked.
"Because she said it sounded like you got drunk before trying to storm Michael's office," Ryan replied. "I the fool said you weren't necessarily drunk, maybe you were just trying to spice things up, or make up from a fight. She conceded my point about the possibility of a fight, but said that you and Michael are spicy enough as it is, so that wasn't why you were here. So she was right: you got blasted before coming down here."
"I did not!" Donna said, stopping too fast and stumbling a bit in the process. Only Ryan's quick reflexes kept her from kissing the pavement, since they had reached the parking lot by now.
"Donna, you would flunk the Breathalyzer with flying colors," Ryan said as he steadied Donna on her feet. He looked at Holly now. "I don't know where you'd fall on that scale," he told her, "but I'm hoping that if you two drove down here, that you were the one behind the wheel, Holly."
"We didn't drive ourselves. Donna hired a car and driver," Holly replied.
"I'll take that Breathalyzer test and show you!" Donna interjected then.
"Are you taking us to the police station?" Holly asked when they had reached Ryan's squad car.
"Why?" Ryan asked, looking at Holly in surprise as he prepared the Breathalyzer for Donna. "You didn't drive here yourselves. I take it that gray town car over there is the one you came in?" Holly nodded. "I guess technically you were trespassing, but it's not like Michael is going to press charges. I was going to just take Donna home, but Vicky called her parents' place while I was getting dressed, and there was no answer."
"Michael's probably still with Roger. They must be at The Bayshore," Holly said. "That's where Roger is staying."
"Okay, then, I'll take you both to The Bayshore," Ryan replied. He handed Donna the Breathalyzer. "Blow," he directed. After she did, Ryan read the numbers. "Mmm hmm. You, Donna, are legally intoxicated. Three times the legal limit, in fact."
"Well, clearly, it's wrong," Donna insisted. "Holly, you do it."
"Holly's not anywhere near as crocked as you are," Ryan retorted.
"Well, I bet that little thingy still says she is!" Donna exclaimed.
"I don't mind," Holly said. "I'll take the test."
Ryan cleaned the mouthpiece, reset the machine, and gave it to Holly. "Four-tenths of a degree to spare," Ryan reported. "You are not legally intoxicated, Holly."
"What?" Donna yelped. "That little thingy is definitely broken, Ryan!"
Ryan smiled benignly. "Whatever you say, Donna." He opened the back door of the police car and gestured to the empty backseat. "I'm just going to go and tell your driver that you won't be needing him anymore tonight, and then I'll take you to The Bayshore. I won't be a minute." He closed the car door after Holly had helped Donna into the car, and then hurried off to dismiss the driver.
Donna rested her head against the cool glass of the window. "I'm sorry this didn't go as planned," she said, turning to look at Holly.
"I didn't know what song to sing anyway," Holly replied. "I was trying to remember the words to 'Heart and Soul,' but I couldn't even remember the whole first verse, and I couldn't think of any songs with his name in them, and I don't think I could sing in front of an audience anyway, even if the audience is you and Michael."
Ryan returned then, and the drive to The Bayshore didn't take long, less than ten minutes in fact.
And so it was that Roger and Michael were surprised at the knock on the door of Roger's suite. "I bet Holly came back to say good night," Michael said.
Holly was indeed at the door when Roger opened it, looking more than a little chagrined, but she wasn't alone. Donna, listing to one side, was standing next to her and being held upright by a thirtyish man dressed casually. "Roger Thorpe?" the man asked.
"Yes?" Roger asked, wondering what this was about.
Michael heard and recognized the voice. "Ryan?" he asked as he joined Roger at the door.
"You are here," Ryan greeted his father-in-law. Ryan looked at Holly then. "You were right," he said.
"Who are you and what's going on?" Roger asked Ryan.
"Ryan Harrison," Ryan said, extending the hand that wasn't keeping Donna upright to Roger. "Donna and Holly had a bit of a misadventure at Michael's office. One of the security guards found them prowling the hallway outside the office after hours, looking for the two of you, and called the police. Josie got the call at the station house and recognized Donna from the guard's description of her, and she also heard Donna protesting rather loudly, so she called me at home. I went down there to make sure they got home safely. There was no answer at your place, Michael, and Holly said she thought you and Roger would be here."
Michael peered at Donna critically. "You're blitzed!" Michael exclaimed, surprised.
Donna snorted indelicately. "I'm not so think as you drunk I am, Michael!" she exclaimed indignantly.
Michael couldn't stop himself from laughing. "Sure you're not," he said. "You're going to feel like hell in the morning."
"Well, that's in the morning," Donna said. "Right now, I'm feeling really good, and if you take me home, we can feel really good together." She stumbled the few steps into the suite to snake her arms around Michael's waist. "Come on, double-oh-seven. You're the spy who loved me...Hey! Holly! There's a song! 'The Spy Who Loved Me'! Carly Simon! Or was it Carole King?"
"Uh, Carly Simon, and no, I don't think so," Holly said.
"Song?" Roger asked, puzzled.
"Holly was going to surprise you with a serem-serenday-a song, but you weren't at Michael's office," Donna told Roger. She was still standing there with her arms around Michael, and he jumped when she goosed him.
"Donna!" Michael yelped, his voice an octave higher than normal.
"Oh, come on, Michael, you love it when we play Secret Agent Man and horny Bond Girl," Donna said, trying to sound flirtatious. Michael grimaced slightly.
"And on that note, I'm out of here," Ryan said. "I don't even think Vicky would want to know that. I certainly don't."
"When I get you alone, I'm gonna show you something that's for your eyes only," Donna said as she started to loosen Michael's tie.
"Thank you, Ryan," Michael said as he stilled Donna's fumbling fingers.
"Yes, thank you, Ryan," Holly echoed.
"Well, thank you for cooperating, Holly," Ryan said. "Mr. Thorpe, nice meeting you," he shook Roger's hand here, "Michael, you're welcome and good luck, Donna...Good night." Then Ryan left.
"I still don't think I'm legally drunk," Donna grumbled after Ryan had departed.
"You failed the Breathalyzer?" Michael asked, frowning.
"It was broken!" Donna insisted. "It's not like we were driving anyway! I called for a car."
Michael raked a hand through his hair. "You're just damned lucky that Josie was the one who got the initial call and that she called Ryan to take care of it," he said.
"Oh, like you would have pressed charges!" Donna said.
"I wouldn't have, no," Michael agreed, "but even though you weren't driving, you could have been charged with being intoxicated in public."
"What public?" Donna wanted to know.
Michael took a deep breath. "We're not doing this here," he said. "We're going home."
Donna smiled. "Finally," she said. She looked at Holly now. "I had a lot of fun. We'll have to do it again soon," she said.
"Only with a lot less wine next time," Holly said. Before Holly could say anything else, Donna started to slump to the floor, the effects of too much wine. Michael caught her before she fell, but she was out cold.
"She's gonna have one hell of a hangover in the morning," Michael said with a sigh as he gathered Donna up in his arms.
"Yeah, she will," Holly agreed. "Don't be too hard on her, Michael. She was just trying to be helpful, and I was just tipsy enough that it sounded like a good idea at the time."
"No matter how much or how little Donna remembers about tonight in the morning," Michael said, "I'll make sure she knows what a good friend you were to her tonight, Holly. I appreciate it."
"She's been a good friend to me tonight too," Holly said, "the results of our little escapade aside."
Roger held the door open. "You need any help getting her downstairs or in the car or anything?" he asked.
"No, I've got her," Michael said. "I think we'll have to put off our meeting until tomorrow afternoon now, though."
"Not a problem," Roger assured him. "Give me a call sometime late tomorrow morning and we'll nail down a time."
"I will," Michael said. "Good night."
"Good night," Roger said.
After Michael had left with Donna, Roger closed the door. "So, how was your meeting with the Yahoo people?" Holly asked brightly.
"It went well," Roger replied. "Michael offered me a job. Vice President of Internet Acquisitions. I'm taking it."
"That's wonderful," Holly said. She couldn't keep up the pretense, though. "Okay," she said. "Let's have it."
Roger just smiled. "You were going to serenade me?" he asked.
"If I could have remembered the words to 'Heart and Soul,' maybe," Holly replied. "It was Donna's idea. She and I have a lot in common, not just you and Michael. Her father was a monster too, possibly even worse than mine. She's had difficult relationships with both of her daughters at times. She has three grandsons, I have two. We both work and enjoy working. And she and Michael went through something similar to you and me. She suggested the serenade after I ruled out...you know..."
"You know...Oh!" Roger realized. "Yeah, the last thing we need right now is a reprise of Cliff House but with our roles reversed."
"I said that very thing!" Holly exclaimed. "It's not like I haven't thought about it, but no, I know we don't need that right now. It's not going to be one night out of time. That's not what I want."
"It's not what I want either," Roger said. "And I agree, we're nowhere near ready to make love again yet. Although I have to admit, I've thought about it too." For the last almost two years, he added silently. "That's why I know you'll understand what I'm about to do."
"What are you about to do?" Holly asked, her heart beginning to pound as the hope that Roger was going to kiss her blossomed fully in her chest.
"Wait here," Roger said. He disappeared back into the bedroom of the suite with its adjoining bathroom. He returned a couple of minutes later holding a toothbrush still in its package, a travel-sized tube of toothpaste, and one of his white button-down shirts. "You're in no shape to drive back to Springfield tonight," he said as he handed her the shirt, toothbrush and toothpaste. "So you're going to stay here tonight. You can have the bedroom, and I'll sleep on the couch. You said your meeting tomorrow isn't until tomorrow afternoon, so you'll have time to either go home to freshen up, or go shopping here for anything you need and still make your meeting, and since you're not nearly as blasted as Donna was, you won't feel like turning off the sun tomorrow morning. So please, stay here tonight, so I know that you're safe."
Holly nodded as she took the shirt and toiletries from Roger. "I will," she said. "Thank you."
"Anytime," Roger replied. He changed into his own pajamas and took a pillow and extra blanket out to the couch while Holly was in the bathroom before returning to the bedroom to turn down the bed for her. When she emerged from the bathroom, having brushed her teeth and washed her face and wearing his shirt, her legs and feet bare beneath it and the cuffs rolled up so they weren't covering her hands, she didn't miss the fact that he swallowed hard at the sight of her. "Well," Roger said, forcing his eyes to meet hers and seeing that she knew the effect she was having on him. Seeing him in his black pajamas was having an effect on her as well, because it had been far too long since they had been in the same room this late at night, even though they were not going to be sleeping in the same bed.
"Yeah," Holly said. "We should both get some sleep."
"Call me if you need anything," Roger said.
"I will," Holly said. "Good night, Roger."
"Good night, Holly," Roger replied.
Then Holly got into bed and turned out the lights, and Roger went out to the living room and turned out the lights before settling himself on the couch.
And they both lay awake for a long time, thinking about one another, before finally falling asleep, in two separate rooms only twelve feet apart.