Disclaimer: the characters used in this story belong to the pen of Martha Williamson and Hallmark, I just took them out to play for a little bit, no Shane or Oliver were harmed during the writing of this story, it is my first in a million years and English keeps being challenging when it is not your native language.
I have to thank QueenMofSSD for challenge me into this and for her help fixing grammar and misspelled words, to RhondaJean, for giving me some ideas and fixing my written mistakes, and last but not least to all my friends on twitter who gave tried to help me to post this story because you almost need a PHD on computer science to post a story here.
The day Shane was to meet Holly was almost like any other day, except for the events that unfolded before. The 4 Postables gathered at the Mailbox Grille after asking Ramón Rodriguez, their resident dance teacher, weatherman, master of ceremonies and now French translator, to translate one of Holly O'Toole's poems. Shane had stumbled across it on YouTube while looking up Holly's address for Oliver's long ago sent and now returned letter. Shane had found it mixed in with other international mis-directs. It was going to be up to Oliver whether he wanted the letter re-sent… well, at least that was Shane's plan…
Oliver struggled to understand Holly's poem. It was very unremarkable and cheesy. It spoke about him, but he was at a complete loss as to what she meant. Meanwhile, Norman was focused on Rita and Ramón; acknowledging to Oliver for the first time he had feelings for Rita. Norman was overwhelmed and very much afraid of losing her to someone else. He watched in fear as Rita enjoyed the undivided attention of swagger master Ramón. Rita found him very interesting and sophisticated! She liked Ramon with an innocence and awe that was like a magnet that made Ramon and everyone else comfortable around her.
Shane sighed and stepped in to put an end to the pity fest and get people headed back to work. First, she tried to round up Oliver and Norman. Neither Oliver nor Norman listened to her first words. She then warned them, "You have 5 minutes to be weird, then it's back to work!"
Next she did her best to round up Rita. She walked towards where Rita and Ramón were sitting; interrupting them to remind Rita she needed to get back to the DLO. Rita asked for a couple more minutes while Ramón finished his cliff diver in Cozumel story. Shane was taken aback and said incredulously, "That's….scary." Then he looked up confidently at Shane and said, "Once we face the things we fear, they no longer have power over us, no?" Shane's jaw felt like it was about to hit the floor! She never expected anything so profound to come out of him.
Even after working with the team for almost a year, Shane sometimes questioned her colleagues' and friend's sanity, but had to admit to herself that sometimes she was just like them. With that admission to herself, she walked back to the DLO and left the rest of them to their own devices.
As Shane pushed the swinging door to enter the DLO, the squeak of the door was welcome and familiar. However, she immediately sensed something very out of the ordinary. It was a strange, strong, heavily floral perfume filling the air. It was so intense it burned her eyes and made her want to cough. Shane blinked a few times to ease the burning sensation. As she was taking off her coat, she saw a white purse hanging from the coat rack. She then noticed Oliver's chair was facing the wall instead of facing forward; unusual because Oliver always took great care to leave things at his desk just so when he left it. As she was pondering this oddity, Oliver's chair turned to reveal a woman, a very attractive red-haired woman who introduced herself as Holly, Oliver's wife. Shane felt all the breath leave her lungs. She was speechless! Holly acted like it was perfectly normal for her to sashay over to Oliver's refrigerator, dig out a YooHoo for herself and then offer one to Shane.
Nothing made sense to Shane. How did Holly get in here? Why she was offering her a Yoohoo? Who did she think she was? For a few seconds, Shane felt like she was going to scream or flee! What was happening? Shane thought quickly… Am I in a parallel universe, the Twilight Zone or in a dream where I can't seem to wake myself up? No such luck, apparently. The reality was up close and personal. Holly was in Denver, directly in front of her. As that fact sank into Shane's mind, she was rooted to the floor as she was regaled with a bunch of uncalled and unasked for details about her boss, her colleague, her dearest friend and the man she already knew she was deeply in love with. The first thing Shane learned from Holly was that Oliver eats clams and red wine when he is upset. Shane found that hard to believe as she had never seen him order that; not once since she'd arrived at the DLO. If it was true, he'd have eaten a meal like that many times since Shane arrived. Shane knew that more than once she'd made him angry. Maybe it was just Holly that triggered that response?
She sucked in her breath and held it at Holly's next confession. Oliver was a fabulous kisser! His kisses made Holly forget everything else. Shane had been fantasizing about kissing Oliver almost from the first day she started working with him. She thought back to when they were working on Charlie Riggs letter. Oliver was deep in thought, re-reading the letter and absentmindedly touching his lips with his fingers. Shane was watching him as he touched his lower lip and couldn't stop wondering how soft his lips might be. Shane quickly shook off this memory realising how mortified Oliver would feel if he knew what his wife was saying to a total stranger. It was such an awkward situation and Shane felt very uncomfortable. She was about to make her stop talking when the squeak of the door made her blood freeze. She heard a gasp coming from whomever just entered. Shane looked at Holly's face and immediately knew who walked in. Holly's face lit up with a sunny and flirtatious smile.
Shane thought, "Please, please, earth, open up a hole under me so I can disappear. If it is not too much trouble, please drop me on a Caribbean beach with a pina colada or a Mai Tai." Unfortunately, the earth did not oblige Shane's plea. Holly greeted him, Shane turned around and greeted him too. With what she hoped was a plausible excuse, she fled the room and left the married couple alone.
She stayed just outside the door with Norman, who had arrived and was peeking through the door window. "Ooooh, to be a fly on the wall in there right now," Shane thought, biting her lower lip. To say Shane's curiosity was piqued was an understatement. She needed to know what they were saying to each other. Norman and Shane jumped in surprise when Rita arrived. After telling her that Holly was inside with Oliver, the three of them were anxious to know what was going on beyond the DLO door. Norman was keeping an eye to the door window. Then all of a sudden, Norman said "she's coming". They all scrambled so they would look busy when Holly passed by them. She barely even acknowledged that any of them were there. The postal trio was about to regroup in the aisle to decide what to do next when they heard the squeak of the door, again resuming their "look how busy I am now" pose. Oliver approached Shane and told her they might as well head out to Donatello's to deliver Caitlin's letter. Shane stammered, "Isn't it a bit early to head over there? Caitlin won't be back until 6." Oliver said, "Well, we could grab an early dinner. I'm craving some Sardinian clams and a nice glass of an unassuming Brunello". The trio looked at each other knowing what that meant. Oliver was upset.
After the quietest dinner of Shane's life, Oliver decided to give the letter back to Joey to dispose of as he wished, but Oliver had left it back at the DLO. Caitlin arrived, quickly followed by Norman and Rita, who had brought the letter with them. Caitlin grabbed it. What followed was almost as monumental as the day the team stopped Michael Wheeler from murdering a man in court. Misunderstandings cleared up, forgiveness offered and accepted and decisions made to stay committed. Shane arrived home, kicked off her shoes and landed on her couch like a freshly harvested sack of potatoes. She was bone tired and her feet felt like a ton of lead. On top of that, she was craving very serious chocolate, but she couldn't bring herself to get it. She sat there with her eyes fixed on a little crack in the ceiling paint, trying to make some sense of today's events. She should mark this day in her calendar, but she didn't want to move, not even to find her phone in her purse; she was numb.
So now here we are, she thought. She was the one who encouraged him to send the letter several months back after Norman's grandma's heart procedure; even though she did not know the content of the letter. She was the one who found the dead letter, technically opened it, read it and printed the address to place on the letter to mail again. She was the one who practically mailed the letter, well no, that was Norman, but why was she so surprised Holly showed up? Shane had done all this, hoping to help Oliver get out of limbo and start living his life. She never imagined that Holly would actually come back to Denver. She thought Holly would have written back and asked for a divorce. Shane was the one at a loss now, what did this mean? Did she want him back? Maybe she came to set him free? "Nah" said Shane under her breath as her head started to pound. They might be together right now! Were they holding and kissing each other? Just imagining this scene bróke her heart. "Let's face it McInerny, that's probably exactly what's happening". Shane thought a little deeper though. Wouldn't he want to know why Holly left and why she never contacted him? Sadly Shane's inner monologue continued, "who am I kidding, they must be all over each other. Oliver has remained faithful to his vows for over 2 years since she left!', she said out loud, exhaling the air she didn't know she was holding; experiencing strong pangs of jealousy and feeling totally defeated all at the same time.
Shane got up from the couch feeling like she was 100 years old, walked slowly to her room, opened a closet drawer, grabbed her pajamas and went straight to bed. Sleep however would not come. Her heart and mind continued to race.
The next day, when Shane heard Oliver was going to close the Mailbox Grille to have a private dinner with his wife, another pang of jealousy ripped through her. Shane knew Holly and Oliver had more to talk about, but why at a private dinner? Why not at an attorney's office? Nothing made sense for Shane… if I was writing the story of my ideal life, they would have been divorced a long time ago, she thought.
While Oliver made his way to the Mailbox Grille, Shane, Norman and Rita were at the comedy club to join the Castelluccis for a celebration. Shane was deep in thought after Norman warmed up the club's crowd. All she could think of was Oliver. What was he doing? What were they doing? Shane was both angry and appalled at herself for being so jealous. Didn't she want Oliver to be happy? Wasn't that more important then what she wanted and needed? She loved him so much! Oliver needs answers; he needs to set the record straight with Holly, but why over a private romantic dinner? Shane muttered to herself, "You lost him, that's why." That was the subconscious answer she was not ready to fully accept just yet and found some random excuse for it: "They need a safe environment to talk; that's all". But when she heard Caitlin say "On the way to our divorce, we fell in love all over again", everybody at the club went wild. They applauded, cheered and whistled. Shane felt a huge lump forming in her throat. She needed air. She had to get out of there and fast! She quickly made her way out of the club and walked to the Mailbox Grille. She looked in the window and saw Oliver and Holly dancing. It was THEIR dance, the dance she and Oliver practiced.. how many times had he dragged her into the dance studio to practice THEIR routine, putting in all that effort until that night when they were dancing to her Billy Joel song suggestion. Shane loved it and she thought it was perfect for their ballroom dance showcase. They glided through the DLO. She was in his arms and it felt like heaven. The notes of the song, the lyrics, their proximity; they were so close they breathed the same air. She wanted him to hold her tight and kiss her senseless. Shane was sure he was feeling the same but that wasn't possible, right? Suddenly he stopped their dance, turned off the music, excused himself and left. She was left standing there alone, breathless and with an emptiness she had never felt before in her life.
The next day was the worst when Oliver wanted to cancel their dance. He was a married man and he thought it ill advised for them to continue because of how it may look to others. All she could do was agree and let it go. Now he was dancing with the one woman he wanted to dance with and that thought stabbed Shane directly through the heart. The window gave her a panoramic view of them. They stopped dancing. They looked into each others eyes. They were going to kiss; "Don't kiss her", Shane pleaded like a mantra, but Oliver couldn't hear her. He kissed Holly! Shane closed her eyes and tears started to roll down her cheeks. She turned around and walked back to the DLO.
She found a cardboard box and gathered her belongings from her steampunk desk. She then wrote a goodbye note, left it on Oliver's desk and ran her hands over Oliver's letter opener collection. She needed a memento of her time here, something meaningful. She picked up Oliver's favourite letter opener with the shape of an elephant on it, pulled it close to her chest and then dropped it into the box with her belongings. She had no intention of attempting to say goodbye in person; else she knew she would not be able to leave. Shane was heartbroken but satisfied with her plan when she was caught red-handed by Rita and Norman. Shane had no other choice but to announce she was leaving for good. Norman was at a loss and Rita started to cry. Shane tried as best she could to explain but she couldn't because nothing made sense. Before leaving she told them – "Don't let nothing happen to either of you". She hugged them, took her box, purse and left. Shane left the building and started walking. After a few blocks she chided herself for picking this day to leave her car at home and come to work wearing high heeled boots. Walking back home in her high heeled boots with the box of her things and her purse just added insult to injury as the cherry on the top of this horrendous day. Her feet were starting to hurt and her mother's voice blared in her head, "You should wear more sensible shoes, Shaney!" "Oh goody, just what I need now," Shane thought. Mom might have a point there after all. At least, this took her mind off the scene of Oliver and Holly kissing that had been playing non-stop in her mind since she left the Mailbox Grille.
The excruciating walk felt like an eternity. She kept playing the image of the O'Tooles kissing passionately, probably mending their marriage and finding their way back to their sweet home. She saw them with 4 kids; 3 boys and a baby girl. Shane's mind worked like one of those obscure intelligence agents who knew how to practice torture techniques. She was the one telling him that very morning that he needed to forgive Holly, but now look what had happened? They were supposed to get divorced. He was supposed to be free, not mending their marriage and having enough kids to form a soccer team! She was about to cry again when she arrived home to find a shadow moving on her porch. "Oh marvelous! Just what I need to be in tomorrow's headlines." "Beautiful woman attacked and murdered by a burglar as she was arriving home late last night". She picked up Oliver's letter opener and tried to remember what Steve told her about stabbing people. For the life of her she couldn't recall one thing as she continued walking up the stairs towards the moving shadow who was checking a level tool. …"wait what?" She asked herself. When the shadow turned around, she gasped. It was Oliver. Now she was angry. "Why are you here so late?" His answers made no sense to her. A porch swing? He was installing a porch swing for her? The police were involved? It was her birthday present? He mentioned the poetic justice of being dispatched with his own letter opener, his favourite one at that! Shane assured him she wasn't in the mood for poetry. She told him she was quitting her work at the dead letter office and USPS for good. He refused to accept that. She then told him she wished the best for him and his wife. That's when the other shoe dropped for Oliver and he understood why she was leaving. She voiced it and now she was waiting for him to confirm it. She continued to stare at him and with her foggy state of mind she thought she heard him say.. "Ms. McInerny, my wife and I are very happy to be together again. I missed her so much during our time apart" … "WAIT…OH MY GOODNESS, that's not what he is saying! What IS he saying? His wife went back to Paris? They wished each other well and kissed each other goodbye? What the sam hill?! He was walking towards her, closing the distance between them. Shane couldn't believe it! Just minutes ago she was the headline of tomorrow's news! Just hours ago her world was upside down because of a kiss and now with a few words, everything was right in the world again! Shane quickly asked him how he felt. She took his left hand in hers to see a now ringless finger. She felt tears forming in her eyes. She sniffled discreetly so he didn't noticed her sparkly tear-filled eyes. He told her he was fine. He also told her that for a long time he wondered what it was going to feel like when he knew his marriage with Holly was truly over. Shane's curiosity was piqued once more and she asked him, "How did you feel? What did you do?" Oliver looked happy, making her heart take flight and fill with love. He got closer to her, his voice just above a whisper, "I went out and bought a porch swing". There was silence as they both gazed deeply into each other's eyes and smiled. They sat on the swing, talking about spring and enjoying being together. Oliver showed her a crocus peeking out of the Snow. They sat there, relaxed and happy until the tiredness and the coldness of night started getting the best of them. She didn't wanted him to leave. Oliver really did not want to part from her either, but it was late and tomorrow they had to go back to work, together, to their beloved office with the rest of their DLO family. Life was wonderful again, but her feet were killing her!