"So where's he taking you?" Austin asked, perching on the side of the bathtub where Colton was happily splashing in the water.
"I don't know. He won't tell me. Again," Lindsay answered with a slight grimace as she fought her hair into the curling iron. "Thanks for babysitting by the way."
"It'll be fun. Right Johnny McShort and Fat?"
He giggled and splashed the tepid bathwater.
"Married dates are the best," Austin remarked.
"Why's that?"
"You're not worried if he's going to kiss you goodnight, you don't run out of things to talk about and there's no uncomfortable guessing about who's picking up the check."
"That sounds great."
"You guys have been on a married date before."
"Yeah, once. But we were in a rush to get home so it was just a fast dinner and a carriage ride in the park. This time he said we'll be home late. Not just a little late. He said late. Like second round of the sports highlights."
"Which is probably exactly where you'll find me and Danny when you get back."
"Seriously, thank you for doing this on such short notice."
"Just remember this because you'll owe us."
"Deal."
"What are you wearing?"
"Just this," she said, indicating her blue jeans and thermal top. "He said we're going casual but bring a coat and my walking shoes."
"Walking tours of New York?"
"Must be something like that. He sent me a text clue earlier. I'm supposed to figure it out before we leave."
"A text clue? Okay, I never thought I would say this, but Adam is pretty cute."
"He knows."
"So what's the clue?"
"Preambled tortoise."
"I have no idea what that means."
"Neither do I. Of course if I stopped thinking about it for a second it would come to me."
"Usually the way things go. Hey, you haven't worn your hair all curled like that in a long time."
"Yeah, it takes too long. And usually by the end of the day I have to toss it up in a ponytail to save it from being slobbered on, so there was no point in fixing it in the first place."
"I told Danny I was going to chop mine off and the look he gave me could have burned a hole in Fort Knox. Apparently I am not cutting my hair ever."
"What is it with men and hair? Adam always tells me not to cut mine too."
"Maybe they think we're more feminine this way."
"Or maybe they all have some secret fetish for hippies and Amazon women."
"The modern versions of course."
"Yes. Colton are you done with your bath?"
She crouched down and took him out of the water, wrapping him in a towel and earning a big smile.
"Alright, let's get you diapered and clothed so Uncle Danny doesn't think we're running a peep show here."
"Linds you're getting yourself all bathwatery."
"Crud. Will you take him?"
"Yeah. Finish putting your face on."
Austin moved into Colton's bedroom and found a diaper, slapping it on with the grace of someone who had done it a hundred times before.
"There, that's better. And you're not going to make me change a dirty diaper all night, right? Good. I am betting your mama wants you in pajamas now."
She kept one hand on his belly while reaching down to find some pajamas in the drawer.
"There we go. Giraffe jammies! Are you thrilled?"
He grinned and kicked his legs in excitement, more over her tone of voice than the giraffe pajamas.
"You're going to have to forgive me because diapering is a lot easier than dressing a squirming baby and I suck at it as we discovered last time. Yeah, last time when you spit up on your mama and yourself and I laughed and she made me clean you up. Yeah that time. You're smiling, you remember. Hey look at that, we have success."
She picked him up off the changing table and snuggled him close, loving the way he molded himself against her and stared into her eyes.
"Okay buddy, I'm going to have to take my heart back from you soon. But no worries, I'm sure you'll steal my daughters someday."
He gave her a small smile and she dropped a kiss on the end of his nose.
"I'm glad we had that talk. Want to go veg on the couch? Thought so."
She carried him out to the front room and sat down on the couch, pulling a light blanket around him. He sighed sleepily and sucked on his bottom lip while she brushed his hair off of his forehead.
"This clue is driving me bonkers," Lindsay said, sitting down in the recliner and putting her shoes on. "I'm never going to get it."
"Yeah you will. Besides, if you don't, I'm pretty sure he'll take you out anyway."
"Probably. He should be here any minute. When's Danny coming over?"
"As soon as he gets off work. He said he's going to stop and get dinner first though."
"Okay."
"So is Colton going to need a bottle or anything later?"
"Probably around ten he'll get fussy. There's some bottles in the fridge, just heat one up in a pot of hot water for a minute or two. He usually goes to sleep once he finishes that, but if he's still fussy, just walk him around for a while. He had short naps today though so he should be fine."
"Anything else?"
"Call me if you need me."
"Okay."
The door opened and Adam came in, a stack of manila folders in his arms.
"Figure it out yet babe?"
"Nope."
He chuckled and set the files on the desk next to the computer.
"Let me go change my shirt and we'll go."
"I thought you said casual."
"I did, but not so casual that the lunch I spilled on my shirt is going to impress you."
"Don't throw it on the floor please."
"Okay, I'll leave it on your side of the bed."
Lindsay rolled her eyes, knowing he would do just what he said because he knew it would annoy and amuse her.
"Sometimes I can't decide if you flirt like teenagers or a couple that has been married for seventy years."
"I'm not sure which is worse."
"Suffice it to say you two may be cute but that doesn't mean you're not disgusting."
"Well thanks. Look at you sitting there with a big pregnant belly and a baby. You might curse yourself into Irish twins."
"Lindsay, shut your mouth."
"Tit for tat my friend."
"We've really got to stop this insulting each other thing."
"Eh, it makes us more inseparable."
"Please stop whatever it is then," Adam said as he came back into the room. "I have a distinct fear that the four of us are going to end up living next door to each other someday, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the two of you leaning out the windows and using tin cans and a piece of string to talk."
"Shut up, Adam," they chorused with a smile. He rolled his eyes and tossed Lindsay's coat to her.
"Ready to go?"
"Yep."
She put her coat on and leaned down to kiss Colton before taking Adam's hand.
"I'll call you if we're going to be really, really late."
"You mean like the third time through the sports highlights, or the rerun of Leno?"
"Either way."
"Have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
"Thanks Aust, you just threw a wrench in my plan."
"I hate you too Adam."
He gave her shoulder a nudge, then led Lindsay out the door and to the elevator.
"So what are we doing?" she asked as he pressed the down button.
"I gave you a clue."
"But I'm stupid today. Want to help me out here?"
"Alright, I guess I'm going to have to give it to you if I plan on having this date actually happen."
"Low blow."
"Preambled tortoise. Take it apart."
"Okay, so preamble is like the teaser to something. And a tortoise… is slow?"
"You're so close!"
"Help."
"Let's go back to tortoise. Remember the tortoise and the hare? He was slow, but he was happy and relaxed and was just going to finish the race, he didn't care about time."
"So we're going to be happy and relaxed and not hampered by time?"
"Bingo."
"Now what about the preamble part?"
"Preamble is the beginning, you're right. But if you take that apart even more you get?"
"Amble? So we're walking?"
"Yep."
"Okay, I think I've got the idea. Can I have the second clue?" she asked as they exited the building and started a casual walk down the street.
"Eventually," he replied, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.
"This is quite the elaborate date. Any reason for that?"
"I love you really elaborately."
"No one's ever said that to me before."
"They'd better not have," he chuckled, leaning down to kiss her. "You're really beautiful tonight."
"Thanks."
He kept his arm around her as they walked, enjoying the time with just the two of them. Sure, they had their alone time quite often, once Colton was in bed or five minutes when he was content to play by himself on the floor. But their minds were always half on what he was doing, and they never really made a point to entirely focus on each other. They both knew how easy it was for life to get in the way, so they had promised to spend more time together.
"Hey babe?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for tonight."
"It's barely started."
"See how much faith I have in you?"
"I'm pretty proud of you for getting the second clue all on your own," Adam said as they strolled away from the street vendor.
"Daggered carne' was pretty obviously shish-kebabs and then I saw the street vendor, so it wasn't really that hard. You gave me a freebie."
"Maybe a little. Want your third clue since you're on such a roll?"
"Sure."
"Issued hydration."
"Okay."
He watched her as she thought, turning the problem over and over in her mind. He knew she was getting close when a smiled tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"I'm not sure what it means exactly, but you've referenced a bridge over troubled water."
"Yeah. Come on."
He lead her several blocks until they came to one of the lesser used bridges over the river. They stopped in the middle and leaned against the railing, watching the city light up against the night.
"What should I do with this?" Lindsay asked, holding up the wooden shish-kebab skewer. Adam looked around for a moment.
"Think you could hit that barge down there?"
"Of course."
She dropped the skewer and they watched as it dropped onto the passing barge.
"Nice aim babe."
"Your turn."
His skewer landed smack dab on the middle of the roof of the wheelhouse.
"You're not so bad yourself."
He smiled and took her in his arms, pressing a kiss to her hair while she rested against him.
"You know, this city, it's one of the most beautiful in the world. It has everything you could ever want. Everyone is free here. And there's always beauty in it, no matter what time of day or what the weather is like. There's always something new."
"Yeah."
"You're like that."
"What?"
"You're always beautiful. You're everything I've ever wanted. You make me free. Everyday I learn something new about you and everyday I love you just a little bit more."
He spun one of her curls around his finger as she looked up at him.
"What in the world did I do to deserve you?" she asked, tracing over his lips.
"Maybe we were both in the right place at the right time."
"One in a million shot."
"We should go to Vegas while we're this lucky."
"We could go to Vegas any time because I plan on being this lucky for the rest of my life."
"Me too."
They stood for a long time just holding each other and staring out at the water. She listened to his heart while he felt her every breath and they cemented themselves in the moment of calm and safety.
"Undertoned tomes."
"Another clue?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Undertoned tomes. Besides being kind of hard to say, I am going to have to guess that it has something to do with books. Undertoned could mean underrated, or it could be a sarcastic antonym for something Oprah promoted. It could mean little books, or books read in a hushed tone. Are we going to a poetry reading?"
"You're on the right track. Wanna go?"
"Yep."
They walked off the bridge and headed down a quiet street, where orange light spilled out of shop windows and illuminated the puddles on the sidewalk, creating a near ethereal glow.
"Remember how you said you wanted to read some Kerouac?"
"Yes."
He opened the door of a small bookstore and led her inside. It smelled like old books, and coffee and carbon copied pages. She smiled up at him and he pointed her to the old loveseat in the back corner, then wandered off, apparently looking for something. She sat down on the old couch, sinking into it with a sigh and watched Adam as he perused the store, finally finding what he had been looking for and joining her on the couch. They settled in together and he opened the book, flipping through some pages until he found what he was looking for.
"This is my favorite Kerouac poem," he said, holding the book with one hand and her with the other.
"You gonna read it to me?"
"Mm-hmm."
He cleared his throat and she closed her eyes, letting the words and his voice drift over her.
"But a tree has a long suffering shape, is spread in half by two limbed fate, rises from gray rain pavements, to traffic in the bleak brown air, of cities radar television nameless dumb & numb mis cummicumb, throwing twigs the color of ink, to white souled heaven, with a reality of its own uses."
"Mmm," she sighed as his thumb ran up and down her arm. "Read some more."
They spent the next hour reading poems and passages to each other, some from Kerouac and Ginsberg, some from Shakespeare and Whitman. It was something neither one of them really had much time for while life was happening.
"Ready for dessert?" he asked, once their voices had tired.
"Sure. Do I get a clue?"
"You like this game don't you?"
"Yep."
"Okay. Sheltered campfire."
"Hmm. Well we're nowhere near a ski lodge, so one of those big fireplaces is out of the running. It's the wrong time of year for a bonfire. And mentioning a bonfire has now made me crave s'mores."
"Keep thinking what you're thinking."
"We're having s'mores?" she asked as he pulled her up from the couch. "Where?"
"Just this little place I know," he said.
"Adam I guessed most of it, so you're going to tell me the rest right?"
"There's this place down the street where they bring you a tabletop free standing fire pit thing and you can roast marshmallows and make s'mores right at your table."
"This is officially the best date ever."
"Ever?"
"Well the one where you proposed is slightly ahead of this one, but that's only because at the end of that night I had new jewelry."
"Can't argue with that."
"One last clue," Adam said, taking her hand and leading her down the street once again. She sighed in marshmallowy chocolate contentment and gave his hand a squeeze.
"It's almost over already?"
"Yeah. It's getting kinda late and I have to work tomorrow and I'm sure you want to see Colton."
"Yeah."
"Michael Finnegan."
"That does not follow the pattern of your previous clues my dear."
"I know. I cheated a little."
"Michael Finnegan. Something to do with first grade music class?"
"Nope."
"Irish whiskey?"
"Nope."
"You're shaving your beard?"
"I would if you wanted me to, but that was not the clue."
"I don't want you to. Might reveal a baby face under there."
"You wound me."
"I'd still love you."
"I'll have you know that I have a very sexy chiseled jaw line."
"I believe you."
"It's true."
"I promise, I believe you. Besides, I will always think you're sexy."
"You wanna skip the final clue and head home?"
"Yes, but no."
"Okay then. Michael Finnegan."
"Hmm. There was an old man named Michael Finnegan, he had whiskers on his chin-egan, they grew out and then grew in again, poor old Michael Finnegan, begin again. I got nothing."
"Say that last part again."
"Begin again?"
He nodded and pointed up at the building they were standing next to.
"Adam… what are we doing at my old apartment?"
"Do you remember what happened in this exact spot almost three years ago?"
She smiled suddenly, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Yes, I do. The beginning."
He framed her face with his hands, just as he had done the first time, stroking his thumbs across her cheek before pressing a gentle kiss to her lips. He gave her a second to respond before pulling away and resting his forehead on hers. Their eyes met and she smiled, using the slightest pressure on his neck to force him back down. He slid one hand down to the small of her back and pulled her impossibly closer, nibbling her bottom lip, then soothing over it with his tongue. He moved away slightly without breaking contact, and she stood on her toes to follow him, almost moaning when he ran his thumb over the shell of her ear. Their tongues touched gently, teasingly, then retreated, the kiss slowing into short pecks until they were finally ready to let go.
"Remember that?"
"Most definitely."
"I want you to feel that way every day, Linds."
"I do."
"You know what the best part is?"
"Hmm?"
"This time, we get to go home together."
"Then let's go."
The sports highlights were playing softly when they returned. Danny was sitting down on the couch, his feet on the coffee table, while Austin lay with her head in his lap. She was asleep, as was Colton, who was curled up on her chest.
"Hey guys," Danny greeted in a whisper, absently playing with Austin's hair.
"Hey."
"I told her that she could put him in the crib, but she refused. Then when I tried to move him she growled at me. Figured it was better to just leave 'em like that."
"Probably," Lindsay agreed as Austin started to wake up. "Hey Aust, can I have my kid?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Okay, but as your best friend I feel like I should warn you that he usually has a pretty good diaper about this time of night."
"You can have him."
They transferred him easily and he only woke up for a minute, grumping a little before he realized that it was his mama who had him. He smiled slightly and fell back to sleep against her chest.
"How'd it go?" Adam asked, setting his keys on the counter.
"We were kinda like the pilot episode of Full House but eventually we found our footing," Austin answered, sitting up. "He's still alive, so I would score that in our favor."
"I concur."
"We'd better go. I should get this one home before she starts singing Petula Clark."
"Daniel, shut up, it was just that one time."
"C'mon Graceless."
He helped her off the couch and they were out the door in a few minutes.
"I'm going to go put him to bed if you want to shut everything off out here," Lindsay said, moving towards Colton's bedroom. She left the overhead light off but flicked the nightlight on and kissed his cheek before settling him into the crib. He squirmed into a comfortable position and sighed, one arm coming up to rest over his head.
"Goodnight little boy. See you in a few hours."
She padded out of the room and shut the door halfway, meeting Adam in the hall. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him while he dropped a kiss to her hair.
"Thank you for tonight. It was perfect."
"Not over yet," he whispered, lifting her into his arms.
"Why Mr. Ross, I have no idea what you might have in mind," she giggled as he crossed the threshold into their bedroom. He grinned and laid her gently against the pillows, moving a strand of hair back from her face before he kissed her.
"No idea?" he asked, as his hand smoothed over her stomach and his lips found her neck. She reached over and turned off the bedside lamp and toed her shoes off. "Does that mean you don't wanna find out?"
A deep throaty laugh met him when he kissed her again and they shut out the rest of the world.