Hopes & Dreams
Monday
Rita and Norman's wedding week was finally here! In less than 6 days they'd be Mr. and Mrs. Dorman. The entire main branch was buzzing with excitement for them. No one was more excited than Shane! She remembered back to when she first joined the team over 4 years ago. Within the first half hour of her arrival in the DLO, she saw some of the depth of Rita's feelings for Norman and how much her now sweet friend struggled with them. Unfortunately, Norman couldn't recognise love even when it was staring him in the face right under his nose, albeit hiding behind eyeglasses. Rita and Norman's love for each other was a living testament to the resiliency of pure & true love. They had struggled with lack of confidence and an unreal amount of shyness, especially Norman. However, in the end, their love had been too strong to be defeated by the barriers they put there themselves. Love won!
Shane looked at Oliver, who was lost in concentration at his desk. He was peering through a magnifying glass, attempting to decipher an address almost completely erased by water damage. She just loved watching him in his element. He sensed her stare and lifted his eyes to her. Their gaze held. They smiled at each other. Oliver got up and walked to her desk. "Ms. McInerney, can I do anything to help you?" He spoke very quietly, looking at her with a half smile. "Unless you let me kiss you right here, Mr. O'Toole, no, I don't think you can." She said returning the smile. They had become experts at flirting in the office unnoticed, or so they thought. The reality was quite the opposite, as they couldn't be more obvious if they tried. Rita and Norman often smiled at each other watching their attempts at subterfuge. They were just too cute. Rita and Norman had seen Oliver's suffering firsthand when Holly abandoned him. In their opinion, if Shane made him happy, they couldn't care less about how they looked at each other or flirted, regardless of where they did it.
Shane was trying to understand the aloofness she felt from Oliver over the last few days. It must be the wedding that was throwing him off-kilter. He had been almost rude to her, which was very unlike him. She actually called Joe to set up some time to hopefully talk with him about Oliver. Joe went to her house over the weekend under the pretext of helping her trim her hedge, which he gladly did for her while he was there. After he was finished, they sat together, Joe with a beer and her with a kombucha smoothie. They had a good visit. "What's worrying you, honey?" Joe asked. "How do you know I'm worried?" she asked, with a forced smile. "Ahhh, you kids are funny. You have worry written all over your face. You're not your normal bubbly self. What has my son done this time?" She tried to hold back the tears but she was helpless to stop them, she also knew she didn't need to pretend with Joe as he cared about her. "Oh Joe, I don't know. I think he's having second thoughts about us… he seems… distant… and impatient." "Honey, trust me, he is as madly in love with you now as he was a year ago, if not more." "How do you know? Did he tell you that?" Joe smiled. "He doesn't have to. The way he looks at you when he thinks nobody is looking is very telling. He looks at you as if he's just seen his very first jag." He paused to see how she was receiving it and then continued. "Shane, please trust me. He's crazy about you."
"Why is he acting so distant then?"
"I think he might be at a crossroads and he's considering his options."
"What would those options be?" she asked, wiping away her tears.
"Well, you know. How he should proceed from here?"
"I could give him a few options, if he's feeling lost." Shane said, smiling. Joe laughed out loud. "As entertaining as that would be to watch, I don't think you should try to corner him. He might bolt." They both laughed. Joe grabbed her hand and said seriously, "Please don't worry. I think you're safe with him. It's just a matter of time. That's all."
"Oh, yes, that's the story of my life... wait for Oliver!" she said sarcastically.
Today, over a week later, he hadn't yet completely relaxed, but he seemed less tense. Whatever the reason was for his recent contemplation, he was obviously feeling a bit better. "Ms. McInerney, there will be no kissing in the workplace." He said, bringing her back from her pondering. However, he said this while looking at her lips. She smiled, batting her eyelashes and getting so close to him that she could almost touch his lips with hers. She asked, "Are you sure?" She just loved flirting with him in the office and watching him squirm. "Ms. McInerney, could you please focus?" He asked, trying to wipe the smile off his face and sound more boss-like. He was failing at both most miserably. "Okay, Mr. O'Toole, I'm all business now." She said, straightening her back. "Are you ready to come with me to deliver the package to Mr. and Mrs. Godson?"
"Yes, Mr O'Toole, I am."
"Ok, then, let's be on our way." He turned towards the other two POstables: "Rita, Norman, Ms. McInerney and I are headed to the mountains to make that very important and difficult delivery." Rita and Norman nodded. "Ok, be careful guys." Rita said. "Yes." Norman added. "The drive up the mountain is never easy, regardless of the weather." Oliver nodded his agreement and said he'd be very careful. They both left the DLO and headed for the parking lot.
It was a beautiful clear day, but crispy cold. They arrived at the mountain ranch just before 3 o'clock. Mr. and Mrs. Godson were expecting them and knew what the package contained. It was their late son's dog-tag, as well as photos, his wedding ring and other small personal items. Their son was killed in action just over 2 years ago. 3 months after his death, their grandson was born and the boy brought back some of the joy they lost with the loss of their son. Although deliveries like this were never easy, Oliver and Shane knew this would bring some comfort, as well as some sort of closure. Deliveries like this one made their work so much more relevant and rewarding.
On their way back down the mountain, the sun was setting behind them and casting the most glorious hues of colours over the skies to the east. The intense orange and red colours made it look as if the sky was on fire. Oliver decided this was simply too beautiful not to take a few minutes to admire it. He drove off the road and parked some 200 yards away, only a few feet from a vertical drop. The view was breathtaking. Shane was unusually quiet and poker-faced. Oliver took her hand and looking at her, he asked, confused, "Shane? Are you alright?" She blinked, as if she was coming out of a trance. "Oh… ummm… yes… I was just wondering."
"About what?" She looked uncomfortable. "Is this the place where you… errrr…. where you rescued her?" Oliver looked at her, still confused and noticed tears forming in her eyes. Then it dawned on him. "Oh." He looked around as if trying to decide. "Ah… ummm… it could be. I'm not sure." He started to turn on the ignition to leave that particular spot as he didn't want to upset Shane, but she grabbed his arm. "No. Don't!" He decided it was best to just address the issue head on. "Shane, my darling, why are you torturing yourself with thoughts about things that are no longer relevant?" Shane looked at him and the tears finally rolled down her face. "I don't know. It just occurred to me that you might be missing her and decided to stop here… at this significant spot."
"Missing her?" he repeated, as if trying to understand words uttered in some weird foreign language. Immediately, he unbuckled his seatbelt and reached out across her lap to unbuckle hers. He then released the lever sliding his seat all the way back until it touched the back seat. He then grabbed her and pulled her to him, reclining the seat all the way until he was almost lying flat, with her on top of him.
"Missing her?" he said it again incredulously, shaking his head at her. He ran his hands over her hair, pushing it back from her face, and gently wiping her tears with his thumbs. Then he looked at her mouth and claimed it. He started kissing her in a heated wave of passion that rolled over both of them crushing them with its weight. He was kissing her as if this was the last time and he would leave no stone unturned, playing deeply with her tongue like a synchronized ballet, taking his time, drawing her out slowly while his hands dug into her hair and messed it about. His kisses got more and more passionate as he released her mouth and moved to her neck, her throat, her chin, and back to her mouth again. She released his mouth and started kissing his earlobe, his neck, his strong jaw line both nipping and sucking at it seductively while she was sliding her way up his body. He moaned deeply. His mouth, with nothing to do now, travelled down to her collarbone and kept going lower until it reached the beautiful valley between her breasts. In a moment of peak height passion and utter madness, forgetting all sense, he grabbed her breasts. Shane sucked in her breath sharply. That sound was enough to snap Oliver out of the wild passionate haze he was in and pull him back from the dangerous path they were travelling almost blindly. Gently, but firmly, he pushed her away. "Shane! I'm so sorry… what am I doing?" He whispered, as if he was on the verge of tears. She quickly moved off him and sat back in the passenger seat. "Oliver, I'm sorry." He brought his seat back to the normal setting, leaned forward on the steering wheel with his forehead resting on his arms crossed over it and then looked at her with an expression of deep pain and regret. "You've done nothing wrong. It was all me." Shane smiled feebly, shaking her head, trying to stop herself from trembling all over and said, "No! It takes two to tango, Oliver. Don't fool yourself. I could have stopped it if I wanted to… but I didn't stop it because I dint want you to stop." She touched his face lovingly with the back of her hand and said, "Oliver, believe me, I'd have gone all the way and never had a single second of doubt or regret. Do you understand?" He nodded and smiled sadly at her, perplexed at how easy it would be to just give in to this heady feeling. "Yes, Ms. McInerney, I do. And no, I don't think you'd have regretted it." He smiled again and gently rubbed his knuckles against her soft face. "But I think I've more than answered your question regarding missing other people, have I not?" She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Was that what you were trying to do? Were you just trying to answer my question?" She kissed him again. "Yes, you have, Mr. O'Toole, most thoroughly!" Then biting her lower lip she said as if pondering on a difficult dilemma, "Ummm... I shall have to remember to ask you tricky questions more often." They both laughed.
"What am I going to do with you, Shane?"
"I have a few ideas, if you're interested." He shook his head and laughed. They both laughed knowing they had dodged a bullet just in the nick of time. They looked out to see the beautiful red sky had given way to the darkened evening. "Time to go." He said and turned on the jaguar, put it in reverse and carefully got them back on the road headed for home.
Saturday
The wedding was absolutely splendid. The bride was breathtaking, the groom was a picture of happiness and the guests were honoured to witness the union of such a sweet couple. Norman and Rita waved goodbye to their best friends and departed for their honeymoon. Shane got into the passenger seat of the jaguar and stifled a yawn. It had been a very long couple of days in a very long week. Oliver asked her if it was ok for them to stop at the DLO because he needed to grab something he had left behind there. Shane said it was fine. When they parked in the parking lot, she suggested she wait in the car for him. He said absolutely not. He wouldn't leave her sitting in a car in an empty parking lot at 1 AM. He offered his arm to her, she took it and they walked into the building together and headed for their office.
When they entered the office, there were lots of scented candles burning! The air was filled with a lovely coconut and macadamia scent and the office looked beautiful bathed in candlelight. "What's going on here?" Shane asked. Oliver took both her hands and said, "I wanted to do this in a place that has special meaning for both of us." "Do what?" Oliver released her hands, walked over to the record player and turned on the record he selected just for this occasion. The sounds of quiet and romantic music started filling the air. Oliver went to his desk, grabbed something from the top drawer, put it in his pocket, turned and walked back to her. He stood in front of her, reached for both her hands again and spoke, "Shane, you are the love of my life. You have waited patiently for me when most women would have given up long ago. You are my special and divine delivery, ordained by God! You brought me back to the land of the living. You complete me. You are my better half. I can't live without you and I can't live another day without asking you this question." He went down on one knee and looked lovingly into her now tear filled eyes. "Will you make me the happiest man alive and agree to marry me, to love me forever as I do you?" Shane took one hand from Oliver's grasp to cover a sob. When she recovered, she looked at him with all the love overflowing out of her very soul, "Yes! I will marry you, Oliver and love your forever..." She then nodded, unable to say another word. He stood up, took out the object he put in his pocket earlier and slipped the most exquisite vintage ring onto her finger. "This was my grandmother's. She was the finest woman I ever knew… until you, my Shane, my love." She looked lovingly at the ring and then at him. Immediately, she jumped into his arms. He caught her and held her tightly as he kissed her, again and again. They sat in the old couch completely overcome with love for each other and rested together with their heads touching side by side. "I love you, Oliver." She whispered in his ear as she snuggled tightly into his side. "I love you too, my Shane."
"Oliver?"
"Ummm…"
"I don't want a long engagement. I just want you, and frankly, I'm sick of waiting. I don't want to wait any longer than is necessary to organise our wedding." Oliver smiled brightly.
"Agreed! How long do we need? A couple of days? He chuckled.
"How about 12 weeks and not one day longer?"
"That sounds perfect, my darling. Beginning of May then?"
"Yes." She said firmly. "Beginning of May!"
They looked at each other and nodded happily. The countdown to the rest of their lives had just begun!
