This story contains very mild married themes.
Rating is back to T
###
Sweet Days…
After 3 amazing weeks in Europe, Shane and Oliver arrived back home. They now had one week left to adjust before going back to work.
Shane's first priority was to make Oliver's house look and feel more like 'their' home by placing some of her things strategically around the place. Anything that involved a hammer and nails, Oliver took on after getting her instructions. They laughed and flirted all day long and had several interruptions throughout the day. Every activity took them twice as long as they couldn't keep their hands off each other. Shane's art pieces were spread beautifully around the old classic house. They ended up being a perfect complement to Oliver's decor. Oliver was very pleased with how his house had all of a sudden become a home. It was now a sweet, warm and inviting place. Her cushions found new homes on the couch and chairs in the living room, chairs in her office and the loveseat and chairs in their bedroom. The only room she didn't touch was Oliver's office. She did notice he had spread several photos of the two of them all around the room. His desk and shelves were now filled with pictures from their honeymoon, as well as some from the wedding and happy times during their courtship. Shane just loved that everywhere she looked she could see their happy and smiling faces looking back at her.
In their bedroom, she loved that there were two walk in closets and hers was much larger than his. He was so kind and considerate to her. She knew he used the larger one for himself before she moved in. She had more than enough room for all her dresses and shoes. On the last Friday before returning to work, she decided to organise it. She had an enormous amount of clothes and it would probably take her the whole day.
She was halfway through it when Oliver came in. He lifted her up from her crouching position and nuzzled her neck, burying his face in it and taking a deep breath of her beautiful and intoxicating scent. He said, "I don't know why you need so many dresses, as I truly prefer you completely naked, you know?" He laughed, tugging on her blouse. She laughed and said, "But Mr. O'Toole, how would you feel if I went in to work au naturale?"
"Oh, no! That would definitely not do." They both laughed.
"If you could help me though, I'd finish in here a lot sooner and have time for other things." she said, biting her lower lip. He kissed her then and licked her lip to soothe it. "Ok, you have a deal, Mrs. O'Toole! Tell me what to do." She laughed at his sudden enthusiasm. She pointed to some boxes and suit carrier bags and said, "Please start with those, sweetheart. If you're unsure as to what to do with anything, I'm right here."
"Ok!" The first box was full of shoes. "For crying out loud, how many pairs of shoes does a woman need?" He whispered quietly to himself. After placing them carefully on the shelves specifically designed to hold them, he moved to the first one of the many suit carrier bags. He opened the zipper and gasped. He removed the item from the bag and held it in front of him. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It was a red ankle length backless chiffon dress decorated with sequins with a heavy drape. "Wow!" He said. Shane looked his way and saw him dangling the dress in front of him as he admired it. "I've never seen you in this little beauty." He said, looking at it and turning it to admire all the angles. She paled when she realised what dress he had in his hands. She said, "Yes, that's right, you never did."
"How come? It's glorious. I can only imagine you in it!" he said, fanning himself playfully.
"Well..." There was hesitation in her voice and Oliver looked at her, his curiosity piqued. She was not laughing. "It's the dress I bought all those years ago for our showcase. I never got the chance to wear it." Oliver's jaw dropped! All of a sudden his eyes filled with tears. He sat down heavily on the corner of the bed, looking at her while his tears finally rolled down his face. She walked to him and gently wiped his tears with her thumbs.
"It's all good, Oliver. Don't worry about it." she said, grabbing the dress from his hands and stuffing it back into the bag again. She took it to the very back of the closet, hung it up quickly and returned to him. She sat next to him. He was just sitting there with more tears rolling down his face. "Oliver? Sweetheart, forget about it. It's not important."
He never realised until this moment how Shane must have been impacted by his reckless decision to ask her to dance with him, only to abandon her on the day of the showcase. At the time, all he could think about was his own hurt. His own broken heart. His own pain and suffering. He never stopped to consider how his actions and thoughtlessness affected her that day. It hit him now like a ton of bricks that Shane had been deeply affected, and equally broken hearted. Why else would she have held on to this dress? He never realised back then she had invested her own heart as well as her money into that showcase, buying a dress she probably couldn't even afford. And then to have her heart, her efforts just thrown in her face, discarded! He realised at that moment the thing that was cutting him deep and raw back then was the very thing he did to her without the least consideration for her feelings. He covered his face with his hands and sobbed.
Shane was distraught as she watched him! She grabbed him, pushed him down on the bed and took him in her arms, hugging him tightly while his body shook. "Shhh… shhh…" She just held him and rocked him lovingly until he composed himself. Finally, his tears subsided. He stayed wrapped in her arms, not wanting to leave her loving embrace. How had she forgiven him so quickly? He didn't deserve her, he thought. He was quickly reverting to the old path of self loathing.
"Shane?" he said, still hugging her. "Please forgive me." His voice was breaking up again.
"Oliver, my darling, it took me a grand total of 5 minutes to forgive you. It's just a dress. It's nothing, it's not important." She pushed herself from his arms to look into his eyes.
"Oliver, please don't torture yourself. Please promise me you'll forget about it." He didn't say anything. He just looked at her lovingly and kissed her ever so gently.
"C'mon, let's get out of here for a bit. Let's go for a walk in the park." She said, getting up, grabbing him and pulling him up. He got up and followed her blindly. He didn't hear anything she was saying. He was consumed by regret, telling himself he had done a terrible thing.
They went out and got in the car. Shane drove them to the park, letting Oliver sit quietly and sort out his feelings. When they got there, Oliver did not hurry out of his seat to open her door. Instead he remained seated. Shane came around and opened his door for him, then extended her hand to help him out of the car. He was oblivious to anything happening around him. Once they started walking, she grabbed his arm and started talking about how beautiful the park was in early summer.
He didn't say anything to indicate he was even listening. Eventually they arrived at a picnic table and sat facing each other. It was the same table Shane had sat on after she quit the DLO for the first time all those years ago.
"Oliver, talk to me please." She grabbed his hands in front of her on the table. He looked at her with so much sorrow in his beautiful blue eyes it broke her heart.
"I wronged you, Shane. I cannot look back at those days now without feeling deep sadness, regret and shame. I put you in an impossible position, asking you to be my dance partner, then dropping you and lashing out at you in anger when all you were trying to do was help me. I was the most selfish and self righteous person I could have possibly been. I never considered you once. All I could think of was my own personal suffering without any thought to yours; all caused entirely by my own actions."
She never interrupted him. She allowed him to unburden himself, as his heart was clearly heavy.
He continued. "What difference would dancing with you at the showcase have made in the grand scheme of things? Would it have hurt us both anymore than we were already? The person I was trying to protect had already moved on. She was probably already in the arms of another man while I was cutting you into tiny pieces and feeding them to the dogs."
At that she just couldn't listen anymore, so she put her hand up and spoke. "Oliver, think about what you're saying and how it sounds. How absurd is this? You did no such thing. What difference would it have made if we danced together? Let me tell you what the difference would have been. This is not about Holly. This is about us! If we had gone through with the showcase, I guarantee you I would have ended up in your bed. What we had at that point wasn't love, Oliver, it was lust. Can't you see? We would have gone down the same road you took with Holly when you first met her. In this instance, the fallout would have been ten times worse because you were married! We would have had a splendid night of sex, but then what? Nothing good would have come of it. It would have ended most bitterly! Adultery never pays off, Oliver. We would have missed out on what we have now. What we have now is so precious, made even more precious because we did the right thing. YOU did the right thing! Can't you tell what you're feeling right now is the enemy of our souls trying to steal our joy? We've had the most wonderful month of marriage so far and he is trying to ruin it by inserting regret, disappointment, self loathing and even resentment into our relationship over something we cannot change now. Please don't let him." She paused and fixed her eyes on him. He was listening intently. She continued.
"Oliver, listen to me, please. I love you and I am deeply grateful for the choice you made back then. If you had left the decision up to me, I'd have jumped in your bed, eventually lost your friendship and any chance of a future with you would have gone out the window. Can you understand that?"
Oliver looked at her adoringly as if he was seeing her for the first time. "Oh, my Shane, how wise you are!" He brought her hands to his lips and placed a loving kiss on her knuckles. "Thank you for your words of wisdom and encouragement. I will strive to do better by you." She laughed and said, "That'd be impossible my darling, since you have already set the bar at an extreme height." Then she kissed his hand lovingly.
They walked back to the car in a much more pleasant mood. They stopped at an ice cream cart and bought a couple of gelatos to remind them of their time in Italy.
Shane finished up organising her closet by herself and Oliver suggested they go out for dinner. They went to Bistro Ramon and Ramon greeted them at the front door. The minute he saw them he welcomed them with open arms, giving Shane a lovely hug and Oliver a bear hug with kisses on both cheeks European style, making Oliver feel really uncomfortable. He joined them for a quick chat and then left them to enjoy their dinner in peace. When they left, Oliver made the effort to thank Ramon personally by giving him a bear hug of his own. Interestingly enough, he took a few seconds longer than Ramon had. When they separated, Ramon gave Oliver a wink. Shane was left wondering what that was all about.
Monday morning, all four POstables were back at work bright and early. Joe popped in about 11 o'clock for a quick debriefing, since he had covered for the newlyweds. Oliver was pleased to notice his dad had kept the place in excellent order. Rita and Norman were full of praise for his work. Joe laughed and said it was just like riding a bicycle. Once a postal worker, always a postal worker! They took an early lunch break to catch up with each other. They all had missed each other very much. When they returned to work, the afternoon dragged on seemingly forever. Oliver couldn't focus on his work, as he couldn't take his eyes off his wife for more than a minute. He became impatient with his team and decided to go for a short walk around the main branch to clear his head. Ramon came in to see Oliver and left an envelope for him on his desk. When Oliver returned, he seemed a little more settled. He opened the envelope from Ramon and smiled. His mood definitely improved after that.
5 o'clock finally arrived. Oliver was the first one out the door, almost pushing Shane through the door ahead of him. The moment he unlocked the door to their home and entered, he grabbed Shane. Scooping her up in his arms, he walked to the bedroom, tossed her unceremoniously onto the bed and literally landed on top of her. They were desperate for each other after not being able to touch each other all day! Their clothes went flying all over the room. They kissed as if they hadn't kissed for a month and made passionate love as if they'd been apart for a year.
"Shane, I love you so much, my darling." he said, as they lay beside each other afterwards. He continued with an expression of self mockery on his face.
"I don't know if working beside you the whole day and not being able to touch or kiss you is going to work for me."
She laughed and said, "I agree, this was a very tough first day. What are we going to do?"
"I have no idea." he said.
She then suggested with a provocative smile, "Maybe, we can work from home."
He laughed. "We wouldn't do much work, would we?" They both laughed at their predicament and got up to make dinner. Once they finished their steak with mashed potatoes, braised asparagus and mushroom sauce, Oliver presented her with the envelope Ramon dropped off that afternoon.
"Happy first month anniversary, my darling." He said.
She smiled happily at him and said, "I have something for you as well." She reached inside her bag that was hanging on the back of her chair, took out a square flat package and handed it to him.
"Happy first month anniversary, my Oliver." They looked lovingly at each other and opened their gifts. Oliver was very pleasantly surprised to see a vinyl record with three songs recorded: At Last, I Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You & And So It Goes. He was touched to the core since those three songs were the most important ones in their love story. "Thank you, my Shane." He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips.
Shane opened her envelope to find a gift certificate for 10 dance lessons and an invitation in 4 weeks' times for a showcase with the current class graduation. The tears rolled down on Shane's face. "Oh Oliver…" She couldn't say anything else. She got up, pulled him to his feet and threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Oliver."
"I believe I owe you a dance showcase, my love."
"Yes, you do." she said, sniffing back her tears. "The good news is I already have the perfect dress."
They cleared the table and cleaned the kitchen together. As they finished, they danced to Oliver's new vinyl, choosing "And So It Goes". Once they finished, she sat on his lap on the couch as they used to do when they were engaged and simply basked in each other's presence. It had been a most glorious first month… and they had an entire life ahead together to look forward to.
