Niles awoke the next morning, the room dark, curtains closed to any early morning light. He closed his eyes against the slight headache he had earned from the evening before as it all filtered into his mind. He knew exactly how the evening led to where he was now.
Maris.
The all to familiar double punch of betrayal and anger blossomed in his chest. Niles knew that running into her in public would happen eventually. Luckily, Niles wasn't alone. He didn't look like a hapless loser. Well, not as big a loser has he could have appeared.
Maris seemingly avoided them for the remainder of the night. Niles had wanted to leave when he first saw her from the corner of his eye; and really wanted to leave after that embarrassment of a conversation. But he stayed. Niles knew that anything he might have with Sabrina would have ended that night right then and there if he left. Or even if he indicated that he still harbored a small bit of resentment for how his marriage had ended.
After the incident, and the ensuring private conversation with Sabrina, Niles felt the shift in the dynamic in his and Sabrina's relationship. They were at the function as a team now. Sabrina would not be embarrassed, and she wouldn't back down. They went through the evening matching each other in drinks, and conversation. Each introduction they made, they dissected the conversation to their benefit, before moving on to their next target.
It was a powerful feeling, and Sabrina was good at the game. Niles had experienced some of this thrill when he was married to Maris; the back and forth of the verbal sparring, each side unrelenting until they walked away from the conversation with something that benefitted them. Maris never cared about playing the game - she was already ahead by miles due to the privilege of her birth. But Sabrina worked for her position in society as hard as Niles did. She was in for the kill. And it excited Niles in a way he hadn't felt for a while.
After, they caught a cab back to her place. Relaxing in her living room, another drink in hand and a charcuterie spread to make up for the lack of dinner, they spoke about past relationships.
Sabrina had never been married before, but was in a long term relationship. Eight years, and engaged for one before it ended. There had been some minor drama that resulted with the split, but that was swiftly dealt with. Sabrina felt cheated out of a marriage. Therefore, she was not wanting to waste further time with messy relationships.
Since that relationship, Sabrina had two brief affairs - both ending fairly quickly as they did not fit with Sabrina's life.
Niles told Sabrina about his relationship with Maris. Dated three years, married twelve. Maris cheated - claiming to have fallen in love with her new age life coach one summer. Niles knew it was probably inevitable - he and Maris had been living parallel lives for years and were all but roommates by that point - but it still hurt. Maris fell quickly out of love again, expecting Niles to forgive her dalliance and take her back, but the damage had been done on both sides.
He spoke of the efficient and brutal divorce. He mentioned his brief affair with Adelle Child after his divorce was finalized - something he didn't even want to disclose to Frasier. He mentioned briefly his depression, his want for change.
He did not mention Daphne. Or Persephone.
"So," Sabrina had been reclining on the couch. Shoes kicked off, her turquoise dress fell seductively up her leg which was draped over Niles' lap. She sat forward now, placing her wine glass down. "Do you still love your ex-wife?"
"No."
"Prove it to me."
Niles leaned forward, kissing her. His hand slipped up her thigh, under the turquoise dress as she straddled his lap. Sabrina tasted sweet, her lips warm. Her perfume was the same dusky scent that had enticed him over drinks on Monday.
He showed Sabrina that night that he didn't still love his ex-wife.
But he still didn't mention anything about the psychic girl who ran the tea room.
Niles' slight headache and dry mouth wanted him to get up and find a glass of water, maybe some aspirin, but the prospect of getting out of bed meant acknowledging the rest of the world beyond his own mind and body. So instead, Niles just laid in Sabrina's bed and wondered what time it was. He didn't want to confirm that it was late morning. The idea that he hadn't opened the store, nor given anyone any indication the store was closed lurked behind that. Joe would turn up, and Niles wasn't there. Joe might tell Daphne.
Then Daphne would know he didn't come home from his date last night.
Niles didn't have much time to ponder how he felt about that, when Sabrina rolled over, and snuggled up against him. "Morning. What time is it?"
"I don't know - I haven't checked yet." He rested his chin on her head, and reached over, feeling blindly for his watch on the side table. Finding it, he brought it around and held it up to his face, squinting in the low light. "Mmm... nine thirty-n... no, nine forty-three."
He put the watch back, before wrapping his arm around Sabrina. They laid like that for a few more moments as Niles' mind wandered back to the inescapable reality that Joe would tell Daphne he wasn't there this morning.
"Something on your mind?" It was a casual ask.
"Just thinking about work." It wasn't a complete lie.
Sabrina readjusted and rolled onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow and she gave Niles her attention. The sheet had slipped off her shoulder and fallen to her waist, leaving the top half of her body bare. "About a patient, or just in general?"
Oh, right. "Just in general. Nothing important."
She nodded and got up. "Breakfast? I'll order something in. You can freshen up in the bathroom down the hall, or wait until I'm done here." Sabrina disappeared into the attached bathroom.
Niles took the opportunity to freshen up down the hall. He slipped on a spare robe he found, deciding to wait until after breakfast before changing back into last night's tux.
They spoke lightly over breakfast. While there was no obligation for Niles to spend the day with her, Sabrina did hint at another dinner that evening that she would like for him to attend with her. Niles accepted. Why wouldn't he? He liked Sabrina's company.
He finally got back just before midday. He didn't bother opening the shop up, but Niles did have some flowers that needed delivering. He went through the store, selecting the flowers he needed, assembling the bouquets. A sort of calming tranquility fell over him as he did so. There was something relaxing - almost meditative - about flower arranging that set his mind at ease. A pleasing discovery when Niles first embarked on this madcap scheme.
Without the benefit of Joe's small van and delivery business, Niles - now wearing something casual (or, as casual as he ever got) - packed the flowers in the back of his Mercedes. He remembered attempting this a couple of times his first week open. After the third day, frustrated with driving around, knocking on doors, and just the general time dedicated to delivering floral arrangements, Niles had, after a glass of wine and a small tantrum with himself, dug through the internet for local delivery companies that he could contract the work out to. After a couple of enquiries, he had hired Joe. Since then, he hadn't had to make any deliveries.
Niles did not miss this part of the business.
It was nearly four by the time he returned and parked his car. His phone buzzed. Niles suspected Sabrina was messaging to confirm dinner tonight.
Instead, it was Daphne. She'd sent him a photo of several tea leaves, and what looked like lemons or peaches laying on a counter.
Trying some ice tea flavours for the summer 🌞
Niles smiled. Iced tea for summer was a good idea. Not that Seattle got particularly hot, but the novelty would draw people in.
He spent about 20 minutes thinking about the message, the photo, and his response before replying. Not wanting to seem too eager, but also relishing the almost tantalizing thought that those 20 minutes had Daphne anxiously waiting; nervously checking her phone to see if he had replied. It was a strange thought when the reality was more likely that she had put her phone down and just returned to what she had been doing before sending the message, but the idea that she was genuinely waiting for his response made him feel... real. A part of her life.
His response was simple.
Excellent idea. I can't wait to try them for you. ;)
The winking emoticon had been a last minute impulse. An attempt to appear nonchalant, but interested. A social cue taken from carefully watching the Seattle youth scene, and learning to adapt to social norms. Frasier had always been a bit better at blending in with the crowd and adapting to new situations. Something Niles always struggled with, feeling always just on the fringe - too needy to back away, but too timid to dive deeper.
Niles headed upstairs to get ready for his date. About 15 minutes later, when he had stepped out of the shower, he noticed a new message from Daphne.
Dinner with Sabrina that night was uneventful. There were two other couples, and a man who came stag. They were clients of Sabrina's, from her day job as a lawyer, when she wasn't running an art foundation.
Felicity and James Channing, Malcolm and Sarah McHardy, and Richard Deakin, were all wealthy - even if they had come into their wealth differently. The Channings were old money originally from the east coast, who relocated to Seattle nearly twenty years ago. The McHardys were of European descent, with ancestral wealth. Richard was new money, having successfully ridden the wave of tech startups of the 90s all along the west coast.
Sabrina, a successful financial lawyer and adviser, had been managing each of their portfolios for over a decade. As such, they frequently dined together and the six of them had become very well acquainted in that time.
"Not friends," Sabrina had reminded Niles before dinner. "Clients."
Niles knew what that meant. He and Maris had similar "acquaintances". People that they were more friendly with, but were kept at arm's length with anything personal. Anything that could be used against you. Niles briefly reflected that it seemed like he had only known people like that - including his now ex wife.
Afterwards, they had another dalliance, but Niles left soon after - a mutual agreement between both of them. He arrived home and lay in bed. Niles found himself wondering again whether he should take a day off each week. He'd been throwing himself into work as a way to distract himself from his thoughts for the last several months; seven days a week, barely stopping for Christmas.
Niles stared at Daphne's message again. He hadn't responded yet. Niles wasn't even sure how to respond. Was it flirting? Friendly? Mistakenly sent to him?
He had finally decided to respond in the morning, without addressing the last message; instead he would send a photo that he had taken earlier that week of an azalea tree in full bloom.
Niles sighed as he put his phone down and rolled over. Mondays. He would take Mondays off. Those were Daphne's days off too. They usually spent time together in his store Monday mornings, but maybe they could do something else together.
What that could be, he didn't know.
Sunday morning, Niles sent the picture of the azalea tree. He found himself glancing at his phone as he assembled flower arrangements, waiting for a response. His hands itched to check his phone several times, and he chastised himself for his eagerness.
His phone vibrated with a notification as he was finishing up his last bouquet, and it took all he had not to dash back and check it. When Niles did walk over and picked up his phone, he saw a message from Sabrina.
Thanks again for last night, I really enjoyed your company. Art opening Thursday night?
Niles sighed. He liked Sabrina, but this wild crush he had on Daphne excited him. He put his phone down, not yet ready to commit.
The weekend delivery driver arrived, and Niles handed over the bouquets, trying not to dwell on the fact Daphne had her own date last night as well. Sabrina had mentioned French cuisine for dinner last night, and for a panicked moment Niles worried it was going to be at Chez Henri. Instead they went to Papillion. A small boîte, popular with the art crowd as it was near Seattle Art Gallery. Niles had largely been able to put the thought of Daphne's date of his mind last night, but it kept wandering back.
His day ticked on, and he finally got a reply back from Daphne, around mid afternoon. No return of the potential flirting with emoticons from yesterday (if that was what it ever was), just a short, one word response.
Gorgeous!
Maybe the exclamation mark was added as an additional emphasis to hint at something more, but Niles was tired of trying to decipher hidden meaning behind every letter, punctuation, and symbol. Meaning that he was most likely trying to delude himself into existence.
Niles replied back to Sabrina.
Love to. Pick you up at 6:30?