DJ told Alexis he wanted to go with his grandmother, too. As they all got into Claire Meade's limo, Justin looked around inside, "Now this is what I call riding in style!"

"Justin, it's not like you haven't been in my car plenty of times before." Claire smiled at the young man she had gotten to know over the past few years, while he worked at Mode, first as Marc's assistant, then as hers.

She told Wilhelmina she couldn't have "Jason" Suarez because she needed him for herself. Besides, in spite of Claire's detente with Mrs. Owens, she still didn't trust that bitch entirely.

At least, not enough to let a sweet, but impressionable young man like Justin become Wilhelmina's right hand. Not to mention, she had promised Betty she would keep her nephew out of trouble, just in case Marc got too busy with his own career and love life.

He shrugged, "Yes, Claire. But believe me, when you've grown up in Queens like Aunt Betty and I have, this stuff never gets old."

Betty looked around, and nodded, "It is pretty fancy. But…"

Justin smiled, "My cool and important aunt in London has her own "fancy" limo she gets to ride in, right?"

She rolled her eyes, "Justin, you've been in MY car, too!"

He laughed, "Yeah, I know. But...like I said, it still never gets old."

Claire shook her head and placed her hand on Justin's shoulder, "You know very well, you're going to have a "fancy car" of your own one day very soon, Justin. You have that same amazing work ethic your aunt always had, even back at Mode. By the way, Betty, I feel like there's something you're not telling me. Something you think might help find Daniel?"

Betty thought for a minute, then leaned forward, not sure if she was wildly off-base in her idea. After all, it had been a long time since she had any contact with Daniel. Maybe she no longer understood how his mind worked like she once thought she did.

"I was thinking about what you said earlier. About how Daniel mentioned that Frost was from that place in Massachusetts, Lawrence? I looked it up, and it's about the same distance as Harvard from Northampton.

They're both east of Daniel's cabin. It's just further North than Cambridge. Do you think there's a chance he may have decided to head there, instead?"

Claire considered Betty's suggestion, "Let me call Patricia and see if he said anything recently to her about Frost's influence. Maybe he mentioned something that will help us."

After she got off the phone with Daniel's publisher, she nodded and smiled at the girl she had come to love like her own daughter over the years, "Well, Betty, I'd say it's a good thing I asked your nephew to see if you could come and help us look for Daniel. I think you may be onto something with your idea about him going to Lawrence before he went to Boston or Cambridge.

Patricia just told me that now that I mentioned it, she did remember him telling her that there was a festival in Frost's honor in Lawrence, as well as a walking tour of the poet. So, if we all agree, I think we should tell Frank to head towards Lawrence."

Justin had been looking through the file he and DJ found on Daniel's laptop on his tablet. He chimed in, "You are a genius, AB! Check this out! In his online notes, he quotes Frost, then talks about some other lady poet.

He read Daniel's notes, Frost himself said that "Literature begins with geography."
Poet Rhina Espaillat, who has translated Frost's poems into Spanish, said Frost was profoundly influenced, as a person and a writer, by what he learned in Lawrence.
He struggled with difficulties that students may face today, including a sense of being 'not good enough' for the young woman he hoped to make his wife,".

But he persevered and persisted, and won the heart of the love of his life, even though she turned down his proposal at first. If Frost could do it, so can I.

Justin turned to his aunt in surprise, "He proposed to you? And you turned him down? Are you nuts, AB?"

Claire, too, looked shocked at the possible implication of her son's words. Betty shook her head, "NO! He most definitely did NOT propose to me! I told you all before, yes, you know he came to London, he asked me to dinner.

But that's as far as things ever went with us! I promise you, I had no idea of any...feelings Daniel ever might have had for me other than as a friend."

Claire smiled, placing her hand on Betty's reassuringly, "I'm sure you didn't know dear. How could you? It's not like the boy admitted it to me for a very long time, either. Even though I was the one to call him out on it after he demonstrated such childish behavior when he first found out you were leaving.

He was always so afraid of doing something that would disappoint you. And for so long, he denied his own feelings. I think once he finally figured out himself just how much you really meant to him, he was afraid he would make things too difficult for you in your new job.

He didn't want you to feel like you had to continue to "take care of him" like you did at Mode. He told me many times that he felt he needed to prove himself more worthy of someone like you."

Betty was trying to keep it together. But from what his family all seemed to be saying, it sounded like Daniel really did have feelings for her. She should have seen it when he was in London. She just thought he missed her, but as a friend when he followed her there. And it's not like he ever really told her he felt more strongly than that!

DJ put his hand on hers, "He was afraid to let you know too much, Betty. He told me and my mother of his decision to go to London. But he said, once he got there, he realized that you had your how you say, 'hands full' far too much with your new job to have to worry about a love affair with him.

He kept making all these reasons, and excuses, and when mama finally called him out on all the delays he said he would rather keep your relationship as very special friends who simply faded away in one another's lives than to confess to you his desires to have something more and have you reject him and this way he would also lose your friendship. It would be as if it never existed and he couldn't take that.

After some time, when he continued to get caught up in his writing as a distraction and saw that you seemed to have 'moved on', having boyfriends and with your own career, he decided he had simply waited too long and his chance had passed. But I know...he never stopped loving you, wanting you." he looked at his grandmother, "Excuse-moi. This is okay to say, no? We are all adults. Sorry to be so frank, grandmere, but I feel the time has come and Betty needs to hear this.

My uncle shared much with me over the years of how much you meant to him, Betty. He and I have a wonderful bond. At first, he was my papa. Then, my as you say Justin, 'cool Uncle Daniel'. Just as you love your cool Aunt Betty, I cannot say how much I love Daniel. He is...the father I never had growing up with my first mama, Lucy, then my uncle, but also like an older brother to me as I've become an adult.

Did you never see his last letter from the editor in Mode, Betty?"

She shook her head, wiping her tears as she heard DJ declare his love for Daniel and Daniel's love for her, "No," she whispered, looking down, "I...couldn't read it. I was afraid he was still angry with me when he wrote it. I didn't want to know what he might have said. I figured it didn't matter since he came to London to apologize in person. Why?"

DJ, Claire, and Justin all exchanged glances, and Justin handed her his phone, hurriedly finding the document in his drive, "Here, I saved it years ago. I swore, I thought you had read it by now, AB. DJ's right, you've GOT to see it!"

She wiped her eyes as she looked at her nephew's phone, reading the words and shaking her head, then widening her eyes as she made the connection, "That idiot! Why the hell didn't he ever TELL me? Sorry! But...I swear, I had no idea he...felt this way! I'm so stupid! I know Daniel. I should have seen he was...scared. But of ME? Why didn't that…"

"Idiot?"

Betty was having a difficult time trying to figure out why she hadn't seen the signs of his change in "attitude" towards her. She should have known. She has always prided herself on how well she knew Daniel Meade's heart and mind.

But this time things were different because this time the object of his affection was...her. For a brief moment, that singular thought made her heart soar. If Daniel actually did LOVE her, that was amazing….but just as quickly as she rejoiced, she then immediately felt panic, feeling her throat tightening, as she wondered where he could be and how he was.

"I'll go speak to the po po about our latest theory, and use the no doubt illustrious bathroom facilities at this gas station and when I get back, we'll call our little team and see if any of them want to come to our side and head north."

"Please, Claire! Po po?" Justin and DJ laughed at Claire's attempt at sounding 'streetwise".

She shrugged, "What? Hey, remember, granny here has done hard time. That's a little "cooler" than being sent to the principal's office!"

"I'm getting out, too! I'm hungry!" DJ exclaimed, jumping out of the car.

"You're always hungry!" Justin declared, then turned back, "AB, are you coming, too?"

"Yes, in a minute, Justin. I'm just going to read a little of Daniel's book. I'll be right there. You go ahead." She held up his tablet.

He nodded in understanding and she leaned back sighing as she read the forward: To Betty: Perhaps you can edit this for me. Let me know what you think I need to change: "How to Mend a Broken Heart": The number one thing is to NOT quit your job and follow the object of your desires to another country. At least not without having the balls to actually declare your undying love to her (or him).

Number two: let's see, that would most likely once again involve having much bigger balls than I apparently have, and that is to NEVER let the end of what you had hoped would turn into a date pass by without kissing her (or him) at the end. And I don't mean some namby pamby little peck on the cheek, either. Man up and kiss her full on the lips, no holds barred, and let her know you mean it.

And third, and perhaps MOST importantly, if you do, as I have, inexorably fuck up said first "date" with the love of your life, whatever you do, do NOT let another day go by before running to her and pulling her into your arms, kissing her senseless (so she will match your witless state a bit more), and apologizing for being such a complete dolt not to have realized eons ago that you were madly, hopelessly in love with her.

Then again, you could always do what I did and play it "cool", act as if nothing had changed between you because you were too damn scared to hear her tell you what you already knew deep in your very soul, that you would never deserve her love, that you were a fool to hope for it, and that she could never return your feelings, not in a million years. Or at least six years. SIX FUCKING YEARS! I am without a doubt the biggest idiot on the planet. The only question now, is...did I wait too long? Is it too late?
Like her, my other inspiration, Robert Frost once said, 'Something we were withholding made us weak until we found it was ourselves."

CHAPTER ONE:
How do I possibly start this? I suppose I should have known she would crash her way into my heart when she first crashed into the glass door of the conference room back at Mode that day. Betty was always like a beautiful butterfly, and one by one, we were all inspired in our own ways and dazzled by her true beauty. She helped everyone at that place of worshipping what isn't real see not only the real beauty inside her, but what we were really lacking inside ourselves.

Betty was startled by a phone ringing. She picked it up off the seat, "Hello? This is Claire Meade's phone, Bet…"

"Betty? Is that really you?'