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Betty tested the station door. It was unlocked and swung open. She cautiously peeked in and saw a box on the floor with an overcoat draped on it.
In Betty's office, Scott was frustrated. "Damn!" He wadded up the most recent attempt at a good-bye note and threw it in the garbage can. He looked at his watch. He had time for one more try, but he needed some more paper. He had just thrown away the last page of Betty's notepad.
He looked around. On Betty's desk was a beautiful padded box with light blue forget-me-nots scattered on the lid. Scott knew it held Betty's personal stationery. He opened the lid intending to borrow a piece. He paused when he saw the carefully folded silk handkerchief lying on top of the scented paper.
Scott thought back 5 years or so to the strange little shop in Hong Kong from which he had purchased it. It caught his eye because of the monogrammed initials – SRS. It seemed, to Scott, to be waiting for him. He remembered how, when he had tried to leave with his purchase, the wizened old shopkeeper had blocked the door and pointed a boney finger at him and said, "This, that you purchase today, holds the desire of your heart." Scott laughed it off at the time as the ramblings of a senile old man and hadn't even thought of it again until recently.
Betty quietly entered the station. As she turned the corner she saw the light from her office spilling into the dark hall. She was finding it very hard to breathe normally as she walked toward her office. When she reached her door, she peeked in. She closed her eyes for a moment in complete and utter relief. Scott was standing at her desk concentrating on something. She quietly entered the room.
Scott gently touched the carefully folded silk. The last time he saw the handkerchief, it was in Betty's trash can.
"Scott." Betty quietly interrupted his thoughts.
Scott turned and caught his breath at the sight of her. For a moment, time seemed to stand still. The room grew quiet except for the ticking of a clock somewhere.
Betty's genuine relief at seeing him standing in front of her overcame her shyness. Her shaky legs quickly covered the distance between them. "Scott, I'm so glad I found you!"
Scott was immediately concerned when he saw her eyes brimming with tears. He cradled his hands under her chin and searched her face. "Betty, what's wrong? Did something happen? Is it your parents?"
She closed her eyes at the tender feel of his hands on her face. Two tears slipped down her cheeks. "No, there's nothing wrong. Not now."
Scott let her enigmatic answer hang in the air unexplained. He sensed it wasn't the time to press. He reached behind him for the silk handkerchief and as he gently wiped away her tears, he asked, "Betty, what are you doing back in Pittsburgh so soon?"
Betty answered truthfully. "There was something very important I had to come back and take care of."
Scott, assuming it was something to do with the station, nodded in understanding. He began to carefully fold the handkerchief. Betty noticed the thoughtful look on his face. "What is it, Scott?"
He looked at her a moment then back at the handkerchief. "Oh, I was just wondering..I...thought you threw this away?" He tried to hide it, but the hurt was apparent in his voice and eyes.
When Betty realized he must have seen it in her trash can, she was heartsick and wondered if this was why he had been so distant lately. "You mean you saw it in my...? No, Scott, you have to believe me, I don't know how it got in my trash can. I was so relieved that I found it before..." She finished in a rush. "I would never throw it away." Her eyes pleaded with him to understand.
Scott, still studying the handkerchief, cleared his throat and nodded. "I see."
She took the handkerchief from Scott and examined it with a half-smile. "In fact, I've cried into it so much lately I'm surprised it doesn't have holes worn in it."
Scott frowned at the thought of anything making Betty sad. Something occurred to him. "Betty, has Victor done something to hurt you? If..." He stopped in mid-sentence when she gave him a look of exasperation then turned and stormed to the other side of the room.
She kept her back to him for several moments. When she finally turned and looked at him, her jaw was set and there was a fire in her eyes. "Scott Sherwood, for a smart man, you certainly can be dense. I'm trying to tell you..." She tried again. "For weeks now, I've been trying my best to show you that..."
Puzzled, Scott shook his head. "That what?"
Betty became very still. She looked down at her hands for several moments. A waiting hush fell on the room. "That..." A sigh escaped her lips. "That I don't want to be friends with you." She looked up into his eyes and somewhere inside found the courage to whisper, "It's just not enough anymore." She walked over to him, reached up and gently kissed his lips. "Am I making myself perfectly clear now?"
It took Scott a couple of heartbeats for it all to sink in. Many puzzling things that Betty had said and done in the last several weeks began to make sense. Scott felt as if a dark weight was being lifted from his heart. A bit of the old Sherwood twinkle began to form in his eyes and he said with a laugh, "Why, Miss Roberts, I'm shocked."
"Arrrrghhh!" Betty shoved him on the chest and turned to walk away. "Scott Sherwood, you are the most self centered, smug, exasperating man I have ever..."
Scott caught her before she could go too far, gently turned her around, brought her back to him and kissed her. The warmth of his lips completely melted Betty's anger. She kissed him back with a longing she had never felt before. Months of frustration and misunderstanding evaporated in the intense, then gently tender kiss. When their lips finally parted Betty finished her sentence in a daze, "...loved."
Scott Sherwood, the man who could talk Eskimos into buying ice cubes, was at a loss for words.
Betty caught his face in both her hands. "Do you understand now what I'm saying, Scott? I love you, I love you, I love you. Betty Roberts loves Scott Sherwood, and has for a very long time." Something in the look in his eyes frightened and thrilled her at the same time. She buried her face in his neck and felt his strong, loving arms envelop her. "Please don't ever let me go."
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Scott and Betty were blissfully unaware of how long they stood holding each other. Betty decided right then and there that she loved being in Scott's arms and that it was something she wanted to do a lot. She loved how his strong arms cradled her. She loved the sound of his strong, steady heartbeat under her ear. She loved being able to touch him. She ran her hand across his chest... "Scott?"
"Hmm?"
"What's in your coat pocket?"
Scott leaned down and slowly kissed her lips. "Shh! Don't bother me, Betty. I'm busy."
Betty could feel her face flushing as his kiss moved to her cheek, then to the sensitive spot under her ear. His warm breath on her neck made her knees weak. It was all she could do to concentrate on her plan of action. She slowly slid her hand inside his jacket until it reached it's destination, then quick as a flash she grabbed the contents of his pocket. "A-ha! Got it!" She proudly walked away, holding the prize.
"Hey! Betty! You tricked me! Unfair tactics!"
She grinned at him over her shoulder. "I learned from a master. Besides, all's fair in love and war, you know." She examined what was in her hand for the first time. Her smile disappeared and she caught her breath at how close she had really come to losing Scott. She turned around and searched his face. "A one way ticket to Tahiti? You were really leaving and never coming back, weren't you?"
Scott put his hands in his pockets and nodded, then watched in surprise as the woman he loved ran out the door and down the hall.
Betty's Journey of Discovery Series
Go to Betty's Journey of Discovery#23 - Flames!
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