Deanna Preston
proudly placed the ‘open’ sign in the window and waited.
Waited to see
if her life was going to take a turn for the better.
Six months
ago, she made the decision to uproot herself and her little business,
‘Renaissance Antiques’ not just out of state, but out of the country.
Devestating news led to devestating surgery which led to the devestating end to
her marriage played a major part in her decision. At 30 years old, she realized that it was now or never to take a
chance.
With nothing
to tie her down and a will to succeed, she decided to take her business to
where she could enjoy the success it had in the States. For months, she investigated various places
outside the United States to see where an antique shop such as her own, which
specialized in old world style furnishings, would flourish. She knew that it had to be the heart of a
major city where traffic flow was heavy, else it would fail.
She had
narrowed her choices down to London and Dublin and enlisted the aid of overseas
realtors to scout out store fronts for rent at a reasonable price. When a realtor e-mailed her a picture of a
charming store front for rent in the heart of Dublin, which was considerably
cheaper than any of the London locations, she snapped it up immediately.
However, when
she finally got here, she found out that a very old antique dealer, Whytes, had
wound up relocating a block up from her.
If she had known this, she probably wouldn’t have taken the rent. Now she was stuck in a one year lease with
major competition from a long time, established shop just a stone’s throw from
her.
She tried not
to think about it as she circled her shop, proud of what she had accomplished
these last two months to prepare it to open.
Deep burgendy and green drapes, held back by gold, fringed tassles,
adorned the beautiful, beveled glass bay window, the best feature in the
store. It made it possible to make
beautiful display of her wares in the effort to pull in passers by.
She wanted her
shop to lend an air of professionalism, with a touch of hominess. She kept a fresh pot of coffee brewed, while
hot and cold spring water made tea and cold drinks available. A tray of sweets sat untouched upon a table
near the beverages, while a smaller table on another level was fitted and
decorated to entertain children of possible patrons.
She didn’t
want anyone to be discouraged from coming in with children, so she set up a
child-friendly area complete with games, toys, coloring books, crayons, puzzles
and such. Since the area was secured
off from the main area, but still within view, she was ensured that her
merchandise would not be harmed in anyway so the adults could shop
uninterrupted.
She made
herself a cup of coffee and allowed herself one small pastry before sitting
down at her computer behind her desk.
She flipped her light brown, honey streaked hair over her shoulder as
she continued to work on her press release.
In between, her amethyst colored eyes darted up whenever she caught
someone walking by, looking in before walking on. With each person that did that, her heart sunk.
She then
reasoned that it was her first day open.
Once her press release got out, as well as referring herself out to
other dealers in the area, she hoped that her business would flourish here as
it did in the States. Once that took
place, she knew that she was well on her way to having everything she always
wanted.
As she thought
that, her hand absentmindedly cupped her tummy as painful memories taunted her,
even as a single tear fell on her keyboard below. The softly playing classical music in the backround only added to
her meloncholiness.
“Not
everything,” she thought.
****************************************
Rick Savage
stood in his kitchen, a cup of tea in his hands, and stared out the bay window
overlooking the ocean. Completely
exhausted after another long night of writing at Joe’s, he needed more than caffeine to stay awake. However, the sound of two sets of sneakered
feet squeaking all over the house was more than enough to keep him awake.
He would’ve
been enjoying a nice long stay in bed this morning had not his ex-wife called
last minute saying that she would’nt be able to take the kids – again. Ever since she remarried several months ago
to a corporate jet setter with no patience for kids, Karen had been negligent
in taking their two sons during her scheduled visits.
Even as his
insides tightened over the lack of time she spent with their sons since her
marriage, he had to shake his head at the irony. Just as his Euphoria tour ended last summer, Karen had announced
to Sav that she didn’t want to go on like this. Following him all over the world, fighting off adoring female
fans or staying at home with the children while she waited for him wasn’t what she
wanted anymore.
As much as it
broke his heart, not to mention the hearts of 7 year old Alexander and 5 year
old Sean, there was nothing he could do to stop her. His only solace was that
they married in the States rather than Ireland, which made for a quicker
divorce.
And, what does
she up and do as soon as the ink was dried on the divorce papers? She meets and marries a guy who travels all
over the world for his job!
“Whats the
bloody difference?” Sav thought to himself.
Although they
worked out a visitation schedule with the boys, it seems that Karen was more
concerned with traveling on business with her new hubby more. This is the second time in a row that she
cancelled out on her visit, although she said she’d make it up by taking the
boys for a more extended stay “as soon as Jonathan returns from business in
the Orient” she promised.
Sav rolled his
eyes and stared into his teacup. He
hated leaving the boys in care of a nanny constantly while he was out. Although Joe had said that he could bring
them there, Sav knew that they wouldn’t be able to get any work done, wondering
if Nuala was chasing his boys around Joe’s art deco treasures!
They hadn’t
always been this rambunctious, only since the split had they started to
demonstrate a little waywardness and Sav knew that it would take time for them
to get accustomed to the change. He
also felt that they were letting off some anger over their mother’s reluctance
to see them. He only hoped that Karen
kept her promise the next time.
Just then, the
sound of something metal snapping off something wooden invaded his ears. As he went out to see what it was, he was
met halfway by Alex, who held up a drawer pull.
“Dad,
I……uh…..this was hanging off. I ran
into it and it snapped off all the way.”
Sav took the
metal drawer pull, from his antique roll top desk, from his son’s hand. The pull had been bent away from the backing
and he tried in vain to bend it back without ruining it, but to no avail.
He let out a
frustrated breath. “Alex, what were you
doing horsing around in the sitting room anyway?”
“Well, I……I
didn’t mean to be in there. Sean and I
aren’t supposed to be here today anyway.
We’re supposed to be with mum.
When is she coming to get us?”
Sav had
realized that he forgot to tell the boys that their mother called and
cancelled.
“Oh Alex. Lad, I’m sorry. I forgot to tell you. Mum
called late last night saying that she wouldn’t be able to make it. Your…..stepfather had to go on business and
she went with him. But, she promised to
spend extra long time with you when she returns.”
Alex looked
down at the floor with dejection. “No
she won’t. This is the second time she
did this. And….I don’t like Jonathan. And I don’t think he likes us. I feel like a bother.”
Sav put his
teacup down and bent down to be eye to eye with Alex. “Now lad, that’s not true.
Jonathan just has a very demanding job and his mind is elsewhere. Just make sure that when you’re there that
you give them no cause to make them think you’re a bother. You’re to behave yourself as well there as
you do here, regardless of how you feel about him.”
Alex made a
face at the floor. “Whatever.”
Just then,
five year old Sean came scampering in.
“When’s mum coming?”
Alex turned to
him. “Mum’s not coming! Again.”
Alex folded
his arms and huffed as little Sean looked bewildered. “W..what? But..but I
thought….”
Sav sternly
looked at Alex for his rude answer to his little brother, who still had trouble
understanding.
“Sean, mum
called last night. She won’t be able to
be here, but I’m here. All day and all
night. I won’t be going to Uncle Joe’s
today so its just the three of us.”
Alex forgot
about his little hissy fit. “Really?”
“Really?” Sean
mimicked his older brother.
Sav smiled as
the hopeful look on their faces erased the sting of Karen’s absence.
“Really! What do you lads want to do today?”
“Movies!” Alex
shouted.
“No,
playground,” Sean bounced back.
“Ugh, I don’t
want to go there. Um…pizza!”
“Yeah, pizza,”
Sean agreed.
“Okay, okay
slow down lads. Go and get your
jackets. Before we do anything, I’ll
bring this by the antique store to see if they can locate a replacement
somewhere. I don’t think this can be
saved.”
While the boys
ran off, Sav picked up the phone to call Whyte’s to find out their hours so he
could stop by to drop the drawer pull off.
After getting off the phone, he grabbed his car keys, wallet, cell phone
and cigarettes before heading out into the foyer to get his jacket from the
closet.
Alex and Sean
came bounding down the stairs, excited about spending the day with their
father. Just one look at their excited
faces told him that he had everything he could possibly want.
He then
thought about the empty space beside him in bed.
“Not
everything,” he thought.
2
After a rowdy
pizza lunch with the boys, Sav stopped down Molesworth Street to Whyte’s. When he got to the shop, he saw a sign in
the window that they were out to lunch.
“Damn, won’t
be back for an hour,” he muttered to himself.
He then took the boys by the hand.
“C’mon lads,
I’ll just come back here tomorrow,” he said as he turned to walk back to the
car. As he was about to open the door,
he looked down the street and saw a flag with the words ‘Antiques’ flying
outside a quaint little shop that e hadn’t seen it on the way down.
Sav looked at
the broken pull in his hand, shrugged his shoulders before taking the boy’s
hands again.
“I thought we
were going dad?” Alex whined.
“Hold on,” Sav
said. “There’s another antique store
down the street. Maybe they can help
me.”
Alex huffed as
Sean dragged his feet. Sav noticed
their exasperation and stopped to bend down before them.
“Listen, we
went and got pizza, just like you wanted.
Now daddy has something he has to do.
Remember, there are very expensive things in this store, so what are we
NOT going to do?”
“Run around or
touch anything,” Alex and Sean said in unison.
Sav winked at
them before standing up and heading over to the shop. He stopped to admire the lovely display in the beautiful beveled
window before opening the door. Sav was
hit with an immediate feeling of warmth and hospitality, so different from
Whyte’s who’s stiff, stuffy atmosphere catered to the elite.
Sav’s eyes
quickly glanced the surroundings and smiled.
“I wonder how long this place has been here?”
“Look! Sweets!”
Alex saw the
table of sweets and was about to run over, when Sav tightened the hold on his
hand, holding him back.
“What did I
say Alex?”
Alex frowned
as he kept his eye on the goodies.
In the back,
Deanna heard the tinkling of the bell above the door signaling a customer. She already had a few browsers today and
made a small sale and an important connection as well. She wondered what waited for her in the shop
this time.
She stood up
from where she was buffing out a scratch on a Queen Anne end table, smoothed
her fitted black pants and adjusted her soft, amethyst colored sweater which
matched her eyes and walked out front.
She saw a man
with blonde, softly curled hair and two little boys standing in the center of
the shop with their backs to her.
“May I help
you?”
“Yes, I…..”
Sav began to say as he turned around.
And then the possibility of forming any more words left his brain.
Standing
before him was a beautiful young woman with…with…..
“….dear God,”
he managed to think. “Her eyes! Are they……..?”
He quickly
regained his composure before he looked like a simpering fool.
“I’m…I’m
sorry, yes I was um….wondering if you could help me with this piece,” he said
holding up the metal pull.
Deanna gulped
and walked forward, all the while trying to compose herself in front of this
incredibly good looking man with a pair of eyes that put an aquamarine to
shame. She then glanced down at the two
little boys who’s similar eye color left no doubt that they were his sons. She also saw where their eyes were locked
on.
“Sir, if its
alright, your boys can have a sweet from the table.”
Her voice was
almost as sweet as the confections that covered the table. Sav nervously smiled at her and looked down
at his son’s who were salivating.
“Why thank
you, yes. Lads….just take ONE,
understand?”
“Okay,” they
both blurted out as they made a bee-line for the table.
“And take a
napkin lads,” Sav said after them.
“Remember your manner.”
“If you boys
would like, you can go up those small set of stairs. There’s some toys and games up there if you’d like to play.”
“Wow!” they
both exclaimed as they headed in that direction.
As Deanna
smiled with satisfaction over her clever idea, she turned back to meet those
spine melting blue eyes again and tried to remain calm and professional.
“Yes..sir…how
can I help you?”
“Do you
really want to know?” Sav lewdly thought to himself before pushing it from
his mind.
“Well, this
snapped off an antique roll top desk that I’ve had for years. It was already loose but, well, with two
young boys who were playing where they shouldn’t…… anyway, I was wondering if there was a way you could find a match
for it. It seems to be irrepairable.”
Deanna took
the pull and allowed the pads of her fingers to brush the top of his hand. Even the slightest contact was enough to
jolt her. But that was nothing compared
to what it did to Sav. The slight touch
only intensified what was already coursing through him from her lovely face,
hypnotic eyes and slender, curvy body.
“No problem,”
Deanna numbly said. “Let me see what I
can do. My inventory isn’t as vast
since I just opened today. By the way,
my name is Deanna.”
Sav took her
extended hand and shook it, thankful to feel her warm skin again.
“Nice to meet
you. I’m Rick. So, that’s why I haven’t seen you….I
mean…this store before.” Sav cursed his
stumbling speech. “I uh…also noticed
that you’re American.”
“Um, yes. I
had this shop in the States and decided to throw caution to the wind and try my
luck overseas. I’ve been spending the
last month of so preparing it for opening and I officially opened today. I’m still in the process of getting out my
press release and advertisements, so I don’t expect much activity. Just a few wanderers today. And…..now you.”
“Well, I
usually go to Whyte’s, but they’re closed for lunch right now. So…you are in luck.”
“Yes…..I am,”
Deanna softly said, before realizing what she said.
She quickly
excused herself to go over to her computer as Sav followed her, wondering if
she was experiencing the same attraction he was. He looked up to see that Alex and Sean rummaging through the
variety of toys and games and was glad for it.
“I must say
that a play area is the last thing anyone would expect to see in an antique
shop.”
“Well, I know
that I lot of people who shop with children are sometimes reluctant to come
into stores like this because they’re afraid that something might get
broken. I decided to make a
child-friendly area as not to discourage anyone, not to mention that a child’s
laughter is a wonderful sound.”
Sav looked
down at her left hand and didn’t see a wedding ring, but wondered anyway.
“Do you have
children of her own?”
Deannea froze
as she sat down in front of her computer, but quickly collected herself and
stiffly smiled up at him.
“No. No I don’t.”
She then got
online to simultaneously IM a few antique contacts to see if they had a
match. While she awaited an answer, she
took her digital camera and took a picture of the pull. She then pulled the diskette out, popped it
into her computer and e-mailed the picture to her contacts so they could get a
better idea. Sav was impressed.
“Wow, you’re
quite the computer genius,” he exclaimed.
The most I can do is turn it on and check my e-mail.”
“Well, I’m not
a programmer or anything,” she said. “I
just know the basic operations. I
invested in a good digital camera for times like this. Now…lets just see if one of them has an
answer.”
As soon as she
sent off the picture, she stood up.
“Um, why don’t you wait to see if one of them answers back and I’ll go
check on your boys.”
“Oh..no,
that’s okay. I’ll check on them,” Sav
retorted.
“Oh, I don’t
mind. Can I give them something to
drink?”
“Yes, that’ll
be fine.”
Deanna excused
herself and walked away. Sav allowed
his eyes to follow her perfect swaying bottom up the stairs until he couldn’t
take looking anymore.
“Crikey!”
As he waited
for an answer online, his eyes casually glanced up to the upper level at
Deanna. He saw her put a cup of water
in front of Sean who was sitting at the little table with paper and some
colored markers. Alex sat in a chair,
completely transfixed with playing Tetras on an old Gameboy.
As she bent
over to place the water on the table, Sav overheard her remark over Sean’s drawing. He saw Sean look up at her and smile and
Deanna rewarded him with a loving caress on his head. The move caused Sav’s heart to thump in his chest.
He never saw
anything more heartwarming than a woman’s loving touch with a child.
When she
finished tending to them, she came back down to join Sav at the computer.
“”Your sons
are darling,” she said. “Especially the
younger one. He’s got a precious
sparkle in his eye when he smiles.”
Sav smiled
himself, which displayed quite the same sparkle in his eye. “Thank you,” he proudly said. “They’re good lads. A little rowdy lately, but otherwise they’re
well behaved.”
Deanna studied
him without looking too obvious. “Um I
take it, from your accent, that you’re not Irish.”
“No, I’m
not. I’ve lived here for about ten
years. I was born and raised in
England. Sheffield to be exactly”
“I see. What made you move?”
“The Queen
demands too much tax, that’s what,” he jokingly said.
“Oooooh, are
you an evader?”
“No..no, nothing like that,” Sav
defended himself.
“Well, trust
me, you haven’t paid taxes till you lived in the States,” Deanna said.
“Oh, I’ve
heard,” Sav said rolling his eyes. “I
have three band…..I mean mates who live in California. I’ve heard the outrageous tax stories.”
Deanna was
just about to ask him what he did for a living when her Instant Message bell
went off on her computer. Not only did
one of her contacts have an answer, but they had a perfect match.”
“Well
Rick….seems you’re in luck today,” she said, using his words back at him.
Sav took his
fill of her amazing amethyst colored eyes eyes. “Yes. I guess I am,” he
huskily said.
Deanna felt
his voice go up her spine and thanked God she was holding onto the edge of the
table.
“Um….well,
hold on,” she said sitting down. “Let
me see if I can get them to ship it here.
Do you want it overnight?”
“Yeah, I’d
like you overnight….in my bed!”
Sav silently
cursed his foolish lustful thoughts again before he slipped up and said what he
really felt.
Um, yes,
please. That would be fine,”
Deanna typed
in the answer then stood back up.
“Okay, its all
done. It should arrive here tomorrow
afternoon. Um, do you want me to call
you when it comes in or do you just want to come by?”
“Well, I won’t
be able to come by tomorrow, but I will the day after. Do you have a card?”
“Yes, here you
go.”
Deanne handed
him her business card to which Sav held it like a piece of fine glass in his
hands. ‘Renaissance Antiques…Deanna
Preston – Antique Dealer’.
He looked up
at her and grinned. “Um, yes I’ll….I’ll
call you the day after tomorrow. How
much do I owe you?”
“Oh, well the
invoice will accompany the pull. If you
want, I can message back my contact and get an amount for you.”
“No, that
won’t be necessary.”
“Don’t you
want to know how much it’ll cost?”
“Doesn’t
matter,” Sav said. “Whatever the cost, its worth it. That roll top desk is one of my finest pieces.”
“So, you have
a lot of antiques?” she asked.
“Yes, I
do. A lot of the style you carry, as a
matter of fact. Old world charm.”
“Well, I know
you said that you frequent Whyte’s, but if you’re ever looking for something in
particular, I’d be glad to help you.”
Sav couldn’t
think of anything he’d like better than the chance to see her again.
“Trust me,
I’ll keep you in mind,” Sav said. “I’m
already impressed with your quick service and my lads don’t seem to be
complaining either. Speaking of
which…….Alex, Sean…c’mon. Time to
leave.”
“Aw,
dad….now?” Alex complained. “I’m so
into this game.”
“Lad, you have
that game at home and you know it.
C’mon, this is an antique shop, not a toy store.”
Alex
reluctantly put the game boy down as Sean capped his markers before taking his
creation with him.
Sav extended
his hand and shook hers. “Deanna, it
was a pleasure meeting you and thank you so much for your help. I’ll um…talk to you in a few days.”
“Yes, I’ll
uh..look forward to it.”
“Lads, thank
Deanna for the sweets and use of her toys.”
“Thank you,”
they both said in unison.
“Well, they’re
always here so if you and your dad are ever in the area again, stop in and say
hello, okay.”
“Okay,” Sean
charmingly said, before crooking his finger at her to bend down.
Deanna slowly
bent down. “Yes?”
Sean startled
her by throwing his arms around her and kissing her cheek.
Sav gasped. “Sean Brian Savage! Where’s your manners lad?”
“Oh, its
okay. I think he’s sweet. He’s a very affectionate boy.”
Sav took him
by the hand and led them both out, saying goodbye one last time. As the bell above the door sounded as they
left, Deanna stood in the center of the shop as she watched them walk past the
window.
She suddenly
wished the day would end and tomorrow would pass, just so she could see this
incredible man again!
3
The next day,
Sav dropped Alex off at school and Sean at kindergarten before heading over to
Joe’s. Phil had arrived the day before
to do some writing together, whereas Viv and Rick had been contributing via
computer technology before they could break away and come out as well.
Sav was
looking forward to seeing Phil, but not as much as he was looking forward to
seeing Deanna tomorrow. Ever since he
left her shop yesterday, those incredible violet colored never left his
brain.. But what warmed him was
watching her interact with his children.
And, with Karen being blasé about her responsibility to her sons, it
touched him more than ever. He knew how
important a mother’s love was to a child, for its something that a father just can’t duplicate. He knew how much Alex and Sean missed her,
and Sean showed how much he’d been starving for affection when he unabashedly
kissed
Deanna
yesterday.
In truth, he
couldn’t blame his son. He would’ve
loved to kiss her himself!
Sav let out a
long slow breath as he made his way to Joe’s as his thoughts warred with one
another.
“Mate, what are you thinking? Yeah, she’s beautiful, independent, warm and affectionate. But, hell, she also looks young too! What could she be 28, 29 while you just entered your fourth decade? What would a young, ambitious lass like that want with a forty year old man with two children and a job that takes him all over the world and away from home?”
Sav hadn’t
given into anything serious since he split with Karen, even after she got
married. He had a casual date or two
with a couple of women that Bobbi tried fixing him up with, but it was nothing
that he knew would work out long term.
Plus, he was tired of always wondering if women wanted him because of
his money. He didn’t want to waste his
time with flings that led nowhere. He
wanted someone who wanted him…..and his children. They were part of the long term package – no exceptions.
He wondered if
someone like that really existed and, if so, where the hell was she? The lonliness, especially at night, was
starting to sink in bad. Only once
since Karen left did he give in to a one night stand, if only to ease the
ache. But it only left the hole gaping.
He pulled up
in Joe’s driveway and went in. The
sight of Phil sitting at the kitchen table polishing off a bottled water caused
him to smile.
“Let me
guess…you just came from your run?”
Phil grinned
at him. “How’d ya guess? Was it the sight of me sucking on my water
bottle like a thirsty gerbil or the sweat running off my body?”
Joe wrinkled
his nose. “Speaking of which, how about
finding your way to the shower?”
Phil looked at
an imaginary watch on his wrist. “How
long till I go home?”
“How’d ya like
to go home in a body bag?”
Phil poked him
in the chest. “You may be taller than
me Joe, but I’m in much better shape.
I’d only make threats I can carry out if I were you!”
“How about if
I carry you out to the nearest dumpster?
It’ll probably smell a lot better than you do now.”
Phil threw his
hands up and looked at Sav. “Well,
there goes my self esteem. Let me go
make myself fresh and beautiful.”
Phil took off
and Joe turned to Sav who stood there with an amused look on his face. “What?”
“Nothing. Just happy to see you’re busting someone
elses chops besides mine.”
“Wait, the day
is young,” Joe warned. “You know I need
to get juiced up before I begin to write.”
Sav smirked
and walked over to the counter to grab a bagel. Joe sat back down and clasped his hands behind his head.
“So what did
you do yesterday since you had the whole day to yourself?”
Sav closed his
eyes in frustration over the reminder of Karen’s broken plans. “Well, I wasn’t exactly by myself. Karen called after I got home the night
before and cancelled out on the boys again.
Seems Jonathan had to take off to the Orient on business and,
like a doting , loyal wife, she had to go.”
Joe wiggled
his brows. “Ooooh, is that sarcasm I
hear? You don’t like this guy, do you?”
“Its not a
question of whether or not I like him.
I can’t hold the demands of his job against him. Its Karen I’m pissed at. She just can’t forget that she has two boys
who want to see their mum, so she can go jetting off with her new hubby all
over the world. I thought that
lifestyle was the reason she left me!
Which makes me wonder……..”
“What?”
“That I’m
the reason she left.”
Joe hated
seeing Sav like this, and now even more so filled with self-doubt since his
wife left.
“Sav, cut it
out! She never said it was you in
particular. I guess Jonathan’s business
travel is a whole lot different than a rock band’s touring. Its not as constant and Jonathan probably
doesn’t have hundreds of fans grabbing at him everywhere he goes.”
Sav allowed
him a small laugh over the logic in Joe’s words. “Yeah, maybe.”
“So what did
you and the boys do yesterday?”
“Went for
pizza, did some errands. Alex broke off
the drawer pull on my rolltop desk so I took it to……..to get repaired.”
Sav refrained
from sharing too much from yesterday.
He wanted to keep his meeting with Deanna to himself for a while,
especially since he didn’t know if anything would come of it. No sense in telling the biggest mouth in
Dublin that he possibly met someone, else he’d never hear the end of it.
“I heard that
Whyte’s moved,” Joe said.
“Um, yeah they
did, but they were closed for lunch. I uh….found this other little quaint shop
that found me an exact replica. They’re
overnighting it so I can get it tomorrow.”
“Wow, that was
lucky. This place have nice stuff?”
Sav
immediately saw Deanna’s face before him and allowed a smile to escape.
“Yeah. Real nice.”
Joe noticed
the erratic change in him. “You
alright?”
Sav snapped
out of it quickly. “Yeah, why?”
“Nothing. You just looked a little spacey.”
“Oh, I’m
just….you know…worried about the boys and the effect of not seeing their mum
regularly will have on them. Karen said
she’d make it up to them once she returns, but I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Joe’s eyes
sparkled. “Well, they already have a
stepdad who’s worthless. How’s about
getting them a step mother?”
Sav remembered
Deanna caressing little Sean’s head yesterday and smiled again. “That would be nice.”
“Sav, its not
like you to be without a woman for so long.
How about one of the Bobbi’s friends she set you up with? They were hot!”
“Yeah, hot for
my charge account! Plus, I don’t really
think they’re stepmother material. And
I’m not gonna be parading a different woman in and out of my bedroom every
weekend with two young boys in the house.
That’s not what I want, Joe.”
“Don’t worry
Sav. Someone will come along. Someone special who’ll love your lads as
much as you do.”
Sav stirred
his tea as an image of Deanna formed in his mind again. And, again, a smile formed on his face.
“Yeah,” he
drawled out.
Joe narrowed
his eyes at him. “You met someone
already, haven’t you?”
Sav shot his
eyes up at Joe. “What? No. I didn’t. I mean, when do I have
time? I’m either here or with my
sons. I have no life, let alone a
social one.”
Joe studied
him to see if he was lying, but couldn’t tell.
He was interrupted when Phil came back in. He stood in front of Joe and spun himself around.
“Do I meet
with your approval?”
“Ask me after
you get a few songs out, then I’ll let you know for sure.”
Phil crinkled
his face. “Slavedriver.”
4
The afternoon
saw the skies open up to a huge downpour which all but signaled a dead stop to
shopping in downtown Dublin.
Deanna looked
up from behind her computer to see sheets of rain pour off the front beveled
bay window. She’d only been open for a
few hours and things began to look bright when a discriminating looking woman
wandered in and purchased an antique framed mirror that she just ‘had to have’
on the spot.
However, the
nasty turn in the weather meant a slow afternoon and Deanna tried to look on
the bright side. She could finally
finish off her press release and advertisement, then could spend the rest of
the afternoon daydreaming about Rick, the handsome blue eyed man who entered
her life yesterday.
She felt like
a simpering little girl as she sat at her desk with her chin propped in the
palm of her hand as a goofy smile spread across her face. Hell, she should’nt even be thinking such
thoughts about someone who may not even be available.
Although she
didn’t notice a wedding ring, she was sure someone as goodlooking as him was
bound to have a girlfriend. He looked
to be several years older than her, but in a mature dashing way. He also had a shy demeanor that lent an air
of youthfulness to him as well.
She could tell
from his strong features and penetrating blue eyes that he must’ve been quite a
heartbreaker when he was younger. Hell,
he was doing a number on her heart now!
She then
thought of his two darling sons and how he interacted with them. He looked about to die when the youngest
one, Sean, kissed her. She still
blushed over the innocent sweetness of the young lad., not to mention that it
only emphasized the emptiness inside.
She wondered what his situation was, whether he was
divorced…..widowed….or what?
It also
occurred to her that she never got his last name. All she knew was that his name was Rick, that he was born in
England, lived in Ireland for the past ten years, and was a fond collector
of………”
“Wait!” she thought to herself. “When his little boy kissed me, he
scolded him by using his full name……Sean Brian Savage. That must be his last name - Savage!”
She continued
on working and daydreaming about this stranger named Rick Savage, even as
something faintly familiar penetrated the deep recesses of her mind.
**************************************************
Sav, Phil and
Joe sat around in the Garage, guitars in hand, pencil and notebooks scattered
about them as they worked in unison on a basic skeleton of a song.
Frustrated
with not being able to pick up the right chord, Phil leaned back and rubbed his
eyes.
“Its only been
an hour and already I’ve got a migrane.”
Joe looked at
his watch. “Lets give the guys a call
and see if we can get some feedback.
What do you say Sav?”
Sav sat on an
easy chair, an accoustic resting on his lap, tapping a pencil against his
chin. Joe would’ve guessed he was in
deep thought about the song, but a very suspicious grin on his face told him
otherwise.
He nudged Phil
to look in his direction.
“That good,
eh?” Phil asked.
Sav snapped
out of his trance. “What?”
“Your daydream,”
Joe mused. “Must be real good with that
smile on your face. Any good naughty
parts worth repeating?”
Sav closed his
eyes and shook his head. “I wasn’t
daydreaming. I was……thinking.”
“Oh, of
course,” Phil said. “I have thoughts
like that allllll the time!”
“Stuff it,”
Sav murmured.
“Are you sure
you didn’t meet someone?” Joe said skeptically.
Sav was
careful not to let his voice give anything way. “Yes Joe,” he lied. “I’m
sure. Of course, you’d be the first to
know if I did.”
“Yeah, right,”
Phil added. “Takes a crow bar to pry
anything out of you.”
“Which is how
I prefer it.”
Joe perked
up. “So…..you are hiding
something!”
Sav rolled his
eyes. “If the two of you put half as
much energy into writing as you did into my lack of love life, this album
would’ve been done months ago.”
Phil stood
up. “Well, you two can argue this. As for me, I need some aspirin.”
“And I’m
hungry,” Joe stated as he stood up to follow Phil out. “Want something, Sav.”
“Yeah. Something, beautiful, affectionate and warm
with incredible violet eyes!”
“No
thanks. Just grab my cigarettes out of
my jacket on the way out.”
In the
kitchen, Phil downed two Excedrin Migrane tables while Joe grabbed a muffin
before shoving his hand in the pocket of Sav’s jacket. He pulled out his pack of Marlboro Menthols,
along with a business card.
“Hmm, whats
this…….Renaissance Antiques…Deanna………ah-ha!”
Phil pinched
his temples. “Joe, not so loud. Ah-ha what?”
Joe handed him
the card. “I think this is the reason
Savvy’s been in la-la land.”
“Deanna
Preston….antique dealer,” Phil read off the card.
“Sav went
there yesterday because Whyte’s was closed.
This must be the owner. He’s
been acting goofy since he got here, well, not his normal goofy self. I wonder if this lass is the reason.”
“Mate you
should’ve been a detective,” Phil said in awe.
“You don’t know for sure.”
“I’ve known
him since he was seventeen. Trust
me. I’ll bet my entire Mott the Hoople
collection that this woman knocked him on his ass yesterday. Hey…wanna do something sneaky?”
“Like what?”
“How’s about
going into the centere tomorrow and checking her out?”
Phil
registered this and grinned wickedly.
“Joe, that would be sneaky.”
“Well, it
doesn’t have to look that way. We could
do some shopping and just casually wander in to browse.”
“Joe, if he
finds out you did this……”
“Phil, I’m
free to go into any store I want. He
doesn’t know I saw this card.”
“Yeah, but you
in an antique store is like the pope at a Marilyn Manson concert.”
Joe’s eyes
glanced his art deco surroundings and had to agree. “Well, so what. Are you
with me or not?”
“Oh, why not,”
Phil said. “Coming here is my main
source of excitement!”
5
Deanna got to
the store the usual hour before it opened to prepare for the day. In one arm she balanced a box of fresh baked
goods and her briefcase in the other.
Putting her
stuff down, she shed her coat and smoothed her black knit wrap dress that just
grazed her above the knee. Her calf
length, black suede boots clicked across the wood plank floor as she checked
her appearance in a full length antique mirror.
Today was the
day that Rick was supposed to call and come by to pick up his drawer pull. Since she got out of bed this morning, she
was excited about seeing him and wanted to look extra special – just in case.
Feeling a bit
silly with her vain thoughts, she checked her lipstick and smoothed her hair
before making coffee and putting the sweets out. She then had a little bit of time left and decided to fiddle
around with the display.
She found two
two miniature chairs and a small table and set it up inside the bay window
seat. In the center of the table, she
placed a beautiful antique chess set which boasted exquisite hand-carved
pieces. She then went up to her stash
of decorating supplies and found some deep green satin material for the
backround and green and burgendy velvet pillows to toss on the side.
The then
completed the tableau by adorning the floor of the display with some
interesting animal statues that didn’t normally fit in with the French décor,
but she found them at an estate sale at a dirt cheap price that she couldn’t
pass them up. She immediately had them
appraised and found that they were worth a lot more than what she paid!
One was a
midnight black snarling panther with faux rubies for eyes and the other was an
enameled leopard on the prowl with faux emeralds for eyes. She didn’t know what it was about these
statues that made her buy them but she figured that if she did, someone else
might.
Somewhat happy
with her display, she placed her ‘open’ sign in the window then went about
rearranging some of the other displays.
An hour later,
her phone rang. And her heart
fluttered.
“Renaissance
Antiques”
‘Uh
yes….Deanna?”
“This is she.”
“Deanna hi,
this is Rick. I was there the day
before yesterday with the drawer pull.
I was wondering if it came in yesterday.”
Deanna’s heart
stopped. “Rick.
Yes, hi. Yes, it did arrive
yesterday. I have it here waiting for
you.”
“Please….please
come by today to pick it up,”
she murmured to herself.
“Brilliant,”
Sav said on the other end. “I uh…should
be by within the hour. Will you be
there?”
“All day!”
“Great. I’ll, see you then.”
“Okay, bye.”
Deanna hung up
the phone and tried her best to calm her nerves. She wondered if he was coming alone or with his sons. Should she play it cool, or should she be
bold and ask him to lunch? If she
didn’t make a move, would she ever see him again?
“Damn,
girl, knock it off!”
she scolded herself. “You’re like a
giddy little teenager wondering if the cute boy in class likes you.”
She took a
calming breath and focused on professionalism as she went about the next hour
on pins and needles.
*****************************
“Phil…here it
is,” Joe said as he pulled his car into a parking spot on the street.
They both
looked up at the sign. “Renaissance
Antiques. Nice name. Seems right up Sav’s alley as far as his
décor is concerned,” Phil stated.
“Yeah, well
right now I’m curious to see if this woman is up his alley. C’mon, lets get out.”
Before Phil
opened the car door he saw a black Porsche sail down the street past them and
park a little ways up from the shop.
“Crikey Joe,
don’t get out. Sav’s here!”
“What?”
“I just saw
his car go by and park up from the store.”
Joe scooted
down in his seat just in time to see Sav get out and go into the antique store.
“Why that
little devil!” Joe chuckled.
“Joe, he’s
probably here to pick up the drawer pull for his desk.”
“Hmm, I’m
curious to see if he’s picking up more than a drawer pull. Lets go.”
Joe got out of
the car and headed for the store. Phil
got out and sprinted after him. “Are
you crazy mate? What if he comes out
and sees us?”
“Then we’ll
just tell him that you and I went over to the music shop to check out some
guitars and just happened to be passing by.”
“Yeah, like
he’ll believe that.”
“He won’t have
a choice. C’mon, I’m dying to see this
woman.”
6
Sav took a
deep breath before he entered the Antique Shop. His eyes immediately scanned around until the sight of Deanna
standing on a little stool, reaching up to fix a display, hit him like a ton of
bricks. Her black knit dress hugged
every sweet curve of her slender body just as her suede boots encased her
shapely legs.
Deanna heard
the bell and turned. She almost lost
her balance as soon as she saw Rick, looking so relaxed and handsome in dark
blue jeans, white knit sweater and a hip length black leather jacket.
She grabbed
onto the edge of the shelf for balance as she stepped down off the stool.
“Rick, I
didn’t expect you so soon.”
Sav gathered
his wits while he tried to keep his eyes from roving all over her. “Oh….I’m sorry. I could come back later if you’re busy.”
‘No, no, I’m
not in busy. Just readjusting some
displays. I thought you’d be here in
about an hour, which is why I started this now. I’ll um…..let me get the pull for you.”
Deanne walked
to her desk, unaware that Sav’s well trained eyes focused on every graceful
move of her body. He watched her take a
package off the desk then turned to walk towards him. He had been dying to see her upclose ever since the other
day. If possible, she was even more
lovlier.”
“Here it is,”
she said, handing to him. “And…here’s
the old one. Perfect match, huh?”
Sav’s gaze
involuntarily fell to her breasts when she said that. “Yeah, perfect match.”
He then
realized what he was doing and looked up at her face – and into those
incredible amethyst eyes.
“Thanks again,
Deanna. I really appreciate it.”
Deanna’s heart
slammed in her chest as his smooth British accent and brilliant blue eyes
washed over her. “You’re very
welcome. Like I said the other day, if
there’s anything special you’re ever looking for, please feel free to call on
me.”
Sav liked the
sound of that very much. But, antiques
was not on his mind!
“I will,” Sav
replied. “ So um….how much do I owe
you?”
As Deanna
turned to go fetch the invoice off the desk, outside the beveled bay window,
Joe and Phil cautiously peered in. They
saw Sav standing in the middle of the shop holding a metal drawer pull, and a
woman in a black dress with her back to them.
As soon as she turned around to walk back to Sav, their mouths dropped.
Phil whistled
low. “Wow! She’s stunning!”
Joe had no
choice but to agree. “That she is. No wonder our little bass boy was in such a
rush to get back here to soon. She is a
sweet young thing.”
“Yeah, she
does look a bit young. Well, compared
to us that is,” Phil mused.
“Speak for yourself, you geez!” Joe
shot back.
“Think she knows who he is?”
“She’s got
to,” Joe said confidently. “ I mean,
even if she is younger, she has to know Def Leppard. Sav’s face is one that isn’t very forgettable, next to mine, of
course!”
Phil looked at
Joe and rolled his eyes before he noticed the display in the window. “Aye Joe….look.”
Joe then
noticed the leopard statue with the emerald eyes. “Wow, that’s nice! Real
nice. Guess she does carry some stuff
that’ll fit in my décor.”
Joe got a
wicked idea. “Hmmm, I wonder how much
it is?’ he said before heading towards the door.
Phil looked
incredulous. “Mate, you can’t go in
there!”
Joe put his
hand on his hip while the other one rested on the doorknob. “Why not?
I’m a possible paying customer.
The fact that you and I are here and he’s in there is just a
coincidence.”
“He’s not
gonna believe that,” Phil said. “He’s
gonna right strangle you.”
“I’ll take
that chance,” Joe said as he opened the door.
Phil quickly followed in.
Deanne looked
up to see who entered, causing Sav to turn around and look as well.
“Aye mate,”
Joe casually said to Sav. “Small
world.”
7
Sav felt the
blood drain from his face when he saw his two bandmates standing there,
grinning like idiots. The only thing
that snapped him out of it was Deanna’s voice.
“Can I help
you gentlemen?”
Joe and Phil
shot each other a quick glance, acknowledging that this woman didn’t know who
they were.
“Well, yes you
can,” Joe spoke up first, ignoring the dangerous daggers that Sav was shooting
him. “My mate and I were passing by and
saw your lovely display, more specifically the leopard statue in the
window.”
Joe emphasized
the word ‘leopard’ to see if any recognition shone in her face. It did, however, cause Sav to squeeze his
eyes shut at Joe’s little ploy.
“Oh, would you
like to see the statue up close?” Deanna asked.
“Yes I would,”
Joe said confidently.
“Okay, first
let me finish up here. I uh, take it
you know them, Rick?”
Sav turned to
face Deanna, trying not to let his face give away his displeasure at seeing Joe
and Phil pop in here.
“Does he
ever!” Phil answered for Sav with a sparkle in his eye.
Sav turned back to Phil and narrowed
his eyes at him.
“We’ve known each other for a long
time, right Rick?” Joe mused.
Sav was at
least thankful that Joe caught on and used his first name. Even if Deanna hadn’t figured out who he
was, he didn’t want anything giving it away until he was ready to tell her.
“Yeah, almost
too long,” Sav said, trying to find some amusement in this.
Deanna
couldn’t help but smile over the jesting behavior of the two blonde haired men
that just walked in. It was apparent
they were friends as well as English themselves.
“Well, Rick
here’s the invoice for the pull. Do you
have any questions?”
Sav turned
back to Deanna, pleased to be looking upon her face instead of his two moron
friends. “Um, no…everything’s fine,” he
said, pulling out a few pound notes and handing them to Deanna.
Deanna took
them from him and walked over to the register to cash him out. As soon as she was out of earshot, Sav
turned back to his mates.
“Let me
guess….you’re surprised to see me in here?” Joe whispered.
“Trust me, you
don’t want to know what I’m thinking about you right now!” Sav whispered
back. “What have you resorted to? Following me?”
Joe look
appalled. “I’m insulted!”
“You’re a
twit!” Sav shot back, before looking to
Phil.
“Don’t look at
me,” Phil said throwing his hands up.
“While I’m staying at his house, I’m basically at his mercy. He dragged me out here today. We went to the music shop, then stopped by
here.”
“That’s
right,” Joe said, trying to make it look sincere. “And, I saw that awesome statue in the window that, of course, I
must have.”
“Well, I’m
glad to hear that,” Deanna said. All
three men looked at her when they heard her come up from behind.
Joe poured on
the charm. “Well, I have a very special
fondness for uh…leopards.”
Deanna looked
at him a bit warily, then looked to Phil who was grinning profuseley. She then looked at Sav and was puzzled that
he didn’t share the same enthusiasm as his friend. Something was up with these three. Probably some long standing joke between them.
“Well, let me
get it out of the window for you so you can take a closer look at it.”
Deanna walked
over to the display and bent over to retrieve the statue. When she did, Joe and Phil’s eyebrows went
up at her provocative pose, which gave them a lovely view of her bum. Sav saw it and quietly cleared his throat.
Joe turned to
his fuming mate and grinned. “You were
right Sav,” he said in a low voice.
“This place does have nice stuff!”
“You are so
bloody dead, Joe!” Sav threatened in an even lower voice.
“Yeah, sure,”
Joe said, unaffected. “Remember, I’m
the king cat. I’ve got nine lives.”
“Shhh,” Phil
said when Deanna walked back over.
“Here you
go…..I’m sorry sir, what’s your name?”
“Its Joe,” he
said before motioning to Phil. “And
this is Phil.”
“Nice to meet
you both. I’m Deanna. I’m guessing from your accents that you were
friends back in England.”
Joe’s face lit
up. “Very astute, luv. You’re correct. And from your accent I take it that you’re American.”
“Yes, I
am. I’m from Pennslvania. Tell me, did you follow each other to
Ireland.”
“Well, I don’t
live here Deanna,” Phil said. “I’m
here……visiting. I live in California.”
Recognition
came over Deanna as she looked to Sav.
“Oh, was he one of your ‘mates’ you were referring to the other day who
lives in California, Rick?”
Phil put his
hands on his hips and looked at Sav.
“Oh, discussing me behind my back, Rick?”
Sav gave Phil
a sneer before looking at Deanna. “Yes,
he’s one of them. And,” he turned back to Phil, “its not what you think. Deanna made mention of the high taxes in the
States and I told her how I heard stories from you and……the other guys.”
Phil looked
past Sav to Deanna. “By ‘other guys’ he
means Rick and Viv…our other two……’mates’ who live in California as
well.”
Deanna smiled
as she swept a glance over the three of them.
“How do you keep the confusion down with two ‘Ricks’?”
“Well….” Joe
started to say, before he caught Sav glaring at him. Joe went along with him not wanting Deanna to know anything
yet. In a way, he couldn’t blame him.
“Well,” Joe
started again, “we all have little pet names that we use when we’re together. Had them since we knew each other.”
“Really? How long has that been?”
“Well, I’ve
known Sa……Rick here since we were tender teens and Phil since my early
twenties. So, its been quite a long
time.”
“Oh, you
gentlemen don’t look that old.”
Phil feigned a
blush. “Aw, shucks thanks luv. Believe
it or not, I’m the oldest. Bet you
couldn’t tell, huh?”
Sav was
starting to lose his patience over their pestering flirting on his time. “Well, living in California Phil, you have
access to all those wonderful plastic surgeons,” Sav sarcastically jested.
That remark
earned him a heartwarming laugh from Deanna and a glare from Phil.
“Plastic
surgeons my arse! I am 100%
natural. And…I DO mean natural. I’m a strict vegetarian, don’t smoke, don’t
drink and I work out faithfully. Unlike
these two chicken eating, cigarette smoking, ale swilling blokes!”
“All that, and
I still look pretty damn good,” Joe stated.
“Considering, I’m only a year
younger than you.”
Deanna looked
to Sav. “So I take it you’re the youngest
of the three?”
Joe clapped
him on the back. “Yep, he’s the baby
here.”
Sav was
mentally thinking of out of the way places to dump Joe’s body once he killed
him.
“Um
Joe….you’ve been holding that precious statue in your hands all this time. How about taking a look at it? That is the reason you came in,
right?”
“Oh…yeah…right,”
Joe stammered and looked over the leopard statue, before whistling low.
“Wow Deanna,
this is a gorgeous piece. Are those
real emeralds?”
“No, they’re
fakes. I had it appraised when I
discovered it at an estate sale. Should
you want it, I’ll give the appraisal as well.”
“Well, there’s
no question that I want it. The answer
is yes,” he said handing it back to her.
Deanna looked
at him a bit questioningly. “Do….do you
want to know the price?”
“Not really,”
Joe mused. “It doesn’t look overly
expensive, so whatever it is, I’ll pay.”
Deanna was a
bit puzzled. First Sav didn’t care
about how much the drawer pull cost and now Joe was buying this statue without
knowing its cost either. We’re these
men rich or something?
“Oh…well,
okay. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go
in the back room to get a suitable box and wrapping for it. Be right back.”
“We’ll be
here,” Phil sang out.
Deanna gave
them a smile before going in the back.
She instantly picked up on their joking comraderie and was warmed by it,
however something was familiar that she couldn’t put her finger on.
Back out
front, Sav finally turned on his friends.
“Alright, what’s this nonsense about you ‘perusing the centre’ and just
happen to be passing by?”
“Sav, you’re
way too suspicious,” Joe smirked.
“And you’re a
way poor liar!”
“What are you
all bent out of shape for? Did Phil and
I……intrude on anything?”
Sav closed his
eyes, shook his head and blew out a breath.
“I’ll take
that as a yes,” Joe stated. “Fine, I’ll
fess up. I saw her card in your pocket when I got your cigarettes
yesterday. I saw the name, remembered
how you were all goofy, and put two and two together. Figured that you took a liking to her. So…Phil and I just happened to be…….”
“…….just
happened?” Sav questioned.
“Alright, we
planned it. We wanted to come by the
shop to check her out.”
Sav covered
his face with his hands. “I can’t
believe you! Can’t you just leave me
alone and find your own fun?”
“This is my only
source of fun,” Phil added. “You two
are all the drama I need in my life.
So…..you like her, Sav?”
“Phil, I
hardly know her. I just met her the
other day. And she hasn’t a clue as to
who I am and I’d like to keep it that way until I get to know her better. I
didn’t have much of a chance to talk to her since I had the boys with me.”
“You brought
your lads in here?” Phil asked. “Did
she have to bolt everything down or what?”
Sav gave Phil
a look. “No, Phil she didn’t. And, you know the boys have only been like
that since….since the divorce. Anyway,
she keeps a little play area upstairs for customers with children. Nice little touch, don’t you think?”
Joe
smirked. “Oooh, a soft spot for
children, I see? That’s a good
start. Plus she’s young enough to want
to have some of her own. Think you’re
up to the task, old man?”
Sav pinched
Joe’s arm just as Deanna came back with a box and several sheets of
tissue.
“Let me wrap
that up nice and secure for you,” she said from the front desk.
Joe whispered
to Sav. “I gotta admit mate. She is one sweet thing. I’ve never seen eyes that color. No wonder you’re all twisted in knots.”
“I am not…….!”
Sav cut off
before he let his emotions give himself away.
It was bad enough that Joe and Phil knew too much before he had a chance
to talk more to Deanna, let alone ask her out.
Joe grinned at
his mate, figuring he did enough damage today, before walking over to Deanna
and handing her his credit card. He
wondered if his last name would ring a bell with her.
She took the
card, and cashed him out. After Joe
signed the charge slip, Deanna gave him back his copy without even looking at
the signature. She stuck it in the
drawer of the register and handed the boxed up statue to Joe.
“I hope you
enjoy it, Joe. And…thank you very
much.”
“Pleasure was
mine, Deanna,” Joe said with flirting green eyes as he took the box.
Deanna blushed
a bit as she walked with them towards the door.
“C’mon Phil,
lets go get some lunch,” Joe said before turning to Sav.
“Um….want to
join us, Rick?”
Sav looked at
them with one last warning glare. They
knew that he wanted to stay and talk to Deanna now that they were leaving, but
couldn’t resist one last jab.
“No, I won’t
be joining you.”
“Where ya off
to now?” Phil couldn’t help but ask.
“Why don’t you
wait until I leave so you can follow me,” Sav said sarcastically.
“Okay,” Phil
said, staying his ground. Joe followed
suit as well.
Sav knew that
they weren’t gonna leave so he could talk to Deanna. They were busting his chops big time and now he had it. He didn’t want to make a scene in front of
Deanna, else she’d figure out that he wanted his friends gone so he could be
alone with her.
“Fine, I’ll go
with you,” Sav gave in with frustration.
Before he left, he turned to Deanna.
“Thanks again, luv. I’m,
uh….sure I’ll see you again sometime.”
Sav saw that
she looked a little disappointed, as if she was hoping he’d stay.
“You’re….you’re
welcome Rick. Um…let me know if you
have any problems with the pull.”
He gave her
almost an apologetic smile before winking at her. He then turned to find Phil holding the door for him and trudged
out of the shop.
8
Once they got
to the safety of outside, Sav let them have it.
“What the hell
is the matter with you two? Why didn’t
you just bloody leave? I know that you
were staying there because I wanted to.”
“Sav, calm
down. Besides, she made a nice little
sale,” Joe said holding up the statue.
“Sorry Joe,
but you two clowns went way over the top today. You ask why I’ve been without someone for so long. I finally met someone halfway decent since
your girlfriend fixed me up with those two bimbo friends of hers and now you’re
ruining it.”
“They weren’t
bimbos!” Joe stated. “Well, okay..one
was.”
“They weren’t
the kind of women I’d want as a role model for my sons. I don’t want a trophy wife to cling to
me. I want someone, first and foremost,
who’ll love and accept my lads.”
“And just how
do you know this woman will?”
Sav thought
back to the other day when when Deanna caressed Sean’s head as he drew a
picture
“I..I don’t
know,” Sav said. “But, I’ve got to
start somewhere. I already admire and respect her for this huge step she took –
moving herself and her business all the way across the Atlantic. All I do know is that I’d like to get to
know her better, and take it from there.”
“So,” Phil
asked. “What are you waiting for?”
“Well, I was
about to do so, but not with you two morons standing there, making it
obvious. I’ll….I’ll just pay her a
visit another time.”
“Sav, don’t
look for an excuse to see her, other than you want to see her,” Joe said. “If I
must say, she looked mite sad that you left so soon. I think she was kinda hoping you’d stay and…..”
“Think so?”
Joe had to
smirk at the uncertainty in his friend – this 40 year old man who could
probably have any woman with the snap of his fingers, but who’s self esteem was
shattered by his divorce.
“Sav, you’ll
kick yourself if you go back another time to find out she’s got a storeful of
customers or, worse, someone else has asked her out. Just go back in there. I
think she’d be very happy to see you.”
Sav looked
back at the shop, then at his friends, then back. “Fine, have lunch without me,” he said as he approached the shop.
Joe and Phil
stood there shaking their heads. “If only all his past conquests could see
pretty boy now all twisted like a lad on his first date!”
9
Sav entered
the shop to find Deanna sitting behind her desk. She looked up with a startled, yet hopeful look on her face and
stood up.
“Rick. Is….is something wrong?”
“Um, no
everything’s fine. I uh…..I wanted to
come back to, well, first to apologize for my mates.”
Deanna smiled
as she approached him, noting a skittishness about him that she found
charming. If he only knew that her
nerves were jumbled as well.
“Rick, there’s
nothing to apologize for. They’re very
personable and….you can tell that you’re all very close.”
Sav glanced
down a bit. “Yeah, we are. Sometimes they can be a little too forward,
but they’re really just natural born flirts.”
Deanna
regarded him. “And you’re not?”
Sav flushed a
bit. “No, I’m not. But, they’re harmless really. Joe’s been in a long term relationship for
years and Phil’s married.”
“And…..what
about you?” she sheepishly asked.
Sav looked
into her eyes which were almost regretting asking that. He smiled warmly before answerly.
“Presently
unattached. Well, except for my lads,
that is. They keep me more than busy.”
Deanna wanted
badly to know more, but she felt she’d be out of line. Hopefully, there would be time to learn
more.
“Um, Deanna,
the…..the real reason I came back was because…..well, I don’t know what your
situation is, but….if you’re not seeing anyone, I’d like to take you out…get to
know you better.”
If Deanna’s
heart jumped for joy any harder it would’ve jumped out of her chest!
“Rick,
I’d….I’d like that very much. And, no,
I’m not seeing anyone. I’ve only been
here a few months and spent all that time between fixing up my flat and this
shop.”
Sav felt his
entire body give out a relieved sigh.
“Well, good. Um, I don’t know
how much of Dublin you’ve been able to see, but there are a lot of fancy spots
here and the nightlife is never boring.”
Sav figured,
because of her age, that she may enjoy the night scene more than a quiet little
corner table in an out of the way pub.
He knew that she thought he was a little older and didn’t want to appear
like he wasn’t up for some fun, even though pubbing and clubbing wasn’t his scene.
Deanna bit her
lip a bit. “Well, to be perfectly
honest with you, I’ve never been one into fancy spots and nightlife, but I’d be
willing to give it a shot if you know of somewhere good to go.”
“Oh, well, we
don’t have to go anyplace like that if you don’t want to,” Sav said. “You just look like you might enjoy that
kind of atmosphere.”
“And….how is
it that I look?”
Sav now bit
his lip, wondering if he should be honest and find out for sure. “Oh, I didn’t mean anything insulting. Its just that you’re a young woman and I
thought that you might like to try a few of those places.”
“Well, if you
think thirty is young, then I’m not insulted at all. However, you’re making yourself sound as if you’re ancient.”
Sav glanced at
the floor. “Well, no…not ancient. But I do have ten years on you.”
Deanna raised
her eyebrows. “I never would’ve guessed
you to be forty.”
Sav thoroughly
blushed and let a brilliant smile escape, one that made her entire body sigh.
“I’m…I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.
Its…its just that….well, I’m sorry I have to say it. You’re a very good looking man.”
Sav couldn’t
stop himself from grinning. He hadn’t
felt this good about himself in a long time.
And, he knew that Deanna’s compliments were sincere because she still
hadn’t a clue as to who he was.
“Well, thank
you Deanna. That’s right kind of
you. And, if you don’t mind me saying
so, when I walked in here two days ago, I…I….., forgive me, but…your eyes. Are….are they….?”
Deanna let out
a beautiful laugh, knowing what he was wondering. “No, they’re not contacts.
They’re my natural color.
Strange, huh?”
“No luv. Entrancing.”
Deanna really
thought she was gonna swoon on the spot.
Oh God, the affect he was having on her! And…..she was going out with him. But where?
Suddenly, an
idea came to her.
“You know, I
did see some flyers around about some comedian performing at Zanzibar this
Saturday night. I thought that might be
fun.”
Sav smiled
over her suggestion. “Then that’s where
we’ll go. How about we go there around
7:00pm for dinner then stay for the show?”
“Sounds
perfect.”
“Well, just so
you know, Zanzibar is considered…..well..the premiere pick up spot in
Dublin. Will you be uncomfortable with
that?”
Deanna
grinned. “Why should I be? I’ll be there with you so I don’t have to
worry about any creeps hitting on me.”
“Oh trust me,
they’ll still try,” Sav said with a chuckle.
“That’s how notorious this place is.”
“Well, if
you’d rather go somewhere else….someplace quiet…I wouldn’t mind. I’m really a homebody, to tell you the
truth. My life these past two years has
consisted of my business and not much of a personal life. I’d be happy with a pizza and a video…..maybe
a game of Scrabble or something.”
Sav couldn’t
help but laugh.
“I know, I
know,” Deanna said, rolling her eyes.
“I sound old and boring.”
“No, you sound
like me,” Sav replied. “Well, without
the Scrabble part. Since I have the
boys a lot, my evenings usually consist of dinner that either comes from a fast
food place or a pre-packaged box. As
for videos, if I see one more purple dinosaur or blue dog I’m gonna commit
myself!”
Deanna’s
beautiful laughter rang out again. “Ah,
I see a person’s entire lifestyle changes once they have children. However, it does sound like a nice quiet
evening.”
“Well, its
anything but quiet, let me tell you.
But, if you’d like, we can do that sometime with my lads. They seemed quite taken with you the other
day. Especially Sean. Again, I apologize for his behavior. He just misses his mum a lot.”
“Are…are you
divorced?”
“Um, yes. Was finalized about 6 months ago. However, my ex-wife remarried and her new
husband travels a lot on business.
Since she accompany’s him, she hasn’t been able to see the boys very of
often and, well..they miss her.”
Deanna felt
the hollowness inside of her suddenly thump at the thought of a mother
neglecting her own children. Didn’t
this woman know how incredibly fortunate she was to have children? She guessed the old adage was true – you
don’t truly appreciate something until you’re unable to have it. And the prospect of meeting a single man
with children – two adorable children – was a possible glimmer of hope to erase
the painful emptiness.
“I’m…I’m sorry
about that Rick. I hope she works
something out that she can see them more often.”
“So do I. Well, listen, I think I’ve taken up enough
of your time. I’ll let you get back to
work. So…..we’re on for Saturday then?”
“Yes. I’ll close up the shop around five. My flat is about ten minutes from here. Here, let me put my home number on the back
of my card.”
Deanna took
another business card and wrote her home number on the back, as well as her
address, then handed it to Rick.
“I’ll um…call
you to confirm, is that’s alright?”
“That’s
fine. I’m looking forward to it.”
Sav smiled
with relief and victory, looking forward to Saturday night as well.
“Me too. Well, goodbye Deanna. Have a good afternoon.”
“You too,
Rick.”
With one last
shy smile to each other, Sav left the shop.
He practically ran into a street sign on the way to his car, he was in
such a euphoric daze.
No sooner than
he got into his car, his cell phone rang.
“ello?”
“Well?”
Sav rolled his
eyes. “Well what, Joe?”
“Do I have to
spell it out?”
“Yeah, humor
me!”
Joe hufffed on
the other end. “Did you ask her
out? Did she say yes? Where ya taking her?”
Sav smiled
sweetly into the phone. “Well, to
answer you in that respective order.
Yes….yes….and….none of your bloody damn business!”
With that, Sav
promptly clicked his cell phone off.
10
The next day,
Deanna locked up the shop to run down to the corner pub to grab her lunch
order. As soon as she walked in, she
spotted Maura, one of the waitresses there.
“Hey Maura, is
my order ready?”
“Oh, hi
Deanna. Sure, let me go check.”
Deanna smiled
as Maura went into the back to check on her order. When she first came here several months ago, Maura had passed by
her shop when she was just in the process of cleaning and setting it up. Maura had walked right in to check it
out. Her and Deanna had struck up a
conversation and got acquainted. Maura
had admired her courage coming all the way from the States to start anew and
offered Deanna her help. Many times
before the shop opened, Maura would stop by to bring Deanna lunch from the pub,
knowing that she would never take a break.
It was a kindness that warmed Deanna and showed promise of some sort of
friendship.
As Maura came
out holding a small bag, Deanna reached into her purse to grab her wallet to
pay.
“How are things
going so far?” Maura asked as she rung her up.
Deanna
couldn’t help but smile over the turn of events over the last few days. Not just in some key sales and contacts, but
in her personal life as well.
She flashed
Maura a smug smile. “Oh….not too shabby,
if you don’t mind me saying so.”
Maura raised
her eyebrows. “That good, huh?”
“Well,
actually, I’m not just speaking of business,” Deanna hinted.
“Oh really,”
Maura mused. “Can I take it from that
silly grin on your face that you met someone?”
Deanna
couldn’t hold it back any longer. She
had to tell someone? And, well, Maura
was the only someone she really knew well enough around here.
“Maura, you
wouldn’t believe it. I met THE most
incredible man the other day. And…..he
asked me out for Saturday night!”
Maura’s eyes
flashed with excitement. “Ooooh, you
seem pretty taken. Come down the end of
the bar while I do this drink order.
Tell me all about him.”
“Well, he came
in the shop a few days ago looking for a fixture for an antique piece he
has. I took one look at him and I
practically hit the floor. He’s
originally from England, but he’s lived here for quite a while. He’s divorced
with two adorable little boys.”
“Hmmm, an
ex-wife and kids, huh? Sure you want
all that baggage?”
“Well, his ex
remarried, so I’m not concerned. And…as
far as the kids…..I don’t mind them.
Not in the least.”
Deanna never
told Maura anything about her tragic history, preferring to keep it to herself
instead.
“Oh, well,
that doesn’t sound like a problem then.
So, what else?”
“Well, he’s a
little older than me – ten years actually, but he doesn’t look it. I really
wouldn’t care if he did. He is so good
looking. Blonde hair, blue eyes – the
works, ya know?.”
“Ooooh, I’m
sold,” Maura said. “So…does he have a
brother or a friend for me?”
Maura
giggled. “Well, I don’t know about
brothers, but I did meet two of his friends yesterday who also came by the
shop. However, one friend is married
and the other is in a serious relationship.”
Maura piled
the drinks on a small tray and lifted it to the counter. “So…whats his name?”
“Rick Savage.”
With that,
Maura dropped the entire tray as all four drinks went crashing to the floor
behind the bar.
“Oh God! Maura, you alright?”
A large,
suited man came out from the kitchen and surveyed the mess, turning narrowed
eyes to Maura.
“S…s….sorry,”
Maura said to the man. “I uh….lost my
balance.”
As soon as the
man disappeared back into the kitchen, Maura forgot about the spilled drinks
and leaned into Deanna.
“Dee…..did you
say Rick Savage?”
“Yeah. Why?
You know him? Oh God, please
don’t tell me he’s some loser with all these problems. He’s the first decent guy I met since……well,
since my divorce.”
Maura’s jaw
dropped. “You really don’t know who he
is, don’t you?”
Deanna shook
her head. “Maura, you’re scaring
me. Should I know him?”
“Well, I know
you’re 30, but that’s not too young.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the band Def Leppard.”
Deanna
immediately thought to her ‘Hysteria’
and ‘Vault’ cassette she had somewhere at home.
“Yeah, of
course. I was pretty young when they
hit it big, but I remember them being really popular. As a matter of fact, I bought their greatest hits a few years ago
to catch up on what I missed. Why?”
“For the love
of God, Deanna,” Maura exclaimed. “That
incredible man you have a date with Saturday night is their bass player! I suggest you go home and check out the
sleeve of your CD. You missed a lot
more than music!”
Deanna put her
elbows on the bar and rested her head in her hands. “You’re kidding me, right?
I…I thought something seemed familiar, but I didn’t know what. I haven’t really kept up musically with any
bands for the last several years.
Things were…..well, lets just say my mind was elsewhere.”
Maura was
suddenly hit with something. “Deanna,
those two friends of his who came in your shop yesterday…….what were their
names?”
“Um, one was
Joe and the other was Phil.”
Maura looked
like she was gonna drop to the floor.
“Blasted, girl….that was their lead singer and guitarist. Damn, you had half the band in your store
and you didn’t even know it.”
“No, I guess
not,” Deanna replied, suddenly feeling stupid for not recognizing them. Then
again, none of them said anything either.
Perhaps that’s the way they preferred it. With fans pestering them everywhere they go, they probably like
not being noticed. However, something
did make her grin.”
“Now it makes
sense,” she exclaimed. “Joe bought a
statue in my shop yesterday. A leopard
statue. Said he had a fondness for
them. He was probably trying to throw
me clues and, stupid me, didn’t get them.”
“God,
Deanna…where has your brain been these last few years?”
Deanna lowered
her eyes as her face fell a bit. “Trust
me, you don’t want to know.”
Maura put a
comforting hand on top of hers. “I’m
sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that.
I can tell you went through something bad, but you don’t have to tell
me. But, whatever it is, I’m sure what
you just found out made you forget about it, eh? Man, what luck!”
“Yeah, for
once in my life,” Deanna murmured softly.
“I wonder how long this will last before…..before he finds out?”
“Finds out
what?”
Deanna didn’t
realize she spoke loud enough for Maura to hear. “Oh, nothing. I’ve…I’ve
really got to try to let go of some things, ya know?
“Well, it
looks as if he doesn’t want you to know who he is, at least until he tells you
himself,” Maura said. “I heard through
the grapevine about his divorce. After
about 6 years of marriage, his wife suddenly was tired of his lifestyle, or so
I heard. You can never trust gossip.”
“I guess. I never thought I’d meet anyone famous, let
alone go out with him. But, I had no
idea who he was and, you know, it just wasn’t him that tugged on me but…..his
two boys. They’re absolutely darling.”
Maura
smirked. “Hey, who knows? If things work out…maybe you’ll be their
stepmum!”
Deanna let a
slow smile creep upon her face, delighted with the prospect of being a ‘mum’ of
any sort.
11
Around 6:30
Saturday night, Sav came downstairs dressed in black trousers and a royal blue
buttoned shirt. He took his black
leather coat from the hall closet and slid it on, completing his look.
He called
Deanna at the shop earlier today to confirm their date, which was still
on. He was relieved and nervous at the
same time. This was the first date that
he had been on since his divorce that showed any promise.
Sure Deanna
was young and beautiful, but she was also intelligent, witty, independent and
showed a warm interest in his children.
The fact that she even accepted a date with him knowing he had children
was promise enough for him. As much as
his divorce left him leery about relationships, deep down inside the lonley man
in him yearned for that kind of closeness again. But he knew that whoever it was had to be accepting of his lads,
first and foremost.
Speaking of
which, Sav went and sought them out to say goodbye. His nanny, Gail, had arrived a half hour ago to watch them for
the evening. He found Alex first, fixed
in front of the telly. Sav rubbed his
head and kissed it.
“Bye lad,” he
said. “You be good for Gail while I’m
out, you understand?”
Alex turned
concerned eyes up to his father and nodded.
Sav didn’t like the look on his face.
“Something
wrong, Alex?”
“You’re…….you’re
coming back, right?”
Sav knelt down
in front of him. “Of course I am,” Sav
replied. “Why would you think I
wouldn’t be?”
Alex just
shrugged and put his head down.
“Tell me lad.”
“Well……you’re
going out with that lady from the store who had those toys, right?”
Sav grinned
over that. “That’s right.”
“Well, you
must like her then, right?”
“Yes, I
do. Didn’t you think she was nice?”
“Yeah, she
was. Its just……….”
“What, Alex?”
“Its…its just
when mum met Jonathan, we hardly ever see her.
What if you and this lady like each other the way mum and Jonathan
do? Are we never gonna see you either?”
Sav closed his
eyes in silent anger. It seemed that
Alex was indeed old enough to know what was going on and was deeply affected by
Karen’s absence since she married Jonathan.
And now Alex thinks that Sav’s gonna abandon him as well.
“Alex, listen
to me lad. You and Sean are the most
important things in my life. I know you
miss your mum, but she’ll be back soon and promised a long visit with you and
your brother. But, I will always be here. No matter what and no matter who I meet and
like. I want to be with someone, but
they have to accept you and your brother in my life as well. Deanna acted kindly towards you when we were
in her store, so I’m hoping that, if I see her again after tonight, maybe the
four of us could do something together.
What do you say to that?”
Alex looked up
with some hope in his face. “Really?”
Sav
nodded. “Now, give me a hug so I can go
say goodbye to your brother.”
Alex hugged
his father around neck tight, almost afraid to let go. “Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Wake me up
when you get home, no matter how late.
I…I just want to know that you’re home.”
Sav almost
felt like crying that Alex still felt scared over being abandoned.
“I promise,”
he said before getting up to go find Sean.
Sean was in
the playroom surrounded by his collection of trucks, zooming them all over the
floor.
“Aye little
mate,” Sav said when he walked in. “I’m
leaving. Come say goodbye.”
Sean stopped
what he was doing and ran over to Sav, throwing his arms around his legs. “Bye.”
Sav was glad
that Sean’s attention span was too short to dwell on his mum cancelling their
visit. When a five year old is
surrounded by toys, nothing much else matters!
Sav bent down
so he was eye to eye with him. “Now, I
told your brother and I’m telling you too.
Be good for Gail, okay? You’re
both to be in bed by 9:00 – no later, and don’t give her a hard time.”
“Are you going
to Uncle Joe’s tonight?”
“No Sean. Remember that lady from the antique store
that had all the toys? I’m taking her
out to dinner tonight and then to go see a comedian.”
“Whats a
comedian?”
Sav
smiled. “Someone who entertains people
by telling them funny jokes.”
Sean
registered this and nodded his head.
When Sav stood up, Sean crooked his finger at him. Sav bent back down.
“Yes?”
“Do you like
her, daddy?”
Sav smirked
over his innocence. “Yes, I do. That’s why I’m going out with her. And, if all goes well, I’d like to take her
out again, with you and your brother.
How does that sound?”
Sean widened
his eyes. “Will she bring her toys with
her?”
“No, lad I
don’t think so. Those stay in the
store. But, whatever it is, it’ll be
fun, okay?”
Sean again
nodded his head as Sav, again stood up.
Then, one more time, Sean crooked his finger for his father to bend down
again.
“Yes?”
Sean blushed a
bit before he whispered really soft.
“Are you gonna kiss her?”
Now it was
Sav’s turn to blush. “Well, I don’t
know. It all depends. I’d like to though.”
Sean covered
his mouth and giggled before going back to play with his trucks. Sav stood up and left, feeling about as
giddy as his five year old over the possibility of kissing Deanna tonight.
12
Deanna had
about half of her closet strewn about her bed in the effort to find something
to wear. She cursed herself for not
going shopping for something new, but she kept the shop open an hour later
during the week so she could close up early today.
She finally
decided on a suede, chocolate brown skirt that fell an inch above her knees,
matching brown suede boots and a cream colored peasant blouse that lent a very
feminine touch.
Instead of
blowdrying her hair straight, she diffused it into soft waves that fell just
past her shoulders. She parted it on
the side and lightly sprayed it into place.
She did her eyes up smokey with some charcoal gray liner which made her
already expressive amethyst colored eyes pop out. She then dabbed some pinkish brown lipshine on and lightly lined
her lips for fullness.
After adorning
her ears with simple gold hoops, she checked her appearance with a pounding
heart. She sometimes wished that she
didn’t find out who Sav really was, even though she agreed to go out with him
before she knew.
Its just that
now he wasn’t just an attractive, divorced man with two darling boys who walked
into her store and stole her breath.
Now, he was an
attractive, divorced rock star
with two darling boys he walked into her store and stole her breath.
It was a lot
easier when he was just a man. She
tried not to fret over what he was and, instead, concentrated on who he
was – which was the first decent guy who’s come into her life since her divorce
which showed promise and…interest.
She then
wondered how long that interest would last if things progessed, especially once
he found out what she wasn’t capable of.
The fact that he was older and had children was one bright spot,
thinking that he probably wouldn’t want to have any more. But then again, one never knew. Just because he’s 40 doesn’t mean he’s
dead. Men can father children into
their 60’s and even beyond, especially if they have young wives.
Young wives
who can have children, that is.
She wrung her
hands as she looked at the clock, knowing that he’d be here any minute. She poured herself a glass of wine to calm
her nerves as she went to sit down.
Even though most of her things were unpacked and settled, she still had
a tiny box or two that had miscellaneous stuff in it.
She looked
though one small box while she was waiting.
Framed pictures of family and friends she left back in the States. A smile of remembrance along with a hint of
sadness graced her face. She knew it
was time to send out a bunch of e-mails to let everyone know how she was doing.
She dug a bit
deeper until she pulled out a small frame.
The smile instantly left her face.
It was a
picture from her wedding day. There she
was – with her then-husband Greg, looking happy, in love and looking towards
the future. A future that was to be
shattered by an unfortunate discovery that led to heartache, mild depression,
many nights filled with tears and sometimes angry words which all led to the
demise of her marriage. A demise that
was just as much her fault as it was Greg’s.
As tears began
to form in her eyes over the painful reminder, the doorbell rang. She immediately put the box away and dabbed
the mist from her eyes. Taking a deep
breath, she opened the door. And then
the breath left her.
“Evening,
luv,” Sav said.
“Evening,” she
replied, practically speechless over how handsome he looked in black and royal
blue.
“Come on in
while I get my coat.”
Sav walked
into the flat and casually looked around, smiling at the coziness that his
house lacked.
“This place is
charming Deanna,” he said. “You’ve got
an eye for decorating. Then again,
being an antiques dealer, I guess it comes natural to you.”
Deanna knew he
was being polite in his compliment about her flat. This place was probably a matchbox compared to the house he must
live in.
“Thank you,”
she said. “It’s a challenge to blend
antiques into any décor. I have a few
special pieces that I just can’t live without, though.”
“Oh…such as?”
Deanna
motioned over to her kitchen area, which sported an antique ice box, nestled
snugly in a corner.
“This is a
genuine Knickerbocker ice box. In the
old days, they’d store ice inside the flip top and underneath is a kickboard
that has a pan where the ice would drip into.
Its not exactly old world, but its special to me. Its what got me interested in antiques.”
Sav folded his
arms and regarded her with interest.
“Really? How so?”
“Well, there’s
an old couple that used to live next door to my parents. When they both passed away, their children
came to clean out the house. This ice
box was in the basement and was put out for the trash. When I saw it on the street, it immediately
fascinated me, although I didn’t realize it was an antique. I had my father take it off the street and
put it in his basement. I then went to
the library and got a book on refinishing antique furniture and proceeded to
spend hours in my parents basement refinishing it. The process got me interested in the history of the ice box,
which led to an interest in antiques in general.”
Sav looked at
her, clearly impressed. “Wow, that’s a
lovely story. I can see how that piece
is sentimental to you.”
“Yes, it is,”
she replied, just staring into his eyes.
She’d never guess him to be a famous rock star from his normal, laid
back manner. But, he was and the
thought instantly made her nervous again.
“Um, should we
get going?”
Sav caught
himself staring at her as well. If it
wasn’t her magnificent eyes, it was her long, boot clad legs in that bloody
short skirt!
“Oh, yes. We’ve reservations for 7:30. Um, since you said you didn’t mind, I’ve
made the dinner reservations for Fitzsimmons instead of Zanzibar. I thought we’d have a better opportunity to
talk there since its not as crowded and noisy.”
“Rick, that’s
fine. You didn’t seem as if you were crazy about going to Zanzibar in
the first place. It doesn’t matter
where we go. I’m just looking forward
to……..getting to know you.”
Sav nodded and
took her coat and helped her on with it.
He knew he wouldn’t get far before he had to tell her who he really
was. He reminded himself that she
agreed to go out with him, knowing he was a little older, divorced and with two
small children, before she found out.
The fact that she wanted to be with him, regardless of his
profession, gave him some glimmer of
hope.
His main concern
was for his children and, even though she showed interest in them, he wondered
if, because of her age, she’d want some of he own someday. Although he’d be perfectly content at his
age with just Alex and Sean, he wouldn’t be opposed to having more, if he found
someone he could share his life and his sons with.
13
Sav and Deanna
walked into Fitzsimmons a little before 7:30pm. The the hostess looked up and couldn’t hold back a wide smile
upon seeing who it was.
Fortunately,
the manager saw them come in and interjected before the hostess could give
anything away.
“Rick, good
evening,” he said, shaking his hand.
“I’ve got the table you requested ready.”
“Thanks,” Sav
replied with a thankful wink. He then
placed his hand lightly on the small of Deanna’s back as they were led to a
warmly lit corner table in which they would be assured privacy. Sav had requested this when he made the
reservations, assuring that he and Deanna wouldn’t having roving eyes all over
them. He didn’t want anything to give
him away until he was ready to tell her.
As Deanna was
seated, she immediately took in the surroundings and the placement of their
table. She instantly knew that he had
wanted privacy because of who he was.
It was obvious to her that he didn’t want her to know – just yet. Even though she already knew, she would play
along until he was ready. It was
apparent that not only privacy was important to him, but she surmised that he
wanted an opportunity for her to get to know ‘him’ and not his celebrity. She would wait a while before she asked him
what he did. After all, he practically
knew all about her – well, almost everything.
Like him, she had certain things that she just wasn’t ready to reveal.
As Sav sat
down across from the, a waiter who was specifically selected by the manager to
serve them this evening, came over.
“Good
evening,” he said, cheerfully as he handed them each a menu. “My name is Robert and I’ll be your
waiter. Would either of you care for a
drink while you peruse the menu?”
Sav motioned
to Deanna to go first. “Yes, a glass of
White Zinfandel please. Sutter Home, if
you have it.”
Robert wrote
down her order before looking to Sav. “Chablis, please.”
“Thank
you. I’ll be right back.”
Robert took
off and Sav and Deanna were left alone.
Deanna glanced around before looking at him.
“I’m glad you
chose this place,” she said. “Granted,
I don’t know what Zanzibar is like, but I prefer more laid back places like
this.”
Sav smiled
with gratefulness. “I’m glad. I just didn’t think Zanzibar would be a good
place to go for dinner….you know….on a first date. Unless you want to practically shout above the noise.”
Deanna giggled
softly. “No, I don’t.”
They then
looked over their menus as Robert came back with their wine. He placed them on the table then said he’d
give them a few more moments to decide before he returned.
Sav and Deanna
both picked up their wine glasses at the same time and caught each other’s eye
as they did so.
Deanna thought
of something honest to toast to that came from her heart.
“Well….here’s
to…..a new beginning. In….everything.”
“I couldn’t
agree more,” Sav said as he clinked her glass.
Deanna blushed
as she sipped her wine. Although she
meant her toast to encompass everything in general, she couldn’t help but
shiver over his agreement, wondering if he meant something more specific.
A few moments
passed as Robert came back to take their order. When he was finished, they were again, left alone, with nothing
but conversation to tie them over until their appetizers came.
Deanna didn’t
want to go straight in for the kill, thinking he still wanted to wait. She was saved when he spoke up first.
“Tell me,
Deanna. Do you plan to make Dublin your
home for good?”
“Well, that
depends. I have a year lease on my
store, so I guess my future hinges upon how well I do. I gotta admit, that when I first got here
and found out that Whyte’s relocated right down the street from me, I was
stunned. I didn’t know this when I
leased the store and I probably wouldn’t have leased it if I knew I would have
such large competiton right down the street from me.”
“Well, Whyte’s
has been in business for years, but they also have a clientele that’s a little
more discriminating and usually purchase expensive pieces without blinking an
eye.”
Deanna tilted
her head to the side. “Such as you?”
Sav winced
slightly, wondering if he said more than he should. Deanna noticed the effect her question had on him and tried to
remedy it.
“I mean, you
told me the first day you came in that you normally frequent Whyte’s, so I just
assumed that you’ve been a longstanding customer of theirs.”
Sav looked a
bit relieved. “Oh, well yeah. I’ve
purchased a few pieces from them and they know the style that I like so they
usually contact me when they get something in that they think I might be
interested in. However, a shop such as
yours is just perfect for people who love antiques who may be intimidated to go
in there.”
Deanne felt a
bit hopeful. “So, you think I may have
a chance of survival?”
“I think so,”
Sav said honestly. “Plus, you have the
drive to succeed which is a plus.”
Deanna glanced
down a bit before looking back up at him, his eyes brilliant and blue in the
luminous candlelight in the middle of the table.
“I’d like to
stay here,” she said with reserve.
“Even though I’m far away from my family and friends, I’m excited about
the change and would like to make it work.”
“You’re pretty
fearless, aren’t you?”
Deanna thought
on his question and sombered a bit.
“Not in everything, unfortunately.
I welcome the challenge of trying to succeed in my business.”
“And
succeeding in other areas of your life?”
Deanna looked
up at him when he asked that, uncertain of how to answer. Yes, she wanted a successful relationship
and future with someone, but didn’t think it was an appropriate thing to bring
up on a first date – especially a first date with a man that you’d love to have
that success with.
“Well, I’m
trying to work on that,” she replied.
Sav saw her
uneasiness and wondered if he asked something he shouldn’t. “Deanna, I’m sorry if it looked like I was
prying. I know you told me that you
were divorced, so I just meant it that you were looking to ……….”
“……find a
successful relationship?”
There! She said it!
“Yes, that’s
exactly what I meant.”
“Rick, I
honestly can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t want that, moreso if they’ve
already suffered an unsuccessful one.”
Sav saw the
sadness in her face and wondered what exactly did happen in her marriage. Probably not much different than what he
went through. But, whereas he had his
lads, she didn’t seem to have anyone.
It wasn’t just a sadness, but a lonliness. An empty space that needed filling.
He decided to
be bold and placed his hand over hers in a comforting manner. But the touch seemed like anything but
between them.
“Again, I
couldn’t agree with you more!”
Deanna smiled
with hope that he was looking for the same thing she was. She only hoped that he’d feel the same way
once he learned the truth.
14
Surprisingly
enough, the rest of dinner went by without the subject of Sav’s profession
coming up. Deanna purposefully avoided
asking him, allowing him to bring it up and Sav purposefully did the same,
waiting for Deanna to ask.
Deanna thought
that he still didn’t want to reveal who he truly was just yet, and respected
that. When he was ready, he would. And, although Sav was a bit curious as to
why she didn’t ask what he did for a living, he was somewhat grateful which led
him to believe that it didn’t matter to her.
Instead, the
conversation stayed towards Deanna’s business, how she got herself off the
ground, antiques in general, Sav gushing about his personal treasures, their
families that they missed, his sons, vague details about his divorce and so on.
And just as
Deanna never asked about his profession, Sav, in turn, didn’t ask about her
divorce. He noticed something more than
just the normal feeling of loss emanating from Deanna when she briefly
mentioned it. He saw utter pain in her
lovely violet eyes that led him to believe that it resulted from something too
devestating to speak of.
When they
finished, they headed on out to Zanzibar for the improv show. Deep down, Sav really didn’t want to go in
there, for he knew for sure that he would be recognized and was quite enjoying
his anonymity. But, he did it for
Deanna, whom he was growing fonder of by the minute. He found her utterly fascinating, intelligent, sharp, independent
and very desirable.
Aside from a
much regretted one night stand he had not too long ago, he hadn’t been with a
woman since his divorce. Deanna’s
outward beauty had struck him as soon as he laid eyes upon her, but it was what
he found out about her during dinner that was beginning to draw him
closer. The evening was becoming more
promising by the minute and he already knew that he wanted to see her again.
As soon as
they stepped into Zanzibar, the crowd and the noise assailed them. Deanna knew that he probably wasn’t
comfortable being somewhere where so many people probably knew him, so she gave
him an option.
“Rick, you
were right. This place is a
madhouse. We don’t have to stay if you
don’t want.”
Sav
appreciated her suggestion, but decided to forego it.
“No, its
okay. The bar area is always like
this. Once we get into the other
section where the comedian is performing, it’ll be a little more contained.”
He took her
hand as they made their way through to find a seat for the show. As they did, Sav made careful eye contact
and nodded to several patrons who noticed him, hoping that they would respect
his privacy while on a date. While most
did, some did not.
“Hey, Rick
Savage,” one big man said as he slapped Sav on the back. “Mate, this is the last place I’d see you
in. You’re not exactly the social
butterfly.”
Sav grinned
politely. “Aye Tony, how are you? Um, actually I’m here on a date. We’re here to see the show.”
Sav gave Tony
a look, hoping he would catch on. Tony
looked past Sav to Deanna and smiled before looking back at Sav.
“How is it you
guys always get the young, pretty ones?
Anyway, enjoy the show mate.” He
then turned to Deanna. “You too, lass.”
Deanna smiled
politely as she watched Tony walk away.
Sav turned to her with a sympathetic look in his eye.
“Sorry about
that bloke. He’s not a very shy one, as
you can tell.”
“No
problem. I have a feeling that you may
see more than one person tonight who knows you.”
“Unfortunately
yes,” Sav mumbled. “C’mon, lets get
through this crowd.”
Sav continued
to pull her through until they made it to the seated area in front of a good
sized stage. They found a table towards
the middle with a good view. It was
already beginning to fill up as the show was to start in about 5 minutes. Just as they were seated, a waitress came
over to take their drink order.
“Good
evening. Would you like a drink before
the show………um….aren’t you….?”
Sav cut her
off with a nod and a wink. Deanna heard
the waitress’ inquiry, but casually looked around, pretending that she didn’t.
Sav glanced at
Deanna and saw that she probably didn’t hear.
He then leaned into her.
“Wine, luv?”
“Yes, thanks.”
“Two glasses
of wine. One white, one…” he looked at
Deanna, “White Zinfandel?”
Deanna smiled
and nodded, pleased that he remembered.
The waitress
grinned wide as she walked away. Just
as she did, the house lights went down and the first comedian came on.
By the time he
was finished, the lights went up a bit before the second comedian came on. Sav finished his wine as Deanna held a hand
to her face.
“Oh God, I
can’t remember laughing so hard,” she exclaimed. “I think I needed that badly.”
“Yeah, he was
pretty funny,” Sav agreed. “I guess
this wasn’t so bad after all.”
Just then,
Sav’s cell phone rang from where he had it inside his leather jacket
pocket. His first thought, as a parent,
was that it was his nanny, Gail.
“Excuse me,”
he said to Deanna as he pulled his phone out.
He looked at the number on his ID display and rolled his eyes.
“Someone you
don’t want to talk to?”
Sav
immediately recognized Joe’s cell phone number on his caller ID, clicked on to
answer, then immediately clicked it off.
Deanna looked
at him with surprise as he waved it off.
“It was only
Joe. Trust me, he’ll get the hint. I’m
not talking to anyone tonight.”
Just then, his
cell phone rang again and Deanna giggled.
“Persistant
little bugger, isn’t he?”
“Luv, you
don’t know half of it,” Sav drawled out as he again, clicked Joe off.
And, no sooner
than he did, he rang a third time.
“Bloody
friggin’ hell,” Sav muttered before turning sheepishly to Deanna. “Sorry luv.”
“Rick, just
turn your phone off.”
“I can’t. Just in case my nanny calls about the boys.”
“Then maybe
you should answer him, else he won’t leave you alone.”
“I guess
you’re right. Talking to Joe is like
ripping off a Band-Aid – do it quick and its painless.”
Deanna laughed
at his humor towards his friend as he answered.
“Can’t take a
hint, I see?”
“Oh, I’m
sorry,” Joe said on the other end.
“Busy?”
“Kinda.”
“Having a good
time?”
“Forget it,
Joe. I’m not telling you a thing.”
“Don’t have
to,” Joe replied smugly. “I already
know all I need to.”
“Oh
really? Such as…?”
“Turn around.”
Sav slowly
turned his head to see Joe sitting at a table, waving at him with one hand
while he held his cell phone to his ear with the other, Beside him at the table, Phil sat with his
feet up on an opposite chair, toasting Sav with his club soda.
15
Sav closed his
eyes and groaned at the unexpected, not to mention, unwelcomed sight of Joe and
Phil. Without another word, he just
clicked his cell phone off and tossed it on the table.
Deanna
happened to turn in the direction that he looked and saw the source of his
agitation. Upon making brief eye
contact with Joe and Phil, Deanna turned back to Sav.
“Another
coincidence?”
“Well, this
definitely is,” Sav sighed. “They knew
I asked you out, but I never said where we were going.”
“You guys just
can’t avoid each other, can you?”
“Luv, you
don’t know half of it!”
Deanna
politely giggled. “Well? What are you going to do?”
Sav blew out a
long breath. “Well, if I had telepathic
powers, I could signal the mother ship to beam them up somewhere.”
Deanna laughed
over his love/hate feelings for his friends.
“Well, if there was intelligent life somewhere else, do you think they’d
want them?”
Sav looked at
her, clearly impressed by her wit.
“Ohhhh, good one luv! Didn’t
take you too long to see right through them.”
Deanna almost
regretted her little jibe, but when she saw Sav’s face light up over it, she
let it pass. She then had a little idea
and stood up.
“I tell you
what,” she said. “Why don’t I head over
to the ladies room to give those two an opportunity to come over and say what
they have to say without me here. I
think they’re practically dying of curiosity, so better get it done and over
with.”
Sav smiled
appreciatively up at her. “I think
you’re right. Thanks luv.”
Deanna lightly
caressed his shoulder before walking away, the move causing Sav to tingle all
over. His eyes continued to follow her
until he heard two throats clearing behind him.
He
sarcastically tossed his head in their direction.
“Make it quick
because I don’t have time for this,” he threatened them.
Joe and Phil
looked at each other before looking back at Sav. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist mate,” Joe said. “Just came over to say hi, you know….be
polite.”
“Joe, I think
you see me enough to know that I wouldn’t think you rude if you didn’t come
over,” Sav replied.
Just then, a
secondary comedian came on stage to keep the crowd entertained until the next
one came on. Joe and Phil took a seat
at Sav’s table so the people behind them could see. Sav looked at them with horror.
“What are you
doing?”
Phil’s eyes
darted back and forth. “Uh…sitting down
so the people behind us can see.”
“Well, go sit
back down at your table,” Sav fumed.
“Deanna will be back shortly and I don’t want you two here.”
“Too late,”
Phil said as he stood up and looked behind Sav. “Deanna luv…good to see you again.”
Sav turned
around, and saw Deanna standing behind him.
“Back so soon?”
“Yeah, well
there was a huge line so I figured I’d wait,” Deanna said before looking at Joe
and Phil. “Nice to see you again,
guys.”
“The pleasure
is ours,” Joe drawled out, toasting his glass of ale.
“I second
that,” Phil said, taking her hand and kissing it.
Sav looked up
at Phil. “So Phil….have you talked to
Anita? You know….your wife?”
Phil feigned
ignorance. “Uh…who…oh…oh yeah, Anita,”
he mused. “She’s good. Misses me.
What else is new, eh?”
“So Deanna,” Joe
began. “Now that you finally know
who…….”
Joe was cut
off by Sav’s vapid stare and shaking head, trying to signal to Joe that she
still didn’t know who he was.
Joe thankfully
caught on and tried to retract.
“…..who…who…..”
Before he
could think of something that would make sense, the comedian on stage stopped
talking and stared at their table.
“Well, now I
know what its like to be upstaged,” the comedian said. “Hey guys, hows about putting all this
curiosity to rest and come on up and play us a song?”
Even though
Joe, Phil and Sav were too busy into their conversation to hear what the
comedian said, the roaring sound of applause, combined with the entire audience
looking in their direction, caused them to look towards the stage.
“What do you
say guys? How’s about a song or two,
else I’m never gonna get this crowd’s attention?”
Joe and Phil
looked at each other and shrugged. “Why
not? C’mon, Sav.”
As Joe and
Phil stood up, Sav sat there in stunned silence, wishing he listened to Deanna
and decided not to come here.
When the
comedian saw Joe and Phil rise he whooped.
“Ladies and gentlemen…..Joe Elliott, Phil Collen and Rick Savage of Def
Leppard! C’mon!”
The audience
furiously clapped again as Deanna feigned ignorance, not to give away the fact
that she knew, and looked at Sav, Phil and Joe wide eyed.
“Def Leppard?”
she said with mock shock.
Phil looked a
little sheepish. “Uh, oh. She still doesn’t know?”
“She does
now,” Sav muttered in disgust. He
looked at Deanna, hoping that she wouldn’t be mad that he didn’t tell her who
he really was, and was greeted with a polite smile.
“Well, better
not let your fans down,” she said.
Sav took a
deep sigh before heading up to the stage behind Joe and Phil.
Chapter
16
Deanna sat
back down at the table as she listened to a deafening sea of applause. Up onstage, the comedian brought out three
stools for Sav, Joe and Phil and waited for them to get the guitars from the
house band. As they sat down with the
instruments with Joe in the middle, Sav looked downward to fiddle with his
guitar, all the while stealing glances at Deanna. Ever since he met her he had been able to keep his identity
secret – even all the way through dinner this evening.
Not any more.
However, she
didn’t seem to display any kind of shock or surprise. He knew that she’d find out sooner or later, but this was not
the way he planned on her finding out.
If it didn’t come out later on in the night, it definitely would’ve the
next time he saw her.
And he
definitely planned on a next time!
The sound of
Joe clearing his throat in the microphone snapped Sav’s eyes from Deanna’s
lovely face. They instantly went into
the famous accoustic rendition of Two Steps Behind, a sure crowd pleaser,
before seguing into When Love and Hate and Collide before ending with an
accoustic version of Promises.
When they
finished, the three of them rose to even more applause before handing the
instruments back to the house band and decending the stage area. The comedian wasting no time in commenting.
“Well, talk
about a hard act to follow,” he mused.
Joe and Phil
then looked at Deanna, who was staring at them with a smirk, then looked at
Sav.
“Um, I think
we’ll leave you two alone now,” Phil snickered.
“Great,” Sav
huffed. “Leave me after the
damage was done.”
“How were we
supposed to know that she still didn’t know who you are?” Joe asked. “What the hell did you two talk about at
dinner?”
“Everything
other than what I do for a living,” Sav replied. “And….. the real reason why she moved her entire life and
business across the Atlantic.”
“You think
there’s something more?”
“I have a
feeling there is,” Sav said. “Either
way, it doesn’t matter. The State’s
loss is my gain.”
Phil twinkled
his blue eyes at Sav. “You really are
smitten with her!”
Sav rolled his
eyes at him. “I thought you said you
were leaving?”
“Fine, lets go
Phil,” Joe said, before turning to Sav.
“Don’t think we’re gonna let you off easy next time we see you.”
“Oh joy,” Sav
replied with a mock-happy expression.
Joe and Sav
bid Deanna a good night before they left.
Sav then walked up to the table as Deanna sat there, looking up at him
handsome face and smiling warmly. Sav
waited for her response as to what she just found out. He held his arms out. “Well?”
Deanna
responded by standing up and grabbing her coat and purse. “Lets get some tea.”
Chapter
17
Sav and Deanna
rode in silence to the cozy little tea shop with the exception of a call Sav
placed to his nanny, Gail, to check on the lads. When they arrived, they took a small corner table and ordered two
cups of tea and raspberry, white chocolate scones. As the waiter left with their order, Deanna looked at Sav.
“Well, about
before,” she said with a little
mischief. “I can’t lie to you,
Rick. After you asked me out, well, I
couldn’t wait to tell a friend of mine who waitresses at one of the local pubs
about this wonderful man I met with two precious little boys. She was born and raised in Dublin and, well,
as soon as I told her your name she dropped an entire tray of drinks. It was then that I found out who you
were. I gotta say that something
tickled the back of my mind, but I couldn’t place it. I do have a couple of Def Leppard cassettes at home and enjoyed
your music very much. I guess I never
took notice of your names. Anyway, the
reason I didn’t let on that I knew because I wanted to give you the
opportunity. I figured you’d tell me
when you were ready.”
Sav sat there,
staring at her with wonder and awe. He
was now able to add refreshingly honest to the list of attributes which
he found so intriguing about her. And
the fact that she respected him to be the one to bring it up made him
appreciate her more.
“Deanna, you
don’t know how much that means to me. I
think a lot of people would’ve hounded me as soon as they found out. Your respect and discretion is very much
appreciated. I gotta say, that I
thought for sure you’d ask what I did for a living during dinner and, well, was
a little surprised when you didn’t. I
knew it would come out sooner or later, but definitely not the way it did.”
Deanna grazed
his face with her amethyst eyes. “Kind
of dramatic, huh?”
Sav chuckled
and shook his head. “You could say
that. And Joe and Phil got a kick out
of it. Of course, it doesn’t take much
to amuse those two, especially when its at my expense.”
“You’ve been
friends, and bandmates, for a long time,” Deanna replied. “I’m sure they do it in love.”
“Well, I
wished they do it in-visible!”
They both
laughed as the waiter dropped off their tea and scones. Sav watched her place one sugar and a drop
of milk in her tea, taking in every fluid, feminine movement and nuance about
her.
Deanna sensed
he was staring and looked up, her breath catching at the look on his handsome
face. Sav flushed a bit when she caught
him.
“Sorry, didn’t
mean to stare. Its just……..God, I’m
sorry, but I think you are so beautiful.”
Deanna felt
her heart rise to her throat as she felt threatening tears form in her
beautiful eyes. Although she
appreciated his compliment for her outward appearance, she wondered how he
would feel if he knew the depth of her emptiness inside. She slowly glanced her eyes down.
“Thank you,”
she shyly whispered. “I must say that
for a man who’s seen a lot of beautiful women in his career, your compliment
humbles me. But, since we’re being so
honest here, regardless of who you are, I was kind of floored when I first saw
you. You and your boys.”
Sav blushed a
bit, not at all used to such sincere compliments. “Thank you Deanna. In a
way, I’m glad you didn’t know who I was.
Especially when I asked you out.
That told me that you were interested in me – a guy named Rick who was a
divorced father with two lads, nothing more.”
“Trust me
Rick, its more than you can imagine,” she said with a bit of
meloncholy. How could she ever explain
that finding a decent, single man with children could be more than she
could imagine?
Sav caught the
sad tone in her voice and was almost about to ask about it, but decided against
it. Just like she respected him to
reveal who he was when he was ready, he would wait for her to reveal more and
more about her life – and the reason for this mysterious sadness.
They finished
up their tea and scones and decided to call it a night. Sav drove her home and walked her to her
door. There was no question that the
date would extend farther than that. He
definitely wanted to see her again and wouldn’t dream of rushing a single
thing.
“Rick, thank
you so much. I had a fantastic time
tonight, and a lot of fun too!”
“So did I,”
Sav replied. “Deanna, I really would
like to see you again. My only problem
is my schedule between songwriting for the new album and spending time with my
lads. Their mother is due back in about
10 days from a trip with her husband, so they’re with me until she can take
them.”
“Rick, we don’t need a fancy night out to see each
other. Like I told you, I’m pretty much
a homebody. If you’d like, we can do
something that includes your boys. I
wouldn’t mind.”
Sav didn’t
know what circumstance drove her across the Atlantic and right into his life,
but he would thank God for it tonight when he went to bed!
“Deanna, I
would love it! And so would the
lads, Sean especially. I think he
fancies you!”
“He’s very
sweet,” Deanna replied. “That age is so
precious and innocent. You know every
act comes from the heart and is genuine.”
“Yes, Sean is
a little imp,” Sav said. “Speaking of
which, he asked me something tonight before I left to get you.”
Deanna tilted
her head up to take in more of his intoxicating face. “What?”
Sav nervously
bit the inside of his lip a bit. “He
asked me if I was going to kiss you.”
Deanna’s heart
slammed in her chest as her mouth slightly parted in anticipation of feeling
this man’s lips on hers.
“And, what are
you going to tell him?”
Sav leaned
down to where his lips were a breath away from hers. “Yes,” he replied before he lightly touched his lips to
hers.
The kiss was
soft and innocent, too proper for his liking, but he didn’t want to scare her
away. However, when he heard Deanna
sigh in his mouth and place a soft hand lightly on his shoulder for support, he
began to feel lost.
He opened his
mouth a bit to which she followed suit.
He badly wanted to slide his tongue inside her mouth, but knew that if
he did that, he’d have a hard time stopping.
She felt too good and her warm, feminine scent made him dizzy.
He, in turn,
lightly put his hand on her waist and drew her a bit closer. He allowed himself to deepen the kiss only a
bit before summoning his willpower to pull himself away. Whether it was the
incredible woman in front of him, or the fact that it had been too damn long
without one, he was aroused to a point where the brisk December night did
nothing to cool him off. He had to
leave. And fast.
“Good night
Deanna,” he whispered against her mouth.
“As soon as I know my schedule, I’ll call you and we’ll set something
up. I’ll try to make it as soon as
possible.”
“I’ll look
forward to it,” she whispered back, feeling like her knees would give out from
that kiss. She then got her bearings,
fetched her key from her purse and went inside her flat, but not before she
turned and gave one last look and a wink to Sav before closing the door.”
Sav felt like
a teenage lad as he practically floated back to his car. With a stupid grin on his face, he got
inside and started the engine. He still
felt Deanna’s lips on his and still smelled the fresh, clean scent of her hair
and the warmth of her body. He would’ve
let his randy thoughts go farther if not for the interruption of his cell
phone.
He huffed and
looked at the ID and saw that it was Joe.
Without a second thought, he opened his glove compartment, tossed his
cell phone inside, shut it then took off for home.
Chapter
18
Sav entered
his house a little before midnight and found Gail in the entertainment room.
“Gail, if its
too late you can spend the night in the nanny’s quarters,” Sav said to her.
Gail got up
and searched for her coat. “Oh, that’s
okay,” she replied. “My daughter is
bringing my grandson over early tomorrow so I need to be home. Thank you for the offer.”
“How were the
lads?”
“Nary a
problem. Though Alex seemed a bit fretful. Why, I don’t know.”
Sav knew
why. He remembered Alex asking him to
wake him up when he got home. With his
mum all but absent from his life, the poor lad was fearing that Sav would take
off on him too.
“I think I
know why Gail,” Sav said. “Hopefully,
it won’t last too long. He misses his mum, that’s all.”
Gail knew the
situation between Sav, his ex-wife and her jet-setting new husband. She thought
a woman who would neglect her children for her own selfish needs should be
strung up by her toes. But, it wasn’t
her place to comment.
“Well, I
understand she’ll be returning soon and hopefully the lads will get a long
visit. Did you have a pleasant time
this evening?”
Sav’s face
instantly broke out into a wide smile.
Pleasant wouldn’t be the word to describe being with Deanna
tonight. Enchanting is more like
it. Gail noticed the smile on his face.
“I’ll take
that as a yes!”
Sav realized
how silly he must’ve looked and immediately readjusted his reaction and cleared
his throat. “Um, yes I did. A very lovely time, thank you.”
Gail headed to
the door, but not without one last comment.
“Must be quite a special lass to get that kind of reaction out of
you. Good night, Mr. Savage.”
Sav knew that
Gail had been with him long enough that she could get away with comments like
that. Of course, she only meant well
and wanted to see him happy with someone.
Keeping his
promise to his eldest son, he climbed the stairs and entered Alex’s
bedroom. He was flat on his stomach,
both hands under his pillow with the sheet and bedspread only up to his
waist. Sav gingerly sat on the edge of
the bed and pulled the covers up to his shoulders, a move which caused Alex to
stir.
“Dad?” he said
in a sleepy, little boy voice.
“Yes, its me
Alex,” Sav whispered as he lovingly rubbed his son’s back. “I’m home now. You can go back to sleep.”
Sav bent down
and kissed his forehead to which Alex let out a satisfied sigh. It broke his heart seeing a 7 year old worrying like this. There was nothing he could do until Karen
returned from the Orient with her husband to spend an extended visit with her
sons as she promised.
He then got up
and went into Sean’s room. He was fast
asleep on his side, curled up like a kitten.
He thought about Sean asking him earlier if he was going to kiss Deanna
this evening. He was so glad that he
did. And he wanted to again. Soon!
He then went
into his room and began to undress.
Once he was in a t-shirt and pajama bottoms, he climbed into the right
side of his bed. Ever since he began sleeping
alone, he couldn’t help from sleeping on one side. It didn’t feel right to sprawl out in the middle. Nor did it feel right to have the left side
empty – that empty space that he wanted so badly to fill.
He ran his
hand over the cool bottom sheet on the space beside him and sighed, wondering
if Deanna’s body would ever warm it.
Chapter
19
Two days
later, Deanna was enjoying the benefits of her press release that she had just
managed to get into circulation before the weekend. She was visited by several dealers in the area and received
e-mails from dealers as far as Waterford with links to their websites.
Deanna was
only computer savvy enough to where she was able to get a brief description of
her shop along with her bio, credentials and a few pics on a web sponsored site
that she was able to e-mail as a link to other dealers, but knew that if she
wanted to compete with the ‘big boys’, she’d need a much more cutting edge
site. Once she got together enough
money, she’d make the investment into that.
Even though
she only had a few sales, especially with Monday being the slowest day, she
enjoyed the traffic in and out of her shop as well as the conversation and
meeting new people. Being alone all day
sometimes got to her and the diversion of having people filtering in and out of
her shop allowed her not to daydream about Rick.
Not that it
stopped her anyway. All she thought of
was him and that delicious kiss he gave her at the door. She had yet to hear from him, but she knew
he’d call and didn’t fret. She so
looked forward to not only seeing him again, but seeing his boys. There was still so much she wanted to know
about him – not just about his career, but about his life. She was much more interested in the man and
father he is, that he will be forever, rather than the rock star, which he may
not always be.
Around 1:00pm,
her tummy began to grumble over not having anything except a scone and tea at
9:30am. She waited for a local dealer
to finish perusing her shop and chatting with her before she decided to close
up for a bit so she could grab lunch.
As she was waiting, she heard the jingling of the bell above the door,
signaling someone had entered. She
groaned, wishing that she had brought something with her for lunch. But when she saw her friend Maura with a bag
in her hand, she smiled with relief and went over to her.
“Hey, what are
you doing here? Aren’t you working
today?”
“My shift
doesn’t start till 2:00, but I’m working till closing – ugh!” Maura
replied. “I saw your press release and
your fliers and thought you may be busy today.
I brought home some of the pub’s corned beef and cabbage from
yesterday. Its sooooo good! Thought you might like to try it.”
Deanna’s mouth
salivated from the mention of food.
“Are you kidding? I’m
practically starving! As soon as it
cleared out here, I was gonna head down for a sandwich.”
“Well, I saved
you a trip,” Maura said.
Deanna looked
at her a little skeptically. “Is that
the only reason you’re here?”
“Of course
not,” Maura stated. “I’m dying to find
out how your date with Sav went.”
“Sav?”
“Oh, well,
that’s his nickname,” Maura said.
“That’s what he’s gone by for years since their drummer’s name is Rick
as well. Anyway, how was it? Where’d you go? Oh God, did he kiss you?”
Deanna tried
to control a giggle with customers still in the store. “It was great….we went to dinner at
Fitzsimmons, then to see a comedien at Zanzibar then to go get tea and, yes, he
did kiss me.”
Maura looked
about to die. “Oh my God, I can’t
believe it! People who live here all
their lives don’t stand a chance. You
move here from the States and have only been here a few months and landed a
date with Rick Savage. What perfume do
you wear?”
As Deanna
smiled, she noticed the customers in the shop turned their heads towards her as
soon as Maura mentioned Rick’s name.
Deanna nervously smiled back then turned to Maura. “Will you keep it down. I believe that Rick is a man who likes his
privacy so I don’t want you blabbing this.”
“Oh, sorry,”
Maura whispered. “Anyway, are you gonna
see him again?”
“Yes. We’re gonna do something with his two little
boys. I can’t wait!”
Maura looked
puzzled. “You can’t? God, Deanna, two little kids can kinda put a
damper on things, especially if they get…um…heated between the two of you.”
Deanna blushed
a bit, as she had been unable, for the past two days, to wonder what Rick would
be like as a lover. “Well, I don’t mind
being with his boys. I suggested it. And…as far as things ‘getting heated’, I’m
not jumping into anything like that too fast.
I want more time to get to know him and his boys. I just can’t give my heart and my body to
somebody without a thought anymore.
I’ve risked too much in the past and I won’t risk it again – even though
he is handsome and famous.”
Maura shook
her head. “Trust me, you won’t hold out
that long. But, if you do, then you’ve
got willpower of steel. That man is
incredibly sexy.”
Deanna sighed
with a smile. “Yeah, I know.”
“Ooooh, you
are fancying him something bad, aren’t you?”
“Can you blame
me?”
“No, nor can a
million other women, I suppose,” Maura replied. “Well, keep me informed.
I want to know everything, you understand?”
“I’ll do my
best,” Deanna replied, as the last customer left the store. She took the bag from Maura as she left to
start her shift at the pub. Deanna put
the ‘closed’ sign in the window, went to get a cup of spring water and sat down
behind her desk to savor the corned beef.
Maura was right – it was absolutely delicious.!
Her lunch was
interrupted when the telephone rang.
She swallowed, then took a sip of water before answering. “Renaissance Antiques, may I help you?”
“Well, you
already have and the service was outstanding!” came a beautiful British voice
on the other end.
Deanna felt
her entire body tingle. “Rick, hi. How are you?”
“Good. Just getting ready to leave to go to
Joe’s. We usually start working in the
afternoon and go non-stop till about midnight, so I wanted to give you a ring
now. Um, I was wondering if you close
your shop any day during the week?”
“Well, I
usually close on Mondays because it seems to be the slowest day, but I only
opened today because I put my press release out before the weekend. I’m glad I did come in. I had a lot of dealers and customers come
by.”
“Luv, that’s
brilliant!” Sav said with genuine enthusiasm.
“You’re gonna be fine here, I just know it.”
“Yeah, I’m
hoping. Anyway, since I came in today,
I was thinking of closing either Wednesday or Thursday. Why?”
“Well, if you
can close Thursday, that’ll be great,” Sav said. “I’m gonna keep Sean home from kindergaten and Alex’s school has
teacher conferences so he’ll be home as well.
Joe, Phil and I are gonna work non-stop for the next three days so I can
take a break Thursday and spend it with the boys. It would be a pleasure if you’d spend it with us.”
Deanna’s heart
raced. She didn’t expect to hear from
him so soon, but the fact that she did only told her that he wanted to see her
again as much as she wanted to see him.
“Rick, I’d
love to,” she said without a thought.
“I’ll plan on closing Thursday.
Um, what do you have in mind?”
“Not sure, you
can’t always have concrete plans with little boys, but there’s this
entertainment facility outside Dublin.
It has this huge play area for children as well as games that adults can
play and several nice restaurants. I
was thinking maybe there. I just want
to keep an eye out for the weather.”
“The
weather? Why?”
“We’re
supposed to have a snowfall on Wednesday night – several inches I hear.”
“I thought it
only rained here in Ireland?”
“No, that’s
England,” Sav said with a chuckle. “So,
does this mean we’re on for Thursday?”
“Hmmm, a date
with three attractive men,” Deanna said with thought. “How could I possibly turn that down?”
“Oh, do I have
to compete with my lads for your affections?”
“As much as I
think your sons are darling, that’ll be a competiton they’ll lose for sure.”
Deanna bit her
lip after saying that, wondering if it was too forward.
“I’m glad to
hear that luv,” Sav huskily replied.
“Well, I’ve got to get going.
I’ll call you at home Thursday morning before I come to get you. I’m…..looking forward to seeing you again
Deanna.”
“I’m looking
forward to it too, Rick. Don’t work too
hard.”
“I’ll try not
to. Cheers, luv.”
“Bye.”
Deanna was
dreamily staring ahead as she tried to put the receiver back on the phone and,
instead, stuck it right in her corned beef!
Chapter
20
That
afternoon, Sav arrived at Joe’s, fully prepared for an onslaught of questions
from his date with Deanna. He decided
to get it all out in the open first so he could concentrate the rest of the
afternoon.
He entered the
Garage where Joe and Phil were already waiting. Sav stood in the doorway with his arms out.
“Okay,
shoot. Ask me anything you want now
because I am not answering anything later.”
Joe
smirked. “Well, since you’re willing to
answer anything, I’m gonna assume that there’s nothing interesting
to hear.”
“We’ll just
safely assume that you both retreated to separate beds Saturday night,” Phil
added.
“For once, you
both assume correctly,” Sav answered.
“Are you gonna
see her again?” Joe asked.
“Yes,
Thursday. The lads are home from
school, so she’s closing the antique store so we can do something together.”
“Ooooh, a
family day,” Phil leered. “How cozy.”
“It was her
suggestion to include the lads,” Sav said.
“I’m really looking forward to it and so is she. Those lads are missing their mum something
terrible and, well, I think Deanna’s presence will be welcome in their lives.”
“Remember Sav,
they already have a ‘mum’,” Joe warned.
“Yeah, well,
if she doesn’t get her arse back from the Orient fast, those lads are gonna forget
they have a mum!” Sav shot back. “She
has no problem in going forward, so I’m gonna do the same thing. My sons are not gonna suffer from her
neglect.”
“So, I take it
that you already think Deanna is a suitable replacement?” Phil asked.
Sav sat down
and blew out a breath. “Phil, I know
its too early to tell. We’ve only been
out once. But I’ve learned so much
about her that tells me she’s special in that way. Plus, there’s still so much I don’t know that I still want to
find out. I’m not gonna rush with her –
in anything!”
Joe let out a
long, low whistle. “Wow, you really are
all in a twist over her, especially not to rush getting her in bed. Hope you have a nice, warm, stuffed teddy
bear or something.”
“Joke all you
want, Joe, but I’m doing this the right way.
I just don’t have myself to consider, but my sons. Now, if that’s all you have to ask, then the
question and answer hour is over.”
“Wait, wait….I
have one,” Phil interjected. “How did
she react after she found out who you were?”
“Actually, she
had already found out before our date, but it was after I asked her out,” Sav
replied. “She told a waitress friend of
hers about this man named Rick Savage that she met and was asked out by and,
well, the friend spilled the beans. It
still doesn’t matter. Before she knew,
I was just a divorced man who was ten years older than her with two little boys
– and she still agreed to go out with me.
I know what I do won’t matter to her.
She’s fiercely independent and is committed to her antique store. I mean, she moved her entire life all across
the Atlantic to where she had no family or friends.. If that didn’t take guts, I don’t know what did.”
“Hmm, wonder
why she would make such a drastic move like that,” Joe said thoughtfully. “Did you ask her?”
“No, but in
time I’ll find more out about her. But,
I gotta admit, I noticed a hint of sadness when she talked about moving
here. Not over missing home, but
something else.”
“Like running
away from a bad memory or…….relationship maybe?” Phil asked.
Sav
shrugged. “I don’t know. But, like I said, I’m sure I’ll find out.”
Chapter 21
Thursday
arrived and, just like Sav had predicted, snow had blanketed most of Dublin –
about 6 inches worth!
Deanna was up
early that day, too excited about spending the day with him and his son’s to
sleep past seven. She immediately
changed into some exercise clothes and did her workout video for 45
minutes. She then had cottage cheese
and fruit and a slice of toast for breakfast then took a long, hot shower.
Since they
weren’t going anywhere fancy, not to mention the weather outside wasn’t
appropriate for dressing up, Deanna opted for a nice pair of blue jeans and a
soft, white v-neck sweater. She then
laced up her black shoe boots and chose to wear her hip length black leather
coat and a pair of white gloves with a matching scarf.
Sav had called
to confirm and was coming by to get her around noon. She met him outside her flat building so he didn’t have to leave
the boys in the car to come get her.
She got in the passenger’s side and smiled at Sav before looking in the
back seat.
“Hello boys,
its good to see you again,” Deanna said to them.
“Hi,” Alex
said quietly, before looking out the window.
He looked disturbed about something and Deanna thought it was because he
missed his mum. She then looked at
Sean, who was snickering in his hands while looking at her.
“And just
what’s so funny?”
“Did you kiss
my daddy?”
Sav looked in
the rear view mirror. “Okay, enough of
that Sean.” He then looked at
Deanna. “Sorry about that, luv. Just when you think their attention span is
short, they go and remember things you’d rather forget.”
Deanna flashed
her beautiful, amethyst eyes at him.
“So, what you’re saying is that you’d rather forget kissing me the other
night?”
Sav stared
into her incredibly, lovely face as the memory of her kiss, as well as the
huskiness in her voice, caused his heart to beat.
“I don’t think
I could forget that if I tried.”
In the
backseat, Alex blew out a frustrated breath.
“Yuk, could you please stop talking about kissing! Can we go, please?”
Sav turned in
his seat. “Mind your manners lad and
watch how you speak to me, okay?
Alright, lets go.”
While they
drove, Deanna looked at Alex. “You okay
Alex?”
Alex only
nodded, still staring out the window.
Deanna left it alone and, instead, enjoyed the rural area that was
coming into view as they exited downtown Dublin. It was even more beautiful covered in snow.
“Wow, Rick
look how peaceful all this looks!” she exclaimed. “Whats that over there with all those tiny hills?”
“Oh, that’s a
public golf course.”
“Do you golf?”
“I’ve dabbled
here and there, but I’m not addicted to
it. Its supposed to be relaxing, but I
think its too nervewracking.”
As they
approached the entertainment center, they were astonished to see it jam packed
and with nary a parking spot to be found.
Sav looked around with little hope.
“Guess the bad
weather kept all the kids home today and they decided to come here. I don’t think we’re gonna get in.”
Alex was the
first to protest. “But dad, we’ve got
to go in!”
“Well, we may
not Alex. The place is overcrowded.”
“But you
promised!” Alex whined.
“I know I
promised, but there’s nothing I can do lad,” Sav reasoned. “I’m sorry.
We’ll have to think of something else.”
“I don’t want
to do anything else,” Alex spat out. “I
wanted to go here. You promised and now
you’re breaking your promise – just like mum!”
Sav turned
around with hurt, flaring eyes.
“That’ll be enough young man!
You will watch that mouth of yours else you’re gonna find my hand across
it. Now, we’re gonna spend the day
together, but we have to find something else to do.”
“Whatever,”
Alex mumbled to herself.
Suddenly, a
brilliant idea overcame Deanna. “Rick!”
she said excitedly. “I think I have
something in mind that the boys might like.
But um…..I need you to make a stop somewhere.”
“Where?”
“Well, we
passed a toy store way back. Take me
there, okay?”
“Yeah, toy
store!” Sean sang out.
Alex just
rolled his eyes.
“Actually
Sean, I’m just gonna run in the toy store really fast, okay?”
“No, I want to
go in too,” he protested.
“Well you
can’t because it’ll spoil the surprise.
You’ll see.”
Sav smiled
appreciatively at Deanna for her patience and also wondering what she had up
her sleeve. He let her out in front of
the toy store as she ran inside. About
15 minutes later, she came out with two, huge bags in her hands. Sav popped the trunk from inside as she
placed the bags in before getting back into the car.
“What on earth
did you buy?”
“You’ll
see! Now….drive back to that public
golf course.”
Sav gave her a
weird look, before turning the car around and heading back. Deanna took the opportunity to look in the
backseat at the boys.
“Wait till you
see what I’ve got in store for you boys!”
Sean was
excited, whereas Alex just shrugged with disappointment. She hoped that when he saw what she had he’d
change his mind.
When Sav
pulled into the golf course, he popped the trunk as Deanna got out. He stopped the car and both boys got out of
the car with him as they watched Deanna take the two bags out of the trunk.
She then
surveyed the snowy hills of the golf course.
“Perfect!”
“For what?”
Sav insisted.
Deanna then
pulled two round, plastic snow saucers out of the bag.
“A little old
fashioned sledding!”
Chapter
22
Sav folded his
arms and smiled wide as he saw Deanna drop the two plastic saucers onto the
snowy golf course then proceeded to plop herself right down in the middle of
one.
And, without
batting an eye, precious 5 year old Sean settled himself down right in front of
her. She then looked up at him.
“Well, what
are you and Alex waiting for? C’mon!”
Sav looked
down at the saucer then back at Deanna.
“You….you mean me?
Deanna, I haven’t sledded since…….crikey, I don’t think I ever did. England isn’t known for its winter snowstorms.”
“Well, there’s
a first for everything,” she replied.
“And, I think there’s someone behind you who finally perked up.”
Sav turned
around to see 7 year old Alex with a smile on his face and a light in his eyes
that he hadn’t seen in months. He would’ve
given anything to see that since then.
And now he had…..and it was all because of Deanna’s quick thinking and
giving heart.
“Lets go, lets
go!” Sean shouted, trying to scoot forward to get the saucer to go down the
hill.
“Okay,” Deanna
replied, looking up at Sav. “See down
the end of the hill.”
With that, she
pushed off and her and Sean went sliding down the sloping hill. The sound of Sean’s laughter rang through
the golf course like music to his ears.
Sean was never a problem, for he was too young to pick up on what was
going on. Once he was introduced to
something new or fun, he forgot all else.
But Alex was different. The divorce,
not to mention not seeing his mum, clung to him, no matter what he was
doing. But Sav would make damn sure that
he forgot about it today.
He turned to
his eldest son. “What say you,
lad? Wanna take a spin down the hill?”
Alex ran over
and sat down in the saucer. “Cool! I’ve never done this before. Its like a rollercoaster with snow.”
Sav gingerly
situated himself behind Alex, not knowing what to do with his long legs. He put his booted feet on the edge in front
of him then grabbed the side handle with one hand while his other arm went
around Alex to protect him.
“Okay…..here
goes,” he said as he pushed off. Alex
whooped it up all the way down just like an excited little boy. Sav had to admit to that, for a 40 year old
man, it was a fun thrill. Of course,
the joy upon his children’s faces and being in the presence of a beautiful
young woman who caused it, topped any thrilling feat.
When they
landed at the bottom, they met up with Deanna who was trying to keep Sean from
climbing back up with the large saucer in order to go back down again.
“I wanna go
again, c’mon!” Sean said, tugging on her arm.
“Oh, we will,”
Deanna replied. “We’ll all climb back
up together, okay?”
Sean pouted,
but he nodded.
When Sav
stretched his long body up out of the saucer, he went over to Deanna. She took him and wasted no time taking note
of him.
“Well, you
certainly look like a young kid with a wide smile,” she said.
“I feel like
one, if you can imagine,” he replied.
He looked at Deanna’s lovely face.
Her cheeks were pinkened from the cold air and her gorgeous amethyst
colored eyes were sparkling like a diamond.
Deanna flushed
a bit at his appraisal, even as her eyes locked on his stunning blue ones. He looked not one bit a 40 year old divorced
father, but a bright-eyed youth with nary a care in the world.
They said not
a word, for their eyes spoke volumes to each other. The electricity between them at the moment made them forget their
surroundings, until a snowball right in the middle of Sav’s back made him
remember.
He turned to
see Alex with an evil grin on his face forming snowballs in his tiny hands.
“Why you
little……” Sav said as he collected some snow to throw back.
Before long,
the four of them were pelting each other with snow. Deanna was even getting Sav good, causing him to lose his footing
and fall on his bum. But, not before he
grabbed onto Deanna’s sleeve and took her with him.
She toppled
right across his long body that was warm, despite the weather. Their faces were mere inches and their
visible breath mingled.
His lips were
inches from hers and he’d been going out of his mind with want to kiss her
again since their first date. The sight
of her moist, parted, lips caused him to lick his own in anticipation as he
noticed her eyes darken from clear amethyst to a deep purple of desire.
Before he
could lean up to kiss her, he saw a tiny pair of arms wrap around her neck from
behind her and try to pull her up.
“C’mon Deanna,
I wanna sled again,” Sean squealed.
Deanna raised
her eyebrows at Sav and got off him, his body protesting from the absence of
her soft heat.
“Yeah dad,
c’mon….lets do it again,” Alex said with euphoria.
Deanna grabbed
the saucer with one hand and Sean’s hand with the other, then turned to Sav.
“You heard
him……lets do it!”
As she
disappeared back up the hill, Sav thought that was a brilliant idea.
But….he wasn’t
referring to sledding!
Chapter
23
After an hour
and a half of sledding, Sav thought that Alex and Sean would’ve been
knackered. Instead, they were wound up
tight as a string, not to mention that their clothes were damp from the snow.
He went over
to Deanna. “You know, I really wanted
all of us to go somewhere nice for lunch, but those two don’t look like they’d
be able to sit still. Plus, I really
don’t think they should be sitting all day in damp clothes, only to be fighting
a cold later on.”
“Rick, if you
want, we can get something to go and go back to your house so you can get the
boys into some dry clothes,” Deanna suggested, before she realized that she may
have spoke too soon. “Uh…that is…..I
mean……I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to invite myself over, I just thought it would
be more convenient, you know?”
Deanna bit her
lip over her presumptuousness. Maybe he
didn’t want her at his house?
“If you really
don’t mind, that would be lovely,” Sav replied. “The last thing I planned on was spending the day at home. I wanted for us to spend the day out doing
something fun.”
“Oh Rick, I’m
sorry,” she said worriedly. “I guess I
didn’t think about the affect the sledding would have on the boys…..”
“No, no, no, its not your fault,” Sav quickly
added. “I haven’t seen them have so
much fun, nor laugh so hard since…….well, a long time, lets put it that way.”
“Daddy,
Deanna, c’mon, lets go up the hill again!”
A somber
moment was interrupted by 5 year old Sean who seemed to have been energized by
the spontaneous sledding. Alex quickly
added his own feelings.
“I’m
hungry. Can we go eat something?”
“That’s what
we’re talking about now,” Sav told him.
“However, you lads need to get into some dry colds, else you’ll catch
your death and miss school.”
Alex’s face
lit up. “Really? If I get sick, I can stay home?”
“Forget it,
lad. You’re not staying home from
school because you won’t be getting sick. What we’re gonna do is get something to go and bring it back to
the house so I can get you changed.”
“But dad, I
don’t want to go home!” Alex protested.
“You said we were gonna spend the day doing something fun.”
“And we will,
but it’ll have to be inside,” Sav said.
“We can still make it fun.”
“That’s
right,” Deanna added. “How about……we
get some ingredients to make some good, sloppy tacos and maybe rent a movie?”
“Tacos?” Alex
said. “What are those?”
“Well, they’re
Mexican. You have these big taco
shells, that are really one big corn chip, and you fill them with meat and
cheese and sour cream and taco sauce and they’re a really big mess to eat, but
a lot of fun.”
“Mmm, sounds
good,” Alex replied. “I guess that’s
okay. But not cartoon for a movie.”
“I wanna see
Bug’s Life,” Sean shouted, jumping up and down.
Alex winced
and turned to his younger brother. “We
already saw that! We have it on
tape. We’re not gonna watch some baby
movie.”
“I’m not a
baby!” Sean shot back.
“Enough lads,”
Sav interjected between them. “What did
I tell you about behaving yourself today?
I meant it. Now, this is the
plan. We’re going the video store and
get something that’s appropriate for all of us. Then we’re stopping by the market and get stuff to make tacos and
then we’re going home. We’ll have a fun
day lads, I promise.”
Alex looked at
him with uncertainty, not too big on promises that have been made to him
lately, especially by his mum.
“Rick, I have
an idea,” Deanna said. “Since we’ll be
going back to your house, why don’t you drop me off at my apartment first and
I’ll get my car? This way here, you
won’t have to bundle the boys up later to take me home.”
Sav went over
and stood before her. “You don’t have
to do that Deanna. I can call Gail to
come stay with them so I can take you home.”
“Rick, there’s
no need to bother your nanny just so you can take me home. I don’t mind, really. It probably won’t be a late night since I’ve
got to opent he shop tomorrow.”
“I know, and
I’ve got to get those two buggers up for school before heading to Joe’s,” he
replied. “That would helpful if you did
that.”
“Then lets go
then,” Deanna said. “We’ve got a whole
afternoon ahead of us.”
Sav watched
Deanna walk back to the car with Sean following her like she was the Pied
Piper. Alex was close behind,
shuffling the snow with his feet.
He looked
forward to her spending the rest of the afternoon with him, but couldn’t help
but wonder if, and when, she’d ever spend the night.
Chapter
24
After all
agreeing on Toy Story 2 and walking out of the market with 3 bags of groceries,
Deanna got in her car and followed Sav and the boys to his house in Dalkey.
As she
followed him up the long, private road, her eyes widened through the windshield
as she caught her first view of his marvelous home, set upon a hill overlooking
the ocean. It was a home that befitted
someone of his celebrity.
She parked her
car next to his and helped him in with the groceries. As soon as the door opened, Sean went running in, followed by
Alex, but not before Sav stopped him.
“Aye, lads,
come back here and take your shoes off.
You’re will not track wet snow on the wood floors.”
Deanna
instinctly bent down and helped Sean off with his shoes and coat and Alex took
care of himself. She then turned to
Sav.
“If its okay
with you, I can start some prep work on these in your kitchen while you get the
boys changes.”
“Sure, that’ll
be fine. Follow me.”
Deanna
followed down a magnificent foyer and allowed her eyes to peruse the
meticulously decorated surroundings which was a mix of contemporary flair and
old world charm. Her eyes immediately
locked onto several antique pieces that piqued her interest. Sav saw her looking around and knew exactly
what she was thinking.
“After we’re
done and settled, I’ll give you a more formal tour, if you’d like.”
“I’d love to,”
she said. “I think I’ve fallen in love
with your antique collection. You
definitely have good taste.”
He looked deep
into her eyes. “I guess I have the
knack for knowing a treasure when I see one.”
Deanna
flustered under his gaze and the heat of his words until reality set in.
“Dad, I’m
hungry,” Alex whined. “I want those
tacos.”
Sav huffed and
looked at Deanna. “Excuse me,” he said
before turning to Alex. “Alexander
John, get to your room right now!
You’ll change out of those clothes and then you’ll wait for me while I
change your brother. I don’t like your
impatience or your rudeness today.”
“But……”
“Upstairs
now!”
Alex let out a
loud huff before stomping up the stairs.
Sav then turned apologetically to Deanna. “You said you wanted to spend the day with my kids. At least you’re seeing them at their
best-worst”
Deanna laughed
over his attempt to cover up his agitation.
“Rick, they’re little boys who miss their mum – well, Alex mainly. He has no outlet to vent his frustration,
so he’s just doing it however he can.”
Sav’s eyebrows
went up. “Well, you seem to have some
insight to this, especially for someone who doesn’t have children of her
own. I think you’ll make a good mum
someday.”
Deanna’s
insides tightened as soon as he said those words, but she wouldn’t allow it to
show upon her face.
“Guess
so. Well, I’ll get these tacos
started.”
“Okay, I won’t
be long,” he said as he went up the stairs.
Deanna went
into the kitchen and placed the groceries on the long trestle table and began
to hunt around the drawers and cabinets for utensils and dishes. She found a pan and began to brown the meat
with the taco seasoning. While that was
cooking, she cut up lettuce, olives and tomatoes. She then found some small dishes and placed the sour cream and
taco sauce in each before opening up a large package of shredded cheese to
place in another large dish.
All the while,
she thought about what Sav said about her making a great mom. The only way she could do that was to
someone elses children, for she would never have a chance with children of her
own.
A thought then
crossed her mind that worried her.
Sure, it was only their second date, but, should things work out between
them, well….what if he should want to marry again and have more children? Did she just think that because he already
had two that he wouldn’t want more? If
they did get on well together, there would come a point where she would have to
tell him about her inabilities. Would
that affect whether or not he still wanted to be with her?
Deanna shook
her head to clear her thoughts. It was
much too early to be thinking these things.
It was, after all, only their second date. However, if things went well tonght, she anticipated a third and
maybe…another after that. There was
still a lot she didn’t know about Rick as to what he wants for his future and
was sure that she’d find these things out over time. For now, she just concentrated on the present.
She just hoped
she wasn’t setting her heart up for another let down.
Chapter
25
After a messy
round of tacos, Sav decided it was best to get the boys cleaned up and in the
pajamas before they started the movie.
He knew that watching videos had a tendency to make them sleepy, so he
wanted them ready for bed when it was over.
Without a
thought, Deanna offered to help Sav and took Sean. She helped him wash his hands and face and brush his teeth before
allowing him to select his favorite pair of pajamas with Buzz Lightyear on
them, which was appropriate, considering the movie they were going to
watch. She then took a brush and
brushed his soft brown wavy hair into place before lovingly caressing his
head. Sean looked up and gave her an
innocent beam of delight that only a child can give. Her heart, and womb, thumped at the look before realizing that
these were not her children.
The four of
them took to the couch and watched the movie and afterwards, as suspected, Alex
and Sean had nodded off.
“Guess all
that sledding finally caught up to them,” Sav said. “Here, watch Sean for me while I take Alex upstairs. I’ll come back down for him.”
“No, that’s
okay. I’ll take Sean. No need to make two trips.”
Sav gave her a
warm, appreciative smile and she knew right away where Sean got his
heartstopping grin. “Thank you,
Deanna. You’ve pretty much been the
savior today.”
“Nonsense,”
she replied. “I would’ve done this even
if our original plans got changed. Like
I told you, I’m quite a homebody and much prefer evenings like this.”
Sav gingerly
hoisted Alex into his arms and looked at Deanna. “Well, if we continue to see each other, you better get used to
evenings like this.”
Deanna didn’t
answer. All she did was gather a sleepy
Sean in her arms and gave Sav a smile that said all she had to say. After putting both boys down, they went back
downstairs and realized that they were truly alone for the first time
today. Even if his sons weren’t right
upstairs, Sav was going to stay true to his word and not rush this wonderful
thing he has going with this extrodinary woman.
“Now that its
officially ‘adult time’, would you care for a glass of wine?”
“Yes, please,”
Deanna replied.
Sav came back
with a glass of chablis and handed it to her.
He then looked at the clock and saw that it was almost 9. Deanna followed his eyes and saw where he
was looking.
“I didn’t
realize it was that late,” she said. “I
better leave as soon as I finish this…..”
“No…no, I
didn’t look at the clock because I was trying to get rid of you,” Sav quickly
corrected himself. “On the contrary, I
couldn’t wait for this day to arrive.
And…moreso, I couldn’t wait to get those lads upstairs to bed so we
could be alone.”
Deanna was
both anxious and tense. She knew that
nothing would happen between them so soon, but she knew that if things
continued on as they did, a physical relationship between the two of them would
be apparent. She hadn’t been intimate
with a man in quite some time and it scared her. Scared of the emotion that it would bring out in her…..scared
that her heart would become open and vulnerable……scared that, once she told Sav
about herself, her open heart would be shattered to pieces.
As much as she
was attracted to this man, she needed to know where he stood on desiring more
children before she gave her heart.
Although she knew it was way too early in their relationship to be
thinking of anything serious, the way things were progressing and the hints
that he’d been giving that he wanted them to progress, told her to be
prepared. Sure, there was always
adoption, but, as she painfully learned, most men wanted children of their own
body.
She watched
him sit down next to her on the couch and hold his wineglass up.
“To avoiding
disaster today,” he toasted with a grin.
Deanna clinked
her glass with his and counter-toasted.
“To a day and night that was filled with fun, laughter, warmth and……….”
Deanna halted
as her emotions came out of her mouth faster than she wanted. But Sav wouldn’t have her hold back.
He leaned in
dangerously close. “What? Tell me?”
Looking up at
hisbeautiful face and skin melting blue eyes, Deanna couldn’t deny him.
“……you,” she
finished
Sav’s heart
hammered at the thought of this woman’s feeling growing for him so soon. Never did he think he would luck out like
this. He calmed himself as they both
sipped their wine. He then put his
glass down then took hers out of her
hand and placed it next to his on the coffee table.
He then took
her hand and looked deep into her amethyst eyes. “Deanna, I had a brilliant time today. Even though we didn’t get to do what I planned, it turned out
lovely anyway.”
Deanna just
sat there speechless, letting his smooth accent wash over her – even as he
leaned his head in closer to hers.
“Absolutely
lovely,” he huskily whispered inches from her lips before he touched them with
his own.
Deanna never
knew a kiss quite like this. Maybe it
was because he was older and, well, much more experienced, considering his
past. But this wasn’t the kiss of a
swaggering, full of himself rock star who knows he could charm any woman he
desired. This was the kiss of a man who
just knew how!
She slid her
hands up towards his neck, aching to run her fingers through his air and was
rewarded with a low groan when she did.
Only their lips played with each other, until she felt his cautious
tongue softly caress the inside of her lower lip.
Deanna pulled
him closer to her and met her tongue with his.
This was what she was waiting for since he kissed her on her doorstep
last Saturday night. She wanted nothing
more than for this moment to go on forever.
Just the two of them.
Until……
“Daddy? Daddy, where are you?”
That anguished
voice was that of Alex as he came in the family room looking for his
father. Sav had leaned so far down into
Deanna that he wasn’t visible from the back of the couch. Their lips parted instantly and Sav shot up.
“Alex, whats
wrong?”
Alex didn’t
look too good and he was holding his hand to his stomach.
“I……I don’t
feel good, daddy. I…….I…”
Deanna knew
that look. She had enough friends with
kids to know. And, considering that
Alex wasn’t used to eating Mexican, it could only mean one thing.
“Uh oh,”
Deanna muttered as she jumped off the couch and whisked Alex into the nearest
half bath just in time for him to empty the entire contents of his stomach into
the toilet.
Chapter
26
Deanna held
Alex’s forehead as the 7 year old heaved up his entire taco dinner. Sav came in and knelt down on the other side
of Alex.
“Oh no. I guess the Mexican didn’t agree with him.”
Deanna got
up. “I think I saw some ginger ale in
your fridge. That’ll calm his stomach a
bit afterwards.”
Deanna left as
Sav held Alex’s forehead with one hand and lovingly rubbed his back with the
other. He was grateful that Deanna
acted as quickly as he did, and was amazed that she recognized the look of
nausea on Alex’s face. Her care and
tender touch made him appreciate her more.
When Alex had
nothing left in his tummy, Sav helped him up.
“You okay
little mate?”
Alex just
nodded. “Yeah. Feels a little better.”
Sav then ran
the faucet so Alex could rinse his mouth out before grabbing a tissue to wipe
the tears that formed in his eyes.
“Its okay
Alex. All those Mexican seasonings
probably didn’t agree with you.”
Alex just
nodded as more tears formed in his eyes.
“Hey, its
okay,” Sav consoled him. “Does your
tummy still hurt?”
Alex shook his
head. “No, its just……I was scared.”
“I know what
you mean,” Sav said. “Its not a
pleasant feeling, the one right before you have to throw up.”
“No, I mean…I
was scared when I came looking for you and didn’t see you.”
Sav flushed a
bit, remembering that he was halfway reclined on the couch kissing Deanna when
Alex came down looking for him.
“There was
nothing to be scared about Alex. I was
here. You just didn’t see me.”
Alex sniffed
in a sob. “I…I know, but…..at the time
I thought….I thought…..”
“What?”
“I thought you
went away with Deanna the way mum went away with Jonathan.”
Sav sat on the
bathroom floor and took Alex into his arms and allowed him to cry. “Alex, listen to me. I know you miss your mum and that she’s been
away a lot, but I am not going anywhere.
I will always be here.
Always. No matter what. Do you understand?”
“I guess,”
Alex replied with a sniffle.
Just then,
Deanna came in with a glass of ginger ale in one hand and some crackers in
another. “I hope you don’t mind,
Rick. I went through your cabinets to
see if you had any plain crackers.
These and the soda might take the nausea away a bit.”
Sav took the
glass from her and gave it to Alex to drink.
Alex drank it down, then let out a little burp. Sav raised his brows and looked at him
sternly.
“Excuse me,”
Alex sheepishly said. “Um….but, it felt
good to burp.”
“That’s okay,”
Deanna said, handing him a cracker.
“Here, this may soak up that yucky feeling in your tummy, okay?”
Alex nodded as
Sav helped him up. “Well, I guess we
better get you back to bed.”
“No,
could….could I stay up a while longer?
Just until I feel a bit better?”
Sav knew that
he’d have no more alone time with Deanna tonight, but his son was more
important right now. Deanna knew that
too.
“Okay, but
only for a bit.”
“I really
should get going too,” Deanna said.
“I’ve got to open the shop tomorrow.”
“Let me get
your coat.”
“No, that’s
okay. Stay with your son. I remember where the closet is.”
Deanna came
back with her coat and gloves on and grabbed her purse from the chair. Sav got up and went to her. “At least let me walk you to the door.”
“You’ll have
to do more than that,” Deanna said with a grin.
Sav widened
his eyes.
“I mean,
you’ll have to give me directions to get out of here and back to the main
road.”
“Oh….okay. Its easy, really.”
Deanna went
over to Alex who was snuggled on the couch.
“Goodnight, Alex. I’m sorry that
you got sick, but I’m sure you’ll feel better soon. I had fun today and I hope you did too.”
Alex looked at
her with slightly guarded eyes. “Yeah,
I had fun. I liked the sledding.”
“Well, those
saucers are yours to keep for you and your brother.”
“Thank you.”
Deanna walked
to the door where Sav awaited her.
“Well?”
“Today has
been a day of unexpected surprises, that’s for sure,” Sav said. “As wonderful as a time I had, I think I
still prefer to have an evening with just the two of us. I was thinking….do you like Japanese?”
“Oooh, I love
Japanese restaurants,” Deanna said with enthusiasm. “Its so much fun to watch them prepare the food right in front of
you.”
“Well, then
I’ve got just the place for us to go then.
That is….if you want to go out again.”
“Of course I
do. Why wouldn’t I?”
Sav looked a
bit shy. “Oh, I don’t know. Thought maybe tonight may have scared you
off.”
“Rick, don’t
be ridiculous. Alex didn’t get sick on
purpose.”
“Oh,..oh, I
know that, its just…..well, if we keep seeing each other, interruptions such as
these may happen again. Until their mum
returns and takes them for a few weeks, they are my first priority. They have to come first and, well, things
may come up that may infringe upon our plans.”
“And you think
that may make me not want to see you anymore?
If anything, that makes me want to see you all the more. The fact that you’re a loving and caring
father is a high quality that’s very appealing. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Sav took her
hand and kissed it. “Thanks, luv.”
After giving
her directions back to the main road, Sav leaned in to give her a kiss. “Goodnight, and thank you again so much for
all you did tonight. Once I find out my
schedule for the rest of the week, I’ll call you and we’ll discuss the weekend,
okay?”
“Okay. Goodnight Rick. And um…..sweet dreams.”
With a flash
of her amethyst eyes, Deanna turned and went to her car as Sav’s eyes followed
her.
“Yes, sweet
dreams indeed,” he muttered.
Chapter
27
The next
morning Sav got both boys off to school.
He first had to endure an argument from Alex who was trying to pursuade
him to let him stay home from school, claiming that his stomach still
hurt. But he knew when his eldest son
was faking it and sent him off with a frown for a reward.
He arrived at
Joe’s house around noon to find him and Phil in the kitchen.
“G’morning,”
Sav greeted.
Joe eyes Phil
before looking at Sav. “You mean….afternoon,
mate.”
Sav went into
Joe’s cabinet to grab a cup as he caught his goof up. “Oh yeah right.
Afternoon. Sorry, my mind’s
elsewhere.”
“That’s
right!” Phil said with a smirk.
“Yesterday was the big day with Deanna and the kids. How’d it go?”
After pouring
some hot water into a cup and adding a tea bag, Sav joined them at the
table. “Considering that every plan I
had got messed up, it turned out to be lovely.”
“What
happened?” Joe asked.
“Well, first
off, we couldn’t go to the entertainment center because half of Dublin was
there with their kids due to school being cancelled because of the snow. But, Deanna saved the day and bought some
snow saucers and we took the kids sledding at the golf course. Afterwards, they were too wired, not to
mention soaked through, to go out to eat, so Deanna suggested buying stuff to
make tacos, rent a video and go back to my house. Everything was fine till we put the kids to bed. I finally got some alone time with her and,
well, just when things got a little close, Alex comes downstairs claiming an
upset stomach. Fortunately, Deanna
noticed the look on his face and got him to the loo just in time for him to
throw his entire dinner up.”
Joe
chuckled. “Not exactly a dream
date. If anything scares her off for
good, it would’ve been last night.”
“For your
information Joe, she was a real trooper about it. I mean, here I am, the parent, yet she never had children and knew
exactly what to do. I’ll tell ya this
much, she’d make a fine mum someday.”
“So, finally,”
Phil exclaimed. “You’ve found Karen’s
replacement.”
“Phil, please,
its still too soon. But she’s about the
most perfect thing I’ve found so far.
She knows that my lads are part of the package and if she accepts me
then she has to accept them as well. No
questions.”
“Hmmm, seems
to me that these ‘mummy’ skills she showed last night was a little hint,” Joe
said.
“Meaning…..?”
“Meaning,” Joe
continued, “perhaps she’s looking towards you as possible father material as
well. I mean, she’s only 30 Sav. She’s got to want children of her own. I just hope your situation doesn’t
discourage her.”
“What do you
mean my situation?”
“Well, you are
ten years older than her with two boys of your own already,” Phil said. “She may think you’re done pro-creating and
may not want more.”
“That’s not
true,” Sav said adamantly. “ I mean,
c’mon….40 isn’t old – just older than her, that’s all. If things work out for us down the line and
we got serious, I wouldn’t mind having a child with a woman such as
herself. She’s more of a mum than Karen
would ever be.”
“Well, have
you hinted that you’d be willing to have more children?”
“C’mon,
mates!” Sav said. “I’ve only been out
with the woman twice and you want me to talk about having children
already? Be sensible!”
“Well, you
could just casually let her know,” Joe said. “Just some general comment.
This way here, it’ll save her from wondering if you want more, just in
case she is.”
“Trust me
mate,” Phil said. “If she’s 30, then
her clock is a ticking. If she’s that
wonderful with your lads that you’d consider her step-mum material, then
chances are she’d want children of her own.”
Sav thought it
over. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I’ll just casually mention something,
like you said. Maybe once she knows
that I’d like more children, she’d feel more assured.”
Chapter
27
That following
Sunday evening, Sav took Deanna out to Sakura on New Street in Dublin. They had a fantastic time as they shared
their hibachi table with three sixty-ish couples who were a complete hoot. All three older couples were longtime
friends who were now retired empty nesters, enjoying life as they did when they
were younger and childless. As the sake’ flowed among all of them, one
of the older ladies commented on what a lovely couple Sav and Deanna made. Sav responded by agreeing, which made Deanna
tingle inside.
They ended the
evening at Deanna’s doorstep, however each didn’t know that the other wanted so
badly for it to continue inside. Sav
was still adamant about taking it slow as not to scare Deanna off, while she,
in turn, didn’t want to appear to be an easy conquest to a man who’s had one too
many in his lifetime. But each time they
spent together or talked on the phone drew them closer to each other, which
made saying goodnight and retreating to separate beds frustrating.
For the
following few days, Sav made a point to stop by Deanna’s shop and visit with
her before heading over to Joe’s. He
couldn’t see enough of her. She was the
first thing he thought of when his eyes opened in the morning and his last
thought before drifting off to sleep at night, albiet the latter made for a
frustrating night’s sleep!
Sav had
thought about bringing up the idea of wanting more children, but decided to
hold off a bit until things progressed a little more seriously between
them. And for that, he meant
physically. Although he kept his word
to himself, being a perfect gentleman around Deanna, with the exception of
several steamy kisses, was proving to be trying. It wasn’t so much that she was young, exceptionally beautiful
with a body that he couldn’t wait to get his hands on. However, it was her warmth, wit, sensitivity
and ease in talking to that was drawing him to her more and more. But, most importantly, she adored his
children.
That in itself
told Sav that she’d make a brilliant mother.
He so often pictured her holding a wee little babe – theirs! He curesed his silly, schoolboy thoughts at
times, but after a disasterous marriage to someone who lacked the qualities
that were so important to him in a woman, he couldn’t help it.
And no sooner
than the thought of Karen came to mind, his telephone rang one morning before
he left the house.
“ello?”
“Hi Rick, its
me. I just wanted to let you know that
we’re back.”
Sav blew out a
long, relieved breath upon hearing his ex-wife’s voice – only for his lads’
sake.
“Well, welcome
back,” he replied with forced enthusiasm.
“How was the Orient?”
“Fabulous!”
Karen exclaimed. “I sure could get used
to their ways over there.”
Sav cringed
inside, regretting that he asked her.
He really didn’t want to hear about her jetsetting adventures with her
corporate raider husband. He had more
important things that he needed to discuss with her.
“Well, I’m
glad you’re back,” he said. “The lads
have missed you terribly – Alex especially.”
“Yes, I’m sure
they have,” she said with a lack of warmth in her voice. “Um….I’m sure that you’re wanting to know
when I can take them.”
Sav’s insides
tightened. “I would think that you
can’t wait to see them, Karen.”
“Oh….oh, I
do,” she quickly corrected her. “Um…..I
can come for them this Friday. Is that
alright?”
“That’s
perfect,” Sav said. “I’ll make sure
they’re packed enough for a few weeks.”
“A few weeks?”
Karen questioned.
“Yes,” Sav
answered sternly. “Don’t you remember
your promise the last time you called and cancelled on them? You promised them a long visit. Did you forget?”
“No, I
didn’t,” Karen said with a little disappointment. “Well, maybe I did. Its
just that the middle of next week, Jonathan has a dinner meeting…..”
“Karen, with
all due respect, I really don’t care what Jonathan has,” Sav cut her off. “All I care about is what you’re supposed
to have and that is your two sons with you.
You work you schedule around your children, not the other way around.”
“Don’t tell me
what to do Rick,” she said with a huff.
“I said I’d take them and I will.”
“For two
weeks?” Sav reiterated.
After a slight
pause, Karen answered. “Yes, for two
weeks. Now, if you’re done planning my
life, I’ve got to get going. I’ve got
unpacking to do, not to mention that the cleaning people will be here as
well. I’ve got to prepare the lads’
rooms too. I’ll be by Friday morning to
get them, okay?”
“Fine. Thank you.”
“Bye.”
Sav hung up
the phone, although he wanted to take the receiver and fling it across the
room. If Karen was trying to hide her
undesire to see her children she wasn’t doing a good job of it. Hopefully once she saw them she’d
change. She was probably just wired
from her trip and flight. These
children were her responsibility too and he would be damned if they’d get hurt
because of her.
Chapter
28
That Friday,
Sav was relieved when Karen showed up, as promised, to pick up Alex and
Sean. Both lads practically ran him
down as they made a bee line to their mum.
Karen bent down and hugged her sons and covered them with kisses as they
both assailed her ears with all their exciting news that they wanted to fill
her in on. Sean’s news caught Karen’s
ear first.
“Daddy’s got a
girlfriend……her name is Deanna….she’s so pretty….she keeps toys in her
store…..and….and she took us sledding…and….we…we watched Toy Story
2……and…..daddy likes her a lot.”
Sav closed his
eyes and shook his head back and forth as Karen stood up. “Out of the mouths of babes,” she said with
a smirk. “So, you’ve met someone? She sounds lovely. Whats this about a store?”
“She owns a
new antique shop in Dublin center,” Sav replied. “The handle broke off my rolltop desk. I brought it to Whytes, but they were closed. I happened upon Deanna’s shop and,
well…that’s how we met. She keeps an
area for children that has toys as not to discourage customers with children.”
“Hmm, she
sounds charming,” Karen said a little funny.
“Well, its nice to know she likes children.”
“Yes….it is,”
Sav said with a tone.
“Well, c’mon
lads, lets get going,” Karen said, gathering their stuff. “Wait till you see the presents I brought you
back from the Orient.”
“What?” Alex
asked wide-eyed. “What did you buy me?”
“If I tell
you, it won’t be a surprise,” Karen said.
“C’mon.”
“Aye, one
moment,” Sav said, going over to Alex.
He knelt down beside him. “You
have all the phone numbers on a piece of paper in your bag, right?”
“Yes dad.”
“Okay. You call and let me know how you are, okay?”
“Okay.”
Sav watched
his exuberant sons walk out the door with their mum. Just seeing them so excited made him feel good. He then finished up around the house and
grabbed his car keys and left. He
wanted to visit Deanna first before heading to Joe’s.
Sav entered
Renaissance Antiques around noon to find Deanna behind the counter as a young
woman inspected a mantle clock she was considering purchasing. Deanna looked up when the bell above the
door jingled and her insides tumbled at the sight of him.
The woman
inspecting the clock turned around and nearly dropped the clock. She then looked back at Deanna.
“Do you know
who that is?” she whispered.
“Yes I
do,” Deanna whispered back. “Excuse me please.”
Deanna walked
over to Sav who gave her a kiss when she got close enough. Out of the corner of her eye, Deanna could
see the woman’s mouth practically hit the floor. She bubbled inside before noticing the obvious happiness upon his
face.
“You look
exceptionally happy today,” she said.
“I am,” Sav
replied. “Not only am I dating the
lovliest thing in Dublin, but the lads’ mum picked them up a little while ago
for a long visit. They were so happy,
which relieves me. I thought Karen was
gonna go back on her word again.”
Deanna
smiled. “I’m glad she didn’t, for the
boys’ sake. Alex especially. He seems to have taken this very hard.”
“Its difficult
for him, where as Sean is too young to fully understand. Alex is just at that age where certain
things make sense. I’m just glad
they’re with her.”
Deanna folded
her arms. “So, what do you plan to do
in that big house without two little ones scampering about?”
Sav flashed
his brilliant blues at her and gave her a sexy, upturned grin. “Haven’t thought about it yet. Have any suggestions?”
Deanna had a
hundred of them, but none she could repeat.
She decided upon something she’d been thinking about for the past two
days and decided to go for it.
“Well, if
you’d like, I’d love to make dinner for you.
I haven’t cooked for anyone in a long time, but I promise not to poison
you!”
“That sounds
lovely,” Sav replied, anticipating an evening alone with her.
“Good, I’m
glad. I’m not much for going out all
the time. Like I said, I much more
prefer evenings in with a homecooked dinner and a video. Or….maybe I’ll
challenge you to a game of Scrabble.”
“You’re
on! Name the day and time.”
“Um….it might
be best to do it Sunday evening, only because I can’t close up the shop too
early on Saturday. I’ll close up around
2 on Sunday and that’ll give me enough time to go home and prepare.”
“Perfect,” Sav
replied. “I’ll bring the wine.”
“And your
appetite,” Deanna reminded.
“That luv, is
a given,” he said with a leer. He had
an appetite and it wasn’t for food and he wondered if this coming Sunday would
be the night.
Chapter
29
By 6pm Sunday
evening, Deanna had everything set. She
had a deliciously seasoned pork roast in the oven, cooking in a pan surrounded
with carmelized onions, potatoes and carrots.
A crisp tossed salad was made along with buttermilk rolls. In the refrigerator, a chocolate trifle
chilled in a glass bowl for dessert.
She had
carefully dressed in black pants and a white wrap top. She pulled the sides of her silky blonde hair
up which displayed tiny silver hoops hanging from her ears that matched a
silver drop choker around her neck.
As she lit two
taper candles on a lovely table set for two, the doorbell rang. Her hands shook as she blew the match out to
answer the door. Sav stood there in
black trousers, black leather coat and a charcoal colored buttoned shirt. She saw a flash of a tiny silver cross peek
through the opening of his shirt and the twinkling of an earring that showed
through his soft blonde hair.
“Good
evening,” Sav said, walking in with two bottles of wine in his hand. “I initially bought white because you were
making pork, but I figured, what the hell, let me get a rose’ as well.”
“Thank you for
both,” she said taking them from him.
As he shed his coat, she went into the kitchen to get a wine
opener. “Which kind would you like?”
“White
please,” he said, coming up from behind her.
His arms snaked around her and took the bottle and opener out of her
hands. She turned around and looked up
at his smirking face.
“Allow me,” he
said as he expertly opened the bottle.
She presented him with two fluted goblets and he filled both. He handed one to her then took his, holding
his glass up.
“To a lovely
evening,” he toasted.
Deanna clinked
her glass with his. All she could do
was smile with a blush of color and nod.
Dinner was
filled with conversation about the progress of the new Def Leppard album and
the slow building profitability of Deanna’s shop. She mentioned an antiques show that was coming up in two months
and was in the process of trying to add to her inventory for the show. Sav was very impressed with her business
sense and financial savvy.
After dinner,
after much dispute, she allowed Sav to help her clean up before putting on a
kettle of water for some tea. She told
him to sit in the living room as she
brought in a tray with two cups of tea and two bowls full of the chocolate
trifle. Sav’s eyes almost bulged.
“Luv, you are
spoiling me,” he said as he took his
dessert.
“Well, I
haven’t made this in a long time. Its
one of my favorite desserts to make, however, I just can’t make it for
myself. The recipe is too big.”
Sav took a
forkful and the look of sheer ecstasy crossed his face. “Oh God, I never tasted anything so
incredible. This is better than………”
Sav cut
himself off, considering what he was gonna say. However, Deanna finished it for him.
“……sex?” she
asked with non-chalance.
Sav blushed
with embarrassment, but realised that they were two adults. Two adults that were wildly attracted to
each other and had yet to give into that attraction.
“Yeah, that’s
what I meant,” he sheepishly said.
Deanna was
feeling flushed and decided to change the subject. Fast!
“So, Mr. Rock
star. Are you ready to get your butt
kicked in Scrabble?”
Sav put his
plate down and took up the challenge.
“Are you suggesting that rock stars can’t spell?”
“Well, I
should hope you can, since you write
songs.”
The next hour
and a half was spent in a Scrabble game that had them making up silly words
towards the end of the game. When the
game was over, Sav put it away while Deanna brought the dishes and teacups into
the kitchen. It was almost 11pm,
however her shop was closed on Mondays so she didn’t really have to call it a
night. She was suddenly nervous about
what to do.
So nervous she
was that she didn’t feel him come up behind her and put his arms around her
waist. She jumped and turned in his
arms.
“Sorry, I
didn’t mean to startle you luv.”
“Its okay,”
she answered, staring into his gorgeous blue eyes. No words were spoken after
that. They didn’t need to be. Their lips met in a kiss that they ached for
all night long.
Deanna’s hands
instantly found his soft blonde hair as Sav pulled her body as close to his as
he dared. Their longing for each other
was evident in their kiss as was the reactions in their bodies.
Deanna pulled
her mouth away and softly kissed his face all the way to his ear.
“Mmm, yeah
Deanna,” Sav huskily whispered. “Oh luv, you feel so good. So good in my arms. All I wanted to do all night was hold
you. Kiss you . Feel you.”
“Rick, I…..”
she began before she felt his hand slide from around her waist to her lower
tummy. The warmth of his hand did
nothing to quell the reminder of the emptiness inside her tummy. She instantly froze and grasped his wrist.
“Rick, I…….I’m
not sure if I…….I mean…..”
Sav stilled
his hand when he heard her uncertainty.
As much as his body was in knots, aching to make love to her, he had to
respect her decision. He put a finger
up to her lips.
“Shhh, its
alright luv. You don’t have to explain
anything. I understand.”
Deanna looked
up at him with saddened eyes. “No, you
don’t.”
He put his
hand under her chin. “Tell me…please.”
Deanna wanted
to. Wanted so badly. But…until she knew how he felt about wanting
more children in the future, she couldn’t.
Not yet.”
“Not yet
Rick. Someday. I promise.”
All Sav did
was nod and look at the clock. “Perhaps
I should get going.”
Deanna nodded
as she went to get his coat. She walked
him to the door and they kissed goodnight.
Without a word, Deanna closed the door, turned the deadbolt then leaned
up against it and cried.
“What am I doing? Why am I doing this to myself? To him? This wonderful, wonderful man? I can’t let this hold me captive. I’ve got to start somewhere. I’m so scared, but I have to.”
With a
newfound resolve, she unlocked the door and threw ot open. She ran outside just as Sav was getting into
his car. “Rick!”
Sav looked up
and saw the desperate look on her face.
He went over to her quickly. As
he got closer, she backed into the apartment until he followed her inside.
“Deanna,
what? What is it, luv?”
With him
firmly back inside her apartment, she
closed the door and locked them both in.
She then looked at him with determined eyes.
“I must be a complete idiot to let you go home
tonight,” she said before wrapping her arms around him and claiming his mouth.
Chapter
30
Sav was
initially startled when Deanna wrapped herself around him and kissed him with
everything she seemed to have. He held
her body tight and gave her all he had back as well, and then some. His head was spinning over the change in his
circumstances tonight and needed to be sure.
He moved his lips
from hers and proceeded to kiss her face, her neck, her hair – anywhere and,
hopefully, everywhere later on, as he spoke in between kisses.
“Deanna…..what…..are
you sure?….Please luv, tell me…..tonight…do you want tonight?……do you want me?”
Deanna answered
by running her lips hungrily over warmth of his neck before reaching his ear.
“Yes,”
she breathlessly whispered. “Oh God,
yes! So bad…..for so long.”
Sav was gonna
die on the spot from hearing how much she wanted him and couldn’t wait much
longer. He encircled his arms around
her waist and lifted her up, as Deanna instictively wrapped her legs around his
waist for support.
He bore his
hungry blue eyes into her dark amethyst ones.
“Where?”
Deanna nodded
to a door down the small hall and Sav walked towards it. He kicked the door open with his foot and
entered her bedroom that was decorated with a mix of traditional antiques and
feminine charm. A hand carved, queen
sized sleigh bed was the masterpiece of the room and was kiddie cornered to show
it off to its fullest.
Sav placed
Deanna in the middle of the bed upon an antique quilt that was done up in
shades of mauve, gray, black and white.
Deanna reached up to shove the pillows aside so she could grab the top
of the quilt and pull it down, all while she and Sav continued to kiss while
kicking their shoes off. Their pent up
desire for each other since Sav walked into her antique shop and into her life
several weeks ago was so far gone that a slow, first time lovemaking session
was out of the question. They had the
rest of the night for that. Right now,
they needed each other badly.
Deanna then
pulled her top off, causing one of her silver hoop earrings to pop off and land
on the wood floor with a ‘plink’. They
smiled into each others mouths which remained fused as they continued to
discard their clothing, which couldn’t come off fast enough.
Sav felt like
a young lad with his first woman. He
had never remembered wanting a woman as badly as he had now. Maybe it had to do with his dry spell since a disastrous one night
stand not so long ago. But he knew that
his extreme, physical desire for Deanna went just beyond achieving
release. When she called him back inside,
a tiny part of him hoped that she had changed her mind – and she had, much to
his utter joy. But, again, it just
wasn’t possessing her physically.
Deanna wasn’t just a body to achieve satisfaction with. She was more. Much, much more. He
wanted to possess every nuance about her – emotionally, mentally,
intellectually and, yes, physically.
Sav’s trousers
were the last to come off and joined the discarded heap on the floor. He pulled the quilt and top sheet down and
then over them as Deanna ran her fingers from the back of his neck down the
length of his spine until she was grasping his hips.
“Rick…..oh
my God, Rick,” she
murmured as she nuzzled his neck.
“You feel so good. This feels so
good. Its…..its been so long. Oh God, please!”
Sav felt her
part her legs and wrap around his torso.
He knew that this was going to be fast for they were too hot for each
other to go slow. However, he had to do
one thing first.
He propped
himself up and gazed down upon her body that was as beautiful without clothes
as it was with. Her 30 year old skin
was silky smooth, nicely taut and deliciously curved in all the right
places. She was so beautiful beyond
description that, for a moment, Sav did not feel worthy of her. He – a man who had countless beautiful women
clamoring for him since his rock career took off was now humbled by this lovely
young woman who was exquisite inside and out.
“Deanna,
I…….God, I don’t want this to happen so fast.
I’m afraid it’ll be over before I start. I want you so bloody much that I’m afraid I won’t…..”
She pulled him
down, not giving him a chance to finish.
“I won’t last either Rick.
Besides, you don’t plan on loving me only once tonight, do you?”
Sav grinned
wickedly, knowing she was right. He
would love her until they both collapsed of exhaustion. Not being able to wait one second longer, he
began to enter her slowly, as not to initially hurt her.
But Deanna had
plans of her own. She grasped his bum
and thrust her hips up, causing him to imbed himself to the hilt with almost
brute force. The suddeness of her move
almost caused him to climax instantly.
“Jesus God
Deanna! I……bloody hell, you feel
incredible! So damn incredible!”
Deanna buried
her face in his neck and he moved in and out of her. “Yes….that’s it…..oh God, I can’t take it….more….please,
more……I…..I….y..y…yes, Rick. Please, a
little faster.”
Sav lifted his
head and looked at her with wild eyes. “Blimey
Deanna, I’m not gonna last. I’m….I’m
sorry, but I…..”
“Me
neither!” she gasped
out. “I…I…..now!”
Deanna
squeezed her eyes shut as she held him as tightly as she could as exquisite
pleasure washed all over her. It
couldn’t have happened a second sooner as Sav finally allowed himself release
as well, accompanied by a groan of satisfaction and relief.
After a few
moments he turned her face to his and saw the tears that pricked her sparkling
amethyst eyes. He knew he hadn’t hurt
her, so he concluded that they were tears of long awaited pleasure. He felt like the tallest man on earth.
He bent down
and lightly kissed her nose and decided to infuse a bit of humor.
“I take back
what I said earlier.”
Deanna tilted
her head to one side. “What?”
“Your
chocolate trifle is no way better than sex!”
Chapter
31
Several hours
later, Sav and Deanna lay in each other’s arms, their sweat sheened bodies
exhausted and sated from lazily exploring each other, followed by two slow,
passionate lovemaking sessions.
Deanna turned
her head so that her nose was firmly planted in the crook of his neck and
breathed in in his intoxicating masculine scent. She then chuckled.
Sav looked
down at her. “What?”
Deanna put her
hand upon his sexy chest that was still heaving slightly from his last
orgasm. “Oh, just thinking about
something we talked about when we first met at my shop.”
“Care to
refresh an old man’s memory?” Sav mused.
“Well, that’s
just it,” Deanna said. “I remember you
thinking you were too old because you had ten years on me. That very well may be, but I think I’m just
as worn out as you.”
“Well, my
body’s kinda wrung out now, but I actually feel refreshed in a way.”
“Must be all
that lovemaking to young girls, huh?”
Sav threw his
head back and laughed. “You’re not
gonna have me arrested for robbing the cradle, are you?”
“Are you
kidding? I don’t want you behind
bars. I want you right here where I can
get to you.”
She followed
up her statement by softly kissing him and caressing his hair. Sav pulled his head away and stared into her
eyes. “What made you call me back in?”
“I…..I guess I
was working too hard on trying to play it safe,” she replied. “I know you were trying to be a gentleman,
and I appreciate that. I just wanted
the time to be right and for the right reasons. I do care about you very much – you and your sons. I guess I decided to throw caution to the
wind and take a chance with my heart and show you how much I care.”
Sav stroked
her cheek with his finger. “You really
feel that way Deanna?”
She nodded and
smiled, which caused Sav to flash her a huge grin. “You don’t know how happy that makes me, luv. I think you’re the most incredible woman
I’ve met in a very long time. And you
know, by calling me back the way you did, there’s no way I’m gonna let you go
now, you know that.”
“I do now,”
she replied with another soft kiss.
Sav noticed her languid eyes then looked at
the clock. “Hmmm, 3am. Think we’re done for the night?”
Deanna let out
a ladylike yawn. “Yeah, for the
night. I’m tired, but too wired to
sleep. I know…..tell me a story.”
Sav widened
his eyes. “A story?”
“Mmm, hmm,”
she murmured as she snuggled up next to him.
“Tell me something about yourself.”
“Well, I’ve
got a thousand and one stories about the band that I could…..”
“No,” she
said, cutting him off. “I don’t want to
hear a story about ‘Sav’. I want to
hear a story about ‘Rick’. Something
from your childhood, perhaps.”
Sav held her
close as his mind thought back. “I’ve
got one. I remember when I turned 10,
my father came to me and apologized that he couldn’t afford to get me a
birthday present. Since my birthday is
in December, he couldn’t afford a birthday and Christmas gifts. I didn’t’ mind, and looked forward to
Christmas. Well, Christmas morning came
and my brothers and I opened our presents.
After they went upstairs, my father took me aside into his bedroom and
shut the door. He then reached under
the bed and pulled out a large white box and told me to open it. Inside, was an accoustic guitar. My very first guitar. My eyes practically popped. He told me that he didn’t want to give this
to me in front of my brothers because he didn’t want them to feel slighted that
I got something extra, but he did tell me to tell them that it was a late
birthday present. I don’t think there
was one night after that that I didn’t pick that guitar up and play it. If not for that gift, I don’t think I
would’ve joined a band when I was 17, then met Joe, then Rick then……..”
Sav stopped
his story when he heard Deanna’s even breathing against his chest. She had fallen peacefully asleep and, God
help him, she looked like an angel beside him.
He decided to
let his body’s exhaustion take over, but not before he was compelled to do one
more thing. He put his lips to her
silky blonde hair and tenderly kissed her and silently mouthed the words ‘I
love you’ before closing his eyes.
Chapter
32
The following
morning, Sav slowly opened his eyes, which were facing an intriquitely designed
nightstand that had a digital clock resting upon it atop an antique lace
runner. The time read almost 8:30am and
he groaned. After the weekend off, he
needed to get to Joe’s by noon today.
They were awaiting the arrival of Marti Frederickson, a Swedish
producer, whom the band enlisted to
help them with their tenth album that was almost entirely written. Marti was prolific in songwriting, and they
were gonna use him to punch up the songs that had been written so far.
Sav slowly
turned on his other side and found the space empty. He then heard the faint sound of dishes and glasses clinking
together coming from the kitchen. He
smiled and threw the covers back, immediately wincing a bit from some muscle
soreness from a night of mindblowing sex.
He didn’t mind it one bit!
He scooped up
his clothes from the floor and went in search of Deanna’s bathroom. Not knowing whether or not he should use her
shower, he just turned on the faucet, lathered up some soap and warm water and
washed the remnants of last night’s hard loving off. He dried off then put his shirt and trousers on, letting his
shirt hand open and loose. He then
squeezed some of her toothpaste onto his finger and rubbed it over his teeth
and rinsed. He ran his fingers through
his wavy blonde hair then went in search of Deanna.
His senses
were assailed by a delicious aroma as he snuck up behind her.
“Morning.”
Deanna turned
around and smiled at his morning handsomeness.
“Good morning yourself. I didn’t
want to wake you, but I knew once you got a whiff of these you’d be up in a
flash.”
Sav looked on
the counter at a sizzling Belgium waffle maker next to a stack of about six
waffles. “Those look great. I’m starving!”
“Figured you
would be,” she said with a giggle. “I
got this thing as a………gift a few years ago and I never used it till now. The mix is a little tedious to make, but its
worth it.”
Sav noted a
hint of sadness in her eyes when she talked about getting the waffle maker as a
gift, but decided not to push anything.
After last night, he and Deanna were on a different level and hopefully
she’d trust him with her feelings and things from her past as time went by.
As they ate
their waffles, Sav looked at the clock.
Deanna saw where he was looking.
“You have to leave soon?”
“Unfortunately
yes,” Sav regretfully replied. “We have
a producer flying in today who’s gonna work with us on our songs. I’ve got to be to Joe’s by noon.”
“Sounds a lot
better than the three loads of laundry I have waiting for me!”
“I’d give
anything to spend the entire day with you Deanna – especially after last
night. But…..”
“Rick, I
understand. You don’t have a normal 9-5
job and you’ve got deadlines to meet.
It’s a little of the same with me.
When you own your own business, people just think you can make your own
hours and close up and take off whenever you want. Not that I can’t. but every time I do something like that, I
don’t make any money. I don’t work for
someone who supplies me with a paycheck.
Its all up to me. So, I
completely understand.”
Sav took her
hand across the table. “You are an
amazing woman! One moment you’re this
strong, savvy, independent woman and the next you’re this soft passionate angel
that fell from the sky and into my life.
I can’t believe that you’re mine.
Deanna was
blushing from the compliment, but couldn’t help giggle a bit. “My, my, my, I can definitely tell you’re a
songwriter. Those are some very
powerful words. And….I appreciate them
very much.”
Sav rolled his
eyes. “They were a bit corny, eh?”
“No, not at
all. Um..by the way, have you heard
from the boys?”
I called them
Saturday afternoon and, Karen and Jonathan we’re actually taking them out for
the day. I’m just glad that they’re getting
to spend this time with her.”
“That’s good
to hear. You must miss them though.”
Sav
sighed. “Yes, I do. Terribly.
The house is awfully quiet without them scampering about, fighting with
each other and breaking God knows what!
But…they are my joy and…….I’d gladly do it all over again.”
Deanna’s fork
stilled as she tried not to let her rapidly beating heart show upon her
face. “Oh…do what all over again?”
“You
know…..have more children. I’ll never
forget the feeling that came over me when I watched Alex and Sean be born. It was bloody incredible. I knew in an instant that I would lay my
life down for those two. Its something
I definitely want to experience again.”
Sav watched
Deanna carefully to gage her reaction to his admission that he would want more
children, hoping that it may answer any inner question she had. All she did was look at him and warmly
smile.
Across the
table, Deanna smiled on the outside, but inside, gutwrenching anguish spread
through her all the way to the hollowness inside her tummy. She had wondered how he felt, and now she
knew. She had been bold and brave last
night and decided to give herself to him, heart and soul. Yes, she was falling in love with this man –
terribly. But…he had just admitted that
he wanted more children – from a woman who can birth them so he could watch and
experience the pride and joy he did when his sons were born.
What should be
a joyous morning in the afterglow of their passionate night, was now filled
with questions and decisions. If only
she found this out before…..before last night….before she began to fall in love
with him, it would’ve been easier to…..to…..
“Rick, listen,
if you want, you can take a shower here,” she said, trying to change the
subject.
“Thank you,
but I think I better get home and shower and change,” he replied. “Deanna, I….I really hate to run like
this……”
“No
explanation is necessary Rick,” she said, standing up and taking the dishes to
the sink. “I understand. Everything.”
That last word
was a bit somber, but Sav didn’t catch on.
He was too elated and in love with Deanna to notice anything else. He wanted to get home because he had an idea
for a song. He, Joe and Phil had worked
on a basic tune - verse, chorus and
bridge - and had tossed around some
lyrics, but the beautiful words that he expressed to Deanna earlier had given
him an idea for more. She was
definitely the type of woman who inspires a song and he felt that those words
would fit.
Deanna placed
the dishes in the sink with a heavy heart then went to get Sav’s coat. As he took it from her and put it on, he
gave her a passionate kiss goodbye, one that Deanna couldn’t respond back to.
Sav thought
that she was just sad that he couldn’t stay.
“I’ll call you as soon as I can luv, okay?”
“No rush,” she
softly replied.
“You okay?”
She took a
deep breath and forced a smile. “Yes,
fine. Just…..a lot to do today.”
He gave her
one more final kiss and left. Deanna
closed the door, fell to the floor and wept.
Chapter
33
Sav entered Joe’s
Garage about 12:15 to find him and Phil lounging on the couch and just shooting
the breeze.
“When does
Marti arrive?”
“His plane
doesn’t land till 4pm,” Phil replied.
“His departing flight got delayed due to ice on the runway. You know Sweden!”
“Oh, well,
fine,” Sav said, plopping himself down.
“Listen, I got a brainstorm this morning for that song we were working
on – you know, the one where we didn’t
have anything for the chorus except of a bunch of ‘okay’s’ and ‘alrights’? Well, I figured we can keep those and add
some lyrics to where we have a layered chorus that soars and………why are you both
staring at me like that?”
Phil and Joe
had knowing smirks on their faces and Joe decided to go first.
“I’ll ask just one question – no, make that
two. Number one – did you see Deanna
last night and number two…..was she still with you this morning?”
“Inquiring
minds want to know,” Phil mused as he sipped his green tea.
Sav knew he
had to spill it – even to these two clowns.
But, he really didn’t care. He
was on cloud nine and all the ribbing that Joe and Phil had to offer wouldn’t
bother him.
“Fine mates,”
Sav replied. “The answers are yes
and…….yes! Are you satisfied?”
“No, but I’m
sure you are!” Joe barked out.
As hard as he
tried, Sav couldn’t prevent a flustered look that came over his face.
“So, you two
finally consummated this May-December romance, eh?” Phil said. “So……how was it?”
Sav rolled his
eyes at Phil and played right into his hand.
“Have you been away from Anita that long that you don’t remember? Lets see….she’s young, beautiful, sexy,
intelligent, independent, witty, charming, sensitive, warm, compassionate – how
the bloody hell do you think it was?”
“That bad,
huh?” Joe mused.
“If bad means
‘naughty’, then yes….it was quite bad, Joe.”
“Oooooh, this
isn’t like you Sav,” Joe said. “Very
honest and descriptive. Not to mention
that you bounced in here all bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to work. Perhaps you should’ve slept with her
sooner!”
“Trust me, I
would’ve if I could, but we did the right thing by waiting. Actually, things got pretty heated between
us and I thought I was gonna stay, but she got a little tense on me and I
thought it best to leave. However, as I
was getting in my car, she came running outside and called after to me to come
back in. Changed her mind.”
“Guess you’ve
made quite the impression mate,” Phil said.
“And, as much as we jest, I’m happy for you. You really seem……euphoric.”
“I am,” Sav
replied. “I ….I don’t know what it
is. I mean, I know its only been a
month, but so far she’s the only woman who’s come along since my divorce who
showed interest in my children first before showing interest in me. I still remember her kindness towards them when
I first went to her shop. And she had
no idea who I was. I need someone
who’ll accept the whole package and, well, she doesn’t have a problem that I’m
a single dad. Plus….I kinda let it slip
out that I would be willing to have more children.”
“You did?”
Phil exclaimed. “When?”
“This morning. We were talking about me missing the lads,
and I used that to segue into not minding wanting more.”
“How’d she
react?”
“She just
smiled, nothing more. I mean, I didn’t
think she was gonna jump up and down screaming for joy. I just wanted to plant the seed in her mind
so she wouldn’t be wondering. I’m
looking forward to furthering this relationship with her.”
“Wow, mate,
you really are serious,” Joe said.
“Joe…I love
her. I absolutely, positively love
her! I haven’t told her yet, but I
will. I just…..I don’t know, but she’s
not just everything I want, but everything I need. And right now, she’s my muse, because I came up with something
before I came over here. I wrote it
down. Here, Phil play that on the
guitar and continue to to sing the ‘okays’ and ‘alrights’ in the chorus. Joe, sing these inbetween Phil’s lines –
like a layering affect. Phil, as you
sing it, crescendo upwards.”
Phil got his
guitar and found the music to the song in question that they’ve been working
on. He found the chorus section and
began to play and sang his lines as Joe layered his lines in between.
(okay) I know what I got…(alright)….I know that its hot…(okay)…and you’re what I like…
“You’re so
beautiful,” Sav suddenly came in.
Joe and Phil
both raised their brows at each other.
“Hey, that’s really catchy, Sav.
I like it,” Phil said.
“Me too,” Joe
agreed. “I think we should keep the
‘okays’ and ‘alrights’ and do a second verse in the chorus with different
lyrics, then something different for the bridge.”
“Well, I’ve
got something for the bridge,” Sav said.
“Phil, play the bridge part.
Phil played it
as Sav sang it……”angel from the sky, the sparkle in my eye, I can’t believe
you’re mine.”
“Wow,” Joe
said.
“Good, huh?”
Sav asked.
“No, not
that. You’re really in love mate.”
“Guess I
am. I just hope she feels the same
way.”
Chapter
34
Two days
later, Deanna walked into her apartment a little after 10pm. She closed the shop around 8, but stayed to
do some paperwork and preparation for the antiques show the following
month. Plus, she wanted to put off
going home as late as possible because she knew what she’d come home to. The same thing she came home to the last two
nights since Sav left her apartment that morning – messages from him on her answering
machine.
Even though
she stayed home that Monday, she ignored the ringing phone, instead, letting
the machine pick it up. As soon as she
heard Sav’s voice, she would break down into tears.
She spent the
day between doing laundry and cleaning while searching her mind and heart as to
what to do. The sensible thing would be
to admit the truth to Sav about herself.
But, based upon past experience, she knew what would happen. Just like what happened the last time. In the beginning, there would be no problem,
until she got into deep and her heart wound up being shattered to pieces. She couldn’t risk that again. As much as she was falling in love with him,
she felt that it might be better to ease out of it now when things were rather
new, rather than later when he wound up becoming her entire world, only for him
to change his mind and destroy it.
No, she
couldn’t recouperate from another experience like that again. She just couldn’t.
She walked
into her kitchen and saw two messages on her machine. Since Sav was working a lot since their producer came to town, he
hadn’t stopped by her shop in the afternoons like he used to. Although she missed seeing his face, she
was, in a way, glad for it. However,
two nightly messages in a row that she had refused to return were gonna cause
him to track her down sooner or later to find out why.
With an ache
in her heart, she played the message.
“Deanna, aye luv, its me. I was hoping you’d be home by now. I guess you got in late last night too. I’ve been unable to stop by the shop in the afternoons since we’re basically working non-stop. I just wanted to hear your voice. Listen, no matter how late you get in, call me on my cell phone. I’m still at Joe’s and will probably be here past midnight. But please, call me luv…..I….miss you. Bye.”
Deanna stared
at the phone, contemplating calling him, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t fool herself, nor could she
lead him on. She had to make a
decision. It would be one that would
break her heart, but at least it would be mendable.
**********************************
The following
morning, Sav rolled out of bed at 10:00.
He didn’t get home until almost 3:30 in the morning. Since they got so much accomplished,
everyone was going to break for the day and resume tomorrow.
He had called
his lads last night to talk to them before they went to bed. They’ve been with Karen for almost a week,
and, so far, they sounded okay, albiet Alex sounded a bit funny. If anything was wrong, he wouldn’t say.
Sav knew
exactly how he was going to spend his day.
He was gonna track down Deanna, no matter how busy she was. But first, there was something that he
wanted to do prior to that.
After
showering and dressing, he headed into town to a small store in the
center. He walked in and immediately
perused the glass covered cases. A
petite, Irish woman in her 70’s, who couldn’t have been more than five feet
tall, came out from the back room when she heard the bell. Her and her husband have owned this shop for
years and, even with all the bigger and better competiton around, they still
survived.
Sav came here
because he appreciated the simple, low-key, atomosphere, not to mention that
they had beautiful merchandise.
The old woman
approached him from the other side of the glass counter. “May I help you young man?”
Yes, Sav
indeed felt like a ‘young’ man. “Yes,
you can. I’m looking for something very
special – preferably a necklace in a platinum setting with amethyst stones in
it.”
The woman
raised her very wrinkled brow. “You
sure know what you want – I like that.
Follow me.”
Sav followed
her to the glass case on the other side of the tiny shop. Under the glass, were various pendant
necklaces with multi colored stones.
She opened the glass and selected one that best fit his
description. It was a dainty, platinum
heart with tiny channel set amethyst stones and diamond chips surrounding
it. Sav smiled instantly.
“Like this,
young man?”
Sav took the
delicate necklace and smiled.
“Yes. Exactly. This is perfect. Absolutely perfect.”
The woman
scanned his face and a large smile formed.
“If you don’t mind me saying so, you have the look of a man who is
positively smitten.”
Sav couldn’t
hide the truth. “I am. You see these amethyst stones? The woman I’m giving this too has eyes the
exact same color.”
The old woman
looked impressed. “She must be very
beautiful.”
“She is,” Sav
agreed. “No offense, but this necklace
pales in comparison to how beautiful she is.”
“I take back
what I said,” the woman exclaimed. “You
are not smitten – you are in love. And,
no, I’m not offended. I see a lot of
young men come in here to buy gifts for their special someone. Most of them look as if their buying them
something because its an obligation.
But, I say there’s no better reason than ‘just because’. You’re not buying an engagement ring, its
too late for Christmas and too early for Valentines day. Unless its her birthday, I”d say that this
necklace is ‘just because’.”
Sav couldn’t
believe her astuteness. “Now I know why
this little shop survived all these years.
You read people well and know what they want.”
“Seems like
you know what you want, young man,” she said with a twinkle. And…I don’t
mean the necklace. I may be old, and my
eyesight may be failing, but there are still some things that I can see as
plain as day.”
Sav smiled at
her and handed the necklace back. “I’ll
take it.”
“Wrap it up
too?”
“Yes, please.”
In a few
minutes, she returned with a rectangular box giftwrapped with white and silver
lace wrap with a tiny white bow on the top.
“Thank you so
much,” Sav said to her.
“Thank you,”
she replied. “And, when you’re ready,
come back. I’m sure I have an
engagement ring that’ll rival her beauty.”
Sav held his
hand out to her. “Deal!”
Chapter 35
Sav waited
until around one in the afternoon to surprise Deanna at her shop. He walked in and saw her in deep
conversation with an older gentleman.
He saw her look up at him and the look that crossed her face caused his
insides to tighten. It was not of a woman
who was elated to see the man that she had just shared a very passionate night
with. He couldn’t place the look, but
it didn’t sit well with him. He
assumed, hopefully, that it was stress.
He saw her excuse herself for a moment and walk over.
“R..Rick,
hi. I didn’t expect to see you. I thought you’d be buried at Joe’s house.”
“I have been,
but we’re taking a break today. I’ve
missed hearing from you, so I thought I’d drop in and surprise you. I was looking forward to your call last
night.”
“Rick, I’m…I’m
sorry. I’ve gotten your messages and
I’m sorry. I’ve been so caught up with
putting this show together.”
“I understand
luv. Trust me, when finishing this
album comes down to the wire, I’m gonna be keeping all kinds of strange
hours. Can you break for lunch at
least?”
“N…no, I
can’t. I’m gonna be cooped up in here
all day.”
“Well, then
let me go get you something and bring it….”
“Oh, no you
don’t have to,” she quickly replied. “I
brought something anyway. But…thank
you.”
Sav didn’t like
what was going on. He noticed a look
and a tone in Deanna that he hadn’t before.
Something was wrong, other than stress.
He’d never seen her this skittish.”
“Deanna, could
we maybe see each other after you close up tonight. I know it’ll be late, but….”
“Rick, listen,
I’m truly sorry. I don’t mean to cut
you off, but I have to get back to this gentleman. He works for the company sponsoring the show and we’re going over
the details of my booth. I’ve got so
much to do for the show. I’m gonna
close up early and go home to work.”
Sav was
dejected, but he understood. Still,
something about the way Deanna was acting bothered him. “Well, can I at least call you at home
tonight?”
“Uh….a…yes,
yes you can. Again, I’m sorry, but I
have to….”
“No, that’s
okay. Go ahead.”
Deanna gave
him a weak smile before walking back to the man. Sav turned on his heel and left with a bad feeling inside.
Around 9 that
evening, Sav called Deanna at home and got her machine. She said she was closing up early, but maybe
she changed her mind. He called again
and 9:30 then 10:00 and still got her machine.
Now he was more worried, if anything.
He got in his
car and went past her flat and didn’t see her car parked on the street. That bad feeling inside became worse as he
sped into the center and parked right in front of her shop – behind her
car. The shop was dark, with the
exception of a tiny light that he could see on in the back through the window. The door was locked and the closed sign was
on the door.
He knocked on
the door and instantly saw movement in the back. When Deanna peeked out, he waved at her, but not before seeing
her face go from being stunned to a look of guilt. Something was up and Sav didn’t like it one bit.
Deanna came to
the door and opened it. “Rick, what are
you doing here?”
“I should ask
you the same thing, luv,” he replied.
“You said you’d be closing up early.
I’ve been calling you since 9.
Actually, I’ve been calling you since Monday evening and you’ve been
avoiding me. Deanna…..are you seeing
someone else?”
Deanna looked
appalled. “No! Of course not.”
“Then what’s
going on? You’ve taken my calls and my
visits since we’ve been seeing each other and, well, ever since we slept
together, you’ve been acting like I’ve got the plague.”
“Rick, its…its
not you. Please, you’ve got to
understand.”
“I would
understand if you would just tell me what’s wrong. Deanna, I haven’t seen you like this since I met you. Something’s wrong. Please tell me.”
Deanna had no
choice. She couldn’t just avoid
him. She had to be an adult and own
up. She circled her shop while wringing
her hands before turning to him.
“Rick, I’m
sorry. Really, I am. I…I think you’re the most incredible man
I’ve ever met. I mean that. But….I..I just don’t think we’re gonna work
out in the long run.”
Sav felt his
heart sink to the pit of his stomach.
“What? No. No way.
Deanna, please…..what are you saying?
What have I done?”
“That’s just
it, Rick. You haven’t done
anything. You’re perfect. Absolutley perfect. I’m the problem, which is why it won’t work
out. You’ll have to trust me.”
“No,” he said,
advancing on her. He took her lightly
by her upper arms. “Deanna, how can I
trust you when you can’t even tell me the reason why?”
“The reason
isn’t important, Rick. I don’t want
anyone staying with me because they feel sorry for me. I won’t be pitied. I won’t!”
Deanna cried
out those last two words as she broke from his grasp. But Sav wasn’t taking no for an answer. He loved this woman and, unless she was a convicted ax murderer,
he wasn’t gonna give up without a fight.
“Deanna, don’t
do this to me!” he rasped, through a cracking voice. “Since the day I first walked in here you’ve enraptured me. I know its only been a month, but….you are
everything a man could want.”
Deanna turned
around with fire in her amethyst eyes.
“No I’m not! If I was
everything, I wouldn’t be here. I’d be
back in the States…..with the life I had before….before….”
“Deanna….for
the love of God, please tell me! I’ll
get on my knees if I have to. Is it
me? Am I too old for you after
all? Is it because you think I have two
lads and won’t want more children down the road? I tried to tell you the other morning that I would love to have
more…….”
“Then you best
find yourself another woman,” Deanna spat out through her tears.
“Why?”
“Because I
can’t have children, that’s why! Are
you happy now?”
That was the
last thing that was said before Deanna sank to the window seat and sobbed her
soul out.
Chapter
36
Sav stood
there motionless in the middle of Deanna’s shop as he watched her release what
he didn’t know was years of pent up emotions and frustrations. What she blurted out caused his heart to
ache and his mind to curse himself, although he had no idea. He suddenly realized he wasn’t the reason
that she wanted to end the relationship, but because she thought he wanted
something that she couldn’t give.
He cautiously
made his way over to Deanna and sat across from her in the window seat. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Deanna?”
She looked up
with tear filled, red rimmed eyes, but it still did nothing to take away from
the lovliness of them. The look of
anguish in her face cut him in two.
“What
Rick? Are you gonna say you’re
sorry? Tell me that its not
important? That it doesn’t matter to
you – even after you confessed that you willingly want more children?”
“Deanna, it
doesn’t matter. You must believe me.”
“Why should
I? I already foolishly believed someone
once and all he did was rip my heart in two.”
“Who did,
Deanna?”
Deanna took a
deep breath, her mouth quivering as she tried to quell her crying. “My husband, that’s who. The man who pledged to love me and stand by
my side for better or for worse. Being
divorced yourself I’m sure you know how that feels.”
Sav couldn’t
deny it. “You’re right, I do. Karen knew the kind of lifestyle she was
getting into when she married a rock star and she didn’t seem to mind, until
the last tour ended. She couldn’t take
me traveling all over the world, so what does she do? She divorces me and marries a man who does the same thing for a
living. That made me wonder if my job
wasn’t the reason she left, but rather it was that she didn’t love me anymore.”
“Well, I know
for a fact that it was me that my husband didn’t want anymore,” Deanna
said. “About 2 months before our wedding, I was diagnosed
with an ovarian cyst. It was benign,
but my doctor suggested that I have it removed because it could cause me
problems if it ruptured. However, I made the decision not to schedule the
surgery until after the wedding and honeymoon.
Well, just one month before the wedding, the worst happened. The cyst ruptured and I was in unbearable pain. I was rushed to the hospital and wheeled
into surgery immediately. However, the
cyst damaged my ovaries when it ruptured and they had to be removed as
well. So here I was…one month before my
wedding…..27 years old and unable to have children – and it was all my fault.”
Sav took her
hand. “Deanna, you can’t blame
yourself….”
“Yes I
can! I should’ve listened to the doctor
and had the cyst removed when he told me, but I took a chance thinking I’d be
alright. Of course, I was recovered in
time for my wedding and my fiance, Dean, was understanding – on the outside
that is. To make a long story short,
he’s an only child – an only male child and, well, it was up to him to
carry on the family name. Now that
wasn’t possible. Everyone was fine and
understanding in the beginning and after our first year of marriage we
discussed adopting. It was then that I
just happened to mention that I had the opportunity to have the surgery before
I got married and declined. That’s when
things really blew up.”
“How so luv?”
“Well, Dean
was absolutely livid. He accused me of
being irresponsible and ruining our chances of having children. He then blamed me for his family name dying
with him since I could never give him blood children.”
Sav was
disgusted. “You’ve got to be kidding
me? How could anyone be so bloody
cold?”
“Well, his
parents were a lot at fault. They put
so much pressure on him for children – especially a son. And now he was stuck with a wife who
couldn’t give him any. After all that
came out, our marriage began to cave and, eventually, he began to see someone
behind my back. I didn’t know about it
until after he asked me for a divorce.
Since we were married less than two years with……..no children, our
divorce went through rather quickly. No
sooner than the ink was dried on our divorce papers, he remarried his
girlfriend. From what I was last told
before I moved here, she was pregnant with his second child – another boy. I couldn’t move to Dublin fast enough.”
Deanna began
to cry again and Sav scooted forward and took her in his arms. “Deanna, I’m so sorry for what you went
through. I just wish you told me
sooner.”
“How,
Rick? When? Its not something you just blurt out. The subject didn’t come up.
I was kind of waiting for some sign from you as to whether I should tell
you or not. I was hoping that, because
you already had two children, that perhaps having more wasn’t important to you.
That was…..until you mentioned it at breakfast the morning after we……..”
It was all
clear to Sav now. Ever since that
morning, Deanna had been avoiding him and his phone calls. She probably thought that once he knew that
she couldn’t have children – children that he confessed to wanting more of –
that he would act like her bastard of an ex-husband.
“Deanna,
listen to me. And listen good. Would I welcome more children into my life
if I had the opportunity? Absolutely
yes. But that doesn’t mean that if Alex
and Sean are all that I have till I die that I’m not fulfilled. Those lads are my pride and joy. I couldn’t ask for more. To be honest, I brought up the subject of
wanting more children because I thought that, well, since you were young, that
you would eventually want some of your own.
I didn’t want you to think that because I already had two that I
wouldn’t want more.”
“And here I
was hoping that you didn’t,” Deanna added.
“I know that sounds selfish, but, when you walked in my shop that first
day I thought that God answered my prayers by sending me a handsome, single man
with children.”
Sav
smiled. “Hmm, most women wanted me for
my money and here you are – wanting me for my lads,” he said with a bit of
humor.
Deanna managed
a smile of her own. “It was all I could
hope for. But, as soon as you said you
wanted more, it shattered me. All I
could think of was telling you about me, having you say that it doesn’t matter,
only for you to reconsider later on down the line and break my heart. I can’t go through that again.”
He drew her
closer and stared deep into her eyes.
“Deanna, even though I said that I wanted more children, I don’t need
them. What I need is a loving, caring,
trustworthy woman who’ll accept the man I am, the career I have and, most
important, my two lads. You are all
that and more. Your qualities far
surpass your inability to have children.
That’s all I see. That’s all I
care about.”
She reached up
and touched his face. “Rick….are you
absolutely sure?”
He leaned down
and gave her a kiss that she felt all the way down to her toes. He then raised his head. “What does that tell you?”
Deanna gave
him a sparkling smile. “That tells me
that you don’t plan on sleeping alone tonight.”
“Luv, you are
not only beautiful, sexy and a shrewd businesswoman…..but you’re clever as
well!”
Chapter
37
An hour later
later, Deanna and Sav barely got inside his house before they started tearing
each other’s clothes off. Deanna
dropped her overnight bag, which she stopped off at her flat to get before
following Sav back to his house, without tearing herself away from him. Their desperation for each other again was
stronger this time than the first. They
practically raced each other to the stairs to get to his bedroom.
Another
frenzied hour later, they laid tangled in each others arms, the white sheets
and coverlet twisted about their sated naked bodies as they continued to
tenderly kiss and touch each other without a word spoken between them. Finally Deanna pulled her head back from him
and stared him in the eyes.
“You know, the
first day I opened my shop I was wondering how my life would change. Little did I know, when you walked in that
afternoon, exactly how much it would change!”
Sav moved off
of her and pulled her up against his side.
“I guess you can say the same thing for me as well. My life can no longer be about what I want,
but what I need and the type of woman who can fulfill those needs. I haven’t met anyone close till I met
you. I hate dating and I’m leery about
meeting people I don’t know, which is why I’ve always been introduced to people
through someone I do know. But
still, its hard when you’re well known and, well, my past with the band and
even my marital troubles aren’t exactly confidential. Meeting someone who had absolutlely no idea who I was was so
refreshing. I know this sounds cliché,
but……its almost as if fate brought you here across the Atlantic.”
“Well, if I
didn’t believe in fate before, I do now,” Deanna mused. “So….how does a woman proceed in a
relationship with a rock star?”
“First
off….don’t think of me as a rock star.
I’m just a guy – a single father with two lads – who just happens to
have a very public career.”
“Well, I’m
just glad you’re not a politician,” Deanna joked.
Sav
laughed. “Yeah, well from what I hear
that’s going on in the States with your president, it seems as if politicians
get more action than rock stars!”
Deanna rolled
on top of him. “Well, then you’ve got
some catching up to do,” she huskily replied before kissing him. They were interrupted by the ringing of
Sav’s cell phone.
He looked
around and saw his trousers on the floor underneath a pile of their discarded
clothes. He hopped out of bed and bent
over to pick them up.
“Nice view,”
Deanna leered at him.
Sav noticed
that his naked bum was facing her before he flopped back into bed with his cell
phone. He looked at the display.
“Praise God,
its not Joe,” he cracked before answering.
“’ello?”
“Daddy? Daddy please come get us. Please!”
Sav sat up
straight at the sound of his son’s anguished voice. “Alex? Alex, whats
wrong? Are you alright?”
“Sean and I
don’t want to stay here anymore,” Alex cried.
“Mum’s been gone since yesterday with Jonathan..”
Sav colored
with anger. “What? Who’s with you?”
“Some lady…..a
nanny, I think. Daddy, I don’t like
her. Please come get us!”
“I’ll be right
there Alex. You and your brother get
your things together now!”
Sav clicked
off his phone and gripped his pillow.
“I can’t believe it! I can’t
bloody believe it!”
“Rick, you’re
scaring me,” Deanna said. “What’s
wrong?”
Sav got up and
began to put his clothes on. “My
ex-wife took off with her husband yesterday to God knows where for God
knows how long and left our children with a nanny that I know
nothing about! They don’t want to stay
there anymore. I’m going to get them
and bring them back here.”
“Do you want
me to come with you?”
“No, stay here
and wait for us to come back. I’m….I’m
gonna need you Deanna.”
She took his
hand before he stormed out. “I’m here,
Rick. I’ll be waiting right here.”
Chapter
38
Sav raced over
to Karen and Jonathan’s residence which was on the outskirts of Dublin. As he pulled up in front of the house, he
called inside first on his cell phone to wake up the nanny.
“Hello?”
“Yes, this is
Richard Savage. I’m Alex and Sean’s
father. I just want to let you know
that I just pulled up in front of the house and that I’m taking them home with
me.”
“Mr. Savage,”
the woman sleepily replied. “I’m sorry,
but I’m employed by their mum and I have instructions to…….”
“Listen to
me,” Sav interrupted, trying to hold his temper at bay. “I am approaching the door now and you had
better open it. My sons are in their
rooms packing to come home. Alex called
me crying twenty minutes ago because you’re employer took off with her
husband yesterday and left them in your care.
If you don’t let me get my sons, I’ll contact the authorities.”
The nanny
didn’t really want any trouble so she promptly opened the door. Sav came in just as Alex came down the
stairs toting his overnight bag.
“Daddy!”
The seven year
old dropped his bag and ran towards his father to wrap himself around him. Little Sean followed right behind.
“Daddy, are
you taking us home?”
Sav looked up
at the nanny who saw how much the lads wanted to be with their father. “Yes, I am.” He then looked at the nanny.
“Did their mother leave a number where she’d be?”
“Y..yes,” she
stammered. “Its in the kitchen next to
the telephone.”
Sav went in
the kitchen and took the piece of paper.
He then collected his children and left the house without even a
goodbye.
“Daddy, are
you mad at mum?” Alex asked.
“Yes Alex, I
am. You were there to spend time with
her, not the nanny. I’ll speak with her
tomorrow. I want to get you lads home
and to bed. Its after midnight.”
Sav pulled up
to his house a half hour later and went inside. The house was filled with the aroma of cinnamon.
“Mmmm, whats
that?” Sean asked. “Smells like
cookies!”
Deanna came
out of the kitchen and met them in the foyer.
Sean’s eyes grew large.
“Deanna!” he
screamed and ran towards her and wrapped his arms around her legs. “Are you staying over?”
Deanna looked
up at Sav and shrugged. “Well,
maybe. Its good to see you boys. I made some cinnamon tea if you want some,
Rick. I thought it would um….calm you
down.”
“Thanks
luv. I just may have some.”
Deanna went
over to Alex and took his bag. “How are
you Alex?”
Alex snagged
his bag back. “Leave me alone! You’re only here to steal my dad away just
like Jonathan stole my mum!”
“Alexander
John Savage!” Sav yelled at him. “You
apologize for that right now!”
“No!” he spat
out before running up to his room.
“Rick, its
okay. Let him go. You really can’t blame him for feeling that
way. He’s scared. You really should talk to him tomorrow and
put his fears to rest.”
“Yeah, I
know,” Sav said with a heavy heart.
Meanwhile,
Sean looked a bit bewildered.
“Daddy….where…where are you going?
Are you leaving with Deanna?”
Sav knelt down
beside him. “No, little mate. I’m staying right here. And, if Deanna wants, she can stay tonight
as well.”
Sean’s five
year old mind was quickly appeased as he looked up at Deanna and beamed.
“C’mon Sean,”
Deanna said, holding her hand out. “Why
don’t you let me tuck you into bed.
I’ll read you a story first.”
“Okay,” Sean
said as he easily went with Deanna.
Sav was glad
for Deanna’s presence, and knew that Sean was easier to handle because he was
younger. But he knew he would have to
do a lot more convincing with Alex.
However,
dealing with Alex was gonna be far simpler than what he had in store for his
ex.
Chapter
39
The next
morning, Sav awoke to find, not Deanna’s warm, willing body next to him, but
Alex’s. Fortunately, Sav and Deanna
agreed not to sleep in the same bed, just in case of anything. She happily took a spare bedroom and it was
a good thing. In the middle of the
night, Alex came into Sav’s room crying from a nightmare and wanted to sleep
with his father. Sav was sure that he
was just checking to make sure he didn’t up and leave in the middle of the
night.
Since it was
Friday, Sav decided to keep Alex home from school and Sean from
kindergarten. They had too much of an
ordeal last night, not to mention very little sleep. The clock read almost 8:30 and Alex was still sound asleep. He got up and checked in on Sean who was
also still asleep. He then went to the
spare bedroom to see if Deanna was up since she had to open her shop
today. When he didn’t find her in bed,
he was pulled into the kitchen by yet another heavenly aroma. He found Deanna with a cup in her hand
staring out his bay window that overlooked the ocean. When she heard him enter, she turned.
“Good
morning. I uh…hope you don’t mind that
I took some liberties in your kitchen.
When I was searcing for the tea last night, I found a bag of chocolate
chips and made some homemade muffins. I
was also happy to discover that an Englishman has a coffeemaker. You can keep your tea – I need this stuff.”
She held up
her coffee cup and smiled and Sav walked over to her. “Luv, you can have free reign in the kitchen. It’s the one room I spend the least time in
since I’m not domesticated. Um…don’t
you have to open the shop today?”
“Well, yes, I
should. But, I was thinking about
working from home today. I still have a
lot of preparation to do for the show which is much more important to the
future of my business than opening the shop today.”
Sav bit his lip
and looked at her a bit sheepishly.
“So….you’re gonna go home?”
“Well, if you
want me to, I can stay here. I brought
my laptop and cell phone with me. All I
need is a place to plug in. That is….if
its okay with you.”
He circled his
arms around her waist. “Deanna, you can
stay whenever you want, however long you want.
I’m keeping the lads home from school today because of the late
night. I mean, how much is one going to
miss in kindergarten and second grade?
I’m also not going to Joe’s .
I’ve got too much going on here.”
“When will you
call Karen?”
Sav looked at
the time, which really wasn’t important.
Last night, he didn’t care if he woke her out of a sound sleep.”
“You know, I
think I’ll do it now, while the lads are asleep. I don’t want them hearing in case it gets ugly.”
As Sav picked
up the phone, Deanna headed out. “I’ll
just disappear into the family room.”
Deanna walked
around the room, taking special note of all of Sav’s antique pieces which
intrigued her the most. He had one small
desk that was tucked away in a nook that was filled with framed pictures of all
sizes. Pictures of his family back in
England, no doubt, and of Alex and Sean.
As she took in his meticulous décor, she heard the sound of Sav’s voice
becoming louder and louder all the way from the kitchen.
“What do you mean I had no right to bring my sons back here last night?…….. You had no right to leave them for two days with a nanny while you took off……..I don’t care what business affair Jonathan had!…….. Your children come first, Karen. Your children that you’ve neglected so you can follow your husband around like a puppy dog. What?….. I’m jealous? …… Trust me, Karen….I’m not jealous, just a bit confused. I thought the reason you wanted a divorce was because you couldn’t stand traveling with me all over the world, but you’ll happily do it with Jonathan. What do you mean its easier with Jonathan because you don’t have to take the lads with you? Is that what this is all about? You didn’t want to come on tour with me because you didn’t want the burden of having to tote your children with you? I’m not buying that excuse, Karen, because you could’ve had a nanny travel with us. Look, I didn’t call you to discuss why you wanted a divorce. To be honest, now I’m thankful for it. What I want to know is if you’re going to continue to be a mother to these children?”
Deanna’s heart
ached as she overheard the conversation.
But, then she heard the sound of a sniffle or two and got up. She rounded the corner and saw Alex and Sean
sitting on the floor next to the entrance of the kitchen listening to their
father scream at their mother. Little
Sean was crying hard while Alex had a look on his face like it was the end of
the world. She immediately went over to
them.
“Hey boys, why
don’t you come with…..”
She didn’t get
a chance to finish as Sean got up off the floor and threw himself into her arms
and cried very hard.
“My mummy
doesn’t want us,” the five year old sobbed.
“I didn’t do anything bad. Why
doesn’t she want me? Why?”
Deanna began
to cry herself as she stroked his hair and tried to soothe him. She looked at Alex who got up and leaned
against the wall. She walked over to
him with Sean still crying in her arms and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Alex?”
He pulled away
from her a bit as he looked like he was trying hard to fight back tears of his
own. He was trying to be strong, but he
was losing. Deanna wouldn’t give up.
“Alex, its
okay. Come here.”
Alex finally
gave into his tears and latched himself against Deanna’s side and cried
too.
When Sav got
off the phone, he calmed himself down and came out of the kitchen, only to find
his lads crying and clinging to Deanna like survivors to a lifeboat. He immediately knew they heard him on the
phone. Deanna met his eyes and saw the
anguish in them. He went over to her.
“How long have
they been listening?”
“Long enough,”
she replied.
Alex suddenly
left Deanna’s side and clung to Sav.
“Daddy, please! Please don’t
leave us! I won’t ever be bad…I promise. Please, please, please!”
Alex cried so
hard he was hyperventilating and the emotion that went through Sav at that
moment almost brought him to his knees.
Deanna put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“Rick, I’m
gonna cancel my plans today. Why don’t
you have a long talk with them and then we’ll do something fun together.”
Sav put an arm
around her and kissed her. “However bad
I needed you last night, I’m gonna need you even worse today.”
Chapter
40
Deanna managed
to get some work done while Sav talked to his sons about his conversation with
their mum. She was able to track down
some interesting pieces for her show from her contacts back in the States. Since she was owed a favor from them, they
agreed to ship them to her for free in time for the show. Deanna then planned a
very unique and eye catching display for her booth that was sure to make her
stand out. Being a new business, she
needed an advantage over the other giants.
After everyone
was ready, the four of them headed out to the entertainment center. Alex and Sean seemed to have been relieved
by the conversation their father had with them and was looking forward to some
fun today. Since it was a schoolday,
the center was quite empty which gave Alex and Sean the space to enjoy
themselves. Alex went straight for a
video game while Sean jumped around inside a big blowup cage filled with
balls. Sav and Deanna sat at a nearby
table sipping tea and coffee respectively as they kept an eye on the boys and
talked.
“Deanna, about
last night, and this morning, I……..you don’t know how much I appreciate you
being here. Your presence……well, it
just made it a little easier. I know
I’m their father, but there’s something about a woman’s touch and influece on a
child that a man just can’t match. They
obviously crave it from their mum and, well, I don’t have to get into
that. I just want to say thank you.”
“Rick, its not
necessary to thank me,” she replied.
“As I told you last night at the
shop, I’ve grown to care about your boys.
Don’t misunderstand me – I’m not trying to take their mum’s place,
especially since I can’t have children of my own. Karen will always be their mum, whether or not she acts like
it. I just saw that they needed
something and I was glad to be there to give it.”
Sav smiled at
her before he checked on Sean who was smiling and laughing as he jumped
around. He then looked over at Alex who
was very much into his video game.
“Its so good
to see them smile and have fun – especially after seeing them crying this morning,”
Sav said. “When I talked to them, Alex
really expressed his fear that I’m gonna take off and leave them with no
one. Of course, he sees you in my life
and, well, he just compared you to Jonathan – thinking that you’re gonna take
me away. He didn’t mean it – he’s just
scared.”
“I knew that,
Rick. I mean, he’s only 7. Even though he’s trying to be the strong,
big brother, he’s still, in reality, a little boy who feels abandoned by his
mother and thinks that his father’s gonna follow suit.”
Sav then
leaned his elbows on the table, folded his hands, and rested his forehead
against them. “I still can’t believe
that Karen had the audacity to take off with Jonathan to Waterford for a few
days. She didn’t have to go with
him. She just spent a little over two
weeks in the Orient with him. Those
children have been waiting to see her and spend time with her – not a
nanny! What the hell did she want joint
custody for if she wasn’t going to uphold her end? How will I ever be able to trust her again when I leave them with
her?”
Deanna bit her
lip, wondering if she should give her opinion.
“Um, Rick….I may be out of line by saying this and if I am, please tell
me, but…..have you considered getting sole custody of the boys and only giving
Karen visitation rights? I mean, only
from what you’ve told me I was able to figure out that Karen has pulled this
before. And you’re right – what if she
does it again? What if the next time it
happens when you’re not here to drop everything and get them? What if you’re in the States or elsewhere
far away?”
Sav rubbed his
face with frustration. “You must’ve
been reading my mind, luv. I’ve been
thinking about that ever since she married Jonathan and showed me just how much
her sons mean to her. But, I gave her time
to adjust her her marriage. Now, its
been almost 8 months and she still doesn’t get it. She divorced me – not her children. She can’t get away from them like she’s gotten away from me.”
Deanna sipped
her coffee as she listened to him vent.
“So, what do you plan on doing to correct this?”
Sav looked at
his lads who were thoroughly enjoying themselves. They always seemed happier
when they were with him than with Karen.
And since Deanna came into his life, her tender, feminine influence has
given them the affection that they needed.
She told him that she wanted to be part of his life as well as his
childrens – to fill the empty space inside that was robbed from her years ago. And her presence in his life would fill a
similar empty space. As long as she was
in this with him, he felt that there wasn’t anything that he could do.
He looked at
her and answered.
“There only
seems to be one solution to this, Deanna.
I’m gonna call my attorney and fix this mess once and for all.”
Chapter
41
After the boys
exhausted themselves enough at the center, Sav and Deanna took them for burgers
and fries for a late lunch. They walked
in his front door at four as Alex headed for the television and Sean for the
playroom. Sav was satisfied to have
some uninterrupted time with Deanna and turned to her.
“Are you going
to stay luv? At least for a while?”
“I can do
that,” she replied. “I just need to
check my e-mails on my laptop. I’m so
nervous about this show next month.”
He went over
to her and stroked her face. “You’ll do
fine luv,” he whispered before bending down to kiss her. Deanna pulled away and looked guilty.
“Here I am
fretting about this, when you’ve got something so much more important on your
hands,” she said.
“Deanna, don’t
let what I’m going through distract you.
I’m gonna place a call to my attorney right now while everything’s fresh
in my mind. My mind’s been a whirl
since I came to see you yesterday afternoon and….I…..oh my God! I forgot!”
Deanna watch
Sav rush past her as she walked after him.
“What?”
Sav retrieved
the giftwrapped box with her necklace in it.
He turned to her and saw her eyes widen.
“Deanna, when
I came to your shop last night, I wanted to give you this. But, well, the conversation went elsewhere,
then we came back here and well……we did anything but converse! Then Alex called and, well….I forgot all
about it. I got this for you.”
Deanna took
the extended box with a warm smile.
“Rick, you….you didn’t have to….”
“Shh, I know I
didn’t have to. I wanted to. Please, open it.”
Deanna
nervously unwrapped the box then opened the hinged lid and gasped at the sight
of the beautiful amethyst and diamond heart pendant. As she looked up at Sav with a stunned expression, he
effortlessly took the pendant out of the box and proceeded around her. Without a word, Deanna lifted her honey
colored hair so he could fasten it around her neck. He then moved around to face her.
“When I saw
that, I thought of your incredibly beautiful eyes,” he said.
She looked up
at him with those eyes that started to tear.
At this point, he felt as if he’d do anything for her. Even though their relationship was still
young, he was old and experienced enough to know when something was just lust
and infatuation. His priorities had
changed dramatically over the years and he knew what he needed, which was more
than what he wanted. Even though he
wanted Deanna, he needed her as well.
However, his
heart couldn’t afford to make the same mistake as it did with Karen. Yes, Deanna knew who he was and what he did
for a living, but she had yet to experience what his life was really
like. Now was the easy time – the time
in between albums that kept him home for writing and recording. Its what came afterwards that puts even the
strongest relationships to the test.
He took her by
the hand and led her to the couch.
“Deanna, there’s something I need to ask you. Well, actually tell you first.
I….God, this wasn’t how I wanted to do this. I had it all planned out to surprise you last night and give you
this then tell you………..”
He froze up as
his feelings were having a hard time forming words.
“Tell me what,
Rick?”
He took both
of her hands then took a deep breath.
“I love you, Deanna. Very
much. But…I’ve been afraid to tell you. Deanna, I need to know that you understand
what it will be like to be involved with me.
The last 5 weeks have been wonderful – perfect even, especially with all
the aggravation from my ex. But we just
happened to meet during the band’s ‘in between’ phase which is the writing and
recording process. But once the album
is finished and released, which will probably be sometime next summer,
well…that’s when the hard part begins.
There’s promo appearance, autograph sessions, radio and magazine
interviews, small concert venues and the such.
I can be gone anywhere from 2 days to two weeks, sometimes even longer
than that, especially when we start the tour.
I need you to fully understand what it will be like. I
know you have your own life and business and I don’t expect you to give
anything up to follow me. But, if we’re
gonna be together – have a relationship – especially one that includes my
children, then I need you to know where my life stands. I want to know if you feel the same way, but
I want you to be prepared for what’s to come in case it affects your
decision. Please, Deanna. Think about it before you answer because
once I make that phone call to my attorney, there’s a chance that my lads will
be with me permanently.”
Deanna
listened to every word he said, although her heart and mind were pretty much
made up the day he and his sons walked into her life.
She put her
hand across the back of his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. She then pulled back then moved her lips to
his ear.
“I love you
too, Rick. Now….go make that call!”
Chapter
42
Two weeks had
gone by since Sav met with his lawyer to discuss taking Karen back to court for
full custody of Alex and Sean. And,
since then, he had not heard one word from Karen. No phone calls to follow up what happened, or to talk to the
lads. Absolutley nothing. Sav hoped that once her attorney received
the papers from his that she’d wake up and realize how serious this situation
really is.
In the
meantime, Sav got back into the groove with finishing up all the writing with
Joe, Phil and Marti. They also had a
lot of input from Viv and Rick who wouldn’t be coming out until the recording
process began. Aside from his custody situation, he was extremely happy with the fortunate
turn of events in his personal life.
He and Deanna
had done a lot more talking about their relationship as it was in the present
and what to expect in the future once the album was released and his band
commitments kicked in. Deanna thought
long and hard about all that he said. She knew it would be a sacrafice and that she would miss him, but
she was no simpering little girl who would pine for her man while he was
away. She was a smart, independent,
self-sufficient woman who had a business to run. She had more than enough to keep her busy while he was away.
Sav also
brought up the subject of her moving in with him and the boys when she felt the
time was right. Though she wanted to be
with him, she felt that moving in after less than two months together was a bit
too soon. She needed to concentrate on
her growing business and upcoming show before she could make a commitment like
that. However, she did tell Sav that he
could count on her when it came to anything for the boys. Since her life was a little more flexible
than his, she offered to help out with them.
Sav was happy for that for now and understood about her wanting to take
her time about moving in.
On Saturday
night, Deanna closed up the shop at 5 and drove to his house. She had packed a bag for weekend as she had been
doing for the past few weeks. Since Sav
was at Joe’s, the nanny was watching Alex and Sean. Deanna came and relieved her of her nanny duties and she spent
the evening with the boys eating pizza and watching a video. Sav called about 8 and said that he would be
later than usual. He apologized until
Deanna told him not to worry. In truth,
she was really enjoying the time alone with his boys.
After she hung
up, she went back on the couch. Sean
snuggled up next to her and looked up at her with adorable blue eyes.
“Are you going
to be my mum now?”
Deanna felt
her heart in her throat. What she
wouldn’t give to actually be their mum for real. She also ached that their real mum hadn’t been heard from in two
weeks. These boys were obviously
thinking that they’d never see her again and wondered if Deanna would be her
replacement.
“Well, no
Sean, I’m not,” she replied. “I’m your
daddy’s friend, but I also want to be yours.
I like spending time with you as much as your daddy, but I’m not gonna
be your mum. You have a mum.”
“No I don’t!”
Alex huffed as he folded his arms. “She
doesn’t care about me so I don’t care about her. I hope I never see her again.
I hate her!”
“Alex, stop
it,” Deanna scolded. “That is not a
nice thing to say. I know you’re upset
with your mother, but hate is a very bad word.
I know you miss her, but she’s obviously going through something right
now and she’s confused. She’s not sure
what she wants. I know that she loves
you and wants to see you, but she also has other obligations and, well, she
hasn’t learned how to juggle both. I
don’t think your mother is doing this on purpose. Maybe she just needs time to adjust more to her marriage to Jonathan. In the meantime, you have your dad who’ll do
anything for you. You’re everything to
him.”
Alex didn’t
look like he believed what she said and Deanna knew his fear.
“No,
Alex. I’m not going to take your father
away. There’s nothing that can take him
away from you. Oh, there will be times
when he has to travel with the band next year, but hopefully you and Sean will
be able to travel with him for a while, if you’re out of school. You have Gail……..and you have me. Please don’t’ worry about that, Alex, okay?”
Alex looked up
at her with relieved eyes and only nodded.
She smiled at him and caressed his head. She then looked to see that Sean was asleep against her
side. It was almost 10 o’clock and
decided to get them into bed.
“C’mon Alex,”
she said, carefully picking up Sean. “I
don’t think your father would want you
still up when he gets home. Its time
for bed.”
Alex grabbed
hold of her arm as she stood. “You’re
not gonna leave us alone after we go to bed, are you?”
Deanna wanted
to hug Alex tight, if only Sean wasn’t in her arms. It was obvious that he wasn’t gonna get over feeling abandoned
that easily.
“No Alex, I’m
not. As a matter of fact, I’m staying
over. And…if you want, I’ll make
chocolate chip pancakes in the morning.”
Alex’s face
lit up. “Chocolate for breakfast? Wow, yes!”
“Then its
settled. Now….up to bed.”
Deanna carried
Sean up the stairs as Alex followed her.
He went to go brush his teeth as Deanna put Sean in bed and covered him
up. She then went into Alex’s room and
got him into bed. She bent down to
whisper to him.
“You have
sweet dreams and don’t worry about a thing,” she said. “I’ll be right downstairs if you need me,
waiting for your father to come home.”
Alex flashed
her a grin before leaning up to kiss her cheek. Deanna did all she could to keep from crying. This poor little boy who once looked at her
as the evil person who would take his father away was now looking to her for
comfort and protection. She knew that
she made the right decision to be part of their lives.
She went back
downstairs and settled on the couch, where she fell asleep. Around midnight, she felt soft hair tickle
her face as cool lips touched her forehead.
Her eyes flew open to see Sav standing over her.
“Rick,” she
sleepily said.
“Sorry if I
startled you luv,” he replied. “And…I’m
sorry I’m so late.”
“Mmm, its
okay. I put the boys to bed a little
before ten then konked off myself.”
She then
noticed a bit of concern on his face and lifted her hand to cup the side of his
head. “You okay?”
Sav looked
down at the opened manila envelope in his head. “This was in the mailbox when I got home. Its from my attorney. He received an answer from Karen’s attorney.
Deanna’s heart
pounded a bit. “And…..?”
Sav bit his
lip over the unthinkable. “She’s not
gonna fight it, Deanna. She’s agreed
for me to have full custody. She
doesn’t want those lads.”
Chapter
43
Two more weeks
went by since Sav received word that his ex-wife agreed to give him full
custody of their sons. The hardest part
was coming up with something to explain to the boys. Deanna was always sure to never give her opinion unless he asked
for it, especially when it came to his sons.
As much as she wanted to be there for all of them, she was careful not
to overstep her bounds.
However, Sav
came to her for advice on what to do and what to say. Although she lacked the maternal experience, he knew she had a
natural instinct for dealing with these things. She suggested that he be as brief as possible, saying that they’d
be living with him full time and only visiting with their mother. If they questioned it further, then he’d
deal with the questions as they asked them.
Fortunately, Sean was too young
to question anything and Alex didn’t really see a difference in the way things
were before. They somehow gotten used
to seeing their mother as little as possible.
Deanna was at
her shop on her day off as she used the uninterrupted time to work with her
props to design her booth for the show.
She stood in the center of her shop with an array of tables,
multicolored silk flower arrangements, yards of jeweled print material, strands
of white lights and some of her finest pieces which she would display. She silently thanked the 6 week adult
education night course she took in interior decorating which helped her to
design a layout that would draw spectators to her booth.
Even though
she had the ‘closed’ sign in the window, she heard a knock on the door at
around 2 in the afternoon. Thinking
that it may be Sav or even Maura, with lunch, she went over to the door. She saw a woman who looked vaguely familiar,
though she couldn’t register why.
Thinking that she may be related to the show, she opened the door.
“Yes, may I
help you?”
“Is your name
Deanna?” the woman inquired.
“Yes. Can I help you?”
The woman
didn’t even bother to be invited inside.
She just brushed past Deanna and walked in. “I’m Karen Evans.
Formerly…..Karen Savage.”
Deanna’s
countenance changed upon seeing Sav’s ex-wife in front of her. Now she remembered why she looked
familiar. There was one, tiny framed
picture of her and the boys on his antique desk in his living room.
“How…..how did
you…..?”
“Know about
you?” Karen filled in. “Well, first of
all my youngest son, Sean, couldn’t stop talking about this very pretty lady
named Deanna who was his daddy’s new friend.
Alex then said that you had a shop very much like Whytes, only smaller,
on the same street. I guess you can
call it process of elimination.”
Deanna looked
around and saw that the coffee pot had long turned off. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have anything to
offer you.”
“I’m not here
for refreshments,” Karen replied.
“Then what are
you here for?”
Karen bit her
lip and slowly walked over to a display.
After running her hand over it, she turned to Deanna. “You must think I’m a horrible mother, don’t
you?”
Deanna was
caught off guard by her question. “I
don’t even know you, so how can I judge you?
I can’t lie and say that I don’t know about you allowing Rick full
custody of your sons. I guess….I guess
my question would be why, but I don’t have the right to ask that.”
Karen
continued to walk around the shop as she spoke. “No, that’s perfectly alright.
Your curiosity is understood.”
“No, you don’t
understand,” Deanna said. “It goes
beyond plain curiosity. I just don’t
understand how a mother can give up her children in that respect. I”ll share something with you, Karen. I had an unfortunate medical condition which
rendered me sterile. What I wouldn’t
give to experience having children of my own.
I guess I can’t understand why a woman who has that gift would take it
for granted.”
“Trust me,
Deanna…its not something that I willingly want to do. There are…..things going on in my life right now and I need to
make a sacrifice for. Unfortunately,
that sacrifice is seeing my lads on a frequent basis. I know you must think I’m selfish, but I have my reasons. You see….since I met Rick until the day we
divorced, our life always centered around him and his career. Oh, I know he appreciated me, but I never
felt important to his life. He had the
band to make him feel important. Then,
when the boys were born, I felt as if my only purpose was to be a full time
mother and a part time wife whenever my husband was home. I was tired of living in his shadow.”
Deanna shook
her head. “Pardon me for asking, Karen,
but you knew who he was and what he did for a living before you married, didn’t
you?”
“Of course I
did,” Karen replied. “I suppose the
reality of his lifestyle was a little too hard to take once we had a life
together and children.”
Deanna thought
back to the conversation she had with Sav when he explained his lifestyle to
her and wanted her to be sure that she could handle being in a relationship
with someone like him. Now she knew why
he was so intent on her being absolutley sure.
He couldn’t go through disappointment again.
“But Karen,
from what I understand, your husband, Jonathan, travels quite frequently. Whats the difference between that and Rick
traveling with the band?”
“The
difference is….I feel needed with Jonathan.
I feel important to him. When I
travel with him on business, I’m not just there to come along for the ride and
wind up alone in a hotel room or having to ride in a separate limousine. I’m right by his side. I feel as if I’m part of his career.
Plus, he doesn’t have fans hounding him everywhere he goes or strange
women grabbing after him and sending me all these weird threats. I became swallowed up in his lifestyle and I
didn’t want it anymore.”
Deanna tried
to grasp all she was saying. “Okay,
fine I understand that you needed something different. But…why neglect your sons?”
Karen looked
like she was becoming agitated before tears formed in her eyes. “I told you, I had to make a choice and that
choice is my husband. I need to be free
of obligations so I can travel with him at a moments notice.”
“So, in
otherwords, you’re centering your life around him,” Deanna said
sarcastically. “Doesn’t sound any
different to me. Don’t you have any
ambitions of your own? A career?”
“No, I
don’t. Right now, I’m concentrating on
being there for my husband.”
“But not your
children,” Deanna added.
Karen got
angry. “I can’t! I just can’t! You don’t understand….”
“No, I don’t
understand!” Deanna shot back. “Look, I
don’t know you, nor do I think I want to, but, based on what you just told me,
you’re excuses are empty. There’s just
no reason for you to……”
“My marriage
is in trouble!” Karen shot out.
“Okay…fine, now you know. Now
you can go back and tell Rick that I’ve failed, again, and you can both have a
laugh over it. I have to make this
marriage work. I can’t be alone. I just don’t know how to. If I don’t travel with my husband, I’m….I’m
afraid he’ll cheat on me. I need to
work on my marriage first. So, you
see…I can’t have my lads around us when we’re like this.”
Deanna
softened, but just a bit. “Then why
don’t you just tell Rick the truth? It
would be much better for him to know that rather than him thinking that you
don’t want your sons.”
“I can’t tell
him,” Karen cracked.
“You told
me. How do you know I won’t go and tell
him?”
“I….I don’t
know that,” Karen said. “Perhaps asking
your word that you’ll keep this conversation confident won’t be too much?”
It wasn’t in
Deanna’s nature to gossip. If Sav was
gonna find out about this, it had to come from Karen. “Of course I won’t say anything.
But….I strongly advise you to tell him.
And….tell your sons. They need
to know that their mother wants them.”
Karen wiped
away a few escaping tears and nodded.
“I’ll….think about it. That’s
all I can say right now. But, in the
meantime, I…I know you’ll be good for my lads.
I can see why they like you.”
“Well, Sean
took to me very easily, however Alex was a little wary. He thought I was gonna take his daddy away
from him just like you got taken away.
You see….they need to know the truth.
They may be young, but they’ll understand. If they hear it from you, they’ll know that you do care, but you
need to work on something else first.”
Karen cracked
a bit of a smile. “You know, for
someone who doesn’t have children of their own, you seem to be a natural at
this.”
Deanna equally
smiled. “That’s probably the nicest
compliment anyone can give me. Please,
think about what I said.”
Karen only
nodded before heading towards the door.
She turned to Deanna .“Thank you” was all she said before leaving.
Deanna stood
at the door as she watched her leave.
Hopefully, there may be some kind of happy ending to this mess if Karen
reconsiders.
Chapter
43
Deanna’s first
official Dublin antiques show was off to an exciting start. Her clever, dazzling display attracted just
about everyone there. It was hard to
miss. Her ecletic mix of subtle lighting
combined with eye-catching displays on turntables and intriquite use of fabrics
in bold, yet tasteful designs was the hype of the show. It was the reaction that Deanna needed as a
small, new business among a sea of big names.
Her only
regret was that Sav wouldn’t be able to make it. They had another producer flying in today and he, Joe and Phil,
along with the producers, we’re gonna be holed up as they began pre-production
on the new album. Although Sav felt
badly about missing, not to mention apologizing profusely, Deanna
understood. She remembered the ground
rules he laid out about life with a rock star and knew that this was just one
of the many times that they wouldn’t be able to be there for each other.
However, her
excitement overshadowed her disappointment.
Her business cards flew off the table and several other dealers inquired
about working with them on a finders fee basis.
As the show
began to wind down, a very tall, goodlooking young man was carefully perusing
her display and leafing through pamphlets and brochures that she had done up
about her business, pictures of prized pieces she had back at her store along
with several displays that she had done.
She was beginning to turn off her displays when the man came up behind
her.
“Excuse me,
are you Ms. Preston – the owner?”
Deanna turned
and smiled as she extended her hand.
“Yes, I am. Can I help you?”
“Well, ‘help’
is definitely the word, because I’m not sure where to start. First off, my name is Devon Flaherty. I play soccer for Waterford United,
however….well….this is hush, hush, but I’m in talks with Dublin United since my
contract with Waterford is up. Looks
like I’ll be moving here. I’ve already
purchased a lovely manor home in the countryside and I’d like to decorate it
with some antiques. I was hoping to
inquire after your services.”
Deanna was
flabberghasted. Here she was – a small,
unknown dealer among some of the most established names, and this sports star
was coming to her.
“Of…of course
I can help you,” Deanna stated. “Do you
have an idea of what kind of style you’re looking for?”
“Well, I may
have to leave that up to my fiance and yourself to discuss,” he chuckled.
“Oh, well,
congratulations on your upcoming marriage,” Deanna said.
“Thank you,”
he replied. “Now, I’m gonna need ideas
for each room, including childrens’ rooms.”
Deanna
grinned, but with a slight pang. “Ah,
thinking ahead to a family already, I see.”
“Well, not
actually. I was married, but my wife
passed away of an illness 3 years ago.
We had two very small children at the time. Last year I met a wonderful woman who basically came into my life
at the right time. We visited Paris
several months ago and stayed in a hotel that was an interesting mix of
contemporary with various antiques here and there. We fell in love with the style, and, well, we’d like to copy it
for our new home.”
Deanna warmed
a bit over his situation, which was pretty much like Sav’s. She came into his life at a time when he
needed her so she completely understood how this man felt.
“Mr. Flaherty,
I’d be happy to meet with you and your fiance,” Deanna said. “I was getting visuals in my head as you
were describing the hotel. I would need
to see the home then decide what would look best where.”
“Brilliant,”
he replied. “Um, but like I said…my
trade to Dublin United hasn’t been formally announced yet, so this needs to be
kept confidential. No one really knows
about my move here, so I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t tell anyone until
after next week. By then, my trade will
be announced.”
“Absolutely
sir. You can count on me for
discretion,” Deanna assured him.
“Great…then…..would
this Saturday, early evening say, be a good time for you?”
Deanna had
promised Sav that he would help him plan Alex’s 8th birthday party
Saturday night, not to mention spend some quality time together. But, she also knew that, if she got this
job, her commission would be huge.
Since she wasn’t able to divulge the details of the job, she hoped to
come up with something believable and hoped he’d understand.
“That would be
fine,” Deanna replied. “I can close up
the shop around 4:30 and head out. You
can call me at the number on my card to confirm and give me directions.”
“Excellent Ms.
Preston,” Devon said.
“Please, call
me Deanna.”
Devon nodded
with her card in his hand. “I’ll call
you tomorrow to confirm after I speak to my fiance’. Good day.”
“Good day to
you too, and thank you,” Deanna said as he walked off. She couldn’t help but beam with the sheer
joy of her luck. She so badly wanted to
tell Sav, but she couldn’t break Devon’s confidence. She couldn’t help but think how proud he’d be of her that she was
making it.
However, Sav
may be finding out more sooner than later.
Behind Deanna’s display, Karen lurked about. She had overheard the entire conversation between Deanna and
Devon and her mind concocted the perfect start to a plan to win her ex-husband
and children back.
Chapter
44
Sav arrived
home around ten. As soon as he came in
the front door, Gail was ready to leave, as she had her coat in her hand.
“I heard you
come in through the gate,” she said. “I
need to get home quickly. My mother
lives with my husband and I and, well, she isn’t feeling too well.”
“Oh, I’m sorry
to hear that,” Sav replied. “Let me
know if everything’s okay.”
“I will, thank
you. Um, you only had one message while
you were out. It was Karen.”
Sav was
startled. “Karen? What did she want?”
“Well, she
didn’t say exactly what, only that you return her call as soon as possible.”
Sav ran his
fingers through his hair. “Fine. Go ahead, Gail. Go take care of your mum.”
“Thank
you. The lads were fine. Off to sleep at 9. Let me know when you need me next.”
“I will. I’ll be home tomorrow, so it probably won’t
be till the day after. Good night
Gail.”
“Good night
Mr. Savage.”
Sav shut the
door and decided whether or not to call Karen back or not. He first decided to call Deanna to see how
her show was. However, he got her
answering machine first. He knew the
show was over several hours ago.
Perhaps she was putting things away at the shop? He called there and got the machine as
well. He was gonna call her cell, but
figured that maybe she made some business contacts and was in the middle of
something. Although it was late, he
didn’t think it too odd.
He then
decided to call Karen and get it over with.
“Hello?”
“Karen, its
Rick. My nanny said you called.”
“Yes…yes I
did,” she stammered. “Rick….I’d like to
know if its possible to see you tomorrow.
There are some….things that I want to talk to you about.”
Sav sighed
heavily. “Karen, if this has to do with
the custody….”
“No…no, it
doesn’t. I just want us to talk. Please?”
Sav had no
idea what she wanted to talk about, but he hoped it would be about the lads.
“Fine,” he
replied. “I’ll be home tomorrow. Come on over after the lads go to
school. We can talk uninterruptedly.”
“That’ll be
fine,” she replied. “I’ll be there
around eleven.”
“Fine. I’ll see you then,” he replied flatly before
hanging up.
***************************
The following
morning, Sav got Alex and Sean off to school.
He arrived back home and called Deanna, hoping to catch her before she
left for the shop. He got her machine –
again. Puzzled, he tried the shop in
case she went in early. And again, he
got the machine. He then called her
cell and got her voice mail. He left
her a brief message to call him before hanging up. He then waited for Karen to arrive.
A little after
eleven, Karen arrived. She was very
carefully dressed in an outfit that she knew would catch her ex-husband’s eye –
fitted black dress trousers and a soft, pale blue sweater. She walked in with a contrite face and a
sweet smile.
“Thank you for
seeing me Rick,” she cooed. “You….you
look good.”
Sav was polite
to her compliment. “Thank you. Would you like some tea?”
“No, thank
you. I’m all set. I…I couldn’t sleep last night, Rick. I needed badly to talk to you.”
Rick was a bit
alarmed. “Are you alright?”
“I….I….no, I’m
not. Rick….I know my willingness to
give you full custody of the lads probably shocked you, but I did it for good
reason. But….those reasons don’t matter
anymore. Rick….Jonathan and I
are….well….we’re splitting up.
He…..he’s been treating me very badly.
And, well, because of that, I didn’t want the lads around him.”
Sav’s eyes
popped. “What? Karen, why didn’t you tell me?”
Karen produced
some tears. “I was ashamed. So very ashamed. Rick, I know you’re probably gloating over this, but marrying
Jonathan was a mistake. A terrible
one. But….not as big as the one I made
when I left you.”
Sav saw a
dangerous look in her eye. He was very
familiar with that look. While they
were married, in happier times, Karen always gave him that look when she wanted
to be intimate with him. His mind was a
whirl over what she was saying.
“Karen…..listen,
I…..I’m sorry for what Jonathan has put you through and, if you need my help,
you have it. But….as for you and
I……..I’m already in a relationship that I’m very happy with.”
Karen feigned
sadness. “You…you mean Deanna…the
antiques dealer?”
“Yes, her.”
Karen then
pretended to look confused. “I….I don’t
understand. I thought you weren’t
seeing her anymore.”
Sav crossed
his arms. “What made you think that?”
Karen
innocently put her hand to her mouth.
“Uh, oh,” she said with guilt.
“I….maybe I shouldn’t have…..”
“What,
Karen? Tell me!”
Karen glanced
down, then up. “Well, I’ve got to
confess Rick. I attended the antiques
show yesterday and saw Deanna’s booth.
The lads talked about her so much last time they were with me, but she
wasn’t hard to find. Anyway, I…I was
planning on meeting her, I mean….since she was going to be spending time with
the lads, I wanted to get to know her a bit.
While I was waiting at her booth, she was talking with someone – that
someone was Devon Flaherty of Waterford United. I…I couldn’t help but overhear, but they made a date for this
Saturday.”
Chapter 45
Deanna got up
early and spent her day off at the library.
Even though she was knowledgable in areas of most antiques, she wanted
to brush up on pieces and styles that she didn’t normally carry. She was so excited about her possible
client, that she couldn’t sleep. After
the show, she wanted to call Sav, but didn’t want to disturb him since he said
he’d have a late night at Joe’s. Instead,
she met Maura after she got off her shift at the pub and the two of them talked
and caught up until almost midnight.
Deanna still
was too excited to sleep and was wide awake at six. Since she had the shop closed today, she decided to check out the
extensive reference books on antiques at the library. She waited for a decent enough hour to call him since she didn’t
know what time he got in last night.
However, she knew he had to be up to bring the boys to school so she
decided to call him now. Since she was
in the library, she had her cell phone turned off, but noticed her voice mail
light blinking. The message was from
Sav who called around 9:30 this morning.
She dialed his number
**************************
“What do you
mean they made a date for Saturday night,” Sav asked Karen. “You must’ve misunderstood.”
“I……don’t
think so Rick,” Karen replied. “I heard
her say that she would close up the shop at 4:30 then drive out to his
house. He bought a countryside manor.”
Sav’s heart
began to wildly beat with anxiety before he tilted his head. “But….Devon Flaherty plays for
Waterford. Why would he buy a home in
Dublin?”
Karen’s quick
thinking saved her possible goof.
“Well, not all athletes live in the same city that they play in. Probably his little off-season bachelor pad. Anyway, I also overheard that he has two young
children. He’s a widower, I
believe. Deanna seemed very interested
in that fact.”
Karen
remembered Deanna’s admission about not being able to have children, and
decided to use that to her advantage.
Sav’s heart
caught in his throat when Karen said that.
He knew Deanna’s interest in children, since she couldn’t have any of
her own. And, as far as he was
concerned, Karen didn’t know a thing about it.
Maybe….maybe it was true.
Karen saw the
uncertainty in his eyes and moved closer.
She softly put her hand on his arm.
“Rick, I’m sorry. I….I truly
thought that, since she openly made a date with him, that the two of you broke
up. I guess I was wrong. Oh, God, what have I done? I didn’t mean to upset you. I never would’ve said anything if I didn’t
know. But Rick…I thought….I thought
that since you weren’t seeing her anymore that we could, you know…..talk.”
Sav’s head was
in a spin. He loved Deanna. He thought she loved him too. Now…now she was accepting a date from a
soccer player? A young, good
looking soccer player with two kids.
How perfect could that be?
No…no,
something wasn’t right. He knew she
wouldn’t cheat on him. He just knew
it. Anyway, Saturday night they were
going to plan Alex’s birthday party.
She adored his sons. She wouldn’t
give that up for anything less than an emergency. No, Sav was convinced that it had to be something else.
“Karen,
listen, I think there’s a good explanation for this. I’ll ask Deanna about it.
Now, as far as you and I……I don’t think we could ever get back
together. The hurt was too much. Our marriage was next to nothing in the last
few years. We just weren’t meant to be
together.”
Karen leaned
in closer. “You’re wrong, Rick. We were born to be together. We just were too foolish to find out how to
make it work. Now, we’re older and
wiser. We’ve both made mistakes and
we’ve learned from them and I’m willing to try to make amends. Rick, think about the lads. No more shuffling them around. We can be a family again. Please.”
Sav was uncomfortable
with her closeness. Even though she was
his wife for 7 years, his heart belonged to another woman. Another woman who very well may be cheating
on him.
“Karen,
please, I….I don’t think this is the right time to…..”
Sav was cut
off when Karen pulled him down to kiss him.
Sav fought it at first, but felt himself start to give in to the old
feeling. His senses returned when he
realized that this just wasn’t right and pulled away.
“Karen,
stop. This isn’t right.”
“It is Rick,”
she purred. “You just need time to
realize it. You do what you have to do
with Deanna. I’ll be waiting for you,
luv. You and the lads.”
Karen was
confident that Deanna wouldn’t tell Sav much when approached because of her
promise to Devon to keep their arrangement confidential. “Walk me to my car?”
Sav nodded and
led her outside. He came back inside
after a few minutes and saw a message on his answering machine and played it.
“Rick, hi its Deanna. I thought I’d try to catch you since I got in very late last night and wasn’t sure what time you got in. I just got your voice mail message. Unfortunately I’m somewhere where my cell phone can’t be on. Listen, I need to talk to you about Saturday night. I…..something came up and I can’t come over. I um…..met a potential client at the show yesterday whom I’m going to meet with. I’m so sorry, but maybe we can get together Sunday to plan Alex’s party. I’m pretty much gonna be out of cell phone range for the majority of the day, so just leave me a voice mail and I’ll check it periodically. Love you….bye.”
The air felt
like it left Sav’s lungs. Deanna not
only cancelled for Saturday night, but was also conveniently out of cell phone
range. Was she possibly with Devon?
Every emotion
inside of him was battling each other.
His breathing became rapid as feelings of anger and betrayal slowly
began to surface. He then noticed the
box with the drawer pull on his counter.
Ever since he bought it from Deanna the first day they met, he hadn’t
had the opportunity to have it installed.
He picked up
the box and took the metal pull out. He
gently caressed it with his fingers before hurling it at a wall mirror.
Chapter
46
Around one
that afternoon, Sav walked into Joe’s.
He barely acknowledged him or Phil as he walked in the kitchen. Marti and the other producer were already in
the Garage.
“Nice of you
to show up Sav,” Joe quipped.
“I didn’t know
I was punching a fucking time clock, Joe,” Sav shot back.
Phil’s
eyebrows went up. “Whoa, someone got up
on the wrong side of the bed. Or should
I say….woke up in an empty bed!”
“Does
everything have to be ‘sex’ with you Phil?” Sav huffed out before
hesitating. “Wait a minute…..look who
I’m asking that question to!”
Both Joe and
Phil knew there was something definitely wrong with Sav for it wasn’t in his
nature to blow up like that.
“Okay, are you
going to willingly tell us why you’re biting our heads off, or are we gonna
have to dangle you off my deck and force it out of you?” Joe asked.
That seemed to
be the last straw to Sav as he slammed a kitchen chair against the table. “Look, I don’t have to give you an itinerary
of my personal life! You’re not the
only one who’s allowed to be a tempermental asshole, Joe. You know….I don’t need to be here
today. I’m outta here!”
Sav turned and
headed for the door. Joe got up before
Phil put a hand on his shoulder. “No,
let me. Its obvious he feels you know
too much about him. Maybe he’ll talk to
me.”
Joe let out a
deep sign and motioned Phil to the door.
Phil went outside hoping to catch Sav as he was pulling out of the
driveway, but instead found him leaned up against his car having a
cigarette. Sav saw Phil walking towards
him, rolled his eyes then looked away.
Phil stopped right in front of him.
“You know, you
don’t owe us an explanation of anything going on in your life, Sav,” Phil
began. “But, when you start acting like
this, well….we can’t help but wonder why.
And, be concerned. Tell me….does
it have to do with Deanna or…Karen?”
Sav took a
drag and blew it out. “Both,” he
answered.
Phil made a
funny face. “I’m almost afraid to
ask. Hmm, what could be the worst case
scenario? Either Karen wants you back
or Deanna’s cheating on you.”
Sav turned
astonished eyes towards Phil. “Try both!”
Phil paled. “I…I was only kidding, mate.”
“I’m not,” Sav
replied.
“What……what
happened?”
Sav dropped
his cigarette and put it out with the heel of his boot. “Hmm, long story short. Deanna had her show yesterday and met Devon
Flaherty, a Waterford United player. Coincidentally, Karen was at the show, supposedly to introduce
herself to Deanna since she’d be spending a lot of time with our sons, and
wound up overhearing a conversation between Deanna and Devon. Seems Devon asked her out for Saturday night
and Deanna accepted.”
Phil rolled
his eyes with great animation and chuckled.
“Oh Sav, please! Please, tell me
you don’t believe your ex-wife. She
could just be saying that to….”
“……I couldn’t
get a hold of Deanna last night after the show. I knew she’d be knackered after it. She wasn’t home and she wasn’t at the shop. I called her this morning after I brought
the lads to school and she wasn’t home nor at the shop yet. I called her cell and got her voice
mail. Karen called the night before
asking to come over so we could ‘talk’.
Since she overheard Deanna and Devon making a date, she assumed that we
had broken up and wants to talk about getting back together. I told her that I love Deanna and that I’m
sure that she misunderstood what she heard.
When I walked Karen to her car, Deanna had called and left a message on
my machine. She said that she’d be out
of cell phone range – no explanation – and that she couldn’t see me Saturday
night because she had client business.
Phil, Saturday night we were going to plan Alex’s party. She is wild about my lads. Plus, what business would she have on a
Saturday night?”
Phil stood
back and listened without saying a word.
Finally, he did. “So…..now for
the $20,000 question. Did you confront
Deanna with this?”
Sav threw his
hands up. “How could I? I can’t get a hold of her. She’s not home. The shop is closed and she’s somewhere out of cell phone
range. For all I know, she’s probably
shagging her little soccer star! He’s
young….younger than me, with two small children from his previous
marriage. She’s probably having second
thoughts about dating a 40 year old rock star who’s gonna be traveling all over
the world once the album’s out and the tour starts.”
“I can do
without the self pity,” Phil chided.
“Especially, since I’m older than you.”
“Whatever,”
Sav huffed.
“Sav, sooner
or later you’re gonna talk to her before Saturday. Don’t get yourself in a twist until you talk to her. I’m sure she’ll explain what really happened.”
“Yeah, I’m
sure.”
“So…..you coming
back inside? Joe misses you.”
Sav let out
his first laugh of the day. “When
Ireland freezes over!”
Chapter
47
Sav wisely
took Phil’s advice and decided to give Deanna the benefit of the doubt. He had just learned to trust all over again after
meeting Deanna and he just couldn’t handle it if she betrayed him. However, his ex-wife’s word was not exactly
golden and Sav even found it a bit coincidental that she had the audacity to
want to get back together at the same time he found out about this supposed
date that Deanna had with Devon Flaherty.
He spent the
rest of the day working and waited for Deanna to call him when she was
able. She didn’t call him on his cell
for the remainder of the day, but Sav did come home that night to a message on
his machine from her. Since it wasn’t
too late, he called her at home.
“Hello?”
“Aye there
stranger,” Sav quipped.
“Hey
yourself,” Deanna replied. “I’m so
sorry, but these last two days have been crazy. I hate playing message tag with you. I miss you so much.”
“I miss you
too, luv. So…what have you been up to?”
Sav tried
to inquire without sounding like he was
hounding her. He wanted to see what
she’d offer first.”
“Well…..actually,
its kind of….confidential. I really
can’t say anything yet, but there’s a chance that I could get commissioned to
locate some antiques for a potential client.
I was at the library most of the day brushing up on some reference
books, which is why I couldn’t keep my cell phone on.”
“Confidential?”
Sav questioned.
“Um…yeah,” she
answered. “I…I really can’t get into it
and…..oh, hold on Rick, I have another call coming in.”
Before Sav
could answer, Deanna clicked off. He
waited for about 2 minutes before she came back on. “Rick, sorry. Listen, I
have to take this call. Its from that
client and I really don’t want to mess this up.”
“You have
clients calling you at home?”
“Its really
important,” she stated. “I’d tell you
if I could, but not yet. Listen, call
me at the shop tomorrow. If you can,
stop by to see me. Sorry, gotta
go. Love you.”
With that,
Deanna clicked off again and Sav was left with the sound of a dial tone. He wanted to press further about this
‘client’ that she couldn’t talk about.
He thought it weird, but didn’t want to seem too invasive. He decided to visit her at the shop tomorrow
and talk some more. There, he’ll ask
her about Devon Flaherty.
The following
afternoon about 12:30, Deanna was about to order some lunch when the door to
her shop opened. She looked up to see
Devon Flaherty walk in.
“Devon! Hello.
This is a surprise.”
“Well, I was
in the area and wanted to stop in and see your shop. And, also see if you were free for lunch. My fiance is meeting me over at Foley’s for
lunch and was wondering if you could join us.
I know its last minute, but she’d like to pick your brain before you
actually come to the house this Saturday.
I guess decorating comes more naturally to women than men!”
“Ah, well that
is a stereotype, but I’m afraid that’s true!
Most men think a plastic floor plant, wooden crates and a hula girl lamp
is decorating.”
Devon let out
a pleasant chuckle. “You just described
my university campus room – minus the hula girl lamp!”
Deanna
returned the laughter. “Well, I see no
reason why I can’t join you. I was
gonna order lunch as we speak. Let me get my coat.”
As Deanna
retrieved her coat her phone rang.
“Renaissance Antiques?”
“Aye luv, its
me,” Sav said on the other end.
“Listen, I’m on my way down to the shop to see you before I go to
Joe’s. Do you want me to stop and get
you anything?”
“Oh,
Rick! Oh, I’m…I’m so sorry. I forgot about you coming. I was just heading out to have lunch.”
“Well……can we
have lunch together?”
“Unfortunately,
no. It’s a business lunch. God, I’m so sorry.”
“Oh….okay,
well then can I just stop by to see you quickly before you leave? I haven’t seen you in….”
“No!” Deanna
quickly said. “Um, I mean, I don’t have
time to waste. I have a client meeting
me at the pub as we speak and I don’t want to keep her waiting.”
Her? Sav’s
mind registered that, but he was still uncomfortable with Deanna’s
aloofness. “Oh, okay. I see.
Well, call me when you get back.”
“Okay, I
will. Bye.”
Sav held the
cell phone in his hand as Deanna clicked off without saying ‘I love you’. He wondered if something was keeping her
from saying it. Or someone. Since he was already in his car and moments
from the shop, as he planned on surprising her, he decided to drive by. He turned down Molesworth Street and pulled
over to the curb to park.
He saw the
door to Deanna’s shop open and watched her walk out – followed by Devon
Flaherty!
Sav’s heart
sunk to the floor of his car as his hands absentmindedly gripped the steering
wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white.
“No wonder she didn’t want me coming by or told me she loved me,” he thought. “He was standing there waiting for her. And she wanted me to believe that she was meeting a female client. Business lunch, my arse! I don’t believe! Karen was right. What an absolute bloody fool I am! I knew our relationship was too good to be true. She doesn’t even have the decency to tell me. Probably going to wait to see if things work out with Devon before she tells me to get lost. Forget it! I’m not waiting around for that!”
Chapter
48
Sav pulled in
his driveway and stalked inside his house.
He didn’t know what to do or what to think first. He had already been deceived by one woman
who said one thing, but meant another and now he’s going through it again. At this rate, he wondered if he’d ever be
able to trust another woman again.
What hurt was
that he really and truly loved Deanna.
He finally thought he found a down to earth woman who not only was
beautiful, intelligent, funny and independent, but accepted him for who and
what he was, accepted his lads and
understood his life. He thought wrong.
He would’ve
had more respect for her if she just came to him and told him that it wasn’t
working out and that she wanted to see other people. Yes, it would’ve hurt, but at least she would’ve been honest.
The last thing
he wanted to do was be around anyone today.
He called Joe and asked if he
was really needed today. Fortunately,
Joe read between the lines and didn’t ask any question. He knew his friend needed to work something
out before he could fully focus.
While Sav
waited for Gail to bring the lads home from school, his phone rang. He didn’t want to talk to anyone, but
answered it anyway.
‘ello?”
“Rick hi, its
Karen. Do you have a minute?”
“Not really,
Karen.”
“Rick, whats
wrong? Why are you being so short?”
Sav let out a
sigh. “I’m just not having a good day,
that’s why.”
“Did…did you
find out about Deanna?”
Sav was silent
for a few moments before letting it out.
“Yes, I did! She is traipsing
around with Devon Flaherty. Are you
happy?”
“Well…..I’m
not happy that you’re upset, but I am happy that you’re free so that we can
talk about us.”
“Karen, now is
not the time. I don’t want to…..”
“Okay, fine
then. No pressure. Listen, I’d like to know if I can come over
to see the lads when they get home. Is
that okay? I don’t want to bring them
here. I’m in the process of moving in
with my sister just outside Dublin Centre.
Once the divorce is over, I’ll get a place of my own. But, I’d really like to see the lads.”
Sav couldn’t
deny the lads seeing their mum and it would be under his roof. “Fine, Karen. They should be home in an hour.”
“Great, I’ll
be by then. Bye.”
Almost an hour
later, Gail came in the door with Alex and Sean in tow. Sav smiled for the first time since his
discovery this afternon.
“Aye lads,” he
said hugging them. “Guess who’s coming
to see you this afternoon?”
“Deanna!” Sean
replied.
“No, not
Deanna,” Sav said somberly.
“Yeah it is,”
Alex said. “She’s right behind us.”
Sav looked
past his sons to see Deanna come through the door.
“Surprised to
see me?” Deanna asked.
Chapter
49
Sav met
Deanna’s beautiful and cheerful face with a look of shock and…..loathing.
Deanna caught
that look and it sent a chill up her spine. “Rick, whats wrong?”
Sav glared at
her before bending down to his sons.
“Listen lads, I need to talk to Deanna for a bit. Why don’t you go upstairs with Gail and get
settled, okay?”
“Deanna said
she’s gonna make us dinner tonight,” Sean said.
“Yeah, she
pulled up the same time we did,” Alex said.
“She promised to make brownies too.”
Sav tried not
to let his true feelings show to his sons.
“That sounds wonderful. No, go
upstairs with Gail.”
Gail nodded
and took the lads upstairs. Deanna
watched all this with bewilderment.
“Rick….are you okay? Are you
upset that I showed up like this? I
came right after lunch. I felt bad
about cutting you off this afternoon that I decided to surprise the boys with
making them dinner and…...”
“Where did
you go this afternoon Deanna?,” Sav said coldly, cutting her off.
Deanna’s eyes
widened. “What? I told you that I had a business lunch.”
“What was her
name?”
“Why? Why do you need to know…..?”
“Just answer
me, Deanna. If you’re able.”
Deanna never
saw him like this. It was a cross
between hatred and devestation. “I….I
can’t tell you, Rick.”
“Why,
Deanna? Because your supposed
female client turned out to be Devon Flaherty?”
Deanna sat on
the couch. “How….how did you find out?”
“When I called
you this afternoon, I was already on my way to your shop to surprise you. When you emphatically told me not to come
by, I did anyway. I saw you and Devon
come out of your shop. Whats the
matter….could’nt wait till Saturday night to see each other when you had your
date?”
“Our date?”
“Just admit
it, Deanna! You met him at your show
and he asked you out for Saturday night.
I know all about it. Then for
two days after that we’ve barely spoken.
If you wanted to see other men, fine.
At least be woman enough to tell me – at least since you’ve sworn
your love to me!”
Deanna put her
head down in her hands. She couldn’t
believe that this all got misconstrued, not to mention that Sav didn’t believe
or trust her. She had to explain, but
she wouldn’t let him off that easily.
She slowly stood up and approached him.
“For your
information, Richard Savage, I did meet Devon at my show. He inquired about me finding him some
antiques for a home he bought in the country – he and his fiance! That was the big client that I was talking
about and was working so hard the last two days brushing up on different styles
of antiques. He stopped by my shop
today and said that he was meeting his fiance for lunch and asked if I could
come along so we could meet informally before I went to his house Saturday
night to take a look around. The reason
I couldn’t say anything was because he was waiting for a formal announcement to
be made that he was being traded to Dublin United. He told me at lunch today that the announcement was made. I had to give my word till then. Is that a good enough explanation for you!”
Sav was a mix
of relief and humiliation, not to mention anger that Karen either heard wrong,
or intentionally told him this to break him and Deanna up. He’d wager every cent he ever made on the
latter. How could he apologize to her?
“Deanna,
I’m…..I’m sorry. But, you have to
understand how it looked from my end.”
“Doesn’t
matter, Rick. You should’ve asked
first.”
“I did, but
you couldn’t tell me anything.”
“Then you
should’ve just trusted me. I guess this
tells me just how much you do and that my declarations of love mean nothing.”
Deanna reached
up and unclasped the diamond and amethyst heart pendant from around her neck
and laid it on his coffee table. As
tears filled her eyes, she stood strong and looked straight at him. “I’m sorry, Rick. I once loved someone that I thought I trusted – until he betrayed
me. Now I don’t know if I can love
someone who doesn’t trust me. Goodbye.”
Chapter
50
Sav felt his
entire world spin as he watched the woman that he loved walk away from him.
“Deanna,
no…..wait, please….please don’t go.”
He grabbed her
by the back of her arms and spun her around.
Deanna tried to keep her tears at bay, but failed. She was now crying full force.
“How could you
stand there and accuse me like that?” she cried out. “I haven’t been the same since I met you. I trusted you with personal things about
you. I gave you my love and my
body. I love those two boys of yours as
if they were my own. You know that,
Rick. So how……how could you?”
Sav pulled her
up against him with an almost violent tug as he tried to keep his own emotions
under control.
“I’m sorry,”
he pleaded. “I’m so…so sorry. It…it was just the way it looked and, well,
combined with the fact that you couldn’t tell me anything. Deanna, I’ve been hurt in the past too and
had my trust broken. I’m trying to gain
that back and you’re the first woman that I’ve allowed it with. Please, luv. Please, don’t leave my life.
I will get down on my knees and beg if I have to.”
Deanna just
allowed herself to calm down as she basked in the warmth and scent of him as he
enveloped her in his arms. She had
never felt more comfortable, more at ease nor more cared for or loved in her
life than she did with this man. To
walk out on him would tear her in half, but she couldn’t have her love
questioned. She pulled away a bit and
put one hand on each side of his face.
“Listen to me,
Rick. I don’t want anyone but you, you
understand that? No one. Absolutely no one! I’ve been deleriously happy since I met you and I wouldn’t
jeopardize that for anything. I know
you’re still relearning to trust, but please come to me first if something
bothers you, okay?”
Sav nodded
with relief. “Yes, you have my
word. Now please…..” He bent down and
picked up her necklace…”put this back on.”
She lifted her
honey colored hair so he could refasten it around her neck. She smiled at him through her tears before
she knitted her brows.
“Rick, just
how did you find out about me meeting Devon at my show and who said that we had
a date for Saturday?”
Before Sav
could answer, he heard the buzzer to the front gate go off. A look of contempt filled his face.
“You’re about
to find that out right now.”
Chapter
51
Sav hit the
buzzer and spoke into it. “Yes?”
“Rick, its
me,” Karen’s voice said.
“Come on in.”
Deanna’s eyes
widened. “Karen? Karen’s here? And….it was her? How did
she know?”
“Seems she was
at your antiques show. She said she
wanted to meet you, since you’d be spending a lot of time with the lads. She was near your booth and overheard your
entire conversation with Devon.”
Deanna shook
her head in amazement. “I don’t believe
it. But, she um…already met me.
I promised her I wouldn’t say anything, but at this point I don’t
care. She stopped by my shop a week
before the show bascially to explain her un-motherly behavior. She told me some personal things about her
and her marriage, but that’s not for me to tell you.”
Sav tapped his
finger against his chin. “Lets see –
did she say that her marriage was over and that she and Jonathan were getting a
divorce?”
“Well, no…not
to that extent,” Deanna answered. “More
like her marriage was in trouble and the reason she travels everywhere with
Jonathan is because she’s afraid he’ll cheat on her.”
Sav chuckled
over the absurdity. “Really? She told me that Jonathan was treating her
badly, however broad that is, and that she didn’t want the lads witnessing
that, which is why she wholeheartedly gave me full custody. And, coincidentally, she must’ve exaggerated
your conversation with Devon to make it look as if we had broken up. She showed up the next morning to tell me,
then used it as a means to get back together.”
Deanna’s mouth
dropped a bit and Sav knew exactly what she was thinking. “No, luv….no worries. There is no way on earth that I’ll ever take
her back – especially after this stunt.”
Deanna looked
a bit concerned. “You know, Rick….maybe
there is something wrong with her.
You know….psychological or emotional.”
Sav pondered
that as his doorbell rang. He and
Deanna eyed each other before he answered it.
“Afternoon,
Karen.”
“Hey luv,” she
said, trying to slip her arms around his neck for a kiss. Sav immediately pulled himself away.
“Oh,
right…sorry,” she said. “We did promise
to take this slow.”
“We’re
not taking this anywhere, Karen,” Sav sternly said. “Before you see your sons, we need to
straighten something out.”
Sav walked
into the living room from the foyer as Karen followed. “Rick, what? Whats wrong? Did I do……?”
Karen stopped
in her tracks when she saw Deanna and knew instantaneously that her little plan
had just backfired on her. Sav saw the
look on her face and for one brief moment felt sorry for her as he saw an
unstableness come over her. He suddenly
thought if Deanna may be right.
“Karen….I
think we need to clear up some misconceptions here.”
“I…I don’t
know what you mean,” Karen stammered.
“Maybe I can
refresh your memory, Karen,” Deanna cut in.
“I understand you were at my show.
I also understand that you overheard a conversation between Devon
Flaherty and myself – a conversation that included him commisisoning my
services to furnish his new country home with antiques, am I not correct?”
Karen was clearly
nervous. “Well, I….I didn’t hear the entire conversation. I didn’t want to eavesdrop or anything.”
Deanna crossed
her arms. “Well, if you didn’t hear
everything, then how were you so sure that it was a ‘date’ that he asked me out
on and not scheduling a business appointment?”
“Well….well,
that’s what it sounded like, I….I could’ve been wrong…..”
“You were
wrong, Karen!” Deanna interrupted. “I
don’t understand it. Just last week you
came by my shop to meet me and said I’d be good for your children because you
don’t want to see them, and now you’re trying to stab me in the back because
you want Rick back. With all due
respect, just what the hell do you want?”
Karen’s
nervousness turned to fear as she collapsed to the couch and cried into her hands.
“I don’t want
to be alone! I’m afraid! I’m so very afraid! I married Jonathan too soon because I was
afraid I’d lose him. I put him first
and because of that, I’m losing my children.
Well, now I’ve given over full custody and Jonathan wants out. Rick, I …I thought we could take a chance
again, but I knew Deanna was in the way.
I guess I….I…I’m so sorry. You
don’t know what I’ve been going through this last month.”
Deanna looked
at Sav and motioned that she’d go into the kitchen in order to give them
privacy. Sav then sat next to
Karen. “You should’ve been honest with
what was going on instead of pulling charade, Karen. I’m here for you to help you, but not in the capacity of a
husband. I will be your friend, you are
the mother of my children. But my love
and my heart belongs to Deanna. I’m
sorry Karen. But, I will be there for
you as a friend if you need it.”
Just then Alex
and Sean came into the room when they heard crying. “Dad, what…..?” Alex began when he saw his mum. He then got a somber look on his face.
“What are you
doing here?” Alex bit out.
“Alexander!”
Sav scolded.
However, Sean
happily went over to his mum and hugged her.
“Mum! What are you doing
here? Why are you crying?”
How could she
ever tell them? How could she ever make
up her neglect of them. “I’m crying
because…..because I’m happy to see you and that I’m sad over not seeing you as
much. I’m so sorry, Sean,” she wept as
she hugged him.
“Its okay,
mummy,” the precious five year old replied.
“I know you didn’t mean it. You
don’t look like you feel well.”
Karen looked
up at her youngest son. “No Sean….I
don’t feel well. I think mummy is
sick.”
“Then you need
to get better,” Sean said.
“Yes, I
do. And….I will. I promise.”
“Yeah, right,”
Alex sneered. “Every promise you ever
made you broke. I don’t believe anything you say anymore.”
“Alex,
please,” Karen begged. “I am so
sorry. But…I’m gonna make it up to
you. But first, I need to get well. I’m not with Jonathan anymore. I’m going to move in with Aunt Nancy. And then…..then I need to get better. When I do, I will make it up to you, I do
promise this time!”
Alex didn’t
know whether to believe his mum or not.
He wanted to go to her, but he wanted to hate her. Finally, Sav gave him a shove.
“Go to your
mother, lad. She needs you more than
you need her.”
Alex slowly
walked over and Karen caught him quickly.
She sat there hugging her sons and rocking back and forth as she cried
her heart out. Sav couldn’t help but
get choked up himself a bit.
“Don’t worry,
Karen,” he assured her. “You do
whatever you have to do and we’ll work something out.”
For the first
time in almost a year, Sav saw some clear skies on the horizon for everyone
involved.
Chapter
52
Over the
course of the next several days, Sav learned the extent of Karen’s
problems. She had become seriously
depressed and was taking Prozac and sometimes drinking heavily. She admitted the night she left the lads
with the nanny was not because Jonathan had a business function, but rather she
learned about his infidelities. When
Jonathan left to be with his mistress, Karen was not in the right frame of
mind. She called in the nanny to watch
the lads for a night or so, while she checked into a hotel where she cried,
drank and sunk deeper into depression.
There was no way she could be around the lads in that condition.
Sav told Karen
that he wished she told him the truth, but understood her shame in it. He also told her that he would help her with
attorney costs in her divorce, in which she promised to ‘give Jonathan what he
deserves’ in court and ‘get what she deserves’ afterwards. Sav just smiled sheepisly, thankful for the
prenup that they signed before they got married years ago. However, he did agree that Jonathan was a
dog and Karen didn’t deserve being treated badly and used.
As Karen got
settled in with her sister and prepared to undergo treatment for her
depression, Sav got with his children and tried best he could to explain their
mum’s situation. He said that mum was ‘sick’
and was going somewhere where she can get well so she’d be able to see them
again.
“Is she going
to be our mum again?” Sean asked.
“Sean, she was
always your mum,” Sav replied.
“She was just having problems and didn’t want you lads to see he when
she was sad. But, she’s going to get
help for that. You don’t have to worry
about Jonathan anymore. Mum is going to
live with Aunt Nancy while she’s getting well.”
“Why….why
can’t she just come back and live here?” Sean asked.
“Because mum
and dad are divorced, that’s why,” Alex huffed. “Divorced people don’t live together anymore.”
“Alex, he’s
still too young to understand that,” Sav chided. “Be a little more patient with your brother.”
Sav then
turned to Sean. “Sean, your mum is
still your mum, but she and I are no longer married. We both have separate lives now, but we are still connected to
each other because of the both of you.
And, while you’re mum is going through this difficult time, I’m going to
be there for her because I want to see her well, for your sake. We love the both of you, but we don’t love
each other anymore”
Alex looked at
his father with a twinkle in his eye.
“You love Deanna, right?”
Sav smiled,
knowing he couldn’t fool his eldest son.
“Yes lad. I do. Very much.”
“I love her
too,” Sean proudly stated. “She’s
pretty and she’s nice to me. She reads
me stories and……and makes me brownies and…..and……she’s nice to you too. She makes you smile.”
Sav realized
that he couldn’t fool his youngest either.
“You’re right Sean. She
does. That’s one of the reasons I love
her.”
“Will you
marry her?” Alex asked.
“Well, that is
a possibility, but its still too soon.
We still want to spend more time together and get to know more about one
another. I’d like for her to meet Grandma
Sally and Uncle John and Brian first.
We’re gonna take it slow. She’s
got her antique shop to run and I’ve got an album to finish.”
“Can we go on
tour with you next year?” Alex pleaded.
“Please….please….please! “I’ll
be 9 by then. Please!”
“Yeah, me
too!” Sean said, not wanting to be left out.
“Well, I don’t
see why you can’t come along during the summer shows we do,” Sav answered. “But, once school starts, it’ll be
difficult.”
“Will Deanna
come too?”
“If she
can, and, if we’re still together, I’d
love for her to come. Remember, she has
a business to run.”
“You’ll still
be together, dad,” Alex said confidently.
“I just know it.”
“Yeah…yeah,
then…then you can marry Deanna and she can watch us instead of having a nanny.”
“Dad, if you
do marry her, she’ll be our step-mum, right?”
“That’s
right,” Sav replied. “But she will
never want to take the place of your real mum in your lives, even though she
loves you two as if you were her own.
Now…..I don’t want you two talking about marriage in front of her. That’s a grown up subject, okay.”
“Okay,” Alex
said.
Sean
nodded. “I’ll wait. I know she’ll be our stepmum someday.”
“So do I,” Sav thought. “So do I!”
Epilogue
6 Months
Later
August,
2001
Sav opened the
door of the tiny shop and heard the the faint sound of the bell above signaling
his entrance. He was last here six
months ago, but today his agenda was entirely different.
From the
backroom, he saw the petite, 70-ish Irish woman come out to greet her
customer. The woman stopped behind the
display case and put her glasses on that were hanging from a chain around her
neck. When recognition took over, a
slow, calculating smile graced her wrinkled face.
“I knew you’d
be back,” she said mischievously.
“Though, I thought for sure it wold be sooner.”
Sav was
incredulous. “You remember me?”
The old lady’s
eyes sparkled. “Young chap, yours is a
face that a lady doesn’t forget. You
must’ve been even more devestating when you were a younger lad.”
Sav blushed
under her praise. “Well, I didn’t do
too bad,” he shyly replied, as he thought of all the women he enjoyed in his
music career. “But, those days are long
gone.”
The old woman
walked over to the glass case that housed a myriad of diamond rings. “So, I take it that you’re here for
something other than another necklace?”
“You guess
correctly,” Sav replied, walking over to the case. He looked at the selection of rings and shook his head back and
forth.
“Something
wrong?”
“Well, I was
hoping to find something that’s as beautiful as she is,” he mused, enjoying his
banter with this old woman. “However,
none of these seem to strike me.”
The old woman
raised an eyebrow. “If you had
something strikingly beautiful, would you want it out on display for someone
else to come along and take it?”
Sav looked
perplexed before he answered. “Uh,
no. Of course not.”
“Neither do
we,” she said as she turned and went to a picture on the wall. She turned back the picture, which was on a
hinge, and displayed a hidden wall safe.
She turned the combination with her gnarled fingers, opened the door and
pulled out a purple velvet box.
Sav grinned
from ear to ear as she laid the box on the case in front of him. “Hold onto your knickers, handsome,” she
jested as she opened the velvet box for him.
*************************
Three days
later, Deanna was working late at her shop on Friday night. She was cleaning off the display along a
wall that was going to be knocked down.
The tenant next door moved out and, after a long and arduous decision,
Deanna decided to expand. Lord knows,
she needed it.
After
furnishing Devon Flaherty’s country manor with the most amazing selection of
antiques, his home was featured in Ireland’s Country Homes and Gardens
Magazine. Deanna’s name and shop
received so much exposure for the spread that her business soared after
that. She began receiving calls from
mostly elite individuals to track down ‘only the best’ for their homes.
Her mega
successful business, combined with her careful saving of her hefty commission
checks, enabled her to make the decision to expand. She did it. She
succeeded. A year ago she came across
the Atlantic after making what she thought was a crazy decision. Her incredible good fortune led her to her
success. And…..to Rick Savage.
She was so in
love that sometimes she thought she was going to wake up and realize this was
all a dream. Everything she could ever
want was right in front of her. A
successful business, an absolutely wonderful man and his two children. She knew God sent her here for a reason.
Right now, she wished she could finish up and get
to Sav’s house. Even though she hadn’t
officially moved in with him, half of her things were at his house since she
spent just about every night there.
Although he never badgered her to make a decision, she knew he wanted
her with him all the time. Tonight, she
decided to tell him that she’d move in for good.
As she was
finishing up, the bell over her door rang and in walked Sav. In his hands, he carried a box that was
about 12 inches tall and wrapped in pink, mother of pearl wrapping paper and a
white ribbon on top. She smiled and
went over to him
“What’s that?”
Sav pretended
to look guilty. “Its….its……an ‘I’m
sorry’ gift.”
“Sorry for
what?”
Sav laid the
guilty look on thick. “Deanna,
I’ve….I’ve got to confess. I….I haven’t
been…..monogamous.”
If Sav didn’t
look like he was posing, she’d be concerned.
She decided to play along. “Hmm,
just what did you do?”
Sav got really
dramatic. “Well, I’d rather you find
out from me rather than from someone who…..saw me. Its true, Deanna. I
confess. I’ve been……going to other
antique shops!”
Deanna tried
to keep from laughing as she continued in this charade. “Richard Savage! How….how dare you!
I can’t believe that you would betray me like that. Just what were you thinking?”
Sav held out
the box to her. “I was looking for
this.”
She tried to
hide a smile and took the box. She
unwrapped it and took the top off. She
pulled out an antique mahogany jewelry box and gasped.
“Rick! Oh….my…God!
Where……where did you find this?”
“Actually, I
found it when I went to Sheffield two weeks ago,” he replied. “I picked up my mum and we went for a drive
in the country and we found this quaint little shop. Not a lot of antique stores out there.”
Deanna
couldn’t get over the intriquite carving and sheer beauty of the jewelry
box. “Its…..its exquisite.”
He opened up
the twin glass doors on top. “See, in
here is a little wheel to hang your necklaces and there are a few drawers down
here. One for bracelets and such and
the bottom drawer has a velvet cushion for rings.”
Even as he
said it, Deanna opened that drawer and almost dropped the box. Snuggled inside the velvet cushion was a two
carat, princess cut engagement ring in a platinum setting with tiny diamond and
amethyst chips along the side. All she
did was stare at the ring as her eyes welled up with tears. Sav continued with his charade and played
dumb.
“Well, well,
well,” he mused. “Look what someone
left in there!”
Deanna looked
up at him absolutely speechless.
“Rick,” she breathlessly whispered.
He took the
box out of her hands and placed it on the table, then took the ring out of the
cushion.
“Deanna, I
have two things to ask you,” he said.
“First, well…the reason for my last trip to Sheffield is that I wanted
to look for a piece of land in the country.”
“You want a
residence there?” she asked.
“Yes,” he
replied. “My main
residence. Deanna, you know the
problems I’ve been having with my neighbor regarding the water problem, which
is why I decided to sell the house – well, auction it. I’m considering moving to Sheffield instead
of looking for another home here. I’d
like for my mum to come live with me since she’s alone.”
Deanna’s face
fell just a bit and he knew exactly what her concern was.
“Rick…if….if
you move to Sheffield…….if we move to Sheffield, what about my shop?”
Sav smiled
confidently. “I knew that would be your
biggest concern. Deanna, I would never
ask you to give something up that you’ve built into such a success. I’m so proud of you. But….well, I’ve given it a lot of thought
and came up with a possible solution.
You’d have to agree, of course.”
“What is it?”
“Well, first
off, your shop in Dublin will still stay in business. What I could do is contact my soliciter to find a respectable,
discreet and responsible person knowledgable in antiques to run your Dublin
store. Then, with your success and
capital, you can branch out and open a shop in the country in Sheffield. Like I
said, there aren’t many shops there.”
“Except the
one that you bought this jewelry box from,” Deanna said.
“Well, yes and
no. That shop is closing up. An older couple ran it for a number of
years, but didn’t have the clout or resources to cater to the elite of the
country residences, who go into London for their antiques. I was thinking, that since they’re going out
of business, you could take over their place and keep the business in Sheffield
instead. I mean, you’ve made a name for
yourself with Devon’s house and all the subsequent business from it. You’ve been in articles and had the homes
you furnished on magazine covers. Once
word gets around England that you’ve opened up a shop in Sheffield, people may
not need to make the effort to go into London.
What do you say?”
Deanna
couldn’t believe. She absolutely
couldn’t believe that he had this all thought out. And it was a marvelous idea.
“You…..you
figured it all out, didn’t you?”
“Anything to
keep you with me luv,” he huskily crooned.
“Now, take whatever time you need to think……”
“Yes!” she
exclaimed. “I’ll do it! I mean, it can’t be any more of a risk than
the one I took coming over here as a virtual nobody. As long….as long as whoever runs the Dublin shop is someone who
can be absolutely trusted.”
Sav was
ecstatic. “Of course, Deanna. And, with the beauty of the internet, which
I’m an absolute moron with, you can keep in contact with the shop.”
Deanna began
to pace around excitedly. “Oh my
God! This…this is so exciting. I’m gonna have another shop. One was a dream, but this…..this is beyond
anything I could imagine. I’m so…….”
She stopped
her rambling when she saw the sheepish look on Sav’s face and forgot all about
the diamond ring in his hand. She went
over to him.
“Oh, I almost
forgot,” she said. “You said there were
two things you wanted to ask me. Whats
the second?”
Sav gave her a
heartstopping grin and bent down on one knee.
“Will you marry me?”
The look on
his face and down on one knee made him more appealing than ever.
“Do the boys
know about this?”
“Are you kidding?” Sav said. “They’re the ones who suggested it a long
time ago.”
“They did?”
“Yep.”
“But….but what
about them seeing their mother if we move to Sheffield?”
“Well, Karen’s
staying put until the divorce is final.
In the meantime, she’s taking a real estate course to be an agent. I told her what I planned on doing, and she
said that she’d been contemplating a move to London once she passes her course
and finalizes the divorce. This way
here, she’s only a tram ride away from seeing the lads. Since I still have full custody, not to
mention that she’s still undergoing couseling, her visits with the lads need to
be monitored. But, she’s on the right
track to getting her life back in order.”
“So…..everything’s
pretty much worked out, I guess,” Deanna said.
“All except
for one thing,” Sav replied.
“What?”
“You haven’t
given me your answer yet.”
Deanna just
realized that this incredible man just proposed to her and she hand’t answered.
“Yes,” she
whispered. “To know that you went to
these lengths to figure this out tells me just what kind of a man you are. I think I’d crawl to the ends of the earth
and back for you.”
Sav swallowed
a lump in his throat as he put the ring on her finger. He then straightened up and put his hand in
his pocket.
“There is just
one more thing, Deanna,” he said pulling his hand out of his pocket. He produced a tiny, pink baby rattle. Deanna took one look at it and her heart
rapidly began to beat.
“Whenever
you’re ready luv, just say the word,” Sav said, “and we’ll give Alex and Sean a
little baby sister. Or…..” he reached
into his other coat pocket and pulled out a small blue rattle….”baby brother.”
Deanna’s
held-back tears fell full force now as she took the two rattles then looked at
Sav. “You….you mean…..adoption?”
All Sav did
was nod as she threw herself in his arms.
She then gave him the kiss of a lifetime, full of promise of a wonderful
future.