Chapter 4

Dan glanced at his watch; it was 10:55 p.m. “Anna and I think we’ll be hitting the road soon, but first I want a dance with you, Dan,” Gabby mentioned.

“Before you go,” Dan asked Wendy to take her seat. Dan tapped his glass against his. “Excuse me, could I please have everyone’s attention?” He stood and paused for a moment, looking at those sitting at their table.

“Thank you for your attention.” He started above the din of the crowd. “First of all, I wish to thank Wendy for inviting me to meet her work family. I’m very happy to have met you all, and congratulations to Tina and Wendy on their promotions.”

“I’m now thinking of opening one of your personal interest accounts on account of my great personal interest in Wendy.” That play on words resulted in a good laugh from the group. “The way you folks run your banking business, you’d probably do a better job at running the country too,” which received another laugh.

“I’ve got the feeling that every one of Wendy’s friends is going to give me the third degree on the dance floor. So I thought I’d save you all some time and tell you how it is with us.”

“I am in love with Wendy, and my intentions are true and honest. I have no reason to lie to any of you. I know that you are a very close-knit group, and no doubt I will provide you with lots to talk about in the lunchroom.”

“You fear for Wendy that she can’t be happy in a relationship that is different than normal, and I appreciate your love and concern for her. Each one of you is in a great, stable relationship that anyone would be proud to have. Why would it be frowned upon if she was in a relationship that involved another woman and a man?” He reasoned.

“My first wife, Laura, and I had three great kids before she died in a car accident three years ago. During that time, we met and fell in love with Karen. Even though she was married to an asshole of a husband, she was with us almost every day and night. I have three wonderful kids and twenty-two years with Karen, another baby on the way, and more than likely several more in the future with Wendy.” Dan confessed, looking down at her. She replied wide-eyed and clutched his right hand.

“I am grateful that you are Wendy’s work family, and I pledge to all of you that my Karen and I will give Wendy a loving, happy, warm home to come to after work each day. Thank you for your time.”

Wendy stood up, kissed, and hugged Dan. Her sparkling eyes and smile brightened up the dimly lit table. “I’m so very proud of you, Dan. I love you so much,” she said for all to hear. “If football were life’s game, you just scored some major, major touchdown points with me!” She emphasized, tears pooling in her eyes.

“I love you, Wendy,” he replied, kissing her and lifting her off her feet with a big hug. The women applauded, followed by the men.

Wendy sat down, but Dan remained standing and looked at his watch, 11 p.m. on the dot. “It is 11 p.m., and this moment has been three years in the making,” Dan said, taking the pink envelope out of his breast jacket pocket. “This is for you,” he said, handing the envelope to Wendy and then sitting beside her.

“I don’t understand,” she said, accepting it and looking at the handwriting. “What is it?”

“It’s a letter from Laura.”

“Your Laura?” She questioned. “She’s been dead for three years!” Her statement raised the attention of everyone at the table.

“I know I can’t quite understand it either.” Wendy looked at the elegant writing on the front, then gingerly opened the envelope. She slipped the letter out and opened it. The words were so gracefully written. At the top, it said,

“Wendy, please read this letter out loud to your friends.”

“Please, before anyone leaves, I’m asked to read this letter to you!” Wendy said. She leaned forward to see the letter better in the candlelight. Dan slid the candle globe closer for her, giving her deep cleavage a golden glow.

13 October, 2003

To my Dearest Wendy,

“I am Laura Hayward, Dan’s wife. Today, 13th October 2003, is my 44th birthday, which I’m sure we’ll celebrate in grand style. During the night, I woke up with a premonition that I was going to die and would not live to see Christmas. The feeling was so strong that I couldn’t return to sleep. I had to write down all that I knew was going to take place in the future for the ones I loved.”

“Laura was killed in a car accident on 22nd November 2003,” Dan inserted, looking at everyone.

“You may wonder how I know that your friends are here with you right now and why I couldn’t predict the winning lottery numbers. Unfortunately, the afterlife doesn’t work like that, ha, ha, ha. I guess this is sort of a letter of reference for my Daniel. Hopefully, it will help prove to all of you how sincere Dan is about his love for Wendy.”

“I’m so happy for Tina and Wendy on their promotions. Everyone at this table is in a healthy, stable relationship, whether married or not. But I bet you all know someone who is divorced.”

“Kelly says there’s no such thing as the perfect man. Aren’t you living with yours? Aren’t Tina and Allison with their perfect man? Isn’t Gabby with her perfect partner? So why can’t Wendy be with Dan, her perfect man? He certainly was the perfect man for me and is also the perfect man for my Karen.”

“Now all of you may think that Dan and Wendy meeting just a few months ago, falling in love, and basically committing to each other seems so sudden. In actuality, the seeds of their future relationship were planted by their sons, Brad and Jake, many years ago. As a matter of fact, it is no coincidence that you are reading this letter because today, I mean your today, 30th March 2007, is the sixth anniversary of Dan and Wendy meeting for the very first time.”

They looked at each other. “I don’t remember meeting you before,” Wendy questioned, wrinkling her brow.

“I can’t remember meeting you either. I would definitely have remembered meeting you, that’s for sure!” He said it wide-eyed.

“The same with me,” she smiled.

“Now that you’ve had a pause to try and figure out where you two met, I’ll add that Karen and I have also met Wendy before, and it was because of Brad and Jake. You two honestly can’t remember. I guess the saying, ‘Love is Blind,’ is definitely true for the both of you. Kelly should remember Dan and Wendy’s meeting, she was there too.”

“What on earth are you talking about?” She asked as if Laura was there in person.

“Kelly, what is the one thing you always said about Wendy? You always called her a walking...?”

“I always called Wendy a walking klutz because of her constant spilling or dropping something,” she said, looking around at everyone, and they laughed.

“Let me then refresh your memories. On 30 March 2001, Kelly and Wendy were watching Jake’s hockey playoff game against his friend Brad. The arena was as cold as it still is today. You and Wendy went to the concession stand during the first intermission to buy coffee. Dan, Karen, and I also went to the concession stand for a hot cup of coffee at the first intermission. We were standing next in line to be served behind you, Kelly. Wendy had bought two coffees, and when she turned to leave, she bumped into this tall, handsome man, spilling both coffees all over him.”

“Oh, oh, now I remember!” Kelly exclaimed, pointing at Dan. Dan started laughing; he too was now remembering the incident.

Wendy looked wide-eyed at Dan and pointed, “Oh my God, you’re the one I spilled my coffees on!”

“All I could say was, ‘Thanks a lot! This coat is brand new!’” He remembered.

“I’m so sorry!” She said this, clutching the letter to her breasts and touching his right forearm as if the incident had just happened.

“I still have the coat, coffee stains and all,” he smiled.

“I’ll clean the coffee off for you.”

“No way, those stains are now a badge of honour,” he grinned, leaning over and kissing her cheek.

“Wendy felt so sorry and apologized over and over again, saying she was such a klutz. I could see Dan and Wendy exchanging eye contact, and I knew right away that this wouldn’t be the last time they’d meet. So the seeds of love between Wendy and Dan were sown six years ago, they just took far, far too long to finally begin to grow.”

“In closing, I’m sure that you’ll now see Wendy and Dan’s relationship in a more positive manner. With all that she has gone through, doesn’t she deserve to be happy again? My Daniel will give her that happiness for the rest of her life. Please embrace his love and friendship for her. Fair warning, though: you’ll have to put up with his groaner puns and lousy jokes. Just don’t tell the rabbit stew one.”

My love always,

Laura Hayward.

Tina began to applaud, followed by the others, including Dan and Wendy. Brian Gregson stood. “To Dan and Wendy,” he said, raising his glass. “Thank you, Laura,” he added. Everyone stood and toasted Dan and Wendy.