In-Between the Shadows

3. The Start

It had been the same for the last few weeks. On the weekdays, Daniel and I would meet at night at exactly 11:30 at night in the sitting room. He would always be there first, a novel in hand and a fire already going. I would come down still dressed in my work clothes and greet him with a smile. There, we would discuss how my day went before we moved on to a more serious conversation about whatever Daniel could think up.

On weekends, Daniel and I would walk the streets together. Sometimes we would go into shops, sometimes we went out to eat, and sometimes we would just simply walk the streets. We didn't talk much on these outings, and we took turns paying for things, despite his fit of him wanting to pay.

Daniel even started coming to meals served at the inn. His spot would be next to mine, and the whole table would look at us. Women cooed over him and men threw him nasty looks, but neither he or I cared. We were happy in our little space - our little corner of the world. His existence marveled my everyday life, even so at work.

Dr. Glass, my advisor who was usually a stingy man that I could not escape, gaped at my sudden uplift in my work ethnic. I was a curiosity that I could not tell or not appeased him. With this, he assigned me more tasks than not, and I did them happily without complaint, daydreaming about the next time I would see Daniel's face and hear his voice as he said my name.

Still, I knew little of him, Daniel. Our conversations were never about him, but what he was thinking. No one really knew anything about him, but what was said through me. Miss Mary Combs, who resided the room next to me with her sister, asked if he was married and that I would be most kind and considerate if I could find out for them. I had to turn her down, saying that it would be unfit for me to get into his personal life.

"Well, you're his friend, aren't you?" Her usually sweet face said. She would flirt with me from time to time when we were in line for the bathroom together, but that stopped when Daniel moved in.

"Miss Combs, why don't you do so yourself?"

"I'm not his friend like you are, Mr. Darlington," she said, returning to her sweet composer. I wanted to roll my eyes.

"Then I will do so."

I did so, simply to forget about this whole thing. Daniel surprised me. We were in the sitting room, as usual, the fire warming us as we conversed our usual antics. The fire's colors made his eyes appear cooler, like they were ice that could never melt. He was silent for a moment. He did not look at me, but my feet.

"No," he had said, "but I almost was."

I waited for him to explain, but he was waiting on me to ask him. Usually, I wouldn't, not wanting to make him uncomfortable, but I was curious tonight.

"How do you mean?"

"I was almost married to a woman that I loved dearly, but she did not want me, she wanted someone else."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Don't be," he suddenly said, closing his novel and standing up. "It is none of your concern. Tell Miss Comb that I am not married and to leave me alone. Please put out the fire. I am going to bed."

Later, when she asked me, I told Miss Comb that Daniel was not married, but left out the part of him wanting for her to leave him alone. I didn't want him to appear rude among the talk of our fellow neighbors. She smiled, and asked for me to mention her to him.

Something about that made me furious in a way I cannot explain, so here's what I did: I told her that he was mourning over the loss of his fiancé for she had died in a tragic accident and that it would only upset the almost widower if such a fine woman such as she or anyone else were to even mention the word marriage to him.