Love and Only Love

Chapter 4

The next month was one of sleepless nights and tearful days. A few weeks after the attack, Louisa and Grace went back to school. Meryl no longer wanted them to ride the bus, either she and Don would walk or take them back and forth to school. They knew at some point they would feel more comfortable with them taking the bus, but not yet. They had attended countless memorial services for the girls' friends' parents, and of course their dear friend, Tom. The week after the attack, Meryl and Don wanted to help the people of their beloved city, and not sit around in sadness or anger. They took the girls down to shelters and they served meals, unloaded trucks, and sorted through clothes. They felt extremely fortunate and wanted to do whatever they could to help. Neither Don or Meryl let a day go by without checking in on Mamie and Henry, they both needed to hear their children's voices everyday. Mamie had considered moving home and going to NYU but her parents had talked her out of it, insisting life needed to go on and she needed to stay at Northwestern. Henry was still traveling all over with his music. At the end of September he left to immerse himself in the European culture for awhile with a group of his friends, his band. The road to physical healing had been a slow and long one for Don but he was finally getting there once the doctor released him.

***

It was Friday September 28th and Don was coming home from a long day at the studio. He was looking forward to a nice quiet evening in with his wife and two youngest daughters. He just hoped that neither Grace or Louisa wanted to be taken anywhere; or invited friends over. He had only been back at the studio full time for the last few days, due to his injuries, and he wanted a low key evening with 3 of his favorite girls. He smiled when he saw his wife's purse and keys on the table in the entry way. Hopefully that meant they were all in for the night. It had been an emotional and exhausting month and he was looking forward to a weekend of not having to do anything, which was a rare occurrence in their lives. He knew a night at home with his girls was what he needed, hopefully with no fighting from Grace and Louisa.

"Girls, I'm home!" Don yelled as he sat his portfolio, wallet, keys, and cell phone on the breakfast bar in the kitchen. He frowned when there wasn't an answer, but by the looks of the kitchen Meryl had been cooking. "Darl, I'm home!" Still nothing, so he decided to go in search of his family. He checked the dining room and there was no one there. His next stop as he made his way down the hallway was the living room. He stopped when he got to the door and smiled. There was his beautiful wife setting out a snack supper on the coffee table. There was beer, chips, queso, little smokies, salsa, cheese, meats, and veggies.

"You're home." She smiled as she greeted him with a kiss.

Don responded to the kiss for a few moments and for the first time in weeks he felt as though things were "normal" again. "Yeah, I called out for you several times. What's all this?"

"This..." She smiled as she took his hand and led him to the couch. "Is date night; and I have all your favorite bad for you foods and we have movies on demand."

"What's this all about?" He laughed as he scooped a chip into some dip. "You never let me eat this kind of food."

"It's been a long time since we've had a date night. The girls are spending the night at Third and Maeve's with their cousins. So I thought a date night in with my favorite guy would be perfect." Meryl smiled sweetly at him as she played with the buttons on his shirt-leaving no doubt what she had on her mind.

Don couldn't agree more as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, allowing his tongue to play with hers for awhile. "I couldn't agree more. However, I remember a time when you complained that we couldn't get a sitter and would have date night in."

"I've become selfish in my old age, I don't want to share you with anyone." She flirted as she wrapped her arms around his neck and played with his hair. "Are you feeling selfish?"