Billboards and Benches

Chapter 17

"I can't believe I'm in public in pyjamas!" She giggles and her boyfriend smiles. He kisses her forehead watching her excitement over pancakes. She never eats things like this and he's excited that she broke her diet one day to have a breakfast date with her boyfriend. He giggles at the way she eats only the fruits off of her plate. "I can't believe I'm doing this." She giggles staring at the food in front of her. She's never felt nervous in her life. She didn't know what anything meant and she'd never not known what to order.

"Have you never had pancakes? It's not a dirty word!" He laughs. She giggles while he squeezes her tight. She hasn't had pancakes in years because of her modelling career.

"I haven't had pancakes since I was fourteen!" She smiles looking at the whipped cream smiley face drawn onto her pancakes. She hasn't been this rebellious is so many years. She hasn't had this much fun in so many years. Gerald never took her out on fun dates. He never let her do things that she didn't already do before. Shawn gives her adventure and love that she was never used to receiving.

"You can't be serious!" He gasps and she nods slowly. He watches carefully while she cuts a piece of her pancake so delicately. She uses her fork and knife and cuts a perfectly precise piece. "Well!" He smiles as she takes the first bite. He watches her moan at the taste and she smiles.

"I've missed pancakes!" She giggles as does he. He didn't realize she doesn't eat like this often. If he had he wouldn't have brought her on a breakfast date.

"Well yeah! They're arguably the best breakfast food ever!" He smiles while they laugh. The whole diner is just filled with their laughter. They both look around at the older couple a little farther behind them.

"I'm sorry." Dylan smiles hitting his arm. He turns around as well to offer an apology that they don't let him give.

"You look like us when we were younger! Please keep laughing it's nice to see how happy you two are." The woman smiles as does Dylan.

"If you give her enough pancakes she'll never leave you!" The man smiles at Shawn who looks down at the woman he's with.

"I think she's pretty stuck with me and she's only on the first bite!" He smiles back and Dylan giggles again. She looks back at the couple.

"Are you guys on a breakfast date too! I've never been on a date this early before. I've never even left my house in sweatpants let alone pyjamas!" She smiles kissing his cheek.

"That's it!" The man points and Shawn turns to face him. "That is the moment that you know she will be yours forever. You keep making her smile like that alright?" He points sternly and Shawn nods.

"Yes sir." He smiles down at Dylan who's entranced by the other couple. She studies them, she wants to be them one day. She's thought about it so many times. She used to try and force herself to be okay with the idea that Gerald was going to be it for her. She never realized there were other people in the world. She loved Gerald and they had the sweetest relationship up until two months before they split. He started travelling more and she wanted to stay home to focus on their baby bump that never arrived. She discovered that there were options for her and she found the man she sees as the only other option. She wants to grow old with him. She wants to be sitting with him for a breakfast date when they're seventy five. She wants to sit in a diner and eat pancakes with him before they go visit their grandchildren. She knows they'll have kids together she just knows it. She can not wait to have a future with the man next to her and every day she spends with him is a little more magical.

"How long have you two been together if you don't mind my asking?" Dylan smiles and the old woman taps on the table signalling for them to sit with the couple. "Alright but I'm gonna have to bring these pancakes with me." She smiles while Shawn lifts her plate for her. He wanted just to spend the morning with his girlfriend while she had the time for it. He didn't have a plan and this makes their morning so much sweeter. He loves how happy she's been. She woke up at six thirty because she didn't know how to dress and he watched her for a half hour panic about her clothes. He'd never seen her look so stunned when he told her she could just wear pyjamas.

"We've been married since we were twenty?" She turns to her husband who nods. "This year will make how many fifty three years?" She looks at him and he nods at her.

"How'd you do it?" Dylan smiles taking another bite of her pancakes. Shawn just admires her. Though she was worried she didn't look nice enough he for a date. She was nervous that people would laugh at her and that her boyfriend would be embarrassed to be seen with her. She managed to pull through to come on this date. He thinks she's gorgeous in everything she wears.

"That," they both point to her boyfriend who doesn't want to be caught staring. The second she turns to him his gaze shifts towards the couple in front of them. "He loves you! You can see it in his eyes." She smiles while Dylan leans against him. "You make it obvious that you love him but he chooses to do things like this instead. He'll give your life adventure and meaning. That's the way he'll show you that he loves you." She smiles as does Shawn. He holds his fork up and watches Dylan steal the bite he'd prepared.

"You have your own!" He teases and she smiles kissing his cheek.

"Fifty three years strong because she's my best friend! We've spent the better part of our lives together and we started off where you two are just like this." He smiles. Dylan loves the stories so much. Shawn just loves seeing how happy she looks. They weren't wrong he can't take his eyes off of her. Even for a moment he's worried he'll miss something. He doesn't know why yet but he's worried that he'll miss her blink or breathe and he doesn't know what he'd do if he wasn't watching. He just likes to make sure she's alright.

"I'm gonna be honest with you, this is the most fun I've had in years!" She smiles wrapping her boyfriends arm around her. He moves himself closer to her in the booth they share.

"That's pathetic." He chuckles and she rolls her eyes.

"You've never been a model though. I can't understand how you convinced James to let us out of the house without him. I have never been allowed to eat pancakes freely! I've never been on a real date either. I just get to know people through FaceTime calls or inside of the four walls of my own home." She shrugs.

"Harriet used to be a model!" The man smiles pointing to his wife who bushes him.

"I haven't been that woman in years. But he isn't wrong!" She winks and Dylan gasps.

"You aren't," she gives a nod and Dylan's eyes go wide. "You're the only reason I ever wanted to model! You're the only reason I wanted to exist. I still have posters up in my studio I look at them before every shoot and pray that I can look even a fraction of what you did and still do!" Dylan smiles making Harriet chuckle. Shawn squeezes his girlfriend closer. He can feel the goosebumps on her arms. He knows she's cold so he's trying to offer her warmth.

"When she stopped modelling," her husband huffs. "She was insufferable for months!"

"That's enough outta you Gracie!" She shakes her head and he smiles kissing her cheek.

"She was so miserable that the only thing I've ever been able to do to make her happy again was take her on dates. This is her favourite diner. So we spend a lot of time here. Between the diner runs and the sex we have our hands full!" He smiles at Shawn can't help his smile while Dylan giggles a little.

"I know how you feel!" Shawn chuckles and Dylan huffs. "She's still modelling and I could barely stop her long enough to get her on this date!" He teases. He watches her as she scrunches her nose in pure defeat. She's full of joy and happiness and he never wants to see her is she doesn't look like this.

"Oh shut it!" She shakes her head and he smiles.

"You two are gonna last. We can tell!" Gracie smiles at the way that he kisses her nose. Her arms wrap around his waist and how he starts to play with his hair. "You should come by again this time next week. Visit us again." He smiles and they both nod.

"We will be sure to visit you again don't worry." Dylan smiles and they nod.

"And if you ever get bored with your lives, our kids have us in the nursing home a couple blocks down. It's a beautiful building hard to miss. Come visit us there." Harriet gives a smile as do they. Dylan knows that her and Shawn are going to end up spending the rest of their lives together. Wether he likes it or not she's got a plan and them splitting is not a part of it.

"We will for of course!" Dylan smiles while Gracie heads off to pay their tab.

"Good. It was lovely meeting you too!" She nods and Dylan giggles.

"It was an honour to meet you." She smiles between the two of them.

"Thank you love. We'll be seeing you!"