Asher joins his uncle on the front porch step where they share a cup of coffee in silence for a while before his uncle speaks up. “I really like Dani. She seems like a really nice girl.”
“Yeah, she's wonderful.” Asher agrees.
When they had gotten to his uncle's house yesterday, Dani had been her usual sweet, charming and overall perfect self, immediately winning over his uncle Leo and Jace.
“I was glad to hear that she was a girl.” Leo says and Asher laughs.
Dani averts her face away from Grey's prying eyes. For the last ten minutes he has been trying to 'place where I seen you from, man'. Dani rolls her eyes. He does this every time he sees 'Danny' and she is starting to get tired of it. Usually Asher is there to run interverence between them, but he is in class. It was just Dani's luck that her and Grey have every class together while she only has one with Asher. “Seriously, how do I know you?” Grey asks once again, ticking Dani off. “It is really beginning to bother me, this mystery.”
October 14th, 1996 New York City Five Years Later Dani looks around the large park at all of the pretty trees. She loves this time of year when the leaves are all gold, orange and red, rattling in the blowing breeze. As she walks down the stone path the leaves rain down on her and she can not fight back the smile that stretches across her face.
Dani is sitting behind the desk in her new ofice when she hears the phone outside ringing. She is not worried about it because she knows that the secretary will get it. Because now she has a secretary. Although she shares her with three other workers, she still feels so official. She is a career woman, making her dreams come true and setting an example. It is only her fouth day on the job but she is getting the hang of everything. Dani had not wanted to accept the job once she had found out that Asher worked here. H
Asher rides back to his office with his mind working over time. Just moments ago he had been having a moment with Dani when her father has interrupted them by calling Dani's name and rushing over towards where they had been standing. Not that Asher should be having moments with Dani. She had a family now. She was a mother and probably a wife to the doctor that had come rushing into the room. He had felt a vague sense of recognition when he had seen him, but he could not place him. He had been too busy having all of his dreams and illusions shattered. A small part of him had been hoping, ever since he had first laid eyes on Dani, tha
Dani looks up at him with wide eyes, feeling her hart stop beating in her chest. She knows that she is at a cross roads right now and she is looking at two paths before her. This can go one of two ways. She can lie to him or she can tell him the truth. “Asher-” “Tell me. Now.” He says angrily and she sucks in a sharp breath. Letting it out slowly, she gives a resigned sigh. “
Dani is so nervous as she checks the clock for the seventieth time in the last ten minutes. It is almost time to go home. Normally that would be her favorite part of a work day, except for today her boss is going home with her. To meet his long lost children. Dani had wanted to wait a few days to give herself time to adjust to the idea of Asher being bak in her life. She wanted time to prepare the boys and to talk to Eddy. But Asher could not wait any longet to see them and as a parent, she gets that. So she had invi
Asher waits impatiently as Dani opens the door to her apartment; his hands full of bags of groceries. He can not wait to actually get the chance to meet his children. That still feels unreal to him. He has children. Two sons. Four year olds. He is a father. Excitement feels Asher, making him nearly shake with the joy of it. But along with the joy came the nerves. He was terrified to meet them. What if they didn't like him? What if they liked Eddy more? He is their father and they don't kn
Asher did not want to go home. He wanted to stay with his boys. They had supper together, then he and Dani had given them a bath. He read them two stories with a lot of character voices which the boys loved. Even Dani was laughing. This is the fourth night this week and they were together three nights last week. But it is not enough. Because at the end of the night he still has to go home to his lonely apartment across town. Each night the boys still ask him why he is leaving. Why their Daddy isn't staying their with them, with mommy. They just tell them that it's because daddy's house is closer to his work, which is easier for him.
November 25, 1999Three Years Later Asher looks around the room for his wife, but she is lost in the sea of people. Their family and friends have only been there about fifteen minutes and already he is regretting his and Dani's decision to host Thanksgiving in their new home. But Dani had been so excited when they finally got the renovations done, after three months of contractors and paint samples.
Dani waits at the closed door until someon gives her a signal. Her hands are shaking and she is tapping her foot. A hand grasp hers tightly. “Nervous?” “No, not at all. Impatient. I am ready to get in there.” Dani says and he nods. “It shouldn't be long now.” Just then the doors open with a florish and Dani gets ger first sight of it all. Her wedding. She sees all of the people filling the seats and
Asher sits across from Fred Millman in a slightly awkward silence, because he does not know how to start the conversation that he wants to have. He knows that Fred already knows everything going on. He and Dani are close, so she tells him everything that happens in her life. “Mr. Millman-” “Call me Fred. If you are going to be my son-in-law, you should probably call me Fred.” He says dryly and Asher winces. “Ahout that.. I wanted to say- I'm sorry that I did
Asher looks back at Dani, knowing that she is nervous. She has nervously chattered the whole way here, being worse than their sons. He smiles when she catches his hand and asks, “They founded the publishing company, right?” “Yes. They put the A & J in AJS Publishing. Adrien and Janice Steele. They started it nearly twenty years ago. I worked their off and on in my teens, but last year when I graduated college, they gave me the company. It was between that, a technology company, a medical supply company or a hotel.” “That is an odd assortment of companies.” Dani tells him.
“I checked on the boys and they are okay. They're both still sound asleep.” Dani feels the bed move as Asher joins her. When he had left the bed a few minutes ago, she had no idea what he was doing. A part of her thought that maybe he was trying to sneak out on her. He moves over until his bare body is flush against her naked back and he puts his arm over her waist, anchoring her to him. She can feel his warm breath on the back of her neck. When she does not respond to him, he kisses the back of her neck.
Asher tells his uncle all about his plans with 'Holly from the second floor' and Leo nods along, apparently approving this choice, while Dani's heart breaks inside of her chest. She waited too long. Asher has already moved on. Asher notices Dani slowl withdrawing from the conversation and he assumes that it is because she is tired. He knows that the twins are as well. When she moves over to sit with the boys, casually talking to Jace, Leo leans forward. “So, kids, huh?” He asks and Asher knows that means that he wants the full story.
Dani trails along behind Asher as he walks a few step ahead of her, holding a boy by each hand. Nik is dressed as a teddy bear and Nate is dressed as a lion. Nate has a drawn on brown nose and whiskers thanks to a brown eyeliner pencil. Nik wanted his face colored on too, so she drew him a brown nose as well. With their fuzzy suits on, they both look so cuddlely that she could not stop hugging them. “Are we almost there, Daddy?” Nate asks Asher looking up at him with tired eyes. “Are you worn out, buddy?” Asher asks him and the child nods.
Dani rewipes the table with the wet washcloth for the thirs time; not because it is sticky but because she is stalling. She just will not admit that to herself because then she would have to dig deep enough to admit to herself just why it is that she is avoiding Eddy. And she does not have to dig deep to admit why, because she knows the reason. Asher. That morning when she had woke up and seen a peacefully sleeping Asher beside her, it had just felt to right. It had felt like old times between them and she had been con
Asher did not want to go home. He wanted to stay with his boys. They had supper together, then he and Dani had given them a bath. He read them two stories with a lot of character voices which the boys loved. Even Dani was laughing. This is the fourth night this week and they were together three nights last week. But it is not enough. Because at the end of the night he still has to go home to his lonely apartment across town. Each night the boys still ask him why he is leaving. Why their Daddy isn't staying their with them, with mommy. They just tell them that it's because daddy's house is closer to his work, which is easier for him.