Love is in the Air

"I'll be walking more each day, and we could all go outside for walks as soon as I'm up to it," he told them both.

"Well, I...suppose that would be okay," Dawn said. "I could pay you what I pay the girl who's watching them for me now, but I couldn't afford to..."

Ezra held up a hand and said, "Pay me? No way. You'd be doing me a favor, and I never wouldn't take money for helping out a neighbor. Besides, I'm still getting my full pay and everything that goes with it, so forget about the money, please."

"Girls? Would you like to stay here with Mr. Ezra?" Dawn asked her daughters.

She barely got the words out before the both hollered, "Yes!!"

"There. You see. It's a done deal," Ezra announced.

"I can't thank you enough, Ezra," Dawn said. "I just feel guilty asking you to do this for nothing. It seems very unreasonable and downright unfair."

He looked right at her again then said, "I don't believe you asked me to do anything, Dawn. In fact, I'm sure of it. I volunteered and as I said, it's mostly for my benefit. Don't get me wrong, I'll figure out plenty of fun things to do that have an educational slant to them, and then we'll be able to make this advantageous for the girls, too."

As Dawn looked back at him, she felt herself tearing up. No one had offered to do anything so kind for her before, and since her husband left, she'd felt like she was all alone trying to swim upstream against a powerful, very-unfriendly current. Free childcare, even for a few weeks, felt like someone had just opened up a kind of relief valve allowing built-up pressure to bleed off.

"Thank you, Ezra," she said as she reached for a napkin.

"Why are you crying, Mommy?" Chloe asked.

"I'm just very happy, honey," she told her daughter as she dabbed her eyes.

"So what time can I expect you to drop them off on Monday?" he asked with a smile.

They spent a few more minutes at the table before moving to the living room where the conversation turned to what Ezra did for a living. He downplayed the danger while talking up the thrill of flying and not mentioning the part about what a bummer the landings could be.

Dawn nearly teared up again when he briefly mentioned having lost a close friend in the crash, a friend with a wife and a little boy he really wanted to go visit as soon as he could. He also mentioned going to Arlington no matter what, and Dawn found herself not only amazed but somehow again drawn to this amazing younger man who'd done more in the last five years than she'd done in her entire life.

She was proud of being a good mother, but she felt humbled sitting next to someone who'd done so much to keep her and her girls free while sacrificing even more to do so.

"I can't believe you've done so many incredible things and you're only 27," Dawn said sincerely.

"Crashing isn't exactly incredible," he said in his typically self-deprecating way. "Besides, you've done something even more amazing by raising two very sweet, beautiful little girls, and you can't be too much older than me."

Dawn's eyes got wide with surprise at his comment.

"That's very nice of you to say, Ezra. Maybe I don't give myself enough credit for being a mom, but where age is concerned, I'm afraid I'm quite a bit older than you."

He looked at her as though he 'sizing her up' then said, "I don't consider 30 or 32 that much older."

Claire had no real idea. She'd just assumed Dawn was closer to 35, but she realized her son could be right. Dawn looked very young so it was possible she could be 30 years old.

This time, her eyes not only got wider, her jaw dropped.

"God bless you!" she said to Ezra. "I love you for saying that, but I...I haven't been 30 for well, over a decade now."

Ezra's head shook rapidly in disbelief as he said, "No. No way. You are not 40 years old. That's just not possible."

"I'm not 40," she said as Ezra told her, "Like I said, I knew that couldn't be possible."

Dawn looked down for a second then back at Ezra and said, "I'm 41."

He looked at Dawn then his mom then said, "I find that very hard to believe."

"I agree with Ezra," Claire said. "I was thinking maybe 35, but that was just a guess. I can't believe you're over 40, either. I know I didn't look like that when I was 40."

"Oh! You two have made my day!" Dawn said. "Between your kind words and your offer to watch my girls, I'm truly overwhelmed."

Ezra sat there shaking his head before saying, "Wow. I still can't wrap my brain around that. You're so...young-looking and...beautiful. I have to tell you, I'm really struggling with this."

Dawn was secretly thrilled but did hr best not to let it show.

"Again, I thank you, but it's true. I really am over the hill."

Dawn realized what she said then looked at Claire before saying, "I didn't mean to imply that..."

Claire laughed and stopped her in mid-sentence.

"I know exactly what you meant, Dawn. I'm 50 so completely understand what you're talking about. The difference is I don't look 40 while you do still look 30."

"Charlie might argue that point," Ezra told his mom with a smile.

He leaned over as though he was telling Dawn a secret and said, "My mom has a date with the Silver Fox."

"Yes, she told me. That's so wonderful, Claire!" she said supportively and with genuine enthusiasm. "I can't remember the last time I had a date."

Ezra turned toward her and gave her another 'once over', shook his head, then said, "Seriously? You haven't been on a date? You must be turning down offers because I can't imagine you haven't been asked."

"No, not really," Dawn admitted. "I've been asked a grand total of twice, and both times by the same man. Evidently, he didn't understand the word 'no' the first time he asked."

"Okay, that's even more insane than you...not being 30...ish," Ezra said.

He paused then asked her, "You asked me earlier if I was looking, so now it's my turn. Are you looking?"

"Oh, gosh. I don't know. Maybe? I mean, I really am 41 and as you can see, I come with what most men might consider...baggage...even though to me, my girls are the most precious thing on earth. Anyway, I work then come home and stay busy with the girls until they go to bed, so dating really isn't a priority."

"So was that a 'yes' or a 'no'?" Ezra asked jokingly.

"It's...it's complicated," Dawn told him.

The girls had asked to be excused, then came running in to ask their mom a question and Dawn said to them, "It's probably time we headed home, don't you think?"

"Ahh! Do we have to?" Chloe asked with a pout.

"You'll be back here on Monday, so yes, we do need to get home. Tell Ms. Claire and Mr. Ezra thank you and goodnight, okay?"

In unison they said, "Thank you and goodnight!"

"I need my hugs!" Claire said.

The girls ran over and hugged her then Ezra said, "Me, too!"

Zoe came charging at him and just in the nick of time, Dawn stuck her arm out and stopped her.

"Easy, sweetie! Mr. Ezra's back is very sore, remember?"

"Sorry!" she said before offering him a softer-but-very-sweet hug before her sister did the same.

Ezra pulled himself up and as he did, Dawn reached out to help. He grabbed her arm and when he stood up, they were face to face for the first time.

"Is it okay if I give you a hug, too?" she asked with raised eyebrows. "I promise to be gentle."

Ezra had almost forgotten those first, early feelings he had for her, but when he looked into her eyes, they came flooding back. Still unable to accept she was as old as she claimed to be, he smiled and said, "That would be very nice."

Dawn carefully raised her arms, laid them gently around his neck then sort of touched her cheek to his. The smell of her shampoo mingled with her perfume caused a stir he hadn't experienced in quite some time. Ezra gently put his arms around her, too, and loosely held her for a second or two before she slowly pulled back.

"Thank you, again," she told him.

She turned around then said, "Thank you both. This was the nicest time we've had in quite a while, so thank you very much."

"Oh, no! We enjoyed it just as much," Claire assured her. "I'm so glad we finally got together, and I really am glad the girls will be here with Ezra."

Ezra shuffled to the door with them to say goodbye.

"I'll see you guys on Monday morning, okay?" he told the three of them

"Bye, Mr. Ezra!" Chloe said.

"We're glad the bad man didn't kilt you!" Zoe told him.

Dawn got that horrified look, and Ezra just laughed.

"Me, too," he told them as he smiled at their mom.

"Sorry," she said anyway. "They just don't understand."

"Why? Four-year olds shouldn't understand such things. They're just being direct and honest. I find it refreshing."

"Give it some time, and we'll see if you're still singing that tune," Dawn told him, a very happy smile of her own on her face.

She thanked him and his mom again before they all said, "Bye!" one last time.

"That was very pleasant!" his mom said as soon as they got back inside.

"Yes it was," Ezra agreed.

"And it was so nice of you to offer to watch those girls."

"I'm really looking forward to it," he told her.

"They are so precious. I could just eat them up!" his mom bubbled.

"I still can't believe their mom is 41 years old," he said as they slowly made their way back inside.

"Not to meddle, but...I saw the way you were looking at her," his mom said quietly.

"The way? What way is that?" he asked.

"I think you know, Ezra," she said sweetly. "It's the way I was looking at Charlie."

"Well, she is very attractive," he admitted.

"Yes, she is," his mom agreed as she kept looking at him.

"What? Why are you looking at me that way?"

His mom's answer nearly blew him away.

"Ask her out, honey. Life is too short not to. I can tell you like her, and it's obvious you like her girls."

"Mom, wear you listening? She's almost 15 years older than me," Ezra said but without conviction.

"And Charlie is probably ten years or so older than me. So what?"

"But it's different when the man is older," he replied.

"Oh. And...just how is it different?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye. "If you care for someone, is age really that important? It's not like she's my age, right?"

Ezra didn't say anything and Claire was worried her 'subtle' attempts at matchmaking were crossing a line.

"I'm not trying to be pushy, honey. I've just never seen you look at anyone that way. That's all."

Ezra still didn't reply, but just the added push from his mom confirmed what he'd already felt but couldn't put into words. Were she 30 or even 35, he'd knew he'd do just that and ask her out. But hearing her say '41' had really set him back. And yet he had to admit his mom had a point. If he had feelings for a woman, what difference did her age make? For now, he didn't have an answer, and he couldn't help but think maybe it was because age alone wasn't a valid reason to exclude someone as a potential...what? Date? Partner?

He smiled when he thought, "Wife?"

He thanked his mom for dinner then went to lay down for awhile, but he couldn't stop thinking about this beautiful blonde woman with the two beautiful little girls. He grabbed his iPad and started looking for fun, educational games to play with four-year olds, and within a half hour, had spent a couple hundred dollars ordering stuff online he thought would be fun.

Ezra had saved a ton of money during the time he'd been on active duty. He spent most of his time at work, didn't drink much, and made a decent income, and with flight pay and his recent promotions, he was doing quite well. His only real expense was a car that was back at the BOQ or bachelor's officer quarters where he lived on base. A friend was starting it up every day and driving around the base a couple of times a week for him. Other than that he was not only debt free, but had quite a little nest egg growing. So spending a few dollars, especially for something fun and educational seemed like more of a sound investment than anything else.

Ezra eventually crashed hard later that evening and didn't wake up until the following morning. He'd been out of it so bad he wasn't sure where he was when he woke up. He shook his head, rubbed his eyes, then realized he heard a male voice talking quietly.

It was a couple minutes before 8am on a Sunday morning, and that's when he realized it had to be Charlie. He swung his legs over the bed, grabbed his walker, and headed for the bathroom as the sounds of laughter echoed through the house. He peed, washed his hands, and brushed his teeth, then shuffled out toward the voices.

"Hey, Marine!" Charlie said as he stood up to shake his hand.

"Rangers lead the way!" Ezra said using what he thought was their motto.

"And 'first to fight' to you, young man," he said out of respect.

They talked for a few minutes then Charlie asked if he'd like to join him and his mother for breakfast at the Waffle House.

Ezra was very hungry, but wanted his mom to have some time alone with Charlie.

"You know what? I feel like cereal today. I'm not able to run, and the last thing I need is something that heavy. Why don't you two go and I'll take a raincheck."

"We'd love to have you come along," his mom told him.

"Nah. I'll be fine," he assured her even though she got his bowl and the cereal for him.

"Well...if you're sure," she said.

It was obvious she wanted to go, and Ezra made sure she knew he'd be fine.

"Go. Eat. Talk. Have fun," he told them both. "I'll be fine."

He looked right at Charlie then said, "Just have my mother home by a decent hour, young man."

Charlie smiled then snapped off a salute, and said, "Roger that, sir!"

Ezra laughed then told them to have a good time and stay as long as they liked.

Once they were gone, he sat there alone in the silence of the house and realized having the girls there would be a real blessing. Yes, he could stay busy, but it would be very tough spending five days a week by himself in that house going from iPad to books to TV to the computer to kill time all day long.

And that's when he thought of Dawn again. He got up and grabbed his walker and shuffled to the door, then to the driveway and over to her house which was less than 15 feet away.

He rang the doorbell and heard two little voices holler, "I'll get it!"

Dawn followed them to the door, worried about who might be there at 8:15am on Sunday morning. When she saw Ezra, she smiled then got worried.

"Ezra? Is everything okay? Are you okay?" she asked as the girls said, "Hi, Mr. Ezra!"

"I'm fine," he told her.

He looked back at his mom's house then said, "I just didn't realize how far it was."

Dawn tried not to laugh but couldn't help it.

"Did you need something?" she asked.

"Kind of," he told her.

"Do you want to come in? The house is a disaster, but you're more than welcome."

"Ah. Well, little girls must live here," he said with a smile. "Actually, I wanted to ask you something."

"Oh, sure. Anything," she said with a cheerful smile.

"Charlie just took my mom to breakfast, and I was wondering if you three ladies have eaten yet?"

"Oh. Um, no. We were just getting ready to have something," Dawn told him. "Did you want to join us?"

"Yes and no," he told her.

"Oh, well that clears it up," Dawn said, still smiling.

"I was wondering if you might let me take the three of you...there. To the Waffle House."

Dawn was speechless so Ezra added, "The place where my mom and her new boyfriend are. Right now. Eating breakfast."

"Ezra. I...I'm a mess. I look like..."

"Like you're beautiful," he said finishing her sentence.

"My hair is a mess, and...I'm a mess. And the girls aren't ready."

"We wanna go to the Waffle House!" Chloe said as she looked up at them.

"Can we? Pleeeease?" Zoe begged.

"You'd have to drive, but it'd be my treat," Ezra said, his head cocked sideways, a big grin on his face.

"Can we, Mommy?" Chloe asked before both of them said, "PLEEEEASE!" together.

"Well, okay. Can you give me a few minutes to get ready?" she asked.

"Take your time," he told her. She helped him come in and find a seat while she went to get herself and the girls ready.

It took her fifteen minutes, but it was well worth the wait. Dawn had brushed her long, blonde hair and pulled into a flat ponytail, and done the same for the girls who were wearing striped tights and a pink top. Their mom pulled on a pink, knit top over a pair of jeans, and was also ready to go.

Ezra waited as the kitchen table, and when Dawn came back out he said, "Wow. That was the most amazing transition ever. You look great."

"I'm still a mess, but since it's the Waffle House, I don't think I'll get too many looks."

She locked the house as they stepped out and Ezra said, "Oh, you're gonna get plenty of looks. Trust me on that."

He knew she meant from men and that made Dawn smile.

"Oh. Is there any chance you could possibly go lock our door?" he asked. "And maybe grab my wallet and keys first?"

He had a sheepish grin on his face, and that, too, made Dawn laugh as he let her know where they were.

"Of course I can," she told him. "I'll be right back."

She was back in less than a minute and handed him his things then helped him get in the car. She saw him wince several times but never complain.

"How bad does it hurt?" she asked once she got in.

"A lot less when I'm around you," he said with a smile, deciding to take a chance.

The way he said it and the way he looked at her when he did, made her tummy flutter.

She looked at him very briefly then said, "I'm...I'm not sure how to respond to that."

"Maybe with...thank you?" he said playfully with a smile.

She started the car, glanced his way again, then smiled and said very sweetly, "Thank you, Ezra."

When they finally made their way into the Waffle House, Charlie saw them first.

"I'll be damned," he said, causing Claire to turn around.

"Oh, my stars!" she said as she jumped up to go see them.

"Hi, Mom," he said with a smile. "I kind of got hungry after you guys left."

She hugged Dawn then the girls and said, "The booth across from us empty. Come sit down."

Charlie stood up and said, "Mornin', ma'am," to Dawn and the girls before telling Ezra quietly in his ear, "You sly ole fox, you."

"Nice to see you, too, Charlie," he replied with a smile.

"Well played," the older man said just as quietly.

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll have the pecan pancakes then," Ezra said as though that's what Charlie was whispering.

The girls ate most of one waffle between them, and Dawn finished the last few bites along with a bowl of Special K cereal and skim milk.

"So that's how you stay so small," Ezra said when she ordered it.

"Small? I feel like I'm huge! I never have time to work out any more so I have to be very careful what I eat."

"If that's huge, I'll take big any day," he said playfully after glancing at her very sexy figure.

Dawn couldn't help but smile and the way he was looking at her made her tummy flip again.

The six of them talked across the aisle trying not to be too obnoxious as the place was nearly full of people.

"This is my kind of place," Charlie said at one point. "You're probably used to the Officer's Club, but I prefer hanging out with my fellow blue-collar friends."

Ezra laughed then said, "No, I'm not hung up on any of that. I'm a 'salt of the earth' kind of guy myself."

When asked, Charlie explained that he'd built up a small business doing construction, and now he had someone to run it for him letting him do the kinds of things he enjoyed.

"Like taking a pretty girl to breakfast," he said to Ezra while looking at Claire.

When Ezra saw the way his mom was looking at the Silver Fox, he understood the 'look' she was talking about. He just hadn't been aware that was the way he'd been looking at Dawn. And yet when he turned back to look at her, she was smiling at him, and whatever look it was his mother had been referring to was the one he gave her.