Love is in the Air

"That makes two of us," he said to Charlie while staring right at Dawn.

He loved her smile and the way she bashfully looked away when he complimented her.

They talked for a while longer, but there were people waiting so they finished up and headed out.

"I guess we'll see you back at the house," Claire said to her son once they got outside.

"Um, yeah. I'm sure we'll be right behind you," he said, although he was making different plans even as they spoke.

They all said goodbye then got back into Dawn's car when Ezra asked, "There's a playground not too far from here. Would you maybe like to take the girls there so they could get some fresh air?"

Dawn's tummy fluttered again as she said, "Fresh air is a good thing. I suppose that would be okay."

The girls both said, "Yay!!" and the adults both smiled.

As she drove along, Dawn said, "What you said...back at the restaurant...that was very sweet of you, Ezra."

"While I was being nice, I was also being honest. You are a very pretty woman, Dawn."

"Ezra, you know how old I am now," she said as though that changed everything.

"I do. And I'm still trying to make my brain accept that," he told her very seriously.

He seemed to be kidding, but Dawn felt like she needed to make things clearer.

"No. Be serious, Ezra. It's not like I'm 30, you know."

She glanced over then said, "Or even...40."

He pretended to be even more serious then said, "Listen. I'll be up and around soon enough. If you're worried about needing the walker, it'll be all yours. Or you could use my wheelchair. Either is fine with me. I mean...at your advanced age and all."

She cut her eyes his way, tried to make a face, then couldn't help it. She laughed at his silliness.

"You see. I knew I could make you laugh," he told her.

He paused for effect then said just as seriously, "But enough about my looks."

Dawn laughed even harder then said, "There is nothing funny about your looks. Trust me on that, okay?"

The girls were chattering away and paying no attention when Ezra said, "Speaking of looks, you really are beautiful."

Dawn was aware she was still an attractive woman, but after having been betrayed, dumped, and left alone, her self-confidence wasn't anything close to what it had once been. She also knew Ezra was a very handsome a man, no matter what age he was. In fact he was as attractive as any man she'd ever known.

She was not only suffering from a lack of self-esteem, she also felt...inadequate... where he was concerned. It was hard to explain exactly what she was feeling as she really couldn't even put it into words, but she knew she found him not only very attractive, but also a very nice, very decent guy. That he could possibly be interested in her, at her age and with two children, was what didn't compute in her brain.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," she said, suddenly feeling out of sorts.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel..."

"No, it isn't that, Ezra. I have to admit I like hearing you say nice things," she said trying to explain.

"Then what is it?" he asked, genuinely wanting to know.

"I'm...I'm not sure," she said as she glanced his way once.

Rather than prompt her he waited for her to keep talking.

"I guess I just don't understand."

"Understand?" he asked.

"Well, it's been a very long time since anyone flirted with me, but I'm pretty sure I still recognize flirting when I see it," she said. "Or rather...hear it."

"I admit I was flirting with you. If it wasn't tasteful, I apologize."

"No. It isn't that, either," she said, feeling exasperated at not being able to articulate her feelings. "It was all...very nice."

"So what am I missing?" he asked with a smile. He was leaning slightly her way trying to get her to look at him.

"I'm...for starters...I'm...41," she told him, with emphasis on her age.

"I've heard that," he said in that faux-serious tone.

"Ezra! Stop!" she said, feeling like she was in high school again.

"So you find me attractive, you think my flirting is...tasteful, and yet you don't want me to continue flirting with you. Is that what I'm hearing?" he asked trying to put her concerns into words.

"Well, yes. I mean. I do find you attractive. Very much so, in fact. And okay, I'll admit I'm enjoying the flirting. But..."

"But?"

"But you're...27...and I'm 41...and..."

"And?" he asked quietly.

"And I have two girls and you're in the military, and..."

"And you're afraid I'll hurt you," he said finally getting it.

"No," she said immediately before changing it to, "Yes."

Then she said, "I...I don't know. I just know that I'm afraid to let you in because if I do..."

"I'll leave you, too," he said.

She glanced his way just as they got to the playground then very quietly said, "Yes."

She pulled into a spot and parked, then got out to open the girls' doors, both of whom went tearing off to toward the playground.

"Stay close, girls!" she hollered.

"We will!" they yelled back.

She saw Ezra struggling to stand up, and offered to help. He took her up on her offer, and let her help pull him up. He grabbed both arms, and when he did, Dawn leaned back and pulled while Ezra stood up.

Once he did, they were again standing face to face, their arms still linked. When he looked at her, a part of her wanted him to kiss her more than she'd ever wanted anything, and yet another part of her was screaming, "Danger, Will Robinson!" like the robot from the old TV show Lost in Space.

"I'll never hurt you, Dawn," Ezra told her quietly. "Just don't shut me out before I can prove that to you, okay?"

The part of her that was afraid wanted to holler out, "Why me? Why is a gorgeous, young man like you interested in me?"

But the side of her that still ached for him to kiss her spoke for both of them.

"Okay," she said even more quietly as she lowered her eyes, unable to look into his.

He was still holding her arm in his hand and said, "You really are beautiful, Dawn."

Her tummy not only flipped, her heart fluttered, and that same part of her said, "Thank you, Ezra."

She helped him get his walker, and to lighten the mood, once he got behind it and the car door was shut, he smiled at her and said, "I'll race ya!"'

The part of her that had been so fearful just moments ago was suddenly still and small as she smiled back at him.

"How about I help you get over to the bench instead?"

She sort of put her arm through his which made things worse rather than better, and both of them knew it. Even so, Ezra thanked her and told her that was much better.

The bench was less than 30 feet away, but Ezra's back and leg were both hurting by the time they got there. Dawn saw him wince as he sat down and asked if he was okay.

He forced a smile then said, "I'm fine."

"Can I do anything?" she asked, certain she couldn't.

"You could sit next to me," he said as she helped him sit.

"I think I could do that," she said sweetly as she sat down very close beside him.

As they watched the girls laughing and playing on the slide and other things, Ezra reached out his hand for hers, and after looking at him for a second, she offered it.

"So do you plan on making the military a career?" the concerned part of her asked, forcing its way to the top of her thoughts.

"I guess that depends," he told her.

"On?" she asked.

"Well, on..."

When he didn't finish his thought, she turned toward him and asked again, "What does it depend on, Ezra?"

She saw him looking into her eyes, and she also saw him leaning over to kiss her. There was an extremely fierce-but-short-lived battle between her two 'selves' in which the part that desperately wanted to be kissed won out.

She closed her eyes and accepted his kiss, and when he gently touched her face, she kissed him back. It was over in a couple of seconds, but her heart was pounding hard for many more seconds after that.

"On how close you let me get to you," he told her from just three inches away.

"I'd never ask you to give up your career for me," the 'loving' part of her said even as the 'worried' part hollered, 'What are you even talking about? You barely know this guy, for heaven's sake!'

"I love being a pilot," he told her. "And it's hard to imagine my life without it."

He gently touched her cheek then said, "But were I to say...fall in love...with a beautiful woman I couldn't live without, that would be even more important to me than flying."

"But...you barely know me, Ezra," she said very quietly giving her 'other half' its just dues.

"I'm working on that," he said with a smile. "Just give me some time, okay?"

Her eyes were flitting back and forth with his as her loving part said, "Okay," just before he kissed her again.

"Eeewww!" the twins called out as they ran toward them.

They were standing just a few feet away from them when the kiss ended. Neither adult had heard them coming toward them or the 'eww'.

Dawn pulled back so fast she thought she might need the walker from whiplash.

"Why are you kissing Mr. Ezra?" Zoe asked.

"Do you love him?" Chloe asked before their mom could answer.

"No. I...I...we were just...Mr. Ezra is a very nice man, and Mommy was just..."

"Are you girls having fun?" Ezra asked, bailing their mother out.

"Yes!" they told him. "Can you come play with us? Please?"

"Honey, Mr. Ezra...Ezra...can't play, remember?"

"Can you play with us?" Chloe asked with big, sad eyes.

Ezra smiled and said, "Go on. Go play. I'll play...cheerleader."

"Are you sure?" Dawn asked.

"Very," he told her. "Go have fun."

She went to get up then stopped and said with a very happy smile, "I was...having fun."

She got back up, and Ezra let her hand go, but only slowly, and Dawn was in no hurry to let go of his.

"Okay, girls! Let's go swing!" their mom said.

"Me first! Push me first!" Chloe hollered.

"No! Push me first!" Zoe said.

As Ezra watched them run away he found himself asking how things had changed so dramatically so fast. And that's when he remembered a Sunday School lesson from long ago.

Saul, the man persecuting Christians and putting them to death was on the road to Damascus. The main point of the lesson that day was the word 'suddenly'.

'And suddenly, a light shone all around him.'

Just like that, Saul became Paul and a Christian and perhaps the greatest defender of the faith. All in an instant.

And that made him think of the day he was shot down. All was normal and all was well. Until the RPG hit. Then...suddenly.

He smiled as he watched him and thought to himself, "I could definitely get used to this."

On the way home, Dawn was happy and playful then suddenly got serious.

"Ezra? What will your mom think?"

"About us?"

"Yes. About us. Won't she think I'm some...desperate, older, lonely woman with two kids trying to ruin her son's life?"

Ezra tried not to laugh, and Dawn noticed.

"Don't laugh, Ezra. I'm serious."

"My mom actually told me I should ask you out," he said answering her question directly.

"What? Your mom told you that? Really?" she asked, not sure she'd heard correctly.

"She did. She told me life's too short not to follow our hearts, or words to that effect. I think meeting Charlie has had a profound effect on her."

He did his best to turn her way then said, "When we went down, it could just as easily have been me who died. And honestly? There have been times I wish it had been me."

Dawn gave him a look of horror so he explained.

"I'm not suicidal. But I didn't leave behind a wife and child. It just seemed like if the universe was fair, it would have taken me rather than him. That's all."

He could see Dawn was tearing up again, and it was just too painful to reach across his body to dry her eyes.

She blinked several times then said, "Does it make me a terrible person to say I'm very, very glad you didn't...die?"

Before he could answer she reached over and took his hand.

"If you had, I'd never have had the chance to meet you," she said as she fought back more tears. "And now that I have, I can't imagine not knowing you."

He squeezed her hand then said, "Maybe it's part of some greater plan. I don't really know. All I know is I feel the same way, Dawn."

She was crying but not so hard she couldn't drive. She looked his way for a brief second, squeezed his hand back, then said, "I'd almost given up on ever meeting anyone again, let alone someone as wonderful as you."

"And I'd never given any thought to ever settling down until I met you."

"Until you met me?" she asked.

"Uh-huh. I was referring to you when I mentioned the issue of settling down before. Do you remember?"

"Yes. Of course. I just had no idea you meant me. I assumed you meant the pretty therapist who's working with you."

"Well, I did mean you," he told her as they got ready to turn into her driveway.

As they did, Dawn gasped and Ezra said, "I'll be darned," when they saw Charlie kissing Claire.

She had no idea they'd pulled in, and just like Dawn, she pulled away so hard it made both of them laugh.

Ezra rolled down his window and hollered, "Go Mom!"

Dawn smiled and waved as she pulled in directly across from them.

Once they all got out, Claire said, "Well, that was embarrassing."

"Why?" Ezra said. "Aren't you the one who recently told me life is short?"

"Um, well, yes, but..."

"Then...carry on," he said to his mom with a wink at Charlie.

"He is the captain," Charlie said to Claire.

"Captain, shmaptain. He's still my little boy," Claire said trying to regain control.

Ezra made his way around the car, and stood next to Dawn.

"Oh," Ezra said as he reached over and took Dawn's hand.

"I took your advice, Mom. So now it's your turn."

Claire's jaw dropped and her eyes bugged out when she saw that Dawn had let him take her hand. Even more telling was the look in her eyes once he did.

"What in the world is going on here?" she asked as though it was a legitimate question in need of an answer.

No one had any idea the Silver Fox could sing until he started doing it.

He smiled, then said in his loud, clear voice, "Seems like..."

"Love is in the air. Everywhere I look around. Love is in the air. Every sight and every sound."

"Keep going!" Dawn said as she looped her arm through Ezra's.

Charlie didn't need any more encouragement. He was belting out the lines, and Claire was pretending she was dying of embarrassment, but everyone knew she was loving it as much as they were.

"And I don't know if I'm being foolish, don't know if I"m being wise, but it's something that I must believe in..."

He grabbed Claire, pulled her close, looked down into her eyes and sang, "And it's there when I look in your eyes."

When he kissed her again, Claire kissed her back even when Dawn called out, "Woot, woot!" and Ezra said, "Go for it, Mom!"

She kicked up one leg behind her and kept kissing him. Ezra looked at Dawn who smiled at him before moving around to face him.

"Oh, what the hell!" she said and kissed him, too.

When the kissing stopped, Claire straightened her hair which hadn't been mussed then said, "Well, this is...awkward," before everyone roared with laughter.

The girls had been watching, and had no idea what was happening, so they asked.

"Hey! What's going on here?" Zoe called out.

"Love is in the air, honey," her mom told her as she tried to sing it the way Charlie had.

She and her sister looked at their mother then Zoe said, "I have no idea what that means!"

Chloe chimed in and said, "That makes no sense!" before grabbing her sister's hand and running inside.

The adults all laughed again before Claire spoke.

"So...now what?" she asked as Charlie took her hand.

"I'd say...let's give love a chance," Ezra said to her while looking at Dawn.

"I could do that," Dawn said.

"Count me in!" Charlie said loudly.

"Well, I'm not gonna be the odd...woman...out," Claire said joining in.

The new couples spent some time saying their goodbyes with Charlie promising to call the next day, and Ezra telling Dawn he was looking forward to watching the girls the next morning.

"But not seeing me?" Dawn teased.

"Yeah, I guess I could stand that, too," he told her before he kissed her goodbye.

Only the twins slept well that night as each of the four adults lay in bed alone with their thoughts of all that had happened. Each of them had different concerns, but all of them felt something they hadn't felt in a very long time. Love was most definitely in the air, and whether or not it was real love was hard to know. What they did know was they were all happy and hopeful and looking forward to finding out.

When a very tired Dawn met an equally bleary-eyed Ezra the next morning, both of them perked up.

"Hi," she said sweetly as the girls, who were totally excited, went inside.

"Good morning," Ezra said back.

Dawn wasn't sure what to do, so Ezra leaned over and kissed her.

Just as he did, Virginia, who had pulled in quietly, appeared behind them.

Dawn was startled when she became aware of someone else's presence, and Ezra said good morning to her.

Virginia apologized for scaring Dawn then said, "I knew it was too good to be true."

She saw the puzzled looks then said, "I've never had a patient as good looking as Ezra. I was hoping he might be single, but I should have known better."

She sighed then said, "At least the woman he loves is gorgeous so I can't feel too bad."

She then said, "I'll be inside waiting to start our...torture session...whenever you're ready."

Ezra laughed and Dawn said, "I should be jealous, but I like her."

"You see, it isn't just me," he told her as he tried to put his arms around her waist. "Everyone knows you're beautiful."

"Careful," she said when he winced in pain from reaching too far too quickly.

"She's going to kill me in a few minutes, so the pleasure is well worth any pain."

Dawn smiled happily then said, "What a difference a day makes, right?"

Ezra smiled then said to her, "And suddenly..."

Dawn gave him a look of confusion and he said, "I'll explain when you get home from work."

"Oh, okay. Does that mean you'll be here waiting for me?" she asked in a overtly-flirty kind of way.

"I believe it does," he told her.

"Oh, well, I could get used to that," she told him, having no idea he'd had a similar thought less than 24 hours ago.

"Be careful what you wish for," Ezra said very seriously.

Dawn smiled happily then said, "My wish already came true," before she kissed him and said she really had to go.

As she walked away, Ezra called out, "Have a nice day...honey!" as though they'd been married for years, and this was their normal routine.

She turned around and gave him a pretend mean look then smiled.

"Bye, Ezra. See you this afternoon."

He went inside and got the girls busy doing something then told them to ignore any screaming they heard. When they asked why he'd be screaming he explained what was going on and that he was just joking.

"Well, mostly," he said as Nurse Rached stood there tapping her wrist watch.

No amount of pain could take away the happiness Ezra was feeling that morning. And when Dawn returned that evening, he felt like he was a kid again. An actual kid, not just in relation to his new girlfriend's age.

Dawn didn't mention it, but she'd pined away for him all day, too, and even wrote his name on a piece of paper at her desk until there was no more room to write on either side of it. Then she began drawing hearts and arrows, and by the time she left, she realized she had no real idea what she'd done all day.

And when Ezra kissed her hello, what happened at work was the last thing on her mind.

Claire came home a few minutes later and casually mentioned she and Charlie would be going out for dinner.