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By the time we got home, the fire had cooled a bit, but the want was still there. He took my hand and we went into the house. Aunt Tess was sitting at the kitchen table as we made for the stairs. We called goodnight and she winked at me as I passed. I followed Orlando upstairs.
When we got to the top of the stairs, Orlando opened the bedroom door, revealing about 20 vanilla-scented candles, arranged all over the room, all burning brightly. There was a vase of what looked like two-dozen long-stem pink roses on the dresser.

“Do you like it?” Orlando whispered, wrapping his arms around me from behind after he’d closed and locked the door.

“It’s breath-taking,” I said, turning to hold him. I knew this wasn’t going to be sweaty and out of control, the way it had started to be in the club, and I was okay with that.

“I wanted tonight to be special,” he said, slipping my sweater off my shoulders and throwing it over the rocking chair in the corner. “We almost got carried away at the club,” he said as he went to the dresser, then came back to me with a box in his hand. “My turn,” he said, handing it to me.

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” I said, sitting on the bed as I took the box. It was small and wrapped in silver paper, with a dark blue bow on it.

“Open it,” he said, sitting beside me.

I took the lid off the box and pulled out a small velvet jewelry box. My heart started to race. I opened the lid and saw the most beautiful diamond tennis bracelet laying on the velvet interior.

“Wow,” I breathed, not wanting to touch it for fear I’d ruin it. I’d never owned anything so beautiful before.

Orlando took the box from me and removed the bracelet, then fastened it to my wrist. “Perfect fit,” he said, then kissed me, a long, lingering kiss.

The diamonds sparkled in the warm light from the candles, and I couldn’t take my eyes off it. “I love it,” I said, throwing my arms around him again. “Thank you, Orlando.” I paused. “But when did you have time to
do this?”

“On one of our many cleaning trips to your flat,” he said. “The day your aunt and I went to fetch the carpet cleaner, we stopped into a jewelry shop, and she helped me pick it out.” That’s what the wink had been about! She’d known all along that he had this for me. I chuckled.

“Charlie, I want us to say good-bye now, where we can make it mean something,” Orlando said, taking my hands in his. He was very serious all of a sudden, and it startled me.

“I don’t want to say good-bye at all,” I whispered, fighting not to cry.

“Look at me, love,” he said, caressing my cheek. “Do you know what I thought when I ran into you in that theatre?”

I shook my head.

“I thought you were so beautiful, it took my breath away,” he said, taking my hands in his. “I couldn’t stand the idea of you walking away and never seeing you again. There are no words to describe how much I’ve come to love you, or to tell you how much I’ll miss you when you go. The thought of watching you get on that plane tomorrow without me is gut-wrenching, and as much as it’s inevitable, it’s painful, too.” He smiled gently. “But I know that soon, before either of us knows it, we’ll be together again and we’ll pick up right where we left off.” A single tear slid down his face. “So this isn’t good-bye, love, it’s not, it’s thank-you, thank-you for two of the best weeks of my life, thank-you for making me fall in love with you, and thank-you for loving me back.” He kissed me lightly. “I love you, Charlotte.”

I lost the battle and tears began to slide gently down my cheeks. “I love you, Orlando, and I want to be with you.” I kissed him lightly. “Thank you for being patient with me, and for loving me when I didn’t deserve it. You’ve given me so much, more than you’ll ever know, and I’m grateful for that.”

When I looked at him again in the soft light, there were no more words between us. His eyes went dark again, as he slid the straps of my dress down my arms, and I opened the buttons on his black satin shirt. He laid me back on the bed and covered my body with his, kissing my neck and shoulder as I pushed his shirt off of his back. Before long, we were writhing together, not able to get close enough, not ever able to get close enough. My body screamed for him and he, being the generous lover that he is, didn’t disappoint me. We made love for hours, until finally exhaustion found us, wrapped in each other’s arms, and we went to sleep.

***

The alarm rudely woke us from our peaceful slumber early the following morning. The day was sunny and bright, just the opposite of what I felt inside. I couldn’t bring myself to get out of bed, to leave Orlando laying there, to know we’d spent our last night together for a long time. I finally managed to drag myself away from him, to shower and get dressed for the airport. It was just after seven when I came out of the bathroom, fully dressed in jeans and a dark purple peasant blouse, with my hair in a ponytail, high on my head.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” I said, as I sat at the dresser to put on my make-up. Orlando was sitting up in bed, a sad expression on his face. “Are you getting up?”

“I suppose,” he said, throwing back the covers. He grabbed his robe and went to shower. By the time he was done, I had finished my make-up, and was packing my last-minute things into my remaining suitcase. He was dressed low-key, too, in jeans and a black t-shirt, his wet hair in a ponytail, as he seemed to prefer it. He kissed me on the head before he sat down to put his socks on.

“What time’s your flight?” he asked.

“Eleven-thirty,” I said, zipping my suitcase. “Yours?”

“One-fifteen.”

“Great.”

“Yeah.”

We stared at each other for a minute, then I smiled and sat down beside him. “We’ll get through this, sweetheart, I know we will,” I said, hugging his side.

He slipped his arms around me and pulled me close. He kissed the top of my head again. “I know. That doesn’t make it any easier.”

“Let’s get some breakfast before we have to go,” I said, looking forward to the two-hour drive to Toronto. It would be my last bit of time alone with him.

Aunt Tess and Deanna were up and dressed when we went downstairs. The mood in the kitchen was somber, just like the mood had been in our room a few minutes before.

“All ready to go?” Aunt Tess asked as she handed me a plate of pancakes.

“I think so,” I said, sitting at the table next to Deanna. “Is my dad here yet?”

“He just called, he’ll be here in about 10 minutes,” she said, handing Orlando his plate. I was really going to miss the family dynamic we had at Aunt Tess’s, the feeling of home, like we belonged there.

Aunt Tess got out the camera as we were eating, and said, “Smile,” as she stood at the head of the table. Orlando, Deanna, and I leaned in together and grinned at her as the flash went off.

“Now just you two,” she said, gesturing to Orlando and me. I got up from my seat and sat on his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. She took four or five pictures, each a different pose. I suddenly knew what Orlando felt like doing photo shoots. I dreaded the ones I’d have to do for Wicked.

Dad walked in the door just after Aunt Tess put the camera away. “Good morning, all,” he said, sitting at the table.

“Good morning, Dad,” I said, getting up to kiss his cheek and get some more juice. I brought him a cup of coffee.

“Thank you, sweetheart,” he said. “So are you two ready for your trips today?”

Orlando and I both nodded.

We ate in silence for a few minutes, then Orlando went upstairs to get our luggage. Dad pulled me aside, into the living room.

“Charlotte, I want you to take this,” he said, handing me an envelope. Inside was about a thousand dollars in American money.

“Dad, this is too much,” I said, trying to give it back.

“You’ll need some spending money while you’re there,” he said, pushing it back into my hand.

“But I’ll be working,” I said, touched that he was so concerned. “I’ll have plenty of money, don’t worry.”

“Then put that away for a rainy day,” he said, “Or a really killer pair of shoes you just can’t pass up.” He grinned down at me. He knew me too well. I hugged him.

“Thank you, Daddy,” I said, fighting those blasted tears again. It was going to be so hard to say good-bye to him, and Aunt Tess, and Deanna, almost as hard as saying good-bye to Orlando.

“Charlie, love, we should go,” Orlando said, poking his head into the room. “The traffic will be hell.”

“Orlando,” Dad said before he could leave. “I know I gave you a hard time, but it’s only because I love Charlotte so much.”

“I understand, sir,” Orlando said, smiling nonchalantly.

“I think you’re lucky that she cares about you as much as she does,” Dad continued. “But I also believe it goes both ways. You’ll probably see her more than I will, so please, take care of my little girl for me.”

“I will, sir,” Orlando said. They shook hands and Dad gently shoved me out of the room.

“That was unexpected,” Orlando whispered as we went back into the kitchen.

I smiled up at him. “I know,” I said. “But it was a welcome change.”

“Here you go, kids,” Aunt Tess said, handing us a bag. “I packed you some food for the trip.” She hugged first Orlando, then me. “You both keep in touch, now, okay?”

“We will,” Orlando promised. He hugged Deanna. “Be good, sweetheart,” he said.

She blushed. “I will be,” she said. She was past her fangirl stage, and had settled into a comfortable routine with us. She’d even said he was more like a hot older brother than anything else. I’d laughed when she said that, and so had Orlando when I told him.

“Are you guys coming down to see the show?” I asked as we carried our bags out to the car. “We open in eight weeks.”

“I’ve already got tickets for everyone,” Dad said, stuffing my suitcase into the already-crammed car. “Can’t wait to see it.”

I got into the car after last hugs for everyone, and Orlando started the engine. I waved as we pulled away, until I couldn’t see them anymore. The time had come, I was really leaving home. I smiled at Orlando sitting beside me, then settled in for the ride, his hand on my leg, my hand on his.

***

I watched as the plane began to pull away from the terminal, Orlando standing in the window, looking for me. I waved frantically, tears pouring over my face, ruining my make-up. He looked every bit as wrecked as I felt. It was over, our two weeks had flown by, and, the bugger, he’d made me fall in love with him. I knew I’d see him again, but I didn’t know when. I looked down at the tennis bracelet on my wrist, touched it lightly, thinking of him, then pulled out my picture of us. I lightly touched his face as I sniffed back my tears and shook myself. I was moving on to the next part of my life, and though I loved him, that couldn’t be helped. I smiled to myself as I remembered every second we’d had together. It was better than I’d ever dreamed, and I couldn’t wait to see him again. He was my Orlando, and I was hell-bent nothing would change that. I put on my mp3 player, changed the song to Roxette’s “It Must Have Been Love”, and smiled. It had been a hell of a two weeks.