So far he had made breakfast in bed and left fresh flowers by her nightstand.

        And he was being patient with the fact that she had been sleeping in until mid-morning.

        A knock came to the door.

        Meliza slowly sat up, stifling a yawn. “I’m awake,” she called out before arranging the dark blue comforter over her legs.

        The door opened and Locke stepped inside, a small bag in his hand.

        She smiled at him in greeting. “Hi…”

        Without preamble, he spoke, “I was supposed to give this to you yesterday, but something needed to be fixed…” Locke sat down at the edge of the bed, presenting her with a silver bag.

        Curious, Meliza accepted it and reached inside to pull out a small box. She lifted the lid, barely able to hold back a gasp. Inside were a pair of beautiful dangle diamond earrings. She carefully pulled one out, examining the circular stone and the large tear-drop diamond that hung from it.

        “You don’t like them.”

        Meliza looked up at him, shaking her head. “This…is too much. I wasn’t expecting you to give me something like this.”

        “So you do like them.”

        “They’re…they’re beautiful.” Meliza lifted one and held it to one side of her face, examining her reflection on the mirrored doors of his closet. Then, sending him a playful glance beneath her lashes, said, “Maybe if anniversary day two goes well, I’ll wear only wear these for you tonight...”
 

VVVV

        “You’re sure about this?” he asked as he moved into the backseat of a taxi beside her.

        Meliza nodded, patting his knee as he settled back in the seat. “Consider it an adventure.”

        He lifted a brow. “Waiting an hour or more to get onto the elevator of the Empire State Building isn’t an adventure.”

        “It is for me,” Meliza responded, crossing her legs.

        How often did she have a chance to visit New York, anyway?

        “Where to, lady?” The cabbie asked, adjusting his rearview mirror.

        “Empire State Building,” Meliza spoke up before sitting back, her shoulder brushing Locke’s. She glanced at her boyfriend then said, “Do try to look like you’re having fun…”

        A small smile crossed his lips. “I am.”

        “Try harder,” she joked, looking out the window of the cab, observing all the sights.

        The ride was fairly quiet. The driver was more intent on his driving, and her boyfriend was never one for small talk. She looked up at him when she felt his fingers brush hers, before she looked outside again.

        After a while, the cab pulled over at the curb. Locke paid the fare and they left the cab.

        Meliza shook her head, hitching her small purse higher on her shoulder. “I could have paid for that…”

        “We aren’t going to discuss money right now, are we?”

        She grinned. “Of course not. So. You’re my tour guide. Where to?”

        They headed inside the tall building. It took around thirty minutes to buy the tickets. And an equally longer wait for the elevator to the observation deck. Once inside the elevator, they were able to find a spot against the far corner.

        “Yay! We’re going up the elevator!” one of the thirteen children in the elevator exclaimed.

        A family had gotten on the elevator with them. The family must have been a group of parents – aunts, uncles – and all of their children.

        “Hey!” one of the kids practically shouted. “Let’s jump as we go up!!”

        “Yeah!!!!”

        Suddenly, a toddler began to cry. “I don’t wanna jump in the elelator…”

        “Jump!” someone else said. Apparently eager to get the jumping game, going, he began to hop as the elevator doors closed, successfully landing on Locke’s foot.

        Locke gave the juvenile a mild…very mild…glare, not missing the laugh Meliza had let out before quickly covering her mouth with her hand.

        More children crying. With parents attempting to quiet them down.

        No such luck with that.

        Meliza walked her index fingers up his chest playfully. “I said it would be adventurous, didn’t I?”

        He gave her a dark look. “You’re paying for it later.”

        “Sounds fun. I hope there’s no dress code,” Meliza said impishly.

        He stared at her for a few seconds. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

        Once they got to the observation deck, Meliza insisted on taking in the view from all sides. She even looked through the scopes down into the city. She was a tourist and didn’t mind acting the part. She even gave him her digital camera to take photographs to commemorate her visit to the building. He had asked a fellow tourist to take a photograph of them standing on the side that overlooked Central Park.

        “Looks good,” the young woman said as her husband, son, and who Meliza assumed to be her sister walked up.

        Meliza examined the display on the camera depicting the image of her and Locke standing against the wall. She thanked the tourist.

        “It’s a good photograph for you and your husband to put on your wall,” the young woman advised.

        “We’re not married,” they said simultaneously.

        The young woman had the grace to look slightly embarrassed. “Oh. My mistake...”

        Once she left, Meliza looked at the photo again. “It is a nice picture, though…”

        “Send this to me when you get back…” he turned off the camera and handed it to her.

        “Sure…” She tucked the small unit back into her purse.

        “Anywhere you want to go now?”

        “Rockefeller Center.”

        After what seemed to Locke three hours of shopping and carrying bags, they had found a place for dinner. Who knew a woman could buy so much? Meliza insisted that only a fraction of it was hers. The rest was for her family and her employees.

        It was late by the time they got back to his apartment. A check to his kinetic watch, Meliza’s gift to him for their anniversary, told him that it was almost eleven p.m.

        Tina had called his apartment, looking for Meliza. The women engaged in a long conversation in quiet tones, with Meliza lounging on his sofa, while he showered and got ready for bed.

        He’d be dropping her off at the airport tomorrow. Just when he was getting used to having her around, she was leaving again.

        That was the nature of their relationship. Outside responsibilities made any relationship difficult. But it happened to everyone.
 
 
VVVVV
 

        With a heavy heart, Meliza opened the passenger side door of Locke’s car once it pulled over to the curb at the airport. He was already at the back, opening the trunk for her. Lifting the handle out, he set her rollaway at her feet.

        She hated goodbyes. But she ignored the aching sensation in her chest as he wrapped his arms around her, her grip tightening around him as she tried to focus on their next reunion.

        “Two months?” he asked quietly.

        “I’ll try a month.” Her eyes were unusually bright when she tilted her head up to face him. “But I can’t make any promises.”

        And she didn’t have to say anything else. He knew.

        He sat in the driver’s seat, waiting until she entered the terminal before driving off.

        Once he was about five miles away from the airport, his cell phone rang. Not bothering to check the caller ID, he pushed the talk button and held it to his ear.

        “Hello?”

        “You up for some Texas Hold ’Em tonight?” Tanaka asked on the line.

        “As much as I enjoy winning against you and your staff, it gets boring after a while.”

        “Hey,” Tanaka scolded. “I’m getting better at bluffing.”

        “I doubt that...”