Darren looked up from the book he was thumbing through. �Hi beautiful.�
Claire blushed. �Hi. What are you reading?�
�Oh, I was just looking at one of your Hebrew workbooks. This looks really hard. Is it?�
�Yeah, it is. Right now, I can read it, but only with the vowels, and for the most part I have no clue what I�m reading. I�m getting there though. After I graduate, when I don�t have quite so many things to deal with in my life, then I�ll be able to devote more time to it, but right now, I just don�t have the time.�
�What do you mean without vowels? How can you read a language with now vowels?�
�Hebrew has always been written without the vowels. They were always just understood to be there. It works fine if you�ve grown up with the language, but for people like me who are just learning it, it makes it pretty confusing to learn sometimes. In a Reform prayer book, for instance, the vowels will be there (they�re just dots and dashes under the letters), but in the Torah scroll, they�re not there.�
�I see. Yeah, that does sound like it would be hard to learn. Good luck with it.�
�Thanks, I have a feeling I�m going to need it.�
Darren hugged her. �I�m sure you�ll do just fine.� Claire smiled up at him, and he couldn�t resist kissing her again. Darren couldn�t believe the feelings that she aroused in him. A kiss hadn�t made him feel like this in so long.
Claire made a decision in that moment. �To hell with kicking myself for getting involved with someone who�s only around for a few days, during the busiest time of my life. I�m just going to enjoy this while it lasts and then deal with the rest later.� The kiss ended and she rested her head on his shoulder, just enjoying being close to him.
�Oh no,� Darren moaned.
�What�s wrong,� Claire asked, looking up at his face.
�I just realized that Leonie and Dan and everyone else have no clue where I am. I told them I�d be back for dinner.�
�The phone�s by my desk, if you want to call them.�
�That�s just the thing, though. I know that I should call them, but I don�t want to listen to Leonie yell at me.�
Claire laughed at the expression on his face. �Just call her. Dial 9 for an outside line. I�m going to go down the hall to a friend�s room so you�ll have privacy. Room 312, just come join us when you�re done.�
�You�re not going to let me get out of this are you?� Claire shook her head. �Okay, okay, I�ll call her.� Darren picked up the phone as Claire opened the door.
�See you in a bit. And I�m sure that it won�t be as bad as you think.�
Darren sent her a look that said, you have no clue what you�re talking about, and she just laughed. �Okay, see you later.�
Darren sighed and started dialing Leonie�s cell phone number. She answered on the second ring. �Hi Leo,� he said sheepishly.
�Darren! Where the hell have you been?!?�
�I�m sorry Leo. I was at Coe College looking around, just kind of remembering my own years at university in Oz and them when I went back to the car it wouldn�t start. So I was walking towards one of the buildings to see if there was a phone I could use. I left my cell in the bus as you�ve probably already discovered. Anyway, there was this girl running across campus late to a meeting, and I guess she didn�t� see me, and she ran smack into me. I helped her pick up her scattered books and papers, and she showed me to a phone. I called a tow truck, but the said they can�t get to it till tomorrow. Anyway, I waited in the lobby of the building for the girl, Claire, to come back downstairs from her meeting. I didn�t really get a chance to thank her properly. Anyway, she came downstairs and we wound up going out to dinner. And I�ve just had the most incredible time tonight.�
�Darren, I�m glad you had fun, but you should have called. We�ve been worried about you.�
�Leo, I�m really sorry. I didn�t mean to worry you guys, I really didn�t. It just totally slipped my mind that you all were expecting me back by a certain time.�
�Alright, I�ll forgive you. So are you coming back here, or what?�
�Am I needed there for anything?�
�Not till the radio show tomorrow at 2, why?�
�Well, Claire offered to let me stay with her tonight, since I have no way to get back to the bus. I could ask her for a ride, but we already went out once tonight in this mess, and even though the snow doesn�t bother her, I�d rather she wasn�t driving in it.�
�Darren, is there something you�re not telling me?� Leonie asked.
�No, not at all. She�s not getting another roommate until February, her old one is in Europe this semester, so she�s got an extra bed in her room. I don�t really feel like being by myself tonight, so I took her up on the offer.�
�Uh huh. Darren, I know there�s something more that you�re not telling me.�
�Leo, you know me far too well,� Darren said laughing.
�Okay, this girl is incredible. She�s just kind of taken me under her wing, and let me see inside her, and she barely knows me. I was looking at her bookshelf and CDs while she was in the shower, and I just feel like there�s so many things about her that I don�t know yet, but really want to. And I don�t know if I�m making any sense, but I haven�t felt this way since Colby.�
�Darren, I�m really happy you feel that way. Just be careful, okay?�
�I will, Leo. I promise.�
�Okay, I�ll see you tomorrow. Are you going to come here first or just go straight to the radio station?�
�I don�t know. It depends on what time the tow truck shows up and what time Claire gets out of class. I want to bring her with me to meet you guys. I�ll call and let you know.�
�Okay. Bye.�
�Bye Leo.� Darren hung up the phone, left the room and wondered down the hall to room 312 to find Claire.
The door was open. Darren poked his head in and knocked. �Hello?�
�Hey Darren, come on in and have a seat,� Claire said. Darren walked over and sat down next to her. �Darren, this is Warren, Sherri, Serena, Veronica, and Ben. You guys, this is Darren Hayes.�
There was a chorus of hellos and nice to meet yous. �So Darren where are you from?� Sherri asked him.
�Brisbane, Australia.�
�Wow, why would you leave that for IA?� Veronica asked.
�Well, I�m in a band called Savage Garden, and we�re on the American leg of our world tour. We�re going to be here for a few more days, and then we get some time off before the next concert.�
�Claire is that the band who�s CD you played for me the other day?� Warren asked.
�Yeah, it is.�
�Well, then Darren, I�m going to pay you a big compliment coming from me. I really liked your music, and I try to avoid most mainstream stuff that you can hear on the radio.�
�Cool, thanks man.�
�Hmm�Darren, I know I�ve heard Savage Garden songs on the radio, but I don�t recall them. What are some of the ones you guys have out?� Sherri asked.
�Well, do you know the song �I Knew I Loved You?��
�Yeah, I love that song.�
�Thanks. So what are you guys up to tonight?�
�Well, we were trying to talk Claire into playing 4 board Monopoly with us,� Serena commented.
�4 boards?�
Warren explained, �You play the same as with one board, but if you land on go, then you get to jump to another board. It�s actually a lot of fun. Do you want to play?�
�Umm�sure, if Claire does.�
�Well, that was my answer to them. Okay, then I�ll go get my board. Why don�t we go downstairs to the lobby? We�ll have more room there.�
�Sounds good,� Warren said, and everyone nodded in agreement.
�Okay, I�ll meet you guys down there in a bit.� Claire went down the hall to her room, and Darren followed her.
�Claire, I wanted to ask you something.�
�Sure, what is it?�
�Well, I was wondering if you�d want to come with me tomorrow. I have to do a radio show at 2, and then I thought you could come back with me to the venue and meet everyone.�
�Yeah, I�d love to. My class is over at 12:30, so that works out just fine. Are you going to need a ride?�
�Probably. The tow truck said they should be here sometime between 9 and 10 tomorrow, but I highly doubt the car is going to be fixed by the time we would have to leave.�
�Okay, not a problem.� Claire pulled the Monopoly game off the shelf, and the two of them headed down to the lobby to meet everyone. �Umm�Darren, I�m sorry if that conversation in there made you uncomfortable.�
�Not at all. Your friends seem really nice. They seemed like they were genuinely interested in me�like they would have been asking all those questions if I were a�a plumber or something.�
�Thanks. Yeah, they�re a great bunch of people to hang out with. And they will always tell you the truth, no matter how much you may not want to hear it.� They arrived downstairs where everyone else had already set up the other boards on the table and put chairs around. The two sat down and chose their game pieces. Claire handed Warren her board and he got it set up.
The game lasted for several hours and in the end Sherri had won. �Well, that�s nothing new. We should stop letting you play, Sherri,� Warren joked, �You always win.�
�It�s your fault for even introducing us to this type of Monopoly, Warren.�
�I know, I know. But I can still complain about never winning anymore.�
�Yes, dear,� Sherri said in a patronizing tone, that made Warren glare at her. Everyone else just laughed at the two of them.
Darren yawned. �This has been really fun guys, but I�m really tired, and I have to be at least somewhat coherent for an interview tomorrow.�
�We understand,� Serena said. �We should probably all get some sleep, or we�re going to be falling asleep in our classes tomorrow.�
Everyone grabbed their Monopoly boards, and headed off to their respective rooms. Darren took Claire�s hand and the two went back upstairs to her room. Claire opened her bottom dresser drawer and got out her extra sheet set. The beds were arranged in bunk fashion on top of the dressers, so that one had to climb to get into either of them. It was a bit of a chore, but together, the two managed to get the bed made. Claire climbed down from the bunk. �I�ve got an extra toothbrush, if you want it.�
�That would be great, thank you.�
�Okay, then.� Claire grabbed the extra toothbrush from the top of her wardrobe, her own, toothpaste, and a towel. �C�mon.� The two went down the hall to the bathroom. Once back in the room, Claire got the coffee pot ready for the next morning. �I usually turn this on before I go take a shower and just have a bagel and coffee when I get done. Is that enough for you in the mornings? I think there�s also a couple of apples in the fridge.�
�It�s plenty.�
Claire yawned. �I am beat. Definitely time for bed.�
�I feel the same way,� Darren said.
�I can�t believe you managed to stay awake during that entire game. I don�t think I could have, if I�d gotten as little sleep last night as you said you did.�
�Well, number one, I�m used to it, and number two, I was having fun. You�re friends really are great.�
�Yeah. I�ve been really lucky to find such great friends here.�
Darren loosely wrapped his arms around her waist. �I think that they�ve been really lucky to find you.� Claire blushed and looked away from Darren�s intense gaze. He chuckled and put his forefinger under her chin and slowly lifted her gaze to meet his. He stared, mesmerized for a moment, into her eyes. �You�re incredible,� he said softly, lowering his mouth to hers. �Sweet dreams,� he whispered.
�Goodnight Darren,� she whispered softly. Darren climbed into his bed, and after she was certain he was settled, she turned out the light and climbed into hers. �Hey Darren, heads up!� She tossed him down her comforter. This should keep you warm through the night.�
�Thanks sweetie, but what about you?�
�I�ve got another blanket up here, I�ll be fine. I usually only sleep with one or the other anyway. Oh, my alarm�s set for 9:30. Do you need to be up any earlier?�
�Yeah, I need to be up to meet the tow truck driver.�
�Oh, that�s right. Okay, how does 8 sound?�
�Perfect.�
�Okay.� Claire reached over to her alarm and reset it for 8.
Claire couldn�t figure out why she would have set her alarm clock for 8 when she didn�t have class until 10:30. But there it was, blaring at her telling her to get up. She heard a groan from beneath her bed. �Don�t tell me it�s already 8?�
Claire remembered and laughed. ��Fraid so, dear. C�mon, out of bed,� she said climbing down. She walked over to the side of Darren�s bed.
�No, don�t wanna,� he said and rolled over. Claire took the opportunity to drool over the muscles in his back for a moment, then decided on a plan to get him out of bed. It was perfect since he couldn�t see her soon enough to stop her. She grabbed the � full watering can from the window sill and dipped her fingers in the cold water. She flicked it onto Darren�s back. �Ahhh, that�s cold!!� he shrieked.
Claire laughed. �Then get out of bed silly.�
�Okay, okay, I�m getting up.�
�You better be. I�m going to go take a shower, and you better be up when I get back.� Claire turned on the coffee pot and grabbed her shower caddy.
She was reaching for her towel, when Darren asked her, �And what if I�m not?�
�Umm�I�ll climb up there and tickle you until you agree to get out of bed.�
�Hmm�considering the outcome of the last tickle fight, I may just stay in bed after all.�
Claire blushed. �Okay then. Have it your way,� and she walked out the door. It was the fastest shower she�d ever taken. She wanted to get back to her room quickly to see what Darren had eventually decided to do. She was almost disappointed to see that he was up, dressed, and moving about. �He�s up. Miracles really do happen every day.�
�Very funny. Now come here and kiss me.� Claire happily put her things away and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and was soon consumed by his kiss. His touch swept every thought from her head except for what he was making her feel.
�I have to be crazy,� Darren thought. �I�m only here for a few days, and I�m getting involved with someone?� But he couldn�t manage to think past that thanks to the way Claire�s kiss was making him feel. She pulled away from him much sooner than he would have liked.
�I�I should get ready.� Claire grabbed underwear from her dresser, and clothes from the hangers in her wardrobe. �I�ll be right back.� And with that she was out the door and headed back down the hall to the bathroom to change. �What am I doing?� she asked herself for the umpteenth time.
Darren sat down shakily at Claire�s desk. �How can I do this to her?� he said aloud to himself. �I�m feeling like one of those guys in the movies who blows into town for a few days to see the woman of his dreams, and then he leaves her for a seemingly endless time to fend for herself, while he goes off on one adventure after another. How can I lead her on this way? I certainly can�t stay in Cedar Rapids for longer than a couple of weeks. And then? Who knows what�s going to happen. I should end it now before anything else happens. But I don�t want to end it. I want to see where this goes�I haven�t felt this way in such a long time.� Darren let out a frustrated sigh. �What am I going to do?�
Darren was still asking himself that same question when Claire walked back into the room dressed in black slacks and a green button down shirt. She slipped her watch on and glanced at it. �Darren, it�s almost 9. We should probably get over to where your car is to wait for the tow truck.�
Darren sighed and realized that he would have to think about this later. �Okay, let�s go.� They grabbed their coats, Claire locked the door and the walked out of the building. �Umm�I�m a bit disoriented. Which way is C Avenue?�
Claire smiled. �Follow me.� The two walked hand in hand to where Darren had left his car. �Darren is something wrong? You�re awfully quiet this morning.�
Darren wasn�t ready to share what he was thinking and feeling with her. He felt he needed to figure out what he wanted to do about this relationship first. �I�m just thinking about stuff. Nothing that I�m ready to share yet, though.�
�Okay,� Claire said understanding what he was feeling. She decided to just keep quiet and let him sort through his thoughts.
Darren stopped next to a white Chevy Malibu. �I called the rental company while you were in the shower, and they told me to just have the tow truck take it back to them, and they�ll deliver another one to the venue for us to use.�
�Sounds good.� The tow truck showed up about 10 minutes later, and Darren told the driver what the rental company had said. After the driver left, the two headed back to Claire�s room. Claire sat down at her computer and started it up. She logged onto her network account and called up her e-mail. �Oh, junk mail, my favorite,� she said sarcastically. �Do you want to check your e-mail or anything?�
�Yeah, that would be great. Thanks.�
�Okay.� Claire got up, and Darren sat down at her computer. Claire sat down at the empty desk that would be used by her roommate during spring term. She pulled one of the texts she was using for her thesis and her notebook out of her backpack, and started rereading Judith Plaskow�s take on G-d language. It was one of the areas of her thesis that Dr. Stewart had felt was the weakest. She began taking notes on the chapter, so that she could clarify that section in her thesis.
Darren hadn�t checked his e-mail in over a week and had over 100 e-mails to go through. He deleted all the junk, then started to look through the ones from friends and family. There were the usual e-mails from his parents and one from his sister. He replied to them with brief notes about how the tour was going, and reassured his mom that he was getting enough to eat and sleep. Then he opened up an e-mail from Colby. It was pretty basic. She told him how her family was doing and how her new job was going. Darren stared at the screen, and thought about the part of his life that had been wrapped up in Colby. He had been so happy, and the divorce had torn him up. He knew that it was for the best for both of them, but he hadn�t felt the same happiness since. He�d always felt like there was something missing from his life, and until recently he�d thought that was Colby. But now he wasn�t so sure. Claire was bringing something into his life that he hadn�t felt in ages. Darren glanced over at her working at the other desk. �She looks so graceful, just sitting there,� he thought. �She�s so sweet and kind. I feel awful asking her to get involved with me, but if I don�t, I�ll feel even worse. I have to find out where this is going to lead, or I�ll never forgive myself.�
He logged out of his e-mail account. �Claire, could we take a bit of a walk, seeing as it�s not too bitterly cold outside?�
�Sure, I�d love to. I just have to be back here to get my books and stuff for class by 10:20.�
�Okay, I�m sure we�ll be back before then.� The two grabbed their coats and left. Once they were on their way, Darren decided he should stop stalling and nervously said, �Claire, I�I need to talk to you about something.�
�Sure, what is it?�
�I�ve been thinking a lot about what�s happened between us. You�re an amazing person, and I�ve not felt the way you make me feel in a long time. And I realize that this is incredibly unfair of me to ask this of you, but I really want to try to make this still fragile relationship that we have work. I know that my timing stinks. I�m in the middle of a world tour, and you�re at a time in your education when you need to focus all your energy on just that. But I have to ask.� Darren stopped walking and turned to face Claire. �So will you stay with me, and try to make this work?�
Claire held her breath and looked into his eyes as he asked her something that she had only ever dreamed of before. She knew that he was right. This was not going to be an easy relationship to have, especially for the next several months, but she couldn�t get past the way she felt with him. And she decided that any pain separation could cause her to feel couldn�t be anywhere near as bad as the pain she would feel if she didn�t give him the answer she knew he wanted. �Yes, Darren. I do want to be with you. And I want to try to make this relationship work. I know that it�s not going to be easy. In fact at times it will probably feel like hell because we�ll be apart so much. But that pain couldn�t be anything like what I would feel not having you at all.� She put her arms around him and buried her face in his chest.
Darren could feel her shaking, and stepped back a bit. He put his forefinger under her chin and tilted her face up. He could see the tears falling from her eyes and wiped them away with his gloved hands. �Please don�t cry love. Everything�s going to be okay.�
�Oh Darren, I�m not crying because I�m sad. I�m crying because I�m so happy.� Darren bent his head down towards her, and kissed her. He could feel her happiness coming through in the way she reacted to his kiss. Afterward, he put his arm around her shoulders and the two continued walking around the neighborhood surrounding Coe until it was time to head back so Claire could go to class.
Claire grabbed her books and headed off to class still in a daze. It was hard for her to believe that she wasn't dreaming. The class seemed to drag on interminably, and she couldn't believe that it had only been an hour when Dr. Stewart finally called for a break. She stepped out in the hall with Serena.
"Okay Claire. I know you well enough to know when you're hiding something. So whatever it is, spill it."
"Oh Serena, I don't even know where to begin."
"Does this have anything to do with Darren?"
"It has everything to do with Darren."
"So start from the beginning. Where did you meet him? Why did he stay with you last night?"
"His car broke down. I ran into him as I was on my way to my meeting with Dr. Stewart yesterday. Anyway, the tow truck couldn't get to it because of the snow and the accidents that happened yesterday. So they came this morning. I offered to let him stay with me since I had the extra bed. Then stuff happened, and now we're like a couple. And it still feels so strange, but strange in a good way. I'm so incredibly happy that I just want to shout it to the world. I can feel it bubbling up inside of me."
Serena hugged her friend. "I'm so happy for you. Darren seems like a really nice guy. How long is the band in town for?"
"That's the not so great part. The concert is tomorrow night, and then after that they have two weeks off. They can go wherever they want, and I'm sure Darren's going to want to go home and see his family. And I'm stuck here. We talked about this a bit this morning. We know there's going to be a lot of times that we're apart, and a lot of heartache, but we want to give this a shot despite all that. We both have these incredible feelings for each other, and we could never forgive ourselves if we didn't try."
"Claire, I'm sure he'll stay here for at least part of the time that he's got off. And this is your last semester at Coe. Think about it. In just a few months you'll be able to go wherever you want and do whatever you want. This will be hard in the beginning, yes, but I'm here for you and so is everyone else. And in the end, it'll be worth it."
This time it was Claire's turn to hug Serena. "You're right. Thanks so much, hon. I needed to hear that." The two friends walked back into the classroom and sat down just as Dr. Stewart resumed his lecture.
Claire and Serena walked out of the building together. "I've gotta go back to my room to get Darren and my car keys. We're going out later this afternoon, but we'll meet you and everyone else in the caf for lunch."
"Okay. I'll see you guys in a bit, then."
Claire climbed the sairs to the 3rd floor of her dormitory, and walked down the hall to her room. She opened the door to find Darren sitting in front of her computer. "Hey hon, how was class?"
"Long, but interesting. You hungry?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Okay then, let's go eat." Claire grabbed her car keys and they left.
"Oh, I printed out directions on how to get to the radio station in case you need them."
"Yeah, I probably will." The two reached the cafeteria, and Darren paid for his meal. As they went through the line with their trays, Claire noticed some curious looks cast in Darren's direction, but no one approached to find out if Darren really was who they thought. The two sat down and Claire introduced him to her friends that he hadn't met last night. "Darren, this is Ken, Kelli, and Jamie. Everyone, this is Darren."
The group finished eating and sat around talking until it was time for Darren and Claire to leave. Claire had no trouble finding the radio station with the directions that Darren had printed out. "Before we go in, I need to ask you something. In case it comes up, what do you want me to say if they ask me if I'm currently seeing anybody?"
"Oh gosh, I hadn't really even thought about that. I guess just say whatever's in your heart to say."
"Okay. Come on, let's go in." As Darren went into the studio to do the interview, Claire sat in a small room next door where she could hear the interview going on. For the most part the questions were pretty much the same ones that she had heard asked before--how did the band start; where did the idea for the name come from; etc. But then came the question she had been hoping wouldn't get asked.
"So Darren, I'm sure there's one question on every woman's mind right now. Are you currently seeing someone?"
Claire could picture him smiling and blushing a bit as he answered the question. "I am, actually. We haven't known each other long, but there's something about her that just has me completely fascinated. I'm really excited about getting to know her better."
"It sounds like you're really happy."
"Yeah, I am."
The interview concluded a few minutes later with the DJ wishing Darren the best with the tour and his new relationship. Claire met him in the hallway, and he wrapped his arm around her waist as they left the building. "So what did you think?" Darren asked.
Claire paused and turned to face him as they stepped out side of the building. "I think it went really well. And I'm glad you're happy about all this." Claire stood on her tip toes and kissed him softly. Darren pulled her body closer and deepened the kiss. The two pulled away sooner than either really wanted to, not wanting to cause a scene. They walked over to her car and headed out.
They made the drive to the concert hall in silence, but as Claire drove around to the back where the tour buses were parked, Darren noticed a change in her. "Claire, are you okay?"
"I'm suddenly feeling nervous about meeting everyone."
"I understand the feeling. But everything is going to be fine, I promise."
"Okay. I trust you." The two got out of her car and Darren led her over to one of the buses.
