"Daniel?" Michelle called as she descended the staircase of her home.
No answer.
Perplexed, Michelle moved through the bright sitting room, again calling, "Daniel?"
Still nothing.
Determinedly, she walked across the sitting room to a wide set of French doors and stepped outside onto the veranda. Michelle paused a moment in her search to take a deep breath of clean, sea air and look at the miles and miles of green water that stretched out before her. The red bricks of the veranda had been warmed by the sun and Michelle curled her bare toes happily. A breeze off the sea caught her hair and blew it back over her shoulders, ruffling the long skirt of the simple yellow sundress she wore.
For as long as this had been her home, Michelle still couldn't get over the beauty of Mallorca. She was still homesick occasionally,but it was hard to miss the chill of Springfield when ocean breezes were warming your spirit.
"Speaking of warming your spirit, Michelle...." she muttered to herself and resumed her quest.
Michelle walked back into the villa, this time going through the kitchen."Daniel?" she called out, her voice echoing in the large room.
"Senora Santos?"
Michelle turned to face the cook, Consuela. At first, her husband had been very adamant that he and Michelle have no servants.
Then he had tasted his wife's cooking.
Consuela had arrived the next day.
"Consuela." Michelle said, relieved. "Have you seen-?"
"In there." Consuela said, an indulgent smile on her face as she pointed to the big oak door off the side of the kitchen.
"Gracias."
Michelle opened the door to her husband's office and beamed at the sight that greeted her.
Danny was apparently trying to work on the computer,sign something, talk on the phone, and control his two year old son all at once.
"Daniel!" Michelle exclaimed and both her husband and her son, who sat perched on Danny's knee, looked up.
Michelle crossed the room and lifted her son off his father, who was just hanging up the phone.
"Here you are!Were you bothering Daddy? Hmmm?" she asked, tickling his tummy. The baby gurgled happily and Michelle and Danny's eyes met in a smile over Daniel's head.
"He wasn't bothering me." Danny said as he pulled both wife and child into his lap. "We were doing...manly things."
"Oh, is that right?" Michelle asked,raising an eyebrow.
"Yep. Tell your mother, Daniel."
Daniel looked at both his mother, ducked his head, and smiled.
Michelle laughed."Look at that! Always trying to charm me."
"Can't imagine where he gets that from." Danny murmured as he placed a kiss on the back of her neck.
Michelle sighed contentedly and settled back against her husband. They both studied their son in happy silence for a moment.
He was the exact replica, both in looks and personality, of Danny. Dark curls framed his face and his eyes were black as night. He could be the sweetest baby you ever laid eyes on, but if something provoked his temper....well, he was definitely his father's son.
Michelle smiled and smoothed her baby's hair. She wouldn't have it any other way.
Daniel had come along about a year after they had moved to Mallorca. What had been a promised honeymoon destination was now their permanent home. Shortly after her aborted wedding to Bill, Michelle had gone with Danny back to the Santos home. She had sat nervously in the silent hallway while Danny had had a "discussion" with his mother. Michelle didn't know, and never wanted to know, what was said between the two. All she knew was that Danny walked out of his mother's office with complete control over the family's holdings in Spain and Carmen's promise to never again interfere in his life.
Carmen had been to see them twice in Mallorca after Daniel was born. While there was still an underlying animosity between the two women, Michelle no longer felt threatened by Danny's mother. It was clear in Carmen's eyes how much she adored her only grandchild and she afforded Michelle a certain amount of respect as that child's mother. Michelle knew she would never be forgiven for Mick, but Carmen now felt that the debt Michelle owed her, a life for Mick's, had been paid in a way with Daniel's arrival.
Danny worked hard at the family's business in Spain and within the first six months of his management, had turned the entire operation legitimate. Michelle had finished school at an American University in Madrid and when Danny had felt confident enough to leave Madrid to do business out of their home, the two had packed up and bought a small villa overlooking the sea in Mallorca.
Sometimes, it seemed very hard to believe that three and a half years had gone by since they had left Springfield.
Rick and Abby had come to see them several times and even Meta came once.
Danny and Michelle were also planning a trip back "home" for the wedding of Bill and Pilar in the fall.
But their lives were here now.
"What are you thinking about?" Danny questioned, breaking the silence.
Michelle turned and said softly. "How happy I am."
Danny cupped her cheek and drew her face to his, giving her a lingering kiss. "I'm glad to hear that."
Not wanting to be left out, Daniel attempted to wiggle between his parents, causing them both to laugh.
"Are you sure he wasn't bothering you?" Michelle asked, standing with Daniel in her arms.
"He could never bother me." Danny said, giving his son an affectionate smile.
Michelle hugged Daniel tightly as she said,"Well, he was supposed to be taking a nap. But you know how he is. I laid him down, turned my back, and he was gone."
Danny laughed as he leaned back in his chair."That's our boy. I found him heading for the veranda doors and figured it was time to show him the ropes of the business."
Smiling, Michelle said,"Those locks on the veranda doors were a very good investment. For some reason, he really seems to like it out there."
Danny's eyes darkened and he said in a slow voice Michelle knew well,"Well, I guess that's only natural."
Michelle blushed and remembered the moonless and particularly starry night on that veranda that had resulted in Daniel.
"I guess you're right" she said in a husky voice, cheeks still pinkened.
Danny rose to kiss his wife soundly on the cheek."After nearly four years, my bride still blushes."
Michelle playfully swatted him away."You are just as bad as your son. I am trying to put him back down for a nap and you're distracting me! Are you two in cahoots?"
"We'll never tell, will we, son?" Danny asked, wiggling his eyebrows at Daniel who laughed delightedly. Michelle couldn't help but laugh herself. She had never seen two people more infatuated with each other than her son and her husband. Daniel idolized his father and was constantly tagging along. Danny treated his son as if he were the most precious thing God ever put on Earth. Michelle had always thought Danny was protective of her. But compared to his attitude about Daniel, well, he was practically negligent where she was concerned!
Michelle rolled her eyes as she remembered Danny when she was pregnant. He'd nearly had a stroke every time he saw her pick up so much as a magazine.
Shifting Daniel to the other hip, Michelle gave Danny a quick kiss before saying,"Alright, I'm off to put him down for a nap....again. Will I see you later or do you have more work to do?"
Danny looked at his computer and the papers on his desk for a moment then said,"Actually, I think I'll come help you, if you two don't mind."
Michelle smiled and handed Daniel to Danny."We'd love the help."
The three of them left the office and made their way up the long curving staircase.
Michelle opened the door to the little sun-filled room that was right off the master bedroom and Danny laid an already dozing Daniel in his crib.
The two of them just stood there for a long while, enjoying that peaceful wonderful feeling of watching your child sleep.
"He's so beautiful." Michelle whispered in a voice heavy with emotion.
"That he is." Danny replied as he stroked Daniel's soft black curls.
Michelle turned to Danny and laid a hand on his cheek. "Sometimes I still can't believe all this." she said.
Danny turned his head and kissed her palm."Neither can I." he replied softly.
Tears began to glimmer in Michelle's eyes as she whispered, "That night that you found out about Mick, I thought my whole life had ended. I thought I was doomed to be miserable with you. Oh, God, Danny, how could I have been so wrong?"
"I know, Michelle. I felt the same way too."
"Thank you." Michelle said almost fiercely.
"For what?" Danny asked, pushing a curl off her face.
"For finding me." Michelle said. "I would have lived my whole life, thinking I was happy, thinking I knew what love was if you hadn't shown me what it really meant to be happy. What it meant to be loved."
Danny was too overcome with emotion to speak, but finally mouthed the words,"I love you."
Michelle didn't have to reply in kind. He could see that she loved him in her eyes, in the beautiful baby boy who slept a few feet away and in her kiss as she lifted her mouth to his.
In one smooth motion, he lived her off her feet and into his arms, carrying her into their bedroom. As he placed her gently on their bed, his hands slid her dress over her shoulders and he kissed her again. Pulling back, he looked into her eyes and was again amazed at the love he saw there. They had been through so much, but somehow, they had made it. He opened his mouth to profess his love again, but Michelle stopped him with a kiss.
She didn't need to hear the words.
She already knew.