Lending Library

She wasn't so much impressed because what her landscaper had written was particularly astute, as anyone familiar with the book would know that. It was more that he cared enough to take the time to share a favorite quote from this classic tale.

Later that evening, she saw the note laying on her desk and decided to pen a reply not knowing whether or not 'her Edmond Dantes' would ever read it.

"Dear Monsieur Dantes,

It is such a pleasure to know there are still men of letters among us. Too few value the written word which can be held in one's own hands, deliciously savoring each word as first one page and then another gets turned.

Yes, patience, hope, and mercy are indeed virtues. However, I must say that in spite of waiting patiently for many years for love to find me, I fear I find myself losing hope. Perhaps Fate shall be merciful to me and bless me with the most wonderful of blessings before my time is up on this earthly plane.

Sincerely, Mercédès Mondego."

"Gee, get melodramatic much, Quinn?" she said to herself when she reread what she'd just written.

But it was all in good fun, and were this 'Dantes' to find the exchange pleasant, it might be rather enjoyable. So she refolded the note then placed it in another envelope on which she wrote 'For Edmond Dantes's Eyes Only' then put it back in the box outside on her way out of the house early the next morning.

Aidan and Sadie stopped at the nursery with which he had an agreement to buy from exclusively in exchange for a 10% reduction in price, and picked up the SunPatiens. They were already looking great, and after planting them with some potting soil and fertilizer, they'd grow to large, full plants that would look beautiful against the house and around the mailbox and, of course, the lending library. They made a quick trip to the hardware store and bought two different colors of paint and two small brushes, as well.

Aidan and his daughter carried all the plants into the yard and staged them before they started planting to make sure the distance between them was equal and that the row along the front of the house would be straight. But after that and before doing the planting, Aidan went to the library box, opened the door, and saw the envelope and smiled.

"What is it, Daddy?" Sadie asked when she saw the big smile.

"Oh, nothing really, honey. It just seems like someone else is a fan of my favorite book."

Satisfied with his answer, Sadie began digging out nice, round, symmetrical holes so her father could come and drop the root ball in without having to do any additional work. Her attention to detail at such an early age was something Aidan never took for granted and told her again how nice the row of holes looked when he got ready to do his part.

She smiled and ate up the praise, something Sadie valued almost as much as anything else in her life. Her dad really was her whole world, and she genuinely loved helping him make someone's yard look better or getting things to grow like the beautiful flowers they were planting.

"What do you think?" her father asked as they stood on the sidewalk looking at their handiwork.

"I think we did a great job," she told him.

He put his arm around her, pulled her close then said, "We. You got that right. Because we are a team!"

"And there's no 'I' in team!" Sadie said, knowing that was how one responded to a positive comment about 'we'.

"Okay. Let's touch up this lending box and blast out of here!" he said.

Sadie carefully painted the box while her father redid the letting which required a steady hand. It only took a few minutes, but the difference was amazing. Once again, they stepped back and checked their work.

Satisfied it was more than satisfactory, Aidan said, "Nice job—again! You ready to rock and roll?"

"Let's get 'er done!" his daughter said cheerfully.

Aidan knew she'd be back in school on Monday, but for now, he was enjoying every minute he could with his beautiful daughter.

With the envelope from Quinn securely inside a folder that wouldn't get dirty, the team headed to their next address which Sadie programmed into the Maps App, and off they went.

That evening, Aidan found himself thinking about the note several times, and almost couldn't wait until Sadie went to bed to respond to his 'Mercédès Mondego', the woman Dantes had loved and who later lost hope and married his rival, after Dantes's false imprisonment.

When he the time came where he could sit and compose his thoughts, he smiled as he wrote:

"Dear Mercédès,

I'm not sure if you're referring to our little charade as to losing patience with finding love or your own personal life, but my hope is that it's the former and not the latter. If not, I wish you Godspeed in finding it, as I, too, have been waiting patiently for the same thing—a thing I once had but lost as Fate saw fit to take it (and her) from me.

Of the many virtues, love is, in my most humble opinion, the greatest of them all. I am blessed to receive it from my beautiful daughter, Sadie, but the truth is both of us would very much enjoy having the love of a woman in our lives again. So if you are indeed searching for your own Edmond Dantes, may Fate shine upon you."

He thought about signing it as Dantes again but decided to use his own name.

"Sincerely, Aidan Gray, your humble servant in all things green. (And other colors, as well.)

P.S. Sadie and I hope you enjoy the SunPatiens."

He wasn't scheduled to go back to her house for another week, but they had a job just one street over the following afternoon so Aidan swung by the Johnson residence to drop off the note complete with a fresh page for 'Mercédès Mondego' to use in her reply.

Aidan was unaware Quinn was home or that she saw him jump out of the truck, open the library door, and set the envelope inside. She'd knew from Michelle the landscaper was an attractive man, but she had no idea he was that attractive. He was clearly much too young to be a potential suitor, but he was definitely a very good looking man, and that included his backside which she shamelessly watched as he turned around and got back in the vehicle.

She waited a few seconds for him to drive out of sight then walked down to the mailbox area and took a careful look at the professional-looking job he'd done on the library box before opening it up.

She saw the envelope and couldn't help smiling before picking it up. She forced herself to wait until she got inside to read it, but did so as soon as she sat down.

Her first thought was why in the world she'd said anything about something as personal as feeling lonely, and yet his reply not only didn't make her feel guilty for it, it made her feel...hopeful.

Quinn had all but given up on ever finding someone. For the first year after she learned of her now ex-husband's affair she'd been so angry and hurt she'd been unable to date. For the next couple of years she'd been 'gun shy' to the point of making it impossible to trust anyone enough to open herself up to him.

Since then she'd found that the men who were interested in her were either uninteresting to her or only looking for sex. And as much as she missed lovemaking, she had no interest in a relationship that was purely sexual. It made no difference to her how many other women (of any age) were into 'hooking up'. For Quinn, sex was the 'crowning glory' of intimacy between a man and a woman, and she wasn't about to settle for the physical without the emotional although lately she was beginning to wonder how much longer she could cling to her 'high horse' for comfort.

So for the last year or so she'd focused on herself. She'd been blessed with good skin and beautiful hair as well as an amazing smile. Her body was still more than acceptable, but she joined a gym and hired a personal trainer and now enjoyed the benefits of a very fit, very toned body. She still had no one to share it with, but these simple words from a man she didn't even know made her feel, like Edmond Dantes, that if she would remain patient and not lose hope, Fate might just smile down upon her.

She sighed deeply as she considered her reply then reached for a pen and began to write.

At no point did it ever occur to Aidan that the mother of a 20-something year old woman would be someone with whom he might one day have a relationship, but he did spend some time thinking about how much he enjoyed this unique form of correspondence.

They had no jobs near Quinn's house the following day and the day after that was Sunday, and Aidan wanted to spend it with his daughter before she went back to school. It was a little after five in the afternoon when he asked Sadie what she wanted to do for dinner.

"Can we go to Outback?" she asked as though it was too much to ask.

"Are you kidding? After all the work you did this week? Shoot, we can go anywhere you want, girlfriend!" he told her.

Sadie loved their 'chicken on the barbie' as well as their delicious shrimp, and they hadn't been there in many months, so her father was more than happy to take her.

They technically lived in Jacksonville, but they were very close to the town of Orange Park, know mostly for Senator John McCain having lived there at one time. Most of their lives revolved around Orange Park, and they did everything they could to avoid going into downtown Jacksonville. There was an Outback on Wells Road right across from the Orange Park Mall, and that's where they headed.

Quinn lived in a development not too far from there, and when they left around 6:30pm, Aidan asked if it would be okay if they went and checked the lending library.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Sadie asked with a smile. "I know you like getting those love notes."

"Love notes? Hold on their, partner. What makes you think they're love notes?"

Sadie giggled then said, "Because I see the way you look when you get one."

"Okay, I'll admit I enjoy reading them, but I don't even know the woman who's writing them."

"What if she's pretty and nice?" Sadie asked as they walked out to their car.

"What if she is?" her father asked.

"Well, you could ask her out. On a date."

"Um, yeah, except for one thing," he said as he opened her door for her.

"What's that?"

He went around and got in while Sadie put on her seatbelt then said, "The opposite of her daughter."

It took her a second, but Sadie got it.

"So...she's too old?"

"Bingo!" her father said. "Michelle is 22 or so, right?"

"Yes."

"And I'm 34, correct?"

"Uh-huh."

"So we need someone who's say...no younger than 30 and no older than 38. Or maybe...40. And if this very nice lady has a 22-year old daughter, she has to be at least 45. Got it?"

"Got it," she said without conviction.

But just seconds later, as her dad was starting the car she said, "But why? Why does she have to be that age?"

Aidan looked over at then put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking spot and slowly made his way to Wells Road.

"Um, well. Lemme see. I guess it's because anyone too young or too much older would have a whole different set of life experiences."

He could tell Sadie was confused so he tried to explain.

"If she was say, Michelle's age, I wouldn't know the people she knows. Not friend wise, but famous people. Like singers and what not. I'd always be asking, 'Who?' and she'd do the same with me when I talked about a song or a movie I like."

The puzzled look on his daughter's face disappeared, but another question surfaced.

"But what if she liked the same things you like? You know, like old books and stuff?"

"Oh, is that what you think I like. Old books?"

He reached over and tickled her ribs as he said, "Sounds like you're saying I'm old!"

"Daddy! Stop!" she said as she shrieked with laughter.

He was driving and couldn't keep tickling her anyway, and once she stopped laughing, Sadie said, "Okay. I'm not saying you're old, Dad. I'm just saying you like...old stuff."

He gave her a fake, snarling, mean look and got another laugh before she finished her thought.

"But what if the girl—or the woman—likes old stuff, too? What if she knows about your old music and your old books and your other old..."

"Oh, that's it! You are so getting tickled!" her father said as he made a 'claw' out of his right hand then opened and closed in as menacingly as he could.

He loved that his little girl was still young enough to be amused by his silliness, and although he wanted her to grow up to be a strong, independent woman, he could get sad pretty quickly just thinking about her no longer needing him in just a few short years.

Sadie shrieked with laughter again then said, "Okay, okay! Your stuff isn't old. And you're not old, either!"

"That's more like it!" Aidan said as he slowly retracted 'the claw of death'.

He saw Sadie smiling then said, "What? What are you thinking over there?"

"The stuff you like isn't—old. It's just...not very new."

He brought the 'death claw' back to life and got another happy howl of laughter as they turned onto the street where Quinn lived.

"I see her house," Sadie said, pointing down the road.

"Ah, yes. The newly-painted lending library. It does look good, huh?"

"Yes, it does!" she agreed.

"I'll just hop out and see if there's anything...old...in there for me," he said as he pulled over as Sadie stayed in the car, laughing again.

He left the engine running, got out, then walked up to the box and opened the door. Having forgotten all about their previous written conversation, Aidan smiled happily when he saw the note. He reached in and grabbed it, and just as he was closing the little door, a car pulled into the driveway.

"Well, well. Look who it is," he heard a female voice say.

He turned around and saw Michelle and smiled.

"Hello, there. I uh, I was just checking," he said as he held up the envelope.

"I told my mom that was you," she said.

Michelle leaned back, and that's when Aidan noticed there was someone in the passenger's seat. That person leaned forward and looked his way, and when she did, Aidan stopped smiling as she said 'hello'.

His first thought was the woman looking at him had to be someone else, and that Michelle's reference to her mother had nothing to do with the passenger in her car. But when the passenger spoke to him, it was obvious it was, and he was even more befuddled as his brain tried to reconcile the way she looked with the way he'd assumed she'd look.

"So you're the modern-day Edmond Dantes. I'm so glad to finally meet you!" the woman who was obviously Quinn Johnson said.

Aidan bent over a bit, smiled, then said, "Yes. You, too, Madame Mondego."

She laughed then said, "I've very much enjoyed our little back and forth."

"Oh. Um...same here," he told her. "We were just out to dinner and in the neighborhood, and I wanted to see if maybe there was another note from my new...pen pal."

"We just had dinner ourselves. Would you and your daughter care to come in and have some dessert with us?" Quinn asked.

Aidan's brain had finally accepted the fact that this woman, who was much younger looking than he could have possibly imagined, was indeed Michelle's mother and not her older sister. He also had to admit she was every bit as attractive as Michelle had assured him she was and possibly even more.

"Well, I don't want to put you out or anything," he replied.

"Nonsense! You're not putting anyone out, and I'm dying to meet that little girl of yours," Quinn said. "Please come in. We won't keep you long. I promise."

"Well, okay. Let me pull up closer to the curb and we'll come on up."

"Wonderful! And you're welcome to pull in behind us if you'd like," she offered.

Aidan nodded then let Michelle pull up a little further but decided to stay on the street rather than back up and move just to make things easier.

"Hey, kiddo. We've been invited in for dessert. Is that..."

Before he could finish, Sadie undid her seatbelt and was getting out.

"Hold on a sec, okay?" her father said with a smile. "At least et me turn the engine off first, okay?"

Sadie hopped out once he did and immediately and went to the driveway to wait for her dad. But as soon as she saw Michelle, who had her arms out for a hug, the girl ran to her.

"Hey, sweetie!" Michelle said as they hugged. "I want you to meet my mom, okay?"

"Okay," Sadie said as her father came up to where they were standing.

"Sadie, this is my mother, Quinn Johnson. Mom, this beautiful girl is Sadie..."

"What's your last name again?" Michelle asked.

"Gray," Quinn said as she bent down to hug her, too. "It is Gray, isn't it?"

She remembered it from the website and knew it was. She just wanted to make sure.

"Yes," Sadie told her as they hugged, too.

"And this is our landscaper, Aidan...Gray," Michelle said to her mom without taking her eyes off the handsome, older man.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," he said not sure if she'd offer him her hand.

To his pleasant surprise she opened her arms for a hug, and Aidan accepted the offer.

As they separated, Quinn said, "Michelle told me you were a very handsome young man, and I have to say she was right."

Aidan thanked her then said, "She also told me you were a very beautiful woman, but I had no idea just how beautiful."

Quinn made a kind of 'pfft' noise but thanked him for being so polite.

"No, your daughter definitely downplayed your beauty, Madame Mondego," he said with a slight bow.

Quinn laughed then looked at Sadie and said, "Your father is quite the charmer."

"And he's single," Sadie said causing all eyes to open and the two women to laugh while her father stood there in stunned silence.

"Um, okay. So now that that's settled," Aidan said.

"Well, it's true, Dad," she told him.

He put his hands on his daughter's shoulders, smiled at Quinn and Michelle, then shrugged his shoulders.

"She reminds me of you, honey," Quinn said to her daughter.

Michelle gave her the eye then said, "Oh. Because we're both so beautiful, huh?"

Sadie giggled as Quinn said, "Uh-huh. Sure. Let's go with that."

She got a little more serious then said, "I really am glad to meet you, Aidan. Let's get inside and we'll see about that dessert, shall we?"

Aidan told her that sounded nice then got a better look at her as she passed in front of him behind the car. He was still trying to make the math work starting with Michelle's age, but the very nice looking woman who just walked in front of him made it impossible to do so.

As they continued up the sidewalk to the porch, he noticed she was very nicely dressed, as well, and that she still wore her hair long. It wasn't to the middle of her back the way her daughter's was, but it was touching her shoulders and looked distractingly sexy to him. As did her face and her...

"So what grade are you going to be in, Sadie?" Quinn asked, interrupting her dad's thoughts.

"Fifth," she told her.

"That's the grade I'll be teaching," Michelle said. "I taught second grade last year, and got moved to fifth which is what I wanted."

Sadie loved school and couldn't wait for it to start, but she also hated being away from her father.

"What school do you teach at?" Sadie asked.

"Orange Park Elementary," Michelle told her, "and my mom teaches English at Orange Park High School."

They filed through the door after Quinn unlocked it. It was already too warm to wear a jacket so there was no need to be concerned with where to put them.

Once inside, Aidan got an even better look at Quinn and found himself staring for a moment. When she looked at him, she smiled, causing him to break eye contact then say, "You have a very nice home, Quinn."

"Thank you, and thank you for the lovely flowers. They look so nice every time I drive up and see them."

"This young lady did all the hard work," he told her as he again put his hands on her shoulders.