Categories > Cartoons > Delilah and Julius > Those Nights We Say Goodbye
Chapter Two
3 reviewsThoughts channeled towards one thing ... And that's the best summary you're getting out of me :)
2Exciting
>> Halifax, Nova Scotia
>> St. Anne's Hospital
>> 12:43
Julius' head was swimming as Nosey gushed out all he'd missed in the last six years. Besides the major things, Nosey getting hitched, Al retiring, Delilah getting--He stopped that train of thought abruptly. Besides all of the previous things, he learned that a big dent of the villains he'd dealt with were out of the picture. The Con Man, Ice and Sunshine, Ms. Deeds and Wednesday Kertsfield were in jail. Gilly Hippodrome and Baguio Joe had gotten themselves killed. Ursula and a man from her civilian prison had been given capital punishment for an attempt on Al's life that cost the lives of fifteen other people. Dr. Dismay, DJ Hook, Dollface and Roy, and Tibor were still at large.
But none of the villain's fates really phased him. What he couldn't wrap his head around was that Delilah was getting married ... that Delilah had moved on.
Nosey had said she'd waited, but couldn't she have waited longer? Julius told himself that he would have, that he never would have abandoned his comatose partner and run off with another girl. The thought of her in someone else's arms made his stomach twist into a knot. It hurt to think of, but she seemed to be all his thoughts could settle on. Her, and the man who had taken her for his own.
Mark Robson.
Six months after Julius' crash had put him in a coma, Al had assigned Delilah a new partner. Mark Robson. And now he was her fiancé. Barely two and a half years later, they'd started dating. He and Delilah had been partners for almost four years, and nearly nothing romantic had ever happened. Sure, a few kisses and flirting, but they'd never dated! Two and a half years with another partner and Delilah convinced herself she was in love.
"Zoe planned the wedding," Nosey was saying. "I guess I wasn't really surprised when the theme turned out to be comic books. Man, you should have seen Emmet's costume ..."
This Mark guy had to be really something to make her fall for him before they hit the three year mark. He was probably handsome, maybe a blond like Julius was. Julius didn't even want to think about the things they did together when no one was around.
Shuddering slightly, he pretended to be listening to Nosey, who was giving him a funny look. Once his friend had lapsed back into his long narrative, Julius let himself wallow in self-pity again. How could she have done this to him? Didn't she have any hope that he would come around?
Hopefully her attraction to Mark was only physical. That he could deal with. That, he could break. Perhaps the shock of having her partner and best friend in a coma had caused Delilah to panic. Maybe she wanted to make sure that she lived life to the fullest. After "losing" Julius, she didn't want to lose Mark. It would make sense that after the feelings of hurt, despair and anger at receiving a new partner receded, fear would sink in. What if she lost Mark as well? Could she handle a third partner? She must have willed herself to love him. So many Academy agents ended up marrying their partners, so why couldn't she do the same?
Mark had to be good-looking. Maybe he did look like Julius, and that's why Delilah had supposedly fallen in love with him. If it was only lust, only lust, Julius could walk right in. Things could go back to the way they had been.
If only he'd been a better driver.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Tofino, British Columbia
>> Beach Flower Cottage
>> 16:43
From her waterfront home, Delilah gazed out the window onto Chesterman Beach. She could see her fiancé, Mark, out there now, teaching his surfing school for children under twelve. Her heart swelled as she watched him hold a young girl up on her board. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before they had one of their own.
The odd feelings about calling Mark her fiancé had disappeared within a few months. It seemed surreal to think that it was only a year ago he'd asked her to marry him. Only six years ago that they'd been matched as partners. For Delilah, it felt as if she'd been with Mark her entire life. She couldn't suppress the feelings of desire and passion that bubbled up inside her whenever Mark looked at her a certain way. There was no doubt in her mind that she'd made the right choice when she accepted his proposal.
What a cliché proposal it had been, though. If she had seen it done in a movie, the scene would have made her gag with disgust. But it had been entirely different.
Delilah had assumed that they were on a mission, because that's what Al had told her. Ice and Sunshine were planning some dastardly scheme, one she couldn't even remember now. She and Mark were to fly to Paris to stop them. Something should have tipped her off when they entered the Louvre - the world's largest art museum, which happened to house the Mona Lisa - midday, and found it deserted. Naturally, she had assumed that the museum had been evacuated.
Mark had grabbed her wrist and tugged her down towards the Venus de Milo, Delilah's favourite work of art. When they stopped in front of it, she'd shouted at him that they'd have time to marvel at it later. As soon as Mark got down on one knee, her mouth fell open and the protests stopped.
"Delilah," Mark's voice and face were burned into her memory. "You are surely the most beautiful woman in the world. You could do me no greater honour than this: will you marry me?"
She'd hardly paused. Managing a choked "yes" through the sudden rush of tears, she ran and embraced her lover. Suddenly the pair were surrounded by friends and Mark's family, all of whom had been hiding around the corner. Al was among them. A day later, Delilah discovered that Ice and Sunshine had been put away by Emmet, Nosey and Zoe the previous week. Everybody, it seemed, had been in on it.
A hand was placed on her shoulder and Delilah's eyes snapped open. In the heat of the summer and remembering the most wonderful day of her life, she'd fallen asleep. The sun was beginning to set. She turned and found herself staring into her favourite eyes.
Mark smiled. "I would have woken you sooner, but you looked so peaceful. I made us dinner."
The smells of spaghetti and red wine wafted through the room, making her grin. When they were seated at their polished mahogany table, Mark began converstation.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, taking a delicate sip of wine.
She knew what he meant. "I'm a little nervous, but it's the good kind of nervous. I can't wait to walk up to the alter."
It was the answer he was looking for. "And I can't wait to see my bride coming towards me. I am curious, though. Why did you let Zoe plan your wedding when hers was based on comic books?"
"I trust Zoe," she answered, taking a mouthful of food. "Besides, she knew that Nosey would get a kick out of the whole superhero thing. Nosey was dressed up like Batman, Emmet was Flash Gordon, and Zoe was Wonder Woman. But Zoe knows that I want a more ... traditional ceremony."
Mark beamed. "I can't say I'll be disappointed if you walk down the aisle wearing a Catwoman suit."
She was used to these sort of remarks and didn't blush, but felt flattered all the same. They continued the rest of the meal in silence. As soon as she was done, Mark was on his feet, and swept the dirty dishes out of her way. He offered to wash and she dried. Even though they didn't speak, Delilah felt herself begin to tremble as the pile of dishes diminished.
The water had barely begun to drain when Mark had her up against the wall.
She relished the feeling of his lips on hers. Her fingers twisted his hair, caressing his scalp as he made her melt beneath him. There was no place else in the world she would rather be that right here, in this moment.
But things were about to change.
>> St. Anne's Hospital
>> 12:43
Julius' head was swimming as Nosey gushed out all he'd missed in the last six years. Besides the major things, Nosey getting hitched, Al retiring, Delilah getting--He stopped that train of thought abruptly. Besides all of the previous things, he learned that a big dent of the villains he'd dealt with were out of the picture. The Con Man, Ice and Sunshine, Ms. Deeds and Wednesday Kertsfield were in jail. Gilly Hippodrome and Baguio Joe had gotten themselves killed. Ursula and a man from her civilian prison had been given capital punishment for an attempt on Al's life that cost the lives of fifteen other people. Dr. Dismay, DJ Hook, Dollface and Roy, and Tibor were still at large.
But none of the villain's fates really phased him. What he couldn't wrap his head around was that Delilah was getting married ... that Delilah had moved on.
Nosey had said she'd waited, but couldn't she have waited longer? Julius told himself that he would have, that he never would have abandoned his comatose partner and run off with another girl. The thought of her in someone else's arms made his stomach twist into a knot. It hurt to think of, but she seemed to be all his thoughts could settle on. Her, and the man who had taken her for his own.
Mark Robson.
Six months after Julius' crash had put him in a coma, Al had assigned Delilah a new partner. Mark Robson. And now he was her fiancé. Barely two and a half years later, they'd started dating. He and Delilah had been partners for almost four years, and nearly nothing romantic had ever happened. Sure, a few kisses and flirting, but they'd never dated! Two and a half years with another partner and Delilah convinced herself she was in love.
"Zoe planned the wedding," Nosey was saying. "I guess I wasn't really surprised when the theme turned out to be comic books. Man, you should have seen Emmet's costume ..."
This Mark guy had to be really something to make her fall for him before they hit the three year mark. He was probably handsome, maybe a blond like Julius was. Julius didn't even want to think about the things they did together when no one was around.
Shuddering slightly, he pretended to be listening to Nosey, who was giving him a funny look. Once his friend had lapsed back into his long narrative, Julius let himself wallow in self-pity again. How could she have done this to him? Didn't she have any hope that he would come around?
Hopefully her attraction to Mark was only physical. That he could deal with. That, he could break. Perhaps the shock of having her partner and best friend in a coma had caused Delilah to panic. Maybe she wanted to make sure that she lived life to the fullest. After "losing" Julius, she didn't want to lose Mark. It would make sense that after the feelings of hurt, despair and anger at receiving a new partner receded, fear would sink in. What if she lost Mark as well? Could she handle a third partner? She must have willed herself to love him. So many Academy agents ended up marrying their partners, so why couldn't she do the same?
Mark had to be good-looking. Maybe he did look like Julius, and that's why Delilah had supposedly fallen in love with him. If it was only lust, only lust, Julius could walk right in. Things could go back to the way they had been.
If only he'd been a better driver.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> Tofino, British Columbia
>> Beach Flower Cottage
>> 16:43
From her waterfront home, Delilah gazed out the window onto Chesterman Beach. She could see her fiancé, Mark, out there now, teaching his surfing school for children under twelve. Her heart swelled as she watched him hold a young girl up on her board. Perhaps it wouldn't be long before they had one of their own.
The odd feelings about calling Mark her fiancé had disappeared within a few months. It seemed surreal to think that it was only a year ago he'd asked her to marry him. Only six years ago that they'd been matched as partners. For Delilah, it felt as if she'd been with Mark her entire life. She couldn't suppress the feelings of desire and passion that bubbled up inside her whenever Mark looked at her a certain way. There was no doubt in her mind that she'd made the right choice when she accepted his proposal.
What a cliché proposal it had been, though. If she had seen it done in a movie, the scene would have made her gag with disgust. But it had been entirely different.
Delilah had assumed that they were on a mission, because that's what Al had told her. Ice and Sunshine were planning some dastardly scheme, one she couldn't even remember now. She and Mark were to fly to Paris to stop them. Something should have tipped her off when they entered the Louvre - the world's largest art museum, which happened to house the Mona Lisa - midday, and found it deserted. Naturally, she had assumed that the museum had been evacuated.
Mark had grabbed her wrist and tugged her down towards the Venus de Milo, Delilah's favourite work of art. When they stopped in front of it, she'd shouted at him that they'd have time to marvel at it later. As soon as Mark got down on one knee, her mouth fell open and the protests stopped.
"Delilah," Mark's voice and face were burned into her memory. "You are surely the most beautiful woman in the world. You could do me no greater honour than this: will you marry me?"
She'd hardly paused. Managing a choked "yes" through the sudden rush of tears, she ran and embraced her lover. Suddenly the pair were surrounded by friends and Mark's family, all of whom had been hiding around the corner. Al was among them. A day later, Delilah discovered that Ice and Sunshine had been put away by Emmet, Nosey and Zoe the previous week. Everybody, it seemed, had been in on it.
A hand was placed on her shoulder and Delilah's eyes snapped open. In the heat of the summer and remembering the most wonderful day of her life, she'd fallen asleep. The sun was beginning to set. She turned and found herself staring into her favourite eyes.
Mark smiled. "I would have woken you sooner, but you looked so peaceful. I made us dinner."
The smells of spaghetti and red wine wafted through the room, making her grin. When they were seated at their polished mahogany table, Mark began converstation.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, taking a delicate sip of wine.
She knew what he meant. "I'm a little nervous, but it's the good kind of nervous. I can't wait to walk up to the alter."
It was the answer he was looking for. "And I can't wait to see my bride coming towards me. I am curious, though. Why did you let Zoe plan your wedding when hers was based on comic books?"
"I trust Zoe," she answered, taking a mouthful of food. "Besides, she knew that Nosey would get a kick out of the whole superhero thing. Nosey was dressed up like Batman, Emmet was Flash Gordon, and Zoe was Wonder Woman. But Zoe knows that I want a more ... traditional ceremony."
Mark beamed. "I can't say I'll be disappointed if you walk down the aisle wearing a Catwoman suit."
She was used to these sort of remarks and didn't blush, but felt flattered all the same. They continued the rest of the meal in silence. As soon as she was done, Mark was on his feet, and swept the dirty dishes out of her way. He offered to wash and she dried. Even though they didn't speak, Delilah felt herself begin to tremble as the pile of dishes diminished.
The water had barely begun to drain when Mark had her up against the wall.
She relished the feeling of his lips on hers. Her fingers twisted his hair, caressing his scalp as he made her melt beneath him. There was no place else in the world she would rather be that right here, in this moment.
But things were about to change.
Sign up to rate and review this story