On a Day Like That

Back in college, Peggy Grantwood had always had Chuck pegged as a kindred soul, just as shy as she was. That, she believed to this day, was as good an excuse as any why they'd never been more than casual friends.

But she knew the real reason was Mark and Alex. Peggy's longtime crush and his ex of accursed memory.

Even so, she was delighted when Julie told her Chuck was in town. "He just got his teaching certificate," Julie explained as she finished off her cocoa, "and I guess a French teacher at Kennedy went on maternity leave. I just ran into him at the supermarket the other day."

"No kidding!" Peggy allowed a girlish sigh, relishing how close she and Julie had become in the six long months since graduation, both of them having settled in the city a hundred miles or so from their rural campus. Her neighborhood wasn't the best, but the coffee shop where she met with Julie once a week was a cosy oasis in the dead of winter. With the news about Chuck, it felt cosier still. "Such a sweet guy. You know, I didn't know you knew him, Julie."

"Everyone who knew Mark and Matt knew Chuck," said Julie, who like herself had been on the periphery of Mark's wide circle of friends. "The token mature guy, remember?"

"Mark wasn't that immature." Peggy had no idea why she still felt compelled to defend him, but she did.

"Oh, come on, Peg! I know you liked him -- no offense, but everybody knew it -- but he and Matt were a couple of little boys. Chuck would've been a much better catch, you know. And now he's here!" She took out her phone and wrote Chuck's number on a napkin.

Peggy took the napkin. "Thanks," she said. "But I don't think he likes me like that."

"Oh, he's just shy, you know that," Julie said. "And, you know, he had a thing for Alex."

"I'm not Alex, am I?"

"The exact opposite," Julie agreed. "But after she got done slaughtering Chuck's heart, he probably never wanted to bother with any of Mark's exes again.

"Mark and I never dated," Peggy reminded her friend. "Not for lack of desire on my part, but..."

"No offense, but everyone knew," Julie said. "Especially Chuck. Look -- he told me not to say this, but he asked about you."

"Did he?" Peggy saw no point in hiding her delight at that news. She felt like a schoolgirl with a crush, but after so many lonely nights lately she didn't much care. "Mark always did say he said the nicest things about me. I just wish he'd have said some of them to me."

"Give him another try, Peg."

Peggy looked at the napkin again, and then back at her friend. "Mark really was a silly little boy, wasn't he?"

"Him and Matt both," Julie said. "And I think they thought of you as their kid sister, to tell you the truth."

"What makes you say that?" Peggy demanded.

"Didn't you ever hear their joke about your initials? They said you were rated PG."

The joke still stung three days later as Peggy was cooking dinner, even as her heart was flying with anticipation of Chuck's visit. Mark was history, gone to Asia to teach English, and there was no sense in kicking herself anymore for what had already failed to happen between them, but rated PG? Did he really think she was that innocent?

The lasagne was bubbling nicely in the oven, and Chuck was due any minute now. Time to change clothes. Perhaps, she mused, she ought to take the opportunity to show Chuck, at least, that she wasn't that innocent.

She stepped out from behind the kitchen island to her wardrobe, one of only two pieces of furniture she'd gotten around to buying yet (her beloved queen size bed being the other), and rustled through her dresses. It was too cold for most of them, but the knit black and white one her mother had given her for Christmas would do with tights underneath.

As Peggy lay the dress on the bed and went to the curtain to draw the curtains, she realized it was definitely a night for tights no matter what she wore over them. The old building was drafty and she felt an icy chill well before she got to the window. When she got there, the usually busy downtown corner below her was deserted, with only one man sliding down the shiny sidewalk in the freezing rain that glistened in the air and on nearly every surface. She hated to think of Chuck having to drive or, worse yet, walk back to his shared apartment uptown.

Perhaps, she realized with a pleasant twinge as she pulled the curtains shut, he would just have to spend the night.

There was just enough time to change her clothes and find her black flat shoes before buzzer rang. Peggy ran to the door and picked up the intercom phone. "Hello?"

"It's Chuck! I'm half-frozen but I'm here!"

"Come in!" She buzzed him in.

Whether it was paranoia or newly-learned street smarts from living in this neighborhood, Peggy set her hand on the doorknob but didn't open it, much as she longed to. She looked through the peephole, her heart pounding -- it had only been seven months and he'd sounded just the same as ever on the phone, but they'd been lonely months and she'd kept so much to herself. Recalling her promise to her father, she didn't even unlock the door until she saw him.

He had time to knock twice before she could unlock the door. "Chuck, welcome!" she said, stepping aside to let him in. She ached to hug him, but his coat was drenched. So was the bottle of red wine he'd brought, and which he handed to her with his first hello.

"Sorry about this," he said, unzipping the coat and doing his best to take it off without getting anything wet except the floor.

"Don't be! I'm just glad you made it over here safely. And thanks for the wine." He was just as gorgeous as ever, his light brown hair cut shorter than he'd usually worn it in college, and dressed in a lavender button-down shirt she remembered fondly. "Your shoes must be soaked, take them off!"

"I'll be terribly underdressed, won't I? You look beautiful, by the way."

"Thank you, and better underdressed than sitting there in wet socks all evening!" She pulled out one of the bar stools for him. "Let me bring my electric heater over here. Your pants will be dry by the time we finish dinner."

He sat down and pulled off his socks, and she took them to the bathroom to hang on the shower rod. "This place has steam heat, but sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't," she said. "So the second thing I bought after my bed was this heater."

"Nice place," he said as he watched her retrieve the heater from the foot of the bed.

"Nice of you to say that, Chuck," she said. "Believe me, I know what a pit this is!"

"No, it reminds me of the house I grew up in," Chuck said. "Probably from about the same era. World War I? We had steam radiators, too. I remember learning to ignore the clanking of the pipes so I could sleep through them."

"I haven't gotten there yet," Peggy confessed, "But like I said, sometimes the radiator doesn't work anyway."

She turned the heater on and Chuck welcomed the blast of warm air on his damp cuffs and bare feet. "Won't that be awfully hot for you in those tights, though?" he asked.

"Well, maybe I like it hot, Chuck," she teased.

Chuck laughed. "Wow, the city sure has changed you!"

"Oh, I wasn't the demure little girl you thought I was before either, Chuck." She pulled the lasagne carefully out of the oven and set it on the end of the counter. "I wasn't really rated PG, I'll have you know!"

"You knew about that!" Chuck laughed to hide his embarrassment, and set about uncorking the wine.

"At the time, no," Peggy admitted. "But Julie told me about it the other day. Oh, and I've got a blast from the past for you!" She reached into the oven again. "Since it was too cold for salad..." She set a casserole dish next to the lasagne, full of green beans, carrots and peas with breadcrumbs and cheese on top.

"The three-vegetable bake!" Chuck exclaimed, recognizing a mainstay from their college's dining hall. "God, four years of that, and somehow I miss it."

"Me too," Peggy said, settling herself in the other chair. "I never thought I'd miss being that busy, but some days my job is awfully dull.

"I hear you," Chuck agreed. "I was just up there last week, you know, to meet with a student who's interested in teaching next year. It was dark and wet out just like tonight, and walking past the dining hall while everyone was warm and dry in there and bonding with their friends...ouch."

"You weren't imagining them all dressed up like Catholic school girls, were you?" Peggy teased as she served them both.

"Oh no!" Chuck laughed. "Mark told you that, did he?" He remembered all too well his silly expectations back in high school about what college would be like.

"Only because he was surprised at it," Peggy said. "Before you told him what you liked as far as women's clothing, he..."

"Thought I was gay?"

"Oh, he did tell you?"

Chuck shook his head as he swallowed his first sip of wine. "No," he said. "But I knew Alex thought that, so it made sense he would too."

"Alex thought you were gay?" Peggy was confused. "Alex who was convinced you had a crush on her?"

"I did have a crush on her," Chuck admitted for the first time ever. "But I mean, I got over it when I realized how selfish and manipulative she always was. You know? Always your best friend right up to the moment when you needed someone to lean on, and then she didn't have the time of day for you."

"Tell me about it!" Peggy said. "Did you hear what she did after that time I invited Mark home for the weekend?"

"She told me all about it," Chuck said. "All about how disrespectful it was of you when she was still hurting from their breakup. Because it was all about her even then." Another sip of wine and he continued. "I'm sorry, Peggy, that's history. I shouldn't trouble you with it."

"No, Chuck, it's fine!" Peggy said. "The way she led you on and always took you for granted -- I mean, you did act kind of bitter about it, but no one blamed you for that. Alex had more ex-friends than anyone I knew. But about thinking you were gay..."

"Thank you, and yeah," Chuck said. "All that time I spent trying to convince her I was fine with being just friends, but you know, being just friends still means being friends and she never did her share. So I finally give up and get on with my life, and that's what she had to tell herself..."

"Right, it couldn't be that she'd pushed you away, could it?"

"I'm sorry to go on like this about her, Peggy."

"Stop apologizing!" Peggy touched his leg gently and then patted his back. "I get it. I've got regrets about Mark, too. Such an awful flirt."

"And he was damn good at it," Chuck said. "Take it from his most loyal wingman."

"Is that why we never got to know each other better, Chuck? You knew how I felt about him?"

"I guess so," Chuck said. "Once bitten, you know. But hey, that's in the past. You heard from Mark lately?"

"Just a quick email here and there to say he loves Thailand. I can just imagine what his dating life is like there!"

"No kidding." Chuck glanced out the window -- the freezing rain was coming down harder than ever and there wasn't a soul in sight in the street. "Gotta admit I wouldn't mind being there right now, though."

"I hate to think what the roads will be like." Peggy longed to invite Chuck to stay the night then and there, but the words wouldn't come out.

"I sure envy you having a place to yourself, and right downtown where you don't need to drive anywhere," Chuck said.

"Very funny!" Peggy said. "You know this neighborhood isn't the best."

"I've had friends who lived in worse, when I was a kid," Chuck said. "Always figured I'd end up there myself if I went home after college. It'd be worth it to have my own space, though. Now here I am in a nice safe place in the suburbs, living over someone else's garage."

"Well, the place does have character," Peggy admitted. "I'm just glad my parents haven't seen it. They'd probably drag me back to the farm." She took a deep breath. "Speaking of going back, Chuck, want to stay the night? It can't be safe out there!"

"I'm so glad you asked!" Chuck sighed with relief. "I know it'll be a little awkward, but..."

"It's not awkward, Chuck, we're friends! It'll be just like a best-pals sleepover. Or didn't you ever have those with your guy friends?"

"One guy friend at a time, yes," Chuck said. Then he laughed. "But you'll be the cutest guy whose floor I've ever slept on."

Peggy laughed and poured a second glass of wine for each of them. "The bed is big enough for both of us, silly."

"Are you sure you're comfortable with that?"

"I've invited you, haven't I?"

She made the requisite token protest when he offered to wash the dishes, then admired him in his rolled-up sleeves and bare feet at the sink as he scrubbed the casserole dishes clean. While he was busy with that, she went to the wardrobe and got out sweatpants and socks and an extra blanket for the bed, hoping he could fit into her clothes -- he wasn't much bigger than she was, she reasoned.

It took him a while to get the casserole dishes clean, but not nearly long enough to think of going to bed just yet. "Shall we finish the wine?" she asked when he finally dried his hands off. "And please, I got you some socks on the bed there. I feel chilly just looking at your bare feet!"

He laughed and gratefully helped himself to her socks, which stretched a bit much but did fit him. Then he returned to the now-spotless kitchen and clinked glasses with her.

They enjoyed the wine and talked deep into the night, both of them wondering just what would happen at bedtime but neither of them saying a word on the matter. They talked of everything else -- of college and old friends and their hopes for next moves, and of course of Mark and Alex. Chuck told Peggy things he'd never told Mark about just why he'd fallen for Alex. "It was another day a lot like this, finals week sophomore year," he recalled, "and I came by her room to drop off a book. She was getting over a cold and said come sit on the bed and let's chat, and we talked for three hours."

"And it was cold and miserable outside and you were warm and safe on her bed," Peggy said with a knowing grin.

"And she was my best friend's girl." Chuck was as disbelieving as ever at his own mistake.

"You're only human," Peggy reasoned. "A day like that can make you fall in love."

"Did you have a day like that with Mark?"

"I wish! I mean, no, that's not how I fell for him. He was just always so bubbly and funny and confident."

"I know. Believe me, I know!"

"You also know it's just as well I never got together with him, don't you?" Peggy asked.

"From what I've seen, yes. Not that it's any of my business."

"No, but I'm asking you, Chuck. You knew him best."

"Yes, and I knew he was kind of immature and definitely not interested in a long-term relationship."

"Were you?"

"With someone, yeah."

That hung in the air as Chuck poured the last of the wine into each of their glasses. Peggy was feeling pleasantly tipsy, and the door was wide open. But she thought of him saying no and then spending the night here, and she held her tongue.

Perfect gentleman that he was, the first time Peggy couldn't stifle a yawn, Chuck jumped up and said, "Okay, I'll get changed in the bathroom."

"Okay," Peggy said. "I got you sweatpants, if they'll fit you. Do you need a t-shirt, too?"

"I'll just keep the one I've got on," he said.

Peggy didn't even bother trying to keep her mind out of the gutter as soon as he'd shut the bathroom door behind him. She undressed hastily, and giggled at the thought of not bothering with her nightgown and greeting him naked when he came out. But she was too cold to linger very long on that idea. She pulled her nightgown on, and then put her tights back on under it. "Ready when you are!" she called out.

Her sweats were short on Chuck's long legs. But he didn't laugh at her dowdy old flannel nightgown, and she returned the favor. "Sounds like the radiator isn't working tonight," he said, sitting on the bed to pull the borrowed socks back on. "Can we use the electric heater?"

"I usually turn it on just in case the radiator doesn't start," Peggy said, setting it at the end of the bed. "I'll be right back. My turn for the bathroom."

In the bathroom, Peggy wiped herself after peeing and wasn't at all surprised to find she was wet. But that would just have to wait.

Chuck looked adorable in the glow of her bedside lamp, tucked into bed. "Comfy?" she asked.

"Incredibly," he said. "Thanks for letting me stay over."

"No one ought to have to be alone on a night like this," Peggy said as she climbed in on the other side. She turned out the light and welcomed the orange glow of the electric heater at the foot of the bed. "I hope that won't keep you awake," she said.

"No, it's beautiful!" Chuck said. "Romantic, isn't it?"

Peggy laughed and couldn't resist touching his hand under the covers. "Great minds think alike! I've told myself that so many times!"

To her delight, Chuck squeezed her hand back, and didn't let go of it. "I do like the way you think, Peggy. Good night."

"Good night."

"And it was," she told Julie the following week. "So nice to wake up and see him lying there beside me, you know?"

"I don't get it, Peggy. You had him there in your bed and all you did was sleep?"

"You wouldn't understand," Peggy said.

"Try me."

"You're not shy, like I am. Chuck, too, even if we've both worked through a lot of that."

"Well, you've got me there," Julie admitted. "But still, it was a golden opportunity to at least talk about it!"

"I know," Peggy sighed. "But all I could think was, we had to spend the night together no matter what, because it was just too dangerous for him to try to get home. Imagine how awkward that would've been if he'd said no!"

"Imagine if he'd said yes, Peg."

"I did," Peggy said. "A lot, after he went home on Saturday." She dissolved into giggles. "Once I had my bed to myself again!"

"Look at you, Ms. Rated PG!" Julie laughed along with her. "No, I think that's sweet, Peggy, but the ice must be broken now! Can't you ask him now that you had that night together?"

Peggy took a long sip of her tea, as good a way as any to dodge the question. When she swallowed and Julie was still looking expectantly at her, she said, "Yeah, I guess this is the twenty-first century and it's no good waiting for the guy to always ask."

"No offense, but he won't," Julie said. "It's not fair, but he thinks it'll end like it did with Alex."

"He knows I'm not Alex!"

"But he knows you were just as in love with Mark as she was."

"True," Peggy said. "Was."

"Doesn't matter, Peg. You remember just how she wrung him out. If you want him to know you're open to him, you'll really have to lay it bare."

Peggy burst into laughter. "God, I didn't tell you about that!"

"About what?"

"When we were changing clothes, to go to bed, he was in the bathroom. When I got my dress off, just for a second, I thought about telling him I was ready. That would've gotten the point across, wouldn't it?"

"And how!" Now Julie was laughing as well. When she saw Peggy had stopped laughing and had a thoughtful look on her face, she set her cup down. "Wait a minute, you're not seriously considering..."

"I've had about enough of being rated PG," Peggy declared.

"Peggy, come on!" Julie couldn't help laughing a bit again. "I mean, Valentine's Day is right around the corner."

"Exactly."

Peggy hadn't yet decided just what to do about cornering Chuck on Valentine's Day when he took care of that for her. She was just sitting down to dinner alone later that week when he called her. "Hey, sorry I've been a stranger," he said. "I really wanted to thank you again for a wonderful night."