The Other Side of the Fence

"I heard from my sister Sara for the first time in nearly a decade. She helped me put the feelings I was having in perspective. I'd never dealt with feelings like this before. I didn't know how to handle them until talking to her. I know what they mean now but they still scare me. They scare me because I'm afraid I came to terms with them too late and you've moved on."

His head came up and he looked at me expectantly but said nothing. Still, I met his eyes and held his stare.

I took a deep breath and said what I should have said three months ago, " I'm in love with you Dan."

I stood there waiting to be rejected. His response wasn't what I expected nor was it what I wanted. "Are you sure what you're feeling isn't simply because you can't stand to see me with Kelly?"

I shook my head no. "Oh trust me, it makes me feel sick seeing someone else on your arm, but I was feeling all these things before I ever knew she existed. You know I have problems communicating with my parents. You know how they are. I just needed my big sis to help me make sense of them. I love you, Daniel. I know I'm meant to be with you and only you."

"How do I know..." Dan started.

"Only you Dan," I interrupted as I walked towards him until we were only inches apart.

"I only want to be with you. I came here today to tell you that. I barely even remember these guys," I said as I pointed to the church referring to the bride and groom.

"I love you so much I was still willing to tell you that despite you being here with some super hot college girl. Reject me if you have to but don't doubt that," I begged him.

"It's about time," Dan said as he took me into his arms and leaned in to kiss me.

I melted into the kiss particularly when his tongue invaded my mouth. Our embrace seemed to go on forever. It was only when we realized the wedding party was exiting the church that we finally broke apart.

Dan brought each of his hands to my face and stared intently at me smiling as he said, " I love you too Cadence."

"What about Kelly?" I asked looking over his shoulder, scanning the crowd for the blondes red dress.

Dan laughed, "I love Kelly but not the way you think."

"I don't understand," I stated confused.

Dan looked over at the crowd spotting Kelly and waved her towards us.

"Like you, I haven't dated anyone else the entire time we've been apart. I was hurt and depressed when you dumped me. I knew there was no way I could hang around town and watch you go about dating other guys. Just the thought of it made me so angry and afraid of what I might do. So I called my Uncle Cam and explained the situation to him giving him as much information as I needed to get his approval. I then went to my parents and told them we'd broken up and I had to get out of town for a while for my mental health. I explained to them that Uncle Cam had agreed to let me stay with him and work in his garage. They were totally against it at first but once I made it clear that I was going whether they approved or not they relented."

Just then Kelly walked up looking all radiant and sexy. It was only then that I noticed her piercing blue eyes. I realized I was staring at her but couldn't stop myself. She just got more sexy and beautiful every time I saw her.

How could he possibly want me, I wondered to myself as I possessively wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head on his shoulder.

Kelly smiled as she noticed me marking my territory. What confused me, even more than her smile is that I saw no signs of her claws coming out.

"Cadence, this is my good friend Kelly," Dan said nodding towards the blonde, "Kelly I think you might have heard me mention Cadence a time or two."

Kelly laughed and shook her head, "Yeah, I might have heard the name a few thousand times or so."

They both seemed to notice the look of confusion on my face.

"Like I said," Dan started looking down at me, "I was hurt and depressed when I left town. One of Uncle Cam's conditions about me coming there was that I attend church with him. The had a group there that met a couple of times a week to help people deal with loss. Kelly lost her older brother sometime back and was attending the meetings to deal with the loss. She'd started attending the group with his late wife to help them both deal with his death. We met there and I became close friends with them, only close friends Cadence."

Kelly spoke up as he finished, "It's good to meet you Cadence. I've heard so much about you I feel like I know you already," she said before adding with a big smile, "I'm also glad to see you didn't run away this time."

"Yeah," I said as my face turned red, "that probably wasn't my best moment but I thought I was running into my ex with his new hot girlfriend and I panicked."

Kelly tilted her head before poking Dan in the shoulder, "Hear that? Your girl thinks I'm hot," she joked before once again smiling at me playfully.

I buried my head in the curve of Dan's neck in embarrassment as they both chuckled at me. Peaking out at her I thought to myself, well damn, you are.

When they'd finished having fun at my expense Kelly explained that her and her sister in law, who she always called Sis, had been attending the group for more than a year when Dan first started coming. She said they instantly took to him because of how crushed he seemed over losing me.

"We had people in the group that had loved ones or friends die that didn't take that loss as bad as Dan had taken losing you," she explained, "Then later after we got to know him it was Sis that suggested we see if we could help him out."

I looked at her confused and asked, "Help him how?"

She gave me a sly grin and responded, "Well, help him get you back of course."

Dan looked at me somewhat sheepishly and said, "Sis told me she thought me getting out of town was a good thing for a couple of reasons. One it kept me from ending up in jail because I'd beaten someone. And secondly, it left you wondering what I was up to which hopefully would keep me on your mind. At that point, we'd been broken up almost a month and Sis thought it a good idea that I make an appearance back in town with a pretty girl on my arm."

Kelly cleared her throat.

"You mean a hot girl. At least according to your girlfriend, that is," she said winking at me.

Dan and Kelly laughed while I once again turned red. He then continued, "Sis thought it might make you start to realize what you'd lost. We'd come back every weekend we could and I'd spend time with my parents. Meanwhile, Kelly and I would make sure to be seen around town."

I tried to give him an evil look and punched his shoulder before grinning and saying, "You conned me!"

"What's that old saying? All's fair in love and war," he replied with a grin.

I laughed, "I'll have to meet this Sis someday and thank her for her deviousness."

Dan and Kelly exchanged a glance.

"It's still early, why don't we ride over there so we can introduce you," he said with a smile.

Kelly said, "Sure, Sis would have liked to be here to see you two get back together I'm sure. She couldn't though because of her little girl."

I told them it sounded great then called home and spoke to my sister Ann asking her to let Mom and Dad know that I'd gotten back together with Dan and that I would be home later tonight.

We made the nearly hour drive to the town Dan had been living in. On the way, he called Sis and let her know his good news and that she should expect us shortly for a visit so she could meet Cadence. The way he emphasized the word meet kind of threw me for a second but I let it go. We finally pulled up in front of a decent sized brick house with white trim and a bay window to one side. We got out of the car and walked up to the front door.

Before we could even knock, a tiny girl wearing a purple sundress and no shoes came running out of it yelling "Uncle Dan!" She then jumped up in his arms hugging his neck.

"Hey there Peanut," cooed Dan as he squeezed the little girl.

I then turned to look at the woman still standing at the front door. She had gotten older and maybe a touch heavier and her blonde hair was frosted at the ends with streaks of purple, but there was no doubt who it was.

"Sara?" I asked stunned.

Tears ran down her cheeks as she said, "Hey there Cady."

I ran to her and hugged her neck. She wrapped me in her arms and said, "I'm so glad you're here baby girl."

Tears running down my face I turned to Dan. Kelly was in the midst of taking CK from him.

"Sis huh," I said with my best fake frown.

The two of them laughed at me and Kelly said, "That is what we call her. We didn't lie to you."

Sara wrapped her arm back around me and chuckled adding, "Why don't we all go inside so we can explain things to you, Cady. It will also give you a chance to get acquainted with the niece named after you and Kelly."

I looked at the little girl who looked so much like her momma, and thus me. Her blonde hair and her petite frame coupled with her green eyes and little button nose left little doubt about who her mother was.

"CK," Sara said as Dan and Kelly walked towards us, "this is my little sister Cadence. She's the other aunt you were named after."

The little girl looked at me from Kelly's arms. She studied me carefully. Not really being cautious or shy, instead, she seemed she seemed to be deciding whether or not I was to be trusted.

"Where you been?" she asked in the direct way only a three-year-old could.

"Well," I started before pausing, not sure the best thing to tell her and also not being sure what she'd already been told, "Your Mom and I got separated. I got lost and couldn't find her. But your Uncle Dan and Aunt Kelly found me and brought me back to your Mom and so I could finally meet you."

After seeming to carefully consider my response a moment, a big smile lit up her face and she practically lunged for my arms and asked me, "You wanna go see my toys in my room?"

Her mother explained to her that the grownups needed to talk a bit first. Then she could take me to play in her room.

We spent the next three hours catching up. Me finding out what all had gone on with Sara, what we hadn't already covered in her phone call. Her asking questions about our parents and Ann. I also was getting to know Kelly more as well as learning about the tragic loss of her brother, the brother in law I never had the pleasure of meeting. I was somewhat tickled, and again a tiny bit jealous, to find out that my niece had routinely tried to play matchmaker between her Aunt Kelly and Uncle Dan. Her mother had finally had to sit her down and explain how Dan was in love with her Aunt Cadence and that if he could "find" her again, that he would be bringing her home to them. She also told the little girl that Dan wasn't exactly Kelly's type. I found that a bit hard to believe. Like I stated earlier, for a guy, you couldn't get much hotter than him.

Of course, my three months of frustration without any interest from the boys I went to school with and fretting over Dan's apparent new relationship was also a topic of discussion.

"Using Kelly as a decoy girlfriend was my idea, Cady, so don't blame anyone else for it. Once I got to know Dan and realized where he was from and who it was he was talking about having dated I was elated. Once he'd described what had happened I pretty much knew what you'd been going through when you decided to break up with him. The upbringing we received while good in a few aspects left us ill-prepared in others."

I nodded my head in approval and said, "Yeah I kind of figured that part out on my own. As shortchanged as you and I have been in certain areas it's done a number on Ann. She's bought their teaching hook, line, and sinker. One day it's likely to hit her hard."

"I don't have a great deal of pity for Ann," Sara stated, "she had the same chance to figure things out that we've had. Plus she had the added benefit of me tracking her down at school and trying to talk sense to her in a loving way. Instead, she told Mom and Dad who reported me to the school and also had a restraining order placed on me so I could no longer contact her."

"She lied to me then. I used to beg her to look for you but she said you didn't go to school there anymore and she never saw you."

Sara frowned and shrugged her shoulders, "That's the way she is Cady. She resented me growing up and was just waiting for me to stumble so she could step in and fill my role in our parent's eyes. I tried with her but I never really had any real hope that it would work. I knew you were different though. I knew that you, like me, were hungry to be able to live a life outside their crazy rules."

She paused and then said, "There's only one thing I didn't count on in my little plan to get you to realize your love for Dan. For the life of me, I can't figure out why you weren't flooded with dating opportunities once word got out that you and Dan were no longer together. Especially considering that Dan was no longer in town to pose a threat to anyone."

"There's no accounting for poor taste," Dan said quickly while exchanging a look with Kelly who seemed to redden a bit at his glance.

I wondered, what's up with that? I saw that Sara seemed to have noticed as well.

I was sidetracked from my thoughts when Dan quickly added, "I mean Cadence was easily the hottest girl in her class if not the entire school. I don't know what those losers were thinking."

I was caught up in the moment of Dan describing me in such a flattering way. I noticed Sara though seemed to be focusing on the way neither Dan nor Kelly seemed capable of meeting her eyes.

Kelly took that moment to grab her purse and announce she was heading out back for a smoke.

"Hey CK, you want to take me and Aunt Cadence to your room so we can play awhile before we eat?" Dan quickly said.

My tiny little niece was only too eager to agree, grabbing my hand and saying, "Mone Aunt Cady, we go play."

So Dan and I spent slightly more than an hour playing with CK. She was full of energy and like most kids that age unable to settle on one toy for more than a few minutes at a time. Despite never having been around any young kids myself I instantly took to my duties as an Aunt. I even took the time to wonder if Dan and I might have one of two kids someday.

Eventually, Sara knocked on the door frame and announced it was time to eat.

"Cady can you help CK wash her hands in the hall bath? Dan, I need you outside to help with something a minute."

I grabbed my niece's hand and led her to the restroom where we proceeded to wash our hands. When we'd finished, I led her through the living area to the dining room where Kelly was setting the table.

"Where are Sara and Dan?" I asked Kelly.

She looked up a bit surprised then seemed to recover and say, "Sis needed him to move something in the backyard. Could you help CK up to the table and keep an eye on her while I bring the food in?"

Once I had my niece settled into her booster seat I sat next to her. We watched Kelly as she brought everything to the table.

"So do you live here with Sara and CK?" I asked.

She sat down across from me and said, "Yeah. My parents divorced about seven or eight years ago. I chose to live with my Mom while Ryan stayed here to finish college. He and I were always close despite our age difference. He was my big brother and always looked out for me."

"Back to your original question though, I never got along well with my Dad. Once I came back from Ryan's funeral though and got to spend a lot of time with CK and Sis, I fell in love with the two of them. I told my Mom I wanted to do my grieving here so I could get to know my niece."

"How's that going?" I asked, "Your grieving I mean."

She took a deep breath and assured me, "It's a process. I still have days where I feel melancholy about it. I started smoking as an act of rebellion when I was a young teen but stopped when I was about seventeen. I got so stressed after Ryan died I picked the bad habit up again I'm sure you've noticed. I guess I need to stop soon."

"What was Sara having him move out there, a tree?" I joked, "they've been out there for a good while now."

Kelly quickly jumped up and said, "I'll go see what the hold up is. You keep an eye on our namesake."

I couldn't help but watch her taut backside as she walked away. In just a couple of minutes they were all back inside.

"Let's eat," said Sis.

The meal seemed to go quickly with everyone talked out after the long day, at least it seemed that way to me. Kelly and I spent time seeing to it that CK ate her fill while Sara and Dan ate quietly.

When we were done Sara asked me to help get my niece ready for bed and get her tucked in. Kelly said she was going to go out for a cigarette before bed. Dan kissed CK goodnight and told me he'd wait for me in the car which I thought was a bit strange but said okay.

Sara and I got the little tyke in her pj's and settled into bed before she started to beg for me to spend the night with her. Her Mom explained I couldn't tonight as I had to get back to where I lived so I could continue getting ready for school.

"I'll tell you what. If it's okay with your Mom and you're a good girl between now and then, I'll try to spend the night with you next weekend." I told her.

Sara gave me a questioning look but then said that would be fine. This seemed to placate CK. I kissed her forehead goodnight and told her I'd see her next week. Sara told her she was going to see me out but would be back in shortly to read her a book before bed.

We left the room and closed her door then walked into the front entry. Sara stopped me there with a pained look on her face.

"I have to tell you something that I didn't find out till about an hour or so ago. First, I always felt the use of Kelly as a faux girlfriend for Dan was a necessity in getting you to admit your true feelings for him. However, that was the only dishonesty I thought was necessary to make it happen. At worst I thought we may have to have him kiss her in front of you."

I didn't have to tell her how much I disliked that possibility. She could see it on my face.

"I know, I know," she added quickly, "thankfully we never chose to go that far. However earlier during our conversation about your lack of dating prospects, I noticed a look between Dan and Kelly that fed into some suspicions I'd been having."

I shook my head yeah, "Now that you mention it I noticed that too."

"Yeah, well while you and Dan were playing with the runt in her room I cornered my dear sister in law out back while she was attempting to give herself cancer and asked her about it. She's never been one to lie to my face so after some goading she confirmed my suspicions. I've got to warn you, you may not be really happy with what I'm about to tell you. I just hope you'll be levelheaded and give yourself some time to decide what you think about it before doing anything rash."

I took a deep breath, let it out and said, "Okay, let's hear it."

"It seems the love of your life wasn't content to let you go on any dates while you guys were apart. Kelly admitted and he later confirmed to me when he was supposedly helping me in the backyard, that he'd had his friend Alan put the word out at school and around town that Dan was fine with anyone asking you out. If they did though they would have to make a choice if they really wanted to date you. The choice was that they could either have a date with you, or they could have their teeth, but they couldn't have both."

I just hung my head and shook it with a slight grin on my face. That was such a Dan thing to do. I was amazed it had never occurred to me.

"There's more," Sara added, "there was one guy who had graduated a couple of years ahead of you that fancied himself to be quite tough as well. He made it known that he was going to ask you out and that he wasn't the least bit afraid of Dan's threats. Before he could though he showed up one Saturday night at the local hospital severely beaten and missing all his teeth. His jaw was broken and had to be wired shut. He claimed the injuries were the result of a four-wheeler accident. The cops didn't buy it but with nothing else to go on and him not cooperating they let it go and didn't investigate any further."