Pieces of Daniel

The section below follows, Daniel Pasternak, a character from Pale White Horse. Daniel, a warm, gentle, and loving man, has always had so much to give but is destined never to receive.

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Daniel’s head was swimming in thoughts as he drove away from Susan’s place. Seeing Jenny at the party after so many months…she had changed. She was a woman. A woman he knew but now full of unexpected surprises. 

Susan’s call for a drive home from the party couldn’t have come at a better time. He’d never known a woman with so much “car trouble.” But he’d rather her call than need to be picked up from the police station. As soon as Susan was through her door, Daniel was back to thinking about Jenny.  

Daniel couldn’t tell where Jenny was going with her questions at the office. When she asked if he was in a relationship, his first thought was to wonder if she was interested, which seemed wrong. They were friends… they were practically family. She must be asking for someone else. Her questions about his “type” appeared to confirm that conclusion, but when Daniel asked her why she was so curious, she didn’t say she would fix him up. She said she was thinking to herself, “how could he not be in a relationship.”  

Is she into me? Or am I looking for things that aren’t there? 

She said she thought he was intelligent, extremely attractive, and a great guy. She was getting goosebumps right after claiming it was hot in the office. Does someone who is trying to fix up a friend do that?

When Jenny said she wasn’t cold and what she thought of him… Daniel forgot where he was and what he was doing. He didn’t even realize he had put his hand up to brush the stray lock of hair from her face until the sound of his phone brought him back to the moment. Impeccable timing, Susan. He didn’t know if he was thankful or upset. 

They’d known each other for so long. He was twenty-nine years older than Jenny. Did it matter? Maybe it did. She was twenty, almost twenty-one. She was intelligent, strong-willed, and not to be taken advantage of, even though her parents often expected her to submit to their wishes.

Daniel knew there wasn’t a clear answer or at least one he could find in his current state of mind. Standing underneath the maple tree at the center of the circular driveway, watching her orchestrate the various pieces of the dinner party, he saw her as a woman for the first time. 

He tried to curb his thoughts. She’s grown up, he thought to himself while still thinking of the series of curves from her shoulders to her calves. He couldn’t stop the attraction. The question was, would he act on it? Should he?

There was time to mull it over, he thought to himself as he pulled into the driveway. He walked up the steps of the wrap-around deck and unlocked the front door. 

Daniel’s mind was heavy with conflict. He wanted to get a drink, stare off into the night, then pass out listening to the sounds of the waves. He hoped tomorrow would offer more clarity. He put his things down, poured a drink, and stepped out the back door. The soft breeze, clear sky, and smell of the sea started to put him at ease as he made his way to the benches at the end of the walkway.

The moonless night was playing tricks on him. It almost looked like someone was lying down…or was someone lying down?

“Jenny?”