“Ms. Lance!”
Dinah stops in her flight across the large foyer and waits for Jarvis to catch up to her, a large flat white box in his arms.
“It’s arrived.”
Dinah smiled and flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder as she pulled the top off. Her smile broadened when she saw the contents. Running her hand over them, her large engagement ring sparkling in the light.
“It’s satisfactory? Or shall I have it returned?”
“It’s perfect!” Dinah holds up the black leather top holding it up before placing it back into the box.
“Thanks Jarvis.”
He makes a little bow as she slips the lid back on the box.
“I’ll take it to your room.”
“Thank you.” Dinah said before turning.
“You’re going out?”
Dinah stopped and looked at him, her mind racing with sarcastic things to say followed by “Here’s your sign” but she fought it down not wanting another lecture from Tony about Jarvis’ pride.
“Yes, I’ll be back by dinner time.” She said as she opened the foyer closet and pulled out her motorcycle jacket and helmet. She stuffed her arms in the jacket and zipped it up over her cheap white baby-t with the words:
She smiled, she’d picked it up off of a corner vendor a day after Tony was released from the hospital and she loved to wear it, rather mockingly, around.
“Ms. Lance.”
“Hmm…yes Jarvis?” She asked as she took out her pony tail and stuffed her hair up into her helmet, setting it over her head. Reaching into the closet she pulled out a small white box tied with gold and red ribbon.
“What shall I do with Mia and Roy?”
Dinah paused, her hand on the door.
“I…I don’t know.” She said quickly as she left.
Placing the box gently in a sleek side bag she straddled the bike outside and took off towards the Stark Buildings reflecting on her activities yesterday.
_________________________
Dinah sat on the floor, her right leg stretched out in front of her, her left tucked up under her as she rested her chin on her knee. CD cases littered the floor around her as she watched her mother change a CD.
“Oh...you’re going to love this one.” She said as she clicked the cover down.
Dinah sighed and shifted, her cheek now on her knee, a CD case clicked against another one and Dinah put her hand down, shuffling them around looking at them listlessly. They’d been at it for hours.
“Mom, how did you get so many of them? I don’t ever remember you buying them.”
Diana Lance leaned back and picked up the CD Player’s remote control.
“I can’t use records all my life and Tapes seem so...primitive. So I started buying them a year ago, after you moved to New York. Now I’m so glad I did.”
The music strained from the player softly, the piano notes drifting lazily across the room as a rich voice seemed to caress the words.
Unforgettable, thats what you are
Unforgettable though near or far
Like a song of love that clings to me
How the thought of you does things to me
Never before has someone been more
Unforgettable in every way
And forever more, thats how youll stay
Thats why, darling, its incredible
That someone so unforgettable
Thinks that I am unforgettable too
Dinah watched as her mother closed her eyes and swayed gently back and forth to the Nat King Cole song. She bit her lip. it had been her parents favorite song. She remembered coming home from school and having it playing softly in the background as her father kissed her mother gently on the cheek.
Would she ever have that with Tony? The sweet feeling of love that never died, even as the ages wore on?
Unforgettable in every way
And forever more, thats how youll stay
Thats why, darling, its incredible
That someone so unforgettable
Thinks that I am unforgettable too
“Dinah..?”
Dinah lifted her head.
“Honey..you need a song. Or at least two or three to take back to Tony..”
Dinah sighed, she’d come back to Gotham to go over First Dance songs with her mother. Both of them setting aside their oft fought about differences. It felt like the quiet between inevitable storms.
“It’s not that big a deal.”
“Of course it is. You need to start planning the wedding. It’s not going to come together on it’s own.”
“I don’t think it’s on Tony’s mind right now.”
Her mother paused slightly as she shuffled through some CD’s, both of them fell silent. They knew that bringing up why Tony didn’t seem interested would only start the fights again. Dinah stared at her Mother as the older woman suddenly became intent on reading the back of a CD.
Bringing it up would only bring up the Hero argument.
Dinah rested her forehead on her knee.
“Have you decided on who’ll walk you down the aisle and dance with you? Jay or Ted?”
Dinah’s mouth twisted slightly.
“Well..Jay walking me down the aisle would be appropriate and then have Ted dance with me. But Ted is so much more protective. So I thought, maybe both of them? One on each side, either behind me or in front of me…” Dinah trailed off.
Mrs. Lance put the CD’s down and looked at Dinah sadly.
“You’re Father would have liked that.”
Dinah nodded.
“OH! Here’s a lovely song…”
She clicked a few buttons and beautiful sweeping piano and violin floated from the speakers.
They try to tell us were too young
Too young to really be in love
They say that loves a word
A word we’ve only heard
But cant begin to know the meaning of
And yet were not too young to know
This love will last though years may go
And then some day they may recall
We were not too young at all
The musical interlude came and Dinah looked to her mother noticing a quick movement of a hand over her eyes.
And yet were not too young to know
This love will last though years may go
And then some day they may recall
We were not too young at all
Dinah smiled gently.
“It’s beautiful..”
Diana Lance smiled.
“I think so too.”
Dinah stood and stretched.
“Have you been keeping track?”
“Yes…shall we burn them onto a CD?”
Dinah nodded and gather up the CD’s containing the favored tracks.
“Dinah…”
Dinah stopped and turned to her mother.
“Maybe you should remind him. I doubt if it’s been intentional.”
Dinah smiled and nodded.
“Maybe so.”
_________________________
Dinah leaned low over the handle bars as she sped through the slowly rebuilding city. Scaffolding lined the streets and cement dust covered the streets in gray powered.
She meant to remind him and hopefully her little box would help.
Reaching the buildings she parked the bike and grabbed the box before running up the steps.
“Afternoon Ms. Lance.” The Security guard greeted as she entered the building.
“Hello, Howard.” She waved as she breezed past him, headed for the receptionist desk.
“Ms. Lance.” The receptionist said formally as Dinah approached.
“Alice.” Dinah nodded to the 40ish woman. Taking off her helmet she handed it to Alice who took it and placed it under the desk as was her custom.
“Mr. Stark is in his lab.”
Dinah leaned on the tall marble ledge of the desk.
“Am I really so predictable”
Alice raised her eyebrow a slight smile playing on her stern lips.
“Only as much as every other person in love.”
Dinah smiled as she pushed away from the desk and walked quickly down the hallways and stairs before emerging into the Lab. She glanced through the glass observation windows noticing Tony’s profile in the computer room on the other side. She smiled and jogged over, unzipping her jacket so the writing on her T-Shirt showed she gently pushed open the door to the computer room picking up the end of a conversation.
"… his fiancé."
Dinah Leans over and wraps her arms around his shoulders and neck kissing Tony on the cheek as her blonde hair falls from her shoulders.
“Who’s fiancé? Anyone I’d know?” She asked before slipping into a chair next to him and looking through the window at the engineer’s below, careful to keep the small box discreetly in her lap.
