ERIC WESTIN'S APARTMENT
A pair of long-stemmed silver candles
burn brightly in the center of the small dining table, surrounded by the
makings of a sumptuous Christmas feast.
"Thank God for catering services,"
Diane says
as she slips into one of the high-backed chairs. "I think I
would've killed all three of us if I'd even tried to cook something like
this."
"Yeah, I don't think I would have
been much of a help," Eric agrees.
He surveys the meal laid out before
them. "I don't think the two of us and Samantha
are going to be able to
finish all of this."
"Leftovers are a good thing."
He flashes her a smile, all dimples
and sparkling white teeth. "How domestic of you."
"That's me, June Cleaver." She scoops
up a forkful of mashed potatoes from the plate in front of Samantha. "C'mon,
baby, dig in."
Samantha eagerly eats up the potatoes,
then takes the fork from Diane.
"Ooh, big girl. Guess you can take
care of yourself, huh?"
The little girl responds with an
exaggerated nod and a broad smile.
"She really is adorable," Eric says
after downing a hearty gulp of wine.
"Yeah, she is. I'm so glad I have
her back. You worked wonders in that courtroom."
"That's what you hired me for, isn't
it?"
"Of course. Well ... that and some
other incredible talents." She offers him a wink.
He doesn't accept it too easily.
"Diane, I'm fine with whatever is going on between us, but we really need
to keep it separate from my professional life and from your case. Being
involved with a client is not looked upon so favorably."
"I can handle that," she says, suddenly
very defensive. "No problem. But seriously, you didn't have anyone better
to hang out with on Christmas day than me?"
"I prefer a low-key kind of holiday.
I'm too busy to fly back to Minnesota to be with my family, anyway. A nice,
quiet celebration was just what I needed."
"I don't know that I do 'nice' or
'quiet' so well."
"You know what I mean," he says,
amused by her self-awareness. "I'd rather have a more private type of Christmas."
"Now, 'private' -- that I
can handle." Her trademark smirk returns. "Just wait til later."
"I can hardly wait ... but what about
you? What would you have done if we didn't have plans today?"
"I dunno," Diane shrugs. "Maybe nothing.
The holidays kinda bum me out, to tell the truth. They weren't much fun
when I was growing up. I don't really have any desire to go spend time
with my family and relive all that crap."
Eric pauses to take a few bites of
the food and then asks, "Are you going to look for a place out here? You
can't go on living in the hotel much longer."
"I've been scouting out a few places,"
she says. "I've gotta look for a job, too. I was thinking of scoping out
Seattle for something, after this custody thing gets settled."
"So you're not going to go back to
Los Angeles?"
"No way," she says after a too-long
pause. "There's nothing left for me there anymore."
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