Intertwining
by Morgan
Chapter Thirty-Three
Sittin’ on the beach
the island king of love
deep in Fijian seas
deep in some blissful dream
where the goddess finally sleeps
in the lap of her lover
subdued in all her rage
and I am aglow with the taste
of the demons driven out
and happily replaced
with the presence of real love
the only one who saves
I wanna dance with you
I see a world where people live and die with grace
the karmic ocean dried up and leave no trace
I wanna dance with you
I see a sky full of the stars that change our minds
and lead us back to a world we would not face
the stillness in your eyes
convinces me that I
I don't know a thing
and I been around the world and I've
tasted all the wines
a half a billion times
came sickened to your shores
you show me what this life is for---Live, “Dance with You.”
Cupids and flowers and hearts. Romance and love. Hallmark. Surely, this could only mean one thing. Valentine’s Day must be right around the corner. The Philadelphia air was still trapped in that chilly state blossoming out of the end of winter with the spring breeze just tantalizingly out of reach. Love was in the air. Or rather the mass commercialism of a holiday created from the myth surrounding the bloody awful death of a Catholic priest whose very identity couldn't even be pinpointed. Clearly, a wonderful excuse to peddle boxes upon boxes of chocolate truffles. Nothing like sweet indulgences to amend for gory deaths in the name of religious sacrifice. Nathan watched ESPN intently; remote clutched in hand, eyes squinted furiously. He was feebly trying to tune out Haley’s passionate ramblings, which truth be told, he had never quite mastered. And he had a sneaking suspicion that she was perfectly aware that he was attempting this ill-conceived venture to ignore, only igniting a flame under her to talk louder and faster. Warily he snuck a glance out of the corner of his eye, snapping it quickly back to the television screen before he was caught red-handed. By his calculations, he only had a few precious seconds left before she pounced. Countdown in three, two, one. Boom.“Are you even listening to a word I’m saying Nathan?”“Of course I am,” he agreed quickly, making sure to keep his eyes averted.She scowled, hands on hips. “Yeah, sure. What was I talking about?” “Making plans for tonight, or the lack thereof.”
Defeated she dropped her shoulders, shaking her head at his confident posture, and sly smirk. “Ok, you’re good, I’ll give you that.”
Shrugging, he smiled. “Well, you are kind of loud, Hales.”
“I am not loud!”
Nathan simply raised one eyebrow and turned back towards the television. “Sure you aren’t.” After a beat, he spoke again, “So you don’t want to do anything tonight? I could probably still get us reservations at some restaurant.”
“Ooh, that’s sounds exciting,” she shot back sarcastically.“Well, you sure do seem to like to eat these days,” he teased straight-faced.With wide, indignant eyes, she shoved at his shoulder, “Hey, eating for two here buddy.”“So was there a reason for this sudden anti-Valentine’s day outrage?”“I just think it’s a highly commercialized excuse. I mean just look at that diamond commercial. The guy takes her to Rome and shouts that he loves her for the world to hear, which just embarrasses the hell out of our 30-second spot heroine, until Prince Charming presents her with a diamond ring. Then everything is just fine and dandy. You shouldn’t be able to buy love.”“Haley, you cried the last time you saw that commercial.”“Well, it was sad. I mean those pigeons were perfectly content, and then the shouting caused them to fly away. They were probably scared and didn’t know what to do.”“You cried for the pigeons?”“Maybe.”Nathan rested his head in his hands bemusedly. “Pregnancy sure is fun.”“You’re not the one who has to deal with stretch marks, swollen ankles, morning sickness, and smartass husbands,” she retorted.“What can I say? It’s a gift?” Nathan drawled, as he lounged back against the couch.“You’re lucky I put up with you.”“Put up with me?” He inched closer to her, until he was practically on top of her, his shadow falling over her. “You can’t resist me.”“Oh really, is that so?” She ran a finger lightly tracing his jaw line.“It is.”“You must have me confused with someone else. A lot of someone else’s in fact. Giggling girls who sneak past hotel security guards, swooning over your every word.”“Ahh, yes. I’m familiar with these banshees of which you speak. But alas, I doth believe that is you, Madam, of which I speak.”“Perhaps you have it the other way around. Perhaps it is you that can’t resist me.”Nathan smiled slightly, and tilted his head. “Never said I could.”Haley rolled her eyes quickly, and then narrowed them suddenly in thought. “What day is it?”“It’s Valentine’s Day. Remember? Evil holiday of love?”“No, I mean what day of the week is it?”“It’s Wednesday, why?” Suddenly he met her wide eyes. “Oh.” Glancing over at the clock, he stood up to gather her coat. “If we leave right now, we’ll only be a few minutes late.”“That’ll just be the excuse they’re looking for to kick us out,” she muttered as she slipped her arms into the outstretched coat.“You’d be the only one they’d be kicking out. I had no part in your shenanigans.” He jabs the elevator button quickly.“And you’d get to stay and what---coach some other women?”“They might be more cooperative than you.”Two months earlier….A suspiciously cheerful woman in her mid-forties stood in the midst of the assembled couples, her hair in a neat blond bob, clipboard and pen in hand. She took stock of the men and women before her like a general assessing the troops. “Welcome, everyone to the Wednesday night Lamaze class. I know that some of you are old hats at this. But we’re just going to review some of the basics for those of us that are new. But first let me just make sure that all of you are here.” One by one she called the couples’ names, crossing them off as she went. “Let’s see here, Scott, Nathan and Haley?” “Here,” Haley answered from her spot to the woman’s left.
“Well, I only see one Scott. Where’s your husband, Mrs. Scott?”
“You can call me Haley and he’s at work.”
One of the other women, much further along into her pregnancy than Haley, shot her a sickly sweet smile. A look of understanding pity.
Haley clenched her jaw, and returned her smile with underlying malice.
“Roger here had a very important meeting with a client. But he’s just so wonderful that he re-scheduled it so he could be here with me,” the woman gushed. “Isn’t he just wonderful.”
Haley looked behind the woman to see her dopey, bewildered husband. “Wonderful.”
“Now tell me, what is your husband doing tonight?”
Flashing her a tight smile, she met the woman’s eyes head on. “Playing the Mavericks at the Wachovia Center,” she stated matter-of-factly. “The Mavericks?” the woman repeated confused.
“Dallas’s basketball team,” Haley explained as if to a small child.
“So your husband is on a basketball team.” Boy, nothing got past this lady.
“Yes, yes he is.”
“Wait, what did you say your last name was?”
“Scott.”
“You don’t mean..”
Haley just nodded. “You mean…”
Again Haley simply nodded. “You’re married to Nathan Scott? The Nathan Scott?”
Groaning inwardly, she glanced around the room. She just knew this whole Lamaze thing hadn’t been a good idea. “Well, I just prefer to call him Nathan but yes.” Casting an overly dramatic sneaky look back at Roger, husband of glory, the woman leaned closer to Haley. “Can I just tell you that your husband has a great tushie?"
“Umm…thanks.”
Haley was left to fend for herself among piranha-like pregnant women and their husbands, boyfriends, or stand-in coaches, for another twenty minutes. Even after listening to Marge, the class director’s exuberant explanation, Haley still wasn’t quite sure she understood exactly how all this breathing was going to help her give birth in any way shape or form. Then again, Haley figured that this part of the class had probably been covered when she had been making up life stories for some of the other couples in the class. A private game she found was not nearly as entertaining as it was with Nathan. Reluctantly she was forced to engage in conversation with some of the other women, or rather she listened, and nodded while they gushed. Haley fervently prayed that she wasn’t this annoying. Although, the wild swing of her hormones weren’t exactly helping with her patience tonight. Absent-mindedly, she continued to nod at one of the other women when her face brightened.
Nathan dressed in jeans, a gray sweater, and a black Wake Forest baseball cap settled in behind her. Briefly he kissed her on the mouth, before pulling away with a small smile. “Hey, baby. Sorry I’m so late, but ESPN wanted to interview.”
“Yeah, yeah. I bet that’s what you tell all the girls.”
“So what did I miss?”
“Well, let’s see. Roger wins the husband-of –the-year award for canceling his meeting to be here for this life-changing event, Marge needs to be on elephant tranquilizers because she’s way too fucking perky, Betty Sue thinks Jim Bob is ‘such a wonderful bonder with the children’,” Haley rattled off exasperatedly. “Oh, and A-plus on the ass, Nathan Scott.”
Nathan chuckled, and pulled her back closer to him. “Sounds like you’ve been having fun.”
“Oh, a blast. So how’d you do tonight?”
“We won.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks. So how does this whole thing work?”
“Well, as far as I can tell, I breathe weirdly. And you---help me breathe. Or at least just keep me amused.”
“So, you say Roger gets husband-of-the-year award. I bet he drives a white Cadillac.”
Haley smiled, and chimed in, “And he sells pencils.”
Nathan continued, “But only Ticonderoga pencils because they are the Cadillac of writing utensils.”
Laughing to themselves, they continued this, until Marge passed by them to check on their progress, admonishing them with pursed lips. “Let’s focus, Scotts!” she sing-songed.
Nathan and Haley averted their eyes, and bit back guilty smiles, choking down their laughter.
Present day…
Resting one hand lightly on the steering wheel, Nathan intertwined his other with Haley’s. “You know, we could just do a private Lamaze session. We could afford it. Then we wouldn’t have to deal with this.”
“What? Like, Marge, calling us the Scotts as if we were some sort of two-headed monster?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, what fun would that be? Besides, if it was just the instructor and us we’d have to actually pay attention. And I swear one of these nights, if Betty Sue keeps breathing so loudly, our baby’s going to come out right then and there just to check out what all the ruckus is about.”
“So we basically just go to amuse ourselves.”
Haley thought about this for a second, “Umm,…pretty much…yea.” “Ok,” he smiled at her, his blue eyes twinkling. After a few minutes, he glanced over at her. “Haley, I know you're against Valentine’s Day and all that. But how would you feel about dinner at Le Bec-Fin tonight? I mean, we do have to eat and all.”
Haley turned to him suddenly with awestruck eyes, and a sharp intake of breath. “You got us reservations at Le Bec-Fin? But the waiting list for that place is months long!”
Shrugging modestly, Nathan smiled. “Well, I have to throw my money and good looks around somewhere. What better use than on my favorite person.”
Blushing, Haley matched his grin, “Well, I guess we do have to eat. But first we must go master our breathing.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Hey you, you're a child in my head
You haven't walked yet
Your first words have yet to be said
But I swear you'll be blessed
I know you're still just a dream
your eyes might be green
Or the bluest that I've ever seen
Anyway you'll be blessed
And you, you'll be blessed
You'll have the best
I promise you that
I'll pick a star from the sky
Pull your name from a hat
I promise you that, promise you that, promise you that
You'll be blessed
I need you before I'm too old
To have and to hold
To walk with you and watch you grow
And know that you're blessed
Childhood memories of spring always seemed to smell a bit sweeter than the present-day reality. The city had its perks, its advantages to be sure, but the odors of urban life in the growing months weren’t one of them to be sure. Absence always makes the heart grow fonder. Wildflowers blooming haphazardly, unplanned. Emerald green grass thick with sunny dandelions swaying in the misty breeze. Even the absence of manure and damp hay ached sometimes. The reality of spring these days, life sizzling on the scorching pavement, the sweat of the masses was dismal sometimes.“April is the cruelest month. At least that’s what Eliot said. And I’m inclined to agree with him,” Haley said from her perch on the couch.“I’m the one doing all the work over here, Haley. I don’t know what you’re complaining about,” Nathan replied, his finger smudged with pencil lead. Calculator poised in hand, he sat surrounded by the paper trail of their life.Barely making an effort to lift her head off the pillow, she shrugged her shoulders. “I organized all the receipts into alphabetical order by type of purchase, and gathered the statements of your charitable contributions, and income statements.”“Yeah, but you enjoy organizing. It’s like chocolate to you. You know, you scare me sometimes. It’s just not right for one person to be so organized.”“Yeah, yeah. Stop whining. If you didn’t want me to use you to do our income tax return you shouldn’t have gotten your degree in finance. Besides, you’re the only one with much of an actual income. I’m getting almost all the money I made at the law firm over the summer back.”Groaning, Nathan turned back to the paper work, his eyes blurring. “Ugh, I don’t wanna.”“The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. Mark Twain,” Haley chimed in helpfully. Shooting Nathan a gleefully wicked smile at his agony. Settling deeper into the lush cushions of the couch, she felt herself grow heavy with sleep. The urgent thrust of the calculator into her palm startled her out of her reverie. “Here, make yourself useful and add this column of numbers.”“I resent that implication. I am very useful,” Haley retorted, punching in the numbers forcefully.“All you’ve done all afternoon is lay there and bother me.”“I know,” Haley smiled cheekily. “I’m awfully good at it, aren’t I?”“A champion.” Rolling his neck to ease the tension locked in his muscles, he notices her drooping eyes. “You tired?” Trying feebly to stifle a wide yawn, Haley chuckled, “I guess a little. I haven’t really been sleeping well lately.”
“Not feeling well?”
“No. I just really can’t get comfortable. I sleep on my stomach and I’m going to squash the baby. I sleep on my back and I feel like I’m being suffocated.”
Narrowing his eyes in confusion, Nathan tried to decipher her words. “Haley---you sleep on your side. You always have.”
“Well, yeah--- “ she trailed off softly.
“So, why can’t you just sleep on your side as usual?”
“The thing is, I usually sleep on my side…well, on you.”
“And?”
“And I don’t want to squash you.”
“Squash me?” Nathan questioned her with an upraised eyebrow and a smirk.
“I’m not exactly light as a feather,” Haley answered, blushing slightly.
“Haley, you weight 135 pounds. I bench almost twice that. I’m pretty sure you’re not going to squash me.”
“Yeah, but pretty much all of my weight gain is one large centralized location, just bearing down on your lungs.”
“Well, I guess if you wake up one morning and I’m not breathing you’ll know. I’ll go get the camera.”
“Why?”
“So you can take pictures so that Nathan, Jr. knows what his father looked like.”
Haley’s mouth dropped wide, a pink keyhole, her eyes still with shock. “Nathan!” she shouted appalled. “That’s horrible,” she glared at him. “You have to teach him all the fatherly things, like sports and fishing.”“I’m all over the sports thing. But I don’t even know how to fish. I’m not sure how I’m going to teach Nathan, Jr.”“And we are not naming our son, Nathan, Jr.” “I’m kidding,” he soothed, but she was having none of it.
“It’s not funny,” she pouted, arms crossed over her rounded stomach.
Biting his lip to stop smiling at her petulant face, he laid a hand over hers. “You’re right, it’s not. Not funny at all.”
“Apparently the baby didn’t think it was so funny either. Here feel, he’s kicking.”
“Ok, Nathan, Jr.…”
“We are not calling him Nathan, Jr. One of you is more than enough,” Haley interrupted.
“Excuse me, I’m trying to impart paternal wisdom to my son here.”
“Oh, you have paternal wisdom, now do you?”
“Yes, hush.”
“Anyway, yet-to-be named son who will not be called Nathan, Jr.”
“Thank you.”
“We should probably have a talk about your mother. Now I know she can be a bit intense sometimes what with all the classical music she makes you listen to, and she likes to read novels that are a thousand pages long and involve words I didn’t even know belonged to the English language just for fun. And sometimes I know she goes a little overboard with the alphabetical order, and she puts all your clothes in color-order according to sleeve length when you still think the sniff-test is a perfectly acceptable way to find something to wear. And overall, she’s sarcastic, and sometimes has a bad temper.
“I do not.”
“And she can be sort of weird, although she likes to refer to it as being quirky. But she’s pretty damn amazing. You really couldn’t ask for a better mother. We’re lucky to have her.”
Haley smiled, while she smoothed a hand through his dark locks. “We should name him.”
“Who?”
“The baby. Who else? We can’t just keep referring to him as the baby, or Nathan, Jr.”
“We still have over two months, Haley.”
“I know, but this will give him time to get used to his name.”
“Whatever you say,” Nathan agreed reluctantly, his brain still smarting from the beating inflicted by the tax return. “Alright let’s think of names…Andrew, no. Mark, eh. Jacob, maybe.”
“No, no. We’re naming our son. There has to be a little organization to the process,” Haley protested.
“Noo,” Nathan whined pitifully. “Not that evil word. Bad things happen when you organize.”
“Ok, well we’re going to be here another two hours if I attempt to get up, so let’s see I need the baby name book, two pads of paper, and some pens to write with,” Haley ordered rapidly.
Nathan’s face fell, his shoulders sagged in defeat. “You sure we can’t just call him Nathan, Jr.?”
“Go.”
“I’m going, I’m going.”
After Nathan returned, arms loaded with all the necessary supplies to combat the battle against naming the fruit of your loins, he settled back onto the couch with a weary glance at Haley. “Here, everything you asked for.”
“Alright,” she said, reaching clumsily for a pad of paper and a pen. “You read off the names, and I’ll write down the ones we like. Alright, let’s start at the A’s.”
Nathan thumbed through the book, mentally calculating the time it would take to work their way through the alphabet. And he sighed again. Let’s see A. Aaron, no. Abbas, definitely not. Abbott, that’s a negative. Abner. Who names their kid Abner? I’d like my son to not get beat up….Later…M…Mackenzie. Oh, look here. It means “the son of the handsome one.” I think that’s rather appropriate, don’t you?”“Find me the name that means son of the woman who has to put up with the cocky man, and then we’ll talk.”“Mark, maybe. Marlon, Marshall, Martin, Marv. No, no, no, and no.”Still Later….“N…Nabil, Nalu, Nardo, Nasir. I’m gonna go with no to all the above. Nathan…” he paused, and smirked. “Means gift from God,” seeing Haley’s glare, he turned the page. “Alright, moving right along. I want to see what your name means,” flipping to the second-half of the book, he thumbed through the girls’ names until he came to the appropriate page, reading the entry for ‘Haley’ he began to laugh uproariously. “Yeah, yeah,” Haley replied, fully aware of the comical meaning of her name.”
“I’m sorry. But, field of hay?”
“Yes. I am a field of hay. Didn’t you know that?”
“Back to the salt mine. Oh here’s a good one. Nahari, meaning my nostrils, hot, anger. Hmm. Or Nefertum, “God worshipped in Memphis.” And with that Nathan broke out into song. “Put on my blue suede shoes. And I boarded the plane. Touched down in the land of the Delta Blue. In the middle of the pouring rain.”
“And you say I’m weird.”
Nathan continued with his musical rendition enthusiastically. “WC Handy, won't you look down over me. Cause I've got a first class ticket. And I'm as blue as a boy can be. Walking in Memphis. Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale. Walking in Memphis. Do I really feel the way I feel.”
“Oh, that brings back elementary school memories. I used to think Brooke and Peyton’s version was the worst, but yours definitely takes the cake.”
“I resent that.”
“That was quite possibly even worse than the screeching you do to the country station. Boy, do I love Southern boys and their country.”
“I do not screech. I accompany the music.”
“Off-key.”
“Eh, potatoes, potahtoes.”
“Alright, Sinatra, let’s get back to the task at hand.”
Hours later….
Z…Zekediah, Zelig, Zev, Zion, Ziv, Zoltan. And we’re done. Finally,” Nathan snapped the book shut with an air of finality.
“Not quite. Now we have to eliminate some of the names. Then we’ll both write down our top five.”
“We could just call him Hey-you!”
After a few minutes of critically weeding through the names, they were left with only ten they could both agree on.
“Well, we’ve agreed that his middle name is going to start with N. So that rules out a first name that starts with an N. Way too cutesy.”
“Yes, no cutesy children.”
“Alright, write down your top pick, and I’ll write down mine and we’ll switch.”
Reading the names written on the exchanged slips of paper, they began to laugh simultaneously. “Isn’t that the first name we liked?”
“Great minds think alike.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line
I find it very, very easy to be true
I find myself alone when each day is through
Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you
Because you're mine, I walk the line
As sure as night is dark and day is light
I keep you on my mind both day and night
And happiness I've known proves that it's right
Because you're mine, I walk the line
You've got a way to keep me on your side
You give me cause for love that I can't hide
For you I know I'd even try to turn the tide
Because you're mine, I walk the line
I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line---Johnny Cash, “I Walk the Line.”
The ceremony was exactly five days away. By the grace of God, or rather by the grace of her constantly churning brain she had managed to complete her final semester-long research paper a full two weeks ahead of the due date. An accomplishment at which he had simply stared and then remarked monotonously, “You are such an overachiever.” Foresight and forbearance had given her the good sense to take two classes over the winter holiday, and thus she had the entire last semester to wring out one kickass paper, if she did say so herself. Now all she had to do was wait until Saturday. She seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. Waiting. Waiting for the graduation ceremony. Waiting to receive her cap and gown. Granted, she had received it rather rapidly, but a quick phone call to the professor in charge of organizing the robes was enough to assure anyone that a small was indeed not going to be big enough for her on this occasion. Waiting for the baby to be born. Waiting to take the bar exam, which in a fabulous turn of events would be just barely two weeks after she had given birth. Waiting for Nathan to get off the phone. Turns out she was a much more patient person than she had anticipated originally. After a half hour conversation with the mystery person on the other end that had consisted of “Yes', no's, maybe's, and uh-huh's, Nathan placed the phone back into the receiver and walked into the living room.
“So who was on the phone?” Haley asked curiously.
Nathan seemed to have grown suddenly concerned with his hair, furrowing his forehead, shuffling his feet almost imperceptibly, and smoothing his dark locks with reckless abandon as he always did when put on the spot. “Um..”
“What your Dad, my Dad, some strange woman saying she’s carrying your child?” Haley probed him jokingly for a hint.
“The scout for the Mavericks actually.”
“Oh. Okay. What did he want?”
“Me,” he stated simply. “This isn’t the first time someone from their office has called me. They’ve just gotten more persistent now that the summer months are coming up, and some big trades are in the works.”
“So why haven’t you said anything until now?”
“You remember the first night of Lamaze class when I said I was late because ESPN was doing an interview?” Nathan questioned her quietly.
“Yes…”
“Well, that wasn’t entirely true. I mean, ESPN, did do an interview. But afterwards walking back into the locker room, the Mavericks scout basically cornered me and started spouting all these facts and figures on why I should come play for them.”
“And what did you say to him?”
“I turned him down. I’ve turned him down every time since.”
“Have you sat down with the guy, or anyone from the Mavericks to really discuss your options?"
“Not really. I’ve just been blowing the guy off, and that one time I did see him face-to-face was probably no more than five minutes long, it just seemed kind of tacky to be talking about going to another team in your home arena. But he’s just been getting pushier and pushier.”
Haley thought about this, carefully formulating her words, “Do you want to go to Dallas?”
“What?”
“Do you want to play for Dallas?” she clarified.
“No. I mean---I don’t know. I don’t really know that much about the city, or the franchise. Besides, I can’t you...”
Haley cut him off, “Just for two seconds, don’t worry about me. I’ll figure something out. I’m sure they need lawyers in Dallas, too.”
“But what about…”
“He won’t even be a year old. It’s not like he’ll have gotten attached to this city.”
Nathan laughed harshly, “It sounds like you’re pushing for me to go to Dallas, too.”
“No, I’m not pushing for anything. If we were at a different stage in our lives, for instance, if I had a job here, and our son had made friends here, then my answer might be different. But we’re not. It’s okay for you to be a little selfish about this. If you meet with the guys from the Mavericks and decide that you don’t want to play with them. That’s the key---you don’t want to play with them. Not that you think it’s the best decision for everybody else. Then fine. No harm, no foul. But I just really think you should get all the facts, really consider this option before you dismiss it out-of-hand.”
Nathan sighed, as he took in her words. Haley noticed he had a small, white index card clutched in his left hand crushed nearly invisibly by now. “Is that the guy’s phone number?”
“Yeah.”
Haley simply nodded.
Taking a deep breath, Nathan returned to the phone, contemplating the scrawled digits for a few moments, before hearing the familiar dial tone. After reaching a pert receptionist, he began to speak, “Hi, this is Nathan Scott. I was wondering if I could speak with Tim Parker?”
“Sure, I’ll connect you to him.”
After a short interlude of elevator music, a voice that reminded Nathan of late-night motivational speakers overtook the line, “Nathan, I’m so glad to hear that you’re reconsidering our offer. I just know that---“
“Nothing’s final. I just wanted to know if we could set-up a face-to-face meeting sometime this week, go over everything. Make sure I understand everything you’re offering me. Meet the coaches and some of the team.”
Tim Parker paused for a moment, obviously collecting his thoughts; he wanted to make sure he said everything perfectly. Nathan Scott was a big score for any franchise, and an opportunity to lure him to Dallas was not to be taken lightly, “I’m really eager to meet with you Nathan but this week is very busy for me. I could meet you on Saturday.”
“Saturday won’t work. I can come to you. Will that make it easier?”
“It would”
“Great. Wednesday work for you?” After receiving all the pertinent addresses, and phone numbers Nathan once again set the phone back into its cradle, and turned to Haley. “Well, I set-up a meeting with him on Wednesday. So I need to go schedule a flight for tomorrow. I think I’ll fly in tomorrow, maybe walk around the city a bit, meet with the guy on Wednesday, and take the early flight out Thursday morning. That way I’ll be here to see you walk across the stage on Saturday.”
“More like waddle,” Haley grumbled.
“I’m bringing the camera either way,” Nathan replied, grinning.
“Oh yay!” she replied sarcastically.
“I wish you could come with me to Dallas.”
“Yeah, so do I, but there’s that pesky thing about it not being a good idea for pregnant women to fly.”
Nodding, he smiled, “Ahh yes that.”
“Not to worry though. I’ve heard everything’s bigger in Texas.”
Examining her pointedly for a split-second, he smirked, “You’re not doing so bad in that category yourself, Hales.”
Blushing, she turned her head away slightly, “Nathan! You’re horrible.”
“I know. And I also need to go book my flight.”
“I need to—oh wait, I don’t have anything to do,” she teased him.
“I still can’t believe you finished that paper two weeks early. Did you learn nothing from me in college about the fine art of procrastination and extended deadlines? I’d have to think pregnancy would be a pretty good reason.”
Haley raised her eyes toward the ceiling, “The only reason you got extensions in college is because you would bat your pretty little eyes at the middle-aged female profs who probably hadn’t done the horizontal mambo since ‘Happy Days’ was first on the air.”
Nathan tried very unsuccessfully to look angelically innocent. A skill he had never quite perfected. Especially when his devilish smirk was peeking at the corner of his lips.
“A method that wouldn’t work for me on two counts. One, I’m pregnant. Noticeably so. Men are like dogs. Very territorial. And two, the prof’s a female. A straight female,” she added for emphasis.
“Eh, well. I guess that’s the way the cookie crumbles.”
“Yeah, yeah. You better go call the travel agent.”
Mock-saluting her, he swiveled to leave the room. “Aye, aye captain.”
Sixteen hours later, and Nathan’s flight was taxiing in to the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Deciding to check into the hotel and grab a quick catnap before exploring the city, he headed towards the rental car agency. Waking up from his brief rest, he reached for the tourism guide the hotel offered its patrons. Flipping through it, he began a mental checklist, “Art museum, check. Music scene, check. Good restaurants, check. Hockey team. Hmmm, hockey team, hockey team. Oh, the Stars, check. Granted, they aren’t her beloved Flyers, but I think Haley might like it here.” And unbeknownst to Haley, Nathan had done a little research on the city’s academic offerings and was happy to discover that a number of fine elementary, middle school, and high schools resided within the city limits. Grabbing his keys, wallet, and phone, he set off to do a little exploring of his own. Two days later, Nathan sat impatiently in the airport lounge reserved for the first-class passengers, swilling his drink. Flying had always made his irritable, and the plane was delayed three hours. Trying to busy himself, he pulled out the notes he had made during his meeting with the Mavericks’ managements, and also his pictures of the city he had taken with a disposable camera on a whim. Truth was, Dallas for all intents and purposes was a great city. It was fun, and exciting, and teeming with great culture. Thing was, he didn’t know if it could be home. Touring the city without out her wasn’t the best indication of how he would feel if she were there. He still wasn’t convinced he’d like Philly if she weren’t there. He tried to imagine coming to Philly, moving into the apartment without her, starting with the Sixers by himself. He simply couldn’t. He had politely turned down the Mavericks offer, not because of contractual disagreements, or loyalty to the Sixers, or even an inequality of his feeling between the two cities. Nathan had said that he had a reason he’d rather not discuss, and with their regrets and best wishes, they had wisely left it at that.
Drumming his finger idly, he smiled nervously at a busty blonde sitting across the way. Feeling his cell phone vibrate in his pocket, he flipped it open. “Hey!” he exclaimed.
“So. What’s the verdict?”
“No go. Although we should come visit sometime, it’s a cool city.”
“Well, when it’s officially safe for me to be on airplanes again we’ll do that.”
“Haley---“ he began unsure.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks---for making me do this---it put a lot of things in perspective.”
“You’re welcome. So when will you be home?”
“Not soon enough.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
These are
These are days you’ll remember
Never before and never since, I promise
Will the whole world be warm as this
And as you feel it,
You’ll know it’s true
That you – you are blessed and lucky
It’s true – that you
Are touched by something
That will grow and bloom in you
These are days you’ll remember
When May is rushing over you
With desire to be part of the miracles
You see in every hour
You’ll know it’s true
That you are blessed and lucky
It’s true that you are touched
By something that will grow and bloom in you
These are days –
These are the days you might fill
With laughter until you break
These days you might feel
A shaft of light
Make its way across your face
And when you do
You’ll know how it was meant to be
See the signs and know their meaning
You’ll know how it was meant to be
Hear the signs and know they’re speaking
To you, to you---Ten Thousand Maniacs, “These are Days.”
Muggy but with a peppermint breeze blowing through the planted oak trees, there had been a hint of rain in the air. The worst of the summer’s weather was yet to come, but that night had offered a tantalizing clue as to the scorching days and star-laden nights to come. By reason of fate or the Gregorian calendar, the city’s Independence Day fireworks extravaganza, annually held on the Friday before the actual holiday, had actually fallen on July 4th. They had watched the display, a thunderous explosion of fireworks lighting the nighttime sky. Palm trees in emerald. Stars in sapphire. Rings in ruby. Arrows in amethyst. Waterfalls in dripping beads of gold. Revealing themselves in perfect harmony to the magnificent swells of the 1812 Overture. That about summed up how she had been feeling for the last seven hours. Well, without the dramatic symphony as background accompaniment. No, all she had heard was people ordering her to push. Hello, she was pushing, damnit! In some sort of cosmic joke, the baby had decided to present itself to the world five days early, a trait Nathan insisted he must have inherited from her, because Nathan had certainly never been early to anything in his life. So here she was on a perfectly good Saturday morning, hair matted to her head, feeling as if she had taken a marathon-bath in someone else’s pungent sweat, dressed to the nines in a glamorous hospital gown. Then suddenly it was over. Someone, thank the lord, had decided she had pushed enough. Which was wonderful, because all her energy had been drained forcefully from her limp body.
“Here’s your son,” the doctor announced, presenting them with a scrunched, slimy, squawking tiny bundle. He was beautiful.
After the medical team had performed all the necessary post-delivery work, and cleaned the baby up, they guided Nathan in cutting the umbilical cord. Leaving the room to attend to other patients, the medical team allowed Nathan and Haley to bond with their newborn son.
Nathan was still holding him, regarding him with a mix of awe and pride, Haley watching the two of them silently. She had often felt dwarfed by his physical presence, safely tucked into the broadness of his chest, but now she was left to gaze in wonderment at their son who folded naturally into the crook of his father’s arms. Making his way over to the bed, Nathan sat down gently on the edge.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he drawled, rocking their son gently as he spoke.
“Ha, I look a mess. My hair is all…”
“You look beautiful,” he insisted. Then he smiled widely, “Have I ever lied to you?”
“Always the smooth talker,” she snarked back, as she reached up for the wide-awake baby. They sat like that for a while in silence, the baby happily ensconced in Haley’s arms, gazing happily at his father resting like a puzzle-piece behind his mother. Nathan unconsciously smoothed his son’s tiny downy shock of ebony curls, watching as he tried to bury deeper into Haley.
“He’s beautiful, isn’t he?” Haley asked.
Nathan normally would have responded with some come-back about it not being manly to be beautiful, but in the moment he could only answer honestly, “He is,” But lest anyone think he was going soft, he quickly amended his previous statement. “But how could he not be? I mean look at who his parents are.” Haley simply chuckled, addressing the baby, “Oh, that silly man? That’s our manservant, Lars. We keep him around to serve us dinners of meat pie and plum pudding, and take us riding in the park in our beautiful hansom cab. Sometimes, we make him go fetch us things from the seamstress and the butcher,” she joked in a stilted British accent.
“Hey! What are you telling the kid? I’m responsible for half of his good genes,” he replied indignantly. “Besides, I don’t think you can have a manservant. You’re a woman”
“Ah, got me on a technicality,” Haley responded, pretending to be disappointed. “Okay, I was lying about the whole manservant thing. That’s actually your father, he of the incredible ego. Let’s see, things you should know about him. He’s very tall, for starters. So if there’s ever anything you need on a really high shelf, don’t even worry about it. He’s got it covered. But mostly, he’s cute, so I’ve decided to keep him around.”
“Oh, you keep me around because I’m cute, huh?”
“Basically.”
“Works for me.”
“We’re going to scar this kid, aren’t we?” Haley asked him laughingly.
“I just had this very vivid flash of a little boy insisting that we drop him off around the corner because we’re so embarrassing.”
“Oh good,” she answered happily, placing a delicate kiss on the baby’s forehead. “I really hope we are.”
“Well, Aidan Noah Scott, welcome to the world.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
If I was the sun way up there
I'd go with love most everywhere
I'll be the moon when the sun goes down
Just to let you know that I'm still around
That's how strong my love is, oh
That's how strong my love is,
That's how strong my love is, baby, baby,
That's how strong my love is.
I'll be the weeping willow drowning in my tears
You can go swimming when you're here
I'll be the rainbow when the sun is gone
Wrap you in my colors and keep you warm---Otis Redding, “That’s How Strong My Love Is.”
Her mind was frazzled, her hair was quickly becoming a frizzy disaster of epic proportions, and she couldn’t for the life of her remember where she had put the paperwork for the reforestation proposal for the lumber company. Through the benefit of a few well-placed phone calls and connections she had made both at undergraduate and law school, Haley had managed to land a consulting job with a petrochemical company arranging their environmental policy and planning legal needs. Successful and adept handling of their concerns had earned her recommendations to other manufacturing companies and within a flash she had built up a stable of dependable clients. The work was demanding, time-consuming, and thought-provoking, but paid well. Problem was she also had a son that was barely two months old. Aidan, although she would proclaim him to be the best child ever, was more than a full-time job, in and of himself. And as she was quickly learning, comforting a crying, fidgety baby and typing a report on ways for the lumber company to comply with state laws without breaking their budget at the same time, was not on her list of many talents. And apparently, she wasn’t the only one who had noticed this.Nathan, who had been watching Haley’s increasingly frustrated attempts to shift Aidan, still bawling like a champion, to her other shoulder while rifling through paperwork with confusion, sat on the couch reading over interview questions.“Hey, the guy from SportsCenter should be here in about two hours.”Haley shifted Aidan once again, looked half-crazed, and nodded absently, “Ok.”“If you don’t want to be on the segment, that’ll be ok.”“Uh-huh.”“If you want to have an affair with him that’ll be ok, too.”“Uh-huh.”“I’m planning on wearing my sweater. You know the one with the pink dancing koalas?” Nathan questioned her amusedly, striding up behind her.“Uh-huh.”“Yeah. You haven’t heard a word I said, Haley,” Nathan admonished her.Haley glanced up, and sighed. “I’m sorry Nathan. I’m just behind on this report, and I can’t find some of the paperwork, and apparently Aidan is having some sort of crisis that I’m unaware of. I checked his diaper, he’s not hungry, I don’t think he’s sick, and I already tried to put him down for a nap. I’m just a horrible mother that’s all.”“You’re not. You are, however, going to go finish whatever you need to get done for work somewhere else. You’re getting nothing done here except stressing yourself out.”“What am I going to do about Aidan? I can’t just leave him here alone?”Nathan looked mock appalled, and pulled Aidan into his own arms, “And what am I, chopped liver?”“That’s not what I meant. You have the SportsCenter interview today, right? I just don’t want you to have to worry about him while that’s going on.”“Hey, I figure I’ve gone pretty easy on those guys compared to some of the other people they interview. I didn’t make any weird food requests, nor am I showing up anywhere with a fifty person entourage. I think they’d rather deal with a crying baby than deal with some of those grown men who might as well be crying babies. Besides, Haley, we already talked about this. I need to work on my reputation,” he joked.Haley raised an eyebrow warily, “You do?”“I mean here I am, a basketball god...”“Whoa, deflate the ego a little there.”“And I haven't been arrested, or gotten in a public fight, or had some woman claim she was carrying my child, well, except for you, or had a temper tantrum. I mean I need to get my act together here.”“Yes, I see how that might be a worry to you,” Haley nodded, laughing slightly. “So you’re going to polish your tarnished reputation by watching your son? Lock up your daughters ladies and gentlemen.”“Seriously though Hales, go finish up, take a little time to yourself. Aidan and I will be okay. We’ll do a little male bonding.” He hoisted Aidan, who had thankfully cried himself into exhaustion, in the air, “Won’t we Bubba?”Haley smiled, “Well, I see I’m not needed here.” After gathering up the necessary paperwork and her laptop, she kissed Aidan on the cheek. “You be good for Daddy.” And then she turned to Nathan, cocking her head slightly to the side, “I don’t know what to say to you. You’re a lost cause.”“I love you, too,” he shot back.“And I hope you’re not wearing that for your interview.”Nathan laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners, “No, I’m going to change. I promise.” Then he looked down at his current attire and reconsidered, “Or maybe I will just wear this. I think this outfit would look really good on television, don’t you.”Shaking her head, Haley crossed her eyes, “I don’t know why you insist on wearing that shirt,” she wondered aloud as she examined his shirt which had originally been hers, surprising enough. Of course, seeing as how the one size fits all shirts the Quiz Bowl team had gotten printed up her senior year had accidentally all been XL, it actually fit Nathan, rather than being the dress it was on Haley.“I like it,” he announced, pulling it off its chest in admiration. “2007 Wake Forest Quiz Bowl. A Celebration of Geekiness.”Haley smirked at his teasing, “You know technically you picked the motto.”“How do you figure that one, Captain Geek?”“I wanted to go with 'Wake Forest Quiz Bowl. We Leave the Basketball Captain Begging for More.', but you shot that one down.”“Actually it’s the other way around.”“Ohh,” she replied grinningly, “Is that so? You know, if you’re so concerned about your reputation, you better be nice to me. I could ruin you.”“Really, and how do you plan on doing that?”“Wizard of Oz?” she asked threateningly.Nathan, however, didn’t look in the least bit worried, “Wake Forest Quiz Bowl. A Celebration of Geekiness,” he repeated, in a level, monotone voice. “Oh, and what’s that C for. I do believe it stands for Captain. Making you the party maestro.”“Christmas, your rookie year, pictures of the snowman sweater your Great-Aunt Mildred bought for you,” Haley countered coolly.“Oh, you’re good.”“I know,” she grinned smugly, as she pantomimed blowing a smoking gun. “Alright, boys, there’s two bottles for him in the refrigerator, if I’m not back by dinner time I think there’s still some chicken left over from dinner on Tuesday.”“Ok, and no picking up any guys at the library,” he warned her with a pointed finger.“How’d you even know that’s where I was going?”“Wake Forest Quiz Bowl. A Celebration of Geekiness. Please, the library’s like your “special place.” “Ooh, ooh, yay books,” he squealed in a high-pitched voice, jumping up and down. Look, a history of the Spanish Civil War. I will now go caress it lovingly. Pretty, pretty book.”Haley watched him in exasperation, arms crossed in front of her chest, a wry smile on her face. “I do not do that.”Nathan simply looked around the room with false innocence, “Uh-huh. Sure. It’s ok. Go be with your lovers.”“I love you,” she called out as she exited the apartment, closing the door behind her. A split-second later, her head was peeking around the doorframe. “Change your shirt.”Nathan looked Aidan in the eye, “Ugh, women.”Hours later, Haley returned to find the last of the late afternoon sun slowly fading from the apartment, leaving it in dusky shadows. Nathan was asleep on the couch, with Aidan asleep on his chest. Approaching them, Haley realized that while Nathan was asleep, Aidan was regarding her with wide eyes, the color of coffee. Balancing precariously on the edge of the couch, she laughed quietly as she smoothed Nathan’s unruly hair, and then set to smoothing Aidan’s. Aidan was a blend of both their features, her dark eyes and his dark hair, and somehow he had ended up with a tangle of curls. Sensing her presence, Nathan opened his eyes slowly, “Hey, how long have you been back?”“Just got in. So what did you two do today?”“We had a very busy day. We napped, and we cried, and we ate, and we got our diaper changed, and we napped some more.”“Sounds rough.”“Oh, and you know how some of the Sixers Dancers were here for the promo shot they were filming?”“Yeah.”“Well, Bubba here, spit up on one of them.”Haley burst into laughter, kissing Aidan, “That’s my boy.”“Oh, and we covered all the necessary parenting talks,” Nathan stated, with a wave of his hand. “Drinking, drugs, sex, girls. It’s all taken care of.”“Now all we have to worry about is walking, talking, reading, and potty training,” Haley murmured, as she settled against Nathan’s shoulder, Aidan’s sleepy eyes mirroring hers.“Piece of cake.”Chapter Thirty-Eight
It's not the pale moon that excites me
That thrills and delights me, oh no
It's just the nearness of you
It isn't your sweet conversation
That brings this sensation, oh no
It's just the nearness of you
When you're in my arms and I feel you so close to me
All my wildest dreams come true
I need no soft lights to enchant me
If you'll only grant me the right
To hold you ever so tight
And to feel in the night the nearness of you---Rolling Stones, “Nearness of You.”
She lived for days like this. Lazy fall afternoons with the leaves hanging precariously onto the trees, ablaze in flames of color, she’d work curled up in an old, worm pair of sweats and one of the many jerseys she had absconded from Nathan over the years while the rhythmic sounds of the football commentators and the flash of the television picture played in the background. Days like this were too few and far between for her liking. Days where the rest of the world wasn’t intruding, didn’t matter. It was just the two of them. And everything else faded away. As she looked up to check the score on the football game she realized either the Eagles had just scored two touchdowns back to back or she had dozed off. Slowly, she rubbed her eyes with her palms and tried to regain her focus, scanning the paper for the paragraph where she had stopped reading. Arching her back in a stretch, she realized that the apartment, save for the blare of the television, was oddly quiet. She could account for Aidan’s whereabouts. After a grand struggle rivaling that of the last battle in Lord of the Rings she had finally but him down for a nap. But where her other boy had vanished to, it was anybody’s guess. He didn’t have a game today, no promotional appearances, or interviews, but he had gone out about four hours ago on an errand trip, and a call to his cell phone had dialed directly to his voice mail. She couldn’t possibly imagine what errands he would need to be conducting. Just as she was pondering his mysterious absence, he strolled casually through the door.“Hey, what are you doing tonight?” he asked off-handedly.Her confusion grew, it wasn’t as if he didn’t know her schedule like the back of his hand, and her career wasn’t like his where at any given point one of the sportswriters might be calling to beg for a last-minute interview. “I’m just finishing up some work.”“How long do you think it’ll take?”“Probably no more than an hour.”“You want to go somewhere tonight?”She hated herself for a brief second, for the ridiculously, overwrought, girly emotions that were overcoming her, but in the grand scheme of things she had a right to be upset when he was treating their anniversary as if was just an ordinary day.“Sure. How fancy are we talking?”“Not very.”“So what do I need to wear?”“Actually what you have on now is fine.”“Oh, no, Nathan Scott. You are not taking me someplace where sweats and an old, stolen basketball jersey is acceptable attire,” she thought bitterly to herself.“You might want to put jeans and a light sweater on though. It might get cold on the drive.”Haley exhaled a sigh of resignation, “Ok. I just need to find a sitter for Aidan. Oh damn, I think the local high school’s homecoming dance is tonight, and Mrs. Anderson is visiting her children for the next three weeks. I don’t know who I’m going to get to baby-sit with such short notice.”“Actually, I was planning on Aidan coming.”Regarding him critically, she nodded slowly, searching for any further clues, “Ok.”“Can you be ready to go in two hours?”“Yeah. Sure,” she answered him abruptly.Settled into their usual places in Nathan’s beloved Escalade which he had insisted on holding on to, he attempted to reach for her hand, but it remained limp on the leather seat. Turning her gaze away from him, she absently watched the admittedly barren roadside scenery from her window. Occasionally she turned to watch Aidan, envious of his ability to sleep in a car. But Nathan’s entrance onto the turnpike finally caused her to turn back to him.“Where are we going?”“You’ll see. It’s ok, you can go back to ignoring me,” he answered her with a slight smile she missed from her vantage point.“Why can’t you just tell me now?”“And what kind of surprise would that be?”Thirty minutes later, and their journey continued on, as Nathan sang along boisterously with the hip-hop station. Haley reached for the volume dial, but Nathan laid a lightning-quick hand over hers. “Aidan is sleeping,” she argued.“That kid could sleep through an air raid,” he countered.“You’re obnoxious,” she grumbled, as she tried to snatch her hand away. But once again, Nathan was too quick for her, capturing her fingers between his own, he brought her palm to his lips without ever taking his eyes off the road. Her bitterness easing a bit, she barely resisted when he settled their joined hands on the top of her thigh.Hour and a half down and Nathan showed no sign of ending the drive.“Seriously, Nathan, you couldn’t find a restaurant a little closer to the apartment?”“Who said we were going to eat?” he answered cryptically.Feeling her shoulder being jostled against the doorframe, she realized she had finally managed to fall asleep. “Hey, we’re here,” Nathan called out.Curiously, Haley opened her to see exactly where “here” was. Examining the view from outside the car window, she was forced to step outside and blink then look again. She blinked again. And again. But she was still seeing the same thing. “I don’t understand---why are we here?”Silently, Nathan dangled a set of keys in front of her, and strode assuredly towards the front door, Aidan’s car seat dangling from his arm. Pausing at the door, he rifled through the keys until he settled on one he inserted into the lock. Standing back in the open doorframe, he turned around to Haley. “You coming in? Or are you going to stand out in the cold all night?”“I---what---I just…” she stuttered inarticulately, shaking her head slowly.“It’s ours. That is if you want it.”Haley let out a stunned laugh, “How exactly did you manage to swing that one? You’re not exactly my parents’ favorite person. I can’t imagine them selling their house to you, even if they never use it.”“I offered them twice market value for it,” he answered simply.Feeling her knees buckle traitorously beneath her, she didn’t walk through the freshly painted front door, instead choosing to sit down shakily on the front steps of the old farmhouse she knew so well. Resting her head in her hands, she drew in an unsteady breath. “I can’t believe---oh god, I thought you had…”“Forgotten our anniversary?” he finished for her as he settled in behind her, Aidan still asleep in a peaceful dream. “Never.” Propping her chin with his fingers, he looked her deeply in the eyes, “Haley, I remember all my first times with you. First time we kissed, first time I realized I loved you, first time we made love. Haley, that night---you just wrecked me. I already cared for you more than anyone, but there was this part of me that just prayed it would be purely platonic.”“Why?”“Because I was afraid it would be more than I could deal with. I figured I could just pretend you were one of my guy friends because people in my life fell into two categories. Friends and lovers. But that night—“ he exhaled in a short burst of laughter. “There was no way in hell I was going to go on pretending you and I were just friends. Usually, one taste of the girls would be enough. But not with you---it wasn’t enough to satisfy me. You were---you are everything to me. And you can be damn sure, I remember our wedding.”Biting her bottom lip, she started to stand up slowly. “I should have had more faith in you.”“Let’s go check out the house. You can worship at the altar that is me later.”“Please, I’m not one of your little groupies that are at your beck and call,” she retorted.“Ha, I have you wrapped around my finger.”“That’s highly doubtful,” she challenged, her brown eyes staring into his eyes, keeping constant contact.Nathan just did a deliberately slow survey of her body, bringing his eyes back up to meet hers, his infamous smirk on his face. Haley simply blushed, and closed her eyes. “Like taking candy from a baby,” he murmured, his breath tickling her ear.Bring Aidan in,” she called out to him as she stepped through the front door for the first time in over five years. All encounters over the past few years had been at other relatives’ home, or at restaurants.“Eh, maybe if we leave him out there someone will take him off our hands.”“Nathan!” she exclaimed.Throwing his hands up in surrender, he grinned, “Kidding, kidding.”Drawing in a steadying breath, she prepared herself to face her once and future home. Walking absently through the hallways and doors she noticed that while some of the fixtures had been updated, a few minor damages repaired, the kitchen window replaced, and each room had been bathed in a fresh coat of paint everything was the same as she remembered. Wandering into the room that had been hers growing up, her eyes stopped on the pictures scattered across the dresser. Peyton, Brooke, and she in high school, pictures of her siblings and their various spouses, girlfriends, boyfriends, and children, her survey revealed pictures she hadn’t placed there. A snapshot of her and Nathan at that first party, their faces beaming in a private joke, a wedding portrait. Coming up behind her, Nathan snaked his arms around her torso, resting his chin in the delicate space behind her shoulder and neck. “So what are you thinking about?”“I’m still trying to process all this, honestly.”“I know I promised you this would be the first thing I bought but---““No, no. It’s perfect, Nathan. Unbelievable but perfect. I never expected this. You know my great-great-grandparents built this house in 1867. Growing up, I always expected that eventually it would belong to one of my brothers or sisters, but their lives led them in other directions. The thought of this house, this land, not being in my family anymore, not being in my life anymore made my heart hurt. But I had thought I had gotten over it. I used to imagine us here, that first summer after sophomore year. Used to imagine it was really ours. I was still convinced that eventually you were going to realize that I wasn’t what you wanted, but there were nights I dreamt of us curled up on the porch swing, kids running around the yard.”Nathan simply pulled her tighter against him, laying his lips against her shoulder blade. “I don’t know about you but I’m exhausted. Why don’t we say good-night to Aidan and call it a night?”“Is he still in his car seat?”“No. C’mon,” he beckoned her as he took her hand. Leading her further down the hallway, he stopped them in front of the door to the room that had once served as her parents’ bedroom. Sensing her reluctance to enter, he tugged gently at her hand. “It’s ok,” he quietly reassured her, as he swung open the door to reveal Aidan slumbering in a beautiful crib, a mobile of stars hung above his head. Absorbing the room, she noticed a mural decorating the walls. Choking back rivulets of tears she caressed her fingers over the familiar images.“I know Beatrix Potter was your favorite growing up. And I want Aidan to be like you---love to read and be excited to learn,” he explained.“What no basketball?” she joked.“Well…”he trailed off, as he nodded towards a section of the wall.Upon further examination, she realized that Jemima Puddle-Duck had a basketball clutched beneath the tangerine web of her feet. A small, fond smile crept up at the corners of her lips. “How is this going to work out, I mean with you commuting and everything?” she wondered aloud.“I can make the drive in an hour and a half. Do you need to be directly in the city?”“No, I can just meet with my clients as I need to. But do you want to be driving all that way all the time?”“It’ll be worth it. I want our children to grow up in a small town, be able to run around the backyard…”“Children?” she interjected. “As in plural?”“Well, if you’re up to the task,” he answered with a conspiratorial grin.“How do you manage to turn the most innocent topics into something dirty, hotshot?”Shrugging, he grinned, “I guess you just inspire me.”Leaning over Aidan’s crib, they both kissed him good-night, and Haley grabbed Nathan’s hand and led him out of the room hurriedly.“Wow, slow down there!” he said jokingly, but his words were quickly stopped when they reached their bedroom. Nathan stumbled back a bit as Haley, all 5’4” of her, leapt into his arms, her tongue probing his mouth for entrance which he gladly granted her. Tearing away breathlessly, she studied him, tracing his jaw line with her finger. “This is the reason you turned down the Mavericks, isn’t it? It makes sense now. You never did give me a good reason before. I mean I know you. I could tell you weren’t telling me the whole story, but somehow I had this instinct not to push you for an answer.”“I heard from your parents that they were going to sell to me right before my meeting with the Mavericks staff. I wanted to get the house fixed up, get Aidan’s room done before I showed you.”“I thought I told you to be selfish about the Mavericks thing?” she chided him gently, as she pulled his shirt over his head“I was, " he replied, as his fingers traced lazy circles on her abdomen, removing her shirt to join his on the pile on the floor. “I was doing this for my own happiness. Nothing makes me happier than to see you happy.”“I love you, I love you, I love you,” she whispered, as she rained a trail of kisses across his face and down his chest, only stopping when he pulled her back up to meet his lips. “I love you,” she whispered once more, against his parted lips, her breath mingling with his.“So does this mean I get my motorcycle now?” he asked with a smile.“I don’t know---you better cough up a pony first, hotshot.”Reaching behind her back, Nathan fumbled on the bureau, before thrusting something into her hand. Haley burst into laughter when she realized it was one of her childhood ‘My Little Pony’s.’“There, you got your pony. Now I want my motorcycle,” he insisted like a petulant child.Haley continued to laugh, “You know you and I aren’t doing so well with this whole being millionaires thing.”“How do you figure?”“This is our first house. From what I can figure being as lucky as to watch the games with the other players’ wives we should have at least two. Not including the one in the Caribbean. Not to mention the yacht. And a groundskeeper, and a maid, and a nanny.”“You’re right. We’re an embarrassment. We need to get on this immediately.”“Ooh, we should buy something for the house tomorrow. Something new that we bought together. Your game's not until 8 right?”“Yeah.”“You know what we need?” she asked, as her eyes lit up.Nathan grew nervous, “No don’t say----“A bookshelf.”“...it. Yeah, that’ll put you in with the women. I can just see them talking about their latest surgeries, and jewelry, and you becoming practically orgasmic over your new bookshelf.”“Ok, then. What do you think we should buy?”“Food,” he answered matter-of-factly. “There’s barely any in the refrigerator.”“We’ll go grocery shopping first thing in the morning. And you’re going to stay with me the entire time. I don’t want items that weren’t on the list mysteriously ending up in our bags this time,” she warned him.“You’re no fun.”“Oh, and I see you splurged on a double bed there, hotshot.”“You just end up stealing the covers anyway. Might as well be less for you to steal.”“Your legs are always sprawled on my end of the bed.”“I’m 6’7” I don’t know where else I’m supposed to lay. Besides, it’s not like you need the room anyway, shorty.”“So you and me out of the monstrosity that is the king-sized bed…” She fell back on to the bed, sinking into the pillows.“This could be fun,” he grinned, as he hovered over her, his eyes clouded with desire. “Happy Anniversary, Haley.”“You know the traditional fourth anniversary present is linens,” she told him, as she wrapped her foot around his muscled calf. “Very appropriate, don’t you think?”Nathan shook his head in disbelief, “Oh my god, you are such a dork. I am married to the biggest dork.” Slowly, tantalizingly, he traced her lips with his tongue, memorized her taste. “I love you, baby.”“I love you, too, hotshot.”The End
