Page 9 of Summer Savory

Chapter Seven

Nora

Spending time with Reese over the next few weeks made me the happiest I’d ever been in my life. When he introduced me to his family, it was as if I gained a brother and a sister, along with their respective spouses and children.

I’d been afraid that perhaps they wouldn’t like me, but we all got along just fine. I knew the day would come when they would leave the resort, but I did my best to push those thoughts out of my head whenever they appeared. I was only kidding myself.

With a week to go before their scheduled departure, Reagan pulled me aside one evening at dinner and asked, “How do you think the two of you will go your separate ways when it’s time for us to leave?” I hesitated and fought back the tears that were threatening to form despite my best efforts not to cry. She picked up on my distress and reached for my hand. “Trust me, honey, he does not know what he’s going to do either. I think he has it really bad for you. Now that I mention it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him hung up on someone to this extent. I love to see it, because I want him to be happy, but it breaks my heart. I like you, Nora. I want you to be happy too. I just don’t know how I can help you.”

Shaking my head, I said, “There’s nothing you can do to help. It is what it is. We both have our own lives and careers. We knew what we were doing when we started this relationship.” I pulled away, but then I said, “And I’ll tell you the truth, Reagan, I’d do it all over again. “

“So would I,” he said from behind me, making me jump. He quickly smiled at his sister, then took my hand to lead me to a more private part of the dining room. I’d wondered if any place of privacy at the resort existed for us because it seemed like there were always eyes watching us. Either his family or my employees. There were people everywhere. We found one spot, though, outside a linen closet in the back hallway. It had become our spot. A place where we first began exchanging glances, hoping no one would see. After we’d gotten to know each other a little, we’d sneak off to hold hands and steal kisses, cautious about who might be watching. After we made love that first time, we’d meet there just to be near each other, but by that time, we didn’t care who saw us. We were together and everyone else just had to deal with it.

I looked into his eyes and had no more strength to hold back the tears. I let them flow down my face as he held me close to him. After a few minutes, I pulled back. “I’m sorry, Reese. I don’t mean to break down like a little girl. I just don’t know what to do about this thing between us. It’s too important for me to let go. You’re too important for me to let you.” Though my arms were already tightly gripping him around the shoulders, I squeezed them harder, as if I were holding on for dear life. Maybe I was.

“I don’t want to let you go either, Nora. We’ll figure something out. We have to. You mean too much to me. I know we haven’t been together for very long, but you’re all I’ve ever wanted, and I’ll be damned if I lose you now. Not when I’m so full of hope.”

We simply stood there, holding each other, for what seemed like an eternity, though I’m sure it was just a few minutes. The world spun by us, but we held firm to our dream, to our destiny.

*******

The next week passed in a whirlwind. We spent every moment we could together, and I even used some of my paid-time-off from work, something I normally would never have done. I received more than one strange look from my employees, and my boss, when I made the request. No one questioned me on it, though, as I had been there for three years and had never requested time off before. Not even holidays.

I woke every morning with both excitement and gratitude for having him there beside me, but also with a sense of dread. For each morning brought us closer to the day he was leaving, and we’d have to say goodbye. We’d not yet decided how we wanted to carry on the rest of our lives without each other, but it weighed heavily on both our minds.

The day before he left, he surprised me with a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers I’d ever seen. I was quite certain that they came from the back of my garden where I grew them for tabletop displays, but I said nothing. I kept reminding myself that it was the thought that counted. No one other than my dad had ever given me flowers before, so I was grateful to get them.

“I’ve been thinking about my parents for the last few days. What if they’d decided not to be together after Mom’s parents tried to run Dad off? Would they have defied them and run off together? I suspect they would have, because that’s so much like both of them.”

“I’d like to meet your dad, Nora. He sounds like an amazing man.”

“He is. Quite amazing. But we’d never tell him that. He’d be way too cocky if we did, and we’d never be able to handle him then.”

He chuckled and kissed my hand. “You have the best sense of humor. I thought you’d be a very serious person, and I think you are in some respects, at least with your career. But, I love that you can relax and laugh sometimes. Enjoy the world. Enjoy your life.”

“You should’ve known me ten years ago, then. Believe it or not, there was a time that I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. My dad thought both Janie and I would end up following in his footsteps. I’m glad she did, because that makes him very happy, but I never could. I have a head for business, and I understand accounting well. He made sure of that, but--”

“That’s not your passion,” he interrupted. “Not who you are in your soul.”

“Right. I’d always wanted to create. From a young age, I knew that. I was always writing or painting. Drawing or singing. Dancing or--”

“Dancing? You dance?”

“Of course! If there was a class for it, I took it! Ballet, tap, ballroom, jazz, you name it, I enrolled. I was also a Girl Scout and played every sport the school offered. Plus, I was in drama club, beta club, and any other club that I could join. If there was an extracurricular activity offered, I signed up! After Mom died, Dad was the one who had to transport me back and forth to all those things. He never complained, but I know now it must have been exhausting. Janie did nothing outside of school, which surprises me now because she does everything with and for her kids. Though she’s the accountant daughter Dad always wanted, she’s not the serious type. It’s as if we switched personalities as adults. I’m much more driven and career-oriented than she is.”

“But she’s the one who runs the accounting firm now?”

“Yes, I wanted nothing to do with it! She runs it, with a little help from her college friend Evie. They’re all still in the little town of Dalton, Tennessee, where I grew up.”

“Never heard of it.”

“Blink and you’ll miss it. Janie’s husband died a few months ago, and now she has to do the kid thing by herself, just like Dad did. Sometimes I feel guilty for having left them all, but they know this is my dream.”

His eyes darted away from me, and I knew he was thinking about how we are supposed to move forward in our relationship if I’m here living my dream and he’s off in Europe living his. I knew because it was forefront in my mind too. We were quiet for a long while, and I actually thought he’d fallen asleep, but then he said, “Nora, I want to tell you something, and I need you to understand that this is coming from my heart.” He didn’t give me an opportunity to speak, but I nodded. “I would never ask you to leave this place or stop living your dream. I want you in my life, but we can figure something else out. I promise you. I will do whatever you need to make sure that you don’t have to give anything up.”

His words were sincere, and I appreciated them, but my heart was tearing apart. I wanted him to tell me he’d stay here, or ask me to come with him. Anything at all, if it meant we didn’t have to separate. I could handle anything except that. But he didn’t say those words, and I had to face the reality of losing him. Of losing us. I didn’t want to deal with that, so I resorted to my usual coping mechanism. Avoidance. “Look at the time! I need to get to the kitchen. I should’ve been there half an hour ago! We have a wedding tomorrow and there’s so much to do.”

“Oh, alright,” he said, flustered. “I’ll swing by for lunch and we can talk then.”

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