Giving Their Feelings a Voice

Nora stood just inside the terrace doors at Llanfair. She’d been standing there for almost a half hour just watching him as he stared out into the darkness. He’d walked out onto the terrace just after Asa’s toast. They had gathered the family together at Llanfair to celebrate Bo’s birthday, and it had been a wonderful evening filled with lots of laughter and lots of family.

Nora turned and glanced around the room for a moment and smiled. Jessica was sitting on the couch talking with Viki. Asa was sitting in one of the arm chairs, a sleeping Matthew lying against his chest. Matthew was one lucky little boy she thought to herself. He finally had the family they had always wanted to give him; a family full of love and happiness.

She turned back around and turned her attention back to Bo. He was still standing out on the terrace, one foot propped up on the short wall, his chin resting in his hand. She had seen him take that pose so many times and it meant one thing; he was deep in thought.

Nora jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and smiled a small smile at her son’s new grandmother, and the person who has been like a second mother to her, “I’m sorry darlin’; I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Don’t apologize, Renee.” She turns around and looks back out the terrace doors, “I was just…”

“Watching the man you love,” she added before Nora could finish her thought.

I'm scared
So afraid to show I care
Will he think me weak
If I tremble when I speak

Nora turned abruptly, “What…why would you say that?”

“Because it’s the truth,” Renee lays her hand on Nora’s arm, as Nora shakes her head, “Why can’t you admit it?”

“I’m…” She glances over at Asa and Matthew.

 

What if
There's another one he's thinking of
Maybe he's in love
I'd feel like a fool
Life can be so cruel
I don't know what to do

“What are you so afraid of, Nora?”

“I’m afraid to put my heart back on the line.” She turns and looks at Bo, “I’m afraid for him to put his heart back on the line.”

“Why, because of Gabrielle?”

Nora shrugs, “You know I’ve been here before…with Bo.” She turns her attention back to the terrace, “He says he’s over her death…done grieving and ready to live his life again.”

“But…”

“I don’t know. Maybe he’s not over her.” She crosses her arms tight against her middle as though she were shielding herself from an unknown pain, “There’s so much more to consider than the last time.”

“Matthew.” Renee expressed Nora’s thoughts out loud.

Nora just nods and turns and looks over at Matthew once again.

 

I've been there
With my heart out in my hand
But what you must understand
You can't let the chance
To love him pass you by

Renee turns Nora around and forces her to look at her, “Darling you need to listen to me. What you and Bo shared was so special and so deep that it could truly never end. You’re his one and only Nora.” Nora shakes her head. Renee reaches out and cups Nora’s face with her hands, “Don’t deny it Nora. You can’t deny the truth.” She steps aside and points at Asa, “Do you think I would’ve become Asa’s 13^th wife if I didn’t honestly believe that the two of us were meant to be. He’s been my one and only since I first met him all those years ago. Asa’s my heart, Nora,” She turns and points in Bo’s direction, “and that man standing out there is yours.”

 

Tell him
Tell him that the sun and moon
Rise in his eyes
Reach out to him
And whisper tender words so soft and sweet
Hold him close to feel his heart beat
Love will be the gift you give yourself

“I can’t tell him how I feel, Renee.” She reaches up and wipes a stray tear from her cheek.

“Why can’t you?”

Touch him
With the gentleness you feel inside (I feel it)
Your love can't be denied
The truth will set you free
You'll have what's meant to be
All in time you'll see

Nora turns and looks back out the French doors, “What if he doesn’t feel the same? I finally have my best friend back. I couldn’t stand to lose him.”

“But what if he does feel the same and you’re cheating yourself out of the happiness you both deserve.”

 

I love him (Then show him)
Of that much I can be sure (Hold him close to you)

They both stand in silence for a few minutes watching Bo as he walks over and sits down in one of the chairs. Nora turns and looks at Renee, “I do love him, Renee. I love him so much.”

 

I don't think I could endure
If I let him walk away
When I have so much to say

“You can’t let him walk away, Nora, without knowing how you feel.” Renee walks over to the doors and quietly opens them. She tilts her head in Bo’s direction, “Tell him.” She whispers.

Tell him
Tell him that the sun and moon
Rise in his eyes
Reach out to him
And whisper
Tender words so soft and sweet
Hold him close to feel his heart beat
Love will be the gift you give yourself

 

Nora nods her head and leans in to kiss Renee on the cheek, “Thank you, Renee.”

Renee just nods and closes the doors behind her. She pauses for a moment and watches Nora slowly approach Bo. She smiles a satisfied smile and walks back over to where Asa was sitting, still holding a sleeping Matthew. She sits on the arm of the chair. Asa takes her hand in his and brings it up to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her hand, “What were you and Nora talking about? You two looked awfully serious.”

Renee looked down at her husband, her heart, and smiled, “Making things right…that’s all, just making things right.”

Love is a light that surely glows
In the hearts of those who know
It's a steady flame that grows
Feed the fire with all the passion you can show
Tonight love will assume its place
This memory time cannot erase
Your faith will lead love where it has to go

She walked up behind him and laid a hand on Bo’s shoulder. He smiled and laid his hand on top of hers. They stayed that way for a few moments, the silence surrounding them only broken by the crickets that chirped in the distance.

Nora glanced once behind her, looking at Renee, Asa and Matthew, sitting together quietly amongst the bustle of activity in the living room. She could hear Renee’s words echoing in her head, “Tell him.”

Tell him
Tell him that the sun and moon
Rise in his eyes

She takes a deep breath and releases it. It had been so easy the last time. So natural to tell him how she felt. They’re weren’t the same two people who stood in his living room and told each other how much they love one another. They’ve changed; hurt each other more than they had ever thought they could. Renee was right though, she had to take this chance.

Reach out to him
And whisper words so soft and sweet

She kneels down behind him; her face just inches from his ear, “I love you, Bo,” she whispers.

Silence continues to fill the air. She began to rise from her knees; taking his silence as his answer. Suddenly he rose and stood in front of her, pulling her up the rest of the way. Her eyes were affixed to the ground; she couldn’t look him in the eyes, the tears threatening to fall from hers.

He reached out and tilted her chin up. She averted her eyes once again. He smiled and cupped her face with his hands, “Nora…look at me, please. I need you to look me in the eyes when I say this. She does as he asks, forcing herself not to get lost in his eyes, eyes that had always been able to look into her soul. He nods his head and smiles, “Yep, there it is…that light is back in your eyes.” He leans in and before she knows what’s happening he captures her lips in a kiss full of love and honesty. He breaks the kiss and leans his forehead against hers, “I love you too, Nora.”

She laughs through her tears, their foreheads still touching; “You do?” He nods, smiling ‘that’ smile, “You love me?”

“I do…I do…I do.” He says as he picks her up and spins her around. He puts her back down and pulls her close against him.

They held each other close, the crickets serenading them, as his father and step-mother stood inside the terrace doors, their sleeping son, enveloped in his grandfather’s arms. Asa leaned down and kissed his wife, leading them back into the living room.

Hold him close to feel his heart beat
Love will be the gift you give yourself

Bo stepped out of their embrace, his arms still wrapped around her waist, “I love you, so much, Nora. You opened my heart back up by just being there, by letting me be me. You and Matthew have given me everything I need to move on and live my life again.” He kisses her and pulls her close, knowing now that they had taken that chance, given their feelings a voice, nothing would ever tear them apart.

 

Never let him go

“Tell Him” Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion