~A Love Like Theirs…~

An early heat wave has hit the small town of Llanview, Pennsylvania. People sit under the trees in Municipal Park; others walk through Angel Square, ice cold drinks in their hands. Others play chess under the trees. Children eat their ice cream while their parents seek out any source of shade they can find. It felt more like mid-July instead of early-May.

Across town on Beech Street she stands in her home office looking out at her son kicking his soccer ball into the practice net his father had bought and put up for him. Just like all the other kids in town, the heat seemed to only make him want to play harder and long for the lazy days of summer.

Matthew turns when he feels someone watching him. He stops his activity and waves to her before sending the ball flying into the net once again. Nora watches him play, her heart feeling as though it would explode with love for this little boy God has blessed her with. Her thoughts immediately shift to the man whose exact smile she just saw on their son’s face. They were so much alike she thought to herself. It was amazing how the clues were there all along but she never noticed, or maybe she was just too afraid to see it all these years.

She walks away from the door, sipping her iced tea as she made her way into the living room. She brings her ice cold glass up to her forehead trying to cool her hot skin. She walks over to the fan sitting on the table behind the couch and turns it up a notch. She stands in front of it, her arms out to her side, moving along with the fan as it oscillates back and forth.

Of all days for her AC to go out it had to be today, when all she wanted to do was relax on her rare day off and not have to think about anything. She wanted to stop thinking about work, about every one bugging her about her social life, and most of all she wanted to stop thinking about him. It’s been three weeks since they returned home from Manhattan, two first place trophies in hand, a lifetime of memories crammed into three days, and new feelings she was having a hard time facing.

She walks over and sits down on the couch, propping her bare feet up on the coffee table in front of her. She leans her head back against the couch and closes her eyes. She tries to wipe her mind clean, to think only about the music playing in the background, but it was no use, she couldn’t get him off her mind, or the night she saw him dancing with another.

Her thoughts drift to the dance contest. She could still feel his arms around her as they danced; danced like they’ve never missed a day of dancing with each other. The memory of the way he looked at her when they danced brought even more of a flush to her already flushed skin. She brought her fingers up to her lips as though she could still feel the touch of his lips against hers when they had finally given into what was happening between them, both of them leaning in for a kiss as their son fed the ducks in Central Park.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of the back door slamming shut. She stands up, her hands on her hips, “Matthew Hanen Buchanan, how many times do I have to tell you to quit slamming doors!,” she says, more bite in her tone than she realized.

Matthew sighs, “Sorry mom,” he says as he drops his ball on the floor by the back door. He walks past his mom and plops down on the couch, pointing the remote at the TV, flipping through the channels at lightening speed.

He watches his mother out of the corner of his eye. She was now sitting behind her desk, pretending to be busy, but he knew what she was really trying to do. She was trying to not think of his dad.

He stared at the TV but wasn’t paying attention to what he was watching. He thought when they came home for New York City his parents would finally realize that they were meant to be together, that the three of them were supposed to be a family, but that didn’t happen. They’d been so happy when they were away, together as a family, just the three of them. They went to the top of the Empire State Building; saw the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, they even went to see the Statue of Liberty. He saw the way they had looked at each other when they thought the other wasn’t looking; he even saw their kiss by the lake.

He looks over at his mother and then back at the TV. He pushs the button, turning the TV off, throwing the remote down on the couch, grabbing the phone before running up to his bedroom. He had to talk to his big sister. He sat down at his desk and dialed her number. He sat back in his chair, his foot rocking back and forth as he waited patiently for Rachel to answer. He was just about to hang up, not wanting to leave this sort of thing on her answering machine, when he finally heard her voice, “Rach….”

Rachel sits down at her kitchen table, catching her breath from running down the hallway towards her apartment when she heard her phone ringing, “Hey there little brother, what’s up?” On the other end of the line, Matthew sighs. Rachel can tell by the sigh he just released and the silence on the other end that something was troubling her brother, “What did mom and your dad do now?”

“They’re being so stupid, Rachel. I know they love each other they just don’t want to believe it. Mom’s spending all her time at work or at home in her office. Sometimes her boss comes over and they talk.” Matthew stands up and closes his door, “I don’t like him, Rachel, and my dad is being just as stupid. He’s always going to your Uncle RJ’s restaurant and listening to some woman sing. I saw them together in his office when Mary Ann dropped me off the other day.” Rachel walks over to the counter, beginning to prepare her dinner while on the other end of the phone, Matthew continues to fill her in, “I wish we were still in New York City,” he says sadly.

“What exactly happened in New York City, between mom and Bo? When I talked to mom she just gave me the usual, every thing was fabulous, had a great time.”

Matthew walks over and sits down on his bed, pulling his legs up against his chest, as he leans against the headboard, “It was perfect Rachel. We went to see all the things I wanted to see, and then there was the dance contest. They were having so much fun, Rach. I even heard people talking about them, saying they looked like they were in love and that I was the luckiest boy in the world to have parents that loved each other as much as they looked like they love each other.” Rachel walks back over and sits down at the table, a smile on her face, “They took me to Central Park and the zoo. I even caught them holding hands a few times, but on our last day there, when we were at the park, I saw them kiss. They don’t think I saw them but I did,” Matthew sighs, “See what I mean Rachel, they’re being stupid.”

Rachel shakes her head, “I don’t know if stupid is exactly what I’d call what they’re being, maybe stubborn, but one thing I know is that they’re both scared.”

Matthew sits up, “Scared?? Now that IS stupid, what’s there to be scared of?”

Rachel smiles at his childlike innocence, “Matthew there are just some things that are too hard for you to understand. Let’s just say your mom and dad loved each other once upon a time and honestly I don’t think they’ve ever stopped loving each other, but they’re just not ready to admit it, not after what happened between them.”

“But that’s what I don’t get. When I talk to Grandpa he says that my mom and dad were the happiest they’ve ever been when they were together. Aunt Viki says she never saw two people more in love, whatever that means. If they were happy then why are they afraid to be happy now?”

Rachel sits back in her chair and closes her eyes for a moment. Matthew was just too young to understand, “Matthew you just have to trust me when I say this; you need to give mom and Bo a chance to figure out what’s going on between them and sort out all their feelings. There’s a lot for them to sort out. Promise me you won’t do anything to fix this.”

Matthew looks over at the picture of all three of them standing in front of the T-Rex at the Natural History Museum, “Um, sure.” He says with a smile, his fingers crossed behind his back.

Rachel had a feeling her warning had fallen on deaf ears, “Matthew Hanen Buchanan, I’m serious.”

Matthew rolls his eyes, “Yeah, I hear ya. I hear mom calling, Rachel. I’ve gotta go. Love ya.”

“Love you too, little brother.”

Matthew hangs up the phone and looks back over at the picture, “Sorry Rach, but I AM gonna fix this.”

At the same time across town Bo sits in his office, the whirr coming from the small fan behind his desk barely drowning out the oldies song playing in the background. Suddenly the song changes and he’s immediately brought back to three weeks before, when she was in his arms, and they danced like they never missed a beat. He feels an internal heat rise up his neck as he remembers the way she looked at him when they danced. Something happened between them in New York, something big, and wonderful. He looks down at the picture on his desk; their son’s smiling face brings a smile to his. He really was the best of both of them. Every thing came so easy in New York, so why was he running away?

Matthew sneaks downstairs and looks into his mother’s office. She was standing by the bookcase, her head resting on her crossed arms as she stares out the window. Matthew quietly tip-toes back up to his room and dials another number. He waits patiently on the other end for the person to answer.

Back in his office Bo was brought out of his thoughts by the ringing of his phone. He looks over and notices that it’s his private line. He grabs the phone and secures it between his ear and his shoulder, “Buchanan.”

“Dad…”

Bo sits up a huge smile spreading across his face, “Hey Matthew. What’s going on?”

“Can you come over,” he slowly makes his way back down the stairs, watching his mother still staring out the window, “I need help with my project on France and I want you to help me.”

Bo glances down at his watch, “Um…sure buddy, give me a couple of hours and I’ll be there.”

Matthew quickly makes his way into the kitchen when his mother’s attention is brought away from the window by the ringing of her cell phone. He sits down at the kitchen table, “Okay dad, but hurry, alright.”

“Okay, Matt, two hours, I promise,” Bo hangs up the phone and quickly grabs the file that he’d been working on before he let his mind wander.

Across town she sits behind her desk, her cell phone perched between her shoulder and her ear, a smile on her face for the first time as she talks to her daughter. Her smile quickly fades and a few tears well up in her eyes when Rachel mentions the one person she’d tried to spend the day not thinking about, “Rachel…”

Back in Chicago, sitting on her bed, an old movie playing in the background, Rachel rolls her eyes at her mother’s hesitance and avoidance on the other end of the phone, “Mom come on, don’t give me the it’s nothing speech, I know you remember.”

Nora shifts in her chair and sighs, “You’ve been talking to your brother haven’t you?”

Rachel smiles, “He loves you guys, mom. Besides, kids always want their parents back together, but in Matthew’s case there’s something there for him to hold on to, there’s hope, and he can see it. He’s smart enough and innocent enough to see what you two are too afraid to see. Open your heart back up mom, let Bo back in.”

“I’m want to, Rachel; believe me I do, but what if we hurt each other again. What if I’m not what he wants anymore?,” she says thinking back to that night at Capricorn, when she found herself watching something she never thought she’d see.

“You’re hiding behind the past mom. Let it go now, for your son’s sake, for Bo’s sake, and for yours.”

At the same time Matthew props his bike up against the side of the house and walks up to the large front doors. He reaches up and rings the doorbell. He brushes his hand against his sweaty brow, placing a streak of dirt across his forehead. A minute later the doors open and Asa’s new butler peers down at him, “Master Buchanan, what can I do for you?”

“I need to see my Grandpa…”

Before the butler can answer Clint walks into the foyer, “Hey Matthew,” Clint looks around, “Where’s your mom or dad?” Matthew looks down at the ground and then back up at his Uncle, who although he’d only met him two weeks ago, he already felt safe and loved by him; “Your parents aren’t here are they?”

Matthew silently shakes his head. Knowing he was more than busted but figured since he was here he was going to do what he came to do, “I need to talk to Grandpa, it’s important, so I rode my bike here.”

Clint takes Matthew by the hand and leads him into the living room. Matthew climbs up on the couch, his feet barely hanging over the edge of the oversized cushions. He turns and looks over at his Uncle who is standing at the wet bar, his white handkerchief in hand. He rings the water out of the cloth and walks back over to the couch. He cups Matthew’s chin and begins to wipe his nephew’s brow, removing the dirt stains from his face.

Matthew smiles up at him, “Thank you,” he says quietly.

Clint hands him a glass of ice water, “Here son, drink this and then we’ll talk about what’s got you so down and sent you out on a hot day like this.”

Matthew takes a few sips of the water and sets the glass down on the coffee table in front of them. He looks up at his uncle and shrugs, “It’s my mom and dad.”

Clint smiles, “Ahh, I had a feeling it had something to do with them. Listen before we get into anything here you need to call your mom and let her know where you are. You can’t be taking off like this.”

Matthew nods and walks over to the phone on the side table. He looks over at Clint who nods his head, motioning for him to go ahead and dial. He dials the number and waits for Nora to pick up, “Mom…”

Back at their house Nora stops in her tracks after leaving Matthew’s room, “Matthew Hanen! Where are you?”

“Grandpa’s,” he answers quietly.

Nora walks back into his room and sits down on his bed with a sigh, “You scared me to death you know that?! I go up to your bedroom to let you know that your sister wanted to talk to you and you were gone. Why did you take off again?”

“I needed to talk to Grandpa about something.”

She runs her hands through her hair in frustration, “You can’t just take off, Matthew. You’re eight years old! If you need to talk to someone you can come to me or your father, you don’t need to ride your bike across town to your grandfathers…”

“He’s the ONLY one that listens to me!” he interrupts. Matthew looks around the room and notices that his Uncle has left the room.

Nora sits up straight, taken back by Matthew’s outburst, “Where did that come from, Matthew? You know that you can tell me or your father anything.”

“Dad’s too busy with his new friend and you’re too busy at work or with that Daniel guy!”

Nora stands up and runs down the stairs, grabbing her keys off the end table, “I’m coming to get you, and we’re going to talk this through, okay?”

His father was on his way to their house so there was no way he was going to let his mom leave the house now, “No, Uncle Clint can drive me home. I want to see Grandpa.”

“Matthew…”

 

“Mom, please,” he pauses for a moment, “Mom, I’m sorry I left without asking you, I really am, and I’m sorry I got upset, but I really want to see Grandpa and Grandma and they’ll be home soon.”

Nora sighs, dropping her keys back onto the end table, as she sits down on the couch, “Okay, fine, but we’re going to discuss this later.”

“Okay,” he pauses again for just a moment, “I love you, mom.”

Nora closes her eyes and nods her head, “I love you too, champ. Have Uncle Clint drop you off in an hour, okay.”

“Mom…” Matthew whines.

“One hour, mister.”

“Fine, one hour.”

As Matthew hangs up the phone, Clint walks back into the living room, having finished his own important phone call. Matthew gives him a small smile from across the room. Clint claps his hands together once, holding his arms out to Matthew. Matthew’s smile widens as he walks over to his Uncle and jumps up into his arms. He holds Matthew out in front of him a bit, “Everything square with your mom?”

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure I’m in big trouble, but she said I can stay. You just have to take me home in an hour.”

Clint smiles at his nephew, seeing Bo at eight years old staring back at him, “Okay, an hour it is then, but before we take a walk out to check on your horse, I want to tell you something, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I don’t’ want you to worry about your mom and dad. I have a feeling things are going to be okay really soon.”

Matthew smiles and nods his head. He slides out of Clint’s arms and takes his hand. They walk along the small creek that borders Asa’s property on their way to the stables, stopping once so that Matthew could pick a small bouquet of wildflowers for Nora and Renee.

At the same time halfway across town Bo stands on her front porch, watching her through the window. He can hear the music coming through the open windows; its only competition was the whirring of the fans positioned around the house.

He uses the spare key and quietly opens the door, wanting some more time to just watch her before he told her what he came there to say. He lets the door close quietly. The heat outside paled in comparison to the hot air that hit him as soon as he walked into her house.

He stands on the landing and continues to watch her from across the room. She’s once again leaning against the bookcase in her office; her chin resting on her folded arms, staring out the window, a glass of iced tea with melting ice cubes sits beside her on the shelf.

He slowly makes his way across the room, pausing just inside the doorway to her office. He feels a heat rise within him as he stares at her. Her white tank top clings to her back as though it were a second skin, her short shorts offering him a view of her long legs. The image brought him back to a long ago place, a place when he would’ve just walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, where soon her white tank top and shorts would be lying on the floor, her barefeet intertwined with his as they lay together afterward.

She was so lost in her thoughts she never noticed he was there until she smelled his familiar scent. She subconsciously smiled, still not realizing that he was really there, believing it was just her imagination. She brings her fingers up to her lips as though feeling the weight of his lips on hers. She whispers his name, “Bo…”

“Yeah, it’s me, Red.”

She’s immediately brought out of her daydreams when she hears his voice. She turns around, her hand instinctively going to her heart as she attempts to hide how fast it was beating, “Bo, you startled me.”

He just stares at her, her damp tank clinging across her chest wreaked havoc with his insides. He inhaled deeply and struggled to find his voice, “Umm…I’m sorry about that, you just seemed so peaceful, staring out the window, that I didn’t want to disturb you.”

“Its fine,” she picks up her glass of ice tea and walks out into the living room. She places the glass down on the table and sits down turning back to face him, “So what brings you by? I haven’t seen you for a few days.” ‘And I’ve missed you like hell,’ she thought to herself.

Bo walks over and sits down on the couch beside her. He looks over at her and smiles, ‘Man, I’ve miss you,’  he thought to himself, “Actually I was already on my way over here because Matthew had called and asked me to come help him with his project, but on the way I received a phone call from Clint…”

“Oh, yeah, that. Well I think we really need to sit down and talk to Matthew together about him just running off like that…,” she says, not letting him finish his thought.

He takes her hand, happy she didn’t pull it away, “Yes, we do need to talk to him about that, but that’s not the only reason Clint called.” He looks down at their hands for a moment and then back up at her, “He wanted to talk to me about Matthew, but more specifically about what was going on between the two of us, and how it was affecting our son.”

Nora tries to stand up but Bo still has a hold of her hand. He pulls her back down onto the couch, “Bo…I”

He lets go of her hand and takes her by the shoulders, turning her towards him. He turns so they’re facing each other, “Please Nora, l have to get this out. I have to tell you how sorry I am.”

She looks over at him. There was no way she was going to make this apology easy on him. He had hurt her badly after they came back from New York. He ran away, he walked away from them once again, and what was happening between them. He walked straight into Eve McBain’s arms, literally. She had gone to Capricorn to meet with Evangeline about a plea bargain, the night after they had arrived home from their trip. She had felt as though she’d been kicked in the stomach when she saw him dancing with Eve.

He looks at her, her emotions playing clearly across her face. He could still look into her eyes and see her soul. He could see the pain that was there behind her outward bravado, and he knew once again he was the cause of her pain. She stands up this time and walks around the couch to turn off the stereo. She turns around and looks back at him, now standing on the other side of the couch, “You hurt me, Bo. I’m not sure an apology is going to make up for that. You walked away again.”

Bo sighs and nods his head, “I know I did. I was scared and I was a fool.”

“And you don’t think I’m scared?”

“Are you?”

“If you wouldn’t have walked away, if you hadn’t turned to another woman, a woman you’ve only known for what a month, maybe we would’ve had a chance to sit and talk about what was going on between us, maybe you would’ve known that I was, that I am, just as afraid as you are.” She walks around to the other side of the couch and crosses her arms in front of her,” You know back when we were married we always said communication was the heart of a good relationship, it’s what makes a good marriage. Somewhere along the way we stopped communicating and that’s when we lost each other.” She looks down and shakes her head, “I just never thought you’d run away again.”

He walks over to her and lays his hand on her crossed arms, “I’m sorry, Red.”

She looks at him, tears welling up, “Please…please stop calling me that. I can’t hear you call me that again only to have you walk out that door.”

He reaches up and wipes a tear off her cheek, “I’m not going to walk out that door, not before I tell you what’s in here,” he places his hand on his heart, “and if after I tell you, if you still want me to go, I’ll go.”

She nods her head and lets him lead her back over to the couch. She looks at him, waiting to hear what he has to say, “I’m listening.”

“First and foremost I need to make sure you know that what I’m feeling is true and real, and not only because of Matthew. It’s something that I’ve had locked deep down inside of me for all these years, and yes Matthew is a part of the reason why I’ve opened that hidden part of myself, but he’s not the only reason,” She nods, letting him know she understood. He reaches down and picks her hand up, laying their hands on her lap. He begins to gently caress the top of her hand as he gets ready to confess what’s in his heart, “I miss you, Nora; I miss us. I miss the way you look when you first wake up in the morning, the way you are before you’ve had your first cup of coffee. I miss the feel of waking up with you in my arms, the feel of your breath on my skin as you snuggle closer in your sleep,” He reaches out and runs his fingers over her lips, “I miss the taste of your lips. I miss making love to you all night and into the morning. I miss everything about you. I want you back in my life Nora, and not just as the mother of my son and my best friend, but as my everything; if you’ll have me.”

Nora starts to cry and laugh at the same time. Bo looks at her, a bit confused by her laughter and touched by her tears. Noticing the look on his face, she reaches out and lays her hand on his cheek, “If I’ll have you?” She tilts her head to the side, “You honestly don’t know, do you?”

“Know what, Re…Nora?”

“How I feel about you. I’ve fallen back in love with you, Bo. Do you think your turning to Eve would’ve hurt me like it did if I didn’t love you? These feelings I’m having, that I’ve been having, are so strong and so powerful, something I haven’t felt since we were together. We lived a whole lifetime when we were together before, Bo, and even thinking about going back there again scares the hell out of me, but I can’t help it. I’ve been slowly falling back in love with you for months now and I’ve missed you so much. I want you in my life, Bo. I need you in my life. I miss the way it feels to lie in your arms all night after we’ve made love,” she reaches out and runs her finger down the side of his face, “How your stubble would tickle my cheek when I would brush up against your face at night. I miss your famous bubble baths and the SHBDM,” she begins to laugh, “I even miss the way you used to smell after your fishing trips with Hank. I miss everything about you, Bo,” she pauses for a moment, “I miss us.”

He stands up and holds his hand out to her. She slips her hand in his and allows him to pull her up off the couch. He leans in and rests his forehead against hers, “I love you, Nora Buchanan. I want us back and this time I promise it’ll be forever.”

He leans in for a kiss, a kiss that holds within it forgiveness for the past, all the love they need to get them through the present, and hope for the future.

At the same time Matthew and Clint walk through the front door. Matthew looks up at his Uncle and smiles. Clint kneels down and whispers in his ear, “See partner, I told you it would all work out. A love like theirs…”

“Never dies,” Matthew finishes for him with a wink.

THE END!!!!!