~Us Again~

Bo pulls into her driveway, his “Bo mobile” loaded down with every piece of camping gear known to man. He can’t believe that once again their son roped them into another outing; just the three of them. He leans his head back against the headrest, his mind drifting back to NYC and the dance contest…

They stand around the large arena, the music plays loudly, so loud they can barely hear what the other is saying. He looks at her; he can see the wheels turning. Whether they want to admit it or not, they both want to win this thing. “For Matthew,” they keep saying…”Yeah right,” he thinks to himself.

She catches him watching her, their eyes remain locked; she smiles that smile that lights up her whole face. She brushes her hair back behind her ear; his heart skips a beat, “What’s happening here?”

Bo’s brought out of his thoughts by a knock on his window. He sits up and opens the door, a huge smile spreading across his face. He hops down and looks towards the house, “Hey, champ. You guys ready for our camping trip?”

Matthew rolls his eyes and crinkles up his nose, “I am…don’t think she is though.” He grumbles, pointing over his shoulder.

Bo laughs, and ruffles his hair. “Well Matt”, picking him up and placing him on his shoulders, “Let’s go see if we can light a fire under ole’ city girl in there.”

Matthew shifts from his father’s shoulders to hanging off his back as they make their way through the house. They check her office then the kitchen, “She must still be upstairs,” Matthew says.

“Are you sure she was definitely awake?” Bo says with a smirk.

Matthew shrugs, “I did what you told me to do, Dad. I made her coffee just the way you showed me last night when you set the timer on that coffee thing in the kitchen, and I stuck the cup under her nose when it was time to wake her up.”

Bo tried to stifle his laughter, “And…”

Matthew sighs, “She opened one eye and called me by my full name…telling me to get out, and not come back in until it wasn’t the middle of the night. I tried to tell her it was morning, but…,” he shrugs, “She just closed her eye and pulled the blanket up over her head.”

Bo crinkles up his face, much like Matthew had just done, “Ouch!...It’s never a good sign when she uses your full name. I should know.” Matthew slides down Bo’s back and begins to walk up the stairs. Bo grabs his arm, “Why don’t you wait down here, sport. Your old man has a lot of experience trying to get your mother up and at ‘em in the morning.”

Matthew looks up the stairs and back up at his father, “Good luck.” He says before walking over to the couch and flipping on the TV.

Bo looks over at Matthew, who is flipping through the channels, finally deciding to just play a quick game on his game system. Bo looks up the stairs and sighs, “Here goes nothin’,” he mumbles.

Bo walks down the hallway towards her bedroom. He’d never been in her bedroom, only passing it on his way towards Matthew’s, during those times when he’s stayed at the house long enough to tuck him in at night. Suddenly his heart begins to race, his palms becoming sweaty. “Get a grip, Buchanan,” he scolds himself.

He pauses just inside her bedroom door, smiling at the sight before him, “So that’s where that t-shirt and pair of boxers went,” he thought to himself. He continues to stare at her for a few minutes. ‘Only she could make an old Eagles t-shirt and boxers look sexy.’  “Whoa, where did that come from?” he whispers.

He walks towards her bed, “Still a blanket-hog,” he thinks to himself. He looks at the nightstand beside her bed. She still laid every thing out the same way, her watch, her rings, and glasses. If he closed his eyes he could almost imagine their old bedroom, it even smelled the same, her scent filling his senses. He shook his head and returned to the present.

He picks up the now cold mug of coffee and kneels down beside the bed. He slowly moves the mug back and forth under her nose. He tries to stifle his laughter when he hears her begin to moan. A huge smile spreads across his face when he sees her left eye pop open.

“Beaufort Oglethorpe Buchanan, what the hell are you doing in my bedroom,” she glances at the clock on the nightstand, “at 4:30 in the morning?”

“Well I see there’s some things time just doesn’t change…like YOU in the morning.”

She grabs the pillow beside her and hurls it at his head, knocking him off balance, “Get out, Buchanan!”

He stands up and looks down at her, “Nice t-shirt and boxers, by the way. I’ve been looking for them,” he says with a wink.

She looks down and points to the door, “Get out!”

Bo just smiles, “We’re leaving in thirty minutes,” he walks back over to her bed and leans across it; invading her personal space, “and if I have to I’ll throw you over my shoulder and carry you out….as you are.”

With that Bo stands and walks out the door, quickly closing her door before the pillow she’s thrown across the room hits him square in the face. She leans back against the headboard with a sigh, “You’re the most infuriating man in the world, Bo Buchanan!,” she yells at the closed door. She brought her hand up to her throat, a blush rising to her cheeks, “Why does he get to me like this?,” she thinks to herself.

Bo looks back at the closed door and just shakes his head, “That woman,” he thinks to himself as he walks down the stairs, whistling.

Matthew heard his father coming down the stairs. He turns on the couch, practically hanging over the back of it, “So any luck, Dad?”

Bo looks up the stairs and back at their son, “Son, you’re mother will be down shortly,” he says with a smile.

Thirty one minutes and twenty seconds later she was met at the bottom of the stairs by his sparkling blue eyes; that smile that sent her heart racing and a fresh cup of coffee. She takes the mug from him and takes a sip. She steps down off the last step. Bo backs up a little, that smile still plastered across his face, “You better wipe that smirk off your face right now, Buchanan.”

He raises his hands in front of him, “Hey, this is for our son, remember?”

“Yes…but you’re getting WAY too much enjoyment out of this.”

He smiles at her and takes the mug out of her hand, stealing a sip, “Yes I am,” he says to her back as she walks away, her jean shorts affording him a view he hadn’t seen in a while.

She turns around and catches him staring, “Well you comin’ or not?”

Her question pulls him from his thoughts, as a heat rises up the back of his neck, “Um…yeah, let’s roll,” he finally manages to say.

She smiles a knowing smile, “You still got it,” she mumbles to herself as she follows him out the front door.

He turns around, “What did you say?”

She smiles, “Nothing…nothing at all.”

He just nods his head and gives her a ‘yeah right’ look, as he walks around to the driver’s side of the car.

Ten minutes later they’re on their way up Llantano Mountain. They drove up the mountain with the windows rolled down, the mid summer wind blowing through their hair. Bo looks over at her as she looks out the window, her hair blowing across her face. He watches her as she tucks her hair behind her ear, only to have it blow back into her face.

For the first time in a long time he felt that twinge, that feeling from down deep inside, when he looked at her, a feeling he’s only ever felt with her. Could he be? Could he actually be falling in love with her again?

She watches him as he drives, studying his face. She would catch him looking in the mirror at Matthew as he sleeps in the backseat, and the smile that came to his face each time he looked at him, brought tears to her eyes.

For the first time in a long time she felt that twinge, that feeling from down deep inside, when she looked at him, a feeling she’s only ever felt with him. Could she be? Could she actually be falling in love with him again?

They arrive at the campground an hour later. Bo turns and looks over at her, as she attempts to make some sense out of her windblown hair. He balls his hands up in a fist, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her hair. He clears his throat and turns off the engine, “Well here we are.”

She turns and looks at him, “Yeah, here we are.”

She opens her door and climbs out of the Jeep, stretching her arms high above her head, and arching her back. Bo stares for a moment; deciding he better busy himself with unloading the camping gear, before she catches him staring again.

Nora turns and reaches into the back seat of the Jeep, lightly shaking Matthew awake, “Come on, champ, hop out and help your old dad unload the stuff.”

“Hey, who you calling old,” he says with a smile.

Matthew looks between his parents and smiles, “Yep, working like a charm,” he thinks to himself.

An hour later their camp is set up and Bo and Matthew are attempting to start a fire. Bo looks up from their activity and watches her as she walks along the lake. The early morning sun is reflecting off the water, casting a glow around her. He’s brought out of his thoughts when a flame burns the tip of his finger. He pulls his hand back, shaking his finger in the air. Matthew shakes his head, “Gotta pay attention, dad.”

Bo looks over at Matthew and then back down at Nora, who is now sitting by the shoreline, “Yeah, I really should’ve paid more attention,” not talking about the fire now, but the woman he let slip through his fingers.

He walks down to the lake, a cup of coffee in hand. He walks up behind where she sits and holds the mug in front of her face, “Here, you haven’t actually had a full cup yet.”

She takes the cup and tilts her head back, “Thanks,” she says with a smile.

He walks around to her side and sits down. Matthew watches them from where he stands, skipping rocks across the water. They sit in silence, watching the ducks dive for food and return to the surface, the mosquitoes as they dance across the surface of the water, and the occasional fish coming up to feast on a late morning snack.

After a while he breaks the silence, “Penny for your thoughts, Red.”

She looks over at him and then back out at the water, “I was remembering the last time we were at a lake. We were with Rachel.”

“You remember that?”

“Yeah, I remember,” she pauses for a moment, “Its funny how being someplace can bring a lost memory back.” They sit in silence for a few minutes before she speaks again, “Bo?”

“Hmm…”

“Do you ever wish we’d never gone back to Llanview that day? That we had just taken off.”

“No…I don’t regret going back.”

“Even with everything that happened, you’d still wish we hadn’t put Llanview behind us?”

“Rachel’s future was more important, Red,” he looks over at her, “What brought this on?”

She shrugs, “I don’t know,” she looks over at him, “Maybe it’s all this fresh air messing with my head,” she jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

“And you’re hiding behind your humor, so out with it, Nora. What really brought this on?”

She stands up and dusts off the back of her shorts, “You know, I’m starving,” she turns and walks back towards the camp.

Bo stands up and shakes his head, “Damn, that woman is stubborn.”

Bo walks over and stands beside Matthew, “So how many skips are you up to?”

“Six,” Matthew looks up at his dad, “What’s wrong with mommy?”

He looks behind him to where she was sitting on the log, eating a bagel, and then back down at Matthew, “Nothing, champ. Your mom’s fine.”

Nora watches them down by the lake, father and son skipping rocks. Her mind drifts to their conversation from a few moments ago. Why did she go there, back to their past? She hasn’t had a rush of memories in a long time, feelings of déjà vu, sure, but not full blown memories. She sighs and stands up, making her way around the other side of the table. She opens up the cooler and pulls out the bottle of apple juice, shaking off the condensation before setting it down on the table. She picks up a cup and pours Matthew some juice and sets the cup down on the table while she pours Bo a cup of coffee. She walks down to the lake and stands beside Bo.

Bo turns and takes the cup from her, “Thank you,” he says with a smile. She smiles back and hands Matthew his juice. Matthew finishes it all at once and hands the cup back to Nora, before running off to the other end of the shore.

They stand in silence for a while, watching Matthew. After a few more minutes she breaks the silence, “I’m sorry…”

He looks over at her, noticing that she’s slowly ripping the styrofoam cup in her hand, “What do you have to be sorry for?”

“For earlier,” she sighs, “I have no idea why I went there. Why I brought up that memory. It was just so….”

“You remembered something after all this time, it’s understandable.” She looks out over the water, still tearing little pieces of styrofoam and dropping them into the bottom of the cup. He steps in front of her; she shifts her gaze away from him. He reaches out and turns her face, making her look at him, “Its okay, Red. We can talk about it if you want. I’ll tell you anything you want.”

She looks down the shoreline at Matthew digging in the sand and then back at Bo. The caring and understanding is evident in his eyes and she knows the he’d risk going back there, back to that time, if she asked him too. She clears her throat, trying to clear away the lump her emotions were causing, “You know Matthew looks like he could use his dad’s help digging for those worms.”

Bo looks over at Matthew and then back at her, “Nora…”

“No, Bo, it’s okay. I’m okay,” she tilts her head towards Matthew, “Go be with our son.”

Bo nods his head and walks over to where Matthew was sitting on the ground, his shovel and pail by his side. Nora watches them for a few minutes and then walks back up to the campsite. She picks up the Grisham novel she’s been trying to find time to read. She settles into the chair and looks down the shoreline at father and son for a moment before she finally opens the book.

Bo glances up at her. He smiles as he watches her, her glasses perched low on her nose, her lips slowly moving as she reads the words in front of her. A slow heat begins to rise up the back of his neck as his eyes move from her face down to her long tanned legs propped up on the log in front of her.

He quickly turns his attention back to Matthew who is now covered from head to toe with dirt. Bo shakes his head and laughs, “Come on, champ. We better get you cleaned up.”

Matthew’s shoulders slumped, “Aww dad, I still need to find more worms so we can fish tomorrow morning.”

Bo looks into the bucket practically overflowing with worms, “I think we’ve got enough, son. Let’s go clean up and eat.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon, eating, playing “go fish” and teasing Nora with the worms. The sun was barely touching the horizon when Bo carried a sleeping Matthew into the tent. He zipped him into his sleeping bag and placed a kiss on his forehead.

Bo exits the tent, expecting to see her sitting where he left her by the fire. He looks around the camp site, finally noticing her standing out by the water. She was a washed in a glow of orange and red as the colors of the sunset reflected off the water. He stands there and watches her for a few minutes, that familiar tug pulling at his heart once again.

He picks up the small radio sitting on the table and carries it down to the lakeshore. He sets it on a large rock and quickly finds the only clear station. ‘Well at least you can dance to it,’ he thinks to himself when he realizes the only station he can find is the local country station. He walks up behind her. She shivers when she feels his breath on the back of her neck as he begins to speak, “Dance with me, Red?” She turns around and looks into his eyes. The same colors reflecting off the lake were now reflected in his crystal clear eyes. He sees the look in her eyes, knowing the war that was raging within him was raging within her also. He reaches out and takes her hand and squeezes it, “Just one dance; for old time’s sake.”

She looks down at their hands. It just felt so right. She tilts her head to the side and gives him a smile that would melt anyone’s heart, “Just one?” A smile spreads across his face as he pulls her close.

Her body instantly melts into his and soon they were moving in perfect rhythm with the music coming from the small radio…

Tell me what I have to do tonight,
‘Cause I’d do anything to make it right.
Let’s be us again.
Sorry for the way I lost my head,
I don’t know why I said the things I said:
Let’s be us again.

She closes her eyes, the words hitting her hard as she thinks about what the singer is saying, as though the words were written only for them. Could they be an “us” again?

Here I stand with everything to lose,
And all I know is, I don’t wanna ever see the end.
Baby, please, I’m reaching out for you,
Won’t you open up your heart an' let me come back in?
Let’s be us again,
Ooh, us again.

She felt him pull her tighter, knowing that the words were having the same effect on him as they were on her. She felt his heart begin to beat faster as they continued to dance, the music coming from the radio and the sounds of the forest on a mid summer night, the only sounds they could hear.

Look at me, I’m way past pride.
Isn’t there some way that we can try,
To be us again.
An' even if it takes a while,
I’ll wait right here until I see that smile,
That says we’re us again.

He continues to let the words hit home, to pierce through the last of his pride and finally open the hidden part of his heart where he held his closely guarded love for her all these years.

Here I stand with everything to lose,
And all I know is, I don’t wanna ever see the end.
Baby, please, I’m reaching out for you,
Won’t you open up your heart an' let me come back in?
Let’s be us.

Baby, baby, what would I do?
Can’t imagine life without you.

She could feel his tears as they soaked through her shirt. He could feel hers as her shoulder rests on his.

Here I stand with everything to lose,
And all I know is, I don’t wanna ever see the end.
Baby, please, I’m reaching out for you,
Won’t you open up your heart an' let me come back in?
Oh, here I am, I’m reaching out for you,
So won’t you open up your heart an' let me come back in?

 

Let’s be us again.
Oh, let’s be us again.

The song ends and another begins but neither hears it, the words still playing though their minds. She lifts her head off his shoulder, only stepping slightly out of his tight embrace. He wraps his arms lower across her waist and they stare into each other’s eyes for a few minutes, both having a hard time find their voice.

He reaches out and wipes the tears from her cheeks. She leans her head against his palm, “Remember when we were talking earlier about that time on the lake; with Rachel?” He nods his head, not saying a word, knowing she was finally ready to talk, “I want that again. You, me, Matthew, Rachel….I want us to be a family again…I want us to be an “us” again.”

He smiles, taking her face in his hands and stares at her for a moment. He sees the questions in her eyes, and slowly leans in to kiss her questions away, “I don’t know when it happened, Red, but you’ve opened my whole heart again, every thing that I’ve been keeping hidden away all these years has just melted away. There’s no longer a reason to hide myself, to keep any part of me guarded. I want nothing more than to be with you, to be “us” again….”

Matthew slowly crawls out of the tent, sticking his head just outside the opening. He glances down at the lake, and sees them, dancing in the moonlight. He smiles and slips back into the tent, knowing one dream had finally come true.

The End…

“Let’s Be Us Again.” By Lonestar