From Forbidden Fruit to Love Renewed ~Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

Nora sits in the waiting room; flipping through a magazine but having no idea what was on the pages in front of her. Her mind was 1,000 miles away; literally. She was thinking about her son, knowing he was just about to come home from school. She pulled herself out of her thoughts when she heard the doctor call her name, “Ms. Buchanan, everything’s ready.”

“Thank you”, closing her magazine; following the doctor down the hallway.

Twenty minutes later Nora is walking down the street heading for her favorite spot by the water; two new black and white photos in her hand. At the same time a few blocks away she opens the door, surprised to see him standing there, “Bo, what are you doing here?”

“Rachel, I need to see your mother”, walking past her into the living room, “she can’t avoid me forever, we have a son who needs her; we have things to discuss.”

“She’s not here, right now.”

“Then where is she, Rachel?...Len and Selma’s?...The grocery store?...Where?”, she could see the desperation in his eyes.

“She’s down by the water, she likes to walk on the beach,” He pulls her into an embrace.

“Thank you”, he whispers as he turns to walk out the door.

He sees her standing by the water; a soft rain starting to fall, as he remembers their days at the beach house and how relaxed and free they felt; just happy being together. He walks up behind her, “Hi.”

Hearing his voice, she slips the ring off her finger, and puts it in her pocket before turning around, “Hi, yourself.”

His eyes immediately settle on her round stomach, a sudden sadness overcoming him. He shakes it off and focuses on what he came there for, “So where is it?” looking down at her left hand.

“Where’s what?” confused by his question.

“Matthew tells me you’ve been wearing a ring, a ring”, he pulls his own wedding band out of his pocket, “that looks just like this…but for a girl”, smiling as he says the last part.

“Matthew must be mistaken. I haven’t been wearing a ring.”

He just sighs and thinks to himself, “She never lets me in…” He continues to roll the ring between his fingers, “So how’s the case coming? Will you be home soon?”

“I’m not sure yet when I’ll be home.”

“Matthew was really disappointed that you missed his spelling bee,” pausing for a moment before continuing, “You know Nora, you can’t let what happened between us stop you from being there for our child,” he notices her hand instinctively going to her stomach, “he needs you as much as he needs me.”

“Please don’t tell me how to be a mother to our child,” she says defensively.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just that Matthew misses you so much,” his voice quiets, “I miss you.”

“Bo…”

“I’m sorry, I know you’re supposedly in love with someone else, having “his” child, but I don’t see why that means we can’t be friends.”

Her heart breaking, “We’ll always be friends, Bo”, she wanted to be so much more, the rain falling just a little harder now, hiding the tears on both their faces.

It was raining hard in Houston when I ran into her
I searched for conversation but I was lost for words
Then a cloud of tear filled memories came crashin down on me
If it hadn’t been for the pourin rain I’m sure she would have seen

Tears in the rain hidin’ the pain
Maybe she’d come back if she could see me cry
She thinks I’m so strong, oh, but she’s so wrong
She just couldn’t see these tears in the rain

“Friends talk, Nora, friends don’t run away from each other,” taking her hand in his.

“I didn’t run away, I came here for…”

He looks at her, “I know there’s no case, Nora.”

She looks up at him, taking her hand out of his, “How dare you check up on me!”

“I had to…you wouldn’t talk to me, you’ve made sure Renee, Vicki, Rachel, your parents, even Hank won’t talk to me about you. Did you expect me to just disappear into the night? Forget about you? I’m not like you, Nora. I can’t just forget about what happened that night between us.” He glances down at her stomach, laying his hand on it, “If I was a betting man, I’d say we made this baby that night.”

“Bo…”

He takes her face in his hands and kisses her, immediately feeling her response to his kiss until she suddenly pulls away. He keeps his hands on her face as he looks deep in her eyes, “Nora…tell me you felt nothing when we kissed. Look me in the eye and tell me you felt nothing. If you can then I’ll go back to Llanview right now, I’ll marry Gabrielle. I’ll walk away even though I know in my gut that this child is mine. I’ll walk away and give you the space you feel you need and are so determined to have.”

“I’m sorry, Bo. I…,” pulls her shoulders back and looks him in the eyes, “I can’t tell you that I felt something when I didn’t.” looking back down at the ground unable to look him in the eyes any longer, “It’s getting late and the…the rains coming down harder now….and…”

He lifts her chin, forcing her to look at him, “Fine, you’ve given me your answer, now it’s time for you to listen to me. I won’t walk away from this child, mine or not. You can’t hide forever, Nora”, walking away; leaving her standing in the rain, watching him leave.

Now I’ll regret that moment cuz I didn’t let her know
How much I still loved her I was hopin it would show
But the raindrops and the teardrops ran together on my face
Now she’ll never ever know no one can take her place

Tears in the rain hidin’ the pain
Maybe she’d come back if she could see me cry
She thinks I’m so strong oh, but she’s so wrong
She just couldn’t see these tears in the rain
She thinks I’m so strong oh, but she’s so wrong
She just couldn’t see these tears in the rain.

She stands there watching him disappear around the corner. She takes the ring out of her pocket and places it back on her finger, “I won’t hide forever, Bo. I promise you that, but I can’t come back until I know you won’t push aside your happiness to do what you feel is right.”

She walks into the quiet house twenty minutes later and heads straight back to her bedroom. She quickly changes out of her wet clothes. She sits down on her bed; pulling her robe tight against her, trying to warm the chill inside her. She reaches into the drawer beside her bed and pulls out a photo album; a bit worn and tattered from years of viewing. She picks up her purse and pulls out the two black and white photos; placing them on the next page of the album. She closes the album a few minutes later; running her fingers over the writing on the front, “Buchanan Family Memories.”

She sets the album aside and begins to write,” December 10, 2003…I was right, Bo. We’re having a little girl. Matthew is going to be so excited to have a little sister. "I miss you, Bo. I miss my best friend, but things are the way they need to be right now. You’ll be married to Gabrielle soon, and then I can come home."

*~*~*

He walks into the garret an hour and a half later. He looks over at the couch, and sighs, loosening his tie as he calls out for her, “Gabrielle, you home?”…No answer.

He sits down on the couch, absentmindedly running his hands along the leather, pulling out his wallet. He takes out a picture of the three of them at Matthew’s awards banquet. He puts the picture back in his wallet and pulls out another one; this one a bit tattered and worn from years viewing. He looks down at their smiling faces and sighs, “It was on hell of a dance while it lasted, Red.” He puts the pictures away when he hears her key in the door.

“Bo, I had no idea you would be back from your business meeting so soon”, sitting down beside him.

“Well things didn’t go quite as I had planned, so I left early.”

“I’m sorry…oh, I almost forgot I picked up the catalog for the invitations…”

“I think it’s time we set a date,” he blurts before he changes his mind.

TBC....