Chapter 7 #2
“That’s so sweet,” Nora said. He only noticed now that there was a gift-wrapped package stuffed into the top of her purse. So there would be an exchange after all.
“Before you open it, I just have to say something.” He hadn’t planned on saying it, the words just spilled out, and he couldn’t stop.
Didn’t want to. He needed her to know, even if she probably already did know.
“I—I don’t know if this is the right time, or the right place, but I have to tell you.
I don’t want to not see you for three weeks and not say it.
” She reached a hand across the table, took his.
He was right; she already knew what he was going to say.
“I love you, Nora. I mean, you probably already knew it. But—there it is. I love you.”
She grinned at him. “I know.” It took him a heartbeat, maybe two, to comprehend what she’d said, and why. And then he burst into giggles and so did she.
Nora , one moment later
Once she’d stopped laughing and came over to Daniel’s side of the booth to kiss him—because there was no other response to his words—there was a tiny part of Nora’s mind that was disappointed.
She’d wanted to say it first.
Technically, sort of, she had, with his gift. But he hadn’t seen it. If you told a tree in the forest you loved it, and there wasn’t anyone else around to hear, did it really happen?
But that was ridiculous. Her boyfriend, who was amazing, told her he loved her. There shouldn’t be even the tiniest part of her feeling disappointed. Besides, she could tell him right now.
“I know you wanted me to open my gift first, but I think you should open yours.” She handed it over, and he took it. He very carefully pried up one edge of the wrapping paper, then slowly pulled it up. She hadn’t guessed that he was one of those people. Well, nobody was perfect.
It took him a minute to completely unwrap the scrapbook. When he did, his face lit up. “Nora, this is—God, this is so cool!”
“Open it up! Read it!”
He did, and his expression went from joy to—shock, maybe? “You’re kidding,” he said. “I don’t believe it. How could you… how could we…?” His voice caught before he could finish whatever he was trying to say.
This was not the reaction she’d been expecting.
Not remotely. Not after all the work—and love—she’d poured into it.
Whatever she was feeling—disappointment?
Hurt? Something she didn’t even have a name for—must have shown on her face.
He reached over, cupped her face in his hands, and there was a pleading look in his eyes.
“Nora. Your gift… it was… never mind, I don’t even know the words.
Just, please. Open my gift now, and you’ll understand. I promise.”
Unlike Daniel, she tore into his wrapping, and—she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. How could he—how could they—it was unbelievable. Of course he was stunned when he opened the scrapbook and saw the photo. It was unbelievable.
If she’d opened his gift first, she’d have reacted exactly the same.
The same idea. The same photo. Of course it was the same—what else could either of them have done?
“It’s the Gift of the Magi! ” She kissed him again—like before, there was really no other response—and he kissed her back, and they went on doing that for what seemed like a very long time.
Daniel , nearly midnight
They were back outside Morris Hall. It was freezing tonight, but Daniel didn’t feel it at all, and he was pretty sure Nora didn’t, either.
They’d taken forty minutes to make the ten minute walk from the café.
Every few steps, one or the other of them had stopped to point out Christmas lights, or a particularly bright star or something else that wasn’t actually worth stopping for except that it provided an opportunity for another embrace, another kiss.
“I wish this night didn’t have to end,” she told him. She’d said almost the same thing after their first date, except there was no last minute packing or early morning train the next day.
Something about that night came back to him. A taste. Why was he thinking of raspberries now?
He leaned close, kissed her again, and he knew. “Your lipstick. That’s the same one you wore the first night.”
“Oh, my God! It took two months and you finally noticed!” But there was no exasperation in her voice, or her face.
Nothing there but joy—and love. “I remember thinking you might not notice even though I spent half an hour in the makeup aisle picking it out just for you, because guys never notice that kind of thing.”
“In my defense, there was a lot going on that night. And honestly, there are so many amazing things about you, your lipstick is pretty far down the list.”
Now she kissed him, and he kissed her back, and they held each other so close he could feel her heartbeat even through her coat and his.
He didn’t want to let her go. Forget even going back to his room; it would be enough to just stay out here with her, kissing her until dawn. Or until they both got frostbite, but even that would be worth it for more time with her.
But there wasn’t any choice. They had to be adults about this. It was only three weeks. Well, actually, twenty-three days.
It would be the longest twenty-three days of his life, waiting to see Nora again. To see his girlfriend again. To see the girl— the woman —he loved again.
“Daniel, how are we going to manage this? I know it’s ridiculous, but I don’t want to wait three weeks to see you again. That feels like forever.”
Of course she was thinking exactly the same thing he was.
“We can talk on the phone, at least. That’s better than nothing.” Except, he didn’t have her home number in Providence, and she didn’t have his in the Bronx.
“Wow, I’m really thick. Give me a pen,” he said, and when she dug one out of her purse and handed it to him, he carefully pulled the soft leather glove off her left hand and wrote the number down on her palm.
She tried to hold back laughter. “Aren’t you going to tell me to write it in a notebook as soon as I get back to my room?”
He took off his own glove, held his left palm out to her. “Do I need to?”
She wrote her home number down. “No. I don’t think either of us need to be told.”
He embraced her again, awkwardly with only his right arm, and she did the same. He could only imagine how ridiculous they must look, each holding up their left hand in the air as they kissed one final time before she finally pulled away and headed into the warmth of Morris Hall.
Daniel didn’t care if he looked ridiculous. He only cared that in twenty-three days he’d see the woman he loved again.