Chapter 50
“Honey, I’m
ho-ome!” Claire sang as she walked into the house after work.
She wasn’t
expecting an answer; she wasn’t even expecting Nick to be home. So it surprised her when she heard his voice
floating downstairs, “Honey, I’m up he-ere!”
Smiling,
she dropped her purse and the bag of groceries she’d picked up at the store and
sprinted up the stairs to the master bedroom, where she found him sitting on
the bed amid a pile of rumpled t-shirts, folding them neatly and piling them
into his open suitcase, one by one.
“Hey,” she said as she came into the room and glanced into the
suitcase. Nick wasn’t the neatest
person, especially when it came to keeping his clothes organized inside his
huge closet, but the guy could pack a bag surprisingly well. Years of practice, she supposed. “I figured you’d be hanging out at the
hospital with Casey.”
“Already
did,” replied Nick, dropping another folded t-shirt into his suitcase. “I went up late this morning and stayed for a
couple hours.”
“How’s he
doing?” asked Claire and listened while Nick filled her in on his visit with
Casey. She was relieved to hear he was
doing better and decided she’d stop by for a nice long visit tomorrow after
work, if he was feeling up to it. With
everything that had been going on, she hadn’t been to see him since Friday, and
he’d been pretty out of it then.
“So, how
was work?” Nick asked as he kept packing.
“Eh, same
old. Oh, we got invitations for our
staff Halloween party,” Claire said with a smirk. Dr. Somers and his wife always held a costume
party for the staff the weekend before Halloween. She’d gone to it in past years, even making
an appearance at the one two years ago – she’d come as a doctor so that the
surgical mask she had to wear to protect her from germs would look like just a
part of her costume. Last year she
hadn’t gone because Tim had wanted her to dress up as a swan (she’d ended up in
Georgia with Nick instead), and this year wasn’t looking too promising
either. The thought of going to that
party alone when everyone else would be there with their husbands and
boyfriends was just sort of depressing.
“Staff
Halloween party, huh?” Nick chuckled. “Sounds
like a blast. Maybe you could all go as
dentists. Or teeth.”
“I’ll
probably go as a canker sore,” Claire joked.
“If I go at all.”
“You should
come to Cali for Halloween. I’ll find us
a rocking party to go to, and I guarantee it’ll be better than some dentist
costume party.”
Claire
couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not, but she played along. “Only if we dress up. I didn’t get to dress up last year.”
“Oh yeah?”
Nick raised an eyebrow. “What would you
wanna dress up as?” he asked warily.
Amused at
the fact that he seemed to be taking her seriously, she thought quickly, trying
to come up with the most ridiculous costume theme ever, something he’d never go
along with. “Hm… how about… ooh, I know! Peter Pan!
Peter Pan and Tinkerbelle!” she chirped brightly, making her eyes widen
with excitement.
If only
she’d had a camera ready at that moment – the look on Nick’s face was
priceless. He half-gaped, half-glared at
her incredulously, as if it to say, ‘Are you kidding me?’
She was, of
course, but she wasn’t about to let him know that and spoil her fun. “I’ll get myself some fairy wings and a cute
little green dress and go as Tinkerbell,” she went on, arching her back and
shaking her ass a little, “and you can be Peter Pan!”
“One-legged
Peter Pan; that’ll be nice,” Nick said flatly, looking thoroughly annoyed.
“Don’t be
silly; you’ll be adorable! We’ll get you
some green spandex,” she said, slapping his thigh lightly, “and a cute little
hat with a feather-“ She paused to
ruffle his hair. “-and maybe we can even
find you a panpipe to carry! Wouldn’t
that be sweet?”
Nick gave
her a very forced smile. “Claire, darling…
if you want to get yourself a little green dress and strut your stuff as
Tinkerbell, that would be more than fine with me. But as far as me dressing up like Peter
Pan? Hell no! No fucking way.”
Claire
couldn’t hold it back any longer; she burst out laughing. “I’m kidding!” she exclaimed
breathlessly. “Did you really think I’d
try to make you dress up like Peter Pan?
Or even worse, did you think I would really cram my ass into a green
miniskirt and go out in public?”
Nick smiled
weakly, looking utterly relieved. “No…
thank God!” he sighed, then added quickly, “Not about you in a miniskirt! Just about me in green tights.”
Claire
smirked. “Don’t worry. No Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. Are you serious about Halloween though?”
“What about
it? You coming to LA? Damn straight I’m serious. Will you come?”
Claire
thought out loud. “Halloween’s a Monday,
isn’t it? Three weeks from today… I could try to get that Monday and Tuesday
off from work… fly out for a long weekend and come back Tuesday…”
“Yeah!”
Nick urged, his eyes brightening. “That
sounds perfect. Whaddya say?”
Claire
smiled. “I’ll talk to Dr. Somers
tomorrow and see, okay?”
Nick
grinned back. “Awesome. I’m dead serious – I’ll take you to a real
party, and we’ll have a blast, okay?”
“Sounds
good,” said Claire, “but make sure it’s a costume-only party. Cause now I’m being serious too – we gotta dress
up!”
Nick didn’t
look quite as enthused about that, but he nodded anyway. “Okay.
Costume party it is. As long as I
don’t have to wear tights, I’m in.”
“Don’t
worry,” Claire promised, leaning in for a quick kiss, “I won’t make you wear
tights.”
***
Leaving
Nick to finish packing, Claire wandered back downstairs awhile later and
carried her groceries into the kitchen.
She wanted Nick’s last night in town to be special, so she’d decided to
cook a real dinner – it wasn’t something she did often, for cooking was not her
forte. She could prepare simple dishes,
enough to live on, but she wanted to make him a real meal, something
special. She’d decided on lasagna – with
extra cheese, of course, because that was how he liked it. She’d gotten her grandmother’s recipe and
figured if hers turned out half as good as her grandma’s, she could call it a
success.
Unpacking
her groceries, she quickly set to work, cooking the noodles, browning the
ground beef. She was just adding
spaghetti sauce and seasonings when Nick wandered in.
“Whatcha
cookin’?”
Claire
turned around, her back to the stove.
“You’ll see,” she said with a smile and a wink, shooing him away with
her hand. “Go away; I’ll call you when
it’s ready.”
“How long
will that be? I’m starving,” complained
Nick, rubbing his stomach and giving her plaintive looks.
She shook
her head, smiling; he was just like a little kid. “I dunno, probably another forty-five
minutes. Get a snack if you’re
hungry. Don’t ruin your appetite though,
cause this is going to be amazing,” she exaggerated with a grin.
Nick raised
one eyebrow cartoonishly and stuck his tongue out at her, leaving the kitchen
with a crinkled bag of Cheetos in hand.
When she
had the lasagna in the oven, Claire went upstairs to their bedroom. The clothes that had been strewn across the
bed earlier were gone now, and Nick’s suitcase was fastened and standing neatly
in one corner of the room with a few smaller bags, out of the way. A lump rose in Claire’s throat at the sight
of the luggage, but she forcefully swallowed it away and strode to the
closet. She debated putting on something
nice-looking, but, after spotting her favorite sweatpants on the floor, decided
against it. She pulled on the sweats and
a tank top, tossed her work scrubs into the laundry hamper, and trotted back
downstairs to check on their dinner.
Nothing was
burning yet, so she wandered on into the living room, where she found Nick
sprawled across the couch, one hand crammed inside his Cheetos bag, the other
holding the remote. “Do you miss this
when you’re traveling and working?” Claire asked with a laugh, dropping into
one of the chairs and bringing her legs up in front of her. “Just stuff like vegging in front of the TV?”
Nick
grinned, orange powder staining his front teeth. “I used to… but if I ever bitch to you about
having to work too hard and missing my TV, feel free to slap me. I’m sick of just laying around and watching
TV; I’ve had enough of that shit in the last year and a half.”
Claire
smiled knowingly and nodded. It was
obvious that he was just itching to get back to his work, his music. And as much as she was going to hate being
here without him, she was happy for him.
He needed this.
“So whatcha
doin’? Is dinner ready?” asked Nick,
looking hopeful.
“I told
you, forty-five minutes. It’s been like…
fifteen, if even that,” Claire answered, laughing.
“Then come
sit with me,” said Nick, sitting up straighter and scooting to one side of the
couch. Claire obediently slid out of her
chair and plopped down next to him, moving the bag of Cheetos out of the way so
she could curl up at his side. “So, are
you gonna miss me?” asked Nick, licking the powered cheese off his fingers
before loosely draping his arm around her.
She looked
up at him, meeting his eyes. “Of course
I am,” she replied sincerely.
“I’m gonna
miss you too.”
“I know
that.”
“I wish you
were coming with me…”
Claire
sighed and shook her head, looking away.
“Nick… please. Don’t make this
any harder than it’s already going to be,” she pleaded softly. “I’m going to be lucky if I even get to come
for Halloween.” Determined to change the
subject before an argument arose out of their very different careers, she went
on, “Besides, I’m sure you’ll be really busy; you wouldn’t have down time to
spend with me even if I was there. And
I’ll have plenty to keep me busy here.
Don’t forget we have a wedding to plan.”
“You still
getting together with your mom this weekend to talk about wedding stuff?”
“Yep,”
answered Claire with a smile. She
couldn’t believe they’d been engaged for three months already; the time had
flown. But she had decided that now
would be the perfect time to really get moving on the wedding planning. It was going to be a lot of work, but she
welcomed it – it would be something to occupy her free time and fill the void
after Nick left.
“Cool,”
murmured Nick, and she felt his arm tighten around her. Lowering her head to his shoulder, she
relaxed against him for a few minutes, feeling totally content for the first
time all day.
He loves me, she thought, smiling again to
herself. Even when he didn’t tell her,
she could see it. It was in his eyes
when he looked at her. Never could she
remember any man looking at her like that, and never did she tire of it. When the moment was right, it still gave her
chills… those eyes of his - full of blue, full of love. Even when he messed up, it was hard not to
forgive him when he looked at her like that.
As they sat
in tranquil silence, Claire’s senses picked up the aroma of her baking lasagna
wafting from the kitchen. Pleased to
find that it actually smelled good, she murmured, “I’ll be right back,” and
rose from the couch to go check the oven again.
Twenty
minutes later, she was slicing hot garlic bread while Nick loaded a generous
helping of lasagna onto his plate.
Tucking a slice of garlic bread alongside the piece of lasagna on his
plate, Claire sat down across from him and filled her own plate. “How is it?” she asked nervously as Nick
stuffed a forkful into his mouth.
Swallowing
thickly, Nick gave her the double thumbs up.
“Excellent,” he said, wiping a speck of sauce from the corner of
his mouth with a finger.
“Are you
being serious?” Claire asked, delighted.
“Dead
serious; it’s awesome,” replied Nick, cutting off another bite.
Relieved,
Claire dug into her own piece and gave it a taste. She didn’t think it was quite as “awesome” as
he did – the noodles were sort of undercooked and gummy, the sauce was too
runny, and the whole thing basically fell apart the moment she cut into
it. But for her first attempt, it wasn’t
bad, and Nick seemed to enjoy it – he’d polished off two large servings before
dinner was over. Realizing he probably
didn’t get home cooking like this very often, she decided she ought to get a
hold of some of her grandma’s old cookbooks and practice some more recipes
while he was gone.
“So, what
now?” she asked as she bent over to load the dishwasher.
“Hm…” Nick
murmured as he rose from the table with his plate and silverware. Giving her ass a light swat on his way to the
counter, he asked, “You wanna take the boat out?”
“Sure,”
replied Claire, adding his dishes to the dishwasher. She loved going out on the boat at night or
very early in the morning, when the sun was low in the sky and the temperature
still cool. It would probably be
downright chilly out there tonight, but she didn’t mind.
Dressed in sweatshirts, they made their way down to the sprawling docks awhile
later. The night was cloudless and cool,
and once they got away from the lights of the city, Claire knew they’d have a
great view of the stars.
She climbed
onto the boat and watched as Nick expertly readied it to launch. He loved this boat – going out onto the water
in it was not just a hobby for him; it was his way of escaping. She smiled as she heard him start to hum to
himself as he worked, but all at once, his voice sprang into her memory,
drowning out the quiet humming. “Claire doesn’t
like to hang out with me. She won’t
invite me out with her friends. Instead
she stands me up at the hospital, and she goes out boating, my favorite
activity. Right Claire?”
Claire’s
stomach jolted, and she swallowed hard.
“Hey, Nick?” she called timidly.
Nick quit
humming and looked over. “Yeah?”
“I’m really
sorry for not inviting you to go water-skiing on Saturday.”
Nick gave
her a funny look. “Why are you saying
that now?” he asked after a pause.
Claire
shrugged apologetically. “I just thought
of it… you said something on the phone to me that night, and it made me realize
I should have waited to see if you wanted to go with us that day. I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to make you feel
left out.”
Nick
hesitated again, cocking his head to the side and narrowing his eyes, as if
thinking carefully. Probably
wondering what the heck he said to me that night, Claire thought in
amusement.
“It’s
okay,” he said finally, shrugging.
“Whatever, I’m over it now.
They’re your friends anyway.”
It doesn’t have to be that way, she thought, but she kept her mouth
shut. After the past weekend, she’d
finally come to the conclusion that the ‘Any friend of Claire’s is a friend of
mine’ principle was not going to apply between Nick, Jamie, and Dianna anytime
soon. It was time to give it a rest.
It was
quite dark by the time Nick guided the boat away from the coast, and as they
got further out into the water, it grew darker and colder. Feeling the chill seep through her
sweatshirt, Claire hugged her arms to her chest and shivered for a few minutes
before finally reaching for the blanket she’d wisely brought along. She unfolded the large blanket and wrapped it
around her like a cocoon, feeling warmer almost instantly.
When they
were a few miles out, Nick killed the engine and came to join her, letting the
boat drift. Claire loosened the blanket
from around her body and held one end out towards him, allowing him to snuggle
in next to her and pull the blanket around them both. Sliding down in her seat, she leaned against
his warm body, resting her head against his chest. She felt his hand come down to stroke her
head, his fingers lightly playing with her hair, and she smiled, her cheek
brushing against the soft, cozy material of his sweatshirt. She breathed in deeply, his soothingly
familiar scent filling her nostrils, and exhaled with a relaxed sigh. His chest swelled and contracted beneath her
cheek as he did the same, and the whoosh of breath in his lungs momentarily
crescendoed over the slow, steady cadence of his heart in her ear.
For a long
time, neither of them spoke, but the silence seemed anything but awkward. To Claire, it was peaceful. Conversation was not needed as the two of
them sat nestled together inside the blanket, feeling the boat rock gently
underneath their feet, gazing up at the starry night sky, listening to each
other’s relaxed breathing and the lap of the water against the boat’s hull.
For a
moment, Claire held her breath and wished that time could stand still,
stretching the perfect evening into an endless night. She felt she could stay this way
forever. But Nick’s heart drummed on in
her ear like the tick of a clock, reminding her that they didn’t have forever;
they only had tonight. She breathed
again, a rush of cool air expanding her lungs.
Seconds later, she released it with a sigh.
I can feel the magic floating in the air
Being with you gets me that way
I watch the sunlight dance across your face
And I’ve never been this swept away
All my thoughts just seem to settle on the breeze
When I’m lying wrapped up in your arms
The whole world just fades away
The only thing I hear
Is the beating of your heart
And I can feel your breathe, just watching over me
And suddenly I’m melting into you
There’s nothing left to prove, baby all we need is just to be
Caught up in the touch, a slow and steady rush
And baby, isn’t that the way that love’s supposed to be
I can feel you breathe
Just breathe…
- “Breathe” by Faith Hill
***