Christmas or Bust

by A. M Burke

  “Or you could be in love with me?” Elliot guessed.

  “-or I could be in love with you,” Nora admitted with a heavy sigh.

  Elliot kissed her quickly. “Don’t sound so upset, love is supposed to be a good thing.”

  “I shouldn’t love you so quickly, so easily,” Nora argued. “It would have been better if you sent me packing.”

  “What the hell about this has been easy?” Elliot asked. “And how the hell would it be better? As for it being too quick, well I think that’s really a non-issue.”

  “A non-issue?”

  “What’s done is done,” Elliot explained. “I love you and you love me, that’s all that matters in the long run. I will never ‘send you packing’ and I’ll never let you send me away. I love you Nora, I’m sorry you had to come after me.”

  “Are you really?” Nora asked.

  “No, makes it better actually,” Elliot admitted. “I would have spent a month on this beach trying to forget you and then I would have driven to New York and bullied you into being with me again, and then you would have hated me.”

  Nora’s hands mimicked Elliot’s position as she framed his face with her hands, liking the feel of his new beard under her hands. “Never hated,” she promised, “mildly annoyed maybe but never hated.”

  “Good to know,” Elliot said gruffly and then pulled her against him again. Nora rose on her toes to connect their bodies and kissed him back with as much passion as he was giving her. Was this really happening? Was she dreaming? It had to be a dream because even in her best fantasies it didn’t go this well. But the arm he had wrapped around her waist, the hand tangled in her hair, and his lips on hers were all so real and all so much more than she could have hoped for. She horrified herself by pulling back as she burst into tears. Elliot’s terrified expression swam in front of her eyes before she buried her face in his t-shirt and let him wrap his arms around her. “Nora? Nora? What’s wrong babe, talk to me,” he whispered holding her close.

  “It’s silly,” she managed out between her sobs which were thankfully already subsiding.

  “Couldn’t be if it’s got you crying like this,” Elliot disagreed as his hand stroked a soothing circle on her back. “Talk to me Nora, what can I do for you? Please tell me.”

  “I’m just really happy,” she whispered embarrassed. “I don’t cry,” she promised, “really I don’t.”

  “Then I know these are really meaningful tears, even if they are happy tears, I still hate seeing them.”

  “I don’t like it any more than you,” Nora said sniffing as the tears subsided. “I look like a mess when I cry.”

  “You’re beautiful,” Elliot insisted.

  “You can’t even see me,” Nora said her voice muffled as she pressed her face into his chest.

  “You’re beautiful,” Elliot insisted again and Nora smiled against his chest. “Pretty girl are you done cry? I’d really like to kiss you now.”

  There were questions on the tip of Nora’s tongue- what happened now? Would he come to New York with her? Would she follow him wherever he end up? Did she still want to be a doctor? Was he going to be an engineer? What were they even going to do today? Nora swallowed the questions and leaned back, knowing she probably looked terrible after a night of no sleep and fresh tears and smiled up at him. Elliot smiled back leaned over her, touching their foreheads again, closing his eyes with a contented sigh.

  “I thought you were going to kiss me?” Nora questioned.

  “We’ve got all day for that,” Elliot told her opening his and eyes and smiling at her before closing his eyes again. “For now this is nice.”

  Nora smiled and closed her eyes as well. At least she had the answer of what they were doing today.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Nora woke to the sound of a door closing followed by the strong smell of pizza, her stomach rumbling in anticipation. She vaguely remembered Elliot mentioning something about ordering dinner but by that point in time Nora had been bordering on exhausted, not that she was complaining but she didn’t think anything she said or remembered would be admissible anywhere but in the confides of the bedroom.

  Hearing the creak of the stairs as Elliot returned to the second floor Nora felt the ridiculous smile she’d been sporting most of the day return. She was really going to have to learn to control that or someone might try to commit her. Before Elliot opened the door Nora buried her face in the pillow, hoping he might believe she was still asleep.

  “Up and at ‘em Ellis,” Elliot said coming through the door. Sitting on the bed next to Nora, still huddled under the blankets he gave her backside a poke. “Sleeping beauties don’t get pizza,” he reminded her but Nora still didn’t stir. “Come on Nora, you need to eat, rise and shine,” he ordered, adding the last bit with a light smack on her backside.

  “Hey Mister,” Nora protested finally coming out from under the covers. “Not cool.”

  “Got you out from under the covers didn’t I?”

  “The ends does not justify the means,” Nora scowled but Elliot was grinning at her and let her know the ridiculous smile was still in place making her attempt at reprimand less than impactful. “I’m tired,” she said making excuses, “I’m still on East Coast time.”

  “Speaking of the East Coast,” Elliot said bringing up the subject they’d been avoiding since they’d kissed their way from the beach to the bedroom, “how in the hell are you here?”

  “Around a hundred years ago there were these two brothers who had a dream of man flying,” Nora started before Elliot grabbed her and ignored her squeal of laughter as he knocked the pizza aside and pulled her into his lap.

  “Skip the aviation lesson,” he told her as he nuzzled her mussed hair thinking that bedhead suited her. But then again he was a bit biased when it came to her. “I know all about the Wright Brothers and their contributions to modern flight. What I want to know is how you were able to drop everything and come to California on a whim when, if I remember correctly, you had to practically sell your soul to make it home for Christmas. How were you able to come out here?”

  “It was hardly a whim,” Nora corrected. “I’ve been grappling with this since before Christmas.”

  “I had that big of an effect of you huh?” Elliot asked. He meant the question as a joke but Nora thought it warranted a serious answer.

  “Yes, you did,” she said staring up at him steadily and Elliot sucked in a breath of surprise as he stared back at her. Finally he closed his eyes, lowered his head and kissed her gently.

  “The feeling is mutual,” he whispered and then kissed her softly again. It didn’t seem possible that just this morning he’d woken up in yet another bad mood because he was waking up alone. He knew he could have found a companion easily enough but he hadn’t wanted just anyone. He’d wanted her and now she was here and he felt more content than he had in his entire life. Neither his mother nor father had ever given him much more than a second thought. He’d often wondered why they didn’t just ship him off to boarding school and been done with him instead of leaving him alone more often than not in the house while they went off to whatever function they were putting an appearance in at. Starting at age eight they’d stopped bothering with a nanny and had left him to his own devices at night.

  Claire’s parents had gotten wise and had talked to his parents, or at least that was what Elliot, in youth had believed. It wasn’t until he was older that he realized Claire’s parents must have threatened his parent’s with the penalty of public exposure for leaving him unattended at such a young age. After that Claire’s family had stared inviting him over more often and Elliot grew closer to his neighbors, not finding it odd until he was old enough to actually think on. By then Claire had become attached to him and he to her but he still tried to put some distance between himself and Claire’s parents. They’d let him but only so far and he knew that if he ever needed them, they’d be there as his family. Now Nora was his family and he’d do everything in his pow
er to see her happy and safe for the rest of their lives. He might be getting ahead of himself thinking of their futures but he had no intention of letting he go now that he had her.

  “How were you able to come here?” he asked again when he finally finished kissing her.

  “I told the hospital I quit,” Nora admitted and Elliot looked at her disbelieving. “Well, I told them I would quit if they didn’t give me a leave of absence.”

  “And they gave you one?” Elliot asked still looking unconvinced.

  “Had to fight with a few of the senior doctors and the board,” Nora shrugged and wiggled off his lap to grab the pizza box before rejoining him to lean back against the headboard. “But when the chief got wind of what was going on I was given the leave.”

  “You’re that smart and important?” he asked half joking but once again Nora shrugged and gave him a serious answer again.

  “Apparently.”

  “My girlfriend his smart and important,” Elliot said with exaggerated pride and Nora shot him a look.

  “Girlfriend?” she asked.

  “Is there a different title you prefer?” he asked. “Lady friend? Sweetheart? Lover? Inamorata?”

  “Good word,” Nora said looking impressed.

  “Mine?” Elliot suggested.

  “A bit caveman-ish don’t you think?” she asked but his words left her a bit breathless.

  “I’m keeping you,” he said simply putting an arm around her and pulling her closer.

  “Well that’s good because I’m keeping you too,” Nora said snuggling closer and they let out dual sighs of contentment before lapsing into silence for a few minutes before Nora’s rumbling stomach interrupted the moment. Laughing lightly Nora readjusted her position to be able to eat a slice of pizza.

  Elliot waited a beat before grabbing a slice himself and telling her a bit of information he had yet to share. “Claire called,” he said casually and he notice Nora still momentarily in mid-chew. “She said she hadn’t heard from you and was worried. Then she realized she wasn’t supposed to say anything to me and tried to backtrack and say she thought she was talking to someone else and then she hung up. It was pretty funny actually.”

  “I wouldn’t be here without her,” Nora said looking embarrassed. “I had better talk to her.”

  “I already sent her a text message using your phone,” Elliot told her. “I’m not sure she believed me, she kept asking for the proof word, whatever that is.”

  “Safety word,” Nora giggled, “is a secret word we agreed upon years ago that we would use if we were in danger but couldn’t say anything.”

  “You two really are meant to be best friends, you’re both crazy,” Elliot said rolling his eyes and Nora gently elbowed him.

  “Be nice,” she chastised.

  “I am being nice,” he told her. “If I wasn’t being nice I’d have you in the shower right now,” Elliot told her and the muscles in Nora’s stomach tightened in anticipation.

  “Well,” she said trying to think of a comeback but failing miserably.

  “Leave you speechless Dr. Nora?” Elliot asked brushing a strand of hair off her cheek.

  “No, just processing my words for the best possible comeback,” Nora told him.

  “Then by all means take your time,” Elliot said trying to appear somber but barely being able to containing his grin.

  “Well here’s a question for you,” Nora said trying to take focus on her lack of retort. “What if I didn’t want to be a doctor?”

  “What about it?” Elliot asked and then recalled that a few of their conversations from the drive across the country had involved Nora’s growing doubt over her path in life. “Well,” he said drawing in a big breath. “To be completely honest I don’t think I’d be able to love you unless you were a doctor. It’s a deal breaker for me.”

  “Yeah, that’s what the last boy I traveled across the country for told me too,” Nora sighed and Elliot studied her with raised eyebrows.

  “Not your first time doing this?” he asked dryly.

  “No, is it yours?” Nora asked innocently and then let out a laugh when Elliot grabbed her back. “You’re going to spill the pizza,” she warned.

  “Acceptable loss,” he told her lying down across her and then began to kiss her casually. The kiss didn’t remain casual for long and all thoughts of career paths and phone calls to friends were quickly forgotten.

  xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

  Two weeks later Nora was back at work, giving her advanced notice at the start of her first shift. She thought that three months would be plenty of time to get her affairs in order and for the hospital to reschedule her surgeries but it seemed the hospital wasn’t eager to let her go. The chief of surgery all but offered her the run of the place if she stayed which surprised her greatly. She knew she was good but she didn’t consider herself worth all that and in the end there was nothing they could have offered that would have kept her from moving to California to be with Elliot.

  For the foreseeable future Elliot would be staying in California to help his friend build up the construction business. He’d finally confessed he’d invested financially, reminding Nora that like Claire, Elliot came from a well off family. Her parents, though surprised at first, were thrilled she was moving back to their home state and even if it wasn’t directly back home it was close enough for them. Nora had to admit she was happy to be living so close again. Her only regret for leaving New York was leaving Claire but she promised that Nora and Elliot would never want for her company.

  “I’ll finally have a reason to dip into that trust fund,” Claire told Nora with a conspiratorial wink.

  Elliot had responded that he’d made sure she never got their address and a playful fight had ensued. It did Nora’s heart a world of good to see him acting like that, and Claire as well. The two were a huge part of one another’s life and she felt like a bit of an interloper but when she’d made the confession to Elliot later that night when they were curled up in her tiny bed he’d convinced her that nothing could be further from the truth.

  They’d enjoyed a drive back across the country together, taking a different route and making a few stops along the way. The second trip only served to confirm to Nora that Elliot was the man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with. The conversations came easier than ever, the love sweeter, and the time more precious.

  The three months she and Elliot allotted to pack up their lives and tie up loose ends seem to both crawl and fly by. Other than Claire there wasn’t much tying Nora too New York and it wasn’t until she was faced with leaving it that she realized it and she felt hugely liberated. She’d chained herself to the idea of being a doctor for so long she hadn’t allowed herself anything else. It had been no one’s fault but her own and she was taking charge and responsibility now. One would think she’d be longing for a complete taste of uninhibited freedom but she only felt that when she was with Elliot. They had a plan but she didn’t feel suffocated by it or tied to it unwillingly. They were going to take each day at a time and see what the future brought them. Who knew, maybe by the time she was certified to work in California she’d be passionate for medicine again. She had an idea in her mind, to open her own practice and was happy to tell Elliot her plans as they took their third trip across the country together.

  There was a trailer attached to Elliot’s SUV that was also packed to the hilt with all their worldly possessions. They’d planned another route to see different sights on their drive to their new home. For the time being they’d be living in the beachfront home Nora had found Elliot in. They were still debating on whether or not to live their permanently or to try and dedicate time to finding or building a home elsewhere. Both could admit they didn’t know if California would be their home indefinitely but for now there was a silent agreement to enjoy their lives and the new discoveries they were making about each other every day.

  “I like that on you,” Elliot said out of the blue as
they were leaving the Badlands after a brief stop.

  “I’m sorry? What was that?” Nora asked looking up from scrolling through Elliot’s iPod. He’d once accused her of having an odd taste in music but she thought his collection took the prize for the most random assortment of music she’d ever seen. There was everything from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra to Garth Brooks and Mariana’s Trench. In so many ways he was still an enigma to her but she was enjoying figuring him out.

  “The ring,” Elliot clarified. “I like that ring on you.”

  Nora blushed and cradled her left hand to her chest. “Thank you, I’m quite fond of it as well.”

  “Boyfriend give it to you?” Elliot asked.

  “Nah, just some guy I was using to get across the country,” Nora teased and enjoyed watching Elliot fight a smile.

  “Across the country huh? Sounds a little dicey.”

  “Oh he certainly was,” Nora agreed with an exaggerated nod. “And terrible in bed.”

  “Well that’s just tragic,” Elliot said with a shake of his head. “Someone should take him aside and give him a lesson or two.”

  “Oh I fully intend to,” Nora agreed as she adopted a somber expression. “In fact I have plans to meet with him tonight and show him just what he’s doing wrong.”

  “Well madam, you wound me,” Elliot said taking a hand off the wheel and placing it over his heart. “I had thought I had your undivided attention this evening.”

  “I’m sure I could squeeze you both in,” Nora giggled.

  “Alright, joke’s over,” Elliot said glancing at her.

  “Jealous of yourself Grimmald?” Nora asked.

  “Apparently,” he grinned. “And you’re going to have to stop calling me Grimmald, it’s going to get confusing after we get married. I won’t be sure if you’re talking to me or yourself.”

  “Point taken sir,” Nora agreed. She unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned across the consul to give in a kiss on the cheek. “And I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to get you all riled up.”