By the time I had finished my ten-hour shift at the research center, I had nearly forgotten what I would be doing today. Nova had called me just moments before to confirm that we were helping Emma with her date. We would be having the pre-date meeting at Nova's house so that Tabitha didn't know we were helping Emma. When I walked through the front door, I was immediately pulled in for a hug – like always, now that I think about it – and Emma waved from the kitchen.
"So," I breathed, "I didn't know what to bring, and I forgot we were meeting today."
"Really?" Emma asked, "Honestly, that's okay because you have a lot on your plate. And you're here now, so that's all that matters."
"Yeah." I said as Nova clasped her hands together.
"Alright, we should probably get started on your outfit." Nova said, grabbing a stack of dresses from the back of the couch.
After Emma was dressed in a flattering blue cocktail dress, she looked herself over in the mirror, smiling to herself. "Oh! It's so beautiful, thank you!" I smiled to myself, feeling the overwhelming sense of happiness. And then my phone binged, taking me away from the two women before me. Hey Elsie, it's Sabrina. Do you have a minute? Immediately calling my cousin back, she answers on the first ring. "Hey, are you okay?"
"Yeah, Mom wanted to know when the gender reveal party was. I've tried calling Nova, but she didn't answer, and I'm guessing Josh is at work." She paused, "Oh, and she said she wants to meet Alex."
"Um, actually, I'm not too sure when her reveal party is, hold on, let me ask," Cupping my hand to my cell phone, I turn to Nova, who was busy with Emma's hair. "Hey, Nova, Sabrina, and Aunt Christie wants to know when your gender reveal party will be."
"It's on October twelfth at my house. Three o'clock." She replies, placing a bobby pin into Emma's hair.
Repeating the information back to Sabrina, she hastily reminded me that they had yet to meet Alex. Although they trusted my judgment and knew that Nova wouldn't have let me be with just anyone, they would like to meet him just in case. After reassuring her that they would meet him at the party, we said our goodbyes and I hung up.
"I can't wait to find out what the baby is!" Nova gushed, presenting Emma to me for my approval. Not that it was necessary.
"Yeah," I grinned, feeling a little excited myself.
But for some reason, I had the odd sense that the baby was a girl, and she would turn out to be just like her mother.
*
In the weeks that followed, the weather was relatively pleasant. Nova was a few months along and showed me pictures every time she visited. We were currently at her house, filling out the little one's baby journal that Nova had seen on the internet.
Apparently, members of the family were supposed to write about the pregnancy and put pictures in it so that the child would look back on it. Not that I thought they would care what Nova ate this afternoon, but it was an interesting idea none-the-less. Nova was still working at her shop, and I knew she would continue after the baby was born.
"So, what do you and Alex have planned today?"
"Actually, we don't have anything," I respond, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear, "I'm going to the beach to go trash hunting, and Alex is working."
"Oh." She paused, placing a sonogram picture in the book.
"Do you need me to help with anything else before I head out?" I asked, standing.
"No, you go right ahead." Nova replied, dismissing me with her hand.
"I better be the first one to know what you're having." She grinned, knowingly, "You've never liked surprises. I promise, as soon as we find out, I'll let you know."
"Love you, sis!" I called, leaving her sitting in the living room after grabbing a trash bag and gloves from the cabinet.
It was a short walk from her house to the beach, and I was grateful for the seemingly perfect weather. It was supposed to rain all week next week, and I was not looking forward to it. But I guess it was better than the bipolar weather of Missouri. Pulling up my hair in a quick ponytail, I quickly got to work.
The beach was relatively clean, save for a few bottle caps, straws, and candy wrappers. A few boats dotted the horizon while the beach was littered with people. I guess that's better than it being covered in trash.
"Elsie?" I heard someone call, making me lookup. There in a wetsuit and holding a surfboard was my co-worker Jeanne.
"Hey."
"What are you doing?" She asked, setting her board onto the white sand. Her usually unruly brown curls were pulled away from her face, and I noted how at ease she was on the beach. Often, she would be the first one finished with the water samples, but when we got out to do a trash pick-up, she stayed long after we needed to head back.
"Oh, I usually do a trash clean up on Tuesdays." I responded, placing a Styrofoam cup in the trash bag.
"Oh," She said, "Do you have any other plans for today?"
"Just laundry." I said, laughing.
"That's always fun." She commented before picking up her board, "Well, I should be getting back. Have fun!"
I watched as she ran back towards the sea before my eyes caught sight of a child making a sandcastle. I smiled to myself as I watched him scoop the sand and pat it gently into the mound. After a few hours of working, I made my way towards the pavilion to throw away the trash that I found, no sooner did I when the dog we all know and love pounce. Thankfully, I had enough time to back away before Buddy lunged again.
"No!" I yelled, trying to get him not to run me over a second time. Tabitha came running a moment after with Emma trailing behind. "Get down!"
Strangely enough, he obeyed, laying down long enough to Tabitha to grab hold of his leash. "I can't believe it!" Tabitha exclaimed," I can't take him anywhere."
I laughed, "How are you guys?"
"We're good." Emma said. "We were going to take Buddy for a walk, but he decided we needed to go on a run."
"That sounds just like him."
"So, what are you doing?" Tabitha asked, wrapping the end of the leash a couple of times around her wrist.
"I was picking up trash along the beach, but now I'm going to go home and finish some laundry."
"Oh, well, have fun!" Tabitha said, ushering Buddy and Emma away.
Stopping by Nova's shop on the way home, I was immediately greeted by a new employee. "Hi, how are you? Can I help you find anything today?"
"Hi, no, I'm not looking for anything. I was just wondering how the shop was doing."
"You're Nova's sister, right?" She asked, tucking a hair behind her ear.
"Yes."
"Cool, well," She paused, "If you do need anything, just let me know."
"Thanks, well, keep up the good work." I said, leaving the cashier behind.
By the time I made it home, it was nearly two. Switching over my laundry and pulling the hamper into the living room, I switched the TV on and listened as the news played while I folded. While my laundry was in the wash, I decided to make myself some lunch. Alex would be at the beach all day teaching Scuba lessons, not that I minded. I was just happy he was doing something that he loved. We would be scuba diving tomorrow, so I made a mental note to make sure my equipment was ready, and my wetsuit was cleaned.
After lunch, I rinsed the dishes and switched over my clothes. Thankfully, I only had about two loads left to do. Just as I was about to put away my clothes, someone knocked on my door. Setting the pile down, I make my way to the front door. Across from me stood Alex, wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and his hair was soaked in what I could only guess was saltwater.
"Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were working." I asked, letting him inside.
"I just got off. I thought we could go over our dive so that we know ahead of time."
"Oh, okay. Well, can we go over it while I'm doing laundry?" I asked.
"Sure." He said, sitting down next to my pile of clothes.
"So, what did you want to start with?" I inquired, putting my shirts on their hangers and hanging them in my closet.
"Well, I thought we could check out the reefs." He stated, "I thought it would be cool if we could take some pictures down there."
"Yeah, that sounds like fun. When should I be over there by?" I ask, folding a pair of jeans.
"I'd say eleven after we could take a walk around Savannah." He suggested.
I nodded, "Sure."
"Oh, and I was wondering if you might want to stay a few days during Thanksgiving at my mom's. She wants to get to know you before we have dinner together."
"Okay, that sounds like fun. I hope your mom will like me." I said, suddenly feeling nervous.
"She will love you." He said reassuringly. "You have nothing to worry about."
I nodded, finishing the rest of my laundry and plopping down next to Alex. My hand immediately intertwining with his.
"So, is that the only reason you came by is to talk about our dive and Thanksgiving?"
"Well, actually, Tabitha's favorite holiday is Halloween, and this year she wants to turn our house into a haunted house, and I was wondering if you would like to help scare children."
"You guys are hosting a haunted house!"
"Yes, if I'm going to be completely honest," He paused, "I've never really liked Halloween."
"What! Halloween is the best! Of course, I'll help with the haunted house!" I exclaimed, "I still have to figure out what to dress up as. Have you seen the Corpse Bride by Tim Burton?"
He looks over at me, shaking his head, "Yes, Tabitha makes me watch it every year."
"I love it!"
Eyebrow raised he said, "No wonder you two get along so well."
"Oh, hush," I said, playfully hitting his shoulder, "You know you love my personality."
"You're right." He said as I leaned on his shoulder.
"Hey, Alex?" I asked, not looking over at him.
"Yeah?"
"Do you sometimes wonder if things could have turned out different if Buddy hadn't run me over?"
"Honestly," he paused, "I don't think so. I would have met you a different way, but you would still be you." I nodded in agreement as another wave of silence fell over us. "Are we supposed to be getting Nova and Josh a present at the gender reveal party?"
"I think so. I guess I'm just going to get them a toy for the baby. But Nova already promised to tell me the gender before.
He turned to me as I looked up at him and smiled, "How many kids would you want?"
"I don't know. Maybe two or four." I paused, "Although, I don't think I could handle more than two at once. What about you?"
"I want two." He declared, "I don't care if they're a girl or a boy. I would love them equally."
"Yeah, me too." I paused a moment before asking, "How are things with Tabitha and Emma? They seem to be going strong."
"Yeah, from what I can tell, things are going great for them. Anyways, what would you like to do? We have the entire afternoon."
"Honestly, I want to take a nap. You can watch a movie if you want, but I'm gonna lay here and sleep." Leaving to grab a throw blanket, I come back to find Alex sprawled on the couch. "What are you doing?
He grinned, mischievously, "Keeping you from taking a nap."
"Uh-huh, sure you are. Move over before I make you watch Corpse Bride five times."
"Um. No, I don't think so."
"Fine, I guess I'll have to cuddle in my bed."
Sticking out my tongue at him, I run towards my room before jumping on the bed. Alex follows a moment after, landing barely inches away.
Laughing, I hit him with my pillow, but he manages to take it away, "Hey!"
"I had to take away your weapon."
Shaking my head, I pull back the covers and crawl inside. Alex lays down as I use his chest as a pillow since he stole my actual one. "Did you have a good day today?" I ask, closing my eyes and listening to Alex's rhythmic heartbeat.
"Yeah. I did."
"That's good." I said, my breathing slowing as I felt my eyelids go heavy in their sudden need to sleep. I felt at peace lying next to Alex; it was an unexplainable feeling, and yet, it made perfect sense. Yawning, I moved on my side, cuddling up against him as I fell into the dark abyss of sleep. There were no words to explain the way I felt about Alex. I knew that I have only known him for a short amount of time, but I knew that he was the one for me.
*
My eyelids felt heavy as I woke up. I wasn't sure how long I was asleep, but I didn't care as I rolled over in bed. I found myself facing Alex, who was peacefully asleep. Carefully unraveling myself from the covers, I tiptoe into the kitchen to make me a quick snack. It was nearly eight, and I couldn't believe I slept for five hours. Grabbing a granola bar from the pantry, I didn't realize that I woke up Alex until he wrapped me in a hug from behind me. "Good morning."
Laughing, I tried to turn around to face him, "It's anything but morning. But thank you."
"Now, we ruined our night." Alex said, sitting at the table in front of me.
"I wouldn't say it's ruined; we could do something before going back to bed. Like we could play a game or we could-" Pausing, I noticed that he was suddenly standing, his eyes twinkling in the familiar mischievousness from before. "What are you doing?"
And then his mouth was on mine in an instant, knocking me off my feet. I didn't know how we made it to my room, nor did I understand what was happening. But all I knew was the unmistakable knowledge that I loved the man kissing me with a passion I had never felt before. No-one could make me feel the way I felt around him.
"Wait, are you sure you want to do this?" Alex asked, suddenly pulling away. I didn't hesitate when I said it, "Yes."