Bring on the Wonder Ch. 03

"Hey!" Lance stood up from the couch and came around to shake Nate's hand. "We were wondering when you'd get home."

"I left too late and traffic on the interstate was monstrous." Nate clasped Lance's larger hand. "What brings you all the way to Atlanta?"

"I missed you guys." Lance winked and moved aside so Nate could embrace Lizzie.

They shared a quick kiss and hug and both walked back to the couch to sit down. Lance took the chair across from them and smiled.

"You could have called. It's a long flight." Nate smiled.

Lance shrugged and reclined in the chair. "I don't mind the flight. Actually, I drove in from Birmingham. I was in town there visiting family and thought I'd take the two hour drive to visit my friends."

"We're glad you did. Right, baby?" Lizzie patted Nate's thigh. "We don't have anything planned for dinner though so we'll have to take you to our favorite Italian place."

"Sounds great." Lance jumped to his feet and rubbed his hands together. "Let's go."

With a laugh, Nate and Lizzie stood up.

Lance drove them in his vehicle and they spent a few hours at the restaurant talking and catching up. It was so late by the time they were done, Nate offered to let Lance crash for the night before driving back to Birmingham.

"We have the guest room all finished now," Lizzie said when they got back home. She showed Lance to the room, on the opposite side of the house from the master suite. He thanked her and they walked back out to the kitchen to join Nate for a drink.

One drink turned into two, and then three. Before they knew it, it was two in the morning and Nate could barely keep his eyes open. He said goodnight to Lance and the big man headed off to his guest room to sleep.

In their own room, Nate and Lizzie managed to stay up a little longer to talk.

"He was sitting on the front step when I got home." Lizzie covered a wide yawn with one hand. "I can't believe he's thinking of moving back to Birmingham. He's always complained about his family."

Nate chuckled. "Well, maybe it was all talk. Family is family."

"Yeah."

They fell silent, relaxing in each other's arms and Nate knew the direction of her thoughts. His went the same way.

They'd been living in Atlanta for six weeks now and they still hadn't heard from their parents. Their mother had sent a bouquet of flowers to Lizzie to congratulate her on her new job. Lizzie had called their house before moving day to thank Clara and to pass along their new address in Atlanta. Other than that, they'd heard nothing. Definitely nothing from Davis.

Nate sighed and turned his face to Lizzie's hair. He drew in a deep breath, letting Lizzie's warmth and familiar scent soothe him. As difficult as it had been with regards to their parents, they were happy here. Since Clara hadn't cut off complete contact with them, he still held out hope that they'd come around.

"Do you think they told everyone else?"

Nate squeezed Lizzie tighter when he heard the sad note in her voice. "I don't know, sweetie. If they had, I think we would have heard from someone by now, if only so they could ask questions."

They didn't have a large family. Davis had only one brother, who'd married twice and had no children. Clara had two sisters, but rarely saw Isabel, the globetrotting travel writer. Occasionally Isabel would stop in for visits but their closest family was Juliette, Phil and their kids.

They didn't talk for much longer. Sleep took over and they let it.

In the morning, Lance slept in late and they took their time making breakfast.

"Thank God it's Saturday," Lizzie said around her umpteenth yawn. "I can't believe we stayed up and drank so much."

"Yeah. Lance is a terrible influence." Nate stirred the hash browns in the pan before him. "Might not be such a good thing if he does move to Alabama."

"I heard that," came the responding grumble from the hallway.

Nate and Lizzie turned to see the big man stumble into the kitchen wearing only his pants. Lizzie laughed when he sagged into a kitchen chair, his weight making it creak ominously.

"Coffee?"

Lance nodded and then braced his head with one upturned hand as Lizzie rose to get him coffee. Not much talking went on as breakfast was prepared and served. After eating, they were all a little more lively, but not by much. Lance asked if he could shower before leaving and while he was in the bathroom, Lizzie went to her studio and Nate cleaned up the kitchen. When the phone rang, he dried a hand and reached over to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Nate."

Nate froze, the cloth in his hand dripping soapy water on the floor. "Dad."

"How are you, son?"

"I'm... fine." Nate put the cloth in the sink and dried both his hands. "How are you? How's Mom?"

"We're good." Davis cleared his throat. "How is Elizabeth?"

Nate smiled. "She's doing great, Dad. Her new job keeps her pretty busy so she's tired most nights when she gets home but she loves it."

"That's good. That's real good, son. I'm glad."

"Me too."

They fell silent and Nate sat down at the kitchen table. He waited for his father to speak again, pretty much struck mute at the fact that he'd even called.

When Davis spoke again, his voice was gruff. "Your mother and I were thinking it was past time for us to visit you two."

Nate's eyes widened and he sat back in the chair, shock not even beginning to cover his range of emotions at the moment. Lizzie walked back into the kitchen at that moment, some brushes in hand. She spotted him, saw his expression and came right to his side.

Dad, he mouthed and she sank into the chair next to his.

"You want to visit?"

"Yes. We would like to, if that's all right with the two of you. We were thinking maybe for Thanksgiving."

"Thanksgiving."

Lizzie blinked and reached out to grab Nate's hand. She looked into his eyes and nodded enthusiastically. Nate squeezed her hand and nodded in reply.

"I think that's a great idea. We'd love to see both of you for Thanksgiving."

"Well, all right then. Your mother will give you a call with the details once she books it."

"Great, Dad. I'll let Lizzie know."

"OK." A beat of silence passed. "I love you, son."

Nate looked down, a welling of emotion clogging his throat. He coughed and nodded. "I love you too, Dad." When he looked up again, Lizzie was crying silent tears. "Give Mom my love and tell her we're really looking forward to your visit."

"I will, son. You take care."

"OK. Bye, Dad."

"Bye."

He hung up the phone and Lizzie all but jumped into his arms. They clung to each other and Nate tangled the fingers of one hand in her hair. He relayed his father's end of the conversation to her and when she sat back, she was smiling.

"They're really coming?"

He nodded. "So it would seem."

They smiled and cried together until Lance walked in and told them to give it a rest.

****

Thanksgiving weekend rolled around and Lizzie found herself nervous as she awaited Nate's return from the airport. He'd left almost two hours ago to pick up their parents and they should have been back by now. She paced the living room, paused, checked her outfit, then resumed pacing.

At last, the front door opened and she rushed into the front hall. The first person through the door was her mother and Lizzie couldn't stop herself from rushing to her. She wrapped her mother in a hug that was returned in full.

"I've missed you, Mom."

Clara patted her on the back. "I've missed you too, my dear." She took hold of Lizzie's shoulders and moved back. "You're still too skinny."

Lizzie laughed, elated at her mother's calm tone and the familiar reprimand. Then she saw her father and gave him a shy smile.

"Hi, Dad."

He didn't speak. He came forward and wrapped her in his arms. She blinked back tears and hugged him back. Beside them, Clara and Nate spoke in quiet tones and the front door closed.

"Can you guys take this elsewhere? I need to take the suitcases to the guest room."

Lizzie looked over in time to see Nate wink as he lifted their parents' bags. She stepped out of her father's arms and Nate walked past.

"Let me give you guys a tour." She took her mother's hand and started in the kitchen.

They made their way around the house and ended on the back terrace, where a warm breeze was sweeping through the yard.

"What a lovely view," Clara said as she faced the park and lake beyond.

"It's what sold us on this place when we first came here." Lizzie smiled. Nate joined them outside in another minute and they all chatted as they took a short stroll around the yard and garden.

Later that evening, after dinner and the kitchen clean-up was done, they sat around the dining room table, silence descending.

Their father cleared his throat, interrupting the quiet. "Your mother and I wanted to come visit sooner, but we figured you might want to get settled first."

Lizzie glanced at Nate and nodded at her father's words.

Davis shook his head and reached for Clara's hand. "That's not entirely true. It took us some time to get used to the idea of you two."

"We understand," Nate said and clasped Lizzie's hand in his. She kept her eyes on their parents.

Davis looked at his son and said nothing for a long moment. "I'll be honest. I don't know that I'll ever get used to the idea."

Lizzie winced and Nate squeezed her fingers.

"But your mother and I agreed, we can't live without you in our lives."

"We feel the same way." Nate smiled. "It's why we wanted to be honest with you. About us."

Davis nodded. "I know. I'm sorry for how I reacted. You didn't deserve that. Neither of you did." He stopped, glanced at his wife and cleared his throat. "I'm proud of you two."

"We both are," Clara added, giving them a broad smile. "You've made a wonderful home here together and anyone can see how happy you two are."

Lizzie and Nate looked at each other and for a second, Lizzie was lost in Nate's eyes. They were happy. Their lives were complicated and busy and since moving they'd had a few good shouting matches. But they were well-matched and respectful of each other. More than anything, they were in love.

Nate drew her hand up and kissed her knuckles. Her cheeks warmed and she couldn't look at their parents for a minute.

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted." Clara stood up. "I think I'll turn in. Davis?"

"I'm with you, my dear." He faced his kids and smiled. "Good night, you two. Don't stay up too late." He pinned Lizzie with a mock serious look. "Your mother has every intention of waking you at dawn to ensure you learn how to make a full Thanksgiving dinner."

"Oh, hush, Davis." Clara swatted at him while Nate and Lizzie laughed. She smiled at her daughter. "Not dawn. Maybe seven at the earliest." She winked and walked out of the dining room, Davis right behind her.

"Good night, Mom, Dad."

Lizzie and Nate smiled at each other and shared a quiet laugh.

Nate brushed her hair over one shoulder. "Are you tired?"

She shook her head.

"Do you want to sit outside with me for a bit?"

"Sure."

They walked outside to the terrace and Lizzie sprawled on top of Nate when he sat in the long lounge chair. For a while, neither spoke. They held each other, stroked each other's exposed skin and watched the stars as they brightened, one-by-one, in the inky sky.

Lizzie tipped her head to one side to look into Nate's face. "Did you think they'd come around this fast?"

Nate shook his head. "No. I didn't."

"I'm so glad they're here."

"Me too. Even with what Dad said, I think their being here is a good sign."

"Of course it is." Nate squeezed his arms around her. "But it's far from perfect."

"Oh, please." Lizzie moved around and sat up, her legs on either side of Nate's. He put his hands on her waist, drawing her forward so she rested on his chest. "I never expected the situation to be perfect but this is a lot better than it was."

"You're right." He grinned and slid his hands lower to cup her bottom. "You're always right."

"Not always." Lizzie couldn't help the way her breath caught on the second word.

Nate's hands moved back up, under her shirt and the touch of his hands on her bare skin caused a familiar reaction in her body. One she always welcomed.

"I love you, Nate."

"And I love you, Lizzie." He lifted her hand and kissed her palm before pressing it over his heart. "With all my heart."

She melted and sagged on his chest, her nose pressed to his throat. "Take me upstairs, Nate. Make love to me tonight."

He cupped her face in his hand, forcing her to move back and look into his eyes. "No."

She smiled. "No?"

He shook his head, his eyes never leaving her face. He stared at her, his eyes taking in every feature, every blink, every twitch of her lips. Then he kissed her, teasing her with the tip of his tongue.

"I will love you for the rest of my life."

That's when she felt the cold ring slipping down her finger and over her knuckle. How he'd managed to wriggle it on without her noticing right away, she'd never know. She glanced down, the vision of the small midnight-blue sapphire surrounded by tiny diamonds blurring.

"We can't be married, not legally, but I'll say the words anyway."

Lizzie gasped, choking back a sob. This was so wholly unexpected that she couldn't breathe.

"Lizzie, you bring light to my life and give me such joy, that I don't have enough words to describe it."

She looked up at him and saw tears swimming in his beautiful brown eyes.

"I will love you for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, until my dying day." He leaned forward to brush her lips with a kiss so gentle she almost didn't feel it. "I will spend every day until then making you happy, giving you everything you want and granting your every wish. Will you let me?"

She still couldn't speak. She could only hope he'd let her repeat the same beautiful words to him later, when she was able. She nodded and threw her arms around him. As he drew her close, his hold tightening almost too much, she found some words.

"I will, Nate. I will always love you."

He exhaled, his arms trembling around her. They held each other and cried silent, happy tears as they did.

After a time, they pulled apart and kissed. Then Nate took her inside to make love to her on the first night of the rest of their lives.