Fighting for the Fairytale

Nora

"Happy Holidays!" Celeste sang to an amused patient as he left his routine cleaning appointment.

I personally wouldn't schedule a teeth cleaning on Christmas Eve, but, hey, everyone celebrates Christmas differently.

Maybe he's cleaning his teeth for someone special, like his wife. 

Sadness filled me. 

You should be spending Christmas with Cole.

But you pretty much locked yourself out of that door without a key, didn't ya?

Ugh, yes I screwed up! Thank you for the reminder! Why don't you be useful for a change and tell me how I'm supposed to fix it?

Silence followed.

Mentally, I rolled my eyes. 

Wow. Now you're silent. Cool. 

"Hey ladies." Alex appeared before the desk, draping his coat over the counter. "Have any big plans for the holiday?"

"Ooo yes!" Celeste immediately replied. "I have a holiday Christmas party with Dane's family! I'm so excited! I love parties!"

Alex smiled. "I know." He turned to me. "Nora?"

"Not really," I shrugged, standing up to collect the handful of patient files scattered across my desk. "Going to mass and then Christmas dinner with the family."

"Sounds nice," Alex replied. "How's your dad?"

"Better. He's up and walking now."

"I'm glad to hear that," Alex said. 

I smiled weakly as a reply and then stepped into the back room to return the patient charts to their correct filing order.

"Hey." Alex's low voice filled my ear. 

Startled, I turned to find him standing right beside me, hovering close. I hadn't even heard him follow me. His gray eyes were magnified behind his thin wired glasses, seeing everything. "How are you doing? Really?" He asked softly.

I swallowed and stared at the files in my hand.

Not well. But it's my own fault. I'm the one who screwed everything up with Cole. I'm the one who said our marriage was a mistake. I didn't mean it. I was just upset about being left out. Stressed about dad. Overwhelmed by everything. But that's no excuse. I hurt him. Now he probably thinks I want to leave and find someone like...

I turned to Alex, my thoughts causing a question to erupt from my lips. "Do you like me?"

He arched a brow at me but replied. "Uh, yeah, I like you."

"No. Do you like me as more than a friend?" I clarified.

Alex blinked. "What?"

Exasperated, I tried to explain more fully. "When we first met, I thought we had this connection, and I was attracted to you. It worried me. And then at Halloween, you flirted and we danced and when I told Cole, he got mad and told me that you couldn't just want to be friends with me. That that's just a line guys use when they want more. Is that true?" Realizing how random and assuming that question was, I turned away, blindly returning the patient files to the cabinets. I don't even know if I was putting them in the right spot, but I didn't care. I was too busy praying for the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

"Nora," Alex's voice softened as he lightly touched my shoulder.

I froze as he turned me toward him.