Let it Snow!

❄Fourteen❄

Nora made herself a sandwich from what she found in the fridge and ate it while she moved around the cottage, brandishing a feather duster at a few remaining spiderwebs and dust motes hiding deep in a few nooks and shadowy corners.

The moment she was happy with the result and the house smelled, for once, of wood polish and window cleaner rather than the cinders in the fireplaces, she grabbed her handbag, an empty backpack and the car keys, and rushed down the hill, towards the castle and through the park lying beyond, to the parking lot.

"Hello Albert," she greeted her faithful Beetle as she climbed inside, threw her bags on the passenger seat, put her glasses on, then wiped the misty windscreen.

She drove out of the half full parking lot and eased Albert into the thin, Thursday afternoon traffic, reaching the closest supermarket in less than fifteen minutes.

Nora found all that she needed there and bought enough food to last her for a week, as she expected busy days ahead. Once the shopping was in the car, she drove to the petrol station and then, without wasting any more time-- it was nearly five and getting dark fast-- she headed back home.

It was just after nine when Martin appeared on the porch.

"Come in," she opened the door for him before he could knock; the window of the spare room upstairs allowed her to get a glimpse of him coming up the hill while she finished getting dressed after the shower.

The sight of him approaching made her feel both excited and nervous-- the last time she saw him, they were holding hands... What now, what would follow? What did he expect? What did she want? Nora hadn't been able to figure out one single answer throughout the whole afternoon, and now that she saw him again, her heart skipped a beat.

"I didn't know what to bring you, so..." he smiled as he entered, passing her a bottle of wine and a single white rose.

"I love white roses... How...?" She shook her head, giving up on guessing how he knew so many little things about her. Of course, Grandma could have told him... but why would he want to know and remember, in the first place? "Thank you. How's the swan?" Nora asked, her eyebrows arched in surprise when she saw him removing his shoes and reaching into a box set next to her wood-basket, choosing a pair of guest slippers, as if he had done it hundreds of times before.

He followed her into the kitchen then, and she handed him a corkscrew while she found a vase for the rose and filled it with water.

"I just moved him into the stables. He is fine, the wing will heal well, and hopefully fast," Martin said as the cork slid out of the bottle with a soft pop and he poured some wine into the glasses Nora had placed on the small dining table.

She motioned for him to sit down, then turned towards the oven, taking out a dish of lasagna, which filled the kitchen with the aroma of tomatoes and nutmeg. It was still warm.

"I thought you might skip dinner, so I waited for you... Do you like lasagna? Will you eat with me?"

"Thanks, Nora. You are right, I did not get anywhere near food since lunch." He smiled, making some of her tension disappear.

It was so easy to be around him, she loved his company... and yet she wasn't exactly sure how to act in his presence.

She smiled back and set the table for two while he went to wash his hands, then sat down opposite of him.

More than an hour and two glasses of wine later, she finally stopped thinking about every move she made, and sat listening to him on the sofa by the fireplace, perfectly warm, relaxed and happy, until he sighed after having checked his watch, and announced that he needed to go.