Same Time Next Year

Chapter 30 - Year 8

Noah

"Noah, stop. Go away." Elle yelled from behind the door I had been banging on.  She sounds mad but I can't tell for sure if she's really upset with me or if she's just messing around.  I tried the doorknob again, still locked.

"C'mon, Shelly. Can we please talk?" I'm pretty sure I heard Elle's "hmph" from behind the closed door. I slid down to the floor. I guess I'll have to wait here until she lets me in.

While I'm waiting, I try to think of another way into the house.  I did sneak in and out of my bedroom in the beach house quite a few times when I was a teenager. That may have been more years ago than I would like to think about, but I bet I could still do it. At least that way, I could get her to talk to me face to face.   Figure out what is really the problem here.

Elle and I have both been so excited for this weekend. I wish we would have been able to spend more time here lately.  Unfortunately the past year had been crazy and this was our first trip to the beach house in months. Well, ever since we were here for our wedding. But I wouldn't say there was much relaxation that weekend.  And although our honeymoon was amazing, there was so much traveling and sightseeing. So what I've really been looking forward to has been our  annual weekend at the beach house.  And the last thing I wanted to do was spend the weekend with Elle mad at me.  This was not the way I saw our first beach house weekend as a married couple going.

That still kind of feels crazy for me to think of. We're married.  Elle is my wife. Our lives have been so busy since we got engaged last year at the beach house. And as perfect as I thought things were for us leading up to the wedding, I didn't realize how much Elle was getting stressed about the wedding planning until one night when she blew up at me.

I was throwing together something for supper when Elle walked into the house, after another night of working late. She looked tired as she dropped her purse and laptop bag on the kitchen island and leaned in for a kiss, while inspecting my progress. Elle had taught me a few things in the kitchen over the last couple years of living together but I'm not sure she 100% trusted me to do the cooking yet.

"Hey Shell. This should be ready in about ten minutes. Why don't you pour yourself a glass of wine and relax."  I was happy to see her, as we hadn't had much of a chance to spend time together lately.  I didn't like to see how tired and stressed out she appeared.

"I can't, I have to hop back on my computer after supper and try to work out something I couldn't figure out this afternoon." 

"Well, you can still relax for a bit."  I poured a glass of water and handed it to her, instead of the glass and wine I had ready.  "Oh, I almost forgot. Mom wanted me to ask you if you had a chance to think about the centerpieces."

Elle sighed as she dropped her head to her hands. "Centerpieces? I don't know about the centerpieces!  What do you think about the centerpieces? What do you think about the flowers, the music, the invitations? Why do I have to make all these decisions?"

I automatically turned the stove off and walked around the island to stand in front of her as I questioned, "Woah, what's going on, babe?"

"Nothing it's fine."  Elle tried to pull away from me as I tried to pull her closer to me.

I sat down in one of the chairs, pulling her into my lap where our height difference disappeared and I could look her straight in the eye.  "Doesn't sound fine. Talk to me, Shelly."

"I feel ridiculous stressing about this. It's supposed to be the happiest time of my life.  I get to marry the man of my dreams."   Elle paused for a second and smiled at me.  Her voice losing some of the high pitched tone of her stress as she continued.  "The man I love more than anything."  When she paused for a breath again, I leaned in for a quick peck on her lips, relieved that she didn't seem to be upset with me.  "And not only that but my dreams are also coming true at work. My own video game is coming out. I mean, my younger self would be going crazy right now."