Time after time

New York, New York

Elle POV

Back in Boston after the holidays, I had to concentrate to start a new session. I had classes in which I was less gifted, such as literature and politics. Noah having already completed most of his prerequisites, he offered to help me. We were often at the library together after school ended or at our favorite coffee shop now that the football and soccer seasons were over.

But at the beginning of January, I was amazed at how cold it could be in Boston! The first time I went outside at -8 degrees and felt the secretions in my nose turn to ice, I simply couldn't believe it.

Elle : I'm turning into ice 🥶!

Noah : Am I going to be used as an electric blanket tonight 😉!

Elle : Probably, otherwise I can't guarantee what state I'll wake up in tomorrow 😨!

Noah : I'll wait for you then 😘!

That's how I ended up in Noah's room for almost every night of this cold snap. It felt good to be able to lean against him while watching the flames of the fireplace.

In the middle of January, June and Matthew Flynn had bought us activities to do with them in New York for Christmas, telling us that they had seen little of us during the fall. This gave them the opportunity to come see us on the East Coast. June had bought me a Broadway play and Matthew had bought tickets to see a New York Jets football game with Noah. So on a Thursday evening, we took a plane to go to New York. It was dark outside and I dozed for the forty-five minutes of the flight. Noah woke me up a few minutes before landing. I opened my eyes slowly, I could see the lights of the city through the porthole. We were indeed in New York!

- Slept well?" Noah asked me as we grabbed our bags before exiting the plane.

- Yes, I hope that will allow me to enjoy the evening a little!

- We don't need to go out to bars tonight, Elle!

- What, you didn't want to enjoy a Thursday evening in New York?

- We could have a drink at the hotel bar then go to bed early. I really want to enjoy my day tomorrow with you!

The Flynns had rented a 2-bedroom suite in a hotel near Central Park. From our room we could see the trees and the lights illuminating the park. It was a different view of New York than what we had at Chloe's dad's apartment on Thanksgiving. With the Flynn parents arriving tomorrow afternoon, Noah and I made good use of the suite all to ourselves...

The next morning after a delicious brunch at the hotel buffet, Noah and I dressed warmly to explore Central Park. Since I wanted to explore, we opted for a snowshoe walk. We left near the Harlem Meer which we followed for several kilometers. It was magical to see nature with the lake and the trees alongside the skyscrapers of the city. The weather was sunny but the temperature was around 28 degrees which was mild compared to the freezing temperatures of the last few days in Boston. With my usual clumsiness, I had difficulty getting used to walking with snowshoes. I even got confused in my steps a few times and if it wasn't for Noah's help, I would have collapsed to the ground a few times.

After our hike, Noah took me to the park's carousel of 57 mechanical horses which operates year-round. It reminded me of the carousel in downtown Boston we went to when I came to see him during his first year at Harvard. This outing marked for me the beginning of Noah and I's adventure on the East Coast. It was during this trip that I fell in love with the city of Boston and decided to come and study there. I was also surprised how much Noah is not afraid to show his childish heart when he is with me. He's so different today from the cool Flynn from high school. This is really the guy I want to marry, I said to myself as I walked hand in hand with him on the way back to the hotel.

We dressed fancier because we were joining the Flynn parents at the hotel restaurant for dinner. I hugged June as soon as I saw them waiting for us outside the restaurant door while Noah shook his father's hand. June gave me a long hug, like my mother would have done! It felt so good.

- It's really a joy to see you Elle! We really missed you! How are the class going?

- Things are going well so far June! I love it but it's really intense!

- We are all really proud of you, Elle!

It felt really good to be surrounded by my second family at that moment. June and Matthew brought us to dinner saying that they never had the opportunity to celebrate our engagement properly because of the context in the family at the time. We were all sitting around the table and it reminded me of the dinner Lee, Rachel and I had to celebrate our graduation last summer. I looked around and thought that in that moment, Lee and...Rachel were missing. Lee said he moved on and started seeing Lucie in Berkeley without it being serious, but seeing him look at Noah and me, I could see that something was happening inside him. I was brought out of my thoughts when Matthew said to Noah and me :

- We haven't had many opportunities to see the two of you alone since your engagement. But we wanted to tell you, June and I, that we are really proud of you both.

Noah put his arm around my shoulders and leaned down to give me a kiss on the top of my head.

- How you are doing with college. How you decided to commit as a couple. How you show affection and patience to each other really makes us proud." June tells us with bright eyes.

- Thank you, mom and dad!" said Noah "It means a lot to me.

- Marriage is a beautiful adventure! Joni and I always hoped this would happen one day! May our two families be officially united! We can't wait to prepare for this big day with you!" June told us, smiling but with a little nostalgic eyes thinking of her best friend.

We all raised our glasses to this big day which would make our two families officially one big family. Matthew, who is always practical, asked us :

- Have you thought about what you want to do for the wedding? You are going to be very busy with school and July is going to come very quickly.

- We don't want to have too big a wedding since we are both still studying." Said Noah

- We were thinking of having a small wedding of around fifty people, with family and close friends. Possibly at the beach house?" I said hopefully looking at June.

- It is an excellent idea!" Says this one.

- In the end, it was really a good idea not to sell it!" Noah said as if to remind us of that summer we spent at the beach house thinking it would be our last.

And now this venue was going to be the location of Noah and I's wedding! We all started talking together about what might be possible to do for this big day. Noah and I discussed what we would like and the Flynn parents discussed what they thought could be done. They were great in taking on a lot of the organization to allow us to focus on our studies. June asked me out for a girl's day out the next day. I was super excited!