Home and Holidays

chapter 21

"And then, she actually said yes. So she's officially my girlfriend now, I have a girlfriend." Noah enthusiastically explained to David and Lisa at breakfast the next day. He had already told them the details of this story last night at dinner, but he was so excited, that he couldn't help but talk about it again this morning.

"We're happy for you, Noah." David said, smiling as Lisa nodded in agreement.

"Thanks. I'm happy for me too." Noah playfully responded, grinning like a little kid.

Lisa laughed quietly before speaking. "It's so cute to see you so excited, about this, Noah. David reacted the same way after I agreed to be his girlfriend. He made sure to call me 'girlfriend' every chance he got, even when it was unnecessary. And he called every single one of his friends and every person in his contacts to tell them that I had said yes." she said, pouring herself some orange juice.

David's cheeks turned pink as he blushed deeply, smiling involuntarily. "Come on, baby, aren't you exaggerating a little bit?" he asked her.

"Well, considering the fact that the very next day you, not so subtly, asked me about what kind of engagement ring I would want, no, I don't think I'm exaggerating." she stated, smirking at him, only making him blush deeper.

Noah was just quietly watching their conversation in amusement. He thought it was cute how they would tease each other about things like this.

"Ok, that's true.... but I was already sure that I was gonna propose to you eventually, so I was trying to get the ring figured out early. And look where it got me. We're married now." David said with a smile, his cheeks still tinted pink.

"And I thank God every night." Lisa sweetly replied.

Noah looked at them and smiled. "I wonder what kind of engagement ring Ella wants...." he thought aloud.

Both Lisa and David instantly looked over at him with raised eyebrows. "Um, that's sweet, Noah, but maybe it's a little early for you to be thinking about that." Lisa told him. She couldn't help but feel a little protective of him.

"But David was thinking about it as soon as you two started dating, and then he married you. If I want my relationship with Ella to be like that, then I should start planning early. Right, David?" Noah said. He was purposely just saying these things to get their reaction, because he thought it was funny and wholesome how protective they were getting about him.

"Um.... well, I mean...." David stammered, unsure what to say. "It's- it's different for you, you're only 16. You're still technically just a kid." he decided on saying.

Noah chuckled quietly. "Don't worry, I know that. I was just kidding. I'm not actually thinking about marriage or anything like that." he reassured them, making them sigh in relief. "I mean.... not yet...." he mumbled. He'd be lying if he said that the thought of marrying Ella one day hadn't crossed his mind, since he liked her so much, but he knew not to rush into anything like that.

Later that day, Lisa's friends from her book club had come over to pick her up for their book club meeting and a fun girl's day out. So David and Noah decided to go run some errands and get something to eat for lunch.

"So, Lisa said she's gonna be out with her book club for another hour and a half. You wanna go to the arcade?" David asked, looking over at Noah. They were sitting in the car after having eaten their burritos for lunch there.

"Yes!" Noah instantly replied, smiling. "I haven't been to an arcade in forever. I went with some other kids from school one time when I was like twelve I think, but that was a long while ago obviously." he chuckled quietly.