Starry Nights

Chapter 11: Natalie

"Come on, Natalie. Just take a walk with me, please?"

Natalie was not in the mood to take a walk in the middle of December in Central Park, especially on her birthday. But Lauren was begging her to, and usually when Lauren begged Natalie for something, she eventually ended up giving in.

"Fine, Lauren. I'll go on a walk with you, but you owe me one."

"Whatever you say kid, now let's go!"

Natalie threw on her coat, a pair of gloves, and a beanie. As she walked out the door, she noticed Lauren was texting somebody. "I thought you were all excited to go on a walk, and now I'm waiting on you?" Natalie said jokingly.

"That was important, kid. Trust me."

As they walked to Central Park, Lauren asked, "So how are you and Alex?"

"Good, why do you ask?"

Lauren looked like she was trying not to smile when she said, "Oh, no reason. Just that, well, you two are really cute together and I just want to make sure you guys are okay. I promise that's all."

Natalie looked at her suspiciously, and said, "Okay then, whatever you say." She knew all to well that there was another reason that Lauren had asked about her relationship, but she disregarded it feeling that it probably wasn't all that important. 

As they walked to Central Park, they realized that the streets wern't as busy today, which was nice because it wasn't as noisy either. The one thing that Natalie didn't like about Manhattan was the fact that when she wanted some peace and quiet, it was difficult to find it besides in her apartment. 

When they arrived at Central Park, they turned to walk on their normal jogging trail. It was then that Natalie realized that she would pass by her and Alex's bench. Part of her didn't want to pass by it, but then again part of her did because she loved that bench. The thought began to drift from her mind as she listened to Lauren talking about her guy problems. Normally Lauren didn't talk about her love life, but when she did it was only because she was in a disagreement with her partner. 

As they continued to get closer to the bench, Natalie felt her heart begin to sink a little. She began to think about how much she missed Alex and how much she worried about him all the time. She honestly had no idea what he was doing right now, but for her birthday wish, she only wished to see him. She just wanted to know that he was safe, especially after the incident in Sangin. That experience had shaken her up so badly that she would have nightmares about him getting hurt or dying. 

When she saw the bench, she noticed two things immediately. First, she noticed that the street musician that had played when they met was there, playing the same song he had played when they first met; Falling Slowly by The Swell Season. Second, she noticed a man in jeans, black Vans, and a black pea coat sitting on the bench. She saw him look at her and stand up, and when she realized who it was, she stood up and ran as fast as she could to hug him. She kissed him like it was the only thing she knew, because it was Alex.

After they finished kissing, he let her down, and simply said, "Hey there, happy birthday, Natalie."

All she managed to say was, "I love you, Alex. I missed you."

"I missed you too, a lot."

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, I mean, if you don't want me here I can always leave."

She playfully hit him as he laughed and she said, "No, seriously, why didn't you tell me or something?"

"It's your birthday, I wanted to surprise you."