Shawn's POV
"Okay, so my Uncle Salvatore is named after Nonno, but they all call him Sal. He's married to a witch of a women named Ysabella, never, under any circumstances call her Bella. She will murder you with her eyes." Nora looks a little frantic, gathering her things together from our sleeping bedroom. We've taken a longer nap, read some more, snacked more, and chatted. Now she's explaining her family dynamics for about the thousandth time.
"Nora, everything will be fine." I assure her and take her bag from her shoulder. She shouldn't be carrying more than her purse if I would let her.
"I know, but everyone is crazy." She sits on the bench in a huff and rests her head on her thighs. "Piero is obsessed with Vera, she doesn't care as much but assumes that their love will grow. Whatever." She waves a hand. "And then my cousin Leo, he's just two years younger than myself, Vera is a year older but Leo and I get along well. He feels the same about his family as I do, we usually end up drinking the night away to tolerate everyone." She lets out a giggle. "I think you two will get along just fine." I help her up and steady her, she felt a little sick at times with the motion of the car.
The train stops slowly and the conductor comes on the intercom letting us know that we have finally arrived.
"Is your family as crazy as mine?" Nora asks, a hint of hopefulness in her voice.
"Oh no." I shake my head. "I have three sisters and multiple cousins, we're worse, I can assure you." I help her down off the train car and clasp my hand with hers, sometimes I just can't let her go, I love to feel her presence next to mine, her body heat close to mine, I don't know what it is but it relaxes me.
We check in with the rental company easily enough and before I know it we're on our way. Nora has the directions on her phone as we travel just a little further north, only a half an hour to the hotel. It's already getting darker outside, getting close to the winter solstice always makes things bleak.
I keep stealing glances at Nora as she drives towards our destination. She has this classic beauty, things are simple for her but perfect at the same time. She's graceful. She's the kind of girl you stay awake thinking about just making plans. Plans to spend the rest of your life with. I haven't admitted these feelings to her but the way we interact is just easy, like pouring water, effortless. God, I could study her all day, her eyes, they way she twists her hair around her fingers if she gets nervous or pulls at the hem of her shirt.
How she sees the good in people. Once we were out for a walk and we stopped to watch some people play basketball, others around us were making fun of this one guy who was a little slower then the others. Nora could only focus on the determination he showed on his face, or how he was constantly cheering on his other teammates. It's things you don't notice.
I notice how much she loves her family. I can't believe how life plays out. If I was never with my band, I would have never met and married Camila, if we would have never gotten divorced I would have never traveled to New York to decompress and I would have never seen Nora on that train that morning.
I love when the light hits her face. It makes the blonde streaks in her hair shine against the brown. It's like the sun just follows her, bouncing of every angle and bringing out the shine she has deep down. People like Nora are a gem, diamonds are not as rare as people think, but Nora, Nora is rare.
"Okay, here we are." She parks easily and turns to me, taking a deep breath. I know she's nervous, I'm sure I'd be a mess if I had to attend Camila's wedding. She's told me time and time again that the only reason she's attending this wedding is for her Nonna.
I slow into the parking space and listen as Nora takes a deep breath, her hands are almost shaking as she tries to steady herself.
"Nora." I get her attention. "Everything will be fine." I kiss the back of her hand and try to get her to relax. I don't know how I would feel if I had to attend a wedding for Camila. It would kill me.
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"You look really pretty." Nora comes out from the bathroom in a shorter green dress that accentuates her brown eyes. She's got that old age beauty. That grace. Her bare feet throw me off just a little bit.
"Thanks." She looks down and taps her toes on the floor. "Heals are the last thing I'll be putting on." She laughs.
"Still nervous?" We had a restful night of sleep, skipping the rehearsal dinner. Nora said she didn't feel like attending and I didn't want to push it. She's been quiet, we had breakfast with her mom this morning, this bed and breakfast we're staying in has felt so suburban. Nora has poked fun at the place all day, lighthearted fun, it's just been calming her nerves.
"I'm going to have a drink." She pats my shoulder.
"If you wait twenty minutes I can join you." I tell her, laying out my clothes.
"I'm just going to have one downstairs, I'll just wait for you there." She smiles at me and walks towards the door. I make a slight wave and watch her disappear.
I dress quickly but sit on the bed to just take things in. I can't believe in just three months I've met Nora and done so much with her. As odd as it sounds I just want to take her home to meet my family, I want to do all these things with her. I take a deep breath and tie my dress shoes.
I go to slip my phone in my pocket when I see I've missed a call from Andrew. I smile slightly, we've always had our ups and downs, disagreed on things but we'll always remain friends. I click his name to return his call, he picks up rather quickly.
"'Bout fucking time you called me back." He answers in typical fashion, he really needs to meet a girl to calm him down.
"Well hell to you too." I laugh, rubbing my mouth with my hand. "What do you want?" I ask.
"Can't a guy just call his friend?" I notice that it's getting a little late there, probably around nine. I'll have to listen to see if he's drunk. Drunk Andrew doesn't always make the best decisions.
"He can, but he hardly ever does." I smirk.
"Hey, you never call me either." Andrew spits back at me. I didn't really want to argue with him.
"How's Nora?" He asks. I can hear some rattling on the other side of the phone. I don't know if it's from glasses clinking, or if he's at home on Doncaster and his siblings are all over the place. You never know with him.
"She's doing well, we're attending her cousins wedding." I still can't believe this is what is happening. That I'm here doing this.
"Wifed up already then?" He laughs. I can hear some voices in the background.
"Not as bad as it sounds." I defend myself, ever since him and Eleanor broke up things have been odd with him, ever since him and Eleanor broke up things have been odd with him, he hasn't really settled down but always seems jealous of anyone that flaunts their relationship or even speaks of it. "Hey I'll be back in a few weeks, how about I stop over at your studio?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Call me when you're free." He grumbles. "I'll talk to you later." He hangs up the phone after we exchange goodbyes, he's such an odd character. I don't really know what to do when we chat. We talk about nothing and he's always so elusive. I shrug to myself and find the hotel key, looking around one last time to make sure Nora didn't leave anything and head down the steps.
I see Nora, long legs crossed at the bar, swaying slightly back and forth. And then I see quite a few small empty shot glasses in front of her and my eyes grow wide.
"Shawn!" She shouts a little excited. Oh great. I fake a smile and make my way towards her.
"Having a few drinks?" I ask, pushing her last full empty shot away.
"I just wanted to relax." She laughs. I quickly count four empty glasses on the bar. It's not that much but in a matter of twenty minutes, it will catch up to her sooner then I would like.
"I can see that." I look down at her and try to help her up, she stumbles just slightly in her heals and lets out a giggle. She falls slightly and wraps her arms around my waist.
"You smell nice." She looks up at me like she's about ready to fall asleep. Her mum has already gone to the wedding, so it's just her and I. And just me containing her almost drunken state.
