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Chapter Seven
In spite of her reservations, Nora decided to accept Kyle’s invitation to go boating with he and his friends on Saturday. She hated to leave Matthew with Clara yet another day, but knew she needed to make some friends in the area, for Matthew’s sake as well as her own. She was hoping some of them also had young children...possible future playmates for Matthew.
Kyle knocked on the cottage door at ten o’clock. “Ready to go?” he asked happily.
“Sure,” Nora replied when she really wasn’t “sure” at all.
It was a beautiful sunny day.
“Feels like it’s going to be a hot one, doesn’t it?” asked Kyle. “Perfect for some parasailing. Have you ever tried it?”
“No, I can’t say that I have. Does it take some special skill? I mean...I don’t want to come back maimed...I have a new job, you know?” She laughed.
“No...it’s easy and it’s fun. I think once you watch some of the others you will want to give it a try.”
When they got to the boat dock, Kyle introduced Nora to the others...three couples and another single girl, Elaine. They were all friendly and made Nora feel very comfortable. As the day progressed, she was happy to learn that two of the couples had young children, one baby was close to Matthew’s age, another was a year older. There were promises from the other moms to get the kids together sometime.
She also learned that it was Kyle’s birthday, which he hadn’t bothered to tell her, so she came to the party without even a card. Embarrassing, but how could she know?
Once she watched the others, she decided to give parasailing a try. It was a double-seater, so Kyle gave the boat over to Tim and rode the parasail with Nora. It was so freeing...she felt like a bird flying above the water.
The evening ended with a clambake on the beach. All in all, it was a great day and the best time she had had since moving a month ago. She was exhausted when Kyle finally brought her back to the cottage.
“I hope you had fun today,” he told her as he followed her onto the porch.
“I did, Kyle. It was a great day. Thanks for inviting me. And, Happy Birthday! Sorry I didn’t know...I would have gotten you a card.”
“That’s ok. Cards are over-rated, don’t you think?” he asked as he stepped closer to her. “...a birthday kiss would be better…” he said as he smiled and gave her a questioning look.
Nora’s heart sank into her stomach. She heaved a deep sigh as she looked away from him…
“Kyle…” she began.
“Great...I screwed up, didn’t I? It’s just that…” He shrugged his shoulders. “...we’ve been spending a lot of time together...I really enjoy your company. I thought it might be the same for you. I didn’t mean to...overstep my bounds…”
“Kyle...I really think you’re a nice guy…” began Nora.
“Oh no, not the ‘he’s really nice’ routine.”
“No...that’s not what I meant at all. You are a really nice guy. And, to be honest, you’re...very appealing…” Nora said.
“But, you’re not into nice guys who are appealing?” He waited a moment, then continued, “Is there someone else…?”
Nora hesitated before she continued.
“Remember, I told you before that I didn’t want to talk about my past…”
“You just want to live in it,” he interrupted in an irritated tone.
The remark hit home and it hurt. After she recovered from that truthful blow, Nora responded, “Well, if I do...that’s no one’s business but my own. I moved here to build a life for me and for my son...to start over…”
“So when do you plan to do that...start over, I mean?”
“When I'm ready. Not on someone else’s schedule. I’m sorry, Kyle. I hope you can understand. It’s not you, it’s me.”
They stood quietly for some time until Nora broke the silence.
“I hope we can still be friends?”
When he said nothing, she finished, “Goodnight Kyle.”
Nora entered the cottage and leaned against the closed door. Life just seems to get more and more complicated she thought to herself.
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