Posted by hummingbird on 5/8/2014, 8:33 am VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Chapter Six
The following evening, Bo and Nora entered Sal’s restaurant shortly after eight o’clock. Closing time was eight, so only a few workers were left there as a clean up crew.
They spied Mick and Lena playing a game of pool in the back of the restaurant; but before they could join them, Sal came out of the kitchen with a platter of food. When he saw Bo, he shouted a greeting.
“BO BO BO, MI AMICO!” he bellowed smiling.
“MY PAL SAL!!!” Bo shouted back.
Then Sal deposited his tray on a table and he and Bo did some silly, elaborate handshake. Nora watched all of this with a puzzled look on her face. The guys laughed when they noticed her reaction. Bo pulled her to his side.
“Sal, I’d like you to meet Nora. Nora, this is Sal.”
“Your pal?” she asked.
“YEAH” they both shouted. Then he and Sal did the handshake again.
“Benvenuto,” he said to Nora welcoming her. And to Bo, “Bella ragazza!”
“Yes, I think so too,” agreed Bo raising his eyebrows and looking at Nora.
Again Nora looked puzzled. Sal laughed. “I tell Bo you are a very pretty girl...he agrees.”
“Oh...you’re embarrassing me,” Nora said softly shaking her head.
Sal waved a hand at her. “Why would a pretty girl be embarrassed? Now, an ugly girl...she should be embarrassed. But you? No...” he said shaking his head. “I pay you a compliment...just say ‘thank you’.”
“Thank you, Sal,” she said smiling at him.
“Di niente,” that is in your language “you’re welcome.” Now, I hope you are hungry. Rita and I have a lot of food ready. I don’t even ask Bo...he’s always hungry!”
“You know it...and they make the best food. You’re going to love it,” he told Nora.
“And it’s almost ready,” Sal said. “I better get back to the kitchen and help Rita. Make yourselves at home.”
After helping Nora off with her coat and hanging their coats on a hall tree, Bo took Nora by the hand and they joined Mick and Lena by the pool table. Nora, who had never played pool, observed the game with fascination. It wasn’t long before Mick made his final shots winning the game. When they finished, they handed their cue sticks to Bo and Nora.
“Your turn,” Mick said. “Come on, Lena, let’s get a drink.”
“Feeling lucky?” Bo asked looking at Nora as he put chalk on his cue stick.
“No...not at all. I’ve never played pool before,” Nora replied.
Bo’s eyes brightened. “Ohhhh...suddenly I’m feeling very lucky,” he said with new-found confidence.
Nora looked at him and frowned. “You mean you would take advantage of my ignorance to beat me at a game?”
“Absolutely...I mean, nooo...I wouldn’t do that…” he teased.
She gave him a playful shove and he grinned at her.
“Okay. How about I teach you first then take unfair advantage of your lack of skill and know how?”
She shook her head incredulously. “You’re so kind,” she said facetiously.
Bo laughed. “Seriously...you want to learn? I’ll teach you.”
“Of course I want to learn...then someday I’ll beat the pants off you.”
“I’ll be looking forward to that,” he murmured.
“What was that?” she questioned.
“Uh...I said I need to set up the rack,” Bo answered innocently.
Bo showed her how to rack and break the balls. Then he said, “I’ll go first just to show you how to it’s done.” He then showed her how to make a “bridge” and hold the cue stick to strike the ball. He took his first turn. “See?” he questioned.
“Looks easy enough,” she said as she started to strike a ball with her cue stick.
“Don’t forget the bridge,” Bo reminded her. Remember how I made the bridge with my fingers and aimed the ball?” He showed her again how to make a bridge on the table. She tried and missed once again.
“This is harder than it looked,” she muttered.
He smiled. “You’ll get it. Just keep trying.”
Bo stood close to her trying to instruct her in technique, but had trouble concentrating on the game. Instead he was focusing on the sweet fragrance of her hair and the proximity of her body. She, too, was affected watching his strong arms and his body as he leaned across the pool table.
He took yet another successful shot, then asked “You ready to try again?”
She nodded her head and he stepped aside. But before she could continue, they heard Sal shout, “Okay, everyone...the food is ready. Let’s eat!”
They all gathered around the table. Sal gave a quick description of each dish, then poured the wine. Everyone ate til they could hold no more. The food was delicious, and the company was sweet. There was laughter and joking all around. Occasionally, Bo would just watch Nora as she laughed and conversed with the others or sipped her wine. She caught him looking at her a few times and asked him if something was wrong. How could he tell her that nothing was wrong...that everything was right...and that he was falling for her way too fast? Instead, he just answered with “Everything’s fine” and joined in the conversation.
After the dinner, they cleared off the tables and played some Euchre. Bo found that Nora was very good at Euchre and was glad she was his partner. He especially loved watching her think out and play a ‘loner’ hand. She played it successfully gaining the extra points.
She raised her eyebrows at him and said, “I may not be able to play pool, but I can play cards.” A few hands later, they won the game. He smiled at her excitement when they were claimed the victors.
When they wrapped up the card game they decided to wrap up the party as well. This time Mick and Lena were riding with Bo and Nora. Bo was going to drop them off at Lena’s apartment before taking Nora home.
They were driving through the downtown streets when the air raid sirens sounded. Although the war was overseas, large cities on the homefront would sometimes practice blackout situations just in case there was an air attack. Chicago was one of those cities.
All lights in homes and buildings were turned off and window shades were drawn. Cars came to a stop in the streets turning their lights off leaving the streets looking like parking lots.
As they were sitting in the dark, Bo tried to spark up a conversation, but found that Mick and Lena were ‘preoccupied’ in the back seat. It was getting pretty heated between them, and Bo and Nora were starting to feel uncomfortable.
“Mick,” Bo said, but Mick didn’t answer. He and Lena were too busy necking to pay attention to anything else.
“Mick!” Bo said again. Still no acknowledgement.
At that moment the sirens stopped, signaling an end to the blackout.
Bo turned to Nora.“I say we give them the car and take the subway...okay with you?” he asked.
“That’s fine,” she agreed. Bo removed the keys and tossed them at Mick in the backseat.
“The car is yours,” Bo shouted.
“Wha...what?” Mick asked trying to sit upright in the seat.
“Nora and are are taking the subway. The car is yours. Better get it moving before everyone in the street is irate with you.”
Mick and Lena scrambled to button clothing and move to the front seat while people around them honked their horns impatiently.
As they walked toward the subway station, Bo apologized to Nora. “I’m sorry about that. That was a bit uncomfortable,” he said.
For lack of a response, Nora said, “They seem very close.”
“You think?” Bo responded. Then he started laughing. “Did you see them scrambling to...uhm...adjust their clothing when I threw the keys at him?”
Nora added, “And all those horns were honking...and did you see that guy in the car behind us shaking his fist out the window?”
By this time, they were both laughing, Bo shaking his head. “Mick...he has a one-track mind...I tell him that all the time. Anyway...I apologize for his lack of decency and manners.”
“That’s okay. It’s not your fault,” she said putting her arm through his. “The rest of the evening was lovely...except that I never had another chance to perfect my billiard skills.”
“We’ll work on that again sometime. I know you can learn it. Here’s our station,” Bo said. With standing room only, Nora and Bo huddled close for the ride home.
* * * * * * *
The moon was full and casting a silvery glow through the trees as Bo and Nora walked hand-in-hand down her street.
“We got you back just in time...it’s just a few minutes before eleven,” Bo said.
“Actually...my parents agreed to some extra time tonight since I didn’t get off work until eight…so...it’s too beautiful to go inside...want to take a walk with me?”
“I’d love to...where are we going to walk?” he asked.
Nora thought a moment then said, “Oh...I see someone I want to introduce you to. Come on.”
She tugged his hand and pulled him beyond the house to a bank barn connected to a fenced pasture. There, in the moonlight, a horse was poking her head from the upper stable door.
Nora released Bo’s hand and rubbed the horse’s nose speaking to her soothingly. “Hello, my sweet Levanah.”
“I didn’t know you had horses,” Bo said. “How many?”
“Just two,” replied Nora. “When I was about 13, I wanted a horse, so Daddy bought a mare and her filly. Dad and I used to ride together. We still do, but not as often now that my life is busy.” She continued talking quietly to the horse.
“What did you call her?” asked Bo.
“Her name is ‘Levanah’, one of the Hebrew words for ‘moon’.”
“That’s nice,” Bo replied.
“The full moon is one of my favorite things...I love nights like this. I mean, look at that!” She indicated their surroundings, the barn and the pasture and the woods beyond. “Isn’t that beautiful with that shimmery white glow across it? It’s as light as day...I just love it,” she finished softly.
She glanced back at him. Once again, he had that same look on his face that she had seen several times this evening...a watchful look...almost as if he was contemplating something. Instead of questioning him, she let it go as another thought came to her.
“Oh I know what I want to show you!” she said with enthusiasm. “Come with me.”
Bo followed as she led him into the barn.
“That’s ‘Jezebel’ she said indicating her father’s horse.
“Jezebel? Is she mean or…”
“Let’s just say she’s high-spirited. Not sweet and docile like Levanah.”
They came to a ladder extending into a loft. Nora started climbing. When she reached the top she motioned for Bo to follow. The loft was completely dark until Nora stumbled to the far wall and unlatched some shutters covering a window. When she opened the shutters, moonlight spilled in across the hay-strewn floor.
“Come join me,” she said motioning to him. He followed to where a large beam extended from the floor to the roof. Nora sat leaning her back against the beam and patted the floor beside her. He sat beside her and they looked out the window on the opposite wall. They were high enough now to see the city lights in the distance beyond the fields and trees.
“What a view!” remarked Bo.
“It’s great, isn’t it? Nora replied.
They sat in silence for a few minutes just enjoying the view, then Nora spoke. “This is my haven...the place I come to when I need to be alone or to think. When I was a little girl, I would come here when I got into trouble so that no one would see me cry. As I got older, I would come here to think and to dream…I’d look at the lights of the city and dream about my future…”
Bo, who had been listening intently, asked, “So...what were those dreams of the future?”
“Oh...just girl things…” she said reflecting. “I’m not telling you...you’ll laugh at me.”
“No, I won’t. I’m not going to laugh...not unless you tell me you wanted to play professional billiards or something…” He grinned as she poked him in the side and gave him a look.
“Nooo…” she said, smiling into his eyes.
“So tell me,” he encouraged.
She looked straight ahead through the window again. “When I was a girl, I wanted to grow up to live in the big city and be a professional dancer on the stage...not a dime a dance girl...and I was going to marry a tall, dark, and handsome man...with an accent,” she added as an afterthought.
Bo started to chuckle.
“You said you weren’t going to laugh,” she reprimanded shooting him a look.
“I know...and I was fine until you added the part about the accent...I’m sorry.”
“Fine,” she said glancing at him. “What about you? What were your boyhood dreams?” she asked him.
“Well,” he began in an accented voice, “I wanted to be a cowboy, Little Lady, and live on a ranch in west Texas…”
He was interrupted by her laughter.
“What?!” he asked.
She could hardly speak for laughing. “Is that John Wayne you’re doing?”
He shook his head ‘yes’.
“Well...don’t be offended...it’s a very good Duke...but that’s not the kind of accent I was referring to,” she said wrinkling her nose. “I meant a man who speaks...French or Latin or something romantic like that…” she said giggling.
“Wi, wi, mon amour” Bo began in a French brogue…
Nora laughed aloud and leaned toward him. “Okay, enough. Seriously...you haven’t answered my question. What were your dreams when you were a boy?”
“Seriously?...My dreams were simple...I dreamed of working on the ranch and having lots of horses and longhorn cattle...” He looked at her, then hesitated before answering slowly, “...and...I used to dream...that I would find myself alone some night with a beautiful girl in a moonlit loft...”
Nora gave him a slight frown. “I think you made that last part up…”
“You think so?”
As she looked at him, she was met with that same questioning look in his eyes. She leaned her head against his shoulder and, in the pale glow of the moonlight, their lips met again. Again Bo tasted their softness as they melted beneath his own. He pulled her closer, and she wrapped her arms around him. Finally, after several moments, she pulled back a little to look at him.
“I have a question for you,” she said softly.
“And what would that be?” he asked tucking a loose tendril of her hair back into place.
“Several times tonight I’ve noticed you watching me...like you have something on your mind...is something wrong?” she asked him.
He thought a moment before answering, “No...actually...I’m just…” He hesitated.
“What?” she urged him.
“I’m just...surprised...at how quickly I’m falling for you,” he told her looking into her eyes. I mean...we’ve only spent a few evenings together and I...just feel so comfortable with you...like I’ve known you for a long time…”
She smiled. “I feel the same way.”
After a few quiet moments he continued, “Now I have a question for you.”
She looked up at him.
Looking into her eyes he asked quietly, “How old are you?”
“Old enough,” was her reply as she leaned toward him for another kiss.
He pulled away after several more kisses and said, “Mmmm...I like that answer...but really...how old are you?”
“I’m twenty,” she said.
He breathed an audible sigh of relief. “I’m glad to hear that,” he told her.
“Why? Do I seem too young?
“No,” he answered, shaking his head.
“Do you wish that I was older? Or do you wish I acted older? More like...Lena?...” she asked fingering his collar.
“No!” He chuckled at her. “I like you as you are...it’s just that…I think your Dad is uncomfortable with the age difference...I’m twenty-eight, by the way. Has he said anything to you about me?”
“No, he hasn’t...so stop worrying,” she encouraged him.
He continued, “I just wish he knew that my intentions are good...that I’m one of the good guys…”
“He’ll realize that as he gets to know you better. I did,” she said gently. “Speaking of Daddy...I wonder what time it is…”
Bo looked at his watch. “11:42,” he told her. “Now I wish we had spent less time talking and more time...doing other things,” he said raising his eyebrows at her.
“What ‘other things’, Mr. Buchanan?” she asked him her eyes gleaming.
“Other ‘things’...you know...a little of this and a little of that…” he whispered kissing her.
“Oh!...well! Tell you what,” she whispered back. “I’ll do ‘a little of this’, but...I’ll have to draw the line at ‘a little of that’,” she said teasingly.
Bo laughed aloud as he pulled her closer.
“Shhhhh...quiet, Soldier, or we won’t be doing a little of anything…”
She didn’t have to tell him twice. He dropped the conversation as his lips claimed hers.
