Summer After Hartfeld

“Dear Ms. Stevens,

All of us here at ‘Bookworm Publishing’ are writing you this email to let you know we’d love to have you join our team come two weeks from this email. We have reviewed your resume, cover letter as well as reached out to all of your references and are blown away by the amount of esteem you hold in your community. We have no doubt you will bring nothing less than to our community and take the Bay Area by storm. We are looking forward to hearing from you, we hope to welcome you into our family!

Bookworm Publishing”

A wave of emotions overcome Nora as she reads the email aloud to her mother. Her eyes water as she reaches the end of the email, her mother getting up from the bar stool she had been sitting on to embrace Nora. She holds her daughter tight for a moment before she steps back. Waiting for Nora to speak.

“Chris…” Nora croaks out “H-How do I tell h-him?”

“However feels right to you,” Nora’s mom says softly “That boy loves you, this shouldn’t be more than a speed bump in your relationship”

“Mom, I’ll be all the way across the country. A three hour difference in time zones!” Nora says loudly “This isn’t a speed bump! This is demolishing the whole road”

“Yes, but why do we demolish roads?” Nora’s mom grins “To pave them again, maybe this is what your relationship needs. Some space to really appreciate each other”

“I suppose” Nora sighs, slipping her phone into her pocket “I should be going”

“Drive safe honey” Nora’s mom smiles “Tell Chris I said hi”

“Will do, to both” Nora grins

She turns and walks towards the doorway, pulling her purse off of the hook next to the front door and slipping it onto her shoulder. She pauses, the door barely opens as she turns back around to look at her mother.

“Deep breaths,” Nora’s mom says softly, as she raises her hand to her chest and mimics the breathing technique to Nora

Nora smiles as she copies her mother, taking in a deep breath of air as she turns and leaves. The door clicking softly behind her as she shakily gets into her car, driving down towards the river.

—

Nora arrives at the riverside restaurant, the light glow of the sunset casting an orange shadow on everything. The wide garden next to the restaurant light up with string lights, the river barely in view behind the tall walls of the restaurant.

“Hey love” Chris grins as he pushes himself off of his truck

“Hey you” Nora grins

He pulls her into an embrace, their lips gently pressing together when she notices his lips tremble a little.

“You alright captain?” Nora grins as she pulls back slightly from the kiss

“Yes,” Chris says, his eyes still closed

After a moment he opens them, his electric blue eyes glued onto Nora’s deep, brown ones.

“Let’s go eat” Chris grins as he leads Nora into the restaurant

The hostess looks up Chris’s reservation before leading them out onto the terrace, a table right next to the water. It is very cool for mid-August. Nora shivers a little as a crisp breeze from the river drifts over Chris and Nora as they take their seats. Chris takes the reins to Nora’s surprise and delight. He orders them an expensive bottle of wine, before putting in orders for their dinner and dessert.

“Who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?” Nora laughs

“I just want tonight to be special” Chris says, his expression soft as his eyes bore through Nora

“Okay,” she says softly as the waitress comes back with a large bottle of red wine and two glasses

She uncorks the bottle, pouring them both a healthy serving before leaving them alone again.

“You sure you don’t want to order a beer? I seriously doubt an expensive draft will ruin our night” Nora smiles softly

“Nope,” Chris says, sipping the deep red wine “I’m good”

“Are you though?” Nora laughs, watching him scrunch his nose

“Yes, I love it” Chris says, before he breaks out into laughter “Alright, Alright. I’m not a wine guy. Fine.”

“Chris, what is going on?” Nora asks, enjoying the overpriced wine

“Well, I was going to wait” Chris smiles, his cheeks flushing a light pink “Hell with it”

He stands up, reaching into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulling out a small, red velvet box. He kneels down in front of Nora’s chair on one knee, the soft lighting around them illuminating their faces as the river rushes behind them.

“Nora…” Chris says softly “You have made the few years of my life, the greatest they could have been. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife and making me the happiest man alive?”

“I-I…” Nora smiles, her lips trembling when she suddenly remembers the email from the publishing company “I want to” she laughs nervously, making Chris arch his eyebrows at her “It’s just…uh…I’m probably gonna be in San Francisco in two weeks…”

“This is not how I expected this to go” Chris laughs nervously

“Yes, Chris. I want nothing more than to marry you” Nora says as people start to stare

Chris pops open the box, pulling the small diamond ring from the box and slipping it onto Nora’s slender ring finger. He pulls her up and into his embrace, a tear escaping her eye as he spins her around. Before setting her back down, his hands cup her face as he brings her lips to his, people applauding all around them. They settle down, both slipping back into their seats as the waitress sets their dinner plates in front of them.

“You mentioned San Francisco,” Chris says, a slight grin on his face

“I got a job offer,” Nora says slowly “In San Francisco”

“You want to take it? What happened to the job in New York City? Or in Northbridge?” Chris asks

“They are barely offering and the one in Northbridge doesn’t even pay” Nora smirks “I’m getting tired of sleeping alone”

“So instead you want to sleep alone in San Francisco?” Chris chuckles

“Chris…” Nora sighs

“I’m kidding. If you want to take the offer, do it. We’ll figure something out” Chris says

“Are you sure? How is this different than Nicole?” Nora asks, not concerning herself if she hits a sore spot

“Nora, you are not her. You are my fiance. I support your decision and Nicole made the decision without me, you…” Chris grins “I can tell this has been tearing you apart, I won’t lose you over some distance”

“I love you, you know that?” Nora smiles

“I love you too, now let’s reply to the email and accept that job offer” Chris smiles

“Nora?” Ben laughs as he waves his hand in front of Nora’s face

“W-What…?” Nora whispers, seemingly coming out of a trance “Sorry, I got lost in my thoughts”

“I could tell” Ben grins, his eyes locked on Nora “What were you thinking about?”

“Just an old memory” Nora grins “What were you saying?”

“My boss pulled me into his office today” Ben smiles, pulling Nora closer to him “Our company is opening a second location in New York City”

“Okay?” Nora giggles

“Well, he asked me to head it! To run the office, all the creative control I want” Ben leans forward, pressing his lips to Nora’s “I mean, we’d have to move, I’d love for you to come with me…”

“Of course I’m going with you!” Nora laughs “You can’t get rid of me that easily”

Ben tugs Nora to him, their lips colliding as they both smile, Nora’s hands tangling up in Ben’s hair. After a moment, Nora leans back to let Ben finish telling her his news.

“We are merging this office with a marketing firm, to try and reach a bigger audience,” Ben says “I’ll be working alongside-”

“Chris Powell” Nora smiles weakly, “You told me”