Chapter 5
"If
there's one thing I want you to do especially for me/ And it's something everybody
needs/ Each night before you go to bed, my baby/ Whisper a little prayer for
me, my baby/ Yeah, and tell all the stars above this is dedicated to the one
I love" ~Mamas and the Papas (Dedicated To The One I Love)
"I still can't believe you flew me halfway around the world for my birthday,"
Sara had said when she arrived in Oslo, Norway.
"Believe it babe," Nick remembered himself saying as he broke the
embrace. "I couldn't let you celebrate by yourself." The look on her
face had been priceless when she stepped off the plane. The smile that graced
her face was one that Nick was sure he would never forget. It was one of the
moments when the world stopped for the two of them. All they could see was each
other, and that was all they needed.
Nick remembered how he had taken Sara out that night. He wanted to make her
birthday extra special, so he pulled a few strings. After a nice dinner, the
two returned to their hotel room and got changed. He could remember the exact
T-shirt she wore and the shorts that matched, along with the way she twisted
her hair up as easily as he snapped his fingers. Nick had smiled upon seeing
her.
"What are you so happy about smiley?" Sara had teased as she ruffled
his hair.
Nick shrugged. "Just that you let me spend your birthday with you."
A ring from the telephone interrupted them. Sara was first to pick up.
"Please come down to the desk immediately," a heavily accented Norwegian
reported. "You've got a visitor."
"A visitor? Are you sure you have the right room?" Nick recalled her
saying into the phone.
"Yes. Please come down to the desk."
Sara told Nick about the odd call, and the two of them went to see what the
commotion was downstairs.
"He's in the ballroom," they were instructed.
"That's odd," Sara said as they walked across to the ballroom. "I
thought they told us it was closed tonight."
Nick shrugged, not knowing what to say.
Sara pushed the door to the room open as a familiar opening chord sounded. "Happy
18th birthday, Sara," Nick whispered as he took her hand and led her to
the center of the dance floor.
A familiar voice soon accompanied the chords.
"This Romeo
is bleedin'
But you can't see his blood
It's nothing but some feelings that this old dog kicked up
It's been raining since you left me
Now I'm drowning in the flood
You see I've always been a fighter
But without you I give up"
Sara's breath caught in her throat. "Our song," she stammered as she
searched Nick's eyes for some sort of clue.
Nick nodded and smiled down at her. "Just for you." He then nodded
to the band as they continued to sing.
"Yeah I will
love you, baby, always
And I'll be there, forever and a day
Always"
"I can't believe you did this," Sara whispered as she laid her head on Nick's shoulder. "I can understand dancing to our song, but actually having Bon Jovi here to play it is crazy."
Nick chuckled lightly as he held her closer. "So I take it you're happy with this surprise?" Sara nodded as sounds of 'Always' filled the air. She closed her eyes and let herself get swept away in the music. Unable to resist, Nick lent down and kissed Sara tenderly. They stopped dancing and looked at each other, and really saw each other for who they were.
"I love you Sara," Nick said for the first time.
"I love you too, Nick," Sara said as the two wrapped each other in a tight hug…
Nick shook his head to clear the memory. That was so long ago to him that it almost didn't exist anymore. That was 5 years ago, and so much had happened since then.
A quick glance
at Sara made Nick realize why they had stayed together. It wasn't because she
was gorgeous, or because he had money. It was simply because of the chemistry
the had: the magical ability to drive each other crazy one minute and the next
minute calm the other down with a single touch.
* * *
"I love you
so much, Sara," Nick whispered, still lying on her chest while she slumbered,
"so much." He then rested his hand gently on her stomach. "I
love you too, little one," Nick said to the unborn child.
As not to wake Sara, Nick slowly lifted himself off of her and wandered over
to the window. Brushing the curtain aside, Nick looked out into the morning
sun. It all seemed so perfect, like nothing at all had happened yesterday that
Nick actually started to wonder if the whole trip to the doctor had been a horrible
nightmare.
* * *
The sounds of freshly brewed coffee woke Sara from her sleep. She sat up to stretch, and meandered into the kitchen where she found Nick. He was sitting at the island, nursing a cup of coffee while staring out into the sun-streaked yard.
"What are you thinking about?" Sara inquired as she walked up behind him.
"Everything… Nothing…"
"Yesterday?"
Nick nodded. "I
can't believe it though. One moment the world is almost perfect, and the next
it's laying in shambles at your feet." He put the coffee down, his gaze
fixed outside. "How am I gonna tell everyone? How do I tell my mom? Call
them up and go 'Oh yeah, by the way, just called to let you know I'm HIV positive.
Call back if you get a chance.' And what about Aaron? How do I explain everything
to him?"
"I'm sure they'll understand," Sara tried to reason. "I'll be
there with you. You won't be alone."
"Yeah, but what about your family? I'm sure they'll be thrilled to hear that your constantly gone boyfriend has given you the most untreatable disease in the world," Nick remarked.
"How do you know that you're the one who gave it to me? Maybe I got it during a blood transfusion or something," Sara tried to reason.
"When was
the last time you got a transfusion?" Sara fell silent. "And you were
faithful too. There's no way you could have given it to me." Both were
quiet for a moment. "I bet you hate me right about now."
"I could never hate you, Nick. I love you too much for that," Sara
said as she was caught totally off guard by his comment.
"Well you can't be too happy with me."
"Not with you, just the situation."
Nick reached over, found her hand, kissed it, and wrapped it around his shoulder, forcing her to come closer.
"What would I do without you?" Nick asked rhetorically.
After a moment, Sara spoke up. "Nick? Can I have a hug?"
Without saying a word, Nick got up and wrapped his arms around Sara. She dissolved into him, holding on for dear life. She felt safe, so safe that she never wanted to leave. Sara inhaled everything about him: his scent, the way he held her so firm, but so gently, the way he rested his chin on her head before kissing the top of her head… Everything.
"I'm scared, Nick," Sara said as he continued to cradle her.
"I know. So am I."
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