THE CHRISTMAS GIFT

"Mommie," Matthew asked for the hundredth time, "when does Santa come?"

"Tonight sweetie," Nora said patiently, "but that's a long time from now. It's after you go to bed."

"How will he know where I live?"

"You wrote him that letter with your address on it," Nora reminded him.
"Santa always finds the good little boys."

Matthew hung on her every word.

The doorbell rang and Matthew jumped up. "It's Santa. He's here!"

"I don't think so, honey," Nora said as she walked to the door.

When she opened the door she was surprised to find Bo there with a gift and a poinsettia.

"Hi! Come in."

"This is for you," Bo said handing Nora the poinsettia. "And this is for.."

Matthew jumped up and down. "Me! Me! I've been good."

"Alrighty then. It's your's."

"What do you say, Matthew?" Nora prompted.

"Thank you," Matthew said as he sat down on the floor to unwrap his gift.

"Bo, this is so nice of you," Nora said. "Maybe this will tide Matthew over until later. He's so hyper."

"Are Rachel and Hank coming over?" Bo asked.

"No. They went skiing with Lisa," Nora said, putting the poinsettia on the table. "Rachel and I had Hanukkah with Matthew earlier."

"Well, why don't you come over to Asa's for dinner? He'd love it."

Nora looked down. "Renee already asked me, but I hope you understand, I still feel.. you know.. a little uncomfortable around Melanie."

"Oh." Bo looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I didn't think, but it's not really an issue. Melanie won't be there. She's working tonight at the hospital."

They were silent for a moment until Bo continued.

"Look, ya gotta eat and it'll be something for Matthew to do. He can wreck havoc in the mansion."

"Okay," Nora said smiling. "I'd love to see Asa and Renee."

"Great, I'll pick you up at 6:30." Bo smiled and was out the door.

Nora sighed and fell down on the couch.. still smiling.

"Mommie, are you thinking about Santa Claus?" Matthew asked.

"Yeah, sweetie. A Santa Claus I knew once upon a time."

Later, after getting Matthew to take a nap, Nora went through her closet looking for something perfect to wear. She wanted to look good-- very good.

She finally decided on a raspberry velvet off-the-shoulder top and a short black velvet skirt with a slit up the side. She put on the ruby earrings Bo had given her. She was just finishing her hair when the doorbell rang. Matthew was opening the door as she walked down the stairs.

"Whoa, look at you!" Bo said when he saw her. "I always loved that color on you."

"Thanks. And you look very dashing yourself."

Bo had on a blue suit, blue shirt, blue tie. Very Regis. He didn't wear blue often, but she loved it on him.

Bo tried not to stare at Nora, but it was hard. As he helped her put on her wrap he kept his hand on her shoulder just a little too long. He hoped she didn't notice. But she noticed. It made her positively giddy.

During the ride to Asa's, Bo kept Matthew occupied by asking him to name Santa's reindeer, and pointing out light displays. Nora was glad she didn't have to make conversation. All of a sudden, she-- Nora Hanen Gannon Buchanan-- felt tongue-tied.

When they got to Asa's, both Asa and Renee were thrilled to see Nora and Matthew.

Bo asked her if she wanted anything to drink. Nora decided on a glass of wine. She hoped it would calm her nerves. Matthew went off to the kitchen in search of Nigel. Bo and Asa went down to the wine cellar to bring up more wine. (Yes, the mansion has a wine cellar too!)

"You are positively glowing," Renee said to Nora when they were alone.

"Is it that obvious?" Nora asked. "I'm a nervous wreck. You'd think this was my first date, and it's not a date at all."

"No, honey, that's not what I meant. I mean you look fantastic," Renee responded.

"Oh Renee, I'm only here because Melanie is working, but it feels so right being with Bo. I have to keep reminding myself this is a one night thing. Bo was just trying to be nice by asking us here tonight. It means nothing."

In the wine cellar, Bo was getting the third degree from Asa.

"Glad you finally came to your senses, son, and switched back to the right woman."

"Nora and I are not on a date, Pa. Melanie is working. I didn't want Nora and Matthew to be alone tonight."

"Whatever you say, Bo, but I haven't seen you with that silly grin on your face in a long, long time."

Bo almost dropped the bottle of wine he was holding. "What silly grin?"

"The 'Bo-and-Nora-need-to-get-a-room' grin. There were never two people crazier about each other than you and Nora. You two acted like love-sick teenagers half the time."

Bo was silent as they walked up the stairs. He had the grin on his face even then and didn't know it. As he walked in the room Nora's back was to him. He felt butterflies in his stomach. Her shoulders looked so soft. He wanted to touch her. He started opening the bottle of wine.

"For crying out loud, Bo, have you forgotten how to open a bottle of wine?" Asa asked.

Bo came out of dreamland. "What, Pa?"

Asa continued in a half whisper. "You've been working that corkscrew for five minutes. Give it to me. You've got your attention on that woman over there-- not that I mind-- or blame you."

Bo poured Nora's wine. "Shake it off, Buchanan," he thought to himself.

He walked over to Nora and she turned around smiling. He almost stumbled. "Sorry, it took so long."

"Get a grip, Buchanan," he thought again.

"No problem. You know Renee and me. We can talk for hours," Nora said.

Bo was glad when Matthew ran in. "Uncle Nigel said for me to tell you, uh..." Nigel whispered in his ear. Matthew bent from the waist slightly like a proper butler and waved his little arm ceremoniously. "Dinner is.. it's uh.. served!"
Everyone clapped and went into the dining room.

Nora became livelier as the evening went on, and it wasn't because of too much wine. She just loved being with Bo. Bo and Matthew. Just like it was supposed to have been. "This is my Christmas present," she thought. "This moment, however short. I'm going to let myself enjoy it."

For his part, Bo was mesmerized by Nora. He barely heard what anyone else said. Asa and Renee looked at each other and smiled. They weren't about to say anything to disrupt the magic.

By the time they opened presents, Bo and Nora had slipped even further into a comfortable rapport. Bo never once, the whole night, thought of Melanie. He had forgotten what a 'Nora conversation' was like. It was rapid-fire, challenging-- full of laughter. Her presence was electric. He didn't want the night to end.

"Bo, I think we have to get Matthew home," Nora said. "He has to be there when Santa comes, right sweetie?" That's all she had to say and Matthew ran to get his coat.

They said their goodbyes. Asa gave Bo a wink. "Don't mess up tonight, son."

"Sublety was never your strong suit, was it, Pa? Goodnight Pa. Thank you Renee," he said, kissing her on the cheek.

In the car, Bo and Nora never stopped talking. When they got to Nora's house they realized Matthew was asleep in the back seat. "Let me carry him in," Bo said. He carried Matthew up to his bedroom.

"Make yourself at home. I'll be down as soon as I get him tucked in," Nora whispered.

Bo waited downstairs for ten minutes. He decided to go upstairs to see what was keeping Nora. As he got closer to Matthew's door he heard her reading "The Night Before Christmas." Nora smiled when she saw Bo look in the door. Matthew was trying to keep his eyes open, but was quickly losing the battle.
Bo stood in the doorway listening. A wave of emotion washed over him.
At that moment he realized how much he missed Nora. How much he loved her.

Nora finished reading and pulled the blanket around Matthew. She kissed his cheek and turned out the light. She and Bo tiptoed down the stairs together.

"Want something to drink?" Nora asked.

"Got any root beer?"

"You know it, Commissioner." Nora went into the kitchen and came back with two root beers.
They drank and talked.

"This has been a wonderful evening, Bo. Thank you so much. But I have work to do now."

"What? Work? On Christmas Eve?" Bo said.

"Yeah. I have to put together Matthew's bicycle. So unless you wanna help, I suggest you head for the hills now!"

"Are you kidding? Of course I'll help," Bo said excitedly. He was delighted at a reason to stay longer.

They brought the box in from the garage. "You have no idea how hard this was to hide. I had it next door in the neighbor's garage until this afternoon. Matthew has become a master snooper," Nora laughed.

"I think it's probably genetic." Bo said in mock seriousness.
Nora hit him on the arm. "Why didn't you buy one already put together anyway?"

"For the first time, I did all my shopping online," she answered. "But I may have made a big mistake here."

"Alrighty. Got the instructions?" Bo asked.

"Uh, instructions? Instructions." Nora looked around like she was seeking help from an imaginary friend.

"You DO have the instructions, don't you, Red?"

"Well, Bo, I really don't remember seeing any instructions." She checked the box and found nothing. "Oh my word. This can't be happening. What are we going to do?"

Nora had a look of Lucy Ricardo terror on her face. Bo started laughing.

"What? Bo! What are you laughing at? My child's Christmas is ruined!"

"No it's not. Hey, it can't be that hard," Bo said in all innocence. "Never mind that I'm not exactly experienced in putting together children's toys. But we can do this. We can."

They laid all the parts out on the floor and then looked at each other grimly. This time it was Bo with the look of terror on his face. "I think I'm gonna need another root beer."

After a few false starts, the bike began to take shape. When Bo was stumped, Nora found the right screw. And when Nora didn't know where to go next, Bo had the answer.

Finally they had the bike put together-- and much faster than expected. Bo laid down on the floor as if he were exhausted. "Police work will never challenge me again because I-- I, Bo Buchanan, have put together a child's bike."

Nora laid down beside him with her head propped up on her arm. "Thank you, Bo. No way I could have done this without you."

"You are very welcome," Bo smiled. "Look at the clock. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you, too."

Bo got up and held out his hand to Nora.
"Dance with me."

"I'd love to, but I don't have a CD player. Can you believe it? I let Sam have it when he moved out. I never got another one."

Bo looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes. "We don't need music. We'll just think about the same song in our heads. How about 'I'll Be Home for Christmas.'"

Nora took his hand and they got into position. "Okay, one, two, three, begin," he said.

In her head Nora could hear the music.
'I'll be home.. for Christmas.
You can plan on me...'

They swirled around the living room. As they passed the light switch, Nora turned it off. Only the lights from the Christmas tree illuminated the room. Bo pulled her closer. She let her cheek touch his. She was in heaven. Her Christmas gift.. just for the moment.

Bo didn't want to let her go. He knew what he was feeling was real. They lost track of where they were supposed to be in the music and just stood there holding each other.

When they finally pulled apart, they stared at each other-- both feeling the same thing, neither wanting to look away.

Nora felt herself slipping into the blue coolness of his eyes-- It was a familiar place of waterfalls and smooth stones that refreshed her spirit.

Bo was lost in Nora's beauty. Her eyes were as warm as Bo's were cool. As she looked at him, he felt first sun
shining on fresh snow.

They moved closer to each other.. both wanting the kiss.. both a little afraid.

Bo remembered what Asa said-- 'Don't mess up tonight, son.' He started to laugh.

"What?" Nora asked softly. He told her what Asa had said. "The only way you could mess up is by leaving here without kissing me," she said.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly. And again, gently. And again, with so much emotion Nora thought she would fall to the floor.

"Don't stop," she said between kisses.

"Don't YOU stop," he said, leading her to the couch. They wanted each other in the worst way.

Bo was the first to pull away. "I have honorable intentions. So I think I should leave."

"It's up to you," Nora said breathlessly.

"Oh geez! Why did you have to say that? How can I leave here without your help? Bo said.

"I am in no condition to tell you to leave. Sorry. Can't help ya," Nora whispered.

Bo pulled her back down on the couch.

Several hours later Bo woke up on the couch holding Nora in his arms.
"Hey, Red, honey, will Matthew be waking up soon?"

She smiled at him. "Yeah, probably."

"I'd better get outta here," Bo said.

"Don't you want to see his face when he sees the bike?" Nora asked.

"Yeah. I'd like that. I wanna see his face and his mother's this morning and every morning."

"I think this just became the best Christmas ever," Nora said.

"For me too.. along with that Christmas you wrapped yourself up as my present."

Nora giggled. "That's really not all that hard to do."

"Well, aren't you afraid Matthew will be waking up soon?"

"You're right, I should wait until tonight to give you that present."

"I can't wait," Bo said, kissing her. "I can hardly wait."

THE END