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The Second First Date     “Nora, darling, are you sure you don’t want to come with us? We’re going to have a great time. Look at the weather, its perfect for a picnic, Matthew is so excited and well, it’s not healthy for you to just sit here, day after day, by yourself.”   “Thank you Momma, but after all I’ve been through, I enjoy being alone, really I do.” Nora put her arm around her mother’s back and guided her out of the kitchen. “You and Daddy have fun with Matthew, he has been so happy since we came back home, he loves being here with you and Daddy.”   “We love having him here, and you too…I just wish”   “Momma…I’m a big girl, I’ll be fine”   “You’re not so big that I can’t worry about you” she kisses her daughter on the cheek and ties her scarf around her head.   Matthew and Len are near the front door tossing a Nerf ball back and forth. “You comin’ with us Mom?”   Nora smiles at her son, “No baby…you take care of Poppi and Mimi for me, ok?” she kisses him on the top of his head. Matthew rolls his eyes.   “You sure you don’t want to come, Bubee?”   “No Daddy, I’m going to stay back and" she shrugs her shoulders, "just stay”   Len, Selma and Matt leave.   “I’m worried about her Len, she’s been here two months and she never leaves the house”   “Momma, she needs space to recover. The things that happen in Llanview have scarred her, she will heal and in time, our Bubee will be back” he gives his wife a reassuring peck on the cheek.   “Mimi?” Matthew asks “why won’t Mom return Uncle Bo’s phone calls?”   “Uncle Bo?” Selma is surprised.   “I talked to him four times last week and when I tell Mom, she just tells me to tell him she’ll get back to him.” Selma and Len look at each other.   Back at the house, Nora sits on the couch thumbing through a magazine, barely paying attention to the words, her mind elsewhere. The phone rings. She instinctively reaches to answer it, but hesitates when the answering machine picks up.   “Hey! Matthew! It’s Uncle Bo…you there buddy? Guess not…I hope you told your mom, well, I’ll talk to you later buddy. Love you.” Nora wipes her eyes. Just hearing his voice makes her misty. “God Bo…why?” She walks into the kitchen and pours a glass of juice. As she stands near the back door looking out at the gorgeous weather, the front door bell rings. It startles Nora out of her trance.   She opens the front door. “Bo!”   He smiles warmly at her. “Hey Red…how’re things?”   Nora tries to smooth her hair, “Things are….things are ok…” she looks at the ground.   Bo lifts her chin, “Things don’t look ok…you’ve been crying.”   “No, not really” Nora tries to change the subject “Hey….you just called on the machine”   “Cell phone….I promised Matt I’d call first thing”   Nora looked at him as he stood in the door. “First thing what?” She asked.   “First thing” he hesitates, “Can I come, I feel rather silly standing here.” Nora motions for him to enter, he continues as he walks in, tossing a duffle bag on the floor “first thing when I got here. You know, if you’d have bothered to return any of my many calls, you’d have known I was going to be in Chicago for the next two weeks.”   “For what?” Nora crosses her arms in front of her, becoming increasingly irritated.   “For…the hell of it” Bo plops down on the couch and stretches his arms out along the back. “So tell me Red…why are you avoiding me? You left Llanview suddenly, two months ago, never said good bye, totally stood me up for our date…”   “I did not stand you up!” Nora stated defiantly “I never accepted your invitation!”   “And why not? I thought we were making progress, I thought a date would have been the next natural step…I had everything ready, planned, perfect”   “That’s just it…you were ready to move forward. Bo, a few late night phone calls and a shared cup of coffee at the diner is not the beginning to the next great romance! And I just was not ready for a romantic moonlit dinner with dancing and…and”   “So you run away? You didn’t even give me a chance Nora! You high tailed it out of town so fast my head was spinning! Not so much as a good bye, not so much as a tough break sucker, nothing. It took me a month to track you down, then I talk to Matt and he tells me that you’re crying all the time.” Bo stands and walks over to Nora, who is looking out the window. He places his hands on her arms.   “He has a tendency to exaggerate…” Nora tries to stifle her tears.   “Come on Nora…give me a chance.”   “Bo” she turns to face him “I’m not ready to fall in love with you, not right now.”   “Ok, then don’t” he smiles and Nora feels her stomach knot up “just let’s have one date, just one, nothing romantic, nothing private.” He looks into her eyes, he can almost feel his way back to her heart. One thing about her, her eyes never lied. “Public…I’m going to take you to one of the most public places in Chicago, where I can guarantee no funny business can even be attempted.” He raises two fingers “Scouts honor”   Nora stares into his eyes. She sees the sincerity, the honesty. Her heart was telling her to take a chance, her mind telling her to…”Alright. One date, public not private, fun not heavy romantic. Then we will be even, I will have given you your date.” She held out her hand.   Bo took her hand, lightly shook it and pulled her into a tight hug. “You be ready in an hour, I’ll be back.” He kissed her on the cheek and headed towards the door.   “What should I wear for this date?” Nora questioned as Bo opened the door and looked back at her.   “What you have on is fine. You may want to bring some sunscreen.”   He closed the door.   Nora looked down at her clothing. “Shorts, a tee shirt and tennis shoes? Sunscreen? Bo Buchanan….just what are you planning?” Nora heads upstairs to freshen up her make-up and hair.   Little less than an hour later, Bo rings the bell. Nora opens the door. “Hey beautiful, ready for our totally public, non-romantic, non-threatening, non-committal, purely platonic, just a couple friends going out, date?”   “Ok, ok…I get the idea…you make it sound so sterile.” Nora smirks as she grabs her purse and follows Bo down the driveway. He opens the door of his rental and runs around and jumps behind the wheel. He gives the car gas and they zip down the street. “Where are we headed?”   “Oh…here, there and everywhere” Bo answered, remaining very cryptic.   A half hour later they were pulling into an under ground parking garage. They walked through the cavernous garage towards the elevators, Bo keeping a brisk pace, maintaining a respectable distance from Nora.   “What’s the hurry, Buchanan?” Nora huffed as she half jogged, half walked to keep up with Bo.   “Don’t want to be out of the public’s eye for too long, you know…don’t want any funny business.” He smiled as he walked, all the while feeling her irritation.   They emerged from the garage. “Navy Pier?” Nora questioned.   “Perfect spot to spend such a beautiful day…on the gorgeous lake front, in the company of thousands upon thousands of strangers…could ask for a more platonic setting.” He smirked.   “Ok…I get it…I get it already!” Nora caught her breath and looked around. There certainly were a lot of people, it wasn’t exactly a quiet romantic get away, what the heck, she decided to enjoy herself. Bo had other ideas.   “Let’s go!” He demanded, “don’t want to miss our launch!”   “Our launch?” Nora replied as Bo grabbed her hand and dragged her through the crowd towards the landing ramps of four huge yachts docked at the pier. “Where going to cruise the lakefront? Oh Bo!! This is wonderful!!”   Bo was pleased to see she was finally relaxing and even getting excited about what he had planned. “This ain’t nothing yet Red” he mumbled under his breath.   The boarded the vessel and found two seats, in the middle of the upper deck, with scads of site seers. As the yacht made its way along the lake, Nora forgot how beautiful the skyline of Chicago was. Bo sat back, taking in her beautiful profile. He gave a care less of the skyline, his attentions where focused on the stunning red head not paying him a smidge of attention.   Every now and then, Nora looked back at Bo, who did a very good job of pretending to monitor the skyline. She smiled as she moved a little closer to him. “Thank you Bo…this was a great idea”   “My pleasure, I figured, I’ve never really been along the lake front, and these cruises seemed very popular…”   “Maybe next time we can bring Matthew” Nora said. Bo thought to himself “she’s thinking about next time” he secretly smiled to himself.   The cruise took a little over an hour. Bo looked at his watch.   “Hungry?” he asked as the yacht began to dock at the pier.   “Famished…what have you got in mind?” Nora wondered if this was where the public date was about to turn into a private affair. She was actually hoping they could go somewhere they could maybe hold hands. A smile crossed her face as she secretly began to want to be a little alone.   They walked into the bust restaurant. “McDonald’s?” Nora looked around, not quite sure if he was serious.   “Can’t ask for a more public place to eat, huh? Whatcha want?” Bo smiled. He could see her mild disappointment. He walked up to the counter and ordered as Nora took a seat near the windows.   “Do you have any kids, lady?” A small voice asked. Nora looked down at the young boy asking her this rather direct question. “Yes…I do…why do you ask?” “Because this is the kid’s section, grown ups aren’t supposed to sit here…is your kid with his Dad ordering?” Nora began to rise from the table “No…he’s actually not here…sorry” Nora walked out of the children’s section and tried to find a table. The place was packed. She saw Bo heading towards her with a tray.   “No tables?” Bo asked as he balanced the tray in one hand and snacked on a fry with the other. “Let’s eat outside” He led them through he crowd and to a concrete wall near the edge of the pier. They sat down and situated the tray between them.   “So” Bo started “you planning on staying on in Chicago?”   Nora sipped her drink and turned her gaze towards the distant skyscrapers. Bo repeated his question. “I’m not sure Bo. I want to take some time for me…to try and reclaim my life….I’ve been through a lot, and I’m just tired.”   “May I ask you a question?”   “Shoot”   “Nora…did you leave Llanview because of me?”   “Boy, Bo…don’t hold back” she took a moment to think through before she responded “I guess a little bit of it is…but more of it was to try and put to rest all that mess with Troy, Lindsay…Sam”   A flower vendor walks past as they talk. “Flowers for your lady?” the vendor asks Bo.   “Oh, she’s not mine….but yes…I would like some.” Bo raises to his knee and gets out some money. They vendor hands him the flowers. “Not yours? I’d not to say that too loud sir, a pretty lady like that won’t stay free for long.” The vendor winks and walks along.   Bo hands the bouquet to Nora. A tear forms in her eye. “You don’t like them?” Bo asked, a bit confused by her reaction.   “They’re beautiful.”   “Then why the tears? You’re not having fun, are you?” Bo said, a bit insecure.   “I am having a lovely time.”   “Then what’s wrong?”   Nora drew a deep breath. “I was so afraid to let myself be ok with you. To let myself even be with you. And you are being such a gentleman, such a friend. You never cease to amaze me Bo Buchanan.” Nora leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.   “Why, Ms. Buchanan…I do believe your making me blush.” He closed his eyes and looked away in mock embarrassment. Nora laughed. “Thank you” he said “thank you for laughing…I miss your laugh…your smile…” He stops and they look deep into each others eyes. Bo quietly adds “I miss you” he slowly leans forward. Nora feels her heart beat faster. She anticipates his movement and closes her eyes. He inches closer until she feels his breath against her face. “I really miss you Nora” he whispers, before sitting back up and returning to his burger. Nora sits for a moment, eyes closed, heart pounding, lips slightly parted. She waits, nothing. She opens her eyes to see Bo eating. Not wanting to seem presumptuous, she eats a few fries and picks up her soda, accidentally poking herself in the cheek in an attempt to remain calm.   Inside, Bo is beaming. He wanted to kiss her so bad, but he held back. He wanted her to want him. And by the look of her anticipation, she did want him, at least to kiss her. But he would wait, this was not the time, not yet.   “You almost done?” he asked “We’ve got places to go, people to see, things to do!” He got up and threw away their garbage. Nora tied her shoe and as she stood up, Bo grabbed her hand and was again pulling her along. This time towards the horse drawn buggies parked at the front of the pier.   “A coach ride?” Nora asked.   “I know, not the most public thing to do, but I’ve never seen the tour of Chicago. I figured it would be fun and educational” Bo said as he piled into the buggy.   “Educational?” Nora said to herself “Why do I feel like I am being set up?” She climbed in and sat next to Bo. He quickly moved to the opposite side of the buggy. Nora looked at him. “Don’t want the driver to think there’s anything going to happen back here.” He said, innocently. Nora just looked and shook her head. He winked back in response.   They rode around taking in the land sites of the city, the driver noting different points of interest. Bo tried hard to look thoroughly involved to each word that was being said. Nora sat quietly, wondering what Bo was up to. After almost two hours, Bo had the driver drop them at the botanical gardens. They entered the gardens, filled with flowers, topiary and fountains. Bo read each card telling what species each flower was and acted incredibly interested in every bit of flora in the gardens. Nora was amazed. Maybe she was wrong to think he wanted anything more than to just be a good friend.   They walked along the lake front, talking about Llanview, Nora asked about Asa and Renee, Clint, Vicki and Ben…Bo was more than happy to answer, all the while thinking how much happier he’d be if he could put his arm around her, or even hold her hand.   The sun was beginning to set as they made their way to Buckingham Fountain. The colors of the fountain were beginning their night show. Bo over to buy a couple chili dogs from a vendor near the fountain as Nora found a place on the surrounding lawn for them to sit. She pulled her knees up near her chest as she watched Bo make small talk with the vendor. “Who are you fooling Nora? You fooling Bo? Cause you sure aren’t fooling yourself, you love him…you ran because you couldn’t handle the what ifs…get a grip…are you really going to blow it again?” “Blow what?” Bo asked. Nora was not aware he heard her. How much had he heard? Bo handed her a chili dog and sat down next to her. “I see why you love this place so much…Chicago at night is breath taking.” He said nonchalantly   “Thanks…but I can’t take credit for it” Nora smiled as she started to eat.   They sat in silence watching the fountain put on its amazing show. Every time the colors changed, Bo looked at Nora. Her expressions melted his heart. He loved her so much.   When they finished eating, Bo lay down on the grass to watch the water show. Nora studied him. She couldn’t deny it, she did love him. So what was that gnawing feeling that was keeping her from him?   Bo turned to see her staring at him. “All right…that’s not the first time today I’ve caught you staring at me…do I have food on my face again? That wasn’t funny earlier” he said, referring to the fact that she let him walk the streets of the city with ice cream smudged on his face.   Nora rubbed her neck and smiled. She closed her eyes. When she opened them, Bo was inches from her. “Bo” she said in mock protest. He whispered “You can tell me” The scent of his cologne was making her crazy.   She closed her eyes again, taking a deep breath, “ I love you Bo!” she blurted out. She looked at him for a moment, laying there on his side, propped up on his elbow, looking right at her. “There…is that what you wanted to hear? I love you!” With that, she took his face in her hands and pulled him into a deep kiss.   He rolled on to his back, pulling her on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her as she ran her hands from his face up into his hair. The kiss grew more intense, pulling each other closer. Nora finally pushed herself off and sat back up on the soft grass. She put her head in her hands.   Bo sat up and put his arm around her. “ I love you too. I’ve been wanting to do that all day.” Nora looked up from her hands and smiled.   “Can we go somewhere private and talk? I think we have plenty to talk about.”   “Like our second date, perhaps?” She smiled and leaned in, placed her hand behind his neck and kissed him again.   The End