Fighting for the Fairytale

Cole

Nora pulled into her parents' driveway and parked in front of the open garage. 

Ugly memories fought to take precedence over reality. My heart rate accelerated. 

Calm the fuck down. It's just an open garage door. 

Nora jumped right out of her car, calling out a greeting to her father as she opened the door to the backseat and pulled out the no bake dessert she had made earlier when we got home from church. 

It's a great day to be alive. I know the sun's still shining when I close my eyes. 

With Travis Tritt lyrics still playing in my mind, I quickly got out of the passenger seat and followed behind her. 

An array of small and large tools that I was not familiar with covered the concrete floor.

Embarrassment washed over me. I was not of a mechanical mind, much to the disappointment of my dad.

There's some hard times in the neighborhood, but why can't every day be just this good?

Music built my resolve. I had agreed at church to help David, and I would help him. 

He would just have to tell me what to do. 

David was wiping his hands on what appeared to be an old tye-dye t-shirt, when Nora leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "Hey Dad."

"Hello daughter," he said. His eyes strayed to the small pan in Nora's hands."What wonderful concoction have you prepared for us this evening?"

Nora smiled slightly and lifted the pan a little higher. "No bake chocolate cheesecake with caramel swirl. But no peeking. I don't think it's ready yet."

David threw his head back and hummed his approval, eyes closed. "That sounds amazing."

"It's a new recipe," Nora said, bringing the pan in her hands down to waist level with uncertainty. "I hope it turned out. It wasn't really setting the way I wanted it to."

Sensing my opening in the conversation, I stepped behind Nora, put my hands on her shoulders, and kissed her cheek. "It'll taste amazing, babe. Everything you make tastes amazing."

David nodded his approval to me and turned a smile to his daughter. "Cole's right, sweetheart. You can't mess up dessert."

Nora's eyes brightened, and my heart soared. I loved seeing Nora happy, and knowing I was a small part of putting that smile on her face? That was the best.

"I better put this in the fridge," Nora said, making her way to the door leading into the house. "Mom inside?" She asked, her hand on the knob.

"Should be," David replied with a wink. "That's the last place I left her."

Nora, still with a smile on her face, disappeared into the house.

My father-in-law looked back at me. "Cole, I could use a hand with these rotators, if your offer from this morning still stands?"

I liked that about Nora's father. He wasn't pushy or demanding. He gave you an out if you needed one, without any strings or guilt. He was... patient. 

A foreign concept in my family, but I was determined to prove my worth to Nora's. 

"Yeah," I asked, rolling up my sleeves.

"They're right here," He gestured to four, thin white paper cardboard boxes at the front of the garage. "I'm not that old, but my back's not what it used to be and if I have to get up for them each time, I'm not sure I'd be able to get back down again." David laughed.