This Story's Going Somewhere

Chapter 21 - Patrick

After the show that night, I came off the stage as sweaty and as lively as ever. I felt a strange surge of energy in me, as if the presence of my girlfriend's father made me subconsciously need to perform better than I ever had before. The show was great; I could see how pleased Pete was as he smiled from beside me as we exited the stage. Nora was waiting for us just behind the curtain, her face aglow and her eyes shining as she beamed at me. I swooped in and wrapped her in my arms, pushing my guitar around to my back in one fluid motion. She giggled as I pressed a smacking, sloppy kiss to her cheek.

    "You guys were amazing tonight," she breathed in my ear, pulling back just far enough to look at my face. She reached up and pushed a damp strand of hair away from my eyes.

    "I have to agree," her father said, his voice startling me from behind Nora. My eyes hadn't adjusted to the lack of stage lighting back here yet, and I hadn't even seen him standing there. "I knew you boys were talented," he continued, "But that just blew me away. Keep that up, and you have a strong future ahead of you, Patrick."

    "Thank you, Mr. Hawkins," I said breathlessly, loosening my grip on his daughter in slight embarrassment. "It means a lot to hear you say that. Honestly, thank you."

    "You deserved it," he responded, smirking at the awkward way that I slowly stepped away from Nora. She knew what I was doing, and only smiled before turning into my side and pulling my arm around her shoulders. I blushed, but I didn't pull away this time. "What do you kids say to dinner?" Mr. Hawkins asked, "My treat."

    "Sounds good to me," Nora said quickly, "Just give Patrick time to shower, and we'll head out."

    "Take your time," Mr. Hawkins said, smiling at us as he turned to head towards the exit of the theater. I tightened my hold on Nora, kissing the side of her head.

    "Are we telling him tonight?" I asked, feeling her shudder nervously.

    "We should," she said, "I don't want to surprise him the second I get back to Chicago. I want him to have time to accept it before I ask him to help me move out."

    "That's a good point," I breathed, "And I'll call my parents tonight. I'm sure my parents would be more than willing to help you out as well."

    Nora looked up at me with an expression that was a mixture of adoration and surprise. "We're really doing this?" She asked me, wrapping both of her arms around my waist and looking deeply into my eyes. Her rounded belly pressed against mine, reminding me of what had brought us here.

    "Yes," I said softly, "We are." I reached up and cupped my hand around her cheek before leaning down to kiss her. I lingered there longer than necessary, and I could feel her skin heating up beneath my hand as she blushed. It was almost scary to think of how much I loved her, and even scarier to think that in a just few more short months, I'd have a son to love just as much.

***

    An hour later, I was showered and the van was loaded with all of our equipment, so Nora's dad called a taxi to take the three of us out to dinner. Nora curled into my side shamelessly as I sat wedged between the two of them, and her dad only grinned knowingly. After the awkwardly quiet car ride, we pulled up to a rather nice-looking diner, definitely a little more expensive than the diners I was usually able to take Nora to. Either way, as Nora's eyes lit up, I knew exactly what she was about to order once we got inside. I helped her out of the car and held her hand as we followed along behind her dad into the restaurant. We were seated quickly, by a high school-aged boy with long, messy hair. He took our drink order right away, and then left us alone with the menus.

    Nora didn't even bother to pick hers up. She leaned against me as I opened my menu, and looked over my shoulder. "Do they have pancakes?" She questioned, making me grin.