Monday, January 9th 2023 — Nora
Lunchtime came quickly, but as I sat alone in my classroom, the minutes felt like days. Knock, knock. Alex pokes his head in. "Hey..." I greet him, not totally enthusiastically.
"Mind if I come in?"
"Of course not." He sits down across from me.
"How are you?" I see right through this inquiry.
"I'm okay."
"So...yesterday—"
"It was...a minor panic attack. I'm fine, and I'm so sorry you had to see that."
"No, no, please don't apologize. I honestly wish I could have done more."
"Really, no one could have. Besides Harry, I was pretty much a lost cause for about fifteen minutes."
"That was crazy...I was—I was scared for you, Nora."
"Yeah, I think it was kind of an inevitable breakdown. I've been kind of stressed lately, so those photographers were the icing on the cake."
"Well, regardless of whether it was a build-up or an out of nowhere-breakdown, I'm so sorry that you had to go through that."
"It was pretty shitty." I say, laughing lightly. "But I'm okay. Thank you for asking."
"The seminar...that was fun, huh?" Again, I laugh.
"I've never heard of someone getting as drunk as you did...at a teacher conference." He covers his blushing face. "But I mean, hey...to each his own."
"Hey now...my girlfriend of four years dumped me because I couldn't ask her to marry me."
"You couldn't or you wouldn't? They're two entirely different things."
"Do I love her? Yes, of course I do. But...I just don't know if I see a future with her. I don't know if she's the one I want to mother my kids...or who I want to grow old with. I just don't know." I watch him for a moment and then he leans forward. "How did you know with Harry? How did the two of you meet?"
"I was dating Orlando Bloom...I was this confident little model, I knew I was hot and I knew that guys wanted me...Harry and I met at a bar in London one night, while I was with Orlando. We just got to talking, and I didn't know it at the time, but he had a girlfriend of three years...so literally, twenty-four hours later, I ended my thing and he ended his relationship and we just..." I think back to that first night, our first time together. "We just dove into each other. A couple of weeks in, he told me about his ex and we fought for...I dunno, ten minutes? But after that, we never had any major problems. I just knew that he was it. At the time, I didn't, but looking back now...it was never even a question. He has never been something I've ever been unsure of. He's always been the most certain aspect of my life, and there hasn't been a single day that I didn't want to be with him every second of every day. And it's still that way. He's still—besides my kids—the person that I love most in this entire world. He's still my best friend and he's still my partner, and I still can't believe that I met him, and that I'm now married to him. It's something that I'll never regret. He was my greatest choice."
"Damn." Alex says, a smile on his face. "You hear about celeb couples and how they fall from Cloud Nine all the time...but it's nice to hear that you guys have things figured out. I'm sure the same can't be said for a hell of a lot of people."
"Yeah, I think so. I know that I'm lucky and my family...they're the fucking coolest. I mean, you know my kids and they're just—they're insane and they're smart as hell...Rosie is a sass-junkie, Pete has the kindest, sweetest little soul, and my husband is hilarious and caring...so compassionate and supportive...not to mention he's ridiculously handsome." I smile to myself. "I guess I'm pretty lucky."
"I suppose you are, yeah. I love your kids, they're awesome."
"Rosie likes you, quite a bit."
"Oh does she?" He grins proudly.
"Oh yeah. She's crushing hardcore."
"That girl is a little spitfire, sometimes her sarcasm frightens me. She's so...intelligent."
"She's a genius. She knows how to get exactly what she wants, she's horrifyingly mature for a five year old...she scares Harry and me too."
"And Peter, he's just such a chill kid."
"He's perfectly happy in Rosie's bossy shadow. He's quiet, but he can be silly...and he cuddles like it's his job." The bell rings and he stands up.
"They're good kids, and you're a really great mom. We all see that." I stand up with him, "And if you ever need a friend, you know where to find me. I know that panic attack wasn't easy, so...I've got your back. Whatever you need, okay?"
"Thank you, Alex. And you...regarding your relationship, when you meet the right girl, it's not going to be a hard choice. You'll know."
"I hope you're right." He smirks before leaving. I know that I am. "Have a good rest of your day, Nora."
===
I enjoy the days where the kids don't have sports, and while I was finishing up at work, they worked on their homework in my room. So upon getting home, they were free to do what they pleased. "Can we do anything we want?" I hang my coat up and they help each other out of theirs. Rosie's eyes are big as she waits for my answer.
"Depends on the anything..." I say with a smile.
"Can we...paint?" She asks.
"Only if María is alright with it. She just cleaned your rooms, so you'll have to do it in the playroom, deal?" They both run off, shouting deal as they disappear. I saunter downstairs and Harry is standing over the counter, with an array of a few different products spread out in front of him.
"Hi baby..."
"What's all this?" I question, walking closer. He wraps an arm around my waist.
"So, I was reading up on depression...for clinical depression, usually this stuff doesn't work, but since you don't have clinical depression, I want you to have the best chance at beating this, okay? Hopefully without medication." I admire him, his heart...and his face. His dimples. But especially his heart.
"So, what do we have here?"
"Well, first...they say a happy diet is a good start. The more colors, the healthier. Veggies, fruit...you know stuff like that." He picks up an omega-3 supplement bottle. "Taking one of these every morning helps. Erm...coconut oil, cooking with it, ingesting it...flaxseed oil too. Cherries and eggs."
"You know I don't like eggs."
"I'll find a way to make them good, I swear." I nod. "Okay, more B-vitamins, bell peppers, seafood, turkey. Oh, one cup of pumpkin seeds everyday, more magnesium...so that could be a few things. Dry roasted almonds or cashews, black beans, bananas and boiled spinach. Any of those work, and the more, the better."
"This all sounds pretty easy."
"No more caffeine—well, coffee caffeine. Green tea is a must, have at least two cups a day of green tea."
"I like green tea."
"I know you do...and chamomile every night before bed is essential."
"Got it." He picks up another bottle.
"This is really important, apparently this was around in Ancient Greece to treat nervous disorders. It's called St. John's wort and it's this herbaceous plant-shrub thing...so you'll take three of these caplets daily." I let my fingers gently comb through the hair that falls to the back of his neck. "Next, you are going to meditate once a day for thirty minutes, and I'm going to do it with you."
"What about sex?" He smirks.
"I'm getting to it, baby." I kiss his jaw and he continues. "Exercise is very, very important. I know we run almost every morning, but yes, sex is very good. Also, acupuncture."
"Is this all being written down?" I tease, but he holds up a stapled packet of papers.
"Already done."
"Oh, honey...I was joking."
"But this isn't a joke, Nora." He turns to me now, cornering me between his arms and the counter. "When you hurt, Nora...I hurt. Even more so, I think. I don't want you to hurt. Not for one minute. Like I've told you, we're going to do this together. I'll be by your side."
"Thank you. Thank you for putting an effort in." His fingers tickle my cheek, causing goosebumps to arise on the surface of my skin. "I love you, and I appreciate you." Finally, his lips melt against mine.
"You are my whole world...well, you and those two hooligans upstairs." I kiss him a few more times before looking around.
"What's for dinner, handsome?"
"Glad you asked. M'gonna mix some bell peppers, squash, zucchini...carrots, mushrooms and turkey with some vegetable stock. I believe it's going to be quite yummy."
"You're my favorite person in this entire world."
"As are you, my love." He kisses me again. "M'gonna go say hi to the kids."
"I think I'm going to take a bath."
"If that's the case, I'll have María keep them busy, and I'll join you."
"I'll see you up there then." I watch his tight ass drift further from me, and I bite my lip. Loving my view but truly hating the idea of him leaving, even for a moment.
===
Hi guys! I hate, hate, hate to say it, but we are nearing the end...I'd say twelve to fifteen more chapters! AGH!
So, because I don't want you to be without something like...ever, I've started a historical Harry fiction. I'm still dabbling and I'm not sure how good it will be...in fact...I have a feeling it will be terrible, but it's challenging and I want to give it a go. So, if you'd like...go and check it out? I've got two chapters up. It's called The Sun and The Moon. It's my second installment in what I call the Harry and Paige series! Obviously, it's not Harry and Nora - and I truly think I'll break without them - but yeah. Please, communicate with me. If you don't like historical fiction, then tell me what you do want. I need to fill my time!
ALSO, what do you want to happen in Model Call? What do you think will happen? What do you readers want from it? And what do you think of Harry's way of going about Nora's situation?
Talk to me, lovelies!