Chapter 50 : For good
They spent the new few days filling boxes and cleaning. All had to be ready in less than 10 days when the movers will come to bring everything in North Carolina where they rented an apartment near the hospital. They gave up on the idea of finding a place to stay from San José. They wanted to visit and find the good place, the one where they really felt like home.
Morgan and Alex came to help them to pack their things during the weekend. It was also a way for them to spend more time together. Neil and Morgan took some times off from the boxes to handle some last things about the clinic. Neil wanted to be sure she had all the cards in hands when it will be at the other side of the country, even if he completely trusted her. She ran the clinic for more than a year now. But he needed to give her some more information about the legal side he just received from his lawyer.
Alex and Claire remained alone, packing over and over again. How could you keep so much stuff?
"Happy?"
Claire looked at Alex and smiled. "Yes… I think I am… Crazy, right?"
"You deserve it, Claire. I mean, you've been through hell and yet, you've always put the others before you. It was time the wheel of fortune turns in your favor."
She was embarrassed. She never knew how to react when people told good things about her.
"Thanks Alex. For being my friend. For always being supportive and caring. It means a lot."
He nodded. He was like her, embarrassed when someone gave him a compliment. She knew it was time to change subject.
"By the way, you and Morgan... It seems to work well…"
"It does!" He let out a laugh. "Who could have said I'll date her? She was so bitchy when we were residents. I swear I could have slapped her in the face so many times and you do know how calm I am."
Claire laughed. He was the most peaceful man she knew. Always calm whatever the circumstances.
"She was a real sneaky bastard! I still remember the times she stole my idea to get my surgery. She was the worst!"
"And this way she had to put people down and still crush them just to be the first."
"Alex, you're talking to me. She literally filed a favoritism complaint against Neil because of me."
"This lil bitch!"
They burst into laughing. Old Morgan had been the worst during their residency. Her favorite pastime was to thrown spanners in their works. When she could have risen on her own because she was brilliant. But she preferred to be mean.
"Losing her hands really changed her…"
"For the best." Alex smiled.
"Yeah. Never have had imagined she'll become one of my best friend. But I'm glad she has grown up."
"You know after Mia dumped me I was a mess. I thought I would end up my life alone…"
"Life can be surprising… I know a lot about this, believe me."
He let out a small laugh. It was indeed. "Morgan and I will officially move together in a few months. Just decided this this week. We're looking for an apartment."
"Oh my God, Alex, this is amazing!"
"I guess you moving out gave us the strength to take to the next step…"
"I'm happy for you. Really."
"What are you whispering you too?"
Morgan made them jumped. "You scare us to death. Alex was telling me about you two moving in together. Hope you don't mind he told me…"
"In fact, we wanted to tell you tonight. He just has been quicker than me. And I might have told about it to Neil while we were talking about the clinic."
"What about drinking some champagne to celebrate this?"
"You may but I'll pass. My food poisoning is still playing me some tricks. But I'll have an apple juice instead!"
"And we could talk about your little departure party?"
Night was gonna be interesting. Days passed, Morgan and Alex went to help as soon as they could. They left in a few days. It seemed unreal. Like this party Morgan and Alex had organized in their honor in one of the ball room of Bonaventure. It was tonight and they were still surprised the hospital authorized this. The only thing they had to do was to get prepared. Claire left the bedroom when she was looking for the perfect outfit for a while. As she came back, she seemed lukewarm.
"Everything's Ok?"
"The lab has called!"
"And? Is everything ok?" Neil came closer to her quickly. He could feel something was wrong.
"Yeah don't worry, they just had to redo the analysis because something was not clear. But everything is ok, it's just a really bad food poisoning. Should be in perfect fit in a few days… Anyway, thanks for caring so much about me…"
"Always."
"You seem upset… Are you sure everything is alright?"
"It's just that… No, forget about it."
"What? You seem upset…"
"It's just that…" She was stumbling on words and she didn't like this. He was looking at her, she swallowed hard. "For just a short time… I thought I could be … You know… Pregnant…"
"You did? Because it crossed my mind too…"
"It did?"
"Yeah…"
She smiled at him, some tears rolled on her cheeks. "Thought I was the only one… I'm just sad now that it was only food poisoning."
"So you're saying you would like to have a baby…"
"I just say that this is a thing that I would like to try with you…"
A large grin drew on his face. "So you're saying that maybe we could try to have a baby… Together?"
Tears were rolling on his cheeks too. He had dreamed about this moment for so long and now it was real. Claire was telling him she wanted to have a baby with him. He couldn't believe it. He wanted this to happen so badly since forever and he only met disappointment when it came to this. But not with Claire. In fact, since he was with her, his life had never been better. They fought from time to time, which was healthy for a couple, but they really had the same way to embrace the future.
Claire couldn't stop nodding and giggling. "Yeah… I mean, maybe it's crazy because we're moving, because we're starting a new job… But I'd love to try because nothing would make me happier than having our baby."
She looked at him. Right in the eyes. Both were crying. Both were blissful. It was one of these moments in life when you know you are at the right place, at the right time. And it was beautiful to be there together right now. It took them long minutes to come back to reality. They dried their tears of joy and got dressed for tonight's party. Morgan and Alex had planned a little something for their departure in one of the ballrooms from the hospital and it was in less than two hours.
He put his black tuxedo on with his white shirt. She chose a long red dress and black heels. She tied her hair on the left side and let her curly hair fallen over her shoulder. At last, she put red lipstick to match with her dress. Behind her, Neil was enjoying the view. She turned to him.
"So what do you say? Anyway you look handsome in this tuxedo."
"You're…pffff… stunning, really."
She blushed. "Really?"
For any answer, he came closer to her and dropped a kiss on her red lips. "Mrs. Browne-Melendez, people will only see you tonight."
She lowered her head. She was not used to be greeted this way. And even after two years with Neil, she was not used to be treated this way.
"Let's go. Alex and Morgan will kill us if we're late." Neil took Claire's hand after she put her jacket and they went to the car. Twenty minutes later, they were at Bonaventure.
As they arrived in the ballroom, they were welcomed by Morgan who was overexcited.
"She has been like this, since this morning." Alex told them. She showed them the room they had decorated. They also had invited some of their friends. And members of the hospital. They couldn't do otherwise. They had lent them this large room. Tables were all over the place. There was also a dancefloor and a DJ.
"Morgan, Alex… This is too much… You shouldn't have…" Claire was speechless. Neil was in the same state.
"Our pleasure… And by the way, we don't pay the DJ, Kellan is just working on his skills."
"Kellan wants to be a DJ?" Neil asked astonished.
"No, this is not a career choice. But he does love doing this during his free time."
"And tonight, you don't care about anything, Alex and I are taking care of everything! Just have fun!"
Morgan disappeared to welcome the guests. Alex waved at them and followed her. Neil and Claire stated there, hand in hand, in a big room dedicated to them. They shared a look and smiled at each other. This night will let them lifelong memories.
Soon the room was full of their friends and colleagues. It was good to see all these people talking and laughing. Even if they didn't like those big events it was good to share one last moment all together. Claire and Neil talked a lot with Mrs. Lynch who reminded them of the clinic audition.
"You were so scared. And so close without even being together. I think this is the moment I knew we were going to be a thing. That one day, I will see you in my office to talk about relationship policy."
She greeted them, telling that if they need anything they could call her and she'll help them. They also shared some moments with Deena. She came with her son to the party. She explained to him that Claire had spent almost a year taking care of Neil, while she was working on finishing her residency.
"Oh it was nothing. And it had learned me some little tricks." She laughed and winked at Neil. "And you helped a lot! I couldn't have done all these things without you."
"You're like our guardian angel, Deena… You helped Claire while I was down and you put me in the right way, and God, I did need this."
Deena blushed. "Mom has always been a great matchmaker."
To be fair, at this moment, they had seen all the people they wanted to see. Except Shaun. Claire wanted to say to him some words. But before they saw Marcus and Audrey coming their way.
"Hope this time Audrey will be less hard with me…"
"Don't worry, she's just like this because…"
He stopped and remembered he didn't want to tell Claire about the talking he had with Audrey some weeks ago. It was better this way. Claire looked at him, with big eyes.
"You know her, she loves to overcompensate and as we're leaving she wants to give the change. Let her talk, in one week, we'll be at the other end of the country. We can handle this for one more night."
She pinched her lips as she used to when she was proud of herself or approving what she had just heard.
"Audrey, Marcus. We're so glad we could come!" Neil was too jovial to be honest. It made Claire smile. Audrey asked them about Raleigh. Marcus gave them some good addresses in North Carolina. He had some friends living in Georgia so he knew the place a little.
They exchanged some words about the service. Audrey told them she had good leads to replace them even if it will never be the same. "A new area has come." Marcus concluded.
"Speaking of new areas… We would like to talk you about something…"
They seemed embarrassed. Audrey looked at the ground. Claire pushed Neil's arm with hers and winked at him. They were about to say something juicy, something Claire was suspected for months. She told Neil about it. He loved when she was gossiping at home and theorizing about every possible scenario. And she was definitively over something there.
"We wanted to tell you sooner… We don't know where to begin with… " Marcus was stuttering. Not his type. He was more into the action.
"What Marcus is trying to say is that when you were gone in your sabbatical road trip, we have started to see each other… And we still do…"
Claire couldn't restrain a smile. She knew it! Neil was more timorous.
"That's great. Really. I'm glad for you! It's always great when friends make it to the superior level."
He looked at Claire saying this. He could feel Audrey's heavy look on him but he didn't care.
"I'm so glad for you! This is unexpected and yet so obvious. And it explains a lot of things."
Marcus smiled at Claire's remark. She knew how to ease off the atmosphere. Neil let out a laugh.
"Claire may have noticed some changes in the last few months..." He winked at her. She laughed.
"Ok, I may have overtalked about it to Neil… But I was feeling something. You were closer than before."
Audrey and Marcus lowered the head. "Oh don't be ashamed. This is just she knows how to read people. Ask her, I can't hide something from her…"
"By the way, you're becoming better with time."
They shared again for some time, before Audrey decided it was time to let Claire and Neil enjoy the other guests. As they were about to shake hands, Claire proposed to hug. After all, it was a special occasion. Claire hugged Audrey first and thanked her for all the good advice she had given to her. Neil told a joke to Marcus who laughed hard. Then Marcus went to see Claire.
Audrey remained still in front of Neil. "Can I?" He asked, seeing she was reluctant. She nodded. He hugged her. "I'm happy for you, Audrey. Time to move on to a new chapter of our life. Will always cherish our friendship. And Marcus is a really good guy."
"Me too, Neil." They got apart. He smiled at her, at Marcus and then took Claire's hand. "What about eating a little? Don't know about you but I'm starving."
"I know I'll kill for a medium rare steak right now."
They went to the buffet, and they could have sworn Marcus and Audrey's hands intertwined as they were walking away.
