Chapter Four:
A Proposal
The morning was great. Finally, more than an hour without someone interrupting them. Norah lifted her head off of Greg's chest a bit. She looked around, it was now 3 in the afternoon. "Shoot." She remembered that she was babysitting Abby that day in a half-hour. She got up and walking into her bathroom.
She felt a lot better than she had earlier that morning. She slid into the shower. After about five minutes she stepped out onto the shaggy, pink bathmat. She brushed her teeth and wrapped an off-white towel around her body.
She hurried back into her room, surprised to see Greg awake. "Hey," he greeted her, adding a smile on.
"Good morning. Or afternoon, rather." She pushed a couple of strands of wet, black hair away from her eyes as she walked over to her dresser.
She slid a pair of white bikini-cut underwear over her thighs.
"Where are you going?" Greg asked.
"No where, but I suggest you get some clothes on. Abby's coming over," she told him while hooking her bra.
"What? Why?"
"Babysitting." She rummaged through her closet.
"Come on," he whined. "I don't have any clean clothes here and I don't want to baby-sit. Can't you cancel?"
"Lyd and Nick deserve some time alone together, too," she told him, while sliding on a pair of jeans.
He rolled his eyes. She tossed a sweatshirt she had stolen from his closet and taken to New York at him. She loved how it smelled. Just like him. "Thanks, I really appreciate you taking my clothes."
She smiled as she took a purple shirt off a plastic hanger.
"Can't Lindsey baby-sit? She's, like, ten now, isn't she?" He asked putting on his jeans from the night before.
"Try twelve." Norah ran a brush through her hair.
"Even better," Greg smiled. He pulled the sweatshirt over his head and walked over to Norah's stereo. He flipped through her CDs. "Now you're stealing my music too?" He held up the CD she had taken from his collection.
"Sorry, but I had a reason."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah! I was going to be away from you for four years." She grinned.
"Did you miss me?"
"Duh," she said simply. She smiled waiting for him to say the same.
"Want something to eat?" He asked leaving for the kitchen.
She frowned and followed him into the kitchen. "Did you miss me?" She leaned against the counter.
"Of course," he kissed her on the head.
Her face lit up.
"But don't expect me to steal your underwear to prove it though," he said looking through the fridge.
She laughed.
"Don't you have any orange juice?" He asked.
"No," she looked out the window. "They're here." She watched Abby run out of the car, Lydia yell at her and Nick walk behind them.
"You should buy orange juice," Greg told her.
She squinted. "Why?"
"Because I like it."
"Then you buy it." She walked to the door and opened it before they could knock.
They walked in. Nick looked at Greg and then Norah. He raised his eyebrows.
Abby tugged on his shirt. "Asshole!" She pointed at Greg and looked up at her dad.
Lydia looked at Abby, her eyes wide. "Abigail Hope Stokes!"
Abby saw how she had looked at her and pointed at her father. "He taught it to me!"
Nick frowned. "You broke the promise, Abby."
Abby looked like she was going to cry. "Sorry, daddy."
"Don't say sorry to him, Abby." Lydia glared at Nick. "How could you corrupt our daughters mind with those bad words?"
Greg and Norah looked at each other and shrugged.
"Wait, did she just call me an asshole?" Greg's jaw dropped.
Norah rolled her eyes. Like her life wasn't chaotic enough. She pushed Lydia and Nick out of the apartment and looked at a bawling Abby. Greg was gaping still. Norah picked Abby up. "It's okay." She rubbed her back. She looked at Greg and pushed his jaw up with her index finger. "Get over it." She shook her head and sat on the couch.
"Am I really an asshole?" Greg asked.
"No," Norah told him.
Abby had stopped crying and was standing between the two on the couch. She pet Greg's hair. "You're hair looks pretty today."
Greg smiled. "Really?"
Abby nodded and sniffled a little.
Greg looked touched. "Thank you, Baby Abby. That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."
Norah shook her head. "Dear Lord," she muttered under her breath.
"So can I braid it?" Abby smiled.
"Nope."
Abby slid down the back of the couch onto the cushion and pouted. "Can I watch TV?"
"Sure," Norah handed her the remote.
Abby pressed the biggest button on the remote control. And flipped through the channels until she got to Nickelodeon. "Ooh! Rugrats!" Her head bobbed to the theme song.
Greg got up and walked around the back of the couch. He grabbed Norah's hand and pulled her toward her bedroom.
"What are you doing?"
He kissed her. "Come on."
"Greg," she shook her head, "we can't."
"Just a half an hour?" He pleaded.
"No way."
"Why not? What could she possibly do in a half-hour?" He asked her.
"You obviously have never babysat many kids," she pointed out. "There's a lot she could do. Nick would never forgive me. No," she said firmly.
He rolled his eyes and let go of her arm. "Whatever."
She took a deep breath. "She'll only be here for a few hours. Why don't we go out to a movie after?"
He shrugged and sat next to Abby again.
"Who wants to get some ice cream?" Norah asked.
Abby's ears perked up. "Me! Me! Me!" She rose her hand in the air.
Greg seemed to forget he wasn't getting any and rose his hands too. "Me too!" He grabbed Abby and flipped the TV off. He ran outside with Abby on his back. She giggled.
Norah laughed a bit and grabbed her purse, something told her she was treating.
-----
Lydia and Nick didn't look at each other the whole time. They ate in silence.
As Lydia climbed back into the car Nick looked at her. "Why are you mad at me? She's going to learn those words sometime."
"But you basically just took her innocence away. She's not supposed to learn them until she's a teenager when they're already corrupted from society," she explained.
He rolled his eyes. "You're blowing this out of proportion."
"Whatever, just don't let her say it again until she's fifteen years old." Lydia nodded.
"How the hell am I going to get her to stop?" Nick asked her.
Lydia glared at him. "You got her saying it, you get her to stop."
"Your hostility turns me on," Nick smiled and leaned in to kiss Lydia.
She turned her head and he caught her cheek. "Does it LOOK like I'm in the mood, Nick?"
Nick held his hands up. "Fine, fine." He started the car and drove over to Norah's.
He got out but Lydia stayed in the car. He knocked on the door. Abby came running to the door. She screamed. "Who is it?"
"Daddy. Where's Cousin Norah?" He asked through the door.
"I don't know."
Nick was shocked. "What?"
"Well, I do know."
"Where?"
"In her bedroom. I think she's sick. There's funny noises coming from there." Abby said.
"Where's Greg?" He asked.
Abby thought for a minute. "I think he's playing hide-and-seek. But, I can't find him."
"Open the door, sweetie." Nick told her.
She turned the knob and let him in. She pointed to the door of Norah's bedroom with her thumb.
Nick walked down the short hall and he could hear the noises, too. Sounds of fornication.
"It's locked." She nodded.
Nick banged on the door.
The moaning suddenly stopped. Now there were 'oh my god's and 'I told you's and the jiggle of keys and change in pockets and shirts over heads.
The door opened finally and Norah and Greg stood there with guilty smiles smeared across their faces, like two kids who just stole cookies from the cookie jar.
Nick looked at them. "I though you two were sitting a baby, not making one."
Greg blushed a bit. Norah licked her lips but kept her eyes on the floor.
"I don't know daddy, they were making a lot of noise for just calling the stork!" Abby exclaimed.
Norah could help but smile.
Greg blushed even more.
"Who told you babies come from storks?" Nick asked.
"Mommy," Abby nodded.
Nick nodded, too. "Oh."
"Speaking of Lydia, where is she?" Greg looked past Nick, knowing she would flip if she found out.
"In the car," Nick told him.
He nodded and lowered his eyes, his face still red.
The four were silent for a couple of minutes.
Norah broke it though; "I'm sorry, Nick. We thought she was taking a nap." She hoped Greg would jump in, since it was his fault anyway. He had persuaded her to do it because they had nothing else to do with Abby sleeping on the couch. But boredom was a weak reason to have sex so she didn't give any more details.
Nick shook his head. "Whatever. It doesn't matter to me, but if Lydia finds out --"
"We know, we know," an antsy Greg cut him off.
Nick picked Abby up and headed to the door. "Bye guys."
"Yeah, don't have TOO much fun," Abby winked over her father's shoulder.
After they left Norah and Greg burst out laughing.
"Something tells me she KNOWS babies don't come from storks," Norah giggled.
"Norah?" Greg grew serious.
She looked at him. "Yeah?"
"Let's have a baby," Greg said, not trace of joking on his face or in his voice.
Norah squinted. "Are you serious?"
"Well, not tonight -- unless you want to. But, I mean...." Greg looked her in the eyes.
She half-smiled. "I'm not sure I'm ready to have a kid yet, Greg. Are you sure YOU are ready for that kind of commitment either?"
He looked her up and down. "I am."
"I'm not sure I want to before I'm married, though," she answered honestly.
"Then marry me," Greg said.
Norah gazed at him. "You're kidding right?"
Greg turned and walked toward the door.
"Greg, stop."
"Then take me seriously." He stopped at the door, but didn't turn to look at her.
She bit her lip. She really didn't know if she wanted to be totally committed.
Without warning, someone on the other side of the door knocked.
Norah jumped at the sound.
Greg opened the door to reveal Owen.
"Who are you?" Both asked at the same time.
"Norah's boyfriend," they answered in unison.
"What?" Again, they shouted in perfect harmony.
Both turned to the girlfriend in question. She stormed to the door. "You," she pointed to Owen, "are not a boyfriend. Especially my boyfriend. Can you please just stop ruining my life?" She now turned to Greg who had walked back into her apartment to grab his coat. "And if you were a true boyfriend you'd stop making your own conclusions and stop running away from your problems."
She looked back and forth at both. "Now there are two choices. Owen can go and Greg can stay or you both can leave. I like the first one better but I don't have a problem with either." She placed her hands on her hips and tapped her fingertips on them gently.
"I want to talk to you about this, Norah." Owen said.
"Owen, it's over. What don't you get?" Norah asked, frustrated as ever. "I don't want you in my life anymore. You are a jerk."
"And a stalker," Greg added.
"And a stalker," Norah nodded.
"And a..." Greg started.
"Greg." Norah shook her head and then turned back to Owen. "Please, just leave me alone."
"Wait, is this your pro-wrestler fiancée?" Owen tilted his head at the man in front of him who was about half his size.
"Why, don't I look like a pro-wrestler?" Greg asked, making a mean face at Owen.
Owen cocked an eyebrow. "More like a loser who's stealing my girl."
"She's not your girl, she's mine." Greg shouted.
"I'm not some magazine or something. I'm a human being. Stop fighting over me and Owen, get out," Norah said firmly.
"Whatever, I'll be back." Owen promised.
Norah rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She shut the door and walked over to the couch. She sat and brought her knees to chin.
"Care to tell me who that was?" Greg asked sitting on the opposite end.
"Just a guy I dated." Norah neglected to say that they had a pretty serious relationship and were actually engaged for about three months. She shrugged. She wanted to change the subject but Greg didn't.
"How many times have you been engaged before?" Greg asked, curiosity running through his veins.
"Seven," Norah mumbled into her knees.
"What?" Greg asked, holding his ear forward.
"Seven, okay?" She glared at him.
"Was he one of them?"
She nodded.
Greg shook his head. "If you were so quick to say yes to them, why don't you just say yes to me? You don't like me at all, do you? If you're just using me --"
Norah cut him off shouting. "I didn't say yes because I was stupid then and they all burned me afterward. I like you more than I've liked any other guy in my life and I don't want it to be hurt again.
"If you really want to get married, I'll do it. I want you to be happy."
Greg thought for a second. "I do, but I don't want you to feel you're being forced into this."
"No, I want to, if you're serious about this, I guess." She still wasn't sure she wanted to.
He smiled and scooped her hands up in his and kissed them. She smiled.
The morning was great. Finally, more than an hour without someone interrupting them. Norah lifted her head off of Greg's chest a bit. She looked around, it was now 3 in the afternoon. "Shoot." She remembered that she was babysitting Abby that day in a half-hour. She got up and walking into her bathroom.
She felt a lot better than she had earlier that morning. She slid into the shower. After about five minutes she stepped out onto the shaggy, pink bathmat. She brushed her teeth and wrapped an off-white towel around her body.
She hurried back into her room, surprised to see Greg awake. "Hey," he greeted her, adding a smile on.
"Good morning. Or afternoon, rather." She pushed a couple of strands of wet, black hair away from her eyes as she walked over to her dresser.
She slid a pair of white bikini-cut underwear over her thighs.
"Where are you going?" Greg asked.
"No where, but I suggest you get some clothes on. Abby's coming over," she told him while hooking her bra.
"What? Why?"
"Babysitting." She rummaged through her closet.
"Come on," he whined. "I don't have any clean clothes here and I don't want to baby-sit. Can't you cancel?"
"Lyd and Nick deserve some time alone together, too," she told him, while sliding on a pair of jeans.
He rolled his eyes. She tossed a sweatshirt she had stolen from his closet and taken to New York at him. She loved how it smelled. Just like him. "Thanks, I really appreciate you taking my clothes."
She smiled as she took a purple shirt off a plastic hanger.
"Can't Lindsey baby-sit? She's, like, ten now, isn't she?" He asked putting on his jeans from the night before.
"Try twelve." Norah ran a brush through her hair.
"Even better," Greg smiled. He pulled the sweatshirt over his head and walked over to Norah's stereo. He flipped through her CDs. "Now you're stealing my music too?" He held up the CD she had taken from his collection.
"Sorry, but I had a reason."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah! I was going to be away from you for four years." She grinned.
"Did you miss me?"
"Duh," she said simply. She smiled waiting for him to say the same.
"Want something to eat?" He asked leaving for the kitchen.
She frowned and followed him into the kitchen. "Did you miss me?" She leaned against the counter.
"Of course," he kissed her on the head.
Her face lit up.
"But don't expect me to steal your underwear to prove it though," he said looking through the fridge.
She laughed.
"Don't you have any orange juice?" He asked.
"No," she looked out the window. "They're here." She watched Abby run out of the car, Lydia yell at her and Nick walk behind them.
"You should buy orange juice," Greg told her.
She squinted. "Why?"
"Because I like it."
"Then you buy it." She walked to the door and opened it before they could knock.
They walked in. Nick looked at Greg and then Norah. He raised his eyebrows.
Abby tugged on his shirt. "Asshole!" She pointed at Greg and looked up at her dad.
Lydia looked at Abby, her eyes wide. "Abigail Hope Stokes!"
Abby saw how she had looked at her and pointed at her father. "He taught it to me!"
Nick frowned. "You broke the promise, Abby."
Abby looked like she was going to cry. "Sorry, daddy."
"Don't say sorry to him, Abby." Lydia glared at Nick. "How could you corrupt our daughters mind with those bad words?"
Greg and Norah looked at each other and shrugged.
"Wait, did she just call me an asshole?" Greg's jaw dropped.
Norah rolled her eyes. Like her life wasn't chaotic enough. She pushed Lydia and Nick out of the apartment and looked at a bawling Abby. Greg was gaping still. Norah picked Abby up. "It's okay." She rubbed her back. She looked at Greg and pushed his jaw up with her index finger. "Get over it." She shook her head and sat on the couch.
"Am I really an asshole?" Greg asked.
"No," Norah told him.
Abby had stopped crying and was standing between the two on the couch. She pet Greg's hair. "You're hair looks pretty today."
Greg smiled. "Really?"
Abby nodded and sniffled a little.
Greg looked touched. "Thank you, Baby Abby. That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."
Norah shook her head. "Dear Lord," she muttered under her breath.
"So can I braid it?" Abby smiled.
"Nope."
Abby slid down the back of the couch onto the cushion and pouted. "Can I watch TV?"
"Sure," Norah handed her the remote.
Abby pressed the biggest button on the remote control. And flipped through the channels until she got to Nickelodeon. "Ooh! Rugrats!" Her head bobbed to the theme song.
Greg got up and walked around the back of the couch. He grabbed Norah's hand and pulled her toward her bedroom.
"What are you doing?"
He kissed her. "Come on."
"Greg," she shook her head, "we can't."
"Just a half an hour?" He pleaded.
"No way."
"Why not? What could she possibly do in a half-hour?" He asked her.
"You obviously have never babysat many kids," she pointed out. "There's a lot she could do. Nick would never forgive me. No," she said firmly.
He rolled his eyes and let go of her arm. "Whatever."
She took a deep breath. "She'll only be here for a few hours. Why don't we go out to a movie after?"
He shrugged and sat next to Abby again.
"Who wants to get some ice cream?" Norah asked.
Abby's ears perked up. "Me! Me! Me!" She rose her hand in the air.
Greg seemed to forget he wasn't getting any and rose his hands too. "Me too!" He grabbed Abby and flipped the TV off. He ran outside with Abby on his back. She giggled.
Norah laughed a bit and grabbed her purse, something told her she was treating.
-----
Lydia and Nick didn't look at each other the whole time. They ate in silence.
As Lydia climbed back into the car Nick looked at her. "Why are you mad at me? She's going to learn those words sometime."
"But you basically just took her innocence away. She's not supposed to learn them until she's a teenager when they're already corrupted from society," she explained.
He rolled his eyes. "You're blowing this out of proportion."
"Whatever, just don't let her say it again until she's fifteen years old." Lydia nodded.
"How the hell am I going to get her to stop?" Nick asked her.
Lydia glared at him. "You got her saying it, you get her to stop."
"Your hostility turns me on," Nick smiled and leaned in to kiss Lydia.
She turned her head and he caught her cheek. "Does it LOOK like I'm in the mood, Nick?"
Nick held his hands up. "Fine, fine." He started the car and drove over to Norah's.
He got out but Lydia stayed in the car. He knocked on the door. Abby came running to the door. She screamed. "Who is it?"
"Daddy. Where's Cousin Norah?" He asked through the door.
"I don't know."
Nick was shocked. "What?"
"Well, I do know."
"Where?"
"In her bedroom. I think she's sick. There's funny noises coming from there." Abby said.
"Where's Greg?" He asked.
Abby thought for a minute. "I think he's playing hide-and-seek. But, I can't find him."
"Open the door, sweetie." Nick told her.
She turned the knob and let him in. She pointed to the door of Norah's bedroom with her thumb.
Nick walked down the short hall and he could hear the noises, too. Sounds of fornication.
"It's locked." She nodded.
Nick banged on the door.
The moaning suddenly stopped. Now there were 'oh my god's and 'I told you's and the jiggle of keys and change in pockets and shirts over heads.
The door opened finally and Norah and Greg stood there with guilty smiles smeared across their faces, like two kids who just stole cookies from the cookie jar.
Nick looked at them. "I though you two were sitting a baby, not making one."
Greg blushed a bit. Norah licked her lips but kept her eyes on the floor.
"I don't know daddy, they were making a lot of noise for just calling the stork!" Abby exclaimed.
Norah could help but smile.
Greg blushed even more.
"Who told you babies come from storks?" Nick asked.
"Mommy," Abby nodded.
Nick nodded, too. "Oh."
"Speaking of Lydia, where is she?" Greg looked past Nick, knowing she would flip if she found out.
"In the car," Nick told him.
He nodded and lowered his eyes, his face still red.
The four were silent for a couple of minutes.
Norah broke it though; "I'm sorry, Nick. We thought she was taking a nap." She hoped Greg would jump in, since it was his fault anyway. He had persuaded her to do it because they had nothing else to do with Abby sleeping on the couch. But boredom was a weak reason to have sex so she didn't give any more details.
Nick shook his head. "Whatever. It doesn't matter to me, but if Lydia finds out --"
"We know, we know," an antsy Greg cut him off.
Nick picked Abby up and headed to the door. "Bye guys."
"Yeah, don't have TOO much fun," Abby winked over her father's shoulder.
After they left Norah and Greg burst out laughing.
"Something tells me she KNOWS babies don't come from storks," Norah giggled.
"Norah?" Greg grew serious.
She looked at him. "Yeah?"
"Let's have a baby," Greg said, not trace of joking on his face or in his voice.
Norah squinted. "Are you serious?"
"Well, not tonight -- unless you want to. But, I mean...." Greg looked her in the eyes.
She half-smiled. "I'm not sure I'm ready to have a kid yet, Greg. Are you sure YOU are ready for that kind of commitment either?"
He looked her up and down. "I am."
"I'm not sure I want to before I'm married, though," she answered honestly.
"Then marry me," Greg said.
Norah gazed at him. "You're kidding right?"
Greg turned and walked toward the door.
"Greg, stop."
"Then take me seriously." He stopped at the door, but didn't turn to look at her.
She bit her lip. She really didn't know if she wanted to be totally committed.
Without warning, someone on the other side of the door knocked.
Norah jumped at the sound.
Greg opened the door to reveal Owen.
"Who are you?" Both asked at the same time.
"Norah's boyfriend," they answered in unison.
"What?" Again, they shouted in perfect harmony.
Both turned to the girlfriend in question. She stormed to the door. "You," she pointed to Owen, "are not a boyfriend. Especially my boyfriend. Can you please just stop ruining my life?" She now turned to Greg who had walked back into her apartment to grab his coat. "And if you were a true boyfriend you'd stop making your own conclusions and stop running away from your problems."
She looked back and forth at both. "Now there are two choices. Owen can go and Greg can stay or you both can leave. I like the first one better but I don't have a problem with either." She placed her hands on her hips and tapped her fingertips on them gently.
"I want to talk to you about this, Norah." Owen said.
"Owen, it's over. What don't you get?" Norah asked, frustrated as ever. "I don't want you in my life anymore. You are a jerk."
"And a stalker," Greg added.
"And a stalker," Norah nodded.
"And a..." Greg started.
"Greg." Norah shook her head and then turned back to Owen. "Please, just leave me alone."
"Wait, is this your pro-wrestler fiancée?" Owen tilted his head at the man in front of him who was about half his size.
"Why, don't I look like a pro-wrestler?" Greg asked, making a mean face at Owen.
Owen cocked an eyebrow. "More like a loser who's stealing my girl."
"She's not your girl, she's mine." Greg shouted.
"I'm not some magazine or something. I'm a human being. Stop fighting over me and Owen, get out," Norah said firmly.
"Whatever, I'll be back." Owen promised.
Norah rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She shut the door and walked over to the couch. She sat and brought her knees to chin.
"Care to tell me who that was?" Greg asked sitting on the opposite end.
"Just a guy I dated." Norah neglected to say that they had a pretty serious relationship and were actually engaged for about three months. She shrugged. She wanted to change the subject but Greg didn't.
"How many times have you been engaged before?" Greg asked, curiosity running through his veins.
"Seven," Norah mumbled into her knees.
"What?" Greg asked, holding his ear forward.
"Seven, okay?" She glared at him.
"Was he one of them?"
She nodded.
Greg shook his head. "If you were so quick to say yes to them, why don't you just say yes to me? You don't like me at all, do you? If you're just using me --"
Norah cut him off shouting. "I didn't say yes because I was stupid then and they all burned me afterward. I like you more than I've liked any other guy in my life and I don't want it to be hurt again.
"If you really want to get married, I'll do it. I want you to be happy."
Greg thought for a second. "I do, but I don't want you to feel you're being forced into this."
"No, I want to, if you're serious about this, I guess." She still wasn't sure she wanted to.
He smiled and scooped her hands up in his and kissed them. She smiled.