2006
Charlottesville, Virginia
Every muscle in Nathan Scott's body ached. He had thought that Whitey as a coach was the ultimate slave driver. Boy had he been wrong. In fact, nothing compared to playing college ball. It was a whole new world. The practices, the games, the players, the coaches, the fans…everything was different. It had more than exceeded his expectations and he was happy playing for UVA. His biggest fear had been the possibility of not living up to the hype, the glorified reputation that had preceded him. He didn't want to be a small fish in a big pond. But those fears had quickly disappeared as the freshman had almost immediately began putting up the big numbers in scoring, rebounds, steals and assists, swiftly earning himself a spot on the Cavaliers' starting lineup.
He turned onto the quiet street not far from campus. It was a modest cul de sac, a safe and relatively quiet neighborhood filled with other young couples just starting out, some in college, some fresh out. But Nathan smiled as he drove to the end of the block and made a right turn into his driveway. It was late but the windows and doors were wide open, a signature Haley move.
Stepping outside, he immediately smelled the sweet aroma of home cooking. While most college guys lived on Ramen noodles, Hot Pockets and fast food or whatever edible entrée the cafeteria had to offer, that was one experience he was more than happy to skip. The 18 year old freshman was lucky that after a hard day of classes and an even harder evening of practice, he could come home to a real home and not some dorm room. And in the comfortable living room waiting for him would be the smile that had melted his heart for two years straight…that and a decent cooked meal. Smiling, Nathan slung his gym bag over his shoulders and made his way inside. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and apple pie were practically calling his name.
They hadn't had much when they had arrived. In fact, it had taken days of hard work to get the place cleaned up and looking presentable. But it was what Nathan and Haley wanted. It wasn't much but it was theirs and they were proud as peacocks splashing on a few coats of paint, laying down carpet and using sheer imagination to get the place cheaply but nicely decorated. And in the end, they could say it belonged to them and only them. They still drove the beat up Honda and maybe a small, older brick home was hardly what you'd expect to find the NBA's next Great White Hope living in but at least the pair could proudly say they did everything on their own, sans the help of the James' and especially the Scott's.
"Hales!" he bellowed out. "Babe, I'm home!"
He didn't see her but a few seconds later he saw the moving trail of that ridiculous, accident waiting to happen phone cord, followed by cute bare feet with painted toes. The weather was still especially warm for Virginia in September and she was dressed in her usual attire of a denim mini skirt with a cute tank top, long and curly strawberry blonde hair pulled high atop her head in a messy bun.
"Just a second, baby", she whispered, receiver plastered to her ear.
"Take your time."
Nathan just smiled and shrugged, heading directly for the kitchen. He warmed the food and collapsed exhausted at the small kitchen table in one of the hardened wood chairs. He flipped through the sorted mail, half junk, half bills as he couldn't help but hear his wife's end of the conversation.
"Yes…I see…no kidding…that's exactly what I do…you know, a little soda water will get that stain right out…definitely…wow…who knew they had coupons for that…I'll definitely keep that trick in mind when we have children…no…really…of course…yes…okay…well, if you have to go…it was nice talking to you, too. You have a good night."
She hung up the phone and walked into the kitchen, taking her favorite seat right on Nathan's lap.
"Hey."
"Hello", she grinned. "My handsome husband is home."
"Who was that on the phone?" he asked in between kisses. "Your mom?"
"No. That was Dorothy Andrews."
Nathan made a face.
"Who the hell is Dorothy Andrews? A neighbor?"
"No, she lives all the way in Missouri actually. But she is the sweetest lady. I just had the best time talking to her. I was telling her how this is our first house and how excited we are even though we're pinching pennies and bless her heart, she gave me the greatest advice on everything from coupons and recipe ideas to getting stains out of a carpet."
Nathan nodded.
"Sounds like a nice lady. How do you know her?"
"Oh, I don't. It was a wrong number."
Nathan laughed out loud.
"Hold up. You mean to tell me, that woman, a stranger called our house mistakenly all the way from Missouri and you ended up having a 15 minute conversation with her?"
Haley shrugged as if that were the most natural thing on earth.
"Yeah. So?"
Nathan laughed out loud.
"Hales…"
"What? She was nice."
He wrapped his tanned arms around her.
"Yeah, I'm sure she was", he grinned.
"You think I'm crazy, don't you?"
He shrugged.
"Yeah but that's kind of why I love you."
"I love you, too", she kissed him again. "How was your day?"
"Busy", he sighed. "But I did pass that exam in my Accounting class."
"Good for you. I knew you would. I'm proud of you, babe."
"And then I hit the weight room and got my ass kicked at practice but what else is new?"
"Preparation for the big game this weekend?"
Nathan took a deep breath.
"Don't remind me."
"You nervous?"
"A little bit."
"Don't be. You're gonna do great."
"Are Jake, Peyton and Jenny still gonna drive up?"
"That's the plan so far. I can't wait. I really miss hanging out with them and seeing them everyday. And Jenny is getting so big. Peyton e-mailed us some more pictures."
"That's cool. It'll be good to see some familiar faces in the stands."
"Then you're in luck. Guess who called earlier and said they're driving up with Jake and Pey?"
"Who?"
"Whitey."
Nathan smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, um, that's really cool."
"I'm so excited. I can't wait for everybody to see the house. I was thinking afterwards I could cook a big dinner for everyone. What do you think? I'll make a pot roast and maybe mash some potatoes. Jake loves Red Velvet Cake and I need to call your grandmother to get the recipe for those homemade yeast rolls."
"Can we even afford pot roast?" Nathan smirked.
"Probably not but I think Food Lion is having a sale and you know I never go leave home without my trusted MVP card."
She looked so excited and happy. How could he dare bust her bubble?
"Sounds good to me as long as we get macaroni and cheese."
"You bet. What's a meal in the Scott house without mac and cheese? It is the food of the gods, you know."
"So I've been told."
"Anyway, I can't wait to get started. It's gonna be so fun."
"I'm glad everyone is coming up, too. The house looks great and I just wanted you to know that. I mean it. You did a fantastic job decorating it."
"Aw, Nathan. Stop it. Babe, you're gonna make me cry. That's so sweet."
"It's nice to come at the end of a long day, well, to a real home. I really love it here and it's all because of you."
"I really love it here, too."
"This has been good for us. I know we had our problems back in Tree Hill. I know it was tough. A lot of people never thought we'd make it, hell a lot of people didn't want us to make it but we did."
"Yes, we did", she smiled.
"Sometimes I really miss Tree Hill and I definitely miss our friends but this is what we needed. We needed to get away and start over and just be on our own. It's really been good for us. I just want you to know I've never been happier."
"Me either."
"I have to warn you that the practices are gonna be longer and later and tougher this week so I might not be around as much but anything I can do to help out when I am around, just let me know. Grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning up…anything. I'm all yours when I'm here. I mean that."
Haley pecked his lips.
"I think I like the sound of that. Actually, I do need your help and I could use you right after you finish your dinner tonight."
"What's up?"
She motioned towards the telephone.
"We have been putting it off and putting it off but the procrastination ends tonight. Tonight we finally record the message to our answering machine."
Nathan rolled his eyes.
"That's the big job you need my help on?"
She put her hands on her hips.
"Yes. It's very important. We are a young married couple and there are certain things a young married couple must always have."
"Like?"
Haley thought for a minute.
"Like a really cute mat to put in front of the door that says welcome and also has our names on it."
Nathan looked in the direction of their front door. There was a brown mat with the word WELCOME printed in large blue letters over a country white house with a fence and a garden full of daffodils. At the bottom it read THE SCOTT'S. It was cute and sweet, the perfect reflection of Haley's personality but Nathan still had nightmares about the day they had purchased it. It was when they had first moved to town and his wife had the brilliant idea to spend all day searching flea markets and yard sales. He had been bored out of his mind and had ended up a human shopping basket as he carried trinket after trinket to the car and then to the house.
"Okay, we have that."
"Yes, we do and now we just need a nice voice recording on the answering machine and we're good to go."
"We already have a nice recording."
"Nathan! It's automated and that is just impersonal."
"So change it. You're better at that stuff than me anyway. You have a friendly voice."
"But we have to do it together. Babe, that is kind of the whole point."
"Isn't that something only really cheesy couples do?"
She stood and swatted him with the dishtowel before going to retrieve his dinner and fix his plate.
"In case you didn't notice, Mister, we are a really cheesy couple."
"Great", he joked. "Next thing you know we'll be wearing matching outfits and fanny packs at Disney World."
"Just hurry up and eat your food. I'm gonna go in the bedroom and think of cute little rhymes we can say on the recording."
"Oh joy."
"You know you love it."
"I love you", he said seriously.
Haley nodded.
"You know, everything is going really well. School is great and we love the house and the neighbors and we've made some new friends. The car is still putting, knock on wood, and getting us from point A to B. Our marriage is stronger than ever and all our friends are happy. It's just really nice, you know? I feel like we're all so incredibly blessed. I just, I don't know. It might sound corny but I hope this feeling never ends."
"It doesn't sound corny, Haley."
"You think we'll always be like this?"
He looked at his wife and smiled.
"Yeah", he nodded, meaning his answer with every fiber of his being. "I really think so."
