Disclaimer: I do not own OTH or any of it characters places or such. I am simply borrowing them
AN/ Here is the next chapter! I am not sure if I like it very much, but here it is. Please don't forget to review!
As always suggestions are welcome!
The bell over the door of the cafe rang signaling more customers. Karen removed her hand from her son's cheek as she looked up.
"Haley" Karen said as Nathan turned around
Haley walked towards the counter and sat down on the stool next to Nathan with a greeting, "Morning"
"Would you like something to eat?" Karen asked
"Coffee and toast, please"
"One minute"
"Hey Nate" Haley said as she turned to face him
"Hey Hales."
"You look exhausted"
"Thanks for noticing" Nathan said sounding annoyed
"Not a problem. What are friends for? We are suppose to tell you how you really look" Haley replied with a smile
"You are in a good mood this morning"
"Yea, I went home last night and crashed. I got up about an hour ago so I am fully rested. Did you sleep any last night?"
"Yea, but I was up at quarter to seven this morning. I took Meredith to school. I saw Ms. Mitchell. Actually, her name is Ms. Young now. She asked about you"
"How is Ms. Mitchell?"
"She good. Still teaching third grade"
"You know she was my favorite teacher."
"Here you go Haley. Coffee, creamer, sugar and two pieces of toast" Karen said as she set the items down in front of Haley
"Thanks Karen. I could have stayed at the house for breakfast, but I didn't feel like making coffee."
Karen laughed at Haley's comment
"I am serious. You don't know how many times I wish I was here or that you had a café in Montana."
This time Nathan laughed at Haley's comment.
"Don't laugh at me. It is the little things in life that matter" Haley said as she bit into her toast
Lucas's phone rang again this time startling him. He pulled the covers from his head and looked at the caller id. He answered the phone with a smile
"Hey Brooke"
"Rise and Shine, Broody" Brooke's cheery voice was heard through the phone, "are you still in bed?"
"Yea"
"Well, get up. It is wonderful day outside and you shouldn't be sleeping it away"
"What time is it?"
"10:30. What time did you go to bed last night?"
"I don't know. I waited for Nate to get home. He went with Peyton and Jake to see the truck last night"
"Oh"
"Yea, he said that it was worse in person then on TV"
"I don't want to even think about seeing it in person. Seeing it on TV was enough for me. Anyway, what are your plans for today?"
"Nate and I are having lunch with Meredith at the elementary school"
"That place makes me shake." Brooke said as she shivers
Lucas laughed
"I think I am going to go by the café first and grab a cup of coffee."
"Okay. I will meet you there then. How long are you going to be?"
"I am not even out the bed yet."
"Lucas Scott, Do I have to come over there and drag you out of bed?"
"No", Lucas said laughing, "Meet at the café in about twenty minutes. I am going to jump in the shower"
"Okay. See ya then" Brooke said as she hung up not waiting for Lucas's reply
Lucas sat his phone on the side table before pulling himself from his bed and heading towards the bathroom for his shower.
Haley finished off her second cup of coffee before turning to Nathan once more
"Sorry if I was rude last night"
"Haley, you have nothing to be sorry about."
"I just didn't want to have that conversation in the middle of the night when neither of us was very capable of speaking straight"
"I know, but can I say one thing?"
"What?"
"I am sorry"
"Sorry for what?"
"Sorry for hurting. Sorry for not telling you the truth at the docks that day"
"Nathan, please. I told you that I didn't want to have this conversation"
Before Nathan could respond, the café door was opened as Lucas entered with Brooke.
"Well look who decided to get out of the bed" Karen said as she walked from the kitchen area
"If I hadn't called and woke him up then, he would probably still be there" Brooke said as they walked towards the counter and took the two stools to the right of Haley
"I bet he was nicer to you then he was to me," Nathan said
"Haley, you okay?" Lucas asked noticing that Haley was quiet
"Yea, fine. Karen, can I get another cup of coffee?"
"One for me too, Mom" Lucas said still looking at his best friend
"Brooke?" Karen asked as she walked towards the coffeepot
"No thanks. I have had enough coffee this morning"
"Hales, are you sure everything is okay?"
"Lucas, I am sure." Haley said as she turned to look at him, "I am fine"
Lucas could tell that she was lying, but he decided to drop it. He knew Haley would come find him when she wanted to talk.
Karen sat a cup in front of Lucas as she poured coffee into it and then filled Haley's cup
"Haley, did Nathan tell you that he saw Ms. Mitchell?" She asked sitting the coffeepot back on the warmer.
"You saw Ms. Mitchell?" Lucas asked
"Yea, she had me come down to her class and answer some questions for her students. Her name is Ms.Young now"
"I haven't seen her in ages."
"Isn't Ms. Mitchell the one that made you want to teach, Haley?" Brooke asked from the other side of Lucas
"Yea"
"Speaking of Ms. Mitchell, guys it is almost 11:30," Karen said glancing at the clock
"Hurry up on the coffee, Luke" Nathan said to his brother
"Haley, you should come with us to the school. I am sure Ms. Mitchell would be glad to see you and Meredith would too," Lucas said finishing his coffee
"You too Brooke" Nathan said laughing at Brooke's expression
"I am not going back into that school."
"Come on Brooke. For Meredith" Haley said looking at her friend, "Besides if we all go what are you going to do?"
"Oh, alright" Brooke said giving in
"Let's go then," Lucas said before leaning over the counter to kiss Karen's cheek, "Bye mom"
"Bye guys" Karen said as the four friends stood and started walking towards the door
"Bye mom. Thanks for the advice" Nathan said before the door shut behind him
10 minutes later, they were walking in the elementary school main entrance and towards the front office. Mandy still sitting in the same spot that she had been that morning smiled as the four enter the office
"Hello again, Nathan"
"Hey. This is my brother Lucas, his girlfriend Brooke and one of our best friends, Haley"
"Are you all here to eat lunch with Meredith?"
"Yea" Lucas answered
"Okay. I just need you to sign in right there and I will get you visitors passes"
The four wrote their names on the sheet attached to the clipboard in front of Mandy and then accepted visitors' tags that they clipped to their shirts.
"Ms. Cruz's class should be coming down towards the lunch room. Go out of the office and turn left and you should see them at the next hallway"
"Thanks" Nathan said as he followed the other three out of the office and to the left. When they got to the next hallway they started walking toward a class that stood in line on the left wall. Meredith spotted them immediately.
"Nate. Luke" Meredith yelled as she waved
"Meredith, please don't yell" her teacher said in a soft voice
"Sorry Ms. Cruz" Meredith said as the four met the class
"You must be Meredith's brothers." Ms. Cruz said looking at Lucas and Nathan
"Yes, ma'am. I am Lucas, this is my brother Nathan, my girlfriend Brooke and one of my best friends, Haley"
"Nice to meet you all. We were just heading to the lunchroom. Class, quiet" The line started to move as the group stepped out of the way. Meredith was grinning from ear to ear as she passed them. They smiled back at her and followed her class.
They entered the lunchroom and winced at the noise.
"Were we this noisy?" Brooke asked shouting to be heard
"Probably, but we were so used to it that it didn't affect us" Haley answered.
As Meredith's class line dispersed to either the assigned lunch table or the cafeteria line Meredith ran back to meet them
"You came" Meredith said as she ran into Nathan's right leg
"I told you that we would" Nathan replied
"And we brought Brooke and Haley with us" Lucas added
Haley knelt down as Meredith pulled her into a hug. "Thanks for coming Haley"
"Your welcome"
"You too Brooke" Meredith said as she hugged Brooke
"Let's go sit down, Munchkin" Nathan said as Meredith released her hold on Brooke
They approached Meredith's assigned table and sat at the far end. Meredith arranged them so that Lucas and Nathan were on either side of her and Brooke and Haley were across from them with a spot in between them for her best friend, Abbey.
"Abbey, I saved you a spot down here" Meredith stood and shouted as she spotted her friend
Abbey was a little taller than most of the other kids in her class and she approached the group with her head hang down almost so that her long dark hair fell on the lunch tray that she was carrying.
"You can sit between Haley and Brooke"
Abbey nodded before lifting her head and placing her tray on the table. She looked at Brooke and then at Haley before sitting down.
"Abbey, these are my big brothers. This is Nathan and this is Lucas"
Abbey didn't speak, but a hint of a smile was seen.
"This is Brooke and Haley. Haley is teacher just like Ms. Cruz" Meredith said introducing the two women that the little girl was sitting between
"You are a teacher?" Abbey spoke her first words since sitting down as she looked at Haley
"Sure am. I teach in Montana."
"Do you live there?"
"Yes, we are all here to visit. Brooke lives in California, Lucas lives in Charlotte and Nathan lives in Florida"
"Wow" The group laughed as the young girl smiled
They sat and talked until Ms. Cruz came to their section of the table ten minutes later.
"Excuse me, May I speak with you two?" Ms. Cruz said as she stood behind Meredith and looked at either of her brothers.
"Sure" Nathan said as they both stood and followed Ms. Cruz out of the doors of the cafeteria.
"I am sorry to pull you away from lunch with your sister"
"It is fine," Lucas said
"Today is our show and tell day. We usually do it after lunch. Meredith told me that she was bringing you two as her show and tell. I wasn't sure if she had told you that or not"
"No, she didn't" Nathan replied
"I figured that she hadn't"
"It is okay though. We can be her show and tell, in fact, she will just have four people for show and tell today" Lucas said
Ms. Cruz smiled as she said, "Thank you. She told that she had great brothers. I can see now that she really does."
"She knows that she has us wrapped around her little finger," Lucas said as the three laughed
"Lunch is about over so I will let you two get back in there. Another five minutes and I will be coming to get the class"
"Okay" Nathan replied as they entered the cafeteria again and sat down
"Shrimp, did you forget to mention something?" Lucas asked his sister
"Oops" Meredith with a small smile
"What did she forget to mention?" Brooke asked
"That we are her show and tell today" Nathan answered, "We all are"
"Sorry" Meredith said looking back and forth between Lucas and Nathan a smile on her face. They could not help, but smile back at her.
Five minutes later, Ms. Cruz was standing at the end of the table asking her class to throw away their trash and line up by the door.
The four friends followed the class back to their classroom and stood in the back of the room. Ms. Cruz settled down her class and told them that it was time for show and tell. She told Meredith that she could go first. Meredith stood from her chair and walked to the front of the classroom standing in front of the chalkboard.
"Today for show and tell I brought my brothers and two of their friends. Come here guys"
The four obeyed the little girl and walked towards the front standing on either side of her.
"This is my brother, Lucas. Lucas lives in Charlotte and plays for the bobcats. They are a basketball team. He is on TV all the time. This is my other brother, Nathan. He lives in Florida and plays for the…What's it called?"
"Magic" Nathan answered his sister
"Yea, them. They are a basketball team too. I don't see him much, but I still love him. This is Brooke. She lives far away, but she comes here a lot. Her and my mom are good friends. This is Haley. She is a teacher in another state. She can't come here much, but when she does she stays for a long time." Meredith finished with a smile
"Does anyone have any questions for Meredith about her show and tell?" Ms. Cruz asked from her spot to the right of Meredith
A little boy in the back raised his hand, "Yes Michael?"
"Are they really your brothers?"
"Yes, we are really her brothers" Nathan said speaking for her sister
"Any other questions?" Ms. Cruz asked, "Yes, Maria?"
"Meredith, do you get to go see your brothers play basketball?"
"Yea, My mom and my dad take me when they play against each other" Meredith said
Haley looked at Nathan as tears came to her eyes. Keith would no longer be there to watch his sons play against each other at the rivercourt or professionally. Haley began to realize then that life was short and that you never know when it will end. She knew that she had to have that conversation with Nathan and that it had to be today. She didn't want any regrets.
AN/ Next chapter will have the awaited conversation!