Page 27 of 21 Years of Jane

Dad spun around immediately and looked at him questioningly.

“Does my hour start now or when you opened the door?”

I had to stifle a giggle. While it was a truly valid question, I could hear the slight sarcasm in his tone.

“Your hour starts when the two of you are in the kids’ room or alone in Starr’s,” Mom answered.

“Thanks, Mrs. E,” he replied with a nod.

She smiled and yanked Dad out of the room. Nolan came over and kissed me quickly before sitting down next to me on the couch.

“So, my parents want to meet you,” he said conversationally.

“Why?” I asked more defensively than I meant to.

“Morbid curiosity I would imagine,” he replied with a shrug.

“Ah, the ‘Why is my son in love with a girl in a wheelchair?’ morbidity,” I said knowingly.

“Actually, it’s more ‘We can’t believe he’s in love, we have to meet the girl who’s the object of his affection’ curiosity,” he amended.

“And would you say that you’re in love?” I asked, tilting my head.

“I could be convinced to share my feelings of intimacy with you,” he said, clearing his throat.

“Oh?”

“Yes, but... There’s something I would require from you first.”

“What’s that?”

He shifted on the chair so that I could see how serious he had suddenly become.

“I need you to promise that you’ll only reply truthfully. I don’t want to be told what I want to hear when I make this disclosure. I want to hear what you truly and honestly feel.”

“Fair enough.”

“The first time your parents came to my house to welcome us to the neighborhood, I could see how tired they looked. Not physically, but emotionally. I’ve always been empathetic I guess, and I could tell that something was weighing heavily on them. Now, mind you, I was in a different room, hiding behind a door while watching them talk to my parents—before I was called in and formally introduced. They shared a glance and asked me how old I was. I told them and that’s when they asked me if I would like to come over and meet you. Possibly try to get you out of the house more often; on a strictly friendly basis only. I agreed when they told me how you were... chair bound. I guess it reminded me of when I was on crutches and no one wanted to play with me,” he said with a chuckle.

“So this was a pity friendship?” I asked.

“Not at all, Janey. Let me finish please. Anyway, did you know that your father carries a shit ton of pictures of you in his wallet? Like, I mean when he opened it, a fold-out hit the floor. He has everything in there from when you were born, to a few months ago when Stella turned seven. My parents thought it was a little weird, I thought it was great. I remember that Dad asked him why he carried so many pictures. He was probably thinking you were terminal, but your father told him it was because he loved you so much and wished you had a normal life. Your mother started sniffling while I went through the pictures. Mom asked her to join her in the kitchen. I knew it was so she could cry, and I pretended not to notice. Back to the pictures, though. There was one of you holding Liam when he was just born. You were smiling so grandly, and Stella was standing next to your chair making a face. You had an arm around her and were struggling to hold Liam. But I think it’s the way you held your little brother. The way you made sure Stella still felt wanted, so loving and awkward at the same time... That’s around the time that I truly and helplessly fell in love with you,” he finished, glancing at me.

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out, so I closed it. I took a deep breath and opened my mouth again, but only a squeak came out.

I wasn’t trying to be coy, and I wasn’t trying to be cute. I was honestly at a loss for words. I hadn’t expected a speech. I only expected a yes or no.

“So, I have to ask this now. Do you love me?” Nolan inquired.

“What I have to say will not be as meaningful as what I just presented, so please don’t hate me. All I can honestly say is that what I feel for you is much more than I ever thought I could feel for anyone. I’ve never been in love before, but I would imagine that this would be it.”

He let out a huge sigh and sat back against the couch. I watched him, wanting to reach over and kiss him... when the kids came barreling into the room.

“Nolan!” they both yelled happily, jumping on him.

“Hey, guys!” he greeted enthusiastically.

“It’s Starr’s birthday!” Liam told him.