Page 157 of Ten Years and Then…
It was money well spent. The ring was a delicate band of yellow gold, with little flourishes all the way around, and a small, perfect diamond along with several smaller tourmalines. It even had a name: rivière de diamants – River of Diamonds. That had been the final selling point for Nora. “I’ll have a ring with its own name. Just like Gandalf had!”
He could say goodbye now. It wouldn’t be for long. He guessed that things would move very quickly once he got back to work.
“You have to get to your flight,” he told Nora. “I’ll call you the minute I get home.”
“I’ll call you first,” she said, throwing her arms around him, kissing him.
“Okay, lovebirds,” Bianca said, pulling him away from her. “We’ve got to get to our flight, too.” Then she hugged Nora herself. “You take care of yourself. And take care of my Danny, too, once he moves up there.”
“I will, Bianca. I promise.”
Rachel hugged him then, kissed his cheek. “I’m happy for you. Just don’t ever hurt her,” she said, then shook her head. “But you won’t. I know that. Just get home safely, Daniel, and get up to Boston as fast as you can and take good care of my niece.”
“I will, Rachel. I promise.”
They’d take care of each other. This time for good.
Nora, two hours later
Nora was back in first class again—probably for the last time; money was going to be tight for a while. She didn’t want to think about the credit card bill she’d racked up in Paris. And that was nothing compared to what it was going to cost to move into a new, larger place with Daniel.
They hadn’t talked about that, of course. There hadn’t been time to talk about any of the million big and little details they’d need to sort out once he moved to Boston.
But they were all just details. Everything important was already settled; it had been settled the moment they saw each other at Shakespeare and Company.
Even the ring—beautiful, sparkling—was just another detail. They’d already made promises more binding than any ring could ever be, and more sacred than any ceremony could guarantee.
Still, it was beautiful, and Nora couldn’t deny that it felt wonderful when the stewardess oohed and aahed over it. Just like everyone at work would do tomorrow.
“Rachel, I don’t know what I can do to thank you,” she said as the plane taxied down the runway. “I know we joked about it, but it’s not a joke. I owe you—God, I owe you everything.”
Rachel shook her head. “Seeing you like this is all I need. You’re glowing. Radiant. The way you always should’ve been. And I hope the way you’ll stay, for the rest of your life.”
She would.
It wasn’t even a question now. Not anymore.
Chapter 52
Bringing home baby—Boston, MA
Daniel, September 27
Daniel pulled into the driveway and stared. Seven cars were parked on the street on either side of the house—he had to count them twice.
Nora turned to him from the passenger seat. “Daniel, did you plan this?”
“I wish I’d thought of it.”
It was a family reunion—his and Nora’s.
His parents were there along with Lisa, and Bianca and her parents, Aunt Carla and Uncle Sebastian.
And then there were Nora’s parents, and Rachel, and her Uncle Bruce, the jeweler, and his wife Dorothy.
Nora turned to the back seat. “This is all for you, baby girl. See how many people love you?”
Baby Girl Langley-Keller was three days old, and still nameless. Daniel had been compiling lists of possible names for the last three months, but Nora refused to even engage in the conversation. “She’ll tell us what her name is when she’s ready,” she’d said. He hadn’t understood, but he wasn’t going to argue about it.
