Honor: a novella

by Chasie Noble

  “Happy birthday!” my parents yelled in unison.

  “Thank you, I was wondering if you guys even remembered it was my birthday.” I heard laughing.

  “How could we forget our only child’s birthday? Did you get your birthday card in the mail today?” my mom asked.

  “Yes, I did, and you don’t have to give me money mother.”

  I could hear my dad take the phone over. “I want you to bring this fellow home with you on Thanksgiving Honor. I want to meet him,” he said.

  “Okay dad, I will ask him, but he does have a family too.” I looked at the clock and knew I should get going. “I love you guys but I am going to dinner with Lilly so I need to go.”

  “Tell Lilly we said hello, and be careful tonight. We love you!”

  We said our final goodbyes and I hung up. I straightened my green dress, grabbed my purse, and headed for the door.

  I pulled next to Lilly’s car in the parking lot and went inside. I couldn’t see her anywhere, so I decided to ask the hostess. She told me Lilly was on the patio waiting for me. When I walked out the patio doors I was startled by everyone yelling: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

  Lilly walked over. “Are you surprised? I didn’t think I could get you to come out tonight. This was all Osric’s idea,” she said.

  He stood behind her smiling at me.

  “I am totally surprised! Thanks guys.” I hugged him as he hugged me back. “You wouldn’t answer my calls today,” I said poking him in the chest.

  “I didn’t want to ruin the surprise. Do you forgive me?” he asked.

  I was about to answer him, but his lips met mine before the words could come out of my mouth. I had to control myself knowing people were watching us.

  Brenda, clearing her throat, interrupted us. “Happy birthday Honor, I got you a little something.” She handed me an envelope. I was opening it as she said, “It’s a gift card to a nail salon.”

  I smiled and hugged her. “Thank you!”

  Celia came up next and wished me a happy birthday again.

  Ryan walked up with Lilly and brought me the largest glass of beer I have ever seen. “Happy birthday! Now drink up!”

  I tried to take it slow, being that everyone I worked with at the library was at my party. I made my way around our large table, thanking everyone for coming.

  “Thank you for doing all this,” I told Osric.

  “I wanted you to have a good birthday.”

  After everyone had a fair amount of hot wings, people began to leave. I had just about finished my beer when Lilly put another one down in front of me. “Finish that and we’ll hit the dance floor,” she said.

  I looked at the large glass. “I may not even be able to walk after that one.” I laughed.

  Soon Lilly and Ryan were the only ones left with Osric and I. “We will meet you guys in there,” Ryan motioned as he led Lilly inside.

  I rested my head on Osric’s shoulder and yawned. I was pretty tipsy and was sure I couldn’t drink anymore for the night. “I am going to drive you home,” he told me. “We don’t have to leave now, I just don’t think you should drive,” he added. We sat there together with my head on his shoulder holding hands.

  A band had taken the small stage inside the smoke-filled sports bar. They started playing a slow song that drifted its way outside to where we were sitting. Osric rose from his chair, grabbed my hand, and pulled me close to him. We danced where we stood.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  I stared up at him. “Why are you thanking me?” I asked.

  “Thank you for helping me that day at the library. I haven’t been this happy in a very long time.”

  I leaned into his chest resting my head there. “I know what you mean,” I said. I was beginning to feel dizzy from all the alcohol and had to sit down.

  “Honor, are you going to be all right?”

  I smiled up at him. “I think I should probably go now.”

  He helped me up and we made are way through the crowded bar. I didn’t even bother to look for Lilly and Ryan. Osric helped me inside his car, and that was the last thing I remember.

  Chapter 9

  I woke to the smell of coffee and, at first, wondered where I was, until I realized I was in Osric’s bed. The sun streamed through the large bedroom windows. I stretched out and saw I still wore my green dress, that was now a wrinkled mess. I saw a fresh cup of coffee set on the bedside table, the steam rose from the turquoise mug. I sat up and looked out the window as I reached for the coffee.

  Osric was working on something out by his garage, shirtless. Since I had met him his hair had grown longer, now almost reaching the tops of his shoulders. Once again, just like on queue, he turned and looked up at the window. I waved, and he smiled back.

  I suddenly became aware that I looked like a mess. I could see my reflection and my hair was like something from a horror movie. I searched the room for my purse and went to his bathroom, shutting the door behind me. I washed my face and brushed out my hair. I was thankful I always carried floss and the little disposable toothbrushes. Lilly always joked about how I was the only person who carried that stuff around all the time, even though she always needed to borrow both quite frequently.

  Once I was halfway presentable, I walked back into the bedroom. I saw out the window that Osric had thrown his shirt on and was making his way for the back door. I went down to meet him. I was totally attracted to Osric regardless, but when he was all hot and sweaty from working, I had a hard time concentrating on anything else. He stood in the kitchen drinking from a bottle of water.

  “I am sorry about last night,” I said blushing.

  He walked closer to me. “Good morning,” he said as he kissed the corner of my mouth.

  He kissed me again and started trailing his kisses down my neck toward my earlobe. I embarrassed myself when a moan escaped from my throat. He reacted in a way he never had as he picked me up and wrapped my legs around his waist. He placed me down on the kitchen counter. His mouth searched mine longingly. I grasped his blond hair and then my hands went down to his shirt as I attempted to pull it over his head. He helped me by throwing it to the floor. His hands came back to my dress, pulling it over my head in one fluid-like motion. My legs were still wrapped around him as we sat there exploring each other.

  I had never been this nude in front of a man and tried not to think about it as I longed for him. Even sitting on the counter, I had to reach for him, he towered over me. He suddenly stopped and rested his forehead on mine. He was breathing heavily. I was panting, and didn’t care about being embarrassed anymore.

  “Honor, we can’t do this,” he said in a raspy voice.

  I was upset and wasn’t going to hide it this time. I reached over and grabbed my dress from the counter beside me. “Is it me?” I asked honestly now. I was freely about to give myself over to him and he refused. I felt tears coming and didn’t want to cry in front of him.

  “Honor, I care and respect you too much to do this right now,” he said looking into my eyes.

  I hopped off the counter covering myself with my dress as I made my way to the bathroom. I tried to control my tears. I shut the door, leaned up against it, and began to cry.

  I heard him at the door. “Honor, I care for you more than you know. I don’t want to ruin what we have right now,” he said.

  I sat there wiping the tears from my eyes. Was I overreacting? I put my dress on and rinsed my face off. I opened the door and there he stood, he had put his shirt back on. He looked troubled, but said nothing as I reached for him. He held me and we stood there for a while in silence. I knew without a doubt I was madly in love with this man.

  We made breakfast together and ate on the front porch. I noticed his neighbors had decorated for Halloween and were getting ready for all the kids who would be trick-or-treating later that evening.

  “I bet you get a ton of trick-or-treaters in this neighborhood,” I commented.

  He looked over at his neighbor who was puttin
g out pumpkins along her walkway. “I wouldn’t know, I guess they must.” He motioned over to the neighbor.

  “When I lived at home, my parents would always buy a ton of candy and then count how many kids would come to the door.” I laughed at the memory. “The things that old folks do to entertain themselves. What about you?” I asked him, “What did your family do for Halloween?”

  “We never did Halloween,” he said.

  “Really?” I asked. I watched him, as he seemed lost in thought. “Now that you’re a homeowner, you should try it at least once.” I walked over and took his plate from him.

  “We can if you want to,” he said smiling at me.

  After I helped him with the dishes, he took me to get my car. I told him I would pick up candy and head back over after I showered. I cleaned up around my apartment and did laundry in between getting ready. I had kind of neglected my apartment over the last couple of weeks.

  My phone beeped and I saw I had a text from Lilly:

  How are you feeling today? You guys just left!

  I am fine today. I wasn’t feeling too hot after my drinks.

  So did Osric give you a GOOD present or what?? ☺

  HAHA…No Lilly! Get your mind out of the gutter ma’am.

  That’s why you love me. Well, I hope you had a good birthday! Talk to you later. Muuaahh!

  I thought about this morning and what happened in Osric’s kitchen. I wasn’t going to tell Lilly about it. I also hadn’t told her my true feelings toward Osric, even though I am pretty sure she knew. I wanted to tell him first but was not sure how to go about it. Then the thought hit me that maybe he didn’t feel the same way about me as I did for him. I pushed the thought away knowing it would not change my feelings toward him anyway. I loved him and nothing would change that.

  I put away the last bit of laundry and put my favorite black sweater on. I kept it plain and simple. I had my favorite jeans on with my black Converse. I grabbed my purse and headed down to my car.

  Chapter 10

  I pulled up at Osric’s house and saw some kids had already started heading door to door. I struggled carrying the candy, my purse, and a huge pumpkin that I had bought on sale. Osric met me on his front porch and took the pumpkin from me.

  “A pumpkin?” he asked, looking down at me with a smirk on his face.

  “Yes, a pumpkin. It is Halloween,” I told him.

  He placed it by the front door and took the bag of candy. He had showered, his hair was still wet and smelled heavenly. He had a gray hooded sweatshirt on with a pair of faded blue jeans. I couldn’t help but stare at him. He looked down at me, and fixed on my eyes. He leaned in and kissed me. I jumped as little footsteps came up the porch stairs.

  “Gross!” I heard from behind me. One of the kids yelled, “Trick or treat!” They all opened up their bags waiting for candy. Osric handed me the bag and I started passing out the candy. Some of the kids just stared up at Osric with their mouths hanging open.

  “You are big mister,” said one boy who was missing his front teeth and had a nose dripping with snot. The boy coughed and wiped his snotty nose on the sleeve of his knight costume.

  “You are small,” Osric replied.

  The boy laughed and coughed at the same time as he walked down the steps to leave.

  “You’re not used to kids are you?” I asked him.

  “Not really,” he said as the group of kids walked out to the street.

  “You do want children though, someday, don’t you?”

  He seemed to think about this with a trouble expression. “I haven’t thought about it much,” he said then acted as if he were going to say more but was cut off by another group of children. This time he helped pass out candy.

  All the kids would stare up at him in amazement. Some parents gawked too, especially some of the single mothers. The street was packed full of families walking from house to house. We sat and watched in between the groups of trick-or-treaters.

  “What are your plans for Thanksgiving?” I asked him.

  “I don’t have any. Why do you ask?”

  “My parents have asked if you would like to come home with me. I understand if you don’t want to though. I am sure you would want to spend it with your family.”

  He looked down at the porch. “My mother past away a long time ago, and my grandparents died before she did.”

  I came over to him. “I am sorry. I just assumed they were still around.” He took my hand in his. I thought of his father, but I wasn’t going to bring it up unless he chose to.

  “I would like to go with you to your parents,” he said.

  I smiled up at him.

  Some more kids came up the steps and, in the middle of them, one girl had a huge pair of wings and a halo on. It was an extravagant costume to say the least. Osric didn’t move from where he sat while I passed out the candy. I told the little girl in the angel costume how much I liked it. I heard the chair slide on the porch and hit the house. When I turned to see what had happened, I saw the screen closing shut and Osric walking inside. None of the kids noticed what had happened, but I did. Once they had all cleared from the porch, I headed inside and shut the front door behind me.

  “Osric?” I called after him. I couldn’t find him anywhere. I went into the kitchen and saw the light was on in the garage and the door was up. I headed out the back door toward the noise. He was working on something that looked like a door. He was running a saw that was deafening. I waited until it shut off, and I walked over.

  “Osric, is something wrong?”

  He stared over at me. “I am fine.”

  “You are a really bad liar. Is it me, did I do something?” I asked him.

  “Stop thinking it’s you, Honor. It isn’t you. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  I turned to walk out, feeling the hurt from his words. “When you do want to talk, you know where you can find me.” I had mixed emotions as I walked back to the house. I got my purse and walked out to my car. A part of me hoped he would come after me, but the rational part of me was saying this dude has more issues than I could keep up with. I drove home deep in thought. I just wished he would talk to me.

  Once I got to my apartment I felt exhausted from the day before and my dramatic day with Osric. I put a large comfy t-shirt on and climbed into bed. I hadn’t been asleep that long when I heard a tap at the front door. I went to the door and looked out the peephole. Osric stood there with his arms on both sides of the doorframe. He looked as awful as I felt. I opened the door.

  “Can I come in?” he asked.

  I held the door open wider and he walked inside. I shut and locked the door behind us.

  He took my hand and led me back to the bedroom. He took his keys from his pocket and set them on the side table. I was tired, and just got into bed. I heard him take off his pants and throw them to the floor. He moved in beside me. My bed sunk to his body weight, causing me to roll into his chest. He put his arms around me and I scooted in closer to him.

  We laid there in silence for a while.

  “I love you Honor,” he whispered in the dark room.

  “I love you too.”

  He found my hand in the dark and entwined his fingers with mine. Neither one of us moved from each other’s embrace as we fell asleep.

  Chapter 11

  I sat on a blanket reading while Osric worked on the dock that led out to the river. It was much colder out, and the leaves had started falling from the trees. I pulled my jacket around me tighter as I looked up from my book to see Osric walking towards me. He laid on the blanket and put his head in my lap. I pulled his beanie from his head and pushed back the long hair that had gotten into is eyes.

  “I should get a haircut,” he said.

  “No, don’t! I love your hair. I am jealous of how pretty it is.” I laughed.

  “You think my hair is pretty? I really have to get it cut now.”

  I normally thought long hair on men was just nasty, but not on him. I doubted he could
make anything unattractive. “I think it’s hot! Is that better?” I asked.

  He sat up on his knees and pinned me down on the blanket. “So you think I’m hot?” he teased.

  I laughed out loud as he held me down. “You know I think you’re hot. Now, tell me that I am hot.” I laughed.

  He fell to his elbow, setting me free. “You’re more than hot Honor—you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

  I laughed at him. “Then you need glasses.”

  “I don’t think I do,” he said kissing me on the cheek. “I have to finish this, and you need to change,” he said motioning over to the dock.

  “Why do I need to change?” I asked as I watched him put his hat back on.

  “I am taking you to dinner tonight,” he stated.

  “You are huh? Well, I do need to change then.”

  He leaned down and kissed me. “I will pick you up in two hours at your place.” He walked back to the dock. I gathered my stuff and headed for my apartment.

  I pulled the nicest dress I owned out of my closet and looked it up and down. It was a black one-shoulder dress; it was shorter than I would have liked for the cold weather, but I would tough it out. I pulled out my newest shoe purchase, which was a pair of bright-red high heels. After my shower and makeup, I decided to straighten my hair. I put my dress and heels on in just enough time to hear the tap on the door from Osric. I greeted him at the front door and saw he was dressed in a dark blue button up shirt with dress pants. He smiled and leaned in to kiss me.

  “You look beautiful,” he said.

  “Thank you, you look handsome yourself,” I told him.

  I put on my dress jacket that I had laid out earlier. Osric helped me as I put my arms through the sleeves. He gathered all my hair, pulling it over my jacket, giving me goose bumps. I picked up my clutch purse and he opened the door for me, kissing me on the way out.

  We sat at a table in one of the nicest restaurants I had ever been to. The lighting was dim, most of which came from the large fireplace at the back wall of the restaurant. The candlelight flickered between us casting shadows on Osric’s face.