“Ice cream! Ice cream! We’re getting ice cream!” Lucy cried excitedly from the back of Hollie’s SUV. Her beautiful teal eyes twinkled as she eagerly bounced in her booster seat, clapping her small hands to the beat of Hollie’s radio. The women immediately giggle with amusement at the small child, obviously adoring the innocence that radiated from her sweet form. They couldn’t have asked for a better outing within Orlando. Hollie, Jamila, and Raegan had invited Nicola and Lucy out for lunch and ice cream, though they knew the truth of the underlying scheme. Howie had finally finished furnishing Nicola’s private clinic. It was a smashing success and Howie couldn’t wait to unveil his loving masterpiece. So, now while the women were wasting time amongst lunch and ice cream, a surprise party was fixing to start at the clinic for Nicola.
“Are you three excited for ice cream, too?” Nicola teased, arching her strawberry blonde brows with suspicion as Lucy grasped her mother’s hand, drawing words upon her palm. Nicola leaned down to kiss her daughter’s flaxen curls, but couldn’t help noticing the odd behavior radiating from the vehicle. The women were almost as giggly as Nicola’s small daughter, which obviously tipped Nicola off to a hidden secret. Though, Nicola didn’t know what secret it could possibly be.
“Um… Hell yeah!” Jamila blurted suddenly, glancing between the two other women. “I’m diving into this huge hot fudge sundae with all the trimmings. I’ve been dieting for what seems like forever, so this is like a little fiesta for me!”
“You’re dieting?” Nicola chided the tiny Puerto Rican woman. “Jamila—”
“Well, I’ve got to keep up with my boyfriend. He’s just so damn skinny!” Jamila squealed with an explanation.
“But can certainly pack away the food on a date,” Raegan whistled with appreciation, remembering her date with Brian where they had ran into AJ and Jamila. AJ had been slurping up huge mounds of spaghetti while Jamila and Raegan just stared in astonishment. “I mean, honestly, where does that stomach hide in his body? I think he ate about four pounds of spaghetti in one sitting! I don’t even think I could eat four pounds of spaghetti in one day! He’s like a Hoover, I swear!” All the women took time to laugh at Raegan’s honest observation. They could spend hours picking on the men’s funny quirks, which they usually did for entertainment.
“Uncle J’s a trash bucket?” Lucy contemplated with a sunny chirp.
“In so many words,” Hollie snorted.
“Hollie! Don’t!” Nicola groaned, gently smacking her friend’s shoulder from behind. “You know how inquisitive she is! She’ll call him Uncle Trash Bucket!”
“Well, it’d make for good entertainment, right?”
“Hollie—”
“So speaking of dates… How was yours?” Raegan fired with a sly smile, clearing her throat to prevent the bickering between Hollie and Nicola. All eyes immediately shifted to Hollie, who seemed to concentrate harder on the road with an aloof nature. All the women were fully aware of Kevin’s deep interest in Hollie. So, they were naturally curious as to how the dates worked out during the past week. Kevin had already given wonderful reports to the boys about his fabulous times, so, in turn; the women wanted the final point of view to complete the masterpiece.
“Which one?” Hollie finally teased with a funny smile. “And are we talking overnights?”
“Hollie!” Nicola scolded with a groan.
“Bad Aunt Decker!” Lucy quickly chimed in, combing a small brush through her doll’s lengthy curls.
“Okay, okay!” Hollie groaned painfully, glancing in her review mirror with yet another illuminating smile. Nicola could see the glimmer of excitement embedded in Hollie’s beautiful gray irises, already telling Nicola the complete story behind the affair. “Kevin has got to be one in a million. He is the sweetest man in the entire world and completely classy. Not like those Mac-Truckers that wine and dine you in the drive-thru of a McDonalds. And trust me, I’ve had plenty of those dates. But, Kevin, oh God, Kevin! He picks me up in a freshly cleaned Jaguar with two dozen red roses perched between the seats. Actually walks up to my door to lead me by the arm into the car, then proceeds to shut the door for me. He then takes me to this quaint Italian restaurant and makes sure that we’re seated with this beautiful overview only lit by candles. Only keeps his eyes on me during the entire night. We even had this gorgeous waitress and he NEVER lifted his eyes off me!”
“Sounds like Kevin,” Jamila agreed with a romantic sigh. “Want to trade?”
“For a man that considers a burping contest as a date, no thanks.”
“Hey! AJ’s romantic!”
“In a punk-rocker, beer drinking, lap dancing kind of way…”
“So, afterwards?” Raegan quickly pushed before Jamila could speak, not wanting to stray from the romantic adventure.
“We went back to his place for desert!”
“Did’ja get ice cream, Aunt Decker?” Lucy quipped, causing a feisty round of laughter.
“Yeah, Honey… And the fifth scoop was as sweet as the first!”
“Five scoops?” Jamila squealed. “You lasted for five scoops?!”
“Oh, yes,” Hollie sighed dreamily.
“Did’ja get a belly ache?” Lucy asked with concern.
“Oh, no, Sweetheart. I just needed a long nap!”
“Oh… Mommy won’t let me have five ice cream scoops!”
“You won’t be having five scoops for a very long while,” Nicola agreed with a sharp frown, immediately kissing her daughter’s forehead. The other three women chuckled openly at the sexual innuendo forming around them. Nicola rolled her eyes, settling back on her best friend with an awed some. “So, Hollie – The Infamous Never Settling Decker is actually in love?”
“Well… Let’s just say the Little Black Book got lost in the hamper last night…”
Nicola felt goose-bumps explode and prickle upon her tingling flesh as the women yanked her toward an unfamiliar building. Nicola still didn’t understand what was going on. They had never traveled to this section of their hometown, which made Nicola immediately draw Lucy tightly into her arms. She stumbled a few paces before regaining her sleek posture. She didn’t like the nervous energy flickering around her and could tell something beyond bizarre was about to occur. The vibes feeding off the women who had suddenly drawn into excited giggles while they munched on their cones of ice cream caused Nicola’s stomach to form with tight knots. The next thing Nicola knew, they were pushing her into the vehicle and pulling up to this bizarre place. She gazed up at the large building with apprehension, feeling Hollie push on the small of her back yet again. She had never been to this building in all her life, so why come now?
“Can we go home?” Nicola voiced, stopping at the front door covered front door.
“No, we forgot something in here,” Jamila explained.
“Wait, you’ve been here before?”
“It’ll be like two seconds,” Hollie chipped in, brushing off Nicola’s second question. She glanced to the other women before pushing Nicola further. Hollie smirked with interest as Nicola yelped in protest, but finally started to slowly enter. Raegan scooped Lucy into her arms to travel into the building, only to hear Nicola’s shrill shriek of surprise as lights flooded the massive clinic and hordes of people popped out in different locations, flinging confetti. Hollie, Jamila, and Raegan screamed with delight, immediately running forward. Hollie offered another whoop of delight as she rushed into the chaos. “Surprise, Cola-Pop!”
“What is all this?” Nicola gasped as the sea of people seemed to part to give her a chance to view her new surroundings. She glanced around in awe at the beautifully crisp room, noticing the comfortable chairs and tables littered with various magazines. Her eyes flicked to a nearby wall that Nick had decorated, noting his signature beneath the sweet images of unicorns dancing amongst a heavenly oasis. Her college degrees for Physical Therapy were nailed cleanly behind the receptionist desk, highly advanced computers just beckoning to be programmed with patient information. She offered a still flabbergasted smile as Howie crutched to stand in front of her, carefully shifting his wait so he could run a gentle hand against her reddened cheek.
“What’s all this, Baby?” Nicola repeated.
“Sweetheart, didn’t you see the name on the door?” Howie questioned softly, motioning back to the door. Nicola slowly turned back to the front door, finally noticing her name scripted backward on the glass: Nicola A. Tilley, PT.
“Howie…” Nicola gasped, blinking away just a few tears.
“Hey, no tears. This is a happy day, right? This is your dream, Nic. I built you your one and only dream. I remembered you talking about it that night, your beautiful eyes glittering with excitement as you spoke of caring for others under your own name. How so very much you wanted your name to be on the door, you to be the one they came to for help. Well, this is your very own clinic,” Howie breathed excitedly. His dark brown eyes glittered with cherishment as he continued to caress her cheek before offering a kiss to her forehead.
“Howie, I don’t deserve—”
“Sweetheart, Love of my Life, you gave me back all my dreams. I’m standing here right now, just a few short months of walking on my own without these damn crutches. When you met me, everything was wasted in my life. I had no hope. Everything was broken. But you… God, you gave me a reason to live. And with it you gave me unconditional love. I had to give you something back. Something to build our lives with. Something to show you how much I adore you.”
“I already knew that you adored me, but my own clinic?” she whispered, continuing to glance around in admiration. Her heart continued to pound steadily within her ribcage. She couldn’t believe Howie had done all this just for her. It was so beautiful.
“And there’s oh so much more!” Hollie squealed, tugging Kevin forward to break Howie’s hold on Nicola’s gaze. Kevin offered a secure smile and handed her a first-class airplane ticket before wrapping Hollie tightly in his arms. He nestled his chin against her shoulder as Hollie grinned and melted into his embrace. “Kevin and I got you a ticket to Miami.”
“Why am I going to Miami?” Nicola questioned with suspicion. “Getting rid of me already?”
“Oh, no! Howie would condemn us for that! You see there’s a Physical Therapy Convention this weekend at this grand hotel. We decided it would be best if you went to promote your new clinic there. So, we all chipped in to make this a grand occasion,” Kevin informed, leaning with Hollie to kiss Nicola’s cheek. “And, this is my thank you for Hollie and giving us our old Howie back.”
“You’re welcome,” Nicola replied shyly, rubbing her cheek as Lucy tugged eagerly at her leg.
“Hey! Us, too!” Raegan giggled, jumping forward with Brian. She eagerly bounced on the balls of her feet until Brian placed his hands against her shoulders to weigh her to the floor. She pouted only for a moment till Brian kissed the back of her neck. She then giggled softly and began to speak quickly, “We decorated your booth and made you business cards for the Convention. It looks absolutely beautiful, you’ll be proud. Now, you just have to show up and give an award winning smile before you have more patients than you know what to do with.”
“And we paid for your weekend at the hotel where the convention is. It’s absolutely gorgeous; you’ll love it there. All you have to do is give your name and full accommodations will be provided,” AJ rasped, joining the group with Jamila fixed to his side. He looped his arm around Jamila’s waist, pulling her close. Jamila sighed dramatically, starting to fix kisses along the length of his neck. “Oh! Jammy even got you a deluxe spa package and this nearby resort. Full facials, mud baths, whatever you chicks like to do!”
Nicola stared in awe at the priceless treasures placed in her hands. These people had formed special bonds with her through the passing months. They cared for her as if she were part of their family. Nicola sniffled softly, immediately rubbing her burning eyes. She could never stop saying thank you for their stunning generosity. “Oh, guys! I don’t know what to say…”
“Say you’ll do it,” Paula laughed from beyond the small band of friends.
“It’s a great opportunity,” Marie agreed, patting Paula’s shoulder.
“Please, Mommy?” Lucy begged from beneath her legs, already eager to play with the new toys stationed around the clinic for the smaller patients.
“Well, of course. How can I turn something down given to me with pure love?” Nicola breathed, eagerly moving to wrap her arms around Howie’s neck. Howie chuckled in surprise, letting his crutches clatter loudly to the floor as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Nicola gasped softly as she offered him the sweetest kisses. Tears of joy streaked crossed their warm cheeks, mixing together as if they were one unit, one heart, one being. “Thank you so much, Howie! I don’t think I can ever stop saying thank you. This means so much to me. You mean so much to me. I mean… I love you so much!”
“I love you, too,” Howie laughed, knowing deep inside he had to marry this girl.
