If You Love Me

“It’s Gerard?”

Nora, who’d flicked her eyes down towards her hands which fiddled with the hem of her shirt, startled a little at the sound of Emilia’s voice before she quietly lifted her head, offering her a small nod. It wasn’t something that she had wanted to do, with things between her and Gerard still being a pretty new, she had wanted to keep it close to her chest for a little while longer, but she knew that her mother and sister wouldn’t let it drop easily, something which had convinced her to spill the beans. “It’s Gerard” she confirmed gently “We’ve been seeing one another for almost a month” she added softly.

Emilia blinked a couple of times, more than a little surprised by her sister’s words, before she shook her head. “You and Gerard are dating?” she pressed, her voice slightly incredulous.

Nora offered her a small glance before she quietly nodded her head. “It’s still pretty new” she repeated softly “I mean, it’s only been a few weeks, but it…it seems to be going pretty well” she added, her cheeks tinting a soft shade of pink as a light smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Emilia admired the light smile on her face for a brief second before she carefully reached her hand out, gently nudging her little sister’s shoulder. “Look at you” she teased softly “You’re smiling and blushing. It’s been a while since we’ve seen that” she added brightly.

Nora rolled her eyes lightly before she shook her head, her blue eyes once more settling on her hands.

Maria, who had been watching the interaction between her two daughters, smiled a little at the shy look on Nora’s face before she gently cleared her throat, something which caused Nora to lift her head, settling her blue eyes on her mother. “Mama…”

“It’s alright, Nora” Maria interrupted softly, knowing what was likely going to fall out of her daughter’s mouth “You don’t have to apologize for keeping us in the dark for a little while. It is still early days, isn’t it?” she posed gently. She wasn’t surprised, the idea that Nora and Gerard had opted to keep what was happening between them quiet for a little while wasn’t a shock, but now that it was out in the open, she wanted to encourage Nora to talk about it, wanting to make sure that her little girl was as happy as she could be.

Nora chewed on her lip quietly before she nodded her head lightly. “It’s been about a month since we went on our first date” she confirmed lightly.

“Who made the first move?” Maria posed lightly, her voice soft and inquisitive.

“Gerard” Nora replied softly “He showed up at my door and said that we needed to talk about us. He just sort of babbled it out” she added, a faint smile passing over her lips.

Maria nodded her head softly before she gently leant forwards, her hand lightly moving to squeeze Nora’s which had moved to fiddled with the ends of her ponytail. “You know” she mused gently “It’s is alright to be a little nervous about this, Nora. Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled for you, I know that you’ve liked him for a while and I am pleased that one of you finally worked up the guts to speak to other about something which was painfully obvious to everyone else around you, but for a little while, I don’t blame you for being a little nervous. It’s a pretty huge deal, Nora” she enthused softly.

She could see that Nora was nervous, from the moment that she had allowed Gerard’s name to fall out of her mouth, she had looked a little shy about the prospect of talking about her new relationship, and Maria wanted to assure her that it was alright, even if she was slightly curious about how things had changed between her little girl and the defender. She wanted to ease Nora into talking about it.

Nora spared a soft glance towards her mother’s hand before she lightly shook her head. “It is a big deal” she murmured softly “I mean, it’s still a little strange to think that he is…that’s he’s my boyfriend, but it’s good, mama, really good but, for a little while, we’re pretty keen to keep it between ourselves. We’re still getting used to it” she added gently.

Maria nodded her head softly. “That’s alright” she mused softly “But, when you two are ready, I’d love for you to bring Gerard over here. I know it’s not the first time I’ve met him, but I would like to get to know the man who’s got my little girl blushing like a teenager with a crush” she added, her voice bright and teasing.

Nora scoffed a little before she shook her head. “I am not that bad” she countered.

Emilia, who had flicked her attention back towards her plate of food, scoffed. “Sure you’re not” she quipped sarcastically.

Nora offered her sister a small glare before she shook her head, something which made Emilia smile softly before she gently nudged her sister’s shoulder softly once more. “I am happy for you, Nora” she enthused softly “I mean, for a long time, I assumed that you and Gerard would both be too scared to admit that there is something between the two of you, but I am glad that one of you got there in the end. You two make a lot of sense and I hope that it works out for the two of you. Just promise me that you’ll be careful” she added, her voice warm and encouraging.

Nora was quiet for a moment, mulling her sister’s words over briefly, before she nodded her head softly. “I intend to be careful, Emmy” she mused softly “I mean, I am not going to run into this. I like him, Emmy, really like him, and I want us to work out, something which is likely to take a little time” she insisted gently, her expression slightly firm.

Emilia admired the expression on her sister’s face for a moment, noting that she meant her words, before she offered her a small smile, something which made Nora smiled back at her softly, more than slightly relieved that her mother and sister had taken the news as well as they had.