It was just after dinner the next day when there was a knock on the door. When Elizabeth opened it to see Nathan there again, she wasn’t sure what to think. There had been a time when she had assumed it was him every time she heard a knock on her door. After so many years, though, it was still strange to be seeing so much of him. She tried to remember if she had ever had a friend show up at her front door so much, but decided against teasing him about it because he looked excited.

“Three days in a row,” she couldn’t resist teasing him just a tiny bit after all.

“And hello to you too.” He chuckled, not at all bothered by her gentle ribbing.

“Sorry, come on in.” She hoped that he had come to explain what he and William had been doing outside the house the night before.

“Actually, I don’t have time. Neither do you,” he said with the same wicked smile he had always worn when he had come up with a particularly romantic surprise for her when they were dating. Something about it made her heart ache.

“What are you talking about?” She forced herself to keep the old feelings at bay. She was the one who had said that they should not let the past define their friendship.

“Kate’s home, right?”

“Yes, she is. Why?”

“You and I have someplace to be.”

“I can’t leave. Mom needs me. You know that.” She shook her head. After all the overexertion the night before, Diane had spent all day in bed.

“Kate’s staying with her. You haven’t left her side since she was released from the hospital. You check her vitals more than we did in the hospital,” he pointed out, unwilling to let her use her mother as an excuse.

“That’s why I came home.”

“And we all admire you for it but it’s not healthy for you.” His tone shifted from friend to physician.

“I’m fine,” she assured him, though the dark circles under her eyes made it hard to believe.

“You’ve barely slept,” he continued and she hated that he could still read her so well after all their years apart.

“You don’t know that.”

“I know you well enough to see it on your face.”

“Okay, maybe I’ve had trouble sleeping.” Usually, it was worry over her mother that kept her from getting any rest. After her talk with Diane the day before, though, it had been thoughts of Nathan and William that kept her up last night.

“Because you’re so wrapped up in taking care of your mom that you aren’t taking care of yourself!”

“I’m not the one with cancer,” she grumbled although she knew that Nathan was right. She wasn’t taking care of herself and it was bound to catch up with her.

“Go grab a sweater. I’m not taking no for an answer,” he said with feigned harshness. Then he added, “Doctor’s orders!”

“I can’t,” she repeated, no matter how appealing the thought of getting some fresh air sounded.

“You need to get out of this house.”

“It’s not the right time.” She took a step away from him. It was too hard to fight with him when he was so close and smelled so good.

“Yes, it is.” He closed the distance between them by stepping closer to her.

“I know what’s best for my mom.”

“We’re friends, right?” he asked, changing tactics.

“Yes.”

“It’s a friend’s job to look out for you when you’re too focused on other people to take care of yourself.”

“You might be right.”

“Tell them not to wait up and let’s go,” he urged, flashing a triumphant smile.

“Where?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“I don’t know how I feel about that.”

“You’ll like it,” he promised. “I’ll wait for you outside.”

“Okay, I trust you.”

Nathan walked out as Elizabeth dashed to the living room where her sister was watching television.

“I’m going out. You and mom are going to be fine, right?”

Kate stared at her, surprised. “Was that Nathan’s voice?”

“Yes,” Elizabeth replied, biting her lower lip.

Kate shook her head in disbelief. But after their last conversation about Nathan, she had decided not to make things even harder for her sister. “Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?”

“We’re just friends, Kate.”

“You already know how I feel about this, but okay, you decide.” Kate turned her head toward the TV and added, “Be careful.”

Elizabeth understood her sister’s reservations and she couldn’t blame her. She wasn’t even sure herself what she was getting into. Still, she felt that she had no other option but to give this friendship a chance.

They rode in silence as he zigged and zagged out of traffic. It felt so nice to relax and just take in the sights around her that she didn’t even try to guess where he was taking her. It wasn’t until he parked the car and helped her out that she realized they were on a very familiar street.

“Cedar Lee!” she squealed as he led her toward her favorite spot in town. She had gone to see revivals of old movies there with her mom when she was a kid, and she and Nathan had made it their own tradition once they started dating.

“That’s not all,” he said with a grin as he pointed up to the marquee.

“Casablanca, really?”

“When I saw in the Tribune that they were playing it today, I couldn’t resist.”

“I haven’t seen a movie in a theater in years.”

“Not many movie theaters in the rain forest?” he teased before paying for the tickets.

“No, not really.” She tried not to think about the fact that they had been on a date the last time they sat in that theater watching Casablanca.

“You want to grab us seats and I’ll go get snacks?”

“Sure. Don’t forget Snow Caps.”

“Have I ever forgotten to get you Snow Caps?” he called after her.

She sat alone in the dark, taking in the sounds and smells of the movie going experience until he appeared by her side minutes later, arms full of all her favorite snacks.

“Thank you for all of this.”

“Here’s looking at you, kid,” he said with a wink.

The famous quote from Casablanca brought a smile to her lips as he relaxed in the seat beside her.

“I love this movie.” She glanced at him, fighting the urge to hold his hand.

“How could I forget?” he whispered.

As the film played on, they both watched closely, though they couldn’t help but look at each other from time to time. Years before, they would have been sneaking kisses and holding each other close as they watched the great star-crossed lovers on the screen. There, close together in the darkness, it was easier to pretend that the pain of their past didn’t exist.

Once the movie ended, neither of them wanted to break the magic of the moment. They remained silent on the drive home, listening to Frank Sinatra.

After Nathan parked the car and walked her to the porch, Elizabeth finally said, “That was the best night I’ve had since I found out mom was sick.”

“I’m glad.” He studied her as if he weren’t at all sure that she was really there. The entire night seemed like a dream to him.

“Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart… you really can’t go wrong with that combination. Such chemistry.” Her heart ached for a time when she had felt such a deep connection to someone. In truth, the only person she’d ever experienced that with was standing in front of her.

“True.”

“And the dialogue,” she added, trying to distract herself. “There’s no more quotable movie.”

“I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!” he said with a laugh.

“I like to think you killed a man. It’s the romantic in me,” she replied, enjoying how easy conversation could be between the two of them.

“We’ll always have Paris. We didn’t have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.” All humor was gone from his tone as he quoted the famous line.

“I remember every detail. The Germans wore gray, you wore blue.” She wished she could read his thoughts. His eyes suddenly looked so troubled.

“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.” He took a step closer to her, staring deeply into her eyes.

“Play it once, Sam, for old times’ sake.”

“If she can stand it, so can I. Play it!”

“Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time,” she whispered as Ingrid Bergman’s famous words echoed the feelings within her own heart.

He did just that. He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers, before reaching his hands up to her face and pulling her closer as he deepened the kiss. Elizabeth held on to him as if she might die if she stopped touching him, her fingers running through his hair as she returned his kiss. It was the first time in years that she had felt whole. She finally pulled away, gasping for breath.

“We shouldn’t have done that.”

“You’re wrong. That’s the first thing that had felt right in my life in eight years,” he admitted, pulling her closer.

“What are you saying to me right now?” She stared into his eyes as though the truth might be written there.

He kissed her forehead. “You know. Haven’t you always known?”

“Nate…” She moaned as she struggled to pull herself away from the man who had always owned her heart.

“Please, don’t run from this,” he begged, seeing the hesitation in her eyes.

“I have to go.” She pulled open the door, escaping inside without another word.

“Ellie,” he called after her, resting his hand on the doorknob as though he could still feel her through it.