Page 29 of Stuck With My Christmas Crush

“Merry Christmas, Rocko. Don’t you look handsome?”

Then, I have a brainwave. Jason may be in the hotel, fixing it up or whatever. Maybe the Chevy is parked around the back, out of sight.

Rocko pads along with me as I walk from the gatehouse to the hotel’s front door. I cup my hands beside my head and peer in through the elegant etched windows surrounding the large, impressive door. A gust of wind blows brittle brown leaves in a swirl around my feet on the marble floor of the stone portico. Then I hear a child’s laughter, so I walk around to the back of the house.

Chapter 15

Jason

It’s been a week since I dropped Charlie off at the auto repair shop downtown. But somehow, she’s still with me. It’s ridiculous. And it’s not just the pink glitter that refuses to be hoovered up. I miss her. It’s hard to admit but it’s true. I miss the way she curled up on the couch with her feet tucked under Rocko. I miss the way she said things; the way she got excited about the snow; the way she sang in the shower. She surprised me. She knocked me off guard. Sideways. She got to me.

I thought about calling her. I already have the number for Sparkle Entertainers from the call she made from my phone in the storm. So, why have I been delaying this mission? And why did I drive away from her so abruptly at the mechanic’s? Because, let’s be honest here, I was as scared as heck. I drove away fast because I didn’t want to say goodbye. And I didn’t want any kind of tug on my heart. But that’s exactly what I’m feeling now. Tugging and nagging. The idea of calling Charlie is nagging me. And I’m getting nagged by Meredith and Maddie. I called round to see them after I dropped Charlie off. I was restless and didn’t want to drive straight back to the mansion.

“What?” says Meredith, incredulously when I turn up unannounced. “You left her at a repair shop?”

“Yes, Meredith. Her car needs some serious work. I’m not sure if they’ll have the parts for it. It may not be fixable at all.”

“Stop. Stop. Stop.” Meredith holds up her hands. “Did you at least get her number?”

“I have her work number and her friend’s number.” I hold up my phone. “She made the call from my phone because her phone wasn’t charged up.”

Maddie comes into the kitchen.

“Hey, Jason. I thought it was you. Where’s fairy Charlie? You didn’t bring her over with you?” Maddie’s little handsplant firmly on her hips. She fixes me with an accusatory stare. “Why?”

“We’re just discussing that, sweetie,” says Meredith turning from her daughter back to me.

I’m about to defend myself with a lie. Something about Charlie wanting to get back to her friends, but I think better of it, not wanting to add fuel to the fire.

“I’m going now,” is all I say. And I backtrack out of my sister’s house, climb into the Chevy, and drive away.

I can see how the situation looks for Meredith and Maddie. And it doesn’t put me in a good light. As I drive back up the hill carefully in the dark, I hope my tires have enough grip to stop me sliding out of control. I will call Charlie but I’ll choose my moment and call when I am good and ready. And not because I’m being bullied into it. Maybe tomorrow. Or the next day. I don’t want to come across as needy or desperate.

In the library of the closed-up Mansion Hotel, I laugh at myself as I grab a handful of books and stack them in the cardboard carton at my feet. I figure I’ll get everything that’s not nailed down in the hotel, boxed up ready for the valuation guy who’s scheduled to come in the NewYear, sometime. Although I don’t have firm dates yet. I’ve been keeping myself busy to avoid calling Charlie. But the longer I leave it, the harder the task becomes. I’ve been doing everything possible to fill up my days, but that isn’t making things easier, the way that I’d hoped it would. The nagging, “Call Charlie,” is on repeat in my head and, what began as a whisper, is now an unavoidable yell.

I pack the leatherbound titles carefully, spines facing up, as requested. Then, I pause my action to look around the elegant room and the empty bookshelves. My gaze falls on the stack of cardboard cartons, full of books that I’ve stacked against the wall. I could always burn them on the fire. It would probably make better economic sense to do that.

Maddie comes rushing in.

“Hey, Jason.” She’s dressed in her thick warm pink sweater with a string of pearls looped twice around her neck. She found them in a box of jewelry and was over the moon when I said she could keep them.

“Hey, Maddie.” She’s ‘helping’ me pack up the hotel’s chattels. Meredith dropped her off and I’m taking her home later.

“Can I show you something?”

“Sure. What is it?”

I follow Maddie to the wide, open living room area overlooking the untamed garden.

“I’m not sure.” Maddie takes me by the hand and leads me to a panel in the wall. “It’s in a secret closet,” she whispers with wonder. I didn’t realize before, but there is a closet door. It has the appearance of the surrounding pale blue wall and blends in. “Look at this.”

Maddie pulls open the secret closet which reveals an ornate inlaid wooden cabinet with decorative mirrors and gold details. In pride of place on top is an old-style gramophone, with a winding handle and huge brass trumpet, possibly from the twenties or thirties. Underneath the gramophone, a double set of glass doors displays two shelves of dog-eared record sleeves.

“What is it, Jason?” Maddie’s eyes are wide with curiosity.

“It’s a gramophone.”

“A gramophone. It’s so beautiful. What does it do?”

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