Page 81 of Dump and Chase

The Kodiaks had lucked out this year, and we didn’t have another game until December 27. Some of the guys had gone home for the holidays, although I guessed the ones who lived in the Midwest were in the same boat as Tangi. Ryan and Amanda had stayed in Vancouver and invited me and a few other guys over for dinner, not that either of them were making the food. They were catering the whole thing.

“I’m going to Ryan’s tomorrow night. You’re more than welcome to come.”

“I’m assuming Amanda will be there?” she asked, looking at me with her huge hazel eyes.

“Yes.”

“I’ll pass. It’s not that I don’t like her, I just don’t want to be interrogated all evening.”

“So you’re going to stay here all alone?”

“I’ll be fine. Maybe I’ll see if Brandon is around.”

She said it so casually, more to herself than to me, but it had me alarmed all the same. I doubted she said it to annoy me because she’d already gotten up and was wandering away. I had to think fast. The last thing I wanted was for her to spend more time with Warde.

“You know what, let’s make the best of this. I’ll cancel my plans with Ryan tomorrow. It’s not like I don’t see him all the time. Why don’t you and I have a nice evening together? I’ll make mac and cheese, you make a ham, we’ll go buy dessert, watch Christmas movies together, and make our own holiday celebration. And we’ll make sure to video chat with our families.”

Her face lit up and I silently whooped. “Okay, that works. I think we still have some lettuce and maybe some frozen peas. I’d like to incorporate more vegetables into that dinner.”

“Let’s hit the grocery store now while they still have some decent desserts, otherwise we’ll be eating fruit cake.”

“I actually don’t mind fruit cake,” she said as she grabbed her bag and a light jacket.

Yup, I’d finally gotten something right for once.

* * *

While we’d been shopping for groceries, we’d also popped into a few other stores to get each other Christmas gifts. We were lucky a few of them were still open a little later on Christmas Eve. What Tangi didn’t know was that I’d already gotten her some stuff, but I shopped for a few small things at a store I couldn’t really understand. It sold all sorts of housewares, jewelry, craft supplies, hair care products, and other odds and ends. It wasn’t quite a dollar store, but it had that feel. I got Tangi a few pairs of socks and some hair accessories, along with what looked like a water bottle cleaner.

We got back to the condo and ate the rotisserie chicken we’d bought at the grocery store, and then Tangi went to her room to unpack. I could hear her chatting with Jill and Wolseley. I couldn’t help but smile that I had her for the holidays. I was determined to make it memorable, and not the way New Year’s Eve had been. I sent Ryan a quick text.

Can’t make it tomorrow. Tangi’s flight was canceled.

Ryan responded within minutes.

You can both come here.

She’s not up for it. Sad about not spending time with her family. I don’t want to leave her alone. Next year.

With that out of the way, I played a video game and when I was sure Tangi was asleep and her light was off, I wrapped all her presents. I had never bothered with a tree because who would see it? So I pulled out a sheet of copy paper and drew one. I wasn’t an artist, but she’d get the idea.

The next morning I wandered into the living room and she was staring at the paper tree with her arms crossed over her tiny but burgeoning belly.

“I came up with it at the last minute.”

“It’s unique,” she said with a giggle.

“You work with what you’ve got. How about pancakes this morning?”

She turned to me with a smile. “We really are eating like crap today, aren’t we?”

“It’s Christmas.”

I was throwing some frozen blueberries into the batter when she came up next to me and put her arm around my waist.

“Merry Christmas, Ethan. Thank you for not making the holiday suck.”

I leaned over to kiss her forehead. I missed these moments between us, and having her for the whole day was the perfect opportunity to show her how much she meant to me.

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