Page 98 of When the Fake Snow Falls

“Pat,” he says, mirroring her gesture in return. The two hug, and I swear my mother breathes in the scent of him. Rolling my eyes, I walk around the car to gather my things.

“Candy Cane!” my father boasts from the front door. Ducking around the trunk, I smile and wave.

“Hey, Dad,” I say as I reposition my bag on my shoulder. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas!” my mother exclaims like she had somehow forgotten. I’m not sure how that’s possible since we’re basically standing in the center of the North Pole, but at least the realization freed Chase from her grip.

He walks over to my father and holds out a hand for him to shake. “Bill, it’s nice to see you again.”

Glancing down at his hand, my father pulls Chase into a hug. “We hug in this family,” he says gruffly as he pats Chase on the back. He has to be almost a foot shorter than my boyfriend, and the sight pulls a laugh from me.

Chase doesn’t even hesitate. He just embraces my father like he was expecting it, and a fresh wave of appreciation for him washes over me.

“I can’t believe Miles didn’t come with you. He could have brought his boyfriend,” Mom says in a sulky voice as she gazeslongingly at the car, like Miles might jump out and surprise her.

“He sends his love.” Miles is spending Christmas with Elvis and his family. Elvis came out to them a few months ago, but this is their first holiday around his family as a couple. Well, that and neither of them were willing to trust someone to watch their new kitten. I have to admit, Oscar is cute. I’m still glad Miles waited to share an apartment with Elvis before getting a cat, but he’s really fucking cute.

“Do you think he needs any Christmas decorations?” my father asks with a thumb pointed over his shoulder. “I have some in the shed I didn’t have room for this year.” Looking between Chase and me, he adds, “How about you two? Need any decorations for that fancy apartment?”

When my lease ended with Miles, it just made sense to move in with Chase. I was spending most nights at his place anyway, and Elvis was spending most nights at ours.

I can practically see Chase start to sweat at the thought of bringing a box of discarded decorations into his apartment. “We’ve got it covered,” I assure my dad. “The place is looking very festive. You’d be proud.”

Compared to the state of his apartment last year, this yearisfestive. I’ll never be on the same level as my parents, but we did put up a tree and hang stockings. I try to only get mild enjoyment out of Chase reaching for the vacuum three times a day to get rid of any pine needles that have fallen, but it brings a smile to my lips every time.

“I’m sure we would be,” my father says with a grin. Heading toward the house, he waves for us to follow. “Come in. Come in. We’ve got more food than we know what to do with.”

Chase takes our bags and puts his arm around my shoulder, giving me a squeeze as he kisses the side of my head. “This is my favorite Christmas.”

Looking up at him, a smile warms my lips. “You rank your Christmases?”

“Of course I do.”

“What was your favorite Christmas before this one?”

Chase and I walk a few paces behind my parents, our steps slow as we take in every detail of the front yard. “Oh, that’s easy. When I was six, my parents got me a Darth Vader bike with a matching helmet. I was the coolest kid on the street.”

My brow lifts. “Darth Vader?”

Chase nods. “The one and only. I don’t think I had even seen the movies at that point. I just knew he was cool, and having that black and red bike made me cool, too.” With a tilt of his head, he adds, “Last year almost made the cut, but you’re scary when you’re mad.”

My mind wanders to last year, and how determined I was to keep him away. It feels like so long ago now. When I think of last Christmas, all I think of is fake snow and a long night of laughter with carefully curated cocktails. I give him a sideways glance. “I’m scary?”

“Yup,” he says curtly. He wiggles his fingers over my head. “That’s when you get all prickly.” I laugh with a shake of my head and go to pull away from him, but he only squeezes me tighter.

The day goes by in a blur of baked goods and glasses of wine. My parents have been glowing all day with the joy of having us here, and it makes me think we should have visited sooner. It’s not like they’rethatfar. Life has just felt hectic lately. I had to work longer hours than I was used to because I’ve been determined to build up a new group of clients I actually like, and Chase has been thriving with his new promotion.

We both did it. We got to a point where we didn’t care if Nicolette knew about us, and when she eventually stopped scheduling her weekly appointments with me, I didn’t miss her.

A few of her friends still come to see me every now and then. I haven’t asked them about Nicolette or how she’s doing. I feel like we have an unspoken agreement not to talk about her.

My old bedroom has a new queen-sized bed with matching oak nightstands on either side, but the walls are still the same shade of lavender from when I lived here.

Chase walks around the room with a slight frown pulling at his lips. “I was really hoping your room would still have all your stuff in it.”

I take a seat on the bed as I watch him with amusement. “Why?”

“So, I could snoop,” he answers without shame. Walking over to the dresser, he opens the drawer, the hollow sound of the wood sliding against the track filling my ears. “Damn,” he mutters. “Even the drawers are empty.”

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