Page 31 of A Grinchmas Delight

“Yeah. Everything okay?”

“Yep. Everything’s fine. I just wanted to talk to her about the article she did for us last week for Instagram.”

“Zane, come on. It’s Christmas. Can’t it wait until after the new year?”

I sigh, defeated. “Yeah. It can. Thanks.” I quickly press the end call button, wanting to throw this stupid fucking phone across the office until it shatters into a million tiny pieces.

I don’t understand what the fuck happened. I knew she was scared after Friday night, but something happened. What did Jade say to her? I ran into Jade at Scotty’s place. She got drunk and tried to hit on me and I shut her down. She’s a catty bitch that is not worth my time, attention, or thought. She was clingy and trying to hang all over me and I quickly told her to get off of me.

Dayra must not have gotten the full story of what actually transpired. If I could just tell her. My chest aches at the lack of control that I have over this situation. I do the only thing that I know to do in this situation. I get in my truck and I drive to my mom’s house. She’ll know what I can do. I’m going to have to tell her a whole lot that I didn’t intend on sharing with her, but I’m out of options.

I don’t have a way to contact Dayra. I don’t want to be the crazy stalker that calls her from ten different apps until she answers. That’s tacky and I don’t need any help getting her not to want to talk to me. The drive out to Mom’s in the dark isn’t as soul soothing as it normally is. My brain isn’t giving me any dopamine today.

The porch light is on and I can see the Christmas lights from the tree shining bright through the window. I walk in and find Mom sitting on the couch with a glass of wine.

“Well, hey baby,” she says, rising from the couch to hug my neck.

“Hey, Mom.”

“What’s wrong? You never come by anymore like this.”

I sigh and sit down on the couch across from her. “It’s Dayra. The?—“

“The girl that you’re in love with,” she cuts me off, matter-of-factly.

I ponder on whether to argue that statement or not and decide, fuck it. “Yeah. That one.”

“I was wondering how long it was going to take you to realize that she’s good for you.”

“That’s what I need your help with. She won’t talk to me. She has things all wrong and I think that she thinks I was with someone else this weekend, and I wasn’t. But now she’s blocked me and I don’t know what to do.”

“I see. So, what makes her think this? Did you do something or say something to her that would make her think this?”

I shake my head. “No. Not at all. I wasn’t at the office today and evidently one of the other women we work with told her something that upset her.”

Mom eyes me suspiciously. “What happened? With you and this other woman?”

I toss my hands up. “Nothing! She hit on me at Scotty’s Saturday and I shut her down. I don’t want her. I want Dayra.”

“So tell her that.”

“Yeah, kinda hard to when she blocked me. So, any other great advice?”

Mom snickers and takes another sip of her wine then shakes her head.

“You’re just like your father. Hardheaded and easily deterred.”

“What do you want me to do? Stalk her? Blow her phone up from different numbers until she answers?”

“Youwaitfor her. Wait until she comes around. Find some patience, son. I know you’ve got some of it somewhere in there.”

I huff and fold my arms across my chest.

“You’re right. I just need to be patient. It’s hard. She’s scared of what I make her feel. And I know it. She was trying to pull away from me already and now she’s done. She doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

“She’ll come around, baby. If it’s meant to be, it will all workout in the end.”

“Yeah. That’s what they say.”

---