Page 73 of Texting My Secret Santa

“Where are you going?” Mom calls as I storm toward the stairs.

“Where do you think?”

“Wait for me, Asher,” Holly yells.

The church is near Mom’s place—why she loves living there so much—and we get there before the cops. Two staff members stand off to the side, anxiously wringing their hands as Derek and two other drunk assholes stomp around on the greenery, kicking up decorative gifts, upturning the sleigh. One punches a hole through Santa’s wooden face, and the other two and whoop.

A few teenagers hang around on their bikes, all with their cellphones out, recording the chaos.

I throw the car door open, livid. Who the fuck do they think they are?

This is my mother’s safe place. After so many years of struggling to get her mind and body in order, she finally found it here.

“Derek,” I roar.

He turns. In the semidarkness, he’s never looked more ghoulish. His two buddies are bigger, glassy-eyed.

“This is the one,” Derek slurs, clearly drunk. “The one who thinks he’s some tough guy. The one who ruined my life.”

They stumble toward me. I clench my fists, trying to breathe slowly.

Beside me, Holly whispers, “Careful, Asher. There are three of them. Wait for the cops. I don’t want anybody to get hurt.”

“It’s not me you have to worry about.”

“And look who’s here!” Derek yells, gesturing wildly at Holly. “Come to rub it in my face, have you, big man? You got the girl. I gotshit. Is that it?”

“Derek,” Holly says in a calm tone. “Please, just think about what you’re doing. The police are on the way. You don’t want to make this worse than it already is.”

“I would’ve treated you right,” Derek snaps.

“Wedon’t even know each other,” Holly seethed back, losing her temper.

“Don’t shout at me, bitch,” Derek bellows.

I step in front of Holly, somehow restraining myself, not tearing his limbs off and beating the other two with them. Nobody talks to my Snowflake like that.

When he steps forward, I almost growl. It’s only Holly’s touch that stops me. “Don’t. I can hear sirens.”

She’s right. Sirens pierce through the air.

“You hear that?” I bark at Derek. “Those kids have got you on video, you dumbass. You’ve lost your job, and you’ll have to deal with a run-in with the law. And for what? All because you couldn’t take no for an answer.”

“All because ofyou…” He looks bitterly at Holly. “What did I even see in you? What’s the matter with me? There’s nothing special about you. I saw something else: what you could’ve been for me if you’d seen how decent I was trying to be.”

“Nothing special about her?” I interrupt. “That’s where you’re wrong. I call her Snowflake for a reason. She’s the most unique, special woman I’ve ever met. If I could be with her, I’d considermyself the luckiest man alive. She’s the sweetest gift any man could ever want.” I raise my voice, emotion making it husky. “If I had the privilege of making her mine, I’d wake up every day with a smile on my face, knowing I’d done something right. If being with her didn’t wreck our worlds, I’d go to the tallest rooftop and roar like a goddamn cliché.She’s mine, Snowflake’s mine!”

I point my finger at him. His two buddies cringe away, but I can’t stop.

“If I had the chance, I’d tell her I loved her every day. I’d get down on one knee and make an honest woman of her. I’d support her as she followed her dreams, knowing she’d always do the same for me. We’d build a life and be happy. We’d have our ups and maybe even our downs, but we’d get through life, savor it, and relish it—together.

“No, Derek,” I go on. “Wanting her wasn’t your mistake. Believing you could have her was. Her heart belongs to me. Just like mine belongs to her.”

The police car pulls up on the lawn. The church officials point to Derek and his gang.

I stumble away, my head feeling light with all the feeling, the truth of it finally free.

Holly throws herself at me. When I catch her, she kisses me with more spirit than Christmas could ever have.

---