Page 119 of Friends Don't Kiss

“Well, we’d love it if you stayed here, honey,” Mom says. “Maybe once you come back from France, things will clear up.” She gives Kiara an encouraging smile.

“I don’t think France can teach you anything,” Dad grumbles.

I place my hand on Kiara’s knee. “I hope you get in,” I say to encourage her. I don’t want her to feel any pressure to stay here, and I know Mom and Dad are bound to do that. They just love having their family around. The short time my sister was across the country, years ago, was hard on them. “I really do,” I add when Kiara looks at me quizzically. “If Annabel says it’s a good idea, then it’s a good idea.”

After Dad and I clear the table, the two of us get started on dishes. We work in silence, as we always do. Dad rinses and scrubs, and I load the dishwasher. It’s been years since I’ve argued against his method, but today he’s spending an inordinate amount of time on the scrubbing.

“Dad?” I say, extending my hand.

He gives me a near-clean plate. “I stopped being an asshole the day I realized I was losing your mom, and she’d always been the best part of me. I fixed myself for her,” he declares.

I don’t want to talk about those days. They’re behind me, as far as I’m concerned.

“What I’m trying to say,” Dad says, completely losing track of where we are in the dishwashing process, “is that I’m happy you have Kiara in your life. You’re different already, I can tell.”

“Different how?” I’m feeling both defensive about this, as if there was some hidden criticism there, and agreeing with him. After all, it was Kiara who convinced me to join the board, and tonight’s session went nothing like I expected.

“It’s like you’re coming into yourself,” he says. “I can’t explain it.”

He’s right. I can’t explain it either, but there’s a sense of inner peace growing inside me recently that makes me look at life differently.

Later, back in my truck, I take her hand in mine and kiss her knuckles. “This was nice, but I just wanna be… be with you.” I almost saidhomewith you, and I’m glad I caught myself. I know where I want this to go, but I need to give Kiara breathing space. She’s figuring out her life, and I don’t want to put pressure on her, one way or the other.

forty-three

Colton

Iwasnotpreparedforthe number of details that need tended to for Laskin, but here we are three weeks later and everything is in place.

Cassandra oversees the timing of the various events, Nathaniel is directing people to where they need to be, and Owen reviewed all the participants’ insurance and permits. That’s thirty-five groups for the horse parade alone, forty-some merchants on the Christmas market, two a cappella groups, and three theater groups.

The King brothers helped the fire department hang the lights all around The Green and on the streets under the supervision of a decorator in town, and all the shops are decked out in their holiday best.

But best of all? Kiara is off hot chocolate stand duty, and we get to stroll around and mingle without a care.

“How did you manage to get Willow to take your place?” I ask her as we leave the waffle and hot chocolate hut, decorated like a gingerbread house.

Kiara shrugs. “Good ol’fashion way. I paid her.” Then she sniffs nervously. “She’s going through stuff right now, and she needs the money. It made me sad to see how happy she was to have that extra little coming in.”

I frown, wondering what’s up with Willow, but right now I just want to enjoy some carefree fun with my woman.

“Autumn!” she says, gushing over one of our friends. “The decor is awesome. That gingerbread house? And the tunnel of lights all around The Green? It’s so dreamy. You’re a real artist.”

“Wait until you see the tree!” Autumn says as she takes her phone out. “Oops! Gotta go fix an angel’s wing at the church. Have fun!”

The Christmas market occupies one side of The Green, with the other side being the ice-skating rink, the gingerbread house sitting in the middle.

“Where d’you want to go?”

“Let’s walk through the market,” Kiara answers. “The parade is starting soon, I don’t want to miss it.”

Kiara buys stuff at several booths, and it’s amazing to me how that makes her happy. Then she gets restless and we haul it to Chris’s bakery. “They have the best view on The Green,” Kiara informs me as if I didn’t already know. She pulls my hand up their steps. “See?” she says, turning around on their porch.

“Sweets, I’m not freezing my ass out here. We’re gonna go inside.”

“No we’re not. I want to hear the bells and the ‘Merry Christmases’and even smell the poop. It’s part of the experience.”

“Alright, well, lemme go back and get us some hot chocolate. I’ll be just a minute.”

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