Page 27 of Just A Dash of Holiday Magic
Chapter 4
GABE
When I got home last night, I pulled out the ring from the back of my closet that I swore I’d never look at again.
I worked all summer to buy it, and I never even had the chance to offer it to Nikki. The day I finally found the courage to go over to her house the summer after senior year was the day that Nikki found out that her status as wait-listed for Stanford was now accepted. She was leaving for Palo Alto in the fall. The ring never left my pocket as I held her in my arms, knowing that it was the beginning of the end for us.
I hardly slept at all last night. Any time I closed my eyes, I saw Nikki's smiling face. I'm playing with fire, thinking I can see her tomorrow and I won’t walk away with my heart broken again. But the ache I feel in my heart is nothing to the happiness when she is near me.
I’m still in love with her.
The realization hits me like a punch to the gut. I tried so hard to pretend that what I was feeling was only nostalgia, but it’s not just a fond memory of the past that I’m feeling. It’s true soul mate love. Nikki is the only one for me.
I stop at Di's Pies to pick up the Apple Cinnamon pie I'd initially ordered for myself. It’s nearly empty, beside an older man with a full white beard that looks like Santa sitting at the counter sipping on coffee.
“Long night?” I ask as I step up next to him.
His shoulders shake as he chuckles. “You could say that.”
“Pick up?” The young waitress behind the counter asks when she notices me.
"It's under the name Anders," I tell her before she walks towards the back of the shop.
“Big plans today?” the man asks.
I shrug. “Just catching up with an old friend.”
“She must be a looker for you to get all dressed up for her.”
“Is it too much?” I fidget and wonder if I should run home and change.
The man shakes his head. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“Here you go.” The waitress sets down my pie in front of me, and I hand her a few twenties. "But you already prepaid for the pie.”
“It’s for his pie and coffee.” I nod to the man. “And the rest is yours.”
“Thank you!” she lights up.
“Merry Christmas to you both,” I say and head back out.
The drive over to Nikki’s house is filled with my mind going back and forth about if I should cancel. But each time I come up with a convincing argument as to why I shouldn’t go, her face pops into my mind, and there is no question. I want to spend as much time with her as I can before she leaves.
“Finally,” Nikki lights up when she opens the door. “I was worried you weren’t going to come.”
She pulls me inside by my jacket, and I hand off the pie and bottle of wine I brought to her mom and Dad as they come over to greet me.
Like all of my interactions with Nikki, spending the day with her and her parents feels like no time has passed between us.
After lunch, Nikki asks if I want to go skating on the pond behind her house.
“You could use my dad’s skates,” she offers.
“Have you even skated since high school?” I ask. “Because I remember you not being steady on your feet even back then.”
“Please,” she waves my concern away. “It’s like riding a bike.”
“Famous last words,” I say under my breath.
