Page 76 of A Very Snowed In New Year
“Well, I realized I still don’t have your phone number, so I sent you a Google Chat message telling you that I was walking tothe nearest restaurant, which thankfully is only fifteen minutes from here. It stopped snowing, by the way. They say the highways will be cleared later this afternoon and then they’ll get to the roads.”
Well, now I’m sad again. I guess that means we’ll have to leave.
“But we’ll stay until tomorrow, right?” he continues, rubbing my back.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
“Where’d you leave the note?”
“On my pillow, of course.”
I run back into the bedroom and find the note, written on the back of the receipt for the pastrami sandwich from yesterday.
Good morning, beautiful.
Yes! I have always wanted to wake up to aGood morning, beautifulnote!
Happy New Year. Again.
FYI I only watched you sleep for, like, three minutes, and then it started to feel creepy. You’re really cute when you sleep, though.
I’m going to walk to the nearby restaurant to get us breakfast. Don’t freak out and think that I left you, okay? That’s not going to happen.
I like you.
--Holden Everett Archer
And then he drew a fat upside-down heart next to his name.
It looks like a butt.
If this isn’t love, then I don’t know what is.
I fold up the note and put it in my wallet because I’m going to put this in my diary when I get home, or maybe start a scrapbook.
Then I grab my phone from the dresser. There is a Google Chat notification from Journal Guy as well as a whole bunch of text notifications.
Journal Guy:Hi. I left a note for you on my pillow. Read it.
Journal Guy:PS: I like you. Happy New Year.
I skip out to where Holden is pulling take-out containers out of the paper bag and placing them on the dining table. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I press my cheek against his back and say, “I like you too. Thank you for the heart butt.”
“You’re very welcome. I got you Earl Grey tea and two slices of pie.”
The tip of my nose gets all tingly and I make a little kitten sound. “You did?!”
“Yeah, I remembered that ShayAnything said her favorite breakfast was Earl Grey tea and leftover diner pie. I figured that was you, since there’s like no protein in apple pie.”
Do hearts literally sing?
It feels like my heart is singing “Love on Top” by Beyoncé.
And then I look down at my phone.
So many texts.
