Page 13 of Holiday Unscripted
“We’ll agree to disagree,” she mumbles but avoids looking at me as she gets in and slams the door shut.
I open the back door, tossing her bag onto the seat before getting into the truck and starting it. She looks out the window the whole time, neither of us saying anything to each other as I pull up to my house.
“Welcome to my home,” I tell her, and she reaches for the door handle and steps out. I grab her bag and head to the house with her following me. “I take it you aren’t up for a tour.”
“You would be correct on that,” she mumbles. “I need a shower and a bed. So if you can point me to that direction.”
I unlock the front door and push it in, excited paws running towards us echo in the entryway.
“Hey, boy.” I put Elizabeth’s bag down and he immediately goes to sniffs it before coming to me and I rub his neck. “This is Whiskey,” I tell her, and she smiles and looks down at my golden retriever dog, who now wags his tail even more when she bends to pet him. “Let me just let him out and then I’ll take you to the room.” She nods at me as I kick off my shoes and head past the staircase toward the back door, opening it and he runs out. I turn around and see her still waiting for me at the front door. Her shoes are now off with mine, her bag’s in her hand waiting for me. “This way,” I say, walking up the steps to the bedrooms.
As soon as we make it to the top of the steps, I look back at her. “This is your bedroom.” I open the door to the right which leads to a room with a queen-size bed that is never used. “Shower is right there.” I point to the door beside her bedroom.
She walks past me and sits on the bed and collapse on it, outstretching her arms to the side. Bean, my cat, jumps onto the bed and just looks at her. “That’s Bean,” I say of the golden cat I rescued not too long ago. “She has trust issues,” I mention when she jumps down off the bed and scurries to her hiding spot. “Do you need anything?”
She gets up on her elbows and looks at me. “No,” she replies, “I’m going to take a shower and then go to bed.”
I nod at her, my heart suddenly hammering in my chest. “I’ll get out of your way, then,” I say and turn back to walk down the stairs to retrieve Whiskey, telling myself this is going to be okay. It’s the happiest season of all, isn’t it?
CHAPTER 5
Elizabeth
A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS TIME
I watch Nate walk away from me and make his way down the steps. Turning back to look at the bedroom, I take in the queen-size bed sitting in the middle of the room framed by a gray headboard with brown undertones, coupled with matching nightstands. A lamp sits on one of them and the other is bare. The shades are halfway drawn. I use my foot to kick the carry-on into the corner of the room. Looking through the bag that my mother packed, I snatch out a pair of pj’s before dragging my ass to the bathroom.
“Did you have a party while I was out?” I hear Nate speaking and then I hear the dog bark back at him, as if he’s answering his question.
I step into the bathroom and turn on the light. I yell when I see something gray runs right past me over the tops of my feet. “You okay up there?” I look out of the bathroom and down the steps to see Nate, holding on to the wall with one hand and the banister with the other.
“There was something in here.” I turn around in a circle, searching for where it went. The door is open to another bedroom right before the bathroom. “It was gray. I think it might have been a rat. Could be a raccoon.”
He laughs and my body shivers at his rumble. “That’s Baby Cat,” he informs me. “His name is Ghost but he’s the baby of the cats, so I just call him Baby Cat.”
“How many animals do you have?” I ask him.
“Two cats and the dog. I would have more but?—”
“Spoken like a true vet,” I tease him as I turn back to the bathroom and shut the door. I open the glass shower door before starting the water. My hand is out to test to make sure it’s the right temperature and I’m about to undress when I remember my toiletry bag. “Fuck,” I swear, walking back into the bedroom and to my carry-on. The small white toiletry bag with little blue flowers all over it sits near the top. Thank God I packed it in my carry-on since it’s filled with the essentials, as well as my toothbrush and my toothpaste.
When I go back into the bathroom, the gray cat is sitting on top of my pj’s on the counter. “Hi, Baby Cat,” I say closing the door and then undressing. “You can sit on those, but when I get out, I’m going to need you to find someplace else to sleep.”
The shower feels like heaven. I hold my head back and let the warm water run over my face. A tired itchiness fills my eyes, and my eyelids are getting heavier and heavier, making them hard to keep open. I walk out of the shower and find the cat is now sitting on the clothes I just took off. I dry myself off just enough to slip on the black boxer shorts and yellow tank top. I turn on the water at the sink before putting toothpaste on my toothbrush and then putting it in my mouth, moaning when I taste the mint on my tongue. I have just enough energy to comb through my hair and grab my clothes, finally ready to walk out of the bathroom and climb into bed. The lights are still on downstairs and I just walk into the room and toss my clothes on top of my bag. Walking over to the bed, I see Baby Cat there now. “Okay, so I’m going to bed,” I tell the cat, “and you can stay or you can go.” The cat just looks at me as I move the covers and get under them. “Good night,” I tell the cat, who’s stretched out on his side and not even bothering with me.
My body relaxes into the bed. I think it takes me less than ten seconds to fall asleep. I don’t even know how long I’ve been asleep, when my eyes flutter open. I feel heat enveloping the top of my head. When I look up, I see that Baby Cat is sleeping on my pillow, literally around my head. “Um, we are going to have to talk about invading one another’s space,” I inform the cat, who opens his eyes and then closes them back down as he sinks deeper into the pillow.
I look toward the bedroom door, finding it’s closed almost all the way but with just enough space for the cat to come and go. I lift my arm up to check my watch and the black screen greets me. “Great, I don’t even know what time it is.” I look over toward the shades to see the light coming in from around the curtains. My bladder now makes it known that it needs to be emptied. I toss the covers off me, get out of bed, and tiptoe to the door to see Nate’s bedroom door open but the room still dark. I move as quietly as I can to the bathroom, not turning on the light until I quietly shut the door behind me. I go to the bathroom, washing my hands and my face before brushing my teeth.
When I turn off the light and open the bathroom door, I hear noises coming from downstairs. I awkwardly make my way down to the kitchen. I walk down the steps and down the long hallway, noticing there is not one picture hanging on the walls. I wonder why that is, then I remind myself I shouldn’t care about anything involving Nate. The hallway opens to the kitchen and dining room area on one side and the family room on the other.
Two big floor-to-ceiling windows are on either side of the fireplace that has a television mounted above it, facing the light gray couch with a circle ottoman in the middle on a light gray plush rug. “Good morning,” I mumble when I turn and see Nate behind the island starting the coffee. He is wearing shorts and a T-shirt. His hair sticking up from sleep. “Did I wake you?” I ask him and then the sound of scratching makes me look past the dining room table that is right in front of the kitchen, toward the back door where Whiskey is waiting to come in.
I walk to the door and open, the cold air sweeping in as soon as I open it and he comes in. “It’s freaking cold out there.” I shiver, as Whiskey steps inside. He excitedly goes around my legs in a circle and then between them, his tail slapping me at the same time. “Good morning,” I greet him, leaning down and rubbing his soft neck. “I guess it isn’t too cold for you out there,” I mention when I touch the cool air clinging to his fur. “What time is it?” I look up to see Nate leaning against the back counter, one hand outstretched beside him while the other hand holds a cup of coffee in his hand.
“Almost nine.”
“Shit.” I get up. “I slept for twelve hours.”
