Page 64 of Ropers Can't Tie Knots
“I can spare a few. Luckily, the boss is a nice guy like that.” He smiles warmly, and for the first time since I’ve been coming here, Diamond drops the effervescent mask and touches my arm lightly. “I’m truly happy to see both of you smiling and in love. He was always so distant, and you make him smile. That’s special.”
Diamond’s tone sounds like he knows more than just the love part in his statement, but he quickly turns back on his charm. “If you ever need to talk, I’m a good listener, and I really am so happy to be included. You’re not just a handsome customer…you’re a friend.”
“You’re a friend to me, too, Diamond. Thank you for making me feel at home here.”
He smiles softly. “That means everything to me, Gabe. Truly.”
Hunter approaches our seats, and Diamond winks as he stands.
“Just kept the space warm for you, hunky.”
Diamond struts off, his long legs taking him away from us quickly.
“Did I interrupt?” Hunter asks gently.
“No. Not at all, but if you’re ready, I’d like to go home.”
“Of course.”
We take a few minutes to work through the goodbyes and congratulatory hugs with everyone. Griff chats about his dad with me for a moment. Charlie wants to make us dinner one night, and Jamieson promises to bring me blueberry jam the next time he drops by. Levi hugs me so hard my ribs hurt, and tells me he’ll take great care of Hunter when they’re on the road.
By the time we’re in Hunter’s truck, the silence of the cab is welcome.
“Are you okay, counsellor? You got pretty quiet.”
“I’m okay. Just thinking about how much my life has changed.” Hunter reaches over and clasps my mittened hand.
“In a good way?”
“In the very best way.”
eighteen
Hunter
I’ve never cared for Christmas.
When my parents died so close to the holidays, as a kid, it’s what I always thought of first when the Christmas lights and decorations appeared in the stores. I learned pretty quickly that Santa couldn’t bring my parents back.
My grandmother did her best to make it a special day for me, and we made a lot of new memories together, but there was always that black cloud that stayed. She missed her son, too.
Margie always made me fun Christmas cookies and invited my grandmother to leave me with her for some holiday fun, and in a way, that was what I loved the most about Christmas. My time with Margie in the kitchen and her animals. Singing along to silly songs and eating all the fun food while rolling around with dogs.
As I got older, my Christmas visits turned into late nights of Scrabble at the kitchen table while she tried to teach me how to make bread from scratch. The keyword is tried, but I enjoyed it all the same.
But this year it’s different. So much different.
The carols on the radio pulled words from my lips, and I was throwing all the holiday snacks into the cart at the grocery store. The festive window decor made me pause and enter rather thanwalk by, and instead of wishing the season would pass faster, I was looking forward to it in a way I never had.
Tape zipping off a roll and paper rattling carries into the kitchen and makes the stupid grin on my face grow even larger.
Gabe told me I couldn’t come into the living room until he said the coast was clear. After pouring him a glass of the amaretto he loves into the monogrammed glass I couldn’t wait to give him, I wait in the kitchen, sipping my peach Crown Royal and feeling more than the warmth of liquor in my chest.
“Okay! It’s all clear!”
I finish the message I was typing on my phone and hit send, promising Margie that Gabe and I will be there tomorrow at noon for Christmas lunch before shoving the phone in the pocket of my lounge pants. With my drink in hand, I saunter down the hall to the living room that Gabe and I decorated together last week.
The tree we bought stands in the corner, adorned with its multi-coloured lights and random collection of decorations I found in the storage room. Gabe was particularly charmed by one that was a photo of me on a horse when I couldn’t have been more than ten years old. The photo was inside a clear plastic ball with my handprint in green paint on one side. I made it for my grandmother at school and didn’t know it was still in the house.
