Page 25 of A Candy Cane Christmas
I couldn’t hold my laughter any longer. “The mighty Ben, thoroughly chastised by a pint-sized kid.”
Ben shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a softie.”
He really was. A big, muscled softie.
“Thanks for sharing that story. Now I need an extra-special gift.”
Ben slapped me on the shoulder, almost sending me flying. “Good luck, man. And hey, let’s keep in touch, okay? And I don’t mean in a ‘wishing each other a happy birthday once a year’ kind of way.”
“Sure.” I nodded. I got what he meant. For the past seven years, we’d basically spent an entire month together each year. Then we went without contact for eleven months before meeting up right at the beginning of December again, catching up on what’d happened during the last year and going right back to spending all our days together. “But just to be warned, I suck at keeping in touch. I’m sorry. Object permanence is a real problem for me. It’s kind of an ADHD-thing, sooo… I’ll try to stay in touch, but if I don’t talk to you for a couple of weeks, it’s nothing against you.” Maybe I should add a reminder in my phone, so I don’t forget. I really wanted to keep in touch with Ben.
“No problem, I’ll just invite you over to watch football with my guys. Or hockey. Or hey, sometimes we watch baseball and soccer, too. I’ll add you to my usual roster.” He could probably see my nose-wrinkle at the thought of having to endure hours and hours of watching sports, but it just made him laugh. “No worries, I don’t expect you to actually take me up on my invitation. I know you’re not a sports guy. But you will have to turn me down, and that’s a chance for us to make other plans.”
That… was actually a great idea.
I nodded, giving Ben another hug. “That’s an awesome idea. Damn, I’d love to stay and chat, but I really need to get going if I want to have a chance at getting all my Christmas shopping done today.” And I desperately wanted to avoid having to come back here tomorrow.
Half an hour later, I was still wandering around empty-handed. Why was getting presents for kids so damn hard?
I mean, I’d seen a ton of things I was sure Hazel would like, but I didn’t just want something she liked. I wanted to get her something she loved. Sure, I could get her the cute puppy plushie I’d seen. Or the unicorn backpack that sparkled in every color of the rainbow. Or even a ton of art supplies, but… nothing felt right.
And getting something for Hazel didn’t mean I was done. Nope, I also needed a gift for Theo. I mean, we hadn’t talked about getting each other gifts, but it was Christmas. I couldn’t very well show up without a gift for my… whatever Theo was. More than a guy I was dating, but not yet a boyfriend, though I felt like we were on a good track. Hell, if I had it my way, I’d be calling him my boyfriend already. I was all in, but I respected him a lot for being careful. He couldn’t put his heart on the line all willy-nilly. He had a daughter to think of—and, as far as I could see, he did a stellar job of putting her needs first.
Fuck, it was one of the things I liked most about him. His seriousness. The way he had both his feet firmly on the ground, rooted there to withstand even the harshest storm. While I sometimes felt like a strong wind could take me adrift.
With a sigh, I turned in a new direction, slowly walking by the huge, blinking glass fronts offering more and more ideas while not appealing to me in the slightest. I was drifting again, letting the stream of people guide me, but I was okay with it. Even more okay when something finally caught my eye.
It was probably a bit cliché, but… I could picture Theo wearing it.
With a firm nod, I stopped dead in my tracks, turned around, and entered the store.
One down, one to go.
Chapter 8
Theo
The night before Christmas Day, there was a special kind of magic in the air. A whimsical energy full of anticipation and excitement mixed with a dash of terror. In the quiet of the night, Santa’s true helpers, the parents, came out to do their jobs, to create a magical experience for their children.
I smiled as I looked out the living room window, a cup of Christmas Tea in hand, watching the parents across the street working in tandem to get gifts out of their hiding places and arrange them beneath their Christmas tree. In just a few minutes, I’d be doing the same, but I was going to do it alone for the first time. For the past couple of years, I’d spent Christmas with Joseph and Linda, but this year, they were flying out to Boston to visit Linda’s sister and Hazel’s uncle, Calvin.
I didn’t mind them visiting family over Christmas one bit, but the prospect of keeping the Christmas magic alive all on my own had been daunting… until my daughter had chatted up an elf in the stairwell. Luci made everything seem lighter. Christmas was fun with him. New. Exciting. It didn’t matter that I didn’t have my own childhood memories to draw from or that I couldn’t lean on Joseph and Linda; that faded to the background when Luci was there to tell me about his own memories.
He’d been the one to tell me they told him that this moment, when all the preparations came together, was one of his favorite things about Christmas. In fact, the only reason I was drinkingtea, watching the families across the street was me trying to feel that magic he’d been talking about.
And it was working.
I smiled as I saw a frazzled father running from one corner of the room to the next, hectically opening drawers and cupboards, a Santa hat askew on his head. He was clearly searching for something, looking almost like a squirrel trying to find its hidden treasure. When his wife came into the room, opening one drawer the father had already opened twice and pulled out a smallish red gift, I let out a quiet laugh. I watched the man hug her, but turned away when they started kissing in front of the tree, a pang of longing hitting me straight in the chest.
A part of me wished for Luci to be standing next to me, to have him experience the same magic his parents had told him about. But it was way too early for that. We weren’t even boyfriends, were we? We were… seeing where things went. And while I certainly knew which direction I wanted us to move in, I needed to talk to him about it first.
After Christmas.
Tomorrow was going to be a day of joy and magic, a mix of new things and traditions; I was going to make sure of it.
Drinking the last bit of my tea, I put the cup in the dishwasher and got to work. I tiptoed through the hall, holding my breath as I sneaked past Hazel’s room, always listening for a sign that she wasn’t fast asleep but trying to catch Santa in the act, but everything stayed quiet.
I took my time draping the gifts beneath our tree, the golden, red, and green ornaments glinting and shining, the pine needles tickling me when I brushed against them, their scent bringing a smile to my lips. This was Christmas. Hintsof pine and orange, and cloves. Vanilla and cinnamon. Warm, welcoming scents waft through our apartment.
