Page 41 of Christmas in Vines

ChapterThirteen

Cole

“Ahair net,” I deadpanned, then looked at Willow over the organizer of the shelter. “Seriously?”

“Hygiene standards,” the lady smiled handing me the ball of…what was it, gauze?

Unraveling the thing, I gazed as if it had offended me. With a grumble, I slid it over my head and tucked my hair—it had grown longer than I usually wore it—under it.

Looking down at the apron I had on and the gloves on my hands, I laughed. “I feel like the lunch lady at my high school.”

“Good,” Willow said, while straightening her own get-up. “That’s what we’re going for.”

“She also had an overbite and a lazy eye,” I added.

Willow rolled her eyes, “We’re not going for that though…” As she tucked her ponytail in, she added, “The strangest thing happened today earlier. Do you remember when I said that the Vega and Sullivan family were elitist pricks who shunned us from day one?”

I managed to hide the cringe. “Yes…but I don’t think you used those exact words though.”

“Well, that’s what I meant anyway,” she shrugged. “Earlier, out of the blue, Ethan Vega called Dad, apologized to him about his father’s dismissal, and asked to collaborate with him. He says he is pulling the Sullivans into it because he’s dating one of them, Mia.”

I tried to make it look like this was the first time I had heard all this, while inside, I was beaming with relief and pride that Ethan had done as I had asked him to do.

With a soft smile, I said, “I guess miracles do happen at Christmas.”

“Yeah, I think they do.” Tipping her toes, she kissed my cheek, and her eyes were filled with an emotion I really did not want to examine too closely. “Now, channel your inner lunch lady, we’ve got people to serve.”

* * *

Three hours later—and God only knew how the fuck I could have held my emotions in check for so long—I slipped away when the shift change happened and ducked outside into the twilight.

Resting my head on the cold brick in the back alley, I let out a long breath and saw it form crystals right in front of my eyes. Looking up at the sliver of a silvery moon, I swallowed. Coming from money, I had never even imagined how those lesser fortunate then I had went about life.

I had an inkling now.

“Tyler?” Willow’s wondering voice came as she pushed the creaky service door open. “Are you out here?”

“Yeah—” my voice was so hoarse it felt strange to my ears. Clearing my throat, I tried again, “Yeah, I’m here.”

She took one look at me, smiled and wrapped her arms around my middle. Without thought, I dropped my hand to her hip and pressed my cold nose into her hair. “I know,” she said. “It hit me like a freight train too the first time I came here.”

I bit back a pitiful sound. “I never… I mean, never imagined how one hot meal could make someone’s day that much better. I mean, they only have the clothes on their backs and a few possessions but…but they look like they won the lottery. I even saw a kid playing with a plastic truck with three wheels on it and looked like he’d gotten a whole set. I-I-”

“Shh, baby,” she whispered, “It’s all right.”

Sliding my hand from her hip to the middle of her back, I pressed her tight and buried my face in her hair while my chest burned with shame. I had to get Ethan on something like this right away; or fuck, start one myself. I had the money for it.

We stayed that way until I felt, for sure, that my nose was going to drop off my face and land splat on the ground as a hunk of ice. We hustled back into the warm, toasty shelter to grab our own slices of pecan pie and coffee, only we ate at a tiny table in the kitchen.

“Now, you see why I come here,” Willow said quietly. “It reminds me of what I should be thankful for and why people like me and my family should give back when we can.”

I picked at my pie, mired in my emotions. I hoped Willow would chalk it up to me being thrown for a loop with first being around homeless people. She didn’t know how twisted up I was; I wanted to tell her who I truly was and hoped beyond hope she wouldn’t kill me.

Hey Willow, um, so you might want to know that I am truly Cole Vega in disguise. Surprise!

Bile surged into my mouth. She would hate me for sure.

Her hand rested warm on my forearm and her eyes were heavy with sympathy. “I know you’re shaken right now, but this is the lesser of two devils. Sure, we can’t give them everything they need, but making sure they know where they can find something warm and have a bed for a night or two makes a lot of difference, believe me.”

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