by Mary Smith
Maybe he had the wrong day? He glanced at his cell phone. He debated calling her to verify.
As he stared at his phone, sure that tonight was the day, the door swung open, and Lily appeared in the doorway.
“Hey.” She pushed by him, no stunning smile, no warm welcome, just a single word greeting as she pulled the door closed behind her.
“Okay then,” he mumbled. Following behind her, he added, “Ready for the last date? Don’t get me wrong, I like Christmas lights, always have, but you’d think for the last event in a Christmas extravaganza prize package, it might end with something spectacular. You know, a real showstopper?”
Lily simply shrugged as they reached the SUV.
The vibe she was giving off was nothing he had seen from her so far. Maybe she was just having a bad day. Or maybe, his least favorite topic, maybe she was having lady problems. Therefore, he didn’t want to push.
They each got buckled in and he put the SUV in drive. Christmas carols played on the radio, and he was more into the Christmas spirit then he had been in years. Something about the music of the season made him recall many Christmas’s from his past. When life was easy—and perfect.
“Did you eat dinner? We could stop and grab a bite after—”
“Already ate,” she quickly said, her answer curt.
The rest of the ride to the Festival of Lights was a quiet one. Zane thought about the poem in his pocket. Maybe he could take her for hot cocoa on the way home or to the coffee shop where this all began then give her the poem and finally tell her he wants to be more than friends.
Focusing on the road ahead, the entrance of the park glowed with warm holiday lights.
“The line isn’t too bad for it being this close to Christmas.” Zane nodded to the cars ahead of them. He remembered as a child sitting in a line of cars that took hours to get through this display. His dad would make every second fun with lame Dad-jokes, a thermos of his special hot cocoa, and a bag of snacks.
He looked over at Lily, who was staring out the car window. “You feeling okay tonight? We can always do this another night if you’d prefer. We don’t need the free passes, I’ll pay.”
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she moved her attention to her gloves, picking at something that he was sure was invisible since he couldn’t see it. “No, I’m fine. It’s the last night.”
“The last night,” he mused.
“Twelve days, nothing more, nothing less. Right?” she answered without looking at him.
Nothing more, nothing less, sure, that’s how they started this adventure, according to her Christmas contract. Although in twelve short dates, he found someone who he enjoyed spending time with and had so much in common with. Day one he knew he wanted more than just twelve days with her. And now he hoped she felt the same.
His college life had been limited to his studies. He never left time to meet someone. Lily happened into his life when he didn’t even know he needed her. Now that the twelve days are up, he couldn’t imagine going back to his life without her but something about her words ‘nothing more, nothing less’ bugged him.
They began to slowly drive through the park, light sculptures filled the grounds as far as the eye could see.
“So, you’ll be going home for Christmas?” He tried making small talk.
“Yes.”
“New York, right?” he asked.
Lily looked over at him, her brow furrowed for a second, then she sat back and relaxed. “Yeah.”
“I’ll be spending the holiday at home with Spencer. My aunt likes to have Spencer and me wake up in our old rooms on Christmas morning. I know it might sound kind of lame, but I’d do anything to make my aunt happy. Our rooms are just like we left them before leaving for college. I honestly don’t think she’ll ever change them.”
“Yeah, my mom is like that too.”
“My aunt goes all out for Christmas. I swear she starts baking the day after Thanksgiving and doesn’t stop until Christmas Day. She loves baking.” He reminisced.
“Was she always like that?”
“Absolutely! She always makes the holidays perfect. I swear I gain twenty pounds every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas from as far back as I can remember.” He laughed. “Her traditional German cake has to be my favorite, or maybe it’s her cookies from scratch. Honestly, I can’t pick a favorite, she is such an amazing baker.”
“German cake?” she asked.
At least she was engaging more. It wasn’t a lot, but he’d take it.
“Yeah, it’s this recipe that her mother taught her. It’s a staple at our Christmas dinner. My aunt makes us one and then makes enough to hand out to the neighbors and anyone who may stop over for a visit. I’d say I would try to make you one, but I’m no good in the kitchen.”
Lily nodded at his comment. “That lighted bridge ahead is my favorite part.”
“Me too!” Zane laughed. “I always like to imagine that I was falling down a rip in time like in a science fiction movie.”
“Right,” she answered, uninterested. Then as if she couldn’t help herself, she added with confusion, “A rip in time? Really?”
“Yeah.” Zane shrugged without further explanation. There was no good way to explain that scenario, you either knew what it was or didn’t.
The next few minutes were silent as they both simply admired the holiday light display. The radio played cheerful holiday music. Zane turned up the heater, wishing he had brought a thermos of hot cocoa like his dad always had. “Do you want your seat warmer on?”
Zane switched both seats on once she nodded.
“Do you have a favorite Christmas cookie?” Zane asked, trying to keep the conversation flowing.
“I don’t know,” she mumbled. “Maybe my mom’s snickerdoodles.”
“I do enjoy a good snickerdoodle. Maybe after the new year we could try to make a batch?” He chuckled. “I’m not the best baker, but I don’t mind trying. I mean, how bad can I mess up a snickerdoodle? Right?”
“I’ll have to check my schedule,” she answered flatly. “Things get busy with school and all.”
“Right. Yeah, sure. I understand.” Zane cleared his throat, nerves balling up in his stomach at her words. Changing the subject, he said, “Looks like the end of the line is ahead. How about we go grab some cocoa at the coffee shop on campus? You know the one where we—”
Lily looked at him, the sparkle in her eye that he had grown so accustomed to was missing. “Yeah. The one where I hung the want ad at.”
“I was going to say the one where we met for the first time. But yeah. What do you say to a nice hot cup of cocoa?” He patted his jeans pocket where the poem sat.
“Actually, I need to get home. I have lots of packing to do.”
“Oh, okay.” Zane drove to her apartment without argument.
Once they were at her place, Lily forced a small smile. “Well, that’s it. Day twelve, in the books.”
“Yeah, I still can’t believe it’s over. I hope you enjoyed yourself. I know I did.”
Lily nodded and looked down at the floor. “Well, goodnight, Zane.”
“Goodnight, Lily.” Zane leaned over to kiss her, but Lily turned her head so his lips landed on her cheek instead.
“Merry Christmas, Zane. And thanks.” She slipped out of the SUV quickly and hurried up her front steps, disappearing into her apartment without as much as a wave.
Walking into his apartment, Zane made a beeline for the kitchen. His stomach rumbled. Pulling lunchmeat, cheese, and bread out of the refrigerator, he began to build a sandwich that even Dagwood would be jealous of. Zane didn’t realize how massive it was until he stood back and admired it.
Spencer swung open the front door and loudly made his appearance known. “Yo, bro! Home already?” He eyed Zane’s sandwich. “Damn, hungry much?”
“I made the mistake of not eating before I went out.” As Spencer took off his jacket, Zane noticed his shirt was wrinkled and messy. Spencer was ve
ry particular about his appearance and never left the house unless he looked like he was stepping out of a men’s fashion catalog. “Big date tonight?”
“Maybe,” Spencer answered smugly, fixing his shirt. “You know I never kiss and tell.”
Spencer grabbed a piece of bread and quickly fixed his own sandwich, mashing the slice of bread in half before taking a bite.
Zane stared at his cousin’s caveman manners.
“What?” Spencer asked. His words muffled due to having a mouth full of food.
Zane took his sandwich into the living room and turned on the television to a sci-fi movie.
“What? No Christmas specials? That’s so unlike you,” Spencer stated. “Speaking of Christmas, how was your date tonight? Did she swoon over that lame poem?”
Zane sighed. He debated on telling his cousin how his plans for tonight fizzled. Even though Spencer seemed to enjoy picking on Zane, he was like a brother to him. Even he wouldn’t mock the awful date Zane just had.
“I didn’t give it to her.” He took a bite of his large sandwich in the hopes that Spencer wouldn’t ask him anything else.
Spencer nodded at his gigantic sandwich. “Why didn’t you take your girl out to eat?”
Zane shrugged. “She wasn’t interested in getting something to eat. She said something about having lots of packing to do.”
“Yeah,” Spencer agreed. “She’s going home to the city for the holidays. Speaking of going home, will you be ready by ten tomorrow morning to hit the road? Mom is expecting us for lunch.”
Confused, Zane responded, “Yeah, ten is fine. I’m almost all packed. How do you know Lily lives in the city?”
“Oh, a friend of a friend.” Spencer shrugged. “Bro, you seem off tonight. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, at least I think so. Lily seemed odd tonight.” He kept thinking about how she said twelve days, nothing more, nothing less.
“I thought you guys were getting close?” Spencer put his feet up on the coffee table.
“Me too.” Zane wasn’t sure what was going on with Lily, but she was the first person he’d really connected with in a long time.
“Have you told her how you feel?” Spencer asked.
Surprised at his cousin’s sincere question, he took a minute to answer. “No. I just assumed we were on the same page. I mean, it seemed like we were.”
“There’s your problem, bro. You never assume when it comes to the ladies.”
“Well, it’s too late now. She’s leaving for the holiday.”
Spencer grabbed his phone and typed away. “Let me see what I can do.”
Zane was too tired to ask what that meant. Leaving Spencer to whatever latest scheme he was cooking up, Zane decided he needed to sleep on it and try to talk to Lily tomorrow.
Chapter Fifteen
Lily
Still in the world’s most comfortable sweatpants and a hoodie, Lily hadn’t even showered as she slowly moved about her room, packing her clothes. Harley had knocked on her door earlier this morning before catching her flight to Cleveland to visit her grandmother. Lily pretended to be asleep because she didn’t want to face her.
When she rushed away from Zane last night, she prayed Harley wouldn’t be home. Whichever God was listening, he granted her request. Lily went straight to her room, barricading herself inside.
This was the greatest time of year, but she didn’t care. For the first time in her existence, she could not care less about Christmas. She stopped her snail’s pace packing and went downstairs. Looking at the perfectly styled tree, which was completely lit, she still felt nothing. No joy. No happiness.
Emptiness.
He had ruined it all for her.
How will she ever be able to go to anything even remotely related to Christmas in D.C. again? He’s tainted everything.
Picking up a platter of cookies, she laid on the couch with it, resting it on her stomach, and then began to pick at them. She was hungry, but her nerves wouldn’t let her eat the entire plate. No matter how much she wanted to.
As much as she wanted to sit there and do nothing, she had a train to catch. She might not be in the Christmas spirit, but her parents would be, and she couldn’t let them down. She wouldn’t let them down.
Groaning in defeat she made every muscle in her body move, and she stood up. Putting the cookies away, she made her way back to her bedroom and finished packing. Deciding she best take a shower and clean up before going into public, she glanced at her phone.
Zane: Hope you’re doing okay today.
Harley: Hey girl, I’m in CLE! How are you feeling?
Zane: Are you on the train yet?
Zane: Hope you have a good holiday.
Closing her eyes, she pushed down all the emotions and jumped into the shower. The stinging hot water felt good and relaxed her a bit. Deciding on keeping it simple, she slipped into a pair of jeans, sweater, and boots. She summoned an Uber and lugged herself and her suitcase out of the warm house and into the cold air.
Lily could have flown to New York and arrived faster but many forget about the train. Less hassle and sometimes, more legroom. Finding a seat, she fell down in a heap. She set the bag of gifts next to her and stared out the window. The train car began to slowly fill up, but Lily didn’t mind. She hoped it would give her some cheer.
Stepping up to her childhood home, Lily smiled for the first time seeing the garland wrapped around the stoop rails and lights shining from the windows. It felt right to be here. She could almost feel the spirit returning.
“Mom! Dad!” she announced as she pushed open the door. The smell of sugar and cinnamon swirled around her.
“In here.” Her mother’s voice came from the kitchen.
Dropping her bag, she slid the coat off her shoulder and pulled her scarf off as she made her way toward her mom.
“Buttercup.” Her dad, Wes, stood up from the breakfast bar where he had been stirring some sort of batter. “You’re going to have to help me keep up with her frenzy.” He nodded over to her mother before hugging her.
“I’m not that bad.” Her mother, Anna, came over from the oven. “My last meeting ran over, and I’m just a little behind.”
Lily moved from her father’s embrace and into her mother’s arms. “Hi, Mom.” Fighting back the tears she thought she had hidden, she held her tight for several seconds.
“Come help me with these cupcakes.” Anna took her hand, leading her to the breakfast bar. “Your father is slacking in helping me as a Kitchen Aide appliance.”
She picked up the spoon and began working on the batter in the bowl.
“Since you have help now, I’m going to finish up a couple of emails, and then I can spend time with my girls.” He kissed the top of her head as he left the kitchen.
Her mother began working on moving some cookies to a cooling rack, and she asked Lily about her trip down, Harley, and school. Lily answered her questions with ease and helped with the cupcakes and two pies. She always could talk to her mom about anything. Even boys. However, this time, she kept her answers short and sweet.
As a batch of cupcakes went into the oven Anna sat down next to her. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Are you trying to be a tough girl? Because it doesn’t work on you. So, talk.” Anna stared at her daughter.
Lily knew she couldn’t hide from her mother. She was too good at getting people to open up. With a deep breath, she began to tell her all about her Christmas adventures with Zane and how amazing each one was. Letting her walls down, and a few tears flow, she confessed her feelings about Zane and what happened the night before last. This isn’t the first time her mother and she had an in-depth conversation about males in Lily’s life. Anna had always given her sound advice. She could read Lily like an open book. Not just because of her ability to negotiate big-money contracts, but because she was her mother.
“Lily, you’re a smart and independent woman. This man sounds the same. Are you sure you heard e
verything correctly? Was he being sarcastic or joking?”
Shaking her head, she said, “No, he’s not like that. I mean, Harley is, but not him. I heard him right, and I hate that I was the butt of a joke.”
“Were you?” she countered. “Did you hear him or his friends say anything? Anything posted on social media? Anything you’ve seen?”
Giving Anna an exasperated sigh she knew her lawyer hat was on. “Mom, it’s not like that and stop talking to me as if I’m on the stand.”
Holding her hands defensively, she nodded. “It’s a habit and a hard one to break.”
“I know. Someday I’ll be the same way.”
“Maybe.” She tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. “You have other plans in your future. You’ll see it soon enough.”
She giggled. “I’m going to work for you.”
“You might. Or you might find another path for yourself. Maybe one in D.C. with a certain gentleman?”
This made Lily roll her eyes. “He’s not anyone to me anymore. And he’s ruined Christmas.”
“You’re going to let this guy ruin your favorite time of year. I thought you were better than that.” She gave her a knowing look.
Opening her mouth, she was about to argue with her but stopped. She was right. She was absolutely right. This was Christmas. Her favorite time of the year. A time to be with the ones that you love the most and let the stresses of the real world slip away. A new year would be around the corner, and it was a fresh beginning. A new start. Sure, she had some ideas about staying in D.C. and working with a non-profit or helping those wrongly accused, but her parents had groomed her to come back to New York and be with them.
That was the plan.
Right?
As her mother stood up and handed Lily a piping bag for the cooled cupcakes thoughts spun around her head. The one in the forefront was Zane. He was just a guy. A guy who she had a good time with. She’ll treasure those memories, but they’re nothing more than memories. She listened to the words of her mother that she was smart and independent. She wasn’t going to let a guy ruin her favorite time of year and the one time of year she had her parents undivided attention.