Asher didn’t say anything. He just took off running.
Lina smiled. “I guess we’d better get going. He’ll be ready to go before we know it.”
I took Lina and Asher to the same place my son and I went every year to buy our Christmas tree. It was a massive yard run by a family of eight: a mom and dad and their six kids, who were all teenagers now. The three sons were thickly built and helped customers get their trees attached to the roofs of their cars. It was a smoothly run operation, and they served hot apple cider as well as hot chocolate and espresso.
We each got a hot drink before wandering down the lanes of trees.
Asher stopped at every second one to inspect it.
“Look at this one, Dad! It’s so green! And it has so many branches! Look! Look!”
“I can see it, Ash.” I chuckled. “Do you think it might be too tall for our living room?”
Asher frowned and peered up at the tree. “Oh. I hadn’t thought about that. Maybe.” He put his finger to his chin with thought. Then he peered down the line of trees, spotted his next target, and took off running toward it.
Lina giggled beside me. “He’s a really cute kid.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I know I’m biased, but I agree.”
She smiled and sipped her cider as we arrived at the tree Asher was currently ogling. “What do you guys think about this one? It’s shorter. And wider. And just as green. And I think it would look good—Wait, look at that one!” And he was gone again. Snow shuffled under his boots as he darted to the right, weaving his way between the trees to find another possible candidate for the Gabriel home.
Lina and I took our time catching up to him.
She gazed at all the trees, her eyes falling down them from the tip to the base. She sighed.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“Oh. Sorry. Yes. It’s just strange. I can’t help but…” She trailed off and shook her head. “Never mind.”
“No. Tell me.”
She looked up at me. Her eyes were just as green as the trees all around us. “I can’t help but wonder what my normal Christmas tradition is. Where would I be if not here?”
I didn’t know how to answer that question. “Lina—”
She shook her head. “It’s all right. You don’t need to tell me. To be honest, I don’t think I’m ready to know the real stuff yet. I’d like to enjoy the holidays with you and your family. The rest?” She paused and bit her bottom lip. “The rest I’ll figure out when I’m ready.”
I wanted to wrap an arm around her and tell her everything would be okay. I wanted to tell her she was safe. But I didn’t. I kept my hands to myself as we caught up with Asher, who was looking back and forth between two majestic, perfect trees. His eyes were alight with wonder. He looked very much like he did every Christmas morning after seeing Santa had come and gone.
“Dad,” he breathed. “Look at these two.”
I stopped before the two trees. “Wow. These are pretty good finds, Asher. They’re both magnificent.”
He nodded. “I know. I don’t know which one is better.”
Lina walked around one of the trees. “Well, where’s that checklist of yours?”
Asher pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and held it up proudly. “Right here!”
Lina nodded. “Okay, well. How about you read off the qualities you’re looking for, and your dad and I will keep track of which tree has what? Then we’ll know which one is the one we’re supposed to bring home.”
“Perfect!” Asher cried.
And we began the process. After going through his checklist with extreme attention to detail, we decided on the tree on the left, a very robust, dense, rich-colored specimen that would look just perfect in the living room in front of the window.
After paying the family and working with the sons to get the tree fixed to the top of my car, the three of us piled into the Beamer, and I started the engine to warm her up. Lina held her hands in front of the vents and shivered. “Holy smokes, it’s cold out!”
“Pittsburgh,” I mused.
She shot me a grin and wrapped her jacket tighter around herself as I drove out of the parking lot. The very tip of the tree was visible through the windshield on the roof above. Lina twisted around in her chair to look at Asher in the back seat. “Did you guys have any other traditions? Like a snack you get after tree shopping?”
Asher looked at me in the rear-view mirror. “Uh.”
“Like ice cream?” Lina winked.
“I thought you said you were cold!” I laughed.
She shook her head. “I’m never too cold for ice cream.”
Asher piped up in the back. “Let’s get ice cream, Dad!”
“Yeah, Dad.” Lina giggled. “Let’s get ice cream.”
20
Lina
Asher burst into a fit of giggles when Cal held open the door to the ice cream parlor for us, and I budged in ahead of him. I gave him a light push backward, egging him on, and Asher took off after me as I made for the counter.
I beat him there, and he put his elbows on the counter as we waited for someone to come help us.
“Too slow,” I teased, sticking my tongue out at him.
Asher grinned up at me. “You cheated! I didn’t know we were racing.”
“Yep. That’s why you lost and I won.”
Asher was still grinning as he shook his head at me. Cal came up behind us, put his big hand on Asher’s head, and pointed his son’s eyes toward the menu board. “What are you going to order, kiddo?”
Asher pursed his lips. “Hmm.”
I scanned the menu as the employees on the other side of the counter loaded giant scoops into waffle cones or pink cups and passed them over the glass case to customers. I spotted Sugarlane Candy Cane as one of the flavors and pointed at it. “I’m going to get something festive.”
“Sounds sweet,” Cal said.
“Literally or figuratively?”
“Literally.”
I frowned. “Do you know what I would normally order?”
Cal shook his head. “Not now, no. But when we were young, you’d never deviate from good old fashioned chocolate. It was your bread and butter. You always said there was no sense in messing with a good thing.”
I considered his words. It was easy to put two and two together and conclude that he and I had gone for ice cream together when we were young. Ice cream parlor visits sure sounded like a date to me. I kept my mouth shut about it. I had enough to remember without worrying about who I was dating when I was sixteen.
A young guy behind the counter came over to the cash register and smiled at us. He wore a cotton candy pink visor, as per his uniform, and a baby blue apron. “Welcome to Sal’s Ice Cream Parlor. What can I get for you today?”
He looked at me first, so I blurted out, “One small Sugarlane Candy Cane please. In a cup. No cone.”
He punched it into the register and looked at Asher, who stretched to the tip of his toes and very clearly said, “One small chocolate please. In a waffle cone. With rainbow sprinkles. Thank you.”
Cal patted his son’s head in appreciation of his good manners before asking for the same thing. Plain chocolate.
Cal paid for our ice cream, and we shuffled down the display case to be handed our orders shortly after. Their ordinary chocolate paled in comparison to my swirling rainbow of white, green, and red ice cream. It was topped with crumbled pieces of candy cane and dark chocolate.
I took a spoonful and nodded approvingly.
“Is it good?” Cal asked as he pulled out a chair for me at a table by the window. Asher took the seat next to me, and Cal sat down across from me.
I nodded. “Delicious. Thank you. Did you want to try some?”
Cal’s nose scrunched up as he stared at the contents of my bowl. “No thanks.”
“Asher?” I asked, pushing the bowl toward him.
Asher nodded so I handed him my spoon. He took a generous amount, rolled i
t around in his mouth, and then shook his head. “It’s not better than chocolate.”
“Silly boys,” I said, clicking my tongue.
“Does any of this feel familiar?” Cal asked. “Or the Christmas trees?”
I sighed and shook my head. “No.”
He gave me a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I’m not trying to rush you. I’m just curious. It will come back.”
I crossed my ankles under my chair and continued eating my ice cream. When I was nearing the halfway point, I took a break. “Tell me a story about when we were younger,” I said.
Cal blinked at me. “A story?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Whatever comes to mind.”
Cal rested his chin on his knuckles and looked out the window. The clouds above were thick and light gray. It looked and smelled like it would snow soon. A little smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he lowered his eyes to the table as he started talking.
“At the end of third semester of senior year, I talked you into skipping gym so that we could come here. I had my first car then. A really old, really beat up coupe with a broken passenger door handle and a broken gas gauge. We snuck off school property—pretend you didn’t hear that, Ash—and spent the last two hours of the school day sitting at that table in the corner.” Cal pointed to a booth against the far wall. It was in the back corner away from the windows. “You wanted to sit at the window, Lina. You always wanted a view. But my dad was off work that day, and I didn’t want him to drive by and see us. He’d have my head if he caught me skipping.”
“And did we get caught?” I asked.
Cal shook his head. He was still smiling. “No. We had our ice cream and then, afterward, walked down the street to the old cinema that used to be on the corner. They had afternoon movies for two dollars.”
“It sounds like it would have been a nice afternoon.”
“It was,” he said.
“I wish I could remember.”
“You will.”
I wanted to ask Cal if he and I used to date, but I decided that was a question better left for a time when Asher wasn’t there. His mother had yet to be brought up. I’d seen a couple pictures of her in the house—like the one by the front door and the couple on the fridge. I didn’t feel like it was my place to ask those sorts of questions yet. I had to find where I fit first.
When we were all done with our ice cream, I cleared the table and put everything in the garbage by the door. We waved goodbye to the employees by the counter, and Asher called “Thank you” over his shoulder as we walked out onto the sidewalk to the black BMW. We all piled in, and Cal drove us back to his house.
As the car pulled into the driveway, little snow flurries began to fall from the sky. Nick’s car was already there, so he was likely inside waiting for us. We hurried from the car to the house to avoid being out in the cold for as long as possible, and then Asher pulled me into the living room while Cal and his father went and brought the tree in off the roof of the car.
While the men set up the tree and set it up in its planter, I worked in the kitchen to fix a tray of various meats, cheeses, and crackers. I found some jalapeno jelly in the fridge and put that out as well. I carried it out into the living room and set it down on the coffee table. Then I stood back with my hands on my hips to admire the tree. “It looks beautiful. What a good find, Asher.”
He smiled proudly at me. “It’s perfect! Grandpa likes it too.”
“What’s not to like?” Nick chuckled. Then he peered down at the cheese spread. “This looks good.”
I clasped my hands together. “I don’t know why, but I thought it would be nice to have some appetizers while we decorate the tree.”
“Brilliant idea,” Nick said before going to the tray, smearing some brie cheese on a cracker, adding a dollop of jelly, and popping it in his mouth. He nodded appreciatively and said again, “Brilliant idea.”
It wasn’t long before Cal pulled two big boxes of ornaments out from storage. Cal and I worked carefully to put the lights on, and then the garland, and then it was ready for the fun part: the ornaments.
Most of the ornaments Cal and his family owned were mismatched and in varying conditions. Some were pristine, like the ones covered in glitter, and I assumed those were more recent purchases. Others had worn paint, scratched faces, or dented corners. My favorite ones were the ones that had been crafted by hand.
Most of the homemade ones had been made by Asher over the years. Every time Cal picked one out of the box, he insisted he be the one to hang it up. Cal’s face lit up whenever he discovered one of his son’s creations, no matter how utterly terrible it was, like the one from Asher’s second birthday which was just a folded-up piece of blue construction paper. Cal adored it and treated it like it was the most expensive item on the tree.
It made Asher glow as brightly as the lights on the tree.
Even though I still felt like I didn’t know Cal, I did know one thing for certain: he was a great father.
Once the tree was jam packed with ornaments, the cheese platter was coincidentally empty. Nick went and poured three glasses of rich red wine and brought them out to us while Asher sipped on a glass of chocolate milk. Cal called and ordered pizza, and the four of us sat on the massive, cream-colored couch with all the lights off except for the tree.
It was magical.
I lifted my glass to my lips and took a sip. As I held it up, I could see the tree through the base of the wineglass. The lights seemed to dance and jump and scatter, and when I lowered the glass again, I found myself smiling.
The moment was perfect. Even though I had no memory, no family, and no idea what I was going to do next, I was somehow content. Safe. At ease.
The home felt comfortable to me. The tree and the lights felt right. Christmas was in the air all around us.
Asher sighed and rested his cheek on Cal’s shoulder. “I’m hungry.”
“Pizza will be here soon, kiddo.”
“After we eat, can we put the stockings up?” he asked.
Cal shook his head. “You know the tradition. The stockings go up on Christmas Eve.”
“Right,” Asher said before indulging himself in a long, deep yawn.
Cal glanced over at me. “How are you doing?”
I smiled. “Really good. Thank you. All of you. For letting me be part of your holidays this year.”
“Of course,” Cal said.
“It’s our pleasure,” Nick offered.
“You are part of the family now, Lina,” Asher said, grinning up at me with droopy eyes. He’d had a long day. So had I. A long but good day.
Cal nudged the toe of my boot under the table to get my attention. Then he leaned forward a bit. “I’m going to take you out tomorrow. Somewhere that might help you remember.”
I nodded. “I’d like that.”
21
Callum
Christmas Eve
Asher slid the last stocking on the string before I secured it to the hooks mounted beneath the mantle on the fireplace. We spaced them out about a foot apart, with Asher and Lina’s in the middle.
Asher had gotten up early this morning to make Lina her own stocking. She had yet to see it, and I was sure she would notice as soon as she came down the stairs. It was a beacon of sparkly glitter that spelled out her name across the furry white cuff on the top of the stocking. The red velvet of the stocking itself was covered in glued-on little snowflakes. For a five-year-old’s handiwork, it wasn’t all that bad. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t all that bad.
Asher put his hands on his hips and nodded confidently. “It looks perfect. Do you think Lina will like it?”
My father, who was sitting behind Asher on the sofa watching us work, clasped his hands behind his head and nodded. “She’s going to love it. She’ll see that you put a lot of work into it. That’s what Christmas is all about. Making everyone feel welcome and loved and important.”
Asher’s hands fidgeted in front of him. He looked sudde
nly bashful. “I love you, Daddy. I love you, Grandpa.”
My father spread his arms, and Asher leapt into them and got comfy. My father watched me drop into the couch across from him. “Where is she?”
I nodded up the stairs. “Getting ready. I’m taking her out to the Christmas Eve special downtown. We used to go all the time when we were teenagers. I know it’s a long shot, but who knows? It might help jog her memory. If not, it will be a good time regardless.”
“That’s a great idea, Cal. Asher and I will hold down the fort. Maybe watch a Christmas movie. What do you say, Asher?” My father tickled Asher in the ribs.
Asher squirmed and giggled but didn’t leave my father’s lap. “Yeah! Christmas movie!”
My father grinned. “You two take your time. We’ll be watching Christmas movies in our pajamas and eating snacks until we fall asleep because we’re getting too fat.”
Asher snickered. “But we have to sleep in our beds. Otherwise, Santa won’t come.”
“Very true,” I said, holding up a finger. “And don’t forget to leave a plate of cookies out for Santa and some carrots for the reindeer. And a glass of milk. Super important. Santa has a lot of work to do tonight, and I know he’ll appreciate it.”
Asher nodded. “I won’t forget. I never forget.”
I nodded back. “Good.”
Asher looked behind me and up the stairs. His mouth fell open and he breathed, “Wow.”
I followed his gaze up the stairs where my eyes fell upon Lina, who was making her way down. My heart hiccupped in my chest as I soaked in the sight of her from the tip of her toes to the top of her head.
She was wearing black boots that were embellished with gold buckles and reached up over her knees. Her dark denim was skin tight and showed every curve. The black turtleneck she wore was also very tight, revealing her narrow waist and full breasts. I tried not to look at the way they bounced as her heels hit each step.
My Holiday Reunion: A Second Chance Holiday Romance Page 12