Christmas in the City II

by Samantha Chase

  I chuckle at Taylor’s text. I can see why he’s a little mad at me. Bridgette was a complete bombshell to him and he was a little hurt that I didn’t tell him about her. So after last night, when I got back to the hotel, I sent him a text telling him about my change of plans.

  He didn’t respond right away which is understandable, based on his new found feelings with Harley. I hated keeping him in the dark but I think I did it for myself. I didn’t see where this thing with Bridgette was going and honestly, I still don’t. But, while I’m here, I’m going to make the best of it.

  I walk into the store and head for the men’s department, scouring through coats. I grab the first coat I see, pulling it off the rack and try it on.

  It fits well so I walk to a mirror and stare at my reflection. The coat looks good on me and feels nice. I peek at my hair and suggest to myself that I should get a haircut. My dark blonde hair is kept short, keeping the professional attorney look, but the sides are getting a little long.

  I make a mental note to get a cut when I get back home and take the coat to the nearest register. The cashier sees me approaching and offers a smile.

  “Hello. Did you find everything you needed?”

  I nod. “Yea ma’am, thank you.”

  She rings up the coat and tells me the price. “That’ll be $97.65”

  I give her my credit card and she swipes it, charging the transaction to the card. She gives it back to me and grabs a bag.

  I stop her, “No, I don’t need a bag.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m going to wear it.”

  “Oh ok sir. Well, here’s your receipt. Have a wonderful day.”

  I thank her, grab my coat, and head back to the hotel. Just as I’m entering my room, my cellphone rings. I shut the door and glance at my phone, seeing Bridgette’s name light up the screen.

  “Hello.”

  Her soft voice chimes from the other end. “Hey, it’s Bridgette.’

  “Hey.”

  She giggles. “Hi.”

  We pause for a moment. Each end silent as I stumble on what to say to her next. Before I could, she chimes in.

  She asks, “What time is your flight today?”

  “Oh, I changed it to the red eye.”

  “Well, that’s good. I was uh…wondering if you’d like to come down to and check out my gallery.”

  My eyes grow at the sound of that. “I’d love to!”

  I can sense the excitement in her voice. “Really? Awesome. Here, write down the address.”

  I find a pen and paper and quickly write the address. We hang up and I grab my things, deciding to check out now so I won’t have to return before my flight. I didn’t bring a lot of things with me for the weekend and Taylor already took my overnight bag back home.

  All I have is my wallet, phone, and coat. I check out at the front desk and hail a cab outside, giving the driver the address of the gallery. About fifteen minutes later, the cab pulls up and I pay my fare.

  The entire complex is made of glass and it’s freaking gorgeous. A modern style building with cool crisp displays of art canvasing the walls. I step further inside the gallery which houses at least fifty pieces of art. Everything is displayed so meticulously and the entire gallery flows as if the whole display is a piece of art itself.

  I step further inside, looking for her and hear her voice echoing from down the hall. I turn the corner and catch her talking to someone, perhaps an associate. I watch as she delegates how to display a particular piece, advising him to turn it toward a certain direction.

  I’m in complete awe as I watch her do her thing. I stand there still, studying her as she walks across the white tile, examining her pieces as if she had an emotional attachment to them.

  She catches me staring and smiles, immediately turning toward me. I match her stride, walking in a fast pace toward her and wrap her in my arms.

  “You made it!”

  I nod, glancing around at the whole thing. “Wow, this is amazing! I didn’t expect the gallery to be this huge.”

  “Yeah, it’s our largest exhibit actually.”

  “How long has this been opened?”

  She pauses. “Hmm, maybe about seven years?”

  “Now, do you actually sell anything?”

  She chuckles, “No, we just display them. All of these pieces are a rarity. The last of their kind; sometimes the only of their kind. Especially the paintings. There are no two identical paintings.”

  My brow raises, “Unless it’s a knock-off.”

  She laughs. “True, but that’s what we do. I examine each piece to ensure its authenticity. Then when we figure out its worth, we carefully clean the piece, and display it here for all to see.”

  “Wow, that is pretty awesome. I love what you did with the place. It looks great.”

  “Thank you. Come on, let me show you around.”

  Bridgette takes me all over the exhibit telling me about each piece and the meaning behind it. Some of the pieces she located herself, while others were found by her peers. It amazes me how she lights up just talking about art.

  I guess I never appreciated it. I mean, to me art was just some messy paint that people plastered all over a blank canvas. But, now I know that it’s much more than that. People put their heart and soul into these pieces and it’s not easy. Some of them spend hours, weeks working on these pieces and my appreciation for it has grown exponentially.

  An hour or so passes before Bridgette ends her tour. She calls over to one of the associates, advising him she’ll be gone for the rest of the day.

  “You want to grab a bite to eat?”

  I nod. “Sure, maybe we can have that rematch in pool?”

  She smirks as I follow her to her office. It’s a quaint little space with a nice wooden desk. Snow globes cover her shelves, displayed liked works of art themselves.

  I step toward the shelves, looking at the globes. “You’ve got a thing for snow globes, huh?”

  She grabs her coat, putting it on. “Yeah, ever since I was a child. My dad got me one every Christmas and I never got rid of them.”

  Counting the globes, I see only ten. “Do you have the others back at your house?”

  She steps forward and pulls one of the globes off the shelves, glancing at it. “No, my father died when I was ten. I keep them here with me at the office. I don’t know, I feel if they’re displayed then somehow they’re a part of him, ya know?”

  Her words sadden me as I place my hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t mean to bring up old wounds.”

  She shakes the globe and then holds it still, admiring the snowy village in the glass dome. “It’s alright. Sometimes, when I miss him, I shake the globe and just watch the snowflakes. Doesn’t it look like they’re dancing?”

  “Who, the people?”

  She giggles at my question. “No silly, the snowflakes. The way they move in the globe. It’s like their swaying to the beat of the one another; like a dance. Each flake completely dependent on the other, like a perfectly matched pair.”

  I listen to her theory and study the globe. “I never thought of a snow globe that way. Snowflakes are like those paintings out there. There’s no two identical snowflakes. I think there’s some that are almost the same, but not one exact match. It’s crazy right?”

  The globe’s flakes calms down and lay across the ground of the village. She places the globe back on the shelf and lets out a deep sigh. “Yeah, I guess it is crazy.”

  A few minutes later, we leave the gallery and head to our next destination. We end up at a local bar and Bridgette immediately offers to pay for the food and drinks.

  “I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

  She’s so stubborn so I let her win, this time. We enjoy each other’s company as we spend the afternoon talking about the year we had. Her company has grown tremendously, opening up several other offices and she’s taken on trai
ning three people at her current location.

  I told her about Taylor and all his MMA fighting and popularity. She asked about my job at the firm and her eyes shined as I told her, I was offered a spot as junior partner. She congratulated me with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  Sparks flew between us the entire time we spent talking to one another. I commented about her cousin, Emery, and how the two of them were similar in personality. She told me Emery was an aspiring chef and planned to move to L.A. in the near future.

  “So, have you been seeing anyone?”

  Her question catches me off guard and I hesitate to answer. “You mean, like dating right?”

  She laughs. “Yes, of course. Dating.”

  I want to be honest with her so I lay it all on the table. “Yeah, I’ve been with women this past year, I’m not going to deny that. But I haven’t committed to anyone or anything like that. If that’s what you’re asking?”

  “No, I was just curious.”

  Now she has me wanting to know. “And, what about you?”

  She glances away for a split second, before returning her gaze to me. “I’ve been with someone on and off again but it’s not serious.”

  “Are you guys together, now?”

  Immediately, she shakes her head. “No, we’re not together. We recently took a break about four months ago. Anyways, let’s not talk about that stuff. It’s bad juju.”

  Wanting to show me around her city, she closes up the tab, and takes me out for a nice walk. Luckily, I purchased the new coat this morning so I am completely warm. The one thing I don’t have is gloves so I find myself stuffing my hands in my pockets as we walk around the city.

  She took me across the river to go check out ‘The Bean’. As I touched the cool silver metal, it instantly froze my hands and I immediately regretted it. She laughed at my reaction and we took a quick selfie in front of it. Maybe that can be her new profile picture.

  I could have listened to her talk for hours and it wouldn’t have bothered me one bit. Hands down, my favorite thing of hers is her voice. As we walk back toward the street, away from ‘The Bean’ I can’t stop myself from reaching out for her hand. I clasp it in mine and she glances down at them.

  She returns her gaze to me and smiles. Her soft brown eyes glisten with happiness as we walk together hand in hand in her hometown. It’s not New York, but I could get used to a place like this.

  Man, what the hell am I thinking? Moving, here?

  I shake away the thoughts as she asks, “Want to check out the Navy Pier?”

  “I’ll go wherever you take me.”

  It takes us a good half an hour to get there, but we finally made it. By that time, the dark sky shines above us as the city’s lights brightens it. The lights from the pier cascade across the river bank, reflecting a marvelous glow across the pier.

  My eyes catch sight of the Ferris wheel and a smile instantly springs across my face. I pull Bridgette forward. “Come on, we’re going on a ride.”

  We wait in line a few minutes, before we grab an empty cart and hop inside. She slides in next to me as I wrap my arm around her, cradling her against my body. Ensuring I keep her warm, I nuzzle her close toward my chest as the wheel pulls us higher from the ground.

  “I must say, I love New York, but this is a very close second.”

  She breathes against my chest. “I’m glad you’re having fun. I just wanted to show my town, my home.”

  I place a kiss on her forehead as the wheel sends us even higher. “I’m happy you did.”

  We sit in silence for a moment as my eyes take in the gorgeous city. I glance down at Bridgette who’s awfully quiet. My hand rubs her shoulder nudging her closer to me.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  She moans. “Hmm? I’m sorry.”

  She sits up, leaving my arms and looks away, toward the city.

  “Everything alright?”

  Her eyes meet mine and she smiles. “Yeah, actually I was thinking about work.”

  I pause, arching my brow. “Work?”

  She chuckles. “Yeah, see my boss offered me a promotion and I have a couple days to decide if I want to take it or not.”

  My heart beats for her as I smile wide. “Holy shit. Congrats!”

  Her eyes shine with joy. “Thanks. I’ve been working so hard at this company and when a spot opened up, my boss came to me. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. I’ll be working with some really old pieces like from the twentieth century. It’s a dream come true.”

  “Well, you should take the job. Why would you not accept?”

  She shrugs her shoulders, “It’s just…it’s the long hours. I won’t have much time to myself. A lot of time will be spent at the museums and exhibits.”

  I huff offering her a piece of advice. “If you want something bad enough, you have to go for it. Nothing is ever going to be handed to you.”

  She nods. “Yeah, you’re right. I should take the job.”

  I smile in agreement just as she returns to nuzzle next to me. I glance at my phone and see the time. I groan quietly as I need to start heading out to the airport soon.

  Just a little more time; that’s all I ask for. More time.

  The wheel spins us back to the ground, ending our ride. We walk hand in hand back to the street as sadness grows between us. She knows I need to leave and both of us remain quiet until we get to the curb.

  I hail for a cab and find one in a matter of seconds. I usher her forward but she spins to face me. “I’m going to miss you.”

  Tears fill her eyes as I pull her into a hug. “I’ll miss you too. Thank you for today. I had a wonderful time.”

  I let her go from my embrace and find myself staring at her lips. My fingers raise up touching her chin as my eyes set sight on what they’ve been craving to taste for almost a year now.

  I bend down slowly, positioning her chin upward as our lips touch. A soft kiss passes between us as the taste of her salty tears fall across my lips. I press my lips even harder, not wanting to break them apart, even though I know I have to.

  But it’s her who breaks away first. And when I open my eyes, I find a stream of tears spilling down her face. “Oh, please don’t cry.”

  “I’m alright, I promise. I’m just an emotional jigsaw right now.”

  Before I could respond, she escapes my grasp and jumps into the cab. I race to the window and press my hand against the glass as I watch tears spill down her face.

  Her hand reaches up, matching where mine is pressed on the glass and mouths the word ‘sorry’ just as the cab pulls away from the curb.

  CHAPTER 5

  It’s been a month since my time in Chicago. I called her as soon as I got home but she didn’t pick up, so I texted her, letting her know that I landed safe and sound. She didn’t text me back right away. In fact, it took her about three days to respond.

  She’s kept her distance and I understand her reasoning behind it. It hurts too much. When we’re together everything feels so perfect and here I am, miles apart from her, and I feel like a piece of me is missing. Maybe we’re both emotional jigsaws at the moment.

  I finally tell Taylor all about her and he just stares at me in shock. “So, what you’re saying is, you’ve been in a relationship for almost a year and nobody knows?”

  I huff, “It’s not a relationship. We are just…friends.”

  “Please. That’s such b.s. You like her, just admit it. I saw the way you were looking at her at the club. She means a lot to you doesn’t she?”

  Listening to his words, I nod my head. “Yes. Yes she does.”

  “So, what are you gonna do about it?”

  “There’s nothing I can do. She lives in Chicago, man. I can’t just ask her to move here and I can’t leave the firm. I just got junior partner. There’s no way that can happen.”

  He rubs his chin. “Hmm, seems to me like you’ve got a decision to make. What me
ans more to you; the job or her?”

  Taylor’s comments linger on my mind as I head home from the office. Walking home from work, I pass a tremendous display of Christmas gifts at the local department and I instantly think of her.

  So, I picked out a Christmas present for her and had it shipped to her store in Chicago. Once I got home, I sent her a text, letting her know to call me as soon as she got the gift because I wanted to hear her reaction.

  A couple of days pass and I find myself putting on my fresh suit, getting ready for the holiday Christmas party at the office. I still haven’t heard from Bridgette, even though I’ve called her twice. Something seems off. It isn’t like her to ignore me. She must be really busy with that new job of hers.

  I head to the office and immediately hear the sound of Christmas music chiming throughout the halls. Voices of my associates and partners echo from down the halls as I pass by the reception area and make my way to the large conference rooms.

  I step inside and find a decent size crowd gathered around as they all converse with one another. I immediately find Taylor and Harley and stroll up to them. “Hey guys, Merry Christmas.”

  Harley pulls me into a hug. “Merry Christmas to you too.”

  Taylor shakes my hand and pats my back. “Hey buddy, how’s it going?”

  I let out a deep breath. “Uh, it could be better I guess.”

  He nods. “Relax, she’ll call.”

  “I know, it’s just—”

  At that moment, my cellphone chimes with a text notification. I pull it out and glance at Bridgette’s text.

  Bridgette: I got your gift. Should I open it now?

  I quickly respond.

  Me: No, wait for me to get home. Give me thirty minutes.

  Bridgette: Ok.

  I glance up to Taylor and he smirks. “Go.”

  I hug them both and I race home in record time. Only took me twenty minutes. I grab my laptop, getting ready to Facetime with Bridgette. After setting up the lighting, I call her from my computer.

  The ringer chimes for a few seconds before she answers. The vision of her face sends shockwaves through my body as I see her smile through the computer screen.

  “Hey.”