by Hunter, Lara
Cathy rolled her eyes. “Gotta let the past stay in the past, dude. I mean, I hear he’s stayed in Westmount since high school grad. I mean, who does that?”
Cathy backtracked when she noticed the raised eyebrows coming from her family members. “Uh, I mean…this town is great, if you’re older. But while you’re younger I think it’s better to explore a little bit,” she said diplomatically.
“Good save,” their father chuckled.
Anna was shoveling yet more roasted vegetables onto her plate when Cathy said, “To be honest, I’m kind of tired of dating. Grandma’s right—everyone is allergic to commitment nowadays, and it’s really hard to click properly with someone. Even the ones you do click with don’t pan out.” She turned to her aunt and uncle sitting opposite. “I mean, how did you guys know that you were right for each other?”
Anna’s aunt and uncle glanced at each other.
“Well…” her aunt started, “When I first met him, I thought he was an asshole,” she said.
“I was an asshole,” Uncle Robbie grinned.
“Maybe you still are,” her aunt teased. They nudged each other playfully before her aunt continued. “Yeah, so back then we worked at the diner, and he was my coworker. Robbie was so bossy.” She paused to take a bite of brisket. “One day, I worked up the nerve to tell him to cool it…”
“And he realized the error of his ways and you guys got together?” Anna asked, intrigued.
“No, actually, I told her she was out of line,” Uncle Robbie said.
“Oh…”
“For a while, we tried to ignore each other. But obviously, that wasn’t possible when we had to work together…so we came to an uneasy truce,” her aunt said.
“And, eventually, I guess, we warmed up to each other. The rest is history,” he shrugged.
Cathy looked unimpressed. “Gee, that’s really heartwarming and all… but it doesn’t really answer my question.”
Anna’s mom jumped in. “I would look at it like this, Cathy. At the beginning, where you are right now, you give anyone you have a spark with a chance, right?”
Cathy nodded.
Anna thought, easier said than done for a neurotic like me.
“Alright. Then once you pass the infatuation stage…The rose-colored glasses are off, and you and your partner start to see each other’s flaws. Because you’re human,” she said, taking a sip of her wine. “Then you have doubts—”
“Is there any relationship, romantic or otherwise, that we don’t have slight doubts about?” Anna’s aunt chuckled.
“So, here’s the kicker: you have to decide whether you’re willing to accept them, warts and all. Ask yourself if you decided to cave in to your doubts, and break it off, might that end up being the worst decision you ever make?” Anna’s mom said, putting an arm around her husband.
“Yep, that’s the litmus test,” her aunt concluded.
Cathy looked skeptical. “That doesn’t seem very romantic.”
“That’s real life!” her uncle exclaimed.
Cathy didn’t seem satisfied, shrugging as she bit off a piece of chicken leg.
Anna’s grandma weighed in, “Don’t you worry, my dear girl. You’re so sweet, so kind and beautiful; you will find someone who treasures you.”
“Aw, thanks Grandma,” Cathy said, giving her a side hug.
“You too, Anna. You’ll have to let us know how it goes with your handsome boss,” her grandma added cheekily.
Anna blushed. “Ah, alright…” she mumbled. The mention of Jason had reminded her about the contract. She got up abruptly. “Listen, I still have one last thing to do at work—on the document that got me stuck in the cabin in the first place. I’m just going to nip down to the office, get it done, and be right back.”
Everyone at the table protested. “Anna! What the hell?” Cathy said indignantly.
Anna made her way to the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back in time for the annual epic midnight Jenga tournament,” she said reassuringly.
“You’re such a damn workaholic!” Cathy called out, as Anna opened the door.
“I know, I know,” she replied. “I’ll see you guys in a bit!”
She closed the door behind her, exhaling.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
A couple of hours later, Anna finally reached her workplace. Okay, let’s get in and get out, she thought grumpily as she walked to the entrance. She chuckled dryly, recalling how similar her current “get in, get out” mentality was to when she first arrived at the cabin. And then…I found I didn’t really want to get out, she reflected.
She thought about what she would do when got back to work. Even thought she’d already decided that she would confess her feelings, she was suddenly faced with fresh panic. Oh my God, what am I going to do? How am I going to feel when I see him again? Will he act like nothing ever happened between us? Am I being dumb by following my irrational heart in my decision to tell him? And will I even muster the courage to do so?
She opened the door, using the building keys to let herself in. Anna recognized that her thoughts were spiraling into old territory. Enough, she instructed herself. You can deal with this when you actually get back to work. For now, focus on finally sending that contract, and going home to your family.
The building was dark and did nothing to help her anxiety. Anna flicked on the lights. Empty ghost town, obviously. Stepping out of the elevator, she made her way to her desk, her footsteps ringing throughout the silent building.
“Oh my God—” she yelled.
Sitting at her desk was Jason Hawthorne himself. Anna stared at him wide-eyed, scarcely believing what she was seeing. “Uh…” she said, unable to form words.
Jason looked up at her. “Anna! Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said. He chuckled to himself, “I knew that you wouldn’t be able to resist finishing the deal. I thought it was a pretty safe bet that I would find you here.”
She blinked, looking at him quizzically. It’s him. He’s here. Oh my God. Is this actually happening? Am I hallucinating? She was delighted to see him, even as she began to freak out. I’m not ready to confess my feelings! she protested to the universe. I thought I could put it off for a bit!
Jason continued, “I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for me. Since you’ve given me my first happy Christmas, I thought that it’s time I gave you something back…” He reached into his coat pocket and handed Anna a red envelope.
She took it, still unsure of what was going on. She opened it to find the cheesiest Christmas card she’d ever seen; an old-timey drawing of Santa Claus and tiny, chubby children around a Christmas tree, with “Season’s Greetings” written in curlicue font. Inside, she recognized the familiar chicken scratch handwriting.
Anna, I’m so happy to have met you. I know we’ve only known each other for a little while, but I can’t deny that I have feelings for you. Will you be my girlfriend?
Anna could hardly process what she was reading. It’s reciprocal! It’s reciprocal! He likes me too! Too shocked to say anything out loud, Anna just looked at Jason and smiled.
Jason smiled back, his eyes crinkling slightly. “So… Can I take that as a yes?”
Anna nodded. She took a step closer, reaching up to place her hand gingerly on his shoulder, and slowly leaned in. Jason met her halfway, putting a hand on her waist, pulling her closer. They gazed at each other for a beat before closing their eyes and going in for the plunge; sharing a deep, long, passionate kiss.
Anna didn’t know how long they stayed like that for, becoming lost in each other’s embrace. Eventually, they pulled away, smiling at each other.
“So…all this time…” she said, incredulously, “you liked me too?”
“Of course,” Jason said assuredly. “You have no idea how relieved I am that you feel the same way,” he said, laughing. “I can’t tell you how many times I wrote and rewrote that card, or how much I agonized over whether or not I should come here tonight,” he said.<
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Anna grinned, recognizing herself in the anxiety Jason described. “Oh, trust me, I know exactly what you’re talking about. I was wrestling with whether I should tell you or not. I even considered just avoiding you forever to avoid dealing with it!” she said, putting her hands up. “But I knew I would never be able to do that. I was planning on telling you, too.”
“Really?” Jason asked. “So I didn’t have to go to the trouble of making this card?” he joked.
“What can I say; I’m glad that you did. If you hadn’t, who knows? I might have chickened out in the end…” she said playfully.
They beamed at each other. Jason stroked Anna’s cheek lightly and kissed her again.
“Wait,” Anna said, breathless. “There is the teeny tiny matter of what I came here to do in the first place,” she said, in a mock business tone.
“Of course,” Jason said, a knowing smile on his face.
She pulled out the document, scanned it, and in a few clicks of her computer, the deal was officially finished. Anna sighed, as she felt a huge weight being lifted from her shoulders.
She was jolted out of her bliss by remembering that her family was anxiously waiting for her. She sighed, wishing, for the first time in her life that they didn’t have the tradition of epic board game tournaments. “Jason…” she said, taking his hand again. “I…I have to get going. My family’s waiting for me,” she explained apologetically. She suddenly chuckled, shaking her head. “They are so going to make fun of me when they find out we’re together…”
Jason looked at her inquisitively.
“They kind of predicted this would happen,” she explained.
Jason nodded. “Ah. The whole office romance and falling for your boss thing?” he said, amused.
She squeezed his hand. “Yes, well,” she said flirtatiously, “sometimes clichés have a certain…wisdom to them.”
Jason smiled. They gazed at each other.
“I understand about the family thing,” Jason said. “What if we get together for New Year’s?” he asked.
“Why don’t we go one better?” Anna pulled him close, nuzzling her chin into his chest, and said “join us for Christmas, why don’t you?”
She watched as that beaming grin warmed the room once more; the one she had never seen until this Christmas. An implicit acceptance of her invitation.
“How long were you waiting here, anyway?”
“That is…irrelevant.”
Anna shook her head and laughed. “Merry Christmas,” she said into his chest.
“Merry Christmas,” he replied, softly.
Lara Hunter