by Lexi Ostrow
Chapter Thirteen
Tossing in bed, Adrianna grunted before giving into her sudden state of alertness and opened her eyes. Rolling onto her back with a sigh, she focused on the blue glow of the number on the cable box.
Three eighteen in the morning.
“Maybe,” she said to the empty room as she snagged her phone from all the nightstand. The bright light was glaring in the blackness of the room and she squinted before the screen came into focus. “Nothing,” she exhaled and dropped the phone back onto the bed.
Six weeks after Jaxon had left and they hadn’t deviated from their setup plan of FaceTime dates. Text messages were far and few between – a good morning or good night text was typically all they were awake for at the same time without the other being at work.
That hadn’t stopped her from hoping there would be a random missed call or text from Jaxon when she looked at her phone. Most days, she was distracted enough that she didn’t realize he was gone until she was crawling into bed and missed his warmth curled around her. On days when she did notice it, Kailey had helped to distract her along with some of her college friends. She had been able to focus almost entirely without upset for so many weeks.
“So why in the middle of October is it all falling apart?” There was no one there to answer, but that didn’t stop her from asking.
Years ago the ferry into the Quarter never stopped. Unfortunately, with the downturn in the economy during the Great Recession the ferry had been sold to a company that not only charged, but stopped running ridiculously early. Too bad that didn’t change what she knew she needed to do.
Throwing the covers off she got up from the bed. There was only one thing she could do when her mind raced and that was sit down with a warm mug of coffee and a trio of beignets to people watch. Without bothering to change she scratched Lionel, her Pomeranian, when he rubbed against her leg.
“I’ll be back, boy.” She looked around the room but didn’t seen Scarface, the battle wounded Pit Bull she’d adopted a few years back.
Walking from her room she felt the final hint of sleep drain from her body. With a last yawn, she grabbed her keys off the counter along with her purse and walked outside to get to the detached garage. The loud noise of the electric garage opening made her cringe, but she knew it was unlikely her neighbors could hear.
The drive into the Quarter was eerily without thought. She drove as if on autopilot, down General Meyer, onto the 90 west and finally, through the streets until she reached her typical lot on Decatur, next to Jax’s Brewery.
“Huh. I wonder if Jaxon was named after this place,” she’d never thought about it before but made a note to ask him.
Walking down the street in the middle of the night in October wasn’t terribly oppressing humidity wise, but she did find herself verging on breathless from the humidity that was in the air by the time she’d treaded the short distance to Jackson Square. It was quiet, but illuminated despite the locked black gates on all four sides of the garden area. Café du Monde glowed with a warm yellow hue and at least fifty people sat under the awning, enjoying the pastry desert.
New Orleans was a place for tourists, especially in October so close to Halloween. She wasn’t surprised by the amount of noise or the crowd as she walked and sat down at a power sugar covered table.
Her favorite part of coming in during the night was how speedy things were – and how amusing the drunks were to watch.
“What can I get for you, ma’am?” A college-age girl asked as she leaned forward and wiped a wet rag over the sugary table.
“One order of beignets and a coffee. Black.”
As the server wandered off to bring back the ungodly unhealthy treat, she leaned back in her chair and just looked around her. Families and friends lingered at tables, laughing and teasing one another as pound after pound of white sugar coated them as they ate. People shouted just across the way, and there were even two psychics left setup just outside the square – both with clients despite the late hour.
“Aid?” A woman’s voice called out.
“Mom?” she shook her head in disbelief. Her parents had given her the house in Algiers before moving out to Slidell for a quieter lifestyle in their retirement years. “What are you doing here?”
Her mother laughed, her graying hair tossing from side to side. “I just had to have some beignets.” She pulled out the chair and sat down. “I guess it was mother’s intuition.”
“Here you are,” a plate of white coated mountains of dough was set down before her. “May I get you something as well?” She asked Adrianna’s mother.
“I’ll take exactly what she ordered.” Her mother smiled and paid both for hers and Adrianna.
“Thanks, Mom.”
She carefully picked up the hot donut and shook the excess powder off before bringing it to her lips and taking a large bite. It was like heaven in her mouth and instantly, she was more concerned with how many orders she could get away with instead of missing Jaxon.
“Of course. But I know you. You come here in the middle of the night when you’re upset.”
Nothing got past her mom even though it had been nearly eleven years since she’d lived with her.
“I woke up and decided I wanted to see a message or call from Jaxon. There wasn’t one and for some reason it annoyed me.” She hadn’t realize that was what she’d felt at home until saying it out loud. “I have a life here, and I don’t really message him when it’s not planned so I don’t know why it irked me so badly.”
“Because you’re in love with a man who isn’t here,” her mom thanked the server as a second coffee and plate of beignets were set down. “Never in a million years would I have thought you’d give Jaxon the time of day, let alone fall in love with him.” Her mother smiled around a bite, sending powered sugar falling.
She laughed, stuffing the rest of the first beignet into her mouth, not caring about getting dirty. “You never knew?”
“I hadn’t the foggiest. Though it makes sense now. Who wouldn’t find someone like Jaxon attractive?”
Chuckling, she moved onto the second treat. “Pretty much no one in his life. Unless they’re related to him.”
“I remember that about him. I also remember he was pretty much a putz, so I’m glad he got his shit together before you slept with him.”
“Mother!” She shouted, blushing. “Can we not talk about that?”
“Okay, fine. It’s not like I don’t know.” Her mom took a sip of coffee. “Mmm, nothing like a cup of chicory in the middle of the night to soothe the soul.
“Do you think he does this? Randomly misses me and feels bad?”
“He’d be a fool not too, Sweetheart.”
“Thanks, Mom. I needed that, even if you have to say that.”
“I do, but I mean it. You saw him at his worst, and love him at his best. You’re patient with him and ready to accommodate his life at the price of yours. Whether you realize it or not, you’re just as much a catch as he is.”
She grinned. “I do look pretty good on TV every night, don’t I?”
“Ha! Sometimes it’s not hard to see why you would be with Jaxon at all.”
Smirking around the beignet she said nothing, just sat back with her mom and watched the people go by.
“Do you think it’s the one?” he looked over at Marzden over the stout on the table.
“I think if you ask me that one more fucking time I’m going to throw it onto an IED and make you have to start from scratch.
Growling at his friend he dropped the box into his pocket. “Can you blame me for freaking out? It’s not exactly like this is conventional.”
“What? Carrying that around for the next month and half until you get home for Christmas? Or moving as quickly as you are with someone you’ve known almost your entire life.” Mardzen grabbed the beer and downed it in one shot.
“Both I guess.”
“I think given the situation, it’s not as abnormal as you think. I don’t blame
you for rushing it. She seems pretty fucking amazing. If she doesn’t go for it, send her to me.”
“Fuck off,” though he grinned as he popped a fry into his mouth.
“When do you go home?”
“Two days before Christmas. My dad already knows, but I asked him not to tell Kailey. I think my baby sister can benefit from the surprise as much as Adrianna. I’ve never been home for the holidays except when I was stationed out in the states at Twenty-Nine Palms. I don’t know if I even remember what a Donovan family Christmas is like.”
“This is my first one away,” Mardzen said solemnly. “You really do take certain things for granted. Thompson’s little girl turns one the day after Christmas and he hasn’t seen her since birth – poor bastard might not even be recognized. I can’t imagine what that shit is like.”
“Hopefully we never have too.” He felt a wave of unease cover him, thinking about what it would be like to be stationed away from his wife and kids should he have them. “Luckily his wife is a peach.”
“God, sometimes I fuckin’ forget you’re Southern and then you talk like that.” Marzden joked.
“Don’t be jealous that Southern men have all the charm you Northerners lack. You’ll wind up green with envy.”
“Fat chance, Donovan. Fat chance.” Grabbing fries from Jaxon’s plate Marzden stuffed them in his mouth. “I’m going to head out. See you at work.”
“See you,” Jaxon responded.
He was suddenly aware of the weight of the box in his pocket, as if it were a lead brick and not a diamond ring.
She’s going to say yes, he said to himself, answering the same nervous question that had been bouncing around since he’d selected the ring. Deep down, he knew it was impossible for him to be ready for such a big step if she wasn’t, however it didn’t stop him from wondering if he wasn’t way off base.
“You can always just not do it,” he muttered as he took a drink of his beer.
His phone vibrated, shaking the table along with emitting an annoying noise. The screen lit up, showing a photo on his screen, but at the angle he was on he couldn’t tell what it was or who sent it.
‘Missing you’, the text read when he lifted the phone, complete with an image of Adrianna stuffing a beignet in her mouth.
Chuckling, he tapped the info button on the text and then the image of the phone. Lifting it to his ear he couldn’t help but wonder what she was doing out at what had to be five in the morning in New Orleans.
“Well, hello there,” a coy voice said into the phone. “Fancy you calling on a time we don’t have one planned.”
“Color me curious as to what you’re doing awake, and in the Quarter, at this hour.”
“I couldn’t sleep. A sugar overload and people watching seemed to be the only possible cure.”
He’d always known she loved Café du Monde, but he didn’t realize it was something of a solace for her.
“Thinking about me?” he teased.
“More like annoyed I didn’t wake up to a random text or missed call that you absolutely didn’t owe me.”
Grinning like a loon, he squeezed the box through his pants. He was doing the right thing, he knew it. “Sorry I couldn’t be more useful.”
Her laughter was light, and he could see her face as she laughed.
“I think you’re making up for it now. By the way, do you know why your name is Jax?”
Grunting, he closed his eyes and groaned. “I am not by any means named after the brewery. There’s no reason to it other than my parents liked the way it rolled off their tongues. And good lord did it take you forever to ask me that.”
“I take it you’ve been asked that a time or two,” amusement was evident but to her credit she didn’t laugh. “And just don’t tell my producer I missed something so potentially obvious. I might need him to write me an overseas recommendation one day.”
Sooner than you know, he thought, pleased as punch with himself.
“Your secret is safe with me.”
A loud double beep blared in his ear. “Fuck, my phone’s got low battery.” Moron, that’s what you get for not charging it every day.
“That’s fine. I liked the surprise call quite a bit, even if it is being cut short.”
“Who said I wouldn’t talk to you until it died?”
“Your girlfriend because not having a charged phone is stupid and could be dangerous.”
“Aid, you realize I’m in the Marines. I can handle myself with or without my phone.”
“Just humor me. I’d prefer to think you’re not a ballsy risk taker.”
Snickering he just shook his head. “I’m a big boy, Adrianna. I promise I won’t go getting myself killed before I arrive home again.”
“Good. That’s precisely what I needed to hear. Now go, I love you.”
“I love you too, I’ll see you Christmas morning.”
She hung up a second later, potentially not trusting that he would or worried that his phone would die any second.
“You got lucky, Jax. You got super fucking lucky.” Grinning, he shoved the last of the fries into his mouth.
I can’t wait to see her face on the twenty-third, and not just because I miss her.
Chapter Fourteen
“Everything smells delicious, Mr. Donovan,” Adrianna said with a smile as she inhaled another lungful of the Christmas turkey that he’d pulled out of the oven.
“It had better, or my wife would kill me for ruining her recipe,” he joked, setting it down on the table. “I’m glad you could join us for an early Christmas dinner this year. We don’t normally do it on the twenty-third, but circumstances and all that.”
“I’m honored to be included.”
“Oh shut up, Aid. It’s not like we haven’t been doing Christmas at each other’s houses every year since we were eight,” Kailey snorted from across the table.
Grinning, she unfolded her napkin and placed it over her lap. “True, but since we’re doing it on the twenty-third this year so you and Jim can celebrate your first Christmas as newlyweds alone, there wasn’t a guarantee I was coming.”
Kailey just rolled her eyes and leaned forward to spoon some of the creamiest mashed potatoes Adrianna had ever seen onto a plate.
“If everyone could get their side dishes, I’d like to wait a moment to cut the turkey,” Mr. Donovan said, eyes flicking from person to person. “I’d, um, like to let the turkey cool just a few more minutes.”
Adrianna saw Kailey give her father the side eye, but the request didn’t seem that strange. Letting the turkey cool before cutting into was what her father did too. She glanced at Mr. Donovan and couldn’t help but notice he seemed . . . fidgety.
“Is everything okay, Mr. Donovan?” She asked, hoping he was feeling well.
“Yes, yes. Everything is perfectly fine. The perfect evening for an early Christmas celebration.” He glanced out the formal dining room window.
Adrianna couldn’t help but follow his gaze out onto the lit up Uptown street. Christmas celebrations in New Orleans could rival New York City’s – and that wasn’t just her opinion, travel guides said it all the time. The bright lights blinking just outside the window were paired with huge blowups, digital light shows, life-size mangers and pretty much anything else the people of New Orleans could give a Christmas vibe too. Growing up she’d gotten sick of the nearly eight hundred monthly events centered around the holiday, but as an adult, she found some of them rather enjoyable.
“What is everyone looking forward to most this year?” Jim asked, squeezing Kailey’s hand. “I know I’m looking forward to starting new traditions.”
Kailey practically beamed from beside him. “I’m looking forward to the time off. It’s been a hectic event planning season, as usual, and I’m ready to just be with Jim for a few days.” Kailey looked to her dad when she finished speaking.
“I’m looking forward to the house all quiet and to myself for some quality reading on Christmas Day.” He grinned. “Not that
I don’t love having you here of course. How about you, Adrianna? Ready for anything special?”
She chuckled. “I’m more than ready to see Jaxon on Christmas morning. It’s felt like forever since he was last home and I didn’t realize how utterly draining that could be.”
“I’m sure he will surprise you with the perfect gift,” Mr. Donovan said, his smile wide. “So, does the station have any plans for the holiday broadcast?” Mr. Donovan asked as he sat at the head of the table.
“Nothing outside of the ordinary. Just a little Christmas outfit here and there among the staff and of course, Tommy’s famous ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas reading before we sign off.”
He smiled. “I’ve always liked that tradition. When Tommy signs off for retirement, I hope his replacement, or you, pick the tradition up.”
“Dad, come on. You and I both know Adrianna will be off gallivanting the globe with Jaxon long before Tommy Engle retires.”
She fought off the blush she knew was likely there anyway. “Jaxon and I will do what comes naturally to the relationship.” She ached to be able to stuff a forkful of something in her mouth so she couldn’t talk anymore.
Her phone rang, the tone chiming loudly through the downstairs of the house. Saved by the phone. Ordinarily, she wouldn’t answer her phone during a meal, but it was impossible to ignore it anytime it rang because she always hoped Jaxon would be on the other end. It was her least favorite thing about herself since dating Jaxon, the constant hope that she would hear from him.
“I’m sorry. Let me just grab this real quick since we haven’t started.” Pushing back from the table she walked as quickly as she could and grabbed her phone from her purse on the couch. “Mom?”
“Hey there, Sweetie.” Her father’s voice responded.
“Okay, or Dad.”
He laughed. “Just stole your mom’s phone, she’s here too, though.”
“Hi, Sweetheart!” Her mom shouted through the phone.