“That’s Casey,” Gran said, before Casey could reply. “And the one driving is Emily.”
“I meant Emily. I didn’t quite catch her name. You said you’ve been together for six months?”
“Yep,” Casey said. “But no U-Haul for us.”
A pause, then, “I don’t understand, dear. What does a U-Haul have to do with it?”
Casey and Emily exchanged amused glances. “It’s a running joke about lesbians,” Casey said. “Lesbian couples have the tendency to fall hard and fast and move in with each other pretty quickly. So the joke is that we show up with a U-Haul on our second date.”
“Oh, my. I have so much to learn.”
“Don’t worry,” Gran said. “It didn’t take me long to get up to speed, and I’m not even a lesbian. I just live with one.”
“I’m glad you find living with me an educational experience,” Casey drawled. She could tell Emily was trying not to laugh. “Okay, Gran, if you’re so up on things, answer this. What does a gay man bring on a second date?”
“Hmm. I don’t know.”
Casey twisted to look at her. “Give up?”
“Tell me.”
“What second date?” Casey chuckled and slapped her knee.
“I don’t get it,” Clara said.
Gran caught Casey’s eye and winked. “Have Lily explain it to you. She’ll be in the know.”
Emily pulled into the retirement home’s parking lot. “We’re here.”
Gran, nimble for her age, helped Clara from the backseat. Lily’s apartment didn’t overlook the parking lot; otherwise Casey would have looked up to see if she was hanging out a window. The elevator seemed to take forever to arrive. Clara appeared calm, but she must be nervous. When they reached the fourth floor, Lily wasn’t waiting for them in the hallway, but the moment Casey knocked at the door, it opened.
“Hello, Casey,” she said, but her eyes looked past her, searching for someone else. Her face broke into a smile. “Come in, come in.”
They filed into the apartment. Casey, Emily, and Gran stood aside, to give Lily and Clara room. The two elderly women studied each other. Their hands bumped together when they both went to touch the other’s face. They chuckled and touched each other’s cheek.
“I’m so sorry.” Clara’s voice was filled with awe, as if she could hardly believe Lily was there. “I should have met you. The years we’ve lost.”
A tear rolled down Lily’s cheek. She stroked Clara’s face. “It doesn’t matter now. We’re together. For an afternoon?”
“Oh, I hope we’ll be together for more than that, dear,” Clara said, her voice trembling.
Gran let out a contented sigh. Casey’s eyes moistened. She reached for Emily’s hand, and choked back tears when she felt Emily’s head on her shoulder. She was watching two women who loved each other and had been separated for years, while holding the hand of the woman she loved. She and Emily would never have to choose between their love and their families. They had six wonderful months behind them, and Casey had no reason to believe they wouldn’t have more.
*****
Still feeling warm and fuzzy about Lily and Clara’s reunion, Casey stepped into Emily’s apartment on Christmas morning. “Merry Christmas!”
Emily held out her arms and embraced her. “Merry Christmas! Oh my god, it’s our first Christmas together.”
Casey drew back and kissed her. “I wish we were spending the whole day together.”
“Me, too. We’ll try for that next year.”
“Next year. I like the sound of that,” Casey said, still holding her.
“Makes you think about Clara and Lily, doesn’t it? Not that I’ve stopped thinking about them. It makes me realize how lucky we are. They should have grown old together.”
“At least they’re together now.”
“True, but does that make up for all the lost years? I don’t know.” Emily shook her head. “I know it was a happy reunion, but I can’t help feeling sad for them. But it’s Christmas. I won’t be a downer.” She led Casey to the tree. Two presents sat underneath it. “I’ve been studying the gift you gave me to put under the tree. Usually the shape gives me a few good guesses about what’s inside, but this time…I have no clue.”
“You have the advantage,” Casey said, eyeing the neatly wrapped box with her name on the tag. “I’m seeing mine for the first time.”
Emily crouched and gave Casey her gift. “Open mine first.”
Casey sat on the floor. “Is it fragile? Should I shake it?”
“You could just open it.”
She’d better not shake it, just in case. She pulled off the ribbon, ripped off the paper, and opened the rectangular cardboard box. “A pair of mittens,” she said, lifting out blue mitts.
“I noticed yours were a little threadbare,” Emily said.
“You’re right, I need a new pair. Thank you.” She pulled out the other item in the box. Tickets to a concert with one of her favourite bands. Yes!
“You can take whoever you like.”
Casey gave her a withering look.
Emily returned it with a sheepish one. “It feels a bit weird, when you give a gift you’ll get to enjoy, too.”
“I couldn’t have afforded to take you, especially not with tickets in the front section. And you’re not crazy about this band. It’ll be a sacrifice for you.”
“A tiny sacrifice,” Emily said.
“Still.” Casey hugged her. “Thank you. Now it’s time for your gift,” she said, wishing she could have found something more personal than a spa day.
“Wait! Aren’t you going to try on the mitts? I’d like to see them on you.”
“Sure,” Casey said, wanting to humour her. She pulled on the left mitt, then tried to put on the right, but her fingers touched something hard. “There’s something in here!” She turned the mitt upside down. A key fell onto the floor. It took Casey a second to understand. “A key…” She met Emily’s eyes. “To your apartment?”
Emily nodded. “I’d planned to give you one for a while, and then I thought, it’s close to Christmas, I’ll give it to you under the tree. I couldn’t believe it when you asked about it. You’d never brought it up before, and then you go and do it a week before Christmas.” She took Casey’s hand. “I had to shut you down. I knew I’d tell you if we talked about it, and I wanted it to be a surprise under the Christmas tree.”
“It’s a fantastic surprise.” Casey threw her arms around Emily’s neck, suddenly a mushy wreck. “Thank you,” she managed to say.
“My turn,” Emily chirped.
Yeah, and she’d be disappointed. Casey couldn’t top her gift. She pulled the mess of a gift from under the tree and handed it to Emily. “Merry Christmas.” Hopefully she wouldn’t want her key back. Casey could hardly watch as Emily unwrapped the present and held up the mug. She turned it around in her hand.
“There’s something inside it,” Casey quickly said, dying inside.
“I can see that.” Emily plucked out the spa card. “I love it! I absolutely love it!”
“You do?” She’d figured Emily could use a spa day after her busy semester, but…
Emily put the spa card down and lifted the mug. “Look at this,” she squealed. “You made it!”
“Yeah,” Casey said, cringing.
“It has our initials, and a heart. It’s so cute.”
Huh?
“I don’t even know if I want to drink out of it. It’s too precious.”
“You know it’s not perfect, right? It has a few bumps on it. There’s one here,” Casey said, pointing.
“Who cares? You made this with your own hands. You could have written anything, but you thought of us.” She glanced at the spa card. “I appreciate the spa day. I could use a good massage, and it’ll be nice to relax and let the tension of the past four crazy months drain away—before it all starts up again. But this.” Emily held the mug to her chest. “This is precious. It’s perfect.”
“
Have I told you lately how much I love you?” Casey said.
“Many times. But you can say it again.”
“I love you.” Casey leaned in for a kiss.
“Careful!” Emily put the mug under the Christmas tree, where it wouldn’t be crushed between them. “I love you, too. Now you can kiss me.”
Casey didn’t need to be told twice. She closed her eyes. Her lips touched Emily’s. She saw rainbows, and kittens, and two old broads Clara and Lily’s age, reminiscing about all the years they’d spent together. She had an apartment key, and Emily loved her mug, but Gran was right. The perfect gift would never be found under a Christmas tree. It was the precious gift she and Emily shared—their love.
Read about Casey’s first case in THE MISSING COMATOSE WOMAN
Private eye Casey Cook lands her first case, and it’s a doozy: find a missing comatose woman. Eager to prove herself, Casey does whatever it takes to get answers, from pretending to be pregnant to fawning over a hairless cat.
As she runs into one dead end after another, Casey wonders whether she should have left her retail job. Determined to show that she can do the PI thing, Casey refuses to give up, chases down every lead, and snags herself a girlfriend along the way.
Available now.
Other Titles by Sarah Ettritch
The Missing Comatose Woman
The Deiform Fellowship Series
The Rymellan Series
Threaded Through Time
The Salbine Sisters
If you’d like to be notified when Sarah releases a new book, sign up for the mailing list at her website: www.sarahettritch.com
Thanks for reading!
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Title Page
The Perfect Christmas Gift
Other Titles by Sarah Ettritch
The Perfect Christmas Gift Page 5