Christmas All Around Us ; The Perfect Time for Love ; Playing for Keeps

by Carla Kincaid

  "But you are smart, Mom," Julie interjected.

  "Thank you, Sweetheart," she said with a smile. "But I certainly didn't feel like it around your father's friends."

  Julie nodded with understanding. Mr. Peterson was a physics professor now and Julie knew he'd always been really into science. When he and his peers got together and started talking about scientific theories, it often felt like they were speaking in a foreign language.

  "Around your Dad and his friends -- to be honest -- I felt kind of dumb. And I knew some of his friends would have agreed that I was." She paused and took another deep breath. "Anyway, when I sense that your dad was about to propose I almost broke up with him because I didn't feel like I was good enough to marry a man like him. I thought he might be better off with one of his other female classmates who understood his work and shared his interests."

  "So what made you change your mind?" Julie asked eagerly.

  "Well, one night we went out to dinner at a local restaurant. Not a fancy place. Just a chain restaurant that we could afford on our college budget. That particular night the place was really crowded and although we had a reservation, we heard the hostess tell an elderly couple that it was going to be forty-five minutes before she could seat them. The woman shook her head and told her husband that she was too hungry to wait that long and she'd rather stop at a grocery store and get something to make sandwiches back at their motel. Something about that just bothered me so I whispered and asked your father if he'd mind sharing a table with the couple. I know I kind of caught him off guard with the request but he said that it was okay with him. Well, the four of us ended up having a lovely meal. When the check came, they wouldn't even allow us to pay for our food. Then when we were driving home from the restaurant, your father was really quiet. He'd been a little quiet at dinner too but I just thought it was because he was enjoying the food he'd ordered. When I ask him if he was okay he pulled the car over, cut off the engine and turned to me and said..."

  "Do you know why I love you so much?" Mr. Peterson chimed in from the kitchen doorway.

  The two women jumped in their seats. They had been so engrossed in the story that neither of them heard Mr. Peterson when he approached the kitchen.

  "Henry, how long have you been standing there?" Mrs. Peterson asked placing her hands on her hips.

  "Long enough to hear the start of one of my favorite stories," Julie's father replied. He walked over to his wife and kissed her on the cheek.

  "Julie, your mother doesn't know this but that was the night that I decided for sure she was the woman I wanted to marry."

  Mrs. Peterson turned her head toward Julie and gave her a conspiratorial wink. Julie had to stifle a laugh. It was funny but also endearing that her father thought his intentions were a well-kept secret.

  "So what happened next?" Julie asked, delighted to hear the story from her father's point of view.

  "I told your mother that I thought she was the most kind, caring person I'd ever met. Not only did she invite that couple to share our table but she held up the lion's share of the conversation. You see my darling," Mr. Peterson eased up next to his daughter. "I've never been very good at conversation with people. I get kind of tongue-tied when I have to talk about things other than my career. But your mother," he winked at his wife. "Your mother can talk to anybody, anywhere! She just knows how to make people feel at ease."

  As Julie sat there listening to her father's version of the story she realized how easy it was for anyone to let their perceived shortcomings blind them to how those around them saw things.

  "Thanks for sharing that story, you two," Julie said giving each of her parents a hug.

  "Did it help you figure out whatever it is you've been wrestling with?" her mother asked.

  "Yeah," Julie said with a smile that masked her internal thought. Unfortunately, I figured it out too late.

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  Just past noon on Christmas Eve, Rachel wheeled the last of her luggage onto the elevator and pressed the button for the garage level.

  "Merry Christmas!" one of her neighbors bellowed as he stepped out of the way so Rachel could exit the car.

  "Same to you," Rachel said with manufactured cheer. She didn't want to be rude, but she'd had about as much as she could take of Christmas greetings. She only had one more stop to make and then she'd be free of the holiday.

  Rachel stowed her bags in her trunk and then pulled out her phone to text a short message.

  On my way.

  Before she'd reached the garage exit her phone emitted a ping and a thumbs up emoji appeared on the screen under Gail's name.

  As Rachel maneuvered through the freshly plowed streets, it seemed like every turn she made caused her to pass some place she had visited with Julie and Misty last week. For the first time in her life, she had some positive Christmas memories to think of but now she wanted to block those from her mind.

  "Are you sure you don't want to stay for an early dinner," Gail asked as Rachel handed her the keys to her Lexus. "You could eat here and then Claire and I could get you to the airport in plenty of time to catch your flight."

  Rachel just shook her head. "No. I just want to give Misty her gift. The car service the law firm ordered should be here any minute to pick me up."

  "But what about food? Do you want to pack something to take with you?"

  The house smelled like Claire had been cooking all night but Rachel's stomach was too tense to even think about eating -- especially in her friend's home where even more holiday memories haunted her.

  "No. There's a restaurant I like at the airport. I'll just grab something there while I wait for my flight."

  Rachel could tell her friend was trying to make her feel better. The two of them had a long talk on the phone last night about everything that had happened with Julie and even though Gail didn't agree with Rachel's decision to leave without talking to Julie, she'd respected Rachel's choice and hadn't said anything else about the matter.

  "Misty!" Gail called out. "Come here! Rachel has a Christmas present for you."

  Misty came running from the kitchen -- followed by Claire -- and almost jumped into Rachel's arms.

  "Hi, Rachel! I miss you!" the little girl said as she squeezed Rachel's upper body tightly.

  "I miss you too, Misty." Rachel couldn't help but smile when she realized how true that statement was. "And here's a Christmas present from me and Julie." Rachel handed Misty the wrapped Doc McStuffins bag and laughed as the little girl shook the box. "I bet you can't guess what it is," Rachel teased.

  A pensive look crossed Misty's face. "Ballet shoes?" she responded after thinking about it for a minute.

  It was a reasonable guess since Rachel had said the gift was from both her and Julie. "Nope," Rachel said focusing on the little girl's excitement and trying not to think about the person who was absent from the room but very present in Rachel's thoughts. "Go ahead and open it."

  Rachel watched as Misty tore at the wrapping paper. Once she could see the picture on the outside of the box, she began to jump up and down.

  "Mommy G! Look!" she shouted to Gail. "Now I can make you feel better!" Misty finished tearing the box open and immediately pulled the plastic stethoscope from the bag and held it to Gail's chest.

  "How do you think she's doing, Dr. Misty?" Rachel asked.

  Misty looked up at Rachel with a smile and then dove back into her medical bag looking for another instrument to prod her patient with.

  "Claire, I think we may have a doctor in the family instead of a dancer," Gail said with a wink to her wife.

  Rachel watched Gail's examination until her cell phone rang letting her know the car service had arrived. She hugged each family member and then walked out to the waiting car. Before she got in she looked back at the little family of four standing in the front window. The tree glistening behind them created the perfect Christmas picture -- one that Rachel was pretty sure she'd never experience for herself.

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  "There's water and wine in the little mini-fridge on the right," Carl the uniformed driver said once Rachel was inside the car. "And there are a few snacks too."

  The man seemed to be in an awfully good mood for someone who had to be out driving people around on Christmas Eve, Rachel thought.

  I guess this is the kind of service that comes with working for a prestigious firm like Brighton and Myers, Rachel thought as she sunk back into the plush seats of the luxury vehicle. She'd simply been planning to call Uber or Lyft but Joseph Brighton insisted on sending a private car service to take her to the airport.

  "Only the best for our potential new partner," he'd said. They were trying to impress Rachel, and she had to admit it was kind of working.

  "Looks like you're going to make it out just before the big snowfall," Carl said from the front seat. He glanced into the rearview mirror to make eye contact with Rachel. Just then the commercial that had been playing on the radio ended and the car filled with Christmas music. A look of displeasure must have registered on Rachel's face.

  "Is there a radio station you'd prefer?" Carl asked.

  She was about to say yes when her cell phone rang. Carl simply lowered the volume as Rachel fumbled around in her purse looking for her phone.

  "Hi, Darling," her father's voice chimed when she answered. "I just thought I'd reach out to you today since I'll be in the air most of the day tomorrow."

  "China?" Rachel asked knowing the client he'd been doing a lot of business with lately was based there.

  "Close. Korea. But only for a few days, then I'll be in China for the first of the year. What do you have planned for the holiday? Are you going to your mother's?" He asked the same question every year -- and her answer was always the same.

  "No. Mom's doing the church thing as usual."

  Several years ago Rachel's mom finally decided to get help with her drinking and she'd joined a church that had a substance abuse ministry. The support she got from the church helped her with her drinking but it also introduced her mother to some disturbing ideas about human sexuality. As a result, Rachel found it easier not to visit her mother during the holidays.

  "I'm actually heading to the airport as we speak," she continued telling her father. "I got a job offer from a firm in L.A. And I'm flying out to meet the senior partners."

  "That's my girl!" he said enthusiastically. "Keep your eye on the prize!"

  Her father was always encouraging about things related to Rachel's career. It was something the two of them had in common -- work was something they understood.

  "Make sure they're ready to pay you what you're worth, Sweetheart. Don't let them low ball you because you're a woman!"

  Rachel assured her father that the offer had come with an appropriate salary.

  "Well, I'd better go," she said suddenly eager to end the conversation. She just wasn't in the mood to talk about work for a change.

  When she hung up the phone, Rachel let out a long sigh.

  Suddenly the thought of spending Christmas Eve on a plane full of strangers wasn't very appealing. Before last week spending the holiday alone had seemed quite normal but now -- as the image of Gail, Claire, Misty and Simon huddled around their Christmas tree flashed through Rachel's mind -- her version of normal was losing its luster.

  Rachel picked up her phone and scrolled through her old text messages. She thumbed past the one Katie had sent the day after the gala inviting Rachel to her place to "pick up where they left off" but that invitation didn't have the slightest appeal. When she found the text she was looking for -- the one she'd been sent earlier in the week before everything fell apart -- Rachel stared at the message wondering if she had what it took to do what she was thinking about doing.

  Arguing a difficult case was something she did all the time at work. She'd had plenty of practice swaying juries but this time instead of twelve -- there was only one person she needed to win over.

  "Excuse me, Carl?"

  The driver looked up and met Rachel's eyes.

  "Can we make a stop somewhere before we head to the airport?"

  Rachel didn't know how she'd be received at her intended destination but she had to give it a chance. She just couldn't leave town without trying.

  Chapter 15

  The entire Peterson clan was huddled shoulder to shoulder around several round tables in Julie's parent's refinished basement chatting after their delicious Christmas Eve dinner. Because of two new marriages and three births their numbers had grown so much that it now took six tables to accommodate everyone -- leaving barely any room for people to get up once seated. So when the doorbell rang, Mr. Peterson's face twisted as if he was trying to work out a difficult physics problem. Finding a way to squeeze out of his spot in the corner to get upstairs and greet the late arrival was taking more than a little effort.

  "I'll get it," Ben, Julie's teenaged cousin said before Mr. Peterson could make a move.

  Julie's father sighed with relief as he watched the agile younger man squeeze out of his seat and bolt upstairs.

  "He invited that Carson girl," Ben's mother said with a laugh. "He's been texting her all day asking if she's still coming over."

  Julie had to smile. She'd watched Ben grow up into a confident, smart and athletic teenager but he still had some of the youthful shyness that had been with him since he was a toddler. Julie hoped for his sake the person at the door upstairs was the girl he was waiting for.

  The family breathed a collective inhale when they heard footsteps begin to descend the stairs. All other conversation had come to a halt and everyone's eyes were glued to the stairwell in anticipation. When Ben appeared it was obvious from his crestfallen expression that the visitor at the door wasn't the girl who he'd been waiting for.

  "It's a friend of Julie's," Ben said as he walked back to his table and slumped into a folding chair.

  "Well, hello there!" Julie's father greeted as the guest came into view.

  Julie's eyes grew wide and she could hardly speak. "Rachel?" she stammered as the woman came into view.

  It was so normal to have family friends over on Christmas Eve that Julie hadn't even told her parents that she'd invited Rachel to dinner last week. Now as she sat there staring at the woman who she once excitedly imagined introducing to her parents, Julie didn't know what to say.

  "Come have a seat, Rachel," Mrs. Peterson interjected. She pulled a chair up to the tight space between Julie and the highchair where her toddler cousin Gina was perched. "There's always room for one more!"

  Julie watched as Rachel squeezed around the wall until she reached the table where Julie was sitting. She could feel everyone's eyes on the two of them waiting for a more formal introduction but Julie couldn't manage to say a word. In fact, she could barely even look at Rachel.

  "What are you doing here?" Julie finally managed to whisper but before Rachel could answer Mrs. Peterson's voice filled the room.

  "Alright is everyone ready for our post-meal tradition?" she asked the gathering of family and friends. "Rachel, we were just about to play a little game we play every year after we eat," Mrs. Peterson explained as she held up a red velvet stocking filled with little scraps of paper. "We pass this around and when it's your turn, you pull a slip of paper out of the stocking, read the question written on it out loud and then answer it for everyone to hear. Candice, why don't you start so our guest can see how it's done?"

  As Julie's mom handed the stocking to her sister, Julie could feel pools of sweat forming under her arms. She knew the questions on the pieces of paper were harmless enough for her to answer in front of her family but she didn't know how Rachel would react to it all.