by A. J. Morrow
Tess picked up a journal made of soft, vibrant green leather. An oak tree inside a circle was carved into the cover, and it was held shut by a metal clasp. With one look, Colette knew it was the right notebook for her grandfather.
“We’ll take this one, please,” she said to the stall owner, “and…that pen.” She pointed to a fountain pen with a matching green handle.
“Certainly, ma’am. Let me wrap that up for you.” The stall owner, a portly man in his fifties, said. He wrapped the notebook and pen up in brown paper, tied it with string, and handed it to Colette.
When she’d paid, they moved on to the next person, Colette’s mother, and together they chose something Marian would like. Tess was impressively good at picking out gifts, even for people she didn’t know well. She would ask Colette a few questions, hum for a bit, before lighting up with an idea, and—for most of her suggestions, anyway—she was right on the money.
“Honestly, Tess,” Colette said as she slid Arthur’s science fiction novel into her bag, “I don’t know how I’ve done it all these years without you.”
Tess smiled shyly. “Blind luck, I guess. Your family aren’t that hard to shop for, though.”
“I disagree.”
“Hey, Colette?”
“Yes.”
Tess bit her lip. Her arm was still looped through Colette’s, even though none of her family were nearby. “Are we friends now?” she asked, her voice low.
Colette paused for a moment, weighing up her options. “Yes,” she said, with a certainty that took even her by surprise.
“Good.” Tess smiled. “I’m glad.”
“Me too.”
* * * *
An hour later, when they’d drunk hot chocolate with whipped cream and eaten gingerbread in the shape of little bells, Colette asked Tess to enjoy the market with Arthur for a bit, while she went off to run some errands. Tess agreed, though she looked confused, and was happily chatting to Arthur when Colette left her.
Colette sighed in relief. Nearly all the gifts had been bought, but she still had Tess to do, and she knew exactly what to get her.
Tess loved animals—anyone who’d been around her for more than five minutes knew that, and, luckily, there was an animal shelter right around the corner. Colette nearly ran to get in before they closed, since it was so close to Christmas, and was lucky enough to make it just in time for what she wanted.
It was tough to get everything organized in such short notice, but it was exactly the sort of thing Colette excelled at; she signed forms, sweet-talked employees, and arranged for everything to be at the house that evening, so she could be sneaky about it. It was the perfect gift.
Colette was glowing as she walked back into the market. No amount of people jostling her could ruin her mood, and she even gave her mother a cheery wave as she passed. Colette was the sort of person to appreciate a job well done, and this was very much a job well done.
As she rounded the corner, she came upon Tess. Arthur wasn’t next to her, though—he’d disappeared, leaving her in the hands of Bernard and, worse, Adam. Colette’s ex.
Tess stood awkwardly, hot chocolate still in hand, while Bernard and Adam leaned in obnoxiously close to her. It was clear how uncomfortable she was, but Colette knew she was too polite to say anything.
“What are you two doing?” Colette demanded as she stormed over to them.
Bernard smirked while Adam put his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, we were just having a conversation.”
“Sure you were. Tess, are you okay?”
“Of course.” Tess smiled and moved to stand next to Colette. She seemed surprised by her defensiveness, but pleased for it all the same. As she stood closer to Colette, Tess visibly loosened up.
Colette glanced between Tess and Adam, wondering what had been said to inspire such a reaction. Adam, for his part, was nearly exactly as he had been when she broke up with him; smug, clean-shaven, with a dimple on one side of his cheek that showed whenever he smirked. It was infuriating.
“Don’t be like that, Col,” said Adam, “no harm, no foul. I haven’t upset your little friend.”
Colette glared at him. “She’s not my friend.”
“What?” Adam scrunched up his eyebrows.
“Yeah, dude,” said Tess, “I’m her girlfriend.”
Adam’s eyes went wide and he froze in that position, like a cartoon character from some old time-y children’s show. After a moment, he turned to look at Bernard, as if to ask for an explanation, before he stuttered out a response.
“Girlfriend? Well, she certainly didn’t tell me that.”
“I don’t see why she would,” said Colette. She took Tess’s hand in hers and glared at him. “Tess, are you ready to go? I wanted to go see the carol singers before we left.”
“Of course,” said Tess. She didn’t mention that they’d already stopped by the choir on their first way around the market.
As they walked away, Colette overheard Adam going off at Bernard. They’d been friends for years—that was how Colette met Adam, after all—but apparently Bernard hadn’t told him about Tess’s supposed entanglement. It didn’t surprise her.
“What did they want?” Colette asked, when they were far enough away that Bernard and Adam couldn’t hear them.
“I don’t know. I think the blond one, Adam, might have been flirting with me.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“Really?”
“We broke up because I caught him trying to flirt with one of my friends. He’s like that with most women he meets.”
“Wait.” Tess stopped. “That’s the Adam you dated?”
“Unfortunately.”
Tess moved forward, her voice flooded with sympathy. “He’s…a lot.”
“That’s why we broke up. That and he snores incredibly loudly.”
Tess snorted and Colette smiled. Her laugh was like a puppy’s—small and cute and with all the same fuzzy feelings; at least to Colette, anyway. Despite the unpleasantness of talking to Adam and Bernard, walking through the Christmas market with Tess was enough to make her forget all about it. The sound of the carol singers and people laughing, the smell of cinnamon and gingerbread and mulled wine, the sight of Tess, smiling and at ease, all pulled together to create one perfect, happy image. Colette couldn’t bear to look away.
Eventually, it was time to leave again. The family rallied together and, in the dimming winter light, made the journey back to the Sylvestre house in quiet company. Tess, who’d lost all the warmth of the hot chocolate, buried herself deep in Colette’s shoulder, while Colette talked softly to her about the plan for the rest of the holiday. The last few members of the family would arrive that evening, and the next day would be spent relaxing before Christmas.
Tess nodded, but she didn’t say anything. Colette got the impression that she was stuck in her head.
When they got home, the rest of her family were waiting for them. From great aunts to second cousins, Colette was surprisingly glad to see them all, and to introduce them to Tess, who they greeted with enthusiasm.
“I thought you said you had a small family,” said Tess, right after she got the fourth hug from one of Colette’s many great aunts.
“Small immediate family, but a large extended one. Perhaps I should have mentioned that.” Colette fended off another hug of her own. “Shall we head upstairs?”
Tess nodded and they made their excuses. Darkness had fallen quickly, and the house was bright and warm in contrast to the frigid snow-scape that could be seen from the window. Colette nipped down into the kitchen to fetch them something to eat while Tess undressed, and she returned with a tray of bread and cheese, and a glass of warm mulled wine each, (heated by her grandfather, with a wink).
“Oh, I could really do with this,” said Tess. She held the glass in her hands and shivered.
Colette draped a blanket over her shoulders and joined her on the bed. A quiet, casual intimacy had evolved between them, even when they wer
en’t being watched. Perhaps it was the sudden trust built between them, or the two years spent working so close together. Colette didn’t really care. She just knew that sharing a blanket and drinking wine with Tess by her side was exactly where she wanted to be.
“We must have walked pretty far,” Tess said with a yawn, “because I am super sleepy.”
“Mm, me too.”
Colette set up a movie on her laptop—some cute looking rom-com that Tess suggested—and they nibbled on their dinner while they lay in bed. That night, Tess fell asleep with her head on Colette’s shoulder.
Colette didn’t wake her, even after the movie ended. She scrolled through some emails, her eyelids drooping, until her gaze caught on something. It was the email Tess had sent her by accident; she must have forgotten to delete it.
She clicked on the file, curiosity getting the better of her, and began to read.
Chapter 5: Tinsel and Truth
When Tess woke up the next morning, it was to an empty bed. She stretched out across the mattress, her hand skimming over an indent in the memory foam where Colette had slept. It was still warm, she must have left right before Tess woke up.
Tess buried her head back in the pillow and sighed in contentment. It’d been months since she got to lie in two days in a row, and the feeling was magnificent. Gone was the near constant lethargy, the grogginess of a pre-coffee morning, and in its place was another slow, happy day. If she was honest with herself, Tess was enjoying this holiday way more than expected, way more than she’d to admit to Elsie, when she eventually spoke to her sister again.
Slowly, Tess opened her eyes. The curtains were open, revealing a white, snow laden sky, identical to the ground beneath. She stood and walked over to the balcony, but didn’t open the door. From her vantage point she could see flurries of perfect snow caught up in a gentle wind, dancing around each other in spirals before falling to the ground. It must have been snowing for hours, because every branch on every tree was covered, and icicles hung from their limbs, clear as glass.
Tess blew on the window and drew a smiley face in the fog that appeared. Perfect.
The sound of life downstairs was enough to shake her from her thoughts, so Tess grabbed an outfit from her suitcase and changed quickly. When she was dressed, she made her way into the kitchen, where she found Colette and Marian, discussing some complicated business deal. They both looked up when she entered, each with a slightly different expression on their face.
“What a wonderful sweater,” said Marian, though her tone made Tess think she meant the opposite.
Tess was wearing another very ugly Christmas sweater, this one with a sequined picture of Santa blazoned across the front.
“Thanks!” she said, choosing to give Marian the benefit of the doubt, “I got it at the thrift store.”
“I can see that—”
“I think it’s festive,” Colette interrupted. She smiled warmly at Tess, her eyes glowing, and gestured for her to come sit next to her.
“‘Tis the season.”
As they ate breakfast, more people came into the kitchen to join them. Arthur and Gus both sat at the table, as well as a little boy Tess had been introduced to the day before. His name was Jamie, and he was Colette’s second cousin, or something like that.
“How’re you doing, kiddo?” Tess said as he pulled a jar of chocolate spread toward him. “Are you gonna have any toast with that spread?”
“Um, maybe,” he said. He glanced furtively around the kitchen, and then dropped his voice. “Mommy says I can’t have any chocolate today, because of the play.”
“Why not?”
“Might get sick. It’s scary,” Jamie whispered.
Tess smiled. “I won’t tell if you won’t.”
Jamie grinned. He took a finger full of chocolate spread and shoved it in his mouth before any of the other adults could see. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
Tess turned back to Colette, who’d been secretly watching the whole exchange with happy surprise. “What play is he talking about?”
“There’s always a little nativity play at the church on Christmas Eve. This year Jamie’s playing the angel Gabriel.”
“Aw, that’s cute. He definitely looks the part.”
Jamie was a shy kid; small for his age, with the same dark, chocolate colored hair as Colette, and wide green eyes. His face was wide and, with the smattering of freckles across his nose, he looked more than a bit angelic. Tess thought that maybe, if Colette ever had kids, they’d look like him.
“Hey, Jamie, if you’re nervous about the play, I can help you practice your lines later,” Tess said.
“Yes, please!”
She took a sip of her coffee and nudged Colette. “What are the plans for today?”
“Gift wrapping, baking, but nothing stressful.” Colette took a bite of toast. “We’ll go up to the church this evening to watch the nativity, but it’ll be an early night in preparation for tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.”
They chatted for a few more minutes and listened to Jamie tell them what he wanted from Father Christmas in incredible detail, before Gus stole Colette’s attention to ask her a question about the business. Tess, who wasn’t ‘business minded’—as the Sylvestre’s put it—at all, tuned them out in favor of Jamie. When breakfast was over, Colette turned back to her.
“My grandfather just reminded me,” she said, “there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Tess’s stomach dropped.
“Oh?”
“Let’s go into another room.”
They moved into the living room, where nobody but Roger sat. It was the biggest room in the house, with a large, ornate fireplace in the center of one wall and luxurious red couches arranged in a circle around it. A hearty fire flickered in the grate, casting light on the tall pine tree in the corner. It wasn’t yet decorated, but a collection of gifts wrapped in shiny paper sat beneath the branches.
They sat down on a loveseat, with their backs to the wall, and Roger hopped into Tess’s lap. She stroked his ears and watched Colette carefully to get an idea of where this was going. She had no idea what Colette needed to talk to her about, but her mind instantly jumped to the worst extreme. Was Tess too obvious about their lie? Had someone figured it out? Worse, had Colette figured out that, for Tess, it wasn’t a lie at all?
“What did you want to talk about?” she asked, her gaze not meeting Colette’s.
“Well, I was looking through my emails last night, and I’m really sorry, but I found that email you sent me by accident.”
Tess froze. “I forgot about that.”
“Me too, to be honest. But I read your writing, Tess, and it’s brilliant.”
“What?” Tess’s mouth hung open.
“It’s brilliant. I was riveted, I couldn’t put it down, and when it was over, I just wanted more. I think you should seriously consider a career in writing.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I mean, it needs some work, but you have real talent.”
“Wow, that’s…amazing to hear,” said Tess. She smiled giddily, unable to stop herself. “Oh, my goodness, I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. I might just be big headed, but I’ve been writing for years, and Adrian is the only one I’ve shown any work to—”
“Sorry about that, I should have asked for permission.”
“It’s okay, you’re forgiven. I was mostly just embarrassed by it, if I’m honest.”
Colette laughed. “You certainly don’t need to be.”
From Tess’s lap, Roger purred. It was like he was echoing their laughter, his face snuggled in the crook of Tess’s elbow. Between him in her lap and Colette sat next to her, their legs pressed together and their faces inches apart, Tess felt like doing something reckless with her happiness.
Colette was right there; she was real, she was smiling, her Ice Queen exterior completely melted away. There was a looseness to her shoulders that Tess had never se
en before; she was miles away from the cool, stiff, distant boss she’d known. Tess stared at her, her eyes flicking to Colette’s lips; soft and pink, barely a hair’s width away…
There was a noise behind them, and Tess turned around. Right at the edge of the doorway, she thought she could see the last of someone’s shoe, but it disappeared in an instant, and she wrote it off as her imagination.
“Did you hear something?” Colette asked, her face scrunched up adorably.
“I thought so—it was probably just someone in the kitchen.” Tess could feel the heat rushing to cheeks, and she was certain Colette could tell how she’d just been looking at her. If they’d been left just one second longer, than she might have done something very stupid—something that involved reaching out for Colette, and bring her lips down to hers.
Tess shook herself. There was no point in thinking about Colette like that; it’d just bring her pain. Best case scenario, Colette thought of her as a friend—really, that was more than she ever thought she’d get. She should be grateful.
“Shall we go back to the others?” Tess asked, “I want to know if your mom will let me help decorate the tree.”
“Of course.” Colette stood up, her cheeks pink, though Tess couldn’t tell why. She brushed a piece of hair, which had fallen away from her otherwise perfect up-do, back behind her ear.
Tess picked up Roger and carried him with her to the kitchen, where they rejoined the rest of the family. In the corner, Marian and Bernard talked quietly, scowls etched onto their faces.
* * * *
“Please, Marian, please,” Tess begged. She clasped her hands in front of like a little kid and batted her eyelashes. “Pretty please?”
Marian sighed. “We haven’t put decorations up outside of the living room in years. Not since Colette and Arthur were small.”
“To be fair,” Colette chimed in, “there are small ones around again. It might be fun for them. Give them a way to help.”