The Christmas Layover

by Robert Tate Miller

  Then, Ally saw Jake looking over her shoulder. “Robbie’s missing his big chance—again,” he said. Ally followed his gaze and saw Amelia standing alone at the edge of the dance floor just watching the dancers.

  “Wonder what happened to her friend?” Ally said.

  “Maybe he moved on,” Jake said.

  “No,” Ally said. “I think she did. He was much too needy.”

  Jake smiled. Ally so loved his smile. “I never told you,” Jake said, “but I really liked what you said to Robbie. The three things. How’d you come up with that?”

  “I didn’t really come up with them,” Ally said. “I just know that’s what I’m looking for. And, trust me, it’s not easy to find. Some might say nearly impossible.”

  Then, the music abruptly stopped as if somebody pulled the plug. Ally and Jake looked around the room. What’s going on? she thought. A grating screech of microphone feedback turned all eyes to the stage as a spotlight switched on to illuminate a lone figure standing center stage holding a microphone.

  Robbie.

  The skinny busboy held up his left hand to shield him from the light. Ally saw that he was still wearing the white jacket from the diner.

  “Sorry,” Robbie said into the mic, prompting another burst of shrill feedback. Ally and Jake exchanged a curious look. What is going on? Ally thought. She looked back and saw that Amelia was in the same spot, eyes locked on the stage. Robbie looked at the microphone in his hand, then out at the audience. “Hi.” This time there was no feedback, and he seemed relieved. “For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Robbie Wilson.” He took a pause as if the audience really needed time to process what he’d just said. “I’m nineteen years old, and I work at Charlie’s Diner.”

  “What’s he doing?” Jake whispered.

  “I’m not sure,” Ally said, “but I think he’s finally learning to be bold.” Ally saw Robbie looking around, scanning the faces, and she knew who he was searching for. Then, she saw his eyes rest on the back of the room. He’d spotted Amelia.

  “Hi Amelia,” he said. His voice was steady and calm. All eyes swiveled like a tennis match toward the lovely girl standing on the edge of the dance floor. Amelia looked around and seemed self-conscious at suddenly being the main attraction.

  “Here it comes,” Ally whispered to Jake.

  “Here what comes?”

  “You’ll see.”

  “Amelia, I’ve known you pretty much my whole life,” the busboy continued. “I mean, we grew up on the same street and went to the same school, and…I know you probably think you know me pretty well. But, if you think you know all there is to know about me…you’d be wrong. There’s something really important I haven’t told you. I haven’t told you because I was afraid to tell you. I was afraid that—if I told you how I really felt about you—you wouldn’t be my friend anymore. So, I decided to just keep it to myself while you just went about your life not knowing…not having any idea that somebody you’d known for so long felt that way about you…that some guy from your street and school and past…really cared about you.”

  Ally felt a lump come to her throat, and she held onto Jake’s arm. Why am I so nervous? she thought. But she knew why. It was because she had so much invested in that moment. Even though love had knocked the wind out of her, she was still pulling for it to win the day.

  “I never told you,” Robbie went on, “that I think you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever known. You are beautiful and kind and funny and smart and talented, and I have been head over heels in love with you from the first moment I saw you. It was Kimmy Robinson’s fifth birthday party. Remember, Amelia?” Ally saw Amelia nod. “She had a jumping house with a slide. We slid down together, and you asked me to hold your hand because you were afraid.” Ally could see Amelia nod again. She remembered. “I still think about that all the time,” Robbie said. “I could never forget. Anyway, someone recently told me that I should just be honest with you. And that’s what I’m up here doing.”

  Suddenly, there was silence. The room waited. Ally watched Amelia. There was an uncertain look on the coed’s face, and Ally wondered if she might run out in embarrassment. But then, she began moving forward. It was a slow and purposeful movement. She’s heading for the stage, Ally realized. Her heart started fluttering like a hummingbird. The crowd parted as Amelia moved, creating a passageway across the dance floor to the edge of the elevated stage where Robbie stood waiting. Ally looked at Jake, and he winked at her. It was as if he knew what was about to take place.

  When Amelia reached the edge of the stage, she looked up at Robbie for a moment, then held up her hand. “Dance with me?” she whispered. There was a moment of hesitation, as if Robbie couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “C’mon,” Ally softly urged as she dug her fingers into Jake’s arm. “Take her hand.” Robbie didn’t say anything. He just took Amelia’s small, beckoning hand and stepped down onto the dance floor, handing off the microphone as she guided him out to the center of the space. The DJ, obviously knowing that the moment needed the perfect number, came through with flying colors, selecting “Merry Christmas, Darling” by The Carpenters. And, as the dance began and couples flowed in around Robbie and Amelia, Jake gently took both of Ally’s hands, and they joined the young couple’s first dance.

  “He did it,” Ally said, smiling up at Jake.

  “You did,” Jake said. “See, there was a purpose to you being here after all.”

  Ally thought about Jake’s words as she put her head on his shoulder and let him slowly guide her through the sweet slow dance. Was Robbie and Amelia her purpose for being in Bethlehem, or was it something else? Did she have a purpose at all for being there?

  And, as Karen Carpenter sweetly sang logs on the fire fill me with desire, Ally felt Jake’s hand shift on her waist as he moved her in closer, and she knew it was, without a doubt, the best dance of her life. And when she looked at him, Jake was watching her, and he reached out and gently brushed a stray hair from her cheek. Ally licked her lips. Suddenly, she was the shy one. He’s going to kiss me, and I’m going to let him.

  I’ve just one wish on this Christmas Eve.

  I wish I were with you.

  I wish I were with you.

  The song finished, and Jake kissed her. The kiss was slow and sweet, his lips pressing gently against hers as he took her face in his hands. Ally closed her eyes and felt a shiver run up her spine. She could feel the tiny hairs on her arms stand up as she kissed him back, flicking her tongue between his lips. He kissed her more passionately, pressing his mouth against hers, matching her hunger and longing.

  And Ally felt something surprising, a totally unexpected sensation knocking on the door of her mind. Hope. Her girlhood dream of a family and babies and shared vacations and barbecues, trick-or-treating and school plays, came rushing back, and she welcomed it in like a long-lost friend. That dream was alive again right there on the dance floor in the Town of Bethlehem Community Center. The kiss had awakened it. Maybe there was someone out there waiting to help tuck her unborn children in bed someday. Someone to make a life with. A family. Maybe that someone was close at hand.

  And then it was over. The music faded. Ally didn’t move away from her dance partner. Instead, she looked into his eyes, searching his deep blues as if maybe she could find an answer there. Wow, she thought. That was some kiss. It was sweet and sensuous, a kiss that felt like something more than just a kiss. Does he want me? Is this man falling for me, or is it just Christmas Eve and my romantic imagination? And then, like fingernails scraping over a chalkboard, the blaring fluorescent lights flashed on, and the moment was gone. Ally let go of Jake’s hands and stepped back as another shriek of microphone feedback turned all eyes to the stage, where Mayor Frank Farmer now stood holding the microphone.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” he began, “as you all know by now, tomorrow, we’ll have to bid so long to our friends—the passengers and crew of Flight 1225.” A murmur rolled through th
e crowd like the wave at a baseball game. “The Blizzard Blast has passed, and the airports have reopened.” Ally glanced around the room, lighting on the faces of some of her fellow passengers, the Christmas castaways. She didn’t sense that they were any more excited about saying goodbye than she was. She knew why. Like her, they no longer felt Bethlehem was an inconvenience. The little town had become something more, something they likely couldn’t have imagined when they arrived four days earlier. Bethlehem had become a kind of home, a sweet shelter from the storm that had seeped into their hearts and souls and memories. It wasn’t going to be easy to say goodbye.

  And then Ally saw that people were hugging: locals and passengers, strangers and new friends. The embraces rolled around the room, spreading like a brush fire, enveloping one and all. And she turned to Jake, and he was watching her with the same blue eyes she’d been lost in moments before, and she saw a trace of a tear in one of them that she knew he was doing his best to keep in check. Captain Kendall took the microphone and explained some of the logistics, reminding them that the plane would not be continuing to New York, but returning to the airport of origin in Los Angeles. When the pilot was finished, she handed the microphone to the mayor.

  “I’d like to dedicate the last dance of the night to our good friends,” the mayor said on stage, “the castaways of Flight 1225.” “Same Old Lang Syne” started to play as the lights dimmed again. Ally and Jake just stood looking at one another. Suddenly, she didn’t feel like dancing. She just wanted to turn and walk away, get her coat and go out into the snowy night before she said something she couldn’t take back. She saw Jake watching her, and she could almost read his thoughts. He knows what I’m thinking, Ally thought. Just ask him to dance, she coerced herself. Just one more dance.

  “Jake?”

  She heard her phone ring and looked around for it. She was wearing a dress; her purse was on the coat table. Where could it be? Then she remembered as Jake coolly slipped it out of his jacket pocket. She’d given it to him to hold for her. He held it out to her like a challenge, and Ally took it.

  “Sorry,” she said as she glanced at the screen. It was Devyn. Why is she calling on Christmas Eve? Does she just want to wish me Merry Christmas, or is it something urgent? Ally looked at Jake. “It’s my studio manager. I should probably take this.” Jake nodded, and Ally moved off the dance floor to take the call, catching it just before it went to voicemail.

  “Hey Devyn, what are you doing calling on Christmas Eve?”

  “I’m so sorry, Ally. I really wanted to wait to call you, but I just couldn’t. I’m still at the studio.”

  “Still there?” Ally said. “I thought we were closing early today.”

  “Ally, I’ve got some bad news,” Devyn said. Ally could hear her manager’s voice crack. Ally wondered how there could possibly be any more bad news, since she was pretty sure she’d crammed her quota for the year into the past several days.

  “Okay,” Ally said. “Let me have it.”

  “I was just closing up when a deputy from the sheriff’s office showed up.”

  “The sheriff’s office?” Ally said.

  “Yes,” Devyn said in a trembling voice. “Apparently, Tim wasn’t paying the rent—not for three months. He’d been hiding the notices and the calls and the messages. They delivered an eviction notice. We have sixty days to get out. I’m so sorry, Ally. I didn’t know.” Ally could tell that Devyn was crying. She looked over toward Jake. He was dancing with Maddie near Robbie and Amelia. The new couple was cheek to cheek, lost in each other. At least there’s one happy ending this Christmas, Ally thought.

  “It’s okay,” Ally said to Devyn, but she didn’t feel her words. She knew that there was nothing at all okay about being evicted on Christmas Eve. “Devyn, just go home and be with your family. I’m going to get back there as soon as I can and try to figure something out. Go enjoy your holiday. Please.”

  “Okay, Ally,” Devyn said in a shaky voice. “Ally, I’m so sorry this is happening to you. You’re such a good person.”

  “Thank you,” Ally said. “We’ll figure something out. Merry Christmas.”

  “Merry Christmas,” Devyn whispered, and she was gone. Ally hung up and just stood there in the darkened room as she tried to process what Devyn had just said. Evicted. There was such a feeling of finality to the word. What was she going to do? How would she survive? And what about Devyn? She’d be out of a job, too. Ally felt suddenly out of place in a room of Christmas cheer and goodwill. She felt as if she didn’t have any right to the feeling. She just wanted out, and fast. She grabbed her coat, scarf, and beanie from the coat table and flung them on.

  “Ally?”

  Ally turned, and Jake was there looking at her. There was something about his face and eyes that told her he could tell something was terribly wrong.

  “Is everything okay?”

  She just stood there for a moment as if she was no longer sure how to take her thoughts and send them to her tongue to form words. She just wanted out, wanted to run, to get away, to be alone. She could have just told him that, and he would have probably understood, but the pain and emotion and devastating punch of the moment seemed to overwhelm her. Ally had been holding on to the belief that—despite everything Tim had done to her—at least she still had her studio. She had assumed the rent had been paid, that she had time: months, weeks, something. With her studio, she was still afloat. With her studio, there was still hope. She could mount a comeback. She could get her life back on track.

  The phone call from Devyn shattered her failsafe. The call told her that her life raft had a gaping hole in it and was taking on water. Ally was sinking fast, and the ending was coming with a harsh finality, while she stood on a cramped dance floor in the community center of a tiny town a thousand miles from home. She’d never felt so trapped, so helpless. Ally realized that Bethlehem and Jake had lulled her into a false sense of security. The welcoming warmth had made her feel as if she truly could weather the Tim storm, as if everything would turn out okay in the end. I’m being evicted. Everything I worked so hard for is over. Gone.

  “Jake. I’ve been kidding myself. I thought this whole thing going on with my life was just a bump in the road, and that I was going to be able to fix everything, all the while stranded, a thousand miles from home. But I was just fooling myself. It’s over. My money’s gone, my business is in shambles, and now I’ve been evicted from my studio. Everything I’ve built is finished. Done. I’m going to have to sell my house to pay off—”

  Jake put his hands on her arms, stopping her. “Ally. It’s going to be okay. I know it’s bad, but there are people right here that care about you, that won’t let you fall. You can stay in Bethlehem for a while until…”

  “Stay in Bethlehem?” Ally pulled back from him. “Jake, are you kidding?”

  “Why not? Stay longer than a while, if you want. You can teach yoga right here.” He chuckled. “Bet you’d have a line of students at your door. I can help you find a place, get you set up. I’ve seen how you are here, Ally. You’re happy. I can tell. I’m afraid if you move back to L.A., you’ll lose that.” Ally stared at him. Her emotions were swirling, her stomach in knots. She couldn’t believe what he was suggesting. Stay there? In Bethlehem? Stick my head in the sand and hide from my problems? My responsibilities? She suddenly felt her ears turn red. Her life had just ended, and he was trying to recast it in his image.

  “Stay here?” she said. This time there was an edge to her voice. “Why would you think I would stay here? This isn’t my home. I’m sorry, Jake. But I just told you everything I’d worked for is gone, and your response is for me to just…leave it all behind? Just give up?” Her voice cracked. She was starting to fall apart. “Just like that?”

  “Listen, Ally,” Jake said. “I didn’t mean…”

  Ally stepped farther back from him. “I think this should be our goodbye,” she said. “You obviously don’t really know me, and I don’t know you. I’m sorry, Jake. I ne
ed to live my life. And, I’m sorry, but it isn’t here. It never will be.” Ally turned to leave, but Jake took her by the elbow and turned her back to him.

  “Ally, wait. I thought…”

  “You thought what? That we had…a future? Jake, you’re a wonderful guy. Truly. But this…us…isn’t going to work. You don’t really know me if you think I can just chuck it all and restart my life like it’s nothing. I built something in L.A., and I’m not going to give it up without fighting for it. Even if it does no good. I’m…I’m sorry.” Ally could see his face change. She could read the pain of her words registering there. She’d left a mark, and, though she knew she’d later feel remorse, at that moment she just needed to get out. She looked past him and saw Tina watching. Ally wondered how much she’d seen and heard.

  “You’re sorry?” Jake said. Ally could see the emotions surging in his eyes. She knew exactly what he felt. Hurt. Angry. Heartbroken. “What? Was I just a diversion to you, Ally? Is that it? Some poor schmoe to pass the time with?”

  “Jake, no…”

  “You go on back to L.A.,” Jake said. “I think that’s a fine idea. Merry Christmas.” Ally watched as he turned and walked away, heading over toward his sister. She saw Tina take her brother’s arm. She could see Jake’s sister speaking softly to him, trying to find out what was going on. Her chin started to tremble, and her eyes flooded with tears. Then, Ally took one last look around the room and headed for the door.