Then it hits me that we live in different places, even if she came back, I’d have to go to where she is. Maybe next year will be different.
2 CHAPTER Sophie
My early morning my slumber is disrupted by the sound of something falling. Half opening my eyes, I see Rachel crouching down to pick up her oversized suitcase that fell to the floor. “So-ree” she mouths silently in my direction. If she is trying to avoid waking me up, it’s too late for that. “Where are you heading to?” I ask Rachel who is already dressed for the day when the sun is barely up. Normally I’m the one leaving for classes while Rachel is still sleeping soundly in her bed.
“I want to check grades before I go. With the choral concerts we did, I was too busy to study like I should. If my grades slipped, then next semester I’m going to be scarce. You may even start to think you have this place to yourself.”
I can’t stop the smile that breaks upon my lips.
“Don’t look so happy.” She says at me sadly.
“Just kidding.” I jump up to give her a hug.
When the door shuts, I let out a relieved sigh. I have another hour left, but I’m too excited to get home and see everyone.
I arrived early to the gate and checked in. When we are called to board, I made myself as cozy as possible to indulge in a much needed nap.
“Passengers, we’re making our final decent.” The pilot announced. I quickly gather the items together beneath my feet. I can’t wait to see Alex.
It’s finally time. When the plane hits the tarmac, the excitement is about to burst out of me. Alex is picking me up from the airport, and I can’t wait to see him. On second thought I can’t wait to kiss him, to spend time in his arms. I decide to send him a funny text.
S: Outside Gate C in arrivals
A: Illegally parked in the tow zone.
His response makes me laugh. Our tiny airport has one door. One way in, one way out. I wait for my bags then hurry out to see Alex.
He waves as he walks towards me, no longer limping on his left side. If I didn’t know, I would say it is the old Alex here in front of me. Not wanting to wait I run/walk pulling my bags alongside me. “Look at you; your leg looks like its back to normal.” I smile.
“Yes, Mike’s been kicking my ass or knee in therapy. If all looks well in six months, I’ll be clear to start running again.”
“I’m so happy to hear that,” I say to him.
“Enough about my leg. Do you know how much I have missed you?” He asks as we head back to the car.
“No, why don’t you show me.” The husky tone of my voice surprises me.
Alex presses my body against the passenger door. My hands move their grip from my bags to his shoulders. Tilting my head, waiting for our first kiss. I have waited weeks for this moment. The anticipation builds in my chest, heart beats faster, the buzzing in my hip. Wait. What? Alex pulls his phone out of his front pocket to glance at it then brings his gaze slowly back down to me. My breath hitches as he presses his lips to mine. His tongue finds its way into my mouth to dance with mine. Suddenly the entire world is a blur. The only sound I hear is the beating of my heart. Our hello kiss was so passionate it earned us honks and inappropriate shouts from a group of kids.
Alex breaks the kiss after looking over his shoulder. “Maybe we should get in the car before we give them a show.”
“We?” I say shocked. “What’s with this we stuff, you are the one pressing me against this car...” I tease.
He grabs my bags putting them into the trunk before we both jump into his car.
“Hey, there handsome,” I say with a wink. Alex leans over and kisses me again.
“So…how was your flight? Do you need something to eat?” he asks.
“No. I’m nervous about Christmas with your family if you can’t tell.” My voice cracked, so I cleared my throat.
“You have nothing to worry about beautiful.” The soft velvety tone of his voice warms me from the inside out.
“Did I tell you Aunt Kathy is coming down? She’ll be at the house Christmas Eve so we can finish getting things together for the boys. Mom bought them bikes. We couldn’t figure out how to wrap them so they will go under the tree last minute.” He continues.
“Yes and I promised the boys we would bake cookies for Santa and snacks for the reindeer.” I remind him wanting to make sure he knows that I love his family as much as him.
“Count me in; I love eating cookies.” He says.
“I don’t think so. Cookies are only for Santa,” I say sternly.
“I do need to make one stop before we get to my house. It will only take a minute once you tell me which things your brothers will like. Perfect Toys has several items on hold for me.”
Alex groans. “I thought I told you not to spend any money.”
“No. You said you want your brothers to have the best holiday. You’re no buying anything rule only applies to you, not them.”
Alex briefly fills me in on the plans his family has for the holiday. “Any set time for dinner or anything with your family?” he asks.
“I haven’t finalized plans with mom yet, but I know they want to have all of you over for dinner,” I say then send a text to my mom letting her know I’ll be there soon.
The turning lane in front of the mall is extremely long. Everyone including me is waiting until the last minute to finish shopping.
We pull up to find all of the close parking spaces are full. One lone spot is available in the back lot of the mall. With the car in park, Alex gets out then rounds the front of the car to open mine.
I get out, his arm immediately wraps around my waist, resting my head on his shoulder as we walk in. It is so wonderful to be here right now like this.
Alex holds the entrance door open for a woman with packages nearly spilling out of bags.
“Why thank you, young man, it’s going to be a jungle in there.” The woman says as she passes.
The sound of old holiday tunes blares through the overhead sound system. Fighting through the crowds, we make it to customer service. Once we arrive we have to stand in a long line for our turn for help. “Hello. I’m Sophia Pennington; you have a few items on hold for me.” I fiddle in my bag to find my license, give it to the clerk to verify. “Just a minute ma’am.” He says. The clerk goes back through the blue door and comes out with two filled clear bags the size of the ones people filled with leaves during fall.
“You have a few items?” Alex says a brow in my direction.
I shrug. “I couldn’t help myself,” I say shyly.
“Your parents are going to freak out when they get the bill for this.” Irritated I put a hand on my hip. “I’ll have you know Alex this is my money. I resold books that I didn’t need back to the campus bookstore, and I know how to manage my money, thank you very much.”
After paying for presents for the boys, we stand in line again to get them wrapped. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving,” Alex complains. He’s such a guy.
“What do you say we get something on the way home?”
I pull my phone out and look at the time. There is a missed call from Alex’s mom on my cell. I call back instead of checking for a voice mail.
“Hello dear.” Mrs. Matthews says. “Is Alex with you?”
“Sure, just a second please.” I pass the phone to Alex. He steps out of line to take the call. He’s off to the side with his hand over one ear the phone pressing up against the other.
He doesn’t look happy as he comes back. “Well. Change of plans. My mom needs my help after we’re done here I need to head over.” He grimaces.
“It’s fine. That will give me time to change get settled at my place and catch up with my folks.” I say. Within two to three minutes we are the next customers in line. Busy hands behind the counter pull off the paper, tape, transforming everything from the two bags into perfectly boxed gifts. I turn to look for Alex as he’s no longer behind me. Fu
nny he didn’t say anything before stepping away.
“Here let me help you with that.” He offers then takes both bags. I grin watching his biceps flex from slinging one of them over his shoulder. When we get to the car Alex stops, the concerned look on his face worries me.
“Thank you, Sophie. I appreciate you getting stuff for Colin and Jonah. It makes me love you that much more.” I can tell he's sincere from the tears that on standby. He clears his throat wipes his nose.
“Let’s get you home Sophie,” Alex says.
We no sooner get two minutes down the road, and his phone rings again. He doesn’t answer. A few seconds later it rings again. He doesn’t bother to see who is calling.
“Is that your mom?” I ask not wanting to pry its more out of concern. He doesn’t answer immediately.
“Alex,” I say his name softly then gently place my hand on his.
“It’s nothing.” He says. Something isn’t right, part of me wonders if it’s me. I try to keep making small talk draw out whatever is bothering him. He doesn’t offer any other insight into what’s going on. Instead of pushing to further the conversation I take the hint that he wants me to leave it alone. Why won’t he talk to me? We’re supposed to be working on getting closer not pulling apart. I reason to myself. He turns up the radio in the car not uttering another word the rest of the way to my house.
When we pull into the drive, I quickly undo my seatbelt then get out instead of waiting for him to open the door for me. He gets out then retrieves my luggage from the back. “Do you want the gifts too?” He asks.
“No. They belong under your tree.” I say. He slams the trunk shut then comes around to my side, walking me to the door. I’m not expecting much at this point after the sudden mood change.
“Thanks a lot, Alex. Call me later.” I offer and reach for the door. Alex’s arm snakes around my waist turning me around, he pulls me into his chest. It catches me off guard, so I gasp.
I search into those hazel eyes to figure out what he’s thinking. Of course, then my eyes trail to his lips then all thought shifts to the kiss I want. He leans in closer to me grinning now, the look in his eyes changes to a slow smolder. His head lowers close to mine, I let my eyelids close, getting a small final glimpse of him through my lashes. His hand warmly caresses my cheek. “I love you so much.” He whispers. His lips brush against my ear then cheeks. I part my lips in expectation of his next touch. My legs turn to rubber when his tongue probes into my mouth. Whatever the emotions are that he’s dealing with it felt like he exercises every single one in this kiss. I’m thankful for the tight grip he has on me. We have kissed many times, but this kiss right here is one for the books, This is heaven.
His hands move across my back making me keenly aware of just how close his chest is to mine. When he loosens his hold, I fight the urge to pull him back to me not just for support, but also to have another electrifying kiss.
“Thanks for giving me the best goodnight kiss in history,” I say instead of begging him to stay a little while longer. His mother obviously needs him.
“How about tomorrow we take the boys to pick out a tree.” Alex offers.
“Sounds great. I’ll you in the morning after breakfast then.” I say.
I sit down on the porch chair watching him head back to his car. He gives me a wave before he pulls out of the driveway. I’m able to breathe freely again not realizing I held it while watching him,’Pulling myself up, I make my way through the front door.
“Lucy I’m home.” I give my best Ricky Ricardo impersonation.
“In here.” Mom shouts from the back of the house. There she is in the kitchen, bags on the counter smoldering pots on the stove. Whatever she’s making smells delicious. Never thought I’d say that. Dad has made her a brand new woman. Her hands are in the sink rinsing off the fruit. I wrap my arms around her from behind and give her a squeeze. “It’s great to be home Mom. Where’s Dad?”
“Oh he’s finishing up some last minute things, we had a water heater break at one of the properties, so he’s getting that fixed up.” She dries her hands off on a towel and turns to me. “I’ve been busy here myself today, did you notice the lights are up?” She asks. I sneak past her to grab one of the large strawberries. The sweet red juice dances on my taste buds.
“No, I didn’t.” I try to talk around my full mouth. I didn’t see too much with Alex pressing himself up against me. I run out the front to see what she meant.
The front of our yellow ranch was decorated with rows of lights. Icicle shapes hang from the awnings. Miniature box presents in blue, red, and white illuminate the path down the driveway to the front porch. It has me wondering how all of this came about; mom doesn’t do heights she refuses to use a step stool in the kitchen because of a fear of falling.
I look again and notice little nets with lights covering the bushes in front of the house too. Lights swirl around greenery trims framing the front door. This was going to look amazing all lit up at night. I run back inside wondering what other things I missed “So what did you think?” Mom asks when I come back into the kitchen.
“The decorations look, great Mom, don’t tell me that you climbed on the roof.”
“No. You don’t ever have to worry about that. Larry put the decorations up.” She says.
“I need to put my stuff away in my room; then I can come back to help you if you want.”
“Sure that would be great.” She says smiling.
After getting everything to my room, I decide just to live out of the suitcases no need to put everything in drawers. The only thing I did put away is the sparkly ivory dress I bought for New Years. I’ve been looking forward to knowing I have someone to kiss at midnight.
3 CHAPTER Sophie
The house is empty upon my rising. Padding my way to the kitchen I see the tree is set up and fully decorated. I head back to my room. The bright green suitcase sits on the floor. Excitedly I run the zipper through the teeth opening up the bag. Two boxes wrapped in protective bubble wrap sit in front of me. The idea of leaving the plastic on sounds fun. Electric blue paper covers the gift for Dad. Mom’s box is coated in an iridescent color that changes in the light. I smile thinking about their faces when they open up what’s inside. Since I have a tendency to be clumsy they remain in their bubble proofing until I’m under our tree. Each piece of tape comes off rather quickly. Thank goodness. It would be a crime to destroy the beautiful wrap job.
They look great in their spot. I gather up the used bubble wrap taking it into the kitchen. A note is clipped to the refrigerator letting me know they are out doing last minute things. Taking it down, I turn it over to see if anything is on the other side. Nope. Nothing.
I ball it up tossing it into the trash. Why would I think after all of the years I’d finally get an apology? She’s never apologized for a thing!
I don’t have time for a pity party. I pull out my cell to call Alex.
“How are you?” He says.
“Good, almost on my way out the door.” I grab the keys to mom’s car then head out.
“Hold on Alex.” I press the button to sync the call in the car so I can talk hands-free.
“Hurry up guys; you need to finish that French toast before your surprise comes,” Alex says.
“So they have no idea I’m coming?” I ask him.
“No. You’ll learn it’s better to not tell them things until right before you’re ready for it to happen. About last night.”
“Alex. Stop worrying its fine. What kind of person would I be if I didn’t understand?” Knowing that his mother was never like this before.
“What is the supplies?” I hear Jonah say.
“No, the word is surprise.” Alex corrects him.
“If I tell you it’s not a surprise anymore,” Alex tells him. I can’t help but chuckle.
“I gotta go, Sophie when you get here be sure to ring the doorbell.” Alex instructs. “Okay bye,” I say wonderi
ng what he has planned.
Pulling up I see the door is closed. I follow his instructions and ring the doorbell. I can hear the conversation between the three of them.
“I think that’s for you two,” Alex says to them.
“Is it Santa?” Colin asks.
“Silly, since when does Santa ring the doorbell?” Alex says.
When the door opens, the two boys are jumping in place. I understand the feeling I could jump up and down every time I see Alex too.
“Sophie, Sophie.” They chant in unison then hug me with their syrup covered fingers and mouths.
“Did you bring us our surprise?” Jonah asks, sporting a big grin missing one front tooth.
“Nope, we’re going for a ride to the nursery to get your Christmas tree.”
We are only 20 minutes into our hour-long drive when it starts.
“Are we there yet? How much longer?”
“It’s going to be a little bit, do you want to watch a movie?”
“Yes put Paw Patrol on.” I hit play, and they put on their headsets, and I’m thankful they will be occupied until we get there.
“So what do you want Santa to bring you this year?” Alex says playfully.
“I can’t tell you that. It’s between Santa and me.” I tease back.
“Well, I heard you’ve been a naughty girl, maybe I can put in a good word for you.” He reaches over trying to slip a finger between the buttons on my shirt.
“Alex stop it.” That earns him a smack on the thigh.
“What?! I think we’re safe they’re watching Paw Patrol.” He makes another attempt to cop a feel earning himself another smack.
“Later Alex,” I say with a giggle.
“I will hold you to that.”
We arrive at Shady Acres Nursery, and they have turned this place into a winter wonderland complete with a train that goes all through the property.
“OH, can we ride the train pleeease.” Both boys plead. Their eyes are wide and full of excitement with the display in front of us.
Christmas in the City II Page 19
