Sara watched Philip limp out of the car and retrieve his crutches and duffel bag from the back seat. His parents love when he brings people over? Just how many “friends” has he brought here to meet them, she wondered.
The front door to the house flung open while they were still getting out of the car, and Sara watched Philip’s mom rush to greet him and give him a bear hug. His mother was an attractive woman, probably around fifty years old. She had brown hair that was streaked with stray grays here and there. It was combed back, but not really styled. She was about the same height and build as Sara, not too thin, but not really overweight, either.
He rested his chin on his mother’s shoulder and closed his eyes as if he were soaking in the love. Sara had always heard that the way a guy treats his mom is the way he’ll treat his woman, and it was nice to see the open affection between them.
What Sara wasn’t prepared for was the bear hug his mother gave her. She felt herself stiffen. This wasn’t how she expected to be greeted, and she would have preferred to appear more approachable. She detected a hint of orange fragrance—cologne maybe—when Mrs. Mason leaned away to look at Sara. “I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said. “You’ve been a big help to my Phil. I’m really glad you’ll be spending Christmas with us.”
Sara’s eyes widened, and Philip seemed a bit embarrassed.
“Um, Mom.”
She heard a lot about Sara? What did that mean? “Oh, no, I’m not staying. I’m just—”
Mrs. Mason looked from Sara to Philip and back to Sara again. “You’re not? But Philip said…”
Cutting her off, Philip explained, “I said she was driving me here.”
“No. You said she had no plans for the holidays.” Looking at Sara, she asked, “Do you?”
Now Mrs. Mason was starting to remind Sara of her son. She asked very direct questions, just like Philip. “Um. Well, no, not exactly, but—”
“Your family lives in Pennsylvania?”
Just how much did Philip tell his mother about Sara? And why? Sara started to wonder if Philip wrote an essay about her life and gave it to his mother to read. “Um. Yes, Philadelphia.”
“And you’re not going up north and your family isn’t here, right?”
“Well, no, but—”
“There’s the rainbow. You’re staying.” Mrs. Mason patted Sara’s shoulder. Then she picked up Philip’s duffel bag and headed inside.
Sara looked at Philip for help, but got none. In fact, he was smirking. He shrugged and said, “Looks like you’re staying.”
“I’m what?” She was only supposed to drive him here and drop him off. When Sara started this journey, she was doing Philip a favor. She was the one in control, in the driver’s seat. But now she had no control, as her near-term future was being decided by other people.
“She’s made up her mind,” Philip said, placing his arm around Sara and leading her toward the front door, while using only one crutch for support. “And if you think I’m stubborn, you’ll soon find out where I get it from.”
Once inside, Philip looked around. “Mom, where’s Dad? At the store?”
“Yes. He promised to be home in time for dinner. Why don’t you show Sara to her room?”
“Which room?” Philip asked.
“Your sister’s.” Mrs. Mason turned to Sara and told her, “Kelly is due any day, so she and Jeff can’t travel from Texas at a time like this. But as soon as she delivers, I’ll be on the next plane out.” Mrs. Mason took Sara’s hand and patted it. “Meantime, you make yourself at home. Oh and Sara, since it looks like you don’t have a change of clothes with you, there’s a whole closet full in Kelly’s room and since I knew you were coming, everything is freshly laundered. After you get settled, I’ll drive you down to the SunMart on Cortez Road and we’ll get you whatever else you need.”
“You knew?” Sara looked over at Philip, but he avoided looking back. Sara felt like she just entered the Twilight Zone. “Um. But won’t Kelly mind?”
“Not at all. After the twins, I don’t think she’ll be wearing those clothes again.”
“She’s expecting twins?” Sara asked. Philip never mentioned that.
“Isn’t it exciting? Twins run in our family. Philip’s father has a twin brother. Speaking of your dad,” she said, turning to Philip, “Phil, hon, would you and Sara go get your dad from the store? I took the truck and I have too much to do here. I won’t have time to go back and get him.”
“Can I help, Mrs. Mason?” Sara asked.
“Oh honey, call me Diane. No one calls me Mrs. Mason. That was my mother-in-law. And listen,” she said, putting her arm around Sara’s shoulder and speaking quietly, “right now, you’d be helping me most if you and Phil go pick up Joe. He’ll be closing up the store by five o’clock today.”
“Sure, Mom.” Philip smiled at the two women. “It’ll give me a chance to show Sara the orange grove,” he said, taking Sara’s hand and pulling her away from his mother.
Even in front of his mother, he took her hand so naturally, as if they were already a couple. This was all starting to feel surreal. And wonderful. “And the baseball field?”
Philip looked pleased that Sara remembered. “I’ll show you everything.”
Chapter Twelve
Back in the car, Philip directed Sara to his parents’ store, which was just a couple miles drive from their house. Right after Sara parked the car, Philip pointed a finger at her and jokingly warned her, “Don’t say it.”
Sara giggled, knowing he was referring to the fact that the exterior of the store was painted the exact same colors as his parents’ house, orange and green. “I wasn’t going to say a word,” she said innocently.
“Yeah, right.”
When they entered the store, there were customers at the counter and a man behind it ringing up some sales. Philip leaned sideways to whisper to Sara, “There’s my dad.”
Philip’s dad was at least six feet tall and ruggedly handsome, his face tanned and weathered from the Florida sun. Sara remembered reading in Philip’s essay that he and his father used to go running together, and it was obvious that Mr. Mason was still in great shape. He had thick brown hair like Philip, except he wore it shorter, and he sported a neatly trimmed mustache that bordered his earnest smile. Looking from Philip to his father, Sara determined that Mr. Mason was Philip, twenty-five years from now.
Philip smiled broadly and waved at his dad, prompting his father to take off his eyeglasses and leave the register to greet Philip with a hug. “Phil!”
Philip introduced Sara to his father, and this time she was more prepared for the requisite hug. A moment later, a cluster of people who had been in the checkout line came over, causing Sara to back away a little. Philip apparently knew them because he called each of them by name and they too hugged him. She’d never witnessed so much hugging in a such a short period of time. Maybe it was the law in this part of the state.
While he chatted with his friends, Sara showed herself around the store. The decor was old-time Americana, complete with a Mickey Mouse pendulum clock and Coca-Cola bottle-cap signs hanging on the wall. Scattered among the kitsch were photos of his parents with vaguely familiar celebrities and sports personalities who’d apparently stopped here over the years. There was a luncheonette counter and bar stools toward the back of the store. Nearby were small, round, green and orange metal tables and chairs. The menu board featured grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers, and orange sorbet.
Sara picked up a box of chocolate-covered candied orange slices from a shelf and put it down again before moving to the next section of the store, which featured Florida souvenirs like T-shirts, baseball caps, and ashtrays that boasted the Naples Orange Groves logo. They even sold Barracudas jerseys with the number twelve—Philip’s number—on the back. A separate display held citrus-scented toiletries, such as soaps, shampoo, lotions, cologne, and odor-eliminating room spray. She picked up the room spray, took the cap off, and briefly squeezed the aerosol nozzle.
Inhaling, she finally realized why Philip’s dorm room always smelled like oranges. She replaced the cap and put the room spray back where she found it.
While perusing the merchandise, Sara heard the now-familiar rhythmic tapping sound of Philip’s crutches behind her, followed by a hand gently touching her back. “Hey, my dad is gonna be here for at least another twenty minutes,” Philip told her. “Let’s go out to the grove.”
They exited through the rear of the store and walked across the parking lot until they reached the nature trail that led to the orange groves. Sara looked around, taking in the sights and sounds. She heard the sound of a bird chirping, and she turned her head to follow the bird’s call. It sang a series of short, high-pitched notes that were almost frenzied.
“Philip! Look.” Astounded, she pointed to the creature making the sound. It was a small, brightly colored bird with a blue crown, red breast, and yellow and green back. “I’ve never seen anything like that.”
“That’s because you’re a city girl,” he teased. “That’s a painted bunting. It’s a songbird that’s kind of rare to these parts,” he explained. “Once in a while, you’re lucky enough to see one.”
“Then today must be my lucky day,” she surmised.
“Mine too,” Philip said quietly without taking his eyes off Sara.
Unsure of what to say, she changed the subject. “Um. Are we walking too fast?” Sara asked.
“Not for me. It’s good to get some exercise. There are some benches up ahead if I need to rest.” Philip looked over at Sara, who appeared to be pensive. “You okay?”
She nodded. “I was just thinking about how different your family is from mine,” Sara mused sadly. In the few minutes she’d been here, she already liked Philip’s family better than her own—probably because his family hadn’t disappointed her or treated her like she didn’t exist. They made her feel welcome and wanted.
“How so?”
Pretty much in every way, she thought to herself. But she chose her spoken words a little more carefully, not wanting to give Philip a horrible impression of the people who raised her. “First of all, they’re big on hugging.” She chuckled, but then she grew serious. “Your family seems warm, close-knit, open. I’d never be able to invite friends over spur of the moment. My mom would freak out.”
Philip shrugged. “People were always dropping in on us when I was growing up. Just like people would come to the store, they’d sometimes just show up at the house wanting to buy a case of grapefruit.”
“You’re kidding!”
“Nope. That’s what happens when you paint your house the same as the store,” he said, elbowing her arm to let her know he was joking. “My dad always says that when you run a business, you’re never really off. It’s twenty-four seven, even when the store is closed. Took me a long time to figure out what he meant.”
Sara looked at him quizzically. “Then explain it to me. I’m not sure I understand.”
Philip stopped walking and sat down heavily on a wooden bench along the path, leaning his crutches next to him. “Well, it’s kind of like…well, take me, for example. People know who I am, they recognize me even when I’m off the field and off campus. So I’m never really off. Just like my folks are never off work. You know?”
Sara gave him a small smile. “You’re kind of a celebrity.”
“So, Sara, do you mind hanging out with a pseudo-celebrity? I mean, people might be curious about you too if you’re seen with me,” he said, feeling her out.
“Well, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m pretty low-key. I definitely don’t have a world-famous sort of personality. But in your case, I might make an exception.” Before she had a chance to blush at her own flirtatiousness, she turned her attention to one of the trees right next to the walking path across from the bench. “Ooh, this is so pretty.” Sara reached up and gently cupped a flower in her hand.
“It’s an orange blossom, the state flower,” Philip told her. “That’s how oranges start out.”
Sara put her nose to the blossom and closed her eyes. She inhaled a bittersweet citrus scent that reminded her of a freshly baked lemon muffin. “Mmmm. So fragrant.”
“You can pick it.”
She turned and looked at Philip over her shoulder, and then she looked back at the flower. “Oh, no. I should leave it, give it a chance to become a fruit.”
“It’s okay,” he promised. “The time has passed for that one. Go ahead, pick it,” he urged.
Sara gently plucked the blossom from its stem and twirled it between her fingers.
“Come here,” Philip said. Sara approached Philip. He took the flower from her hand and patted a spot next to him on the bench. “Come sit. I want to show you something.”
Sara took a seat next to Philip, still focused on the flower he was holding. Her eyes widened a little when he reached out and raked her hair with his fingers. He placed the blossom stem behind her ear, letting his fingers trail downward until they reached the back of her neck. He gently pulled her toward him until their lips met in a soft, sweet, unexpected kiss.
Sara leaned away and looked at Philip with some surprise. She felt her heart thumping harder and wasn’t sure what to do or say. “Why did you do that?” she asked, with a hint of wonder in her voice.
He stifled a laugh. “Why does any guy kiss a girl?” he asked, almost in a whisper.
Sara looked downward, somewhat embarrassed. She should never have asked why he kissed her. That was a stupid question, and now she’d put him on the defensive and didn’t mean to. She kicked herself for spoiling their first kiss. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s lonely.”
“Maybe. Or maybe he likes her. A lot.” Sara lifted her eyes and met Philip’s gaze. “And I think maybe she likes him too.”
Sara didn’t want Philip to see the smile on her face or know how much those words and that kiss meant to her. She thought she should appear nonchalant, so she looked downward again, feeling her face redden.
But Philip didn’t let her stay that way for long. He touched her chin with his index finger so she’d look at him again. Then he leaned closer and kissed her a second time, wrapping his arm behind her neck and pulling her closer. She relaxed and allowed herself to return the kiss this time. When he leaned away without releasing his hold, they looked at each other for a long moment, and she could no longer hide her smile.
“What time is it?” she asked, feeling the need to fill the silence.
He took his phone out of his pocket with his other hand and turned on the display. “It’s five fifteen. I guess we should go get my dad.”
He stood up and held out his hand. When she took it, he ran his thumb back and forth over the top of her hand. Then he picked up his crutches, and they walked back toward the grove entrance.
Chapter Thirteen
After dinner, Diane drove Sara over to the SunMart where Sara bought a couple of changes of underwear, but right now she was more interested in the outerwear. When they returned to the house, Sara excused herself to let Philip have some alone time with his parents, while she took the opportunity to rummage through Kelly’s closet, hoping to find some cute clothes that fit. If she was going to be here a few days, she’d need more than the clothes she had on her back. And if she couldn’t find something that fit, she’d need to make another trip into town and do a little shopping, something she hoped to avoid, considering the crowds of holiday shoppers.
Each time she tried on a garment and looked in the mirror, she tried to see herself through Philip’s eyes. Now that she knew he was interested in her, she couldn’t help but wonder what he would think of her in this outfit or in that outfit.
Sara gently picked up the orange blossom that she’d placed on top of the dresser when she got back from the grove. Sadly, it was already starting to curl up at the edges and show signs of wilting. She wanted it to last longer. She wanted it to last forever.
Holding the blossom, she sighed and plopped onto Kelly’s bed. She placed the flower behind her
ear, closed her eyes, and tried to relive that sweet first kiss. Philip had been so gentle, but he wasn’t tentative—not at all. He knew what he wanted and he knew what he was doing. The kiss was soft, but it was potent, and it held the promise of more to come. Much more, she hoped.
If anyone had told her last week that she’d be spending Christmas with Philip and his family, she would have laughed in their face. And if anyone had said he would kiss her in the middle of an orange grove, she’d have called them crazy.
Even with all those furtive touches in the car, questions about being in love, flirtatious gestures and innuendos, the kiss still came as a surprise. It felt like a turning point, and it proved what she only hoped before now. Philip really liked her! Not only did he show her, but he told her so in no uncertain terms. He said he liked her. No. He said he liked her a lot.
Sara smiled and hugged herself, delighted with their change in status. Things like this didn’t happen to Sara Ross. Well, they never used to.
She thought about the day they met, and the circumstances. At the time, she didn't recognize the importance of the event. How could she? She had decided she hated him before she ever set foot in his dorm. Now she was falling in love with him for real. It wasn’t just admiring someone from afar. It was really happening for the first time in her life. Sara used to believe love was overrated, but that was only because she didn’t know better. She’d never experienced the feeling before. It was magical. It was life-altering. It was terrifying and thrilling and all-consuming.
She slowly got up off the bed and walked back to the mirror. “Yes,” she said out loud, putting her hands on her hips and admiring the way she looked in one of Kelly’s blouses. “You look good, Sara. Falling in love looks good on you.”
Chapter Fourteen
Pass Interference Page 8
