Nebula Nights: Love Among The Stars

by Melisse Aires

  It was Veronica, however, who spoke. “We’re doing a fundraiser tomorrow at the New Hope Children’s Center. A full course Christmas dinner is being cooked and served by the kids. Admission is a donation or non-perishable food item, and it’s free for the homeless.”

  Amber climbed down from the ladder and set her paint-roller in a tray. “New Hope? That’s like a halfway-house, right?”

  Noelle nodded. “Most of the kids are foster runaways. Father Nathan does what he can, though, to give them some place to call home.”

  “Shouldn’t the kids go back to their Foster?” Amber questioned. “Wouldn’t that be better than sitting in a shelter on Christmas?”

  Veronica crossed her arms. “Easy to say when you’ve never been in the system. Most of those kids fall through the cracks or come from foster families that have no business being foster providers, and it’s only because of people like Father Nathan and Noelle that the kids aren’t out on the street prostituting or pushing drugs.”

  “Uhm,” Amber blinked, feeling embarrassed and fighting against the heat in her cheeks threatening to turn them orange. “Sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Noelle touched Amber’s arm and smiled with a lowered voice. “Veronica’s an attorney. She helps Father Nathan get the kids new fosters or placed as permanent wards of the Center if they are special cases. It takes time, though.”

  “Too much time,” Veronica huffed then glanced at her watch. “Speaking of, we better get going. We need to stop by Chris’s office about the tax credits before I take you to Glendale.”

  “Okay,” Noelle nodded then looked back at Steve and the others. “Great work on the decorations.”

  “You already said that sweetie,” Veronica began ushering Noelle out the door.

  “I did, didn’t I?” Noelle laughed, not at all bothered by Veronica taking the lead. “You know me and Christmas.”

  Steve and the crew watched as Noelle and Veronica said their goodbyes to Henry. Noelle became winded again after sitting in the passenger seat. Under Veronica’s instruction, Noelle pulled an inhaler from her coat pocket. After two puffs, she seemed better and they drove away.

  “Asthma, maybe?” Amber questioned no one in particular.

  “She was a tiny thing,” Garry commented before walking back to his coffee.

  Mike had watched the whole episode from the central checkout, and withheld a smirk as Garry rejoined him. “A hundred bucks says Steve asks her on a date.”

  Garry guffawed at his elder brother then laughed. “You’re on. Easiest hundred bucks I’ve ever made.”

  “Really?” Mike smirked. “Because you seemed to have earned your paycheck this morning by eating a bagel.”

  “Oh uh, right,” Garry grinned. “I’ll just go… get the last set of decorations from the truck.”

  “You do that,” Mike kept his eyes on Steve as Garry departed. Mike watched the tall, lonely looking Karraxian man kneel down to pick up the pair of earmuffs that the little Earther had dropped. Steve caressed the earmuffs and stared at the flyer in his hand, causing Mike to match his brother’s grin. Easiest hundred bucks, indeed.

  2: Angels Did Say

  This is such a bad idea. Steve rounded the block for the third time and the New Hope Children’s Center came into view - for the third time. A very bad idea.

  This time, his feet stopped walking outside the glass double doors of the center and turned his body to go inside. Two huge, pine wreaths and a set of big-bulb lights decorated the entrance, and when he stepped inside it was like stepping into one of the crew’s store windows. Impressive.

  A large sleigh bell sounded his arrival, meaning there was no turning back, not that the extravagant Christmas display didn’t already have him walking further into the building. Shiny giftwrap covered every available surface. A small but fully decorated Christmas tree stood sentinel from a table in the corner with a feather-winged angel perched on top. Hand-cut snowflakes hung from the ceiling, two rows of candy canes and a red carpet led him to a tiny reception area.

  He passed an empty reception desk strung with garlands, bows and lights then through a doorway over which hung a sprig of mistletoe and a sign that said ‘You Shall Not Pass … Without A Kiss!’. The sign gave him pause, causing him to stand in the doorway for a moment with Noelle’s earmuffs clutched in his large hands.

  “May I help you, son?”

  Steve startled at the kindly asked question, turning to find an elderly man, dressed in black, smiling up at him. The man’s back was slightly hunched, his hair a snow white, and a white strip peeked through the part in his collar. Steve nodded his head respectfully to the man of Earther faith. “Sorry for the intrusion, Father. Noelle dropped these at a store this morning.”

  “Oh!” Father Nathan’s smile widened at the sight of the red earmuffs and the kind looking man holding them. “She will be so thrilled. She was upset that she had lost them. They were a gift from me last year.”

  “Oh?” Steve looked down at them, a little reluctant to let them go, then forced his hand to hold them out to the priest. “Well, I’m glad I found them, then.”

  “She’s just inside the gymnasium.” Father Nathan kept his hands clasped behind his back. “Follow the corridor to the end and that will take you straight there. I’m sure she will be grateful.”

  “Oh, okay. Thank you.” Steve blushed slightly under the twinkling gaze of the elderly man. The priest had that strange Earther expression Steve had never been able to mimic – as if they knew something you didn’t and found it amusing. Steve blinked, longer than normal to allow his second lids to blink under the first unseen, then nodded respectfully again. “Merry Christmas, Father.”

  “Merry Christmas,” Father Nathan nodded in return then headed down a side hallway.

  Following the corridor to the end, Steve came to another set of double doors. Noises beyond stopped his movement, but he inhaled past his anxiety and pushed one door open. The opening door echoed into the cavernous gymnasium and he stepped through it into chaos. Colorful, exuberant chaos.

  There were kids everywhere, of all ages, running around, pushing tables together, hanging decorations and laughing. Most of the decorations looked handmade, including a very impressive length of green and red construction paper garland chains. Paper handprints made to look like reindeer took up a large part of one wall, each handprint containing a name and a donation amount or item. Hand-cut snowflakes were everywhere, and every surface seemed to be covered in at least one color of glitter.

  “Hey mister!” a young boy called over from farther down the wall. “You’re tall. Can you hang this, please?”

  Steve tucked Noelle’s earmuffs under one arm and walked over. The boy was holding the end of a paper-link garland. “Sure. You know, you could swag the garland instead of having it all in a straight line?”

  “Swag?” the boy questioned. “Like… swagger?”

  Steve held back a laugh. “Kina, yeah. You raise up parts of it so the other parts curve down and…” he paused as the boy’s brown eyes glazed over a bit. “If you have a ladder, I could show you.”

  “We do!” The boy looked over his shoulder, glancing around the crowd. “Hey, Miss Noelle?! We need a ladder, please!”

  Steve stiffened, swallowing hard, then forced his body to angle sideways. Noelle’s beaming smile and bright green eyes appeared from a parting crowd of children who had gathered on the floor with her to make more paper-chains. She patted one girl in pigtails on the head as she approached, but when her gaze rose to Steve, her steps faltered.

  With a curious look on her face, she cleared the remaining distance. “You’re from Mr. Jackson’s store. Mr… uhm…”

  “Steve,” he held out the earmuffs, “and you dropped these.”

  Noelle gasped, her smile going back to full as she took the earmuffs. “Thank you so much! These were a gift from Father Nathan.”

  The smile stunned him into silence, but luckily the kid was there to break the awkwardness. “Can M
r. Steve borrow our ladder, Miss Noelle? He says we should give our chains some swagger.”

  “Swag,” Steve blushed as Noelle snorted a tiny little laugh. “But yeah, I thought I could help.”

  “Really?” Noelle’s eyes went round again and his knees almost buckled. “But you’ve been working all day, and you came all this way to give me back my earmuffs.”

  Steve glanced down at the earmuffs held tightly by her thin, delicate looking fingers. “I don’t mind.”

  One of her hands reached out and touched his arm. “Thank you. We could certainly use someone with decorating expertise.”

  Steve was thankful he was still wearing his jacket, because the moment she touched him, he swore a fire lit within his entire body. His temperature rose, his throat swelled, and all he could manage was a tight breath and a nod. The boy next to him snickered behind a hand.

  Noelle caught the snicker along with Steve’s cheeks blushing, and she suddenly felt a little flustered herself. “Joey, please go ask two of the older boys to get the ladder for Steve.”

  A new awkward moment set in, causing Steve’s body to react by fidgeting. Tucking his hands in his jean pockets to stop them, he chanced a glance back up to find her looking off to the side. If he had to guess, he’d have to say that maybe she was embarrassed? Her straight brown hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and there was something different about her…

  “Oh, you didn’t have glasses this morning,” he thought out loud as his mind finally clued in, then he cringed. That was just wonderfully smooth, Stevverax. They’re cute, though… Damn, yeah, I think I like them.

  Noelle pushed her glasses up her nose as a deeper blush set in. “I was wearing contacts this morning, but they started to itch.”

  “I like them. Your glasses,” he blurted out and her blush went an impossibly darker shade of red. Oh stars, I seriously just said that? Quick, say something else, ya dumb gorthax! He noticed she had gold glitter, green paint and possibly glue in her hair. “Do you work here?”

  “I volunteer,” she looked at him again then at the kids decorating the gymnasium. “When my schedule allows. Everyone here is a volunteer.”

  Steve noted the three other adults scattered amongst the kids. “A lot of kids. They’re all fosters?”

  “Yeah,” Noelle sighed, then pointed to one older boy lifting a little girl up so she could hang a star. “Except Kyle. He aged out of the system nine months ago, but still comes to help.”

  Steve watched as the boy lowered the girl down, but not letting her go without a good tickle fight. It was heartwarming, and the boy didn’t hesitate to pick up the next kid in line so they could hang their star. “Aged out? He never found a home?”

  “No,” Noelle’s eyes saddened. “Most of these kids will age out, just like Kyle. Some will get lucky and get a college scholarship. Some may join the army. Most will end up working at a fast food joint. Kyle works two jobs. He’s a good kid. They’re all good kids.”

  The deep melancholy of her voice made his hand twitch with a desire to comfort her. Thankfully, before he lost his wits completely, Joey returned with two older boys carrying a ladder behind him. Noelle put on a smile for the approaching boys and directed them on where to place the ladder.

  Noelle watched as Steve helped set the ladder, thinking how his bulky winter jacket must be warm. He’d been wearing it in the shop that morning, too, and she couldn’t help but wonder just how much of that bulk was from the jacket. “May I take your jacket?”

  “Oh, uh, sure,” Steve floundered, wondering why his speech coordination was having so many issues. His brain stumbling every time his gaze caught hers was certainly not helping. Taking off his jacket, he handed it to her. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome,” Noelle swallowed against the words. The bulk had not been due to the surprisingly lightweight jacket now in her hands. His long sleeved red shirt wasn’t tight, but it was form-fitting enough to make her think he at least worked out. That, mixed with his height, his strange grey eyes and his black hair had her thinking more underwear model than holiday decorating specialists.

  Noelle! You just thought of that man in his underwear! She gulped and spun around. She had, and it had been breathtaking. And hot. Oh, dear.

  Before she broke into a fit of giddy, childish giggles, she headed towards the coat hanger pegs embedded on the wall near the doors. An inhale cooled her back down, but the exhale stuttered as she let her gaze drift back over to Steve. He was climbing up the ladder, each muscled thigh pumping and connected to a nearly perfect rear end that fit oh so snuggly into his faded blue jeans.

  Stop checking out the nice man’s butt, Noelle chided herself. But, it’s such a nice butt… her typically ignored libido argued. Then she wondered the common question a woman has after meeting a nice guy with a nice butt who’d come all this way to give her a pair of earmuffs and help foster kids hang paper chain garlands – is he taken?

  Stepping back over to the ladder, she stole a glance at his hands while he worked. Spotting a barren ring finger, she knew that didn’t mean he wasn’t dating someone. Then the next question – if not, why? Oh, right. Nice guy, nice body, interior decorator… three marks in the ‘plays for the other team’ checklist.

  That thought deflated her slightly, but she sucked it up and figured that at least they might be friends. Hopefully, he might even come to the charity dinner tomorrow, or maybe even volunteer at the Center. Lord knows the Center could use more volunteers. Especially ones that can climb ladders and probably move fridges.

  “Miss Noelle,” a young girl with blonde curls tugged on Noelle’s sleeve.

  Noelle refocused her eyes from Steve’s backside to the seven-year-old. “Yes, Sarah?”

  “Miss Noelle, we’re out of construction paper,” Sarah frowned.

  “Oh?” Noelle matched the girl’s frown. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but that’s all we could afford this year. I could ask Father Nathan if we could borrow some more printer paper for snowflakes?”

  “I guess,” Sarah’s frown deepened.

  “Miss Noelle!” A teenage boy trotted up to the group. “We’re out of glue over at the reindeer table. And we’re running low on those little fuzzy puff ball things for the noses.”

  “And pipe cleaners!” a teenage girl called over from the table.

  The teenage boy rolled his eyes but grinned. “And pipe cleaners.”

  “Oh, dear,” Noelle sighed. “Well, we can’t have donation reindeer without noses. I’ll run to the store and see what I can find.” Glancing over her shoulder as Steve climbed down the ladder, she figured he’d probably be gone by the time she got back. Ah well. A date was probably unlikely, anyway. “Steve, thanks for helping. I have to run to the store for a bit. It was nice meeting you.”

  “Okay, likewise.” He could tell she didn’t expect him to still be here by the time she got back. Before he could tell her he planned on sticking around, she was out the door, calling for Father Nathan. Laughing quietly to himself at how quickly her short legs carried her out the door, he repositioned the ladder, waited for one of the teenage boys, Alex, to hold it for him then climbed up to give the garland more swagger.

  “Ah! Thank you, son,” Father Nathan watched from below. “It looks wonderful!”

  Steve glanced down with a grin at the appreciation. “A simple swag can do wonders.”

  “Indeed,” Father Nathan nodded as Steve climbed back down the ladder. “Noelle should be back soon,” he hinted, clasping his hands behind his back then moving away from the kids a short distance. Steve followed his lead. “She spends too much on the Center, but I don’t have the heart to decline her,” he sighed, “or the budget. Without her, this gymnasium would still just be a gymnasium.”

  “She bought all the craft supplies?” Steve cast another glance out to all the different decoration-making tables that had been set up.

  “She did,” Father Nathan nodded again. “Every year she sets a budget, and every year she goes over it. She wants
the kids to have something to be proud of when the guests come tomorrow. The kids have so little, but she always finds a way to make it seem like so much more.”

  Steve smiled at that, thinking Noelle must have a heart as big as her eyes, then his smile faltered as he watched the kids and reality sank in. They were decorating a gymnasium with paper crafts instead of a house or a Christmas tree in the living room. They were orphans. No family. No real home. The similarities between them and his crew were not missed. They were emphasized and undeniable. “Father, I have a proposal, and I need to make a phone call.”

  3: Certain Shepherds

  Noelle pushed through the doors of the Walgreens, six bags in each arm. It had been the third store she had hit, and it had been a lucky jackpot. This close to Christmas, most stores’ shelves were barren of anything remotely red and green. Walgreens, however, had been restocking the school supply shelves and had all the craft paper, pipe cleaners and pompoms a teacher could hope for.

  She’d gone over her budget again this year, but it was worth it. Not like she needed champagne money for New Years. Like last year, it was becoming obvious she was going to be counting down the clock with the kids at the Center instead of with someone special.

  Selfish, Noelle. She stopped her rushed steps and frowned at herself. Those kids were special. Cracking poppers and drinking fizzy ginger ale out of plastic cups with them was more fun than having dinner at some fancy restaurant. It was also lonely going back home that night to an empty apartment, just like it was every other night.

  Continuing her brisk pace down the street, she knew she should slow down. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if she passed out in the middle of the sidewalk. She wanted to get back, though, thinking foolishly that if she just got back in time, he’d still be there. Chances were high, though, that he’d had all the five minutes of the screaming kids he could take and had left right after she had.

  It was mean to think that way, but her past experiences were her only reference. She thought she was pretty, at least, and didn’t seem to have problems getting dates. The Center, however, was a big piece of her life, and it seemed her ex-boyfriends didn’t like the competition. This time it was flipped, where Steve had been dumped headfirst into her world before even getting a date out of her. Curiosity on if he could swim or not had her feet moving even faster.