Christmas Snow

by Jillian Clare

  “Can I help you with that?” Nicole called to Andi a few steps ahead of her.

  “No, I’m fine.” Andi looked back at Nicole and gave her one of those polite smiles. Then Andi used both hands to heave the bag onto the next step with a loud thump.

  “Oh, this is silly.” Nicole grabbed the bar between the wheels and lifted the bottom end of the suitcase. “Keep moving,” Nicole said when Andi looked like she would object. “This’ll save Jessica having to repair her stairs.”

  Andi didn’t fight her and they finished the last flight of stairs faster than the previous two. Nicole set the bag down on the landing and slipped past Andi. She wanted to see the room.

  In the top of a square turret, the room had knee-high windows covered in lace trimmed blue curtains. The sloped ceiling started at the top of the low windows and went up about fifteen feet to a peak.

  “Oh, how pretty,” Nicole said looking up at the painted medallions around the base of the milk-glass, crystal and brass chandelier. Light danced off the crystals onto the walls and the twin beds on either side of the room.

  Jessica turned on the milk-glass lamps on the wooden night stand next to each bed.

  “How did you find lamps to match that chandelier?” Nicole asked their hostess.

  “I didn’t.” Jessica reached down and closed the curtains. “I had bits from a number of broken lamps. I put them together with new parts from the hardware store, and.. Voila, matching lamps.”

  Nicole was intrigued. She had an end table that would be a perfect place for a recycled lamp. She now had a desire to go searching through thrift shops for a lamp she could repair.

  Andi set her suitcase next to one of the beds and dropped into the upholstered club chair at the foot of the bed.

  Nicole suddenly felt like her legs didn’t want to support her. All the tension from the last few hours finally caught up with her. She too dropped into a club chair decorated with a Christmas-themed pillow that coordinated with the ones on the beds.

  Their hostess was on her way out of the room when she turned back. “I usually don’t serve supper. But in weather like this I put on a pot of stew. I’m inviting all of my guest to join me for dinner in half an hour.”

  Andi stood up and took the room key. “Thank you. That would be lovely.”

  ***

  Andi followed Nicole into the dining room, a sunroom off the living room. A shelf filled with plants ran around the room a foot below the top of the window. This gave the impression of a living window valance. Mixed in with the plants were brightly colored ornaments and fabric elves.

  “Look.” Nicole pointed to some of the plants. “She has her whole herb garden in here. Basil, thyme, mint. And look at that topiary bay leaf tree, the one with the angel on top.”

  Andi enjoyed seeing Nicole so animated again.

  Their hostess placed two plates of stew on the table. Each had a large slab of homemade bread. The yeasty smell made her mouth water. Andi took a bite of bread without even bothering to butter it. The taste was everything the smell promised.

  Andi looked over at Nicole and whatever Andi was going to say slipped from her mind. Nicole savored her bread with her eyes closed. A look of rapture on her face. Andi felt an explosion of heat deep in her core.

  Nicole opened her eyes and smiled. “This tastes as good as my father’s.” Nicole’s eyes popped open wider and her face went serious. “Don’t you dare tell him I said that.”

  Andi cross her hand over her heart and held it up. “I’ll carry your secret to my grave.”

  “Now you’re laughing at me and I’m serious.” The smile on Nicole’s face told otherwise. “Well, pretty serious.” Nicole took another bite of the bread and moaned.

  Andi pulled her turtle-neck sweater away from her neck. The room suddenly felt too warm.

  “Okay, Okay.” Nicole seemed to say that more to herself than Andi as she put the bread down. “My father is a chef and takes pride in his food being the best.”

  “So that’s where your love of cooking comes from.”

  Nicole had a quizzical look on her face.

  Andi waved her hand in the general direction of the table. “The lunches you bring and eat at your desk. They always smell wonderful. And they’re not in prepackaged frozen food containers.”

  “Oh, yeah. Since I was the youngest and my brother and sister were away at college, the school bus would drop me off at Papa’s restaurant. I’d keep Papa company in the kitchen until Mom got off work.”

  “What work did your mother do?”

  “She’s a software engineer. Or she was. Now she manages the engineering department.”

  “She didn’t feel competitive with your father about cooking?

  “Oh heaven’s no. Mom was thrilled she didn’t have to cook after a long day at the office. What about your parents?”

  “My parents are socialites to the full extent their wealth allows. They were always off enjoying the world. They didn’t have time for things like afternoon visits or family dinners.” Andi mentally kicked herself. What made her say that? She sounded like a poor little rich kid. Andi quickly changed the subject. “What are those plants above our heads?”

  Nicole gave her a look she couldn’t quite decipher. But she let Andi change the subject.

  Nicole reached up and snapped a large leaf off a bushy, dark green plant. “This one is basil.” Nicole rubbed the leaf between her fingers and held it out to Andi.

  “Mmm, smells good. Now that it’s off the plant I recognize it. I would have recognized it faster if it had been sitting on a slice of mozzarella.”

  Nicole filled the room with her delightful laugh and Andi joined her.

  They finished eating their meal and Andi couldn’t help feeling like they’d been on a first date. If this had been a date, it would have been one of the more enjoyable ones she’d had in a long time.

  She had to remind herself Nicole was her employee not her date.

  ***

  Andi took her turn in the en suite bathroom first. She came out wearing yoga pants and a loose t-shirt. Even dressed for bed, Andi looked high fashion. But without the armor of her power suit and makeup, she looked a lot more approachable.

  When Nicole came out in her flannel Rudolph pajamas, Andi was propped up in her bed with her blanket pulled up to her chin as she read on her tablet.

  “Are you ready to go to sleep?” Nicole asked. Nicole wasn’t but she figured if the lights were out she wouldn’t look at Andi and wish they weren’t sleeping in separate beds.

  “I can go to sleep if you’re ready to turn the lights out.” Andi closed the cover of her tablet and placed it on her nightstand.

  Nicole couldn’t come up with a good reason not to turn off the lights. At least, not one she was willing to say.

  She turned off the overhead light. Only the lamp on her nightstand was still on. Nicole turned it off and crawled into bed.

  She laid there on her back, wide awake and staring up into the dark room. She could hear Andi breathing. Nicole rolled over toward the wall, punched her pillow and pulled the covers up to her ear.

  She could still hear Andi breathing. A slow steady sound that make Nicole’s own breathing speed up.

  Nicole rolled onto her back, pushed her pillow against the headboard and scooted up. She sat with her arms hugging her knees to her chest. Nicole stared into the darkness where she knew Andi was.

  In a quiet voice, in case Andi had fallen asleep, Nicole asked, “Didn’t you spend much time with your parents?”

  Nicole sat there in the quiet, waiting.

  Finally, Nicole heard a heavy sigh from Andi’s direction.

  “My parents had me because it was expected of them. They left me with my grandfather since he was the one that wanted an heir.”

  “I’m sorry.” Nicole couldn’t image not having her family around her.

  A strained silence weighed on Nicole. She didn’t want to cause Andi pain by asking more about her family. But changing the
topic to something frivolous didn’t feel right either. She put her chin on her knee and stared into the darkness again.

  Andi’s voice broke the silence. “Is your boyfriend meeting you at your parents?”

  “No girlfriend. I’ve been out since college.” Nicole waited as the silence grew. Had she made Andi uncomfortable?

  “And you’re still close to your family?” Andi asked with surprise in her tone.

  “Yeah. My parents are great. I was in my second year of college when I finally got up the courage to tell them.” Nicole smiled at the memory. “Mom gave me a hug and said, ‘Do you think we didn’t know?’ Papa shook his head and said, ‘Is telling us why you didn’t eat? Come let me make you a sandwich.’ And that was that.”

  Andi’s bed creaked.

  “You’re lucky. My grandfather hasn’t spoken to me since he found out.”

  Nicole’s heart stuttered. She heard the hurt in Andi’s voice. Disguised, but it was there. “I’d share my family with you if I could.”

  There was silence for a moment. Then Andi replied in a soft voice, “Thank you.”

  Andi’s bed creaked. “Good night, Nicole.”

  Nicole heard a smile in Andi’s voice. Nicole slid down under the quilt. She smiled into the dark and said, “Good night, Andi.”

  Feeling like she made her friend happy tugged at Nicole’s heart. She felt happier than she had in hours.

  Her friend? Nicole’s thoughts skidded back to that phrase.

  She realized it was true. At some point during the day, her boss she had a crush on had turned into a friend she cared about.

  Nicole’s last thought as she drifted to sleep was about her friend with the hot body.

  FOUR

  Andi woke up when sunlight started to brighten the room. She looked over to find Nicole dressed and sitting in a chair with a knitted Christmas throw-blanket across her legs as she read her phone. Nicole smiled at her. Andi’s heart banged against her chest.

  “Good Morning, sleepyhead,” Nicole said with way to much enthusiasm this early in the morning.

  Andi picked up her head to check the time on her cell phone and heard a muffled laugh from across the room. “What?”

  Nicole pointed to her own head and tried to suppress a smile. “Static.”

  Andi turned her phone off and looked into the black screen. A snort escaped.

  At Andi’s snort, Nicole’s delightful laugh filled the room. Andi ran her hands over her hair to make it lay back down. She guessed she failed as Nicole continued to laugh. The sound of her laughter made Andi feel light-headed and happy. She picked up her pillow and threw it. “Take that.”

  Andi wasn’t sure which of them was more surprised that she’d thrown her pillow.

  Nicole recovered faster. “Those are fighting words.” Nicole crossed the room and swung a pillow into Andi’s shoulder just as Andi stood up. Andi grabbed her second pillow and was returning hit for hit, her laughter mingling with Nicole’s.

  Andi finally grabbed Nicole in a bear hug to pin Nicole’s arms down. Nicole stopped laughing and Andi stopped breathing. Andi realized she’d just pinned their bodies together. Several strands of Nicole’s strawberry scented hair were across Andi’s shoulder. Nicole’s face was inches from hers.

  Andi’s mouth was dry and her heart beat rapidly. Nicole was staring at Andi’s mouth. Then Andi’s gaze slid down to Nicole’s full lips. They were right there. All Andi had to do was lean forward a bit.

  ’Santa Claus is coming to town—“

  Andi jumped at the loud ring tone. Heat flooded her face. Embarrassed, she grabbed the clothes she’d set out for the day and dashed into the bathroom. She slammed the door closed and leaned against it.

  Memories poured out of locked cubbies in her mind. She slid down the door and sat on the floor.

  How could she have done it again?

  In her mind’s eye, she saw the last scene with her grandfather.

  The lawyer for their employee, who had also been Andi’s love, handed her grandfather the paper. Her grandfather read the paper and looked at Andi with disgust. He’d said, “I’m going to make this go away and I never want to see you again.”

  “Grandfather?” At the time, Andi hadn’t understood what happened.

  “Get out of my sight and don’t come back.”

  Andi pulled herself back from that memory. Silent tears ran down her face. She’d later found out the woman she met at work and thought she loved had turned on her for money. The woman and her lawyer had slapped Grandfather’s company with a sexual harassment suit. Something they willingly settled out of court for a large sum of money.

  Andi had been on her own since. She’d started her company with the money in her trust fund and thought she’d learned her lesson about keeping employees at a distance.

  Andi picked herself up off the floor and stepped into the shower. The sooner this day was over and she was by herself again, the better.

  ***

  When Andi stepped out of the bathroom, her hair was pulled completely back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck. Her makeup looked perfect. And, she looked totally unapproachable.

  Nicole would have bet her next paycheck that Andi had been about to kiss her before the phone rang. When Andi grabbed her, the pillow-fight stopped and sparks flew around the room.

  There was no way Andi hadn’t felt that. Yet, here she was with full battle armor back in place.

  Why? What triggered it?

  Nicole’s phone had rung plenty of times and not caused Andi to build a wall like the one she stood behind now.

  Nicole let out a sigh. What she’d felt in Andi’s arms had been too good to forget. She just wasn’t sure how to get around that wall. Standing there wasn’t going to help. They may as well get moving.

  “”Are you ready for breakfast? I’ve been smelling pancakes for the last hour.” Nicole tried to make her voice sound light and carefree.

  Andi cross to her suitcase, put her few remaining items inside and zipped it closed. “If you don’t mind, let’s skip breakfast and get on the road.” She popped up her suitcase handle with an audible click.

  “Well, I’ve been up for a while and I’m starving. Besides, a little bit longer will give the road crews time to make sure the roads are passible.

  ***

  After last night’s stew, Andi was sure this morning’s breakfast tasted great. She just couldn’t confirm it herself.

  She’d sat there pretending to eat. Every bite tasted like dried dirt. The whole while, Nicole was her bright, chatty self. She didn’t even notice that Andi wasn’t contributing to the conversation.

  Andi couldn’t remember what Nicole talked about. She tried her best to not listen. She needed to distance herself.

  But when Nicole talked, she had this way of making Andi feel like she was the center of Nicole’s universe. Andi loved that about Nicole.

  No.

  Andi stared out the passenger window of the car. Those kinds of thoughts are part of the past. Her business couldn’t survive an expensive lawsuit and settlement. And she didn’t think her heart could handle betrayal like that again.

  When they’d gotten into the car, Andi turned on NPR in the hopes of stopping any further conversation. Nicole immediately changed the station for Christmas music. Nicole hadn’t tried to talk to her, but she’d been singing along to the songs this whole time.

  Andi checked the time on the car’s dashboard.

  Halfway there.

  Nicole caught her glance and smiled at her. Andi gave her a polite smile in return and went back to staring out the passenger window. Nicole’s infectious optimism was getting harder to ignore with each mile. Andi wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep herself closed away.

  Andi must have dozed off. She awoke to the most awful imitation of a country singer. She turned and stared at Nicole. Nicole was bopping her head to the music and caterwauling at the top of her lungs about someone’s grandmother being run over by one of Santa’s
reindeer. Nicole wiggled her eyebrows at Andi as Nicole raucously added an awful twang to the lyrics. Andi couldn’t help herself, she laughed.

  Nicole turned the music down. “We’re almost there. I hope you don’t mind stopping at my parents’ house first.”

  “That’s fine.” Andi looked forward to meeting this family that sounded so perfect.

  Then, her sleep fogged brain cleared. The happiness she felt was ripped from her chest as she remembered the need to get as far from Nicole as possible. Andi wanted to cry from the pain. It was too late to say she wanted to be dropped off at her hotel first.

  She could do this. She could smile politely at these people and then within twenty minutes remind Nicole she needed to get to her hotel.

  Easy.

  Five

  Nicole pulled the car to the end of a long driveway and parked in front of a modern two-story home with a deep front porch and a yard filled with large inflated Christmas displays. There were several snowmen, a Santa in a biplane, and three elves in bumper cars.

  “It’s not what I was expecting,” Andi said.

  “Mom and Papa had this house built about ten years ago. Mom wanted a more open floor plan and Papa wanted a modern kitchen.” Nicole walked around to the passenger side of the car. “I’ll pull my bag out later. Come on. I want to introduce you to my parents.”

  The front door flew open. “Nicole.” A handsome older man strode out and gave Nicole a bear hug in the middle of the porch.

  Andi hung back at the top step not wanting to intrude.

  “Papa,” Nicole said. “This is my friend, Andi.”

  In two strides, the tall man stood in front of Andi and enclosed her in a warm hug. “Welcome.” He stepped back, wrapped an arm around Andi and guided her through the front door.

  “It’s so good to meet the woman who protected Nicole from getting stuck in the blizzard.” He gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Not everyone could do that.”