Lights, Latkes, and Love

by Peggy Bird

  “I lived on the street until I went off to college.”

  “How can someone who lived at ground zero for Christmas spirit be a Scrooge?” He took her hand, and they joined the crowds on foot headed for the light display on the street.

  “I admit I loved the lights when I lived here. For a couple of weeks every year, it felt like we were the center of the city’s attention.” She looked around at the crowd. “I haven’t been here in years. It looks even more popular than I remember it.”

  “So your parents don’t live here anymore?”

  “No, they moved to a condo after my brother and I graduated from college. I haven’t been back since then.”

  Holding hands the whole way, they walked slowly down the sidewalk, admiring the displays of candy canes, blow-up Santas and snowmen, Christmas trees and angels, snowflakes, reindeer, ropes of lights, the Grinch, a house wrapped with lights in the shape of a ribbon and bow, the entire cast of A Charlie Brown Christmas on skates. If it was holiday related, some rendition of it was there, in glorious color and lit up like an airport landing strip. Hannah was happy to see that the basic outline of the display her father had created on their former home was the same, although the new owners had changed the lights from white to multicolored, added trees made of a spiral of lights to line the driveway, and put a sleigh and reindeer on the roof.

  She told David stories about popping out of bushes in a glow-in-the-dark vest, angel wings, and halo to scare people walking by. Or standing still, as if part of the display, only to moan and move at an appropriate time. She also told him about the time the houses were vandalized and could tell from his expression he understood exactly how that had dented her belief in the spirit of the holiday.

  After they’d evaluated every house on both sides of the street, they headed for the Horse Brass Pub.

  Settled with a hot drink and their food ordered, David asked, “So, you in a better mood?”

  “I have to admit you were right. I’d forgotten how beautiful the Lane is. It brought back a lot of memories. Thank you.”

  “I’d like to take credit for bringing back good times for you, but I had no idea you’d lived there. All I was aiming for was a few gasps of pleasure from you when you saw how spectacular the lights are.”

  She lifted her glass and clinked it against his. “Whatever your motive, the result was terrific. Cheers.”

  They sipped their drinks for a few moments before she said, “Tell me, I’m curious. Why are you such a fanatic about Christmas? It seems an odd thing for a nice Jewish guy to go all fanboy on.”

  He laughed. “I’m not sure I like being described that way. Makes me sound like I’m a groupie for a boy band.”

  Before she could apologize, he continued, “But to answer your question, I’m fascinated that, in all these different cultures, there are celebrations of light in one form or another at the darkest time of the year. Ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia near the winter solstice. In India, it’s Diwali; in Iran, a festival marking the triumph of light over dark. Stonehenge may even be a marker to show the winter solstice. The Swedes dress their daughters up as St. Lucia, with candles on their heads and—”

  “That one I know quite personally. We had a Swedish neighbor who had no daughters. My mother wanted to celebrate the holiday with her, so we made St. Lucia buns to deliver to her on December thirteenth. My mother tried to make me wear an Advent wreath on my head with real candles. I refused. She was very annoyed that we put the candles on the tray with the coffee and buns. Not authentic enough, she said.”

  He laughed. “I’m beginning to understand more about your problem with the holidays. I don’t think I’d want to have a head full of lighted candles either.”

  “The next year, I suggested we just make the buns and have coffee with her.” The server interrupted with their dinners. When he had gone, Hannah said, “So, from Stonehenge to Peacock Lane. You really take this seriously, don’t you? Is it the religious part that speaks to you?”

  “Not really. You don’t have to be religious to appreciate it. It’s more like being part of a long tradition of reassurance—no matter how short the days are, or how dark the nights, the celebrations all promise the light will return.”

  “Well, that explains your fascination.” She smiled. “I’m still not ready to get excited about the whole thing, but you have given me something to think about.”

  “My work here is done, then.”

  When they arrived at Hannah’s home after their leisurely meal, she asked, “Want to come in and meet Sarah?”

  “She’s been appropriately warned this time?”

  “I left her a note and asked her to be prepared for a visitor.”

  An introduction, a pot of coffee, and a half hour later, Hannah walked David back to his car. He stopped before stepping off the curb. “Thank you for going with me this evening.”

  “I should be thanking you. I felt like I’d gone home in some ways.”

  He circled her waist with his arms and drew her closer. “Good. Then we both got something we wanted. You got to remember your childhood. I got to spend another evening with you. And another chance to do this.” He lowered his head until his mouth touched hers. She eagerly parted her lips and let him nibble at her lower lip before he stroked his tongue over hers. The shiver that raced through her had nothing to do with the chilly winter air and everything to do with what he was doing with his mouth and his hands, which were pressing her tight against the erection she could feel against her belly.

  Changing the angle of his mouth on hers, he deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth, taking the oxygen from her lungs and sending all the moisture in her body south. It was what she’d been fantasizing about since the last time they’d been out. Only this time, it was better.

  When he broke from the kiss, they were both breathing raggedly. He held her, kissing her hair, until their breathing got close to normal.

  “The next time, I want ... ” He stopped.

  She tilted her head up and smiled at him.

  He kissed her gently and released her. “I’ll take that as agreement and hold you to it.”

  “Good night, David.”

  But as she turned to go back into her house he said, “Wait, we didn’t figure out when ‘next time’ is. Next week must be busy for you. Do you work late every day the week before Christmas?”

  “Most days.”

  “How about Friday? Are you working then?”

  “No, I scheduled myself off.”

  “Friday it is.” He stepped into the street and stopped. “Sorry, that was presumptuous of me. What I meant was, would you like to do something next Friday?”

  Hannah laughed. “Is this the third and final attempt to change my mind about the holidays?”

  “If that’s how you want to look at it. Or you could just say I want to see you on Friday. Your call.”

  What did she want it to be? Oh, who was she trying to fool? After that kiss and its aftermath, there was no question. She wanted to spend more time with this man. And it had nothing to do with any bet. “Yes, I’d like to see you next Friday. It would give me something to look forward to after the week from Christmas Hell.”

  He winced. “I see I still have work to do on the whole holiday spirit thing, don’t I?”

  “As much as I’m enjoying the efforts you’re making to change my mind—and believe me, I am—the dark side is still there every day at work, I’m afraid.”

  He grinned at her. “I love a challenge. And I never give up.”

  “Right. Persistence is your most annoying habit.”

  “You remember. Excellent. See you Friday.”

  Maybe it was the anticipation of seeing David again, or the shivers she got wondering if he meant what he’d intimated about “next time.” Perhaps it was the enthusiasm of her staff when they discussed details of the SafePlace party they were planning. Maybe people were behaving better than usual when they shopped. Whatever it was, the week before Christmas wasn�
��t nearly as stressful as she’d anticipated. In fact, by Wednesday she had to admit, to herself at least, that she was actually enjoying work, even if she was putting in long hours to pick up the slack for her ailing assistant manager. It wasn’t an easy week, but it wasn’t the week from hell she’d anticipated. Maybe David’s enthusiasm was rubbing off on her after all.

  Chapter 6

  “You look beautiful. As always.” David leaned in and dropped a quick kiss on her forehead. He wasn’t much of an expert on women’s clothing, but the navy dress she wore with brown boots and a wide belt that matched looked perfect on her. “Did you design this?” He indicated what she was wearing with a wave of his hand. “It’s great.”

  “Yes, I did. Thanks. It’s my take on the old standby shirtwaist dress. I wasn’t sure what we were doing tonight, so I didn’t know what to wear. But I figured this would work okay for everything, except maybe climbing a rock wall.”

  “I promise, if I ever decide to take you to a rock wall gym, I’ll give you advance notice so you can dress for it.”

  She grabbed a coat from the hook on the wall by the door. He started to take it from her to help her put it on, but something behind her diverted his attention. “It looks like you’re creating in there. Are you making some of your designs?”

  Hannah turned. “Oh, you mean my sewing mess. I’ve been making doll clothes.”

  “Samples of your designs?”

  “No, but that’s a good idea. I might do that someday.” She walked to the living room and picked up a finished dress. It was a halter-neck gown with a full, sweeping skirt in a blue and white chevron pattern. “It’s for Hannah, too.”

  “Hannah, too?”

  “My secret Santa girl from SafePlace. When I introduced myself as Hannah, she said she was ‘Hannah, too,’ so that’s how I think of her. She asked for a doll. So I got her an American Girl doll, and I’m designing and making clothes for it. And I’m making one outfit for the doll’s owner so they match.”

  “She’ll be in heaven.” He hesitated for a moment. “I’m not sure I should say this, but it seems to me you’ve caught a bad case of Christmas spirit.” He shook his head, then kissed her gently to ward off a remark about his assumption.

  “Hardly. This is my way of relaxing when I come home from work. And she deserves to have a nice present, don’t you think?”

  Both Hannahs deserved a good Christmas in his opinion, but he wasn’t about to say that. So he merely commented, “From the looks of what you’re doing, she’ll have the best present ever. Although you are a little messy when you’re creative. You obviously have a patient housemate.”

  “It drives her crazy when I do this, but she’s in Seattle for a long weekend with her family, so I’m free to make a mess.” She dropped her eyes and fussed with the collar of the coat she was holding. “So, back to tonight. What’re we doing if we’re not rock climbing?”

  If he’d known she had an empty house for the weekend, he wouldn’t have spent two hours trying to get his apartment into some sort of decent shape in the hopes of convincing her to go there after their date. However, from the almost embarrassed expression on her face, he thought it best not to let her know how happy it made him that she was thinking about what an empty house might mean for the end to their evening.

  So he let her change the subject. He held up her coat, and she put it on. “If I told you the color you’re wearing is perfect for what we’re doing tonight, would it give you a clue?”

  “There’s a color theme?”

  “Not a theme, exactly. But blue is an associated color, shall we say.”

  Her face scrunched up for a moment then broke into a smile. “Oh, Hanukkah. The color for Hanukkah is blue, isn’t it?”

  “Yup. We’re going to a latke party, to eat way too many fried potato pancakes, play a silly game that becomes cutthroat in the circles I run in, and watch a bunch of candles burn down to nothing. Let’s get going—they’ll be waiting for us to get the party started.”

  The host and hostess for the latke party were college friends of David’s, as were at least one of the partners in each of the other four couples. They’d been getting together for latkes one night of Hanukkah every year since college, and over time the group had grown to include spouses and eventually children. By now the group numbered six couples, four of them married, two who usually brought dates, and eight kids among them—totaling twenty people.

  On the way to the event, David explained to Hannah they’d probably find everyone in the kitchen when they arrived—frying latkes, dishing up applesauce and sour cream, munching on cheese and crackers or vegetables and dip, pouring wine, or nagging about when the chocolate gelt would be parceled out for the dreidel tournament. Then, as soon as the final batch of latkes was ready, the candles in the menorah would be lit and the blessing given, after which the gorging on fried potato pancakes would take place.

  It was all as David described it, down to the two after-dinner dreidel games. The children’s game was noisy but well behaved. The adult version was, as advertised, cutthroat. There were accusations of cheating, threats of stealing the winnings of those who were ahead, and even one or two attempts at bribery. David was amused to see how competitive Hannah was and how quickly she fell into the banter and mock corruption of his friends.

  The party broke up about eleven. Everyone urged Hannah to return the next year, with or without David, so they could win back the gelt she’d “stolen” from them because of her beginner’s luck.

  Every time he looked over at her as he drove her home, she was grinning. He was, too. It had been a great evening. She fit in with his friends. She was fun and funny, and he was falling for her so fast he knew he was in big trouble.

  Finally he said, “I hope you had a good time.”

  “Of course I did. You have an amazing group of friends,” she said. “You go a ways back with them, don’t you?”

  “First year of college. Eight of us in a comparative religion class decided to share holiday traditions with each other. Hanukkah fell early that year, so we made the latkes in the dorm on an illegal hotplate. They were terrible. I have no idea why anyone wanted to continue the tradition after that, but we did. Fortunately, we got better at making latkes. We rotate the venue from place to place each year, but everyone helps cook and clean up wherever we are.”

  He glanced over at her. “It was a good evening. And I’m not ready to end it yet. Are you?”

  She scrunched over closer to him and put her hand on his leg. It was damned distracting. The feel of her hand, her vanilla scent that filled the car, and the sound of her soft laugh were building his anticipation about what might come next.

  “I’m not ready to end it either. Are we going to my house or yours?” she asked, making the distraction even greater.

  “Where would you rather go?”

  “Weeelll,” she said, deliberately dragging out her response, “I’m not sure. I guess it depends on what you have in mind.”

  He yanked on the steering wheel and pulled over to the curb. Without saying anything, he turned off the engine, unclipped his seatbelt, and slid toward her. He wrapped his arms around her and claimed her in a kiss he hoped would answer her question.

  When he had thoroughly explored her mouth with his lips, tongue, and teeth, he eased off—but didn’t release her. Instead he began kissing along her jawline until he reached her ear. “What I have in mind is to start like that,” he whispered, “then, if it’s okay with you, I’ll unwrap you with all the attention I’d give to the best present I ever got.”

  He pulled back. “I’d start with this.” Matching his actions to his words, he began opening the front of her coat, pushing it to the side so the front of her dress was exposed. “After I take care of those buttons, you’ll take me to your bedroom and I’ll work on these.” He slipped his fingers behind the V at the neckline of her dress and undid the top button. His index finger strayed under the cup of a lacy-feeling bra to the soft breast underneat
h.

  “When I’ve gotten your dress undone, I’ll be able to see this lacy thing you’re wearing. Doubt that I’ll look at it too long, though. It would have to go.” He brushed the palm of his hand over one breast and felt her nipple begin to pucker and harden. “Because I definitely want to kiss what’s behind it.”

  He stopped playing with her clothes and drew her close again. Beginning at the swell of her breasts, now exposed, he kissed and licked his way up to the notch between her collarbones. “Then, after I get both our heart rates going, I’ll find out if what else you wear under this dress is as lacy as your bra.” His hand slid up her thigh to the edge of her panty leg. “Oh, good. I won’t have to worry about getting you out of tights.”

  He could feel his own arousal increase as he continued to explore her hip, her belly, and the smooth bit of something silky that covered her sex. It was getting tougher to focus on seducing her with words when all he really wanted to do was get her into a bed someplace and finish the seduction with his body.

  He heard her swallow—gulp, really—after she licked her lips a few times to moisten her mouth. “Go on,” she said, “What else?”

  “Then, I’ll finish undressing you. It might be challenging to get all your clothes off because I imagine it’ll be difficult to keep from kissing up your neck and finding your mouth again. Just like it is now.”

  She moaned as he demonstrated with a kiss what he meant. He wanted her so badly that he had a hard time keeping the kiss under control.

  “After you’re all undressed, I’ll lay you down on your bed where I can see how beautiful you are. And I’ll watch you while I take off what I’m wearing. Then I’ll lay down beside you.” He brushed his thumb over her mouth. “Do you like what I’ve got planned so far?” he asked.

  After a shuddery intake of breath, she said, “Oh, yes. Very much.” She ran her hands up his arms and circled his neck. “Keep going. What’s next?”

  “Well, now that we’re both naked and lying in bed, it shouldn’t be too difficult to imagine what’s next, should it?”