Holly got home from her shift first, in an even worse mood than the one she'd left in.
“How was work?” Laurel asked, only because she asked it every afternoon.
"Don't want to talk about it," Holly said before heading up to her room. She came back down in her pajamas and a head of wet hair.
“Rough day?” Laurel asked.
"Really don't want to talk about it," Holly said as she stepped into the kitchen. She picked out a bag of chips from the pantry.
Laurel craned her neck over the couch. “You sure everything’s okay?”
"Not really. Ignore me and let me mope. How was your day?"
Laurel breathed in and decided against telling Holly anything about the snow globe debacle. “It was quiet.”
“Did you send the package back?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
Holly didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she sat beside Laurel and placed the bag of chips between them.
Chapter 4
Laurel knew something was up when her mom was dressed at breakfast.
Her dad was still sleeping from a long night of work, and Holly had gone to a morning shift, so it was Laurel and her mom at the breakfast table.
"Are you going to stay in today?" her mom asked.
Laurel shrugged. It wasn't like she had anything else to do or anyone to hang out with. Maybe she could video call one of her friends down in Florida. "Probably. Why?"
“Well, I was thinking about going shopping this morning. Nothing major, just a few extra Christmas decorations.”
“Mom, Christmas is less than a week away.”
“Exactly, which is why we should be kicking up the festivity level.”
Laurel figured there was no point in arguing with her mom. Christmas was her favorite holiday of the year. It was her dad's, too, but he wasn't as bad. Laurel's mom had named her kids with a Christmas theme. Laurel's older sister was named Gloria Belén, which for those who didn't know Spanish was Glory Bethlehem. She went by Gloria, though.
Luckily when Laurel's parents had moved to Florida from Mexico, they'd decided to go with more subtle Christmas names for their younger two daughters, hence, Holly and Laurel.
“Okay…”
“Come Christmas shopping with me.”
Laurel couldn't think of an excuse before her mom kept going.
"It'll be fun. With my new job and the move, I've barely seen you."
Laurel wondered if her mom had forgotten the part about her helping put new Christmas decorations every afternoon. She knew better than to argue, though. And it wasn’t like she had anything better to do here.
"Sure," she said. "Let me get ready, and we can go."
“You look fine the way you’re dressed.”
Laurel looked down at the sweats she wore. “I really should-”
"Laurel, the stores are going to fill up. Let's go and come right back. Then you can spend the rest of your day watching all those Christmas movies you like so much."
Laurel couldn't tell if her mom was joking at this point or if she'd come home from work to find her watching so many Christmas movies, that she believed it.
"Okay," Laurel said. Was there a point in arguing? After helping her mom with the dishes, she slipped on her warmest boots and headed out.
It was even colder than yesterday, but still no snow. Laurel let her mom play Christmas songs for what felt like an eternity. It wasn’t until she realized what store they were heading to that she turned the volume on the songs down.
“Why are we in the historic district?” Laurel asked. She could already see the sign for The Christmas Stop. It wasn't a big deal, but she hadn't told anyone in her family about her run-in with Kevin what's his name yesterday.
"I heard there's a special Christmas store in this area, a bit more expensive, but everything is handcrafted and made locally."
Laurel’s mom found a parking spot and was already getting out of the car.
“Mom-”
"Come on. I know the area's a little fancier, but you're dressed fine."
If only Laurel could make her mom understand what she wore was the least of her issues. Laurel decided there was probably another person working the register and that the chances of Kevin being here at all were zero to none. She liked those odds.
She followed her mom into the store. Then followed her through aisles, as her mom searched for the perfect ornaments to add to their tree.
"Oh look, they have outdoor lighting," her mom said.
Laurel just nodded. She kept an eye on the register.
“Look, I can decorate my desk with this,” her mom said, holding up a little mini Christmas tree. “It’ll be perfect.”
“It’s cute.”
Her mom held up another one. “You can put one in your locker at school.”
"Christmas will be over by the time I start the semester. Maybe I won't even have a locker." Or if she didn't start school at all. Laurel had been looking at online options to finish off her junior year, possibly the rest of high school. She couldn't bring herself to start a new semester in a strange city without knowing absolutely anyone. Thankfully, her parents hadn't fought her on the option.
"You're still considering online classes?" her mom asked.
Laurel nodded. "I can still register through the local public school. I'd go in and get my schedule but opt for the online teachers."
“Your sister’s going to campus. You can go with her.”
"It wouldn't be the same mom. She's a senior. I'm a junior." And Holly didn't hang out with Laurel outside of their sister mandated time. They never even told each other much of anything.
They were twins, but it'd always been more of Holly and
Gloria, or Laurel and Gloria. The Holly and Laurel moments were few.
"Okay. I won't push," her mom said.
"Thank you," Laurel said. "Now, are we going to check out?" She pointed to her mom's overfilled basket.
"Fine," her mom said. "But, I might stop by the craft store near our neighborhood on the way back."
Laurel gave her mom a lazy grin. “Whatever makes you the happiest.”
They walked up to the counter and saw someone had beat them to it. A guy leaned over the counter, pointing something out to the employee elf.
“There’s no way I can return this?”
“Sorry, all custom made sales are final.”
That voice.
Laurel froze, more than she’d frozen outside.
That was when someone walked up to the guy at the counter, a woman, probably her’s mom age.
"Were you able to return the snow globe?" she asked him.
It was a coincidence, had to be.
The guy turned. “No, mom.”
When he turned, Laurel saw Kevin’s profile. She took a step back. The woman beside him, his mom apparently, also caught her gaze. Then she looked right at Laurel’s mom and gave a huge smile.
“Lucía,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
Kevin just gave Laurel a wide-eyed glance, like he had no idea what was going on either.
Laurel turned to her mom, who was already walking toward the woman.
“Marie, hey, just doing some Christmas shopping with my daughter.” She turned to Laurel. “Laurel, this is my friend from the office, Marie.”
Laurel shook the woman’s hand. She pointed to her son. “Hi Laurel, I’ve heard a lot about you and your sisters. I’m glad to finally meet you.” She pulled on Kevin’s sleeve. “This is my son, Kevin.”
Chapter 5
Laurel could either lie or admit to what happened yesterday.
Gloria always said lies made everything more complicated. Then again, she'd said that after her ex-boyfriend had cheated on her, so was it really good advice?
“Hi,” Kevin said, first. He extended his hand, taking the choice away from her. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Laurel's mom almost pushed her into the handshake. "Helping your mom with last Christmas d
ecorations?" she asked before Laurel could say anything.
"No. I came to return an old gift."
The elf behind the counter joined in on the conversation.
"Will there be anything else I can help you with?"
They all turned, and Kevin answered. "No, thanks. I think I'm good." He took the snow globe and looked back up at Laurel.
"What grade are you in, Laurel?" Marie asked.
Laurel swallowed. She felt all the scratches on her palm come alive. “Eleventh.”
"So is Kevin," Marie said. "Your mom tells me you're thinking about doing some online courses with Silva High School. That's where Kevin goes. Maybe you two can chat for a minute."
What was happening?
Laurel looked at Kevin, finally making direct eye contact since this whole interaction had started. Her mom nudged her.
"That would be great, Marie. Maybe we can grab a coffee while the kids walk around. Laurel hasn't had the time to make any new friends, so it'll be good for her."
Laurel pretended like her mom hadn’t just said that. She forced a smile. Holly would have been so disappointed.
“Kevin, why don’t you and Laurel walk around for a bit? I’ll give you a call when I finish up here.”
“You said you were done Christmas shopping.”
“Kevin.”
Kevin looked like he was trying not to roll his eyes. He tucked the snow globe away from Laurel’s view. He sighed.
"Sure," he finally said. "Why don't we go to the office supply store across the street? I need some binders for school."
"Great idea," Laurel's mom said. She pushed Laurel into Kevin. "Have fun. We can meet back here."
Somehow, the two of them managed to make it down the strip mall in silence.
"I wasn't pretending like I didn't know you. I just don't think yesterday counted as an introduction," Kevin said. He cleared his throat. "How's your hand, by the way?"
“Fine,” Laurel said. She rubbed her palm. It didn’t hurt at all. What hurt more was the embarrassment of everything right now. “You don’t have to do this. Our moms basically forced us to hang out so, if you wanna call your friends or something, that’s fine too.”
Kevin stopped walking. “I’m not that much of a jerk.”
Wouldn’t know it from yesterday. Instead, Laurel said, “I didn’t say you were.”
"But you thought it. You've probably thought about it since yesterday. And now that our moms did this, you're trying to figure out a way to get rid of me because you've already made up your mind that you don't like me."
"You're putting words in my mouth."
"Am I, though? I mean, you went out of your way to bring something back to me, and I let you fall on your butt in front of my house and then told you to keep the snow globe."
Was he smiling? She didn’t like the smile because it made him less goofy and more cute.
Laurel sighed. "Okay, yes. After yesterday, you may have gone on my jerk list. But honestly, it doesn't matter. My mom just did this because she thinks if I become friends with you, I'll go to school in person and not become a hermit for the rest of my life." She shook her head. "Never mind. And let's agree to forget about yesterday."
"I couldn't forget," Kevin said. He pointed a finger toward her. "I literally stayed up most of the night looking at that stupid snow globe and wondering if I'd get a chance to apologize to you. Also, you're doing online high school?"
"Maybe," Laurel said. "And did you feel that guilty?"
He smiled again. “Well, yes and no. I felt guilty, but I also stayed up thinking about Jasmine and our whole breakup. I haven’t seen her since she moved away this past summer. But I did also feel guilty for your fall.”
“You guys dated.”
“Yeah, since ninth grade. I got her those snow globes the first December we started dating.”
“Why?”
“It’s a dumb reason.”
A frozen gust touched Laurel’s neck. She shivered and crossed her arms.
“You don’t have to tell me.”
"I want to, not that it's an excuse for me being rude yesterday, but maybe so that you get a general idea. But why don't we get some coffee first? There's a Melo's across the street."
There was a Melo’s Coffee in every street corner of Glensford.
“You don’t need a binder?”
"No," Kevin said. "I figured it was the best escape plan. If we stood there any longer, our moms probably would've scheduled a play date for us on their phones."
Laurel laughed. When she did, his eyes stopped on her. "Coffee it is."
Chapter 6
Laurel didn’t have her wallet.
She realized it in the middle of receiving her vanilla latte. The girl behind the register gave her a friendly smile. Her name tag said, Elena.
“Everything okay?” Elena asked.
Laurel nodded. "I'm so sorry. I just realized I didn't bring-"
"Here," Kevin said. He handed Elena a five. He turned to her. "Think of this as my payment for the gas you wasted bringing me the snow globe yesterday."
Laurel didn't argue, because, at this point, she wanted to stop holding up the line. "Thank you."
A few minutes later, they sat across from each other, each taking sips of their steaming coffee cups.
"So," Kevin finally said. "You ready for the story?"
Laurel nodded.
"The snow globe thing started because Jasmine's parents split up, and she had to spend winter breaks in Florida with her dad. She had this thing about wanting to see the first snowfall with me because she thought it was a good luck thing for our relationship. I don't know. Honestly, I think she watched it in some movie and got attached to the idea. Anyways, she also had this collection of snow globes, which I know sounds random. But she did, so I picked three different locations in Glensford and had them made into those snow globes. It was a super expensive and time-consuming idea, but I did it. Then I had them scheduled to be mailed to her house in Florida."
Laurel tilted her head. "But, they came to her old address in Glensford."
"Yeah, so that's the other dumb part. For the first two years, Jasmine got the snow globes in Florida, but then her address changed for her dad's house. I came into the store to take the old address off the order, but I realized I didn't have her new one with me, so I said I'd come back later. And then that same week she broke up with me. I never even thought about it until yesterday."
"Oh," Laurel said. Kevin took a sip of his coffee and leaned back in his chair. "That's terrible timing. I mean the breakup, and I guess me bringing you the snow globe before Christmas."
"The breakup was terrible timing, but you bringing me the snow globe wasn't. I mean, it felt like it was yesterday, but today, not so much."
Laurel didn't know if he meant it was good timing because he got a chance to clear it up or because of other reasons. And he was doing this half-smile, half sipping his coffee, which made it all more confusing.
“What’s the location in the snow globe?” she asked.
Kevin set his coffee down. "It's this historic farmhouse outside of San Mateo. Honestly, I picked it because Jasmine had this thing about wanting to see a farmhouse. I googled it, and it was the only one in Glensford. I printed a picture and brought it here, along with one of the A Winter Wonderland festival and another one of our school. So the first year, I called her when it first snowed here, and video chatted with her from our high school. So we technically watched it together."
“Couldn’t you just have done that instead of making all those snow globes?”
He nodded. "Looking back, a video chat probably would've done the job. But I thought it was romantic at the time, even if it cost me a summer's worth of my part-time job. I was fifteen and in love, so obviously, I made a dumb choice."
“Did she like them?”
He smiled. “She loved them. She kept them right beside her bed at her dad’s house. She never knew which location I’d send, so it was like a game to
o. I mean it was for two years. This year-”
“Not so much.”
"Yeah," he said. "And so when you brought it back yesterday, it was like breaking up with Jasmine all over again. Honestly, I didn't even want to see it. And then I thought about how expensive the snow globe had been, so I tried returning it."
“But no returns on custom made snow globes.”
“Right.”
Laurel took a sip of her drink. It warmed her lips. She looked at the farmhouse snow globe on the table. It made her curious to see it in person. Kevin caught her staring.
"You know, I've never gone there in person. I just saw it on a web site."
“Maybe you should go when it first snows this year.”
"Probably not," he said. "It'll make me think of Jasmine."
Laurel didn’t push. She grabbed the snow globe. “What are your plans for it, then?”
"Going to give it to my next girlfriend."
“Really?”
"No," he said. "I'll keep it for now. Maybe sell it online."
And that ended the mystery of the snow globe. Laurel wanted to ask why Jasmine had broken up with Kevin, but she knew in breakups there was never one answer.
Sure she told people she'd broken up with her ex because he kissed another girl at a party. But the truth was, she'd been thinking about ending things months before that. The only reason she'd postponed the break up was because of all the friends they'd made together, friends who took his side after they split up.
“So, you’re thinking about going to online high school?” Kevin asked. “Can I ask why?” He changed the topic with ease.
Laurel shrugged. "I don't know anyone here, and it's halfway into my junior year. Which means not only do I have to worry about my social life but also about trying to figure out a bunch of new teachers. It's just too much at once."
"You'll make friends," Kevin said like it was the most natural thing in the world. "People at school are nice. I mean sure there are cliques and stuff, but unless you're a jerk, no one treats you badly."
The First Snowfall: A Holiday Short Story (All I Want For Christmas Book 1) Page 2
