by Cherry Kay
The package was a small, slim cardboard box. I ripped it open to find a silver envelope inside. The envelope was sealed and on the front my name was written and the message: Important. Do not open until Christmas morning.
That was all it said. I took the envelope and placed it under the tree. I had a present, at least, although I had no idea who it was from and what it could be. As it was an envelope it had to be money or a voucher or something. I thought of my brother, Tommy, he did send me a birthday card most years. Maybe he was trying something new for Christmas. Maybe it was something from the hotel. Maybe they were giving bonuses this year. That seemed hard to believe but as I was going in anyway, maybe I'd find out.
To get to the subway, I had to pass Mikey's house. I looked up at what I knew was his bedroom window. The blinds were down, but that was nothing new. I wondered if he was due to work on the site today or was he up there with her? They could have been making love right now. I dug my hands deeper into the pockets of my thick, winter coat and just kept right on walking.
The staff at the hotel were all wearing tinsel around their heads and Daisy, who was on reception with me, kept trying to convince me to join in the so called fun.
“Come on, Grace. It's Christmas. In just a couple hours or so you'll be off for your holiday break. Three days, baby,” she said to me and pumped her fist.
I was so not in the mood to be jolly. I smiled as best as I could at any guests that came by and answered the phone as pleasantly as I could. Knowing Mr. Iglesias had already left the hotel also added to my feeling of loneliness.
After an hour on reception and with the hotel being particularly quiet, I made my excuses to Daisy I slipped away to the staff cafeteria for something to eat. I had skipped breakfast and my stomach was beginning to grumble. I think Daisy was glad to see the back of me.
Alicia, Suzette, Damion and Ramon all happened to be up there too. I tried to duck out of sight as I picked up a pastry and grabbed a cup of coffee, but it was no use.
“Hey, Gracie! Gracie come over and join us,” Alicia waved her arms as though I could miss her.
“Hi guys,” I said, trying to keep the misery out of my voice. It didn't work.
“Okay, who died?” Damion put his arm around my shoulder.
“No one died. Why do you ask?” I looked down into my coffee, trying not to give myself away.
I smiled as wide as I could but something must have shown in my eyes as I looked up at them. They had all stopped for a second and were looking right at me.
“And how's that rich boyfriend of yours? He been playing around?” asked Suzette.
“No it's not that.” I whispered.
“What? He buy you a cheap Christmas present with all that money he got?” Ramon was still eating his lunch but he spoke anyway.
“I don't know what he got for me. I'm not allowed to open it until Christmas Day.” I lied.
“What about his fancy restaurant, that open yet?” Alicia's eyes were lighting up.
“Not yet,” I said.
“Seems like he missed an opportunity,” Damion put in. “Anyone with any business sense would have known to get their restaurant open in time for the holidays. Shit, that don't make no sense.”
“And what you know about business sense, fool?” Alicia rolled her eyes at him.
“One thing I know is,” Damion said. “If I had a girl like our Gracie, she wouldn't be up in here looking so sad. Not at the holidays anyways. I would have bought her a pink Cadillac or some shit like that, something classy, like she deserve.” He pinched his lips together and shook his head up and down, waiting to get an 'Amen' from his congregation.
“Damion, your sweet.” I kissed his cheek. “Mikey isn't one for making a big show of things. He's the strong silent type, you know? I mean, I mostly don't know what goes on in that head of his. But what I know is, he's kind and gentle and sweet and he makes me laugh. He makes me happy, Damion.”
The others had all gone silent, their faces all pressed towards mine, their eyes big and doleful. That's when I noticed that my eyes had glassed over. I blinked several times and started staring into space so the tears wouldn't fall.
The crazy thing was, I shouldn't have been singing my fake boyfriend's praises, not if I was supposed to be breaking up with him after the holidays. This could have been my perfect opportunity to begin my Oscar winning performance of the girl who got dumped at Christmas. But instead I was talking about the real Mikey, the Mikey I loved.
“Anyway, guys, let's not all get sentimental and mushy.” I picked up my pastry and took a large bite out of it. I did my best acting, trying to show that I was fine.
At the end of my shift I put on my coat, hat and scarf and headed for the staff entrance.
“Merry Christmas, Duke,” I said to the security guard.
“Merry Christmas, Grace.”
He picked me up, inches from the floor and spun me around. I couldn't stop the squeal of laughter. He spun me so much I got nauseous.
“Put me down, Duke!” I could hardly catch my breath.
“I been waiting to do that all year,” he said. “You go on and have yourself a wonderful holiday, you hear. Take that sad look off your face.”
“It's gone. Look.” I showed all my teeth in the widest smile I could muster. Even just faking seemed to take some of the sadness away.
I had to tip up high on my toes to kiss Duke on the cheek.
“Say, hi, to your family,” I said, looking back at him over my shoulder as I left the staff entrance.
I turned back to the street and stopped suddenly. Standing there, with his hands deep in the pockets of his thick jacket, was Mikey. His hat was pulled far down over his head and the tip of his nose was pink as though he'd been standing out in the cold for ages.
“Gracie,” he said.
“What are you doing here, Mikey?”
“I needed to see you.”
“You look cold.”
“I am cold. They couldn't tell me exactly what time you finished so I been waiting here an hour. I didn't want to miss you and I figured you might not answer my calls.”
“You figured right.” I began walking and Mikey followed.
“Listen,” he said, catching up to me, “Can we get a drink somewhere, or something? I need to talk to you.”
“There's no need, Mikey. I understand everything.”
“Please, Gracie.”
I took Mikey to the little coffee shop Mr. Iglesias had taken me to the week before when he had his heart attack. I thought about him now and hoped he was nice and settled back home with his only remaining family. I wondered when I'd see him again.
“What can I get you?” Mikey asked.
“Hot chocolate,” I said.
“Make that two,” he said to the waiter.
“Listen, Gracie, I just wanted to explain about the other day. You know, when Delores came round like that.”
“I think the way she looked at you explained it all. What I don't get is why you feel you need to keep things from me? We're supposed to be friends aren't we? Why can't you open up with me a bit more and tell me what's going on in your life. I wouldn't have made such a goddam fool of myself if I'd known about her.”
“I know being open isn't one of my strong points. I'm sorry. It's just that I met Delores months ago. It was just a bit of fun at first and then she started getting all serious.”
“And then you did too, right?”
“Well not as much as she was. She kept giving me ultimatums and when I didn't bite she'd break up with me. Days later she'd come around or call. I told her I didn't want anything heavy. She'd say that was fine and the next minute she'd be walking me down the aisle.”
“But you're spending Christmas with her. That's a serious thing. Well, it will be for her,” I said.
“That's just it. I broke it off with her. For good this time.”
“You're a bastard, Mikey.”
“What d'you mean?”
“It's the
freaking holidays and you break up with a girl. I mean, how low can you stoop?”
“Well was it better to string her along and make her think that I was serious about her?”
“I guess not. Okay you're not such a bastard as I thought you were.”
The waiter put our hot chocolates on the table. I put my hands on the cup to warm them. Mikey sipped his straight away and burned his tongue.
“Shit!” he said, poking his tongue out of his mouth and wincing like a baby.
“What am I always telling you?” I said. “Wait until it cools down. Or at least have the sense to blow on it, Mikey.” I shook my head.
It was busy in the coffee shop. Lots of people stopping for a break in their last minute shopping the day before Christmas.
I had no shopping to do. Tomorrow I'd be sitting in my pajamas eating a frozen pizza and watching television.
“You see, that's my problem. I don't have any sense,” Mikey said. “I could kick myself sometimes.”
“Sometimes? Mikey you never wait till it's cooled down.” I smiled at him.
“That's not what I'm talking about. It's something else.”
“What have you done this time, Mikey?”
“It's what I haven't done. I know I'm not very good at saying how I feel. Last week you gave me a perfect opportunity and I just blew it.”
“Last week?”
“Yeah, Grace. You didn't throw yourself at me the other day round at my place. I wanted it as much as you did. The problem was, how much.”
“What do you mean, Mikey?”
“I mean, I like you, Gracie. I mean more than that. I mean, Jesus, I wish I could just say it.”
“Then just say it.” I rested my hand on his so he could stop fidgeting. He put his other hand on top of mine.
“I think I'm falling in love with you,” he said, very quietly.
I sat up and stared at Mikey.
“Since when?”
“Since the day I put that ring on your finger. I don't know why it was, but I started seeing you differently that night.”
“I did too, seeing you differently, I mean.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. But we're so dumb. Why didn't we do anything about it?”
“I was kinda seeing Delores,” he said. “So I felt awkward. I was confused. Then after the hospital with Mr. Iglesias and everything you said, remember? You just wanted to be friends?”
“That's because I thought you wanted to stay as friends and I didn't want to risk losing you from my life.”
“So we nearly lost each other because I was a jerk?”
“We were both jerks. It's hard to make that transition from friends to...”
“Lovers?”
“Yes.”
“Let's get out of here.”
We stepped out into the busy late afternoon and began to walk. Mikey held my hand just like girlfriend and boyfriends do. I didn't notice the crowds of people pushing by us, the temperature dropping below zero or where we were walking to. I just kept looking up at Mikey by my side and he just kept looking down at me.
Finally we came to a stop.
“Do you know where we are?” I asked him. “The Empire State Building. This is where I told the guys at the hotel we met.”
We looked up.
“Really?” said Mikey. “I told them The Statue of Liberty.”
We both started laughing, all the way to the subway back to Brooklyn.
We got to my apartment. It was dark by then. I went over to turn on the tree lights as Mikey took off his jacket.
“Ta da!” I exclaimed.
“Nice work, Grace. You decorated this all yourself?”
“Sure, why?”
“You sure you didn't have about a million elves with bad taste do this for you while you were sleeping?”
“Creep,” I said to him while pulling him towards my bed in the corner.
We stopped by the side of the bed. Mikey held my face in his hands and kissed me gently. I took off my coat, hat and scarf and let them fall onto the floor.
“It's cold in here,” I said.
“Let's get in.”
We climbed into bed, fully clothed. We kissed long and passionately, touching and holding on to the other as though one of us might disappear into thin air. Mikey unbuttoned, unzipped and unfastened every layer of my clothes, tossing them onto the floor one by one. His naked chest was above me, broad and muscular as I remembered and I sank my teeth into his skin. We rolled over in the bed, passionate kisses and embraces until I was top of him, leaving several hot and hungry kisses on his neck and shoulders.
He liked the feel of me biting his ear. He pulled me close to him and wrapped his limbs around me until we were tangled in the blankets, the cold didn't matter anymore, neither of us could feel it.
I was ready and eager for Mikey to be inside me and called his name, loudly, as his body sank into me, feeling him deep inside me, intense but loving thrusts until I lost all control.
We made love all night and fell asleep, hot and exhausted, but happy.
When we woke up on Christmas morning, the lights of the tree were still on. My head was resting on Mikey's chest and his arms were around me, one hand on my cheek.
“You awake,” he said.
“Yes.” I looked up at him. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.”
I got up to make coffee and then spotted the envelope under the tree. I looked over at Mikey and smiled. What did he have planned for us? What was this present he had lined up?
We sat up in bed with our sweaters on and I went over to get the envelope.
“It came,” I said waving the envelope. I sat beside Mikey.
“What did?” He took a long sip of his coffee.
“Don't pretend like you don't know.” I pushed it under his nose. “The courier brought this yesterday. I guess it must have been after you broke up with Delores.”
“Gracie, seriously, I don't know what you're talking about. What courier?”
“So this envelope has nothing to do with you?”
“No, I have no idea what's in it, Grace. Open it.”
I peeled open the envelope. Inside was a letter written on the hotel writing paper. It was a letter from Mr. Iglesias.
Dear Grace
By the time you read this letter I will be visiting with my sister and you will be with Mikey. Don't ask how I know this, I just do and the very thought makes me smile.
I hope you are both happy.
You have been a wonderful friend to me Princesa, and I would like to wish you and Mikey a very special and wonderful Christmas.
I look forward to the day when we meet again.
Until then, I leave you both with one last Christmas gift. At 1 pm this afternoon, look out of your window and you will see that I have arranged for a car to take you to the Great West International Hotel.
There, the Excelsior Suite has been booked for two nights for you both. Room service is all arranged and you will be served a Christmas meal at the time you require.
I'm sorry Gracie to send you back to your place of work when it should be your day off but I thought that for this present you might appreciate the irony and make an exception.
Please enjoy this gift from my heart to yours.
Feliz Navidad
Edmundo Iglesias
I turned to look to look at Mikey.
“Well, just don't sit there,” he said. We need to pack an overnight case.”
I threw my arms around him. This had to have been the best Christmas I ever had.
The car arrived at 1 pm as promised. There were very few people on the roads as we drove through New York on a gray and bleak afternoon. As we got closer to the hotel I squeezed Mikey's arm. I didn't remember seeing the city like this.
Usually I was on foot and kept my head down. I would dodge in and out of the other pedestrians in a beeline for either the hotel or the subway. But from the back of the car Mr. Iglesias had provided for
us, the city looked majestic. The tall buildings, stretching high up into the white sky, in shades of brown and gray, and highly polished glass in varying tints, stood at – attention, just for us.
The buildings would be empty now, everyone would be home having the kind of Christmas that I thought I would be having with my fake family.
We pulled up outside the Great West International hotel and the driver flew around to make sure he was in time to open the door for us. I pulled a face at Mikey. We weren't used to this sort of treatment. We were used to being cramped up on a subway train, noisy and hot and dying to get out at the other end of the journey. In a few days that's exactly how we would be traveling, I nearly didn't want to leave the car.
We stepped out into the freezing street. I felt sorry for the poor doormen who came rushing to take our cases and stand to attention when they held open the doors for us.
“Wait,” said Mikey. “I always wanted to do this.” He went to enter the hotel by the rotating doors. I laughed as I went through the grand door at the side the doorman held open.
