Christmas in White Oak

by Aileen Fish

Sofia toyed with her hair again. “Ah, yeah, I think I know. I’ll be glad to see you when you come up to visit your parents.”

  “That’s it? That’s all you want from me?”

  “We’re different people now. And we’re experienced enough to know what we don’t want…from all of our relationships.”

  “Okay.” He tapped his little finger on the arm of the couch. Was she shutting the door completely on any idea of a relationship with him? He glanced about the room as if it would tell him more about Sofia, and what Sofia wanted.

  There was a small artificial tree sitting on a side table with a couple of small, brightly wrapped packages sitting on the red velvet skirt beneath. The display was a stark contrast to his parents’ tree and its overflowing bounty beneath. That was logical, given the number of people—including two spoiled grandchildren—represented in the gifts his parents bought.

  Yet it struck him as sad that two days before Christmas, she had so little to open. Assuming those gifts were to her and not from her. He had nothing for her, of course, and she’d probably be uncomfortable if he bought something last minute. But hearing Holly’s latest version of her letter to Santa made him curious. “What did you ask Santa for this year?”

  “The usual. A little red Jaguar and a world-class chef for the yacht he brought me last year.”

  Nick raised an eyebrow. “He’s been very generous to you. You must have been a very good girl.”

  Her lips tightened, but she smiled. “Yeah, Santa and I go way back.”

  He thought for a bit before saying more. “I think…if I could ask for anything at all, I’d ask that Holly always be happy. I love that she has her two family Christmases each year with the people who care about her most.”

  Sofia lowered her head, her hair falling to hide her face. “That’s good for her. To know she’s loved. I always used to dream of a big family Christmas when I was growing up. You know, like that TV show, the Waltons.”

  “Ours wasn’t big, just the four of us, back then, but we were happy.”

  She rose, reaching for his mug. “Oh, we weren’t unhappy. More coffee?”

  “No, I’m good. You always wished for a bigger family?”

  “Why do you think I was always at your house?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I thought your parents were either asleep or not home. I’m glad we could give you a feeling of family.”

  Their conversation slowed, and Nick realized he was emotionally wiped out after remembering Morgan’s death. He needed to go home, get some sleep. “I should get home.” He stood and put on his coat.

  Sofia followed him to the door. “Thanks for coming by. I won’t say it’s like old times, but I’m enjoying hanging out with you.”

  He turned toward her when he reached the door and she was standing close, very close. Before she could step away, he lifted a hand to her cheek and stroked his thumb across the smooth, cool skin. “Me too.”

  Not stopping to consider the move, Nick bent down and pressed his lips on hers. He felt her gasp of surprise before her mouth softened against his. Savoring the warmth and the hint of vanilla on her lips, he forced himself to pull away before he did something stupid. “Thanks for the coffee. I’ll see you at the play tomorrow. How about dinner afterward?”

  “Sounds nice.”

  An idea had formed and Nick’s thoughts raced. He’d need Mom’s permission first of all, and have to scrounge up a few phone numbers, but he just might be able to pull it off.

  ookmark:Chapter Ten

  Chapter Ten

  “Where is Melchior’s beard? David, did you take it home last night?” Sofia tore through the box filled with wigs, beards and various hairy pieces.

  “No, Miss Suarez.”

  Looking him over, she guessed the burlap gown and the tarnished crown would identify him as a Wise Man even without the beard.

  Who was she kidding? Three-quarters of the audience had seen the play often enough to recite the lines. They would recognize the costume the minute he walked on stage.

  She went down her cast list and checked off the children to be sure everyone had arrived and was in costume. When she reached the elf, she closed her eyes and prayed for patience. “Jayden, elves don’t have beards.”

  Now she knew where Melchior’s beard had disappeared. She held out a hand to the boy.

  “Why not? It’s not fair. Elves can grow beards if they’re boys.”

  “In this play, only the Wise Men have beards.”

  Muttering something Sofia was glad she couldn’t make out, he tugged the elastic loops off his ears and handed her the matted black piece. She had to search to find Melchior in all the chaos, but she was able to complete his costume at last.

  Katie’s arms were full of little coats and scarves belonging to the children. “We did it.”

  Sofia groaned. “It’s not done yet. We still have to get through the play.”

  “Anything that happens now is out of our control. We did all the prep work, the kids know their lines, it will go well.”

  “I wish I had your confidence.”

  Katie studied her a moment. “Your eyes are a bit puffy. You weren’t up all night over this, were you? It’s not that big a deal.”

  Sofia wished the play was her biggest stress point. “No, it wasn’t the play bothering me.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, fine. I’m just being stupid. Again.”

  “Is it Nick?”

  Was she that transparent? “I just don’t want to fall in love with him again and get hurt.”

  “Wow. He hasn’t been here a week. He works fast, or you do.”

  Keeping her voice down so little ears didn’t overhear, Sofia said, “I obviously never got over him. He hasn’t done anything to suggest there is something between us.” Other than the kiss at the door last night. And spending every moment he could with her. But that was more like old times, and look how that ended up.

  “I feel like a sponge when he’s around.” She flipped her hair back over her shoulder. “I just absorb him, fill myself with his smell, his laughter. I need to stop. When he goes back to Valencia, I’ll just dry up and be empty again.”

  “Why are you so certain he won’t see you again the next time he’s in town?”

  “I dunno. History?” Nothing he’d done indicated he planned to change. His mom and Holly had nearly twisted his arm to get him to stay this week. “I’m being silly. I’ve built this whole thing up in my head to be a lot more than having coffee with a friend.”

  “Valencia isn’t another planet. It’s not like you’ll never see him again.”

  “That’s right. Juan Diego lives down that way, doesn’t he? And you guys are making it work.”

  Katie nodded. “It helps that JD co-owns his company. And he loves to cook. I can’t take weekends off from the Royal Oak, so he helps me cook. He’s really good with the customers, too. Better than I am, in fact.”

  Nick worked for a construction company, so he and Sofia didn’t have work in common. She realized where her thoughts had gone and laughed. “This is crazy. We’ve had dinner once and coffee a couple of times. We’re just friends.”

  “You just keep telling yourself that, Sofia. Let me know when you start believing it.”

  One glance at the clock told her she needed to focus and get everyone in their places. She hurried to send parents to their seats and children to their marks on the stage in time for the curtain to rise.

  For the most part, the play went off without a hitch. One child repeated a line instead of saying his next one, but quickly recovered and the others stayed calm. And one of the tiny, non-speaking angels missed her cue due to a potty break.

  Sighing with relief, Sofia no longer feared seeing Mrs. Brown now that it was over.

  Since he was the accompanist, Sofia motioned for Pauly to join her on stage with the children for final bows. The audience cheered for the entire cast. Sofia noticed Mrs. Brown in the front row and motioned for her to st
and up so they could applaud her for her script.

  When the curtain dropped, Pauly hugged Sofia. “You did it, girlfriend.”

  “We all did it. I couldn’t have pulled it off without you, Katie and Barb.”

  Katie had watched the show from the audience. “It was so cute. A really good job. Mike said the video should turn out well.”

  Parents began coming backstage for their children, and Nick soon had Holly in hand. He paused by Sofia before they left. “You did well. I’ll take her home and then pick you up?”

  “Sounds good.”

  Holly tugged on Sofia’s shirt. “Santa comes tonight.”

  “Yes, he does. Are you excited to see what he brings you?”

  “Uh-huh. I hope he doesn’t forget baby Molly.”

  Nick ruffled her hair. “Santa never forgets. But you need to be asleep for him to come. Let’s go find Grandma and Grandpa.”

  “Okay!” Holly ran off.

  Nick turned to go, then paused. “Are you doing anything tomorrow? Other than church?”

  Her stomach twisted when she thought about her plans for Christmas, or lack thereof. “No.”

  “You are now. Plan on coming home with us after the service.”

  For some crazy reason, the invitation struck a bad note and she almost snapped at him. Luckily, common sense jumped in before her tongue engaged. “Thanks. That will be fun.”

  Katie moved to her side as Nick followed his daughter to the front of the building. “He just wants to be friends. Yeah, right.”

  “It’s not a big deal, not with the relationship I’ve had with his family over the years.”

  “You need to figure out what you want from Nick and make it happen. Not many of us get a second chance.”

  Sofia smiled at her friend, and on the drive home she thought about what she wanted. What she’d always wanted. But he needed to want it just as badly or it was just a silly dream.

  Chapter Eleven

  Nick hadn’t been this excited about Christmas since he still believed in Santa Claus. First thing in the morning, his parents let Holly play with the gifts Santa had brought, while Mom cooked breakfast. Holly insisted on wearing her new backpack to church, but Nick convinced her to leave it in the car during the service.

  Sofia sat in her usual pew next to Mrs. Brown’s family, and afterward told Nick she wanted to change before joining his family.

  So he paced the living room and fidgeted and checked the time on his phone until she arrived.

  As always, Holly opened the door, but Nick was right behind her. “Come in.”

  Sofia had a large basket filled with jars of what looked like homemade jam, and a large box wrapped in snowman paper. “I need to put these under the tree.”

  “You didn’t have to bring anything.”

  “I can’t show up empty handed.”

  “Is that Sofia?” Mom called from the kitchen doorway. She hurried over to offer a hug. “I was so happy when Nick said you’d be joining us.”

  “I hope it’s no extra work for you.”

  Mom squeezed Sofia’s shoulders again. “I always cook enough to feed half the neighborhood.”

  The doorbell rang again and Dad opened the door to let Morgan’s parents in, and Tom and Allie followed them through the door with Molly in her carrier. Nick went to greet them, holding his hand out to his former father-in-law. “John, Kathy. We’re glad you could join us.”

  Dad showed them into the living room and got them each a mug of cocoa.

  Sofia came over to Nick. “That’s great that they share Christmas with you guys. It’s good for Holly to have you all together.”

  He smiled. “It’s good for all of us.” He wasn’t going to let on this was a new tradition until later. He still had one more surprise for Sofia. He glanced at the grandfather clock in the entryway. The big gift should arrive any minute.

  Holly tugged Sofia’s hand. “Come to my room and see what Santa brought me.”

  Nick didn’t want Sofia wandering too far. “She’ll see it later, honey. We’re going to stay out here for now. We’ll be opening more presents soon.”

  Hearing a car door shut outside, Nick tensed. He glanced at Sofia, hoping this went off as he hoped it would.

  The doorbell rang again. Sofia looked at Nick with a frown as if wondering who else could be coming. Nick quickly answered the door.

  “Thanks for coming.” He stepped back so he could see Sofia’s face when she saw who it was.

  Her eyes rounded. “Daddy?”

  “Hi, honey. Merry Christmas.”

  She ran to hug him. “Merry Christmas, Daddy. I thought you had to work.”

  “I talked a guy into splitting the shift with me so I could be with you. I kinda thought you’d outgrown needing me around, but Nick, here, told me otherwise.”

  The look of wonder Sofia gave Nick had him holding his breath. It was exactly the feeling he’d wanted to give her. And he still had one more surprise planned.

  Allie carried in a tray of fresh cinnamon rolls and Holly gave a napkin to anyone who took a roll. Mom made sure everyone had something to drink as they all settled into chairs and onto floor cushions, filling the room with talk and laugher.

  Nick made sure Sofia sat near her father, but he needn’t have worried. It was clear she was enjoying every moment with her father.

  His phone began to vibrate right on time. He touched the screen to accept the video call as he handed the phone to Sofia. “It’s for you.”

  Sofia’s brows drew together but she took the phone. Her mouth hung open a moment when she saw the screen. “Mom?” She glanced again at Nick, but looked back at the phone as she leaned toward her dad.

  “Grandma’s here, too, honey,” her mom said. “Merry Christmas!”

  “Merry Christmas,” came her grandma’s voice.

  Sofia asked Nick, “How did you—” She spoke to the phone again. “I didn’t know you knew how to face chat, Mom.”

  “I learned quickly,” her mom said.

  Nick walked away to let Sofia have a few minutes with her family. Holly was getting too big for Kathy’s lap but determined to sit there. Nick knelt down to talk with them. “I’m really glad you guys could come. I should have thought of this sooner.”

  “I don’t know if we would’ve been good company before now,” John said.

  Kathy hugged Holly. “Even with this precious gift, it’s been hard to face the holidays. This is the first year we put up the outside lights.”

  John nodded. “We always had a tree up for Holly, though. Morgan would expect it from us.”

  A thought came to Nick. “Maybe on your way home, later, we can take Holly by the cemetery and put a poinsettia on Morgan’s headstone.”

  Kathy’s eyes glistened. “I’d like that.”

  Sofia walked over, holding out Nick’s phone. “Thank you.”

  His throat suddenly felt as thick as Sofia’s voice sounded. He cleared his throat. “You’re welcome.”

  Mom stood in front of the tree and called for everyone’s attention, preventing Nick from saying more. “Let’s get this party started! Holly, will you help me hand out the gifts?”

  The afternoon was a blur of torn wrapping paper, laughter and good food. And love. So much love. After he’d returned from the cemetery, Nick caught Allie smiling at him from across the kitchen when he carried in some mugs from the living room.

  “What?” he asked.

  “You surprise me sometimes. Just when I think I know everything about you, you surprise me.”

  “What did I do?”

  “You played Santa.”

  “I do that every year, putting Holly’s gifts under the tree.”

  “Not on this scale. Did you see how Sofia’s dad was grinning, watching Holly open her gifts, and Molly suck on her stocking? And John and Kathy…well, I’ll probably start crying if I talk about what I saw on their faces for the first time since Holly was born. I’m really proud that you’re my brother.”

 
He shrugged. He hadn’t been thinking about all of them when his plans took shape. There was only one person he had in mind then, and now. He walked back into the living room to see her sitting with Holly reading one of the books John and Kathy had given her.

  “Hey, punkin’,” he said. “’Bout time for bed, I think.”

  “Can we play with Sofia again tomorrow?”

  “You’ll be going to Granny & Grandpa John’s tomorrow to spend a few days with them. Remember?”

  “Okay. Sofia, will you come play with me there?”

  Sofia hugged her. “We’ll see, honey. Maybe you and I can go have lunch one day. I’ll talk to your grandparents.”

  Mom swept into the room and swung Holly into her arms. “Let’s have a bubble-bath, and get into jammies.”

  Nick thanked her and sat next to Sofia. Dad was nowhere to be seen. Tom helped Allie into her coat and they called their good-byes as they slipped out into the night. Sofia’s dad had left a while earlier, needing sleep before going back to work.

  Realizing Sofia was staring at him, Nick raised an eyebrow at her.

  “I will never be able to thank you enough,” she said.

  “Your smile was thanks enough.”

  “Which one? I haven’t stopped smiling since I got here. Is this what Christmas is always like with your family?”

  “No. I haven’t even stuck around recently, if you’ll recall.”

  “I will always treasure this one.”

  “You looked so sad when you said your mom was out of town and your dad would be working. I didn’t want you to be alone for Christmas.”

  She leaned over and hugged one arm around his waist. “Thank you.”

  He leaned his cheek against her head. “You’re welcome.”

  She shifted to rise and Nick caught her shoulders, looking for some kind of permission in her eyes before he kissed her. He must have mistaken what he saw because she pulled away.

  “I should get going. Are you headed back down south tomorrow?”

  “Yes, right after I take Holly to Morgan’s parents’ house.”

  “Well, have a safe trip.”

  That sounded so formal. So much like “good-bye.” Not “see you later.” He stood and helped her into her coat. “We could go for lunch before I leave town.”