by Hunter, Lara
“Thank you so much,” Anna beamed to the driver as he detached her car at the entrance to the highway. “Well, have a Merry Christmas, both of you…”
“Wait—before you go…” Jason started. “Anna, don’t worry about the contract. It can wait for the New Year,” he said.
Anna was a little disappointed that it wasn’t anything more sentimental, but in the context of the situation, she knew more could not be said. Wait, in the New Year?! The idea of waiting that long to send the contract sent Anna’s workaholic tendencies into panic mode. There’s no way it can wait until then.
Nevertheless, she replied brightly, “Oh, alright. Thanks, Jason. See you in the New Year.” She walked over to her car, giving a final wave to Jason and the driver. Whatever her intentions for putting in extra work, Anna couldn’t worry about the contract just yet: first, she had to get to her family.
After a solid twenty minutes warming up her car, Anna finally started her drive to Westmount. What an interesting few days it’s been, she reflected. She’d arrived at the cabin pissed off, a bundle of fraying nerves, and she’d come out a woman smitten. With her boss. Who only days previously she’d thought was a profit-obsessed, cold and distant authority figure. How wrong I was.
She recalled how upset Jason had been when he’d concluded that she resented him for keeping her away from her family, and felt a pang of guilt that she’d not set him straight.
Realizing her exit was coming up next, Anna hastily got into the right-hand lane and turned, still ruminating. Wait. Now, I technically don’t have to set it straight… the only reason she had felt compelled to confess was because she’d found it unbearable being around him while pretending her feelings towards him were strictly platonic.
Now they were out of the cabin, it would be easy to avoid Jason and bypass the need for the whole conversation altogether. It was so difficult to actually see him at the workplace that she would have space to power down her feelings and carry on her work, problem-free. It was the pragmatic choice, and Anna was a pragmatic person.
Even if Anna didn’t go down the sensible route, there was still the possibility that Jason might reject her advances. Now, that could really jeopardize my career… She remembered how reluctant he had seemed to kiss her under the mistletoe. Maybe that’s proof that he doesn’t see me in that way.
If she had to go with her gut, Anna would say that yes, Jason probably did reciprocate her feelings. But considering just how wrong my first impression of him was… Maybe I’m completely unable to read him?
Anna rubbed her forehead, one hand still on the wheel. She had just crossed her capacity for overthinking things. Okay, I’ll just have to sleep on it, she thought grumpily.
She tried to focus on looking forward to the family dinner. Gosh. We will have a lot to catch up on… Her mouth watered just thinking about dinner. After all, she hadn’t had a single bite of the elaborate feast she and Jason had prepared. A serious shame.
She spent the rest of her drive home attempting to tune out her thoughts to the sound of the radio.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
As she pulled into the familiar driveway, Anna felt a rush of relief that she had made it back. Checking her watch she saw it was nine o’clock—there were still three hours of Christmas Eve left.
She knocked on the door, bleary-eyed, but excited. As the door swung open, Anna shrieked with glee when she saw the seven people all huddled in the doorway, shouting “Anna!” in chorus. Emerging from behind them, a small, old, dog excitedly scrambled onto Anna’s legs.
Anna grinned wide, scooping up Bayou. The two of them were enveloped into the fold, and after a flurry of hugs and kisses, Anna was free to wash up and settle down.
“I’m so, so, sorry I got here so late,” she said, before heading upstairs.
Her parents and her sister waved off her apology. “We know you didn’t mean to, honey,” her dad said.
“Oh my God,” Cathy said excitedly, “You have to tell us about your romantic time snowed in with your boss.”
Anna turned beet red, wondering how Cathy had read the situation so perfectly. She set Bayou down as her mom said, “Cathy, she just got back from a long drive. Give her some room to breathe.”
“Alright, alright,” Cathy relented. “But don’t take too long! We’re dyin’ to know over here!” she called after Anna.
Anna came down to face a grilling from her family and neighbors. The only solace of the endless questioning was the fact that a piece of pumpkin pie had magically appeared in her hand (and was gone in seconds.)
“So, tell us about your time shut in with your handsome boss,” Leone chuckled.
“Well, um, in case you guys forgot, I was stuck there. I didn’t actually have a choice in the matter—neither of us did,” Anna said, indignant. “And why do you assume he’s handsome?” I mean, he is. But I never mentioned that.
Leone shrugged. “Why else would you be spending so much time with him?”
Anna protested, “I just said! I didn’t have a choice in the matter—”
“So why are you blushing so much?” Cathy teased. “Did you kiss him?” Anna’s face somehow got even redder.
“Oooh, she did,” her Auntie Lynn said playfully.
Anna laughed nervously. “He’s my boss. Stop being so inappropriate, all of you.”
“That’s right,” Cathy said. “Your rich, handsome, boss!”
“Alright, alright,” Anna’s dad finally stepped in, laughing. “Let’s stop torturing Anna and eat, shall we?”
The whole exchange got Anna thinking of the cliché of falling for your boss. Apparently it was common enough that her family expected—nay, predicted—that being snowed in with Jason would result in romantic feelings. As they moved through to the dining room, Anna considered how a potential relationship between her and Jason would be perceived. “Oh, she’s only dating him for the money,” they would think. “Oh, he’s using his power to chase young tail.” What these hypothetical people would not realize, however, is how different things are when you find yourself living the cliché.
Maybe I shouldn’t be getting ahead of myself. Let’s start with deciding if I’ll admit my feelings first, and then I’ll go from there, Anna thought, sighing.
“These all look so good,” Anna said enthusiastically, taking in the array of dishes in front of her.
“Just wait till you see tomorrow’s spread,” her Uncle Robbie said.
After shoving some food into her mouth, Anna turned to Cathy, “So, Cath, seeing anyone cute?” My turn to hound you on your love life.
“Oh, you know…nothing serious…” Cathy said, turning over her mashed potatoes with her fork.
“Hmph,” their grandma said. “You youngsters are all allergic to commitment.”
“But Ma,” Uncle Robbie argued, “they’re young—they have time. They can figure themselves out before they decide to settle down.”
“Allergic. To. Commitment,” she retorted.
Anna and Cathy giggled.
Not long after their late dinner, Anna headed up to her teenage bedroom, exhausted. Nestled into her undersized bed, she was about to drift off when an image of Jason popped into her head. Oh my God, brain, not now. I’m in my childhood bedroom, for God’s sake.
But admonishing herself did nothing to stop her imagination. So Anna stopped resisting. She felt her heartbeat get faster and breathing get slower as she sank back into her blissful romantic reverie.
Shit. The contract, she thought, as the sudden memory jolted her out of her fantasies. The excitement of seeing her family had made her forget all about it. If I don’t send it as soon as possible, it will compromise the whole deal, she thought anxiously. The Carsons will leave with a bad impression, they’ll never recommend me to their friends, and it will all go downhill from there…
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
At 7:45 AM, Anna woke up with a huge grin on her face. It’s Christmas!
In the next second she remembered with a si
gh: Gotta send the contract. Every second I wait, the deal becomes compromised…
Right on time, Cathy burst into her room. “Wake up, snoozle!” she bellowed, jumping onto the bed.
“Oof!” Anna cried. “You’re cutting off the circulation to my leg! I was already up!” she protested.
“Well, now you’re super up,” Cathy winked, getting up from the bed. Probably to go and wake up everyone else via a heart attack.
Anna shook her head, rolling out of bed. Cathy turned abruptly in the doorway and said, “By the way—Merry Christmas, Anna.”
“Merry Christmas, you doof,” Anna grinned, going over and giving her a hug.
It turned out that Cathy needn’t shock everyone awake, because they were already up.
“Anna! Cathy! Merry Christmas!” her parents cried.
Anna went around the room, hugging her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.
“Merry Christmas,” she said to them all, a huge grin on her face.
The family headed instinctively towards the kitchen. Everyone knew the drill: blueberry pancakes.
“Wow, Mom, you got all the ingredients out already?” Anna noted.
“I got a little excited,” her mom explained, sheepishly.
Usually, Anna, Cathy, and their mom would start off Christmas day by making said pancakes while everyone else chatted at the dinner table and Bayou hunted around for fallen batter.
Sure, it’s a little gender segregated…but we are the best at making them by far, she thought with a smile. Everyone usually helped out in some capacity for the huge dinner later in the day, but the Lionel women operated their pancake-making like a well-oiled machine.
“Here’s a fresh stack,” Anna said, handing it to Cathy, who took it over to the idle chatterers.
As Anna flipped another pancake like a pro, she told her mom, “You know, I actually made Jason these pancakes, while we were in the cabin.”
Her mom raised an eyebrow. “And…?”
“He loved them, obviously,” Anna said, laughing.
“I hope this doesn’t mean that you gave him my recipe?” she asked. Anna knew what the question really meant, You better not have given him the recipe, little lady.
“Of course not,” Anna said, amused.
Her mom nodded, then turned to Anna, looking serious. “Anna, I know everyone was giving you flack about you and your boss…but tell me, are you two romantically involved?”
Anna took a moment to respond, feigning extra attention to the current pancake at hand. They weren’t officially involved. She definitely felt involved in her head, and she guessed Jason felt the same, but that was pure speculation.
The simple answer was, “No.”
Her mom gave her a knowing look.
“Alright, alright” Anna caved. “I drunkenly kissed him once.” She looked away, then looked back. “And…I really like him. Okay? That’s it.” She said defensively, before adding in a whisper, “Don’t tell Cathy.”
Her mother seemed satisfied that Anna had nothing more to add. “Anna…just be careful, okay, sweetheart? You don’t want to throw away the career you’ve worked so hard to build, just for a guy, you know?”
Anna sighed. “Yeah, I know, Mom…”
All the talk about her career sent Anna into a fresh worry-spiral about the contract. Damnit, why can’t I put work aside and just enjoy Christmas?! I spend my time working wanting to see my family, and now that I’m with my family, I’m thinking about that contract. Time to stop this madness. I’ll just…drive over to the office and take care of it. I’ll leave after dinner, and be back in time for late-stage board gaming.
It wasn’t ideal, but Anna knew she wouldn’t stop worrying otherwise. She thought about how long it would be before she would be able to drive over there. Well, after this, we have presents. Then visiting neighbors’ houses, then cooking together… and finally, eating dinner. It’s gonna be at least a few hours before I can go. Anna finally accepted that she would just have to sit tight for a bit.
After dishing out all the pancake goodness, Anna, Cathy and their mom finally had a bite to eat themselves. At the table there was whipped cream, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, and bowls of sliced bananas, strawberries, and mini marshmallows. Anna did not skimp.
Funnily enough, Anna didn’t see the tree until gift time. She felt kind of sad that she hadn’t been there to decorate it, but that quickly evaporated as she admired how beautiful it was. In any case…I still got to decorate a tree, she thought, recalling her and Jason’s tree of found objects.
Objectively, the Lionels’ was a pretty standard tree, but it was made extraordinary with nostalgia. It was wrapped with a sparkly teal garland that Anna had found abandoned at school, as a child, saving her parents a couple of bucks. She paced around the tree, taking in the individual ornaments. There were the standard baubles, odd random ones like a boot ornament with the caption “Don’t let life stomp ya down”, mini candy canes, and ornaments that she and Cathy had made as kids. Anna spotted a ceramic heart she had made in the third grade. “Love you always”, it read on the back. She was glad it had survived the fire.
After the family had exchanged gifts, next on the Christmas agenda came visiting neighbors. Anna glanced at the clock. 1:08 PM. She counted in her head, I have…about six more neighbors’ houses to visit before dinner. She sighed. Hoo boy. She loved visiting the community members the family had grown close to after the fire—but the contract was really gnawing at her.
“Hi, girly,” Leone said, as she answered the door. “Have a fitful sleep since I saw ya last?”
Anna nodded. Just a little.
“Well, come in, come in, have some pie,” Leone urged. Leone’s husband patted Anna and Cathy on the back. “Welcome, welcome.”
Anna hugged both of the Geller kids. “Benny, you just keep on getting taller and taller,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “Of course, I’m sure everyone says that.”
Benny rolled his eyes and smiled. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“And Jessie, you keep on getting prettier and prettier,” Anna grinned.
“Thanks,” Jessie said, bashfully.
They exchanged gifts, and ate yet more food. The Lionels made their way around the neighborhood, stopping at the Yates’, Friedmans’, Chow-Ryerson’s, Hendersons', and finally, the Jeffries’.
By the time Anna got back to her house it was already five. Alright, almost there… she thought.
“Okay…Time to cook!” her mother announced. Hopefully by the time we’re done cooking, I’ll have digested the mountains of food I’ve already eaten.
They all herded into the cramped kitchen. The dinner preparations were always decidedly less smooth than the pancake operation—literally a “too many cooks” situation—but each person had their role. Anna’s parents were in charge of meat, her grandma and Cathy were in charge of dessert, Anna and her Auntie Lynn were in charge of vegetables, and Uncle Robbie was an assigned everyman who flitted to wherever he was needed.
In reality, it was Anna’s mother who filled the everyman role—in addition to her other duties. She paced around the kitchen, chopping, adding seasoning to this dish and that, all while checking the status of various meats in the oven.
“Think fast!” her Uncle Robbie warned, tossing Anna a potato. She caught it and passed it to her aunt, who started peeling. After she was done peeling the potatoes, Anna would mash them.
Anna was having a grand time participating in the cook-fest with her family, but she couldn’t help being reminded of her and Jason’s grand feast, and its sad, confused, ending.
There and then, she made a decision. I’m not going to take the pragmatic route this time. I’m not going to carry on pretending I don’t have feelings for Jason just so things stay convenient. I’m going to tell him the truth.
All of a sudden, Anna felt as if a weight had been lifted. She took this as a sign that she was making the right, albeit scary, decision.
“Okay,” Anna’s mother sa
id, a little out of breath as she surveyed the kitchen. “It looks like everything’s done!” she announced.
The rest of the party cheered and quickly started setting the table.
Once they were all seated, the standard rules of peaceful dinner conversation applied: no politics, no religion.
“Oh, Cathy, I ran into your high school boyfriend in the supermarket a couple of days ago,” their aunt said.
“Oh, my God,” Cathy groaned. “I’m so glad I’m not the one who ran into him.”
“Why? No interest in a holiday fling for old times’ sake?” their aunt teased.
