CHARLIE: 10:45PM
CHARLIE: We’ll probably leave at 10:30
MICAH: So I have 30 minutes. Got it.
My dad looked at me, waiting for me to respond as I rose to my feet.
“Micah said he’d come. I guess I’d better get dressed.”
“Ya think?” Josh mumbled as he strolled back to his bedroom. I ignored him and went into my room, shutting the door. I stood in front of my closet for some time, studying my choices. I finally decided on a black top, embroidered with lace, and a maroon tulle skirt. It only took me a few minutes to paint on a thin line of eyeliner and brush black mascara over my eyelashes.
Just as I pulled a bit of my bangs from my face with a bobby pin, there was a knock on my door. Before I had the chance to open it, Micah peeked in with a smile.
“Your mom let me in,” he explained. “You look nice.”
“Thanks,” I said as my cheeks burned slightly. “So do you.”
I took in the sight of Micah, who wore a pair of dress slacks, a white shirt, and a black jacket. His tie was thin, but perfectly in place. His hair was even slicked back.
My boyfriend is hot!
“Are you sure your dad doesn’t mind that you’re away for Christmas Eve?”
“Super sure,” Micah said as he stepped into my room. He took a seat in his usual place on my bed. I felt his gaze scan over me, watching as I slipped a pair of black flats onto my feet.
“So, this is something you guys always do on Christmas Eve? Go to a church service so late in the evening?”
“Yeah. My mom plays in the bell choir, and at the end of the service, she and the other choir ladies ring in Christmas Day.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“It’s fun. When Josh and I were younger, we’d find ways of entertaining each other. There were a few Christmas services we went to where we’d bust out laughing over how people sang. It seemed more often than not, we’d always sit in front of Mrs. Rochester. She’s a horrible singer.”
Micah snorted. “You both are awful.”
“There’s a song that’s always sung during the Christmas service too. I think it’s called “Star Child” and there’s this line about a child being spoiled. My dad always taps my knee at that part.” I smiled and shrugged. “So, it’s a tradition. We usually have fun with it.” Micah stood up and came to stand in front of me. Carefully, he gathered me in his arms and kissed my cheek.
“Thanks for inviting me, then.”
“Come on, kids!” Dad’s voice echoed in the hallway. “It’s ten thirty!” Micah took a step back and held out his hand for mine.
“Let’s go, spoiled child,” he said with a chuckle.
We all climbed into my dad’s Dodge truck and drove through the decorated town. Everything felt whimsical with the white ice layered on the darkened tree limbs. The snowflakes seemed like sparkling confetti falling all around us. Christmas carols played over the radio and filled the cabin of the truck. I hummed softly to the tune of “Christmas Time is Here.” My dad glanced back at me, and I grinned at him.
The church was close by, just on the other side of Grand Lakes, near the high school. As my dad pulled into the parking lot, several members walking toward the main doors welcomed us. Josh bolted out first, to wait for Jackie O. I followed my mom and dad with Micah into the church.
The church was a small but well-sized building, dating back to the ’70s. While the walls were mostly wood paneling, the hallways were a light shade of blue, decorated with bright lights and Christmas wreathes. Windows depicting the symbols of the disciples separated the nave of the church from the lobby. Everyone was dressed in their best and wore smiles as they greeted one another. A few men stopped to shake my dad’s hand and ask about work and family. I grabbed Micah’s hand and pulled him off to the side, where a long table was set with fresh cookies and hot chocolate.
“Now we’re talking.” Micah smiled.
“It’s probably made with water,” I said, gesturing to the cups of hot chocolate that were available for the taking.
“Probably,” he said. “But it’s free.”
“Charlie! Oh, it’s so nice to see you!” One of the bell-choir ladies paused at the table as she picked up a large chocolate-chip cookie.
“Thanks, it’s nice to see you too.”
“Merry Christmas,” she said and touched my shoulder. She gave a nod in Micah’s direction and turned back toward the nave. My dad came up beside me and took a cookie.
“Pretty nice they have this here, huh?” he commented as he took another. “Not as good as your mother’s, though.”
He was right. Mom’s homemade M&M cookies—which he loved so much—were far better. These definitely tasted like they had been found in the freezer section of the grocery store.
“I have some jawbreakers too,” he added, tapping his pocket. My dad was notorious for bringing jawbreakers to church services. But it was always to our benefit when he’d pass them around as we endured the sermons. We followed my dad and mom into the nave, finishing our snack as we sat down in the pew. I opened the program pamphlet with anticipation to see if “Star Child” was included again. To my delight, it was.
Micah slid his hand on my knee and looked over my shoulder at the line of songs and ceremonies.
“It’s going to be a long night, huh?”
I grinned and shrugged. “At least until midnight.”
My mom stood up, patting my dad on the shoulder as she moved away from the pew. She was going to join the bell choir ladies up on the staged area where she’d be for the rest of the night. My dad let out a sigh as he leaned back in the pew and pulled a jawbreaker from his pocket. He was starting early.
Our pastor emerged from one of the side doors and welcomed everyone into the nave. The organ began to play the familiar song, “Angels We Have Heard On High.” The pastor lifted his hand, giving us the cue to rise and sing along. Just as the three of us got to our feet, Josh and the girl I recognized as Jackie came to stand beside Micah. My dad gave my brother a look as Josh avoided his gaze.
Late. He was soooo late.
“Gloooooorrrrriiiiiaaaaa….”
The familiar screech of Mrs. Rochester’s voice filled my ears. I widened my eyes and looked at Josh. He lifted his fist to his mouth and pretended to cough; anything to avoid the fit of giggles that was bound to happen. Micah looked between the two of us with a grin.
“You two are going to hell,” he murmured in my ear. I bit back a laugh.
“I guess it’s a good thing I’m at church now. I might have a shot at redemption.”
“She is a horrible singer,” he continued. “I’m not even sure horrible is the right word.”
“Oh, just wait until ‘Silent Night,’” I promised.
“Something About December”
Christina Perri
AS PROMISED, “SILENT NIGHT” HAD been entertaining with Mrs. Rochester singing the highest notes she could manage. We had all been given candles to light during the song, to welcome in Christmas morning. My dad had passed his candle flame to me, and I had shared mine with Micah. Josh had given me a warning look of all the laughter we’d have to hold back. As soon as the song began, I did everything I could to keep my hand steady and to hold in my giggles. I felt Micah’s gaze on me as we sang the words. My heart beat wildly against my chest. I dared to peek at him again. His warm, chocolate eyes appeared almost hazel in the candle’s glow.
The service let out at 12:30 AM, a little later than anticipated. The town was quiet as my dad drove us home from church. It was just Micah and me with my parents, since Josh had gone home with Jackie, who’d invited him over for a late night round of eggnog—ew—with her family.
Micah held my hand in his lap as his fingers traced small circles on my palm. I stared at him as he watched me, his movements were tantalizing and gentle. I bit my bottom
lip as delightful shivers ran the length of my spine from his touch. It almost felt like Micah and I were the only ones in my dad’s truck; everything around us had dissolved with the simple stroke of his forefinger.
Dad pulled into the garage, and all of us clamored out of the vehicle. He turned to me to say,
“Don’t stay out here too late, Charlie.”
“I won’t,” I said reassuringly and turned to look at Micah with a smile. “Just wait here, I have to go get your present.”
“You’re exchanging them now?” Micah asked, amused.
“It’s Christmas!”
Micah grabbed my hand and shook his head. “Let’s just wait for that. I have…exactly what I want, right here.”
I turned to glance over my shoulder to make sure both of my parents had gone into the house. We were left alone, under the vast dark sky. The snow had slowed from a steady fall into scattered flurries. Micah held my hand a bit tighter as he pulled me closer.
“You know, I told myself I wouldn’t do this whole cheesy thing,” Micah murmured as he slid a hand through his hair. He shoved his hand into his jacket pocket and laughed to himself. “You’re kind of this amazing girl, Charlie.”
“Kind of?” I asked with a playful smirk.
“You are. You are an amazing girl. Woman…” He shook his head and sighed. “I didn’t really expect much in moving here. To be honest, I had every intention of finding my mom and moving in with her. Things with my dad…you know. I plan to get out of here once we graduate.”
I couldn’t help but feel overwhelmingly sad hearing Micah say this. Everything would change one day, wouldn’t it? One day, there would be a possibility that I wouldn’t have Micah here in Grand Lakes with me. Where would we end up? What would happen to us?
“And then I see this incredible girl. I get partnered with said girl…and I fall for her.” He shifted his weight from one leg to the other, his eyes darting from me to the ground as he smiled.
“Charlie, you’ve changed a lot of things for me. In these short months we’ve known each other…you’ve really made me look at life differently.”
“Differently?” I asked. Snow caught in our hair as we stood in the driveway. Micah must have noticed that I had begun to shiver; he tugged his jacket off and put it on my shoulders. The collar of his jacket smelled like him.
“I just wanted to tell you that I’m grateful for you, Charlie. I wanted to give you this sweet, cheesy message of gratitude and love, and I knew it was going to come out all wrong.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t do it with music,” I teased.
“That’s what I’ve been doing this whole time, isn’t it?” he asked, raising a brow. I leaned up on my toes and brushed a small kiss against his chin.
“Thank you for your profession.”
“You make me feel like I just confessed to the Pope.”
“It’s a pastime.” I laughed.
“You’re amazing,” Micah told me. “Just amazing.”
“You are too, Micah,” I said softly. “I never thought I’d feel this way about anyone. Ever.”
“Seems like we’re breaking records,” Micah replied. He pulled his phone from his pocket and checked the time. With a click of his tongue, he gestured back toward the garage.
“You’d better get in there and head to bed. You heard your dad.”
“I wish you could stay.” I looked down at our hands and bit down on the inside of my cheek. I felt Micah’s cool lips on my temple.
“Trust me, I’m not looking forward to going home to a drunk dad, but we should be with our families. I’ll text you. We’ll meet up to exchange gifts. And we have the rest of the week to hang out.”
“What are you doing New Year’s Eve?” I asked, tilting my head.
“Other than kissing the most beautiful girl in Grand Lakes?” he asked with a grin. “Marshall invited me—us—to a party at his house. I thought, depending on how you felt about it, we might go.”
“Is it going to be like the bonfire again?” I asked cautiously.
“Maybe. I told Marshall that, if you wanted to go, he’d have to tone it down.”
“I’m still pretty pissed at Marshall for what he did.” I didn’t appreciate him pretending to be Micah and texting me.
“I know. We could figure something else out.”
I felt a twang of guilt and shook my head. “No, no. I’ll go.”
“Yeah?” He nodded. “Well, we can go and if it sucks, we’ll just leave. I’m sure we could find something else to do if it doesn’t work out.”
My parents always went to bed early on New Year’s Eve, and Josh would probably be out with Ben, J, and David. Or maybe Jackie.
“I’m sure we could,” I said.
“Get inside,” Micah advised me. “It’s freezing out here, and it’s late.” I knew I should listen to him and reluctantly agreed. I shrugged his jacket off my shoulders and handed it back to him.
“Merry Christmas,” I whispered against his ear as I hugged him.
“Merry Christmas, Charlie,” Micah replied and pressed a kiss against my ear lobe. He took the jacket and climbed into his car. I walked back into the garage, and only closed the door after I’d watched him drive away.
“Make You Feel My Love”
Sleeping At Last
JENNIFER: Soooo!!! What did you get for Christmas?!?!
JENNIFER: I got loaded with some great animes!
JENNIFER: Though, my mom bought me a ton of fuzzy socks.
JENNIFER: I think I’ll be covered until I’m at least 46.
CHARLIE: That’s a lot of socks.
CHARLIE: That’s actually…a lot of socks LOL!
JENNIFER: You’re telling me!
JENNIFER: Soooooooooo. What did you get?!?!
JENNIFER: What did Micah get you?!?!
CHARLIE: My parents bought me clothes. I got a few card games to play. Some movies, music.
CHARLIE: Josh actually got me a gift card to coffee and a bookstore
JENNIFER: Whoa?!?! Josh is stepping up the game huh?
CHARLIE: Beats the 5 dollars he stuck in my stocking last year
JENNIFER: Cheap.
CHARLIE: Joy of having a brother lol <3
JENNIFER: And Micah?!?!?!?!?!
JENNIFER: GURL. YOU ARE HOLDING BACK!
I laughed to myself as Jennifer texted me eagerly on Christmas evening. The day was over and everyone had gone to bed. Micah had come over around 4:00 PM with a small box. We had sat down together in front of the Christmas tree while my parents were in the kitchen, cleaning up the large dinner we’d all eaten.
“I saw this and I really wanted you to have it.” He pushed the small black box into my hand. I glanced at him, unsure of what to expect. I hadn’t ever received jewelry from anyone, not even my parents.
“You really didn’t have to—”
“Just open it.” He chuckled, and slid a hand nervously through his hair. I carefully opened the little black box, only to reveal a delicate chain with a thin, silver heart dangling upright in the middle.
It was beautiful.
“Oh. My. Gosh.” I gasped and looked at him with wide eyes. “Micah! You didn’t have to get me…”
“Yes, I did.” He took the chain out of the case and held it out to me. “I really did, actually.”
“But I didn’t get you anything like this,” I exclaimed.
“I can’t say hearts are my thing, so I think that’s okay,” he teased. I pulled my hair to the side, still shocked. Micah scooted closer and draped the necklace around my neck. I touched the delicate chain with my fingertips and followed it to the small heart in the middle.
“It’s so beautiful. Thank you.”
Micah replied with a kiss on my neck. I pulled the gift I’d gotten for him from underneath the tree.
“You look nervous. Sho
uld I be afraid?” He took it.
“I just feel like my present is nothing compared to yours.”
“Nah, don’t feel that way,” he reassured me. “It’s from you. It’s something.”
He lowered the gift to his lap and tore the wrapping paper away, revealing a used shoebox that had been mine.
“Just open it,” I huffed. Micah lifted the lid slowly. Inside was a deck of 52 playing cards, two gift cards for the Mini-Mart for all of those late night slushy runs, and a bracelet with a copper plated washer, stamped with coordinates and our initials, attached to a sliding black cotton cord.
41.2056° N, 76.7855° W <3 C.B + M.J
“Wow,” he said, lifting the bracelet to take a closer look. “This is really cool.”
“I’m so sorry if it’s lame!” I said too quickly, and bit my bottom lip. “It’s the coordinates to the center of Grand Lakes.”
“It’s not lame,” Micah replied. “I promise. This is really nice.” He widened the cord a bit and slipped it over his wrist to wear.
“Fits perfectly too,” he commented as he raised his arm to show me. His attention went back to the box and he lifted the deck of cards. “So, what’s with the cards? Is this an open invitation for strip poker?”
“Hardly,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Open the deck and see.”
Micah flipped the lid and tapped the box against his palm. Cards slipped out and landed in his lap. He picked one up and peered at the written message I had left on a five of clubs.
You’ve made me a better person.
Micah glanced at me, then pulled another.
You always know how to make me laugh.
The Songs We Remember: A Young Adult Romance (The Songs in Our Hearts Book 2) Page 7
