Before Him Comes Me

by Sure, Alexandria

  “What do you mean by lifestyle?”

  “If I were to open up about the lifestyle, they would automatically jump to whips and chains.”

  “You didn’t seem to have an issue discussing it with Branden and Viv.”

  “They are your family. You trust them.”

  “Zara, you have to give trust to get it. I am not advocating that you make a general announcement in Yakeley Hall. You have some very close girlfriends that care for you and that mean a great deal to you. Why not start with Ella and Liliana. Give it some thought.

  “You are half-way through your first year of college. You gave up a great deal to have these experiences. How are you feeling about it so far?” He stood up, leaving a coolness at her back, and wrapped his towel around his waist before stepping from the tub.

  “Think on that incredibly thought provoking question. I’m going to go take a quick shower and then meet you in the kitchen. I would be honored if you would prepare us something to eat.”

  Zara watched Garrett pad quietly out of the bathroom.

  My collar is here. There is still a chance. He will be my Sir. I can tell Ella and Liliana about the Community. Zar, not now! You get to cook for him now! Get going!

  Chapter 25

  Looking up from her book, Zara glances out the window. Surprised that she has gotten lost in the hunt for Caroline’s O for so long, Zara chuckles as she puts the book down and heads to the kitchen to finish dinner. The clock on the microwave reads 4:40pm so Zara picks up her pace. Garrett will be home from the office within the hour and she wants everything just right.

  As Zara reaches into the oven for the lasagna, the sound of the front door opening alerts her to Garrett’s return. Carefully setting down the large dish, Zara turns to go greet Garrett and his best friends but before she makes it out of the kitchen, he walks in wearing a smile.

  “Something smells delicious. I like coming home to you in the kitchen. Only four days into your winter break and I’m hooked,” Garrett, says as he walks over to inspect a large pan of pasta resting on the stove.

  “This looks even better than it smells.” He turns and gives Zara a half smile. “Here’s the deal. Branden and Viv have been over here hanging out each day almost your entire break. I wanted to spend Christmas Eve alone with you, so I asked them to wait until tomorrow to come back over. They will be here in the morning.”

  “Okay.” Zara walks around Garrett and picks up the lasagna and takes it to the table set for four. “I hope you like lasagna.”

  Garrett slips up behind her and pulls her chair out for her. “I am positive that I’m going to love your lasagna as I’ve enjoyed all the meals you have prepared thus far. I must say I also enjoy the bit of sass in you as well.”

  Breathe, Zar. He is joking. See he is smiling. Tone. Breathe. It is okay.

  “This is the first time I have ever had Italian on Christmas Eve,” Garrett says eyeing the table. Zara sucks in air and looks at the spread of food on the table in front of her. “Little One, I happen to love Italian, as you know. We may have started a new tradition.”

  Relaxing, Zara begins to load Garrett’s plate and then her own. The steam from the lasagna rises, adding to the heat in the room. Zara’s family had lasagna many times growing up but not once did she feel the warmth she was experiencing during this dinner with Garrett.

  “I didn’t make a dent in it. It was great,” Garrett says as he gets up with the lasagna pan in hand. “Leftovers?”

  Zara nods and begins clearing the rest of the table. “I am going to take a quick shower. I’ll meet you in the den.”

  Garrett turns and heads to his room.

  The kitchen is returned to its before-dinner state in no time. Zara heads to her room to grab her book and then to the den to wait for Garrett. Stretching out on the couch, she barely gets the book open to the page she left off on before he comes walking in.

  Placing a wrapped present on the coffee table in front of her, Garrett lifts her legs, sits down and places her legs across his lap. Zara stares at the large wrapped Christmas gift sitting directly in her line of sight. She slowly turns to look at him and finds him already staring at her with a big grin on his face.

  “I thought you said all the gifts were down with your parents?” Zara questions in a soft clear voice.

  “Most of the gifts are down with my parents. One is not. One is here. For you. To open now.”

  “One second, please,” Zara says looking at the gift and smiling.

  She lifts her legs off his and stands. Walking out of the room, Zara breaks into a jog once she clears the door. From her room, she retrieves a thin box wrapped in colorful Christmas paper. She reaches into the side pocket of her backpack and pulls out a big red bow. Peeling the adhesive, she quickly sticks it on the center of the box as she makes her way back to the den and Garrett.

  She looks at Garrett as she enters the room and his dazzling smile stops her in her tracks. Slowly, she makes her way back to the sofa, but this time she curls up next to him. With gift in hand, Zara rests her head on his chest to enjoy the moment of closeness with him. Wrapping his arms around her, they sit in silence as they wait to open their Christmas gifts to each other on their first Christmas Eve together.

  “Okay. Time to open your present,” Garrett says, interrupting their peaceful moment of quiet.

  Zara hands Garrett his present and reaches for the large box on the coffee table. Drawing it onto her lap, she begins ripping off the wrapping paper.

  “I see you’re not a try-to-save-the-paper kind of lady. Very cool,” Garrett says chuckling.

  “Save it for what? I never understood the point. Part of the pleasure of giving someone a gift is presenting the present. That means locating the best paper for the gift. It doesn’t necessarily have to be wrapping paper. It could be wrapped with anything, really. But certainly not the same thing twice.” Zara leans back against the sofa and stares at the package.

  “No, Little One. It is not reused paper. But open it, please.”

  Tearing the paper off the box, Zara pauses and stares at the picture displayed on its side.

  “If you don’t like it, I can return it,” Garrett says in a low voice.

  Cautiously turning so the box stays in her lap, Zara reaches up to hug Garrett and whisper in his ear, “I love it. It’s actually perfect. Thank you.”

  “You seemed to enjoy using Ella’s camera all the time and I figured it would be easier for her to teach you if you had one of your own. You could also sign up for a photography class.”

  “Gifts were never a big deal growing up.” Zara begins looking at each side of the box carefully. “Fredrik got me daisies for my birthday every year. We knew that I was not going to be able to take anything with me when I left, so he was careful never to get me anything that would last.

  “Thank you for my camera. I am excited to begin using it.” Zara places the camera gently on the coffee table and returns to her place nestled next to Garrett. “Time for you to open your gift.”

  With grand movements, Garrett begins the process of removing the wrapping paper from the present that Zara has given him. The plain white box gives no hint to what is inside and Garrett looks at Zara with a look of curiosity. Lifting the top, Garrett moves the tissue paper aside to reveal a frame lying face down.

  He turns the frame over and discovers a picture of the two of them taken the day of the football game when Zara and her friends had joined him at The Club. Captured in the picture, Zara is in Garrett’s arms leaning against his chest, and they are looking into each other’s eyes. The surroundings have been blurred and the two of them appear as if they are the only ones in existence in that moment.

  Garrett leans down and places a soft kiss on Zara’s lips. “Little One, this is the best gift I could have received. Thank you.”

  “You are welcome,” Zara whispers.

  “This may be my new favorite picture of you.” Garrett says as he sets the frame up facing the two of them on the edge
of the coffee table.

  Still staring at it, he asks, “Did you keep a copy for your dorm?”

  Zara nods and retrieves the camera box. Opening it, she takes out the owner’s manual and puts the box back.

  “Wait. What are you doing?”

  “Reading about the camera you gave me.”

  “Aren’t you going to take the camera out and play with it first?”

  “I thought it better that I get an overview of what everything is prior to actually touching it.”

  “You could do it that way…” Garrett lifts the box to the other side of the sofa and begins to slowly open the top. “I’ll just go ahead and play with the camera over here while you sit and read the manual.”

  Trying hard to ignore him, Zara flips to the first page with focused intent and begins scanning the page. Garrett slowly unpacks the camera from all its packaging. By page two, Zara hears the familiar click of a picture being taken.

  “I know you are trying really hard to concentrate on that manual when all you really want to do it get your hands on this new camera of yours. Wait… Little One, are you trying to not smile? Are you holding back a smile? There it is!”

  Click. Click. Click.

  Zara tosses the manual on the coffee table next to the box and leans back against the sofa. “Garrett, may I please play with my new camera?”

  “Much better,” Garrett says laughing as he hands Zara her Christmas present.

  With camera in hand, Zara leans forward to pick the manual back up and returns to the page she was just looking at. Giggling, she sets the camera on her lap and examines each area of the camera with the diagram in her hand. Garrett sits next to her, speechless.

  After watching her for a few minutes, Garrett picks up Zara’s copy of Wallbanger and begins reading it. Zara notices and says, “Would you like to do something else? I can certainly play with this later.”

  “This is exactly how I want to spend tonight – alone with you on this sofa. Perhaps, more lasagna later, but that’s it.”

  “Would you like me to go get one of your books or a magazine?” Zara inquires looking at her book in his hand.

  “Nope. I want to see what has you laughing so hard that I can hear you from the kitchen.”

  Zara’s eyes get big and Garrett plants a quick kiss on the tip of her nose.

  Garrett starts reading again. Zara stares at the manual but does not see any of the words on the page. Her thoughts have traveled back to Christmas with her family. There was a Christmas tree decorated just so. It lacked the personal touches of a family with young children, no homemade ornaments or decorations all in a cluster. The Evans’ trees were always showroom quality, as were the wrapped presents underneath, all with matching paper and bows.

  By age five, Christmas had lost its shine for Zara. She knew that the perfectly wrapped presents under the tree were for display only. She had also learned that her gifts would be clothes, while Fredrik would receive a wide range of toys. Zara was expected to sit in her presentation position and watch him open his gifts one by one.

  It was not long before Fredrik also noticed the incongruity and struggled to open his gifts. Zara had conversations with him for weeks before the holiday to explain to her little brother that this was how Christmas was supposed to be for all little kids. She explained that her toys were at the library. After they were dismissed Christmas morning, he would sneak one of his small trucks into her room to play and he continued to do it even up through their last Christmas together.

  As they got older, both siblings began to dislike the holiday. They went through the motions as expected but in the end, Christmas was never a happy time. Sitting quietly on the sofa next to Garrett, staring at her first real Christmas gift, Zara could not believe how much her life had changed since walking into the Circle.

  This is what Christmas should feel like.

  Picking up her camera, Zara points to the table she loves and snaps her very first picture. Pressing the button to review her photo, the pictures Garrett had taken of her appear. Nudging him with her elbow, Garrett looks at what she is showing him.

  “Cute and studious, even reading an owner’s manual.” Zara cycles through the pictures; the table is the last one. Returning to the book in hand, Garrett says, “The table was your very first subject. Nope, I am not hurt in the least bit.”

  Zara quickly scoots off the sofa, “Hey!”

  Standing in front of Garrett, she asks, “Ready for more lasagna?”

  She clicks a couple of pictures right in a row. “You make a much better subject than the table.”

  “Pasta me, please,” Garrett says smiling broadly.

  Walking toward the kitchen, Zara places the camera gently on the dining table. With Garrett on her heels, she pulls the lasagna out of the warm oven.

  “How did you know?”

  “I make pretty good lasagna,” Zara says with a proud smile on her face.

  “Indeed, you do.” Garrett gets silverware and heads to the table. “So many talents.”

  Zara’s smile grows and her face is covered in a blush as she carries the plates to the table.

  Chapter 26

  “What is this again?” Branden asks as he helps himself to his third helping at brunch.

  “Egg bake,” Zara, Garrett and Viv all say in unison.

  “Shit. B, she’s told you like three times. Ask her for the recipe and get it over with,” Viv exclaims. “Sucks not being the best cook in the room… doesn’t it.”

  “Branden, the recipe is very easy. I would be happy to write down how to prepare it,” Zara offers as she stands up from the table. “Can I get anyone anything while I am up? Viv, more hot water for tea?”

  “I’m good. Thanks, Zara.”

  Garrett eats the last bite off his plate and leans back. Viv asks him, “What did we miss for dinner last night?”

  “Lasagna.”

  “I definitely have her beat on Italian,” Branden says confidently.

  Garrett gets up from the table without a word and goes to the kitchen. Getting the lasagna out of the refrigerator, he shakes his head at Zara who tries to hand him a pan to warm up a small portion.

  “I’m going to use the microwave.”

  “It will taste better if you allow me to heat it slowly in the oven,” Zara replies.

  “For this, it isn’t even going to matter.”

  Returning to the table with lasagna in hand, Garrett places plates in front of Viv and Branden. He stands at the head of the table proudly watching the two of them trying Zara’s dish as if he spent all day making it himself. As each of them enjoys their first bites, Garrett’s smile grows wider.

  “DAMN IT!”

  “WOW! Sorry, brother. Zara kicked your ass in the lasagna department,” Viv says taking another bite. “Zara, this is delicious. Can you teach Branden how to make this as well?”

  “Hey!” Garrett snarls. “Family secret.”

  “Dude, we are family. Shut up,” Branden retorts.

  “Oh yeah.”

  “I know everyone is thinking it so I am going to be the one to ask… what’s for dinner, Zara?” Branden asks and all eyes turn toward Zara.

  “Since there is a strict rule about how much time can be spent in the kitchen when someone is home, we are having pork tenderloin.”

  Branden leans toward Zara and asks, “What kind of dumbass rule is this that you speak of? Certainly not on Christmas Day!”

  “My rule. Problem?” Garrett asks menacingly.

  Viv hops up and picks up her dishes. “Zara, let’s get this all cleaned up. Game time.”

  Zara is on her feet in an instant and moves quickly to begin clearing the table.

  As Zara finishes wiping the table, Branden walks out to his car to get an armload of board games. Garrett walks into the kitchen and wraps his arms around Zara. She leans into him, enjoying their moment. Hearing Branden coming back into the house, Garrett kisses Zara behind the ear and walks toward the dining table. He gives Viv a one-
armed hug as he passes by her standing by the entryway.

  Zara, following a few steps behind Garrett, looks up at Viv. She cannot help but return the big smile being flashed to her from her friend.

  Today is a good day.

  The rest of the afternoon is spent playing games and laughing around the table. Zara is crowned the victor of almost every game of Jenga played. Garrett uses her new camera flash to break her concentration and everyone laughs as the pieces tumble. Finally, Branden begs for mercy declaring the smell of dinner has become unbearable and they break to eat.

  After dinner, Zara busies herself as the best friends turned family bicker with each other about everything from Christmases past to the upcoming bowl game that the great Spartans are sure to win. Moving at a comfortable but steady pace, it does not take her long before the meal is put away and dessert is neatly displayed.

  Though Garrett’s and Branden’s homes are vastly different, open floor plans with the kitchen and dining room allow whoever is preparing the meal to easily take part in the conversation. In this case, Zara is happy to be listening. Her smile stretches further across her face with each fit of laugher that comes from the table.

  Garrett wanders into the kitchen as Zara gathers the last of the silverware needed for the dessert. “Little One, need some help?”

  “Thank you. You can carry the cake.”

  With a twinkle in his eye, Garrett lifts the multi-layer round cake and walks to the table. Placing it directly in front of Branden, Garrett slowly turns the cake so both Viv and Branden can see all sides of it. Zara sets the plates, folks and napkins on the table and gives Garrett a look.

  “What?” he asks innocently.

  “I am positive Branden’s cakes are just as good as mine.”

  Always one to stir the pot, Viv gleefully chimes in, “Let’s cut into this work of art and see.”

  “Does anyone want coffee or tea with their cake?” Zara asks before handing Garrett the knife.

  “G, we’re staying here tonight. So we’ll have drinks after the taste test,” Viv declares. “Cake first.”