by Meg Easton
When he got confirmations from everyone currently down on the ground, he turned to Macie. “Well, if this wasn’t a memorable date before, it definitely is now.”
Chapter Seven
It was easy to fake date Aaron. Macie found herself so naturally reaching for his hand as they had walked around the room, or running her fingers along the back of his neck as they slow danced. If his students weren’t convinced before that he was dating someone, they definitely were now. It was too bad that he didn’t want kids of his own, because he was fantastic with them. As they had gone around from group to group, she could tell by the way he chatted with each of them that he truly cared about them and wanted the best for them.
After the janitor mopped up the punch, the dance quickly evolved from a dance into a party. Actually, it became more of a sport than a party once someone decided that it would be fun to play hockey with the fallen cookies, and it turned into one massive game with all the students and a couple dozen cookie hockey pucks. For the first few moments, she, Aaron, and the other two chaperones tried to stop the game, but when they saw how much fun the students were having and the unifying effect it was having on them, they decided to join in.
The dance was ending in ten minutes, and although most of the students had left, Aaron had managed to arm a few kids with sweeper brooms, and they were turning cleaning up the mess into a game as well. The other chaperone couple had crashed in a couple of chairs along a wall. Aaron leaned against a wall at the end of the gym, facing the three boys who were cleaning up while simultaneously showing off to their dates. So far, their need to be impressive was working to get the gym back in order.
“I am exhausted,” he said, running a hand down his face.
Macie practically fell against the wall facing Aaron, tiredness making any bit of gracefulness she had disappear. “Right there with you. How long was this dance? Like twelve hours?”
“It sure feels like it.” Aaron stood up straight. “Wait. Was tonight a glimpse into what I can expect at your family party next Saturday?”
Macie laughed. “No, not at all.” Then, once Aaron leaned against the wall again in relief, she added, “My parents mostly have carpet, so clean-up is a bit more hands-on,” just to alarm him. And it worked. “No, I’m kidding; it won’t be this crazy. Hopefully.”
They both stood in silence for a moment, trying to recover enough strength to finish the last bit of clean-up, marshal the half dozen kids out to their cars, and lock the doors. For now, though, they were going to keep letting the kids work on clean-up.
Aaron grinned. “Tonight was fun.”
“It was!” Macie said. “The most fun I’ve ever had at a high school dance, actually.”
“Me, too.” Aaron face suddenly wasn’t looking so tired. He was studying her, his expression soft, curious, thoughtful. “It was the most fun I’ve had on any kind of date in a long time.”
Macie wondered if this was the most fun she’d had on a date in a long time, too, but she suddenly couldn’t even think of a previous date she’d been on. All she could think of was tonight’s, with Aaron. How rewarding it had been to banter with him and the students, how enjoyable it had been to let spontaneity take over when the dance hadn’t gone as planned, how exhilarating it had been to dance with him while being cheered on by a crowd. To feel their way so seamlessly though a dance they’d never done before, yet somehow communicated to each other what to do without using words. On the surface, she barely knew him. Yet a part of them had communicated on a level deeper than she’d been able to communicate with anyone in a very long time.
She had a list she’d made in her high school dating and relationships class of all the qualities she wanted in a future husband. As she got to know each person she dated, she put a mental checkmark next to each thing when the date exhibited that quality, or she’d mentally cross it out when they didn’t. She put a check next to Communicates with me well.
“You’re a fascinating woman, Macie.” His eyes were searching her face, like he was trying to know more, to grasp clues about who she was.
Macie was just as eagerly searching his face. The more she got to know him, the more she wanted to know. She wanted to know it all. He reached out and placed his palm on her cheek, and she leaned into it, closing her eyes.
“Macie,” Aaron said, and she opened her eyes as she stepped closer, closing the remaining distance between them.
His eyes dropped to her lips for a moment, which made her notice his lips. Lips that were soft and smooth and framed by the perfect amount of scruff. She met his eyes, and leaned in, her heels making her the perfect height, just as he leaned in.
And then just as her eyes were closing, she noticed his eyes flick to something behind her, and she remembered that they weren’t alone. She whipped around to see all six students who remained in the room all focused intently on the two of them, unmoving and silent, probably not wanting to break whatever spell had fallen over Macie and Aaron.
She sucked in a quick breath of air. She and Aaron had just come so close to kissing! What in the world had she been thinking? “Oh my goodness. I am so sorry.” She turned to the left and then the right in quick succession, trying to remember what she was supposed to be doing right now.
“I’m sorry too. This wasn’t part of the deal. I don’t—”
“It was the formal wear,” Macie said. “We can’t be trusted in formal wear.”
“It clouded our judgement,” Aaron agreed. “That was a mistake.”
Macie hurried to the wall that had the last row of chairs, and she grabbed one and folded it flat, then hung it on the rack. Aaron and the other couple joined her. Come on, Macie! she scolded herself. For a second there you let hope sneak in, and that’s exactly what you were stopping yourself from doing! This relationship, out of all the relationships she’d had over the past decade, was the one she could guarantee would never work. Everything here was for show. Maybe Aaron was trying to send the last few kids off with some fodder for rumors that would seal the deal, or maybe he was just as affected by the formal wear as she was—it didn’t matter. There was nothing between them, and both of them knew it.
Actually, having them both know that their relationship could go nowhere made the situation less awkward. Both of them knew that the other person wasn’t going to have their feelings hurt that the kiss was stopped, because neither of them had meant for it to happen.
When they finished and Aaron walked her out to her car, Macie said, “Mistaken almost-kiss aside, I had a very enjoyable time tonight.”
“I did too.” Aaron smiled. “So basically, all we have to do is stay away from formal wear, and we’ll have smooth sailing from here on out.”
She held out a fist and he bumped it with his. A kiss would’ve definitely put the wrong cap on the evening. Their fist bump was a much better one, signaling what they were— teammates who had just worked together and successfully met a team goal and pulled off the next phase of their plan.
Macie slid into her seat on the fourth pew from the front of the chapel, her family taking up their customary three rows. As usual, she sat with her brother Everett, his wife Hannah, and their kids. Not only was Everett the brother nearest in age to her so they’d always been close, but he and Hannah also had four kids under the age of seven, and could use the help keeping them wrangled and somewhat reverent during the meeting. Today, Macie held two-year-old Kristine on her lap as the toddler put baby Jesus in the manger of the activity book she held and folded the blankets over him.
The pastor finished his lesson on ways to keep Christ in Christmas, and started talking about the importance of traditions—individually, as families, and as communities, and reminded everyone about the festivities going on in Nestled Hollow over the next week. As Macie listened, she noticed how contented she felt. Now that she wasn’t going to worry about dating, she realized she was no longer holding one of Everett’s kids in her lap, wondering and worrying about when she was going to be able to hold her own
child in her lap. She just simply enjoyed being Kristine’s aunt.
Her mom always said that she’d find her future spouse once she stopped stressing out about finding her future spouse, so maybe this plan was actually helping. She felt the hope creep in with that thought, and she squashed it quickly. She wasn’t going to hope that this new plan was “working.” That wasn’t why she came up with the no dating plan. She was just going to enjoy being Macie, without having to be Macie: the woman in search of a husband. Just Macie. That’s all she had to be.
After the closing prayer, she helped her siblings and their spouses and her parents carry, nudge, hold hands, or chase after all her nieces and nephews as they made their way with the rest of the congregation to the youth activity room for donuts, hot chocolate, and coffee. The room was a little too small for so many people, but a storm had blown in early that morning, and the first few flakes had started to fall just as she had entered the building. So the warmth and the happy chatter and the cup of hot chocolate in her hands felt right.
Several of the teenage girls had worn their Winter Formal dress to services today, and each of them gave her smiles like they were excited to be in on her secret. She chatted with them all and asked how their night was. She tried to think of a way to say “me dating your teacher isn’t a secret! Shout it from the rooftops! That part’s not the secret, so tell everyone!” in a subtle way, but apparently it was too subtle, because the questions they asked were in hushed voices.
Normally, news in Nestled Hollow traveled fast. So many people had seen her and Aaron last night that she figured that everyone would be talking about it today. That didn’t seem to be the case at all.
Like always happened in such a small space, the crowd moved around so much that she often found herself chatting with people who she might not have sought out on her own. Normally, that was one of the things she loved most about the months when it was too chilly to have the gathering outside.
At one point, she found herself chatting with a group of older women—Evia, Misty, and Margie. Apparently, Evia had a nephew, Misty had a grandson, and Margie had a friend with a son who were all perfect for her, and wouldn’t it be simply marvelous if they set her up on a date? Maybe she could ring in the New Year with a boyfriend, because who wanted to start off the New Year being alone? As gracefully as she could, she thanked them but said she was dating someone already, and then switched to a different group when an opening came up soon after.
Unfortunately, the next group she found herself in included Bo Charleston and Don Anderson. Normally she would’ve been relieved, since the men usually didn’t try to set her up on dates, but Don’s son Paul was in town visiting. Shortly after Don introduced Paul, he said, “Paul, this is the woman I was telling you about. Don’t you think she’d be just right for your friend Jake?”
Paul seemed just as uncomfortable with setting his friend up with a stranger as she was accepting a date with a stranger. She was so glad she had an excuse that wouldn’t hurt Don’s feelings or make Paul look any more uncomfortable than he already was. “You’re always looking out for others, Don. Thank you for thinking of me, but I’ve already started dating someone seriously.”
“Looks like we’re a little too late, son. I knew I should’ve called you about this sooner!”
Macie and Paul shared a smile that told her he knew exactly what she was going through. Soon after, Don and his son Paul got pulled into a different group, and her little group was joined by Chad and Shelly Brown, the couple who owned the bakery on Main Street, and Ed and Linda Keetch. Her smile grew bigger at seeing their faces. She loved chatting with fellow Main Street Business Alliance members whenever she got the chance.
But after a few minutes of small talk, Chad said, “Shelly has a little brother who is awesome. Seriously, we love the guy. He’s newly single, and I think you two would be great together.”
“You would be. Do you want me to set you two up?”
Macie forced a smile on her face. “I’ve actually started dating someone.” Her phone buzzed right then, so she excused herself, made her way to a corner, and pulled it out from her bag.
It was a text from Aaron.
Hey there mysterious goddess. How’s your Winter Formal hangover? I don’t know about you, but I’m wishing I would’ve stretched before that dance.
Let’s just say that I chose to wear flats to church today. I think my feet would’ve gone on strike if I wore so much as my one inch heeled boots. Maybe our next fake date should be less physically taxing.
Speaking of which...
I have a group of friends—4 people, all married. They’re cool and annoying and currently think I’m making you up. I showed up dateless to our last Wednesday Game Night, and I don’t picture their razzing me will stop anytime soon.
Will you come with me on Wednesday? I’m prepared to send many animated gifs of adorable animals and possibly toddlers begging if that will help convince you.
I have a better idea to convince me. This town is too full of too many helpful people who apparently have no idea about things that happen at the high school. Be my date at a town event?
Sold! Name the place and time, and I’m there.
Macie thought for a few moments. The pastor had just mentioned everything going on this week, so it was all fresh on her mind. Which event would be best?
The Main Street Business Alliance is in charge of a scavenger hunt on Tuesday. Meet me at Center and Main, 7:00. Dress warm.
Macie smiled as she pressed send. The scavenger hunt was the perfect choice. Come Tuesday at about 7:30, and everyone here would know she had someone in her life, and that she wasn’t in need of any interventions.
Chapter Eight
Aaron managed to find a parking space on Main Street. Sure, he’d only been on this street half a dozen times, and never during a town event, but it still surprised him that it was still so full of people. He got out of his car, pulled on his hat and then gloves, then adjusted his scarf and his coat. Each breath was making a cloud in front of him. How did they find so many people who were willing to brave this weather?
It was easy to see where the action was—a crowd of a few dozen people were assembling in the space where Center Street crossed Main Street, on the bridge that covered the creek that ran down the middle of the road. He made his way there, and saw Macie behind some long tables, standing next to her sister, chatting and smiling and organizing some kind of papers. A big Christmas bulb-shaped container sat on the table, with a small hole in the top. Macie reached in like she was swirling its contents around.
She was just as bundled up as he was, in her long coat, scarf, hat, and gloves, with her blond hair free and straight for the first time that he’d seen. It really was too bad he couldn’t date her for real, because he wanted to more than he’d wanted to date anyone in a while.
But of all the women around, she was the most off-limits of them all. He knew she wasn’t looking to date casually, and that was all he had to offer. Turning this into something more real wouldn’t be fair to her. They were in this fake relationship as teammates, and teammates didn’t do that to each other.
Macie looked up just then and she found him in the crowd almost instantly and her face brightened into a smile. He smiled back, and then their attention turned to a woman who was standing at a microphone.
“Hello,” the woman said. “My name is Tory, and on behalf of the Main Street Business Alliance, I’d like to welcome you to the twenty-seventh annual Hayride of the Santas! Those of you who’ve been here before probably know the drill, but for those of you here for the first time and for Sam—that’s right, Sam, I saw you hop off the hay ride early last year—I’m here as your host and judge for the evening. We’ve got Cole here as your scribe and gift accepter, and Whitney and Eli as your documenters and additional judges.
“We’ve been coming to you asking for monetary donations for months, and I’m happy to report that we have enough money donated to help out a lot of kids this y
ear who might otherwise wake up Christmas morning without any presents under their tree. You’ll divide into teams of four or five people, so go ahead and get your teams together.”
Aaron looked at Macie, and she motioned to him, then her, then her sister, and then pointed toward the end of the street. He turned and saw Macie’s brother-in-law, the one he saw at With a Cherry on Top, walking their direction. He nodded.
“Okay, one of you will come up to the table here, reach inside the giant ornament, and choose one piece of paper. On this paper will be the age and gender of a child who you will be purchasing a gift for. It will also list any preferences, colors, sizes, or things they might be currently interested in, along with a budget. Your goal is to brainstorm with your team about what to purchase for the child and to decide which Main Street store might have what you need. You’ll go to that store, pick out a gift, and take it up to the register. The store will ring it up, attach the receipt to your paper, and sign off on it.
“You’ll then bring the paper with the receipt stapled to it, along with the gift, and check in with Cole. He’ll verify that the present is appropriate for the age of the child and that you stayed within budget. You’ll then wrap the gift as a team. Using only one hand each, and I expect no cheating here. Yeah, even from you, Frank. Your arm may be in a sling, but I’ve still seen you use those fingers on your injured arm for more things than I think your doctor ever intended.”
