With little sleep and lots of coffee, I cruised through finals and came out with sanity intact on the other side. Afterward, I did the Christmas shopping; I hesitated over buying anything for Ty, but in the end, I got him a set of quality art pencils. On the way back to the apartment, I mailed presents to my family then wrapped the gifts I bought for my roomies and tucked them beneath the tree.
It was quite a luxury not to have anything on my plate but work for a couple of weeks, almost like a vacation. On Christmas day, we cooked an actual holiday meal, though Angus used us all like sous-chefs, telling us to open this or chop that. At three in the afternoon, we sat down to ham, baked potatoes, carrot-raisin salad and fried Brussels sprouts. For dessert, Lauren and I had made sugar cookies the day before. In lieu of fancy china, we’d bought some festive holiday party plates, mostly so we didn’t have to wash them. Some people fought with their roommates or they were indifferent to them, but I loved mine. Maybe it was because we’d all been friends for a while, but they felt like family, and at this time of year, when we couldn’t go home, it made all the difference.
“So what’re we doing Friday night?” Angus asked, as we settled in the living room to watch Christmas Vacation. The best thing about that movie was how much better it always made me feel about my own holiday plans.
“It’s Ty’s weekend,” I answered, before I considered how that sounded.
As expected, Max pounced on that. “You mean we’re in a shared-custody situation? Why didn’t you tell me? I’d have spent more quality time with you.”
“Shut up.” Normally, I’d make a crack about his love life sucking, and that was why he was so fascinated by mine, but that seemed insensitive.
“Are you just hanging out at his place again?” Lauren asked.
“He’s got something planned. Not sure what, but he told me to pack winter gear.”
“Well, that narrows it down,” Angus said.
I waved my hands at them, pretending to focus on the movie, like I hadn’t been obsessing over this surprise for weeks. Only two more days. I was on schedule for a full-day eight-hour shift tomorrow and Friday, so the other teachers could spend more time with their families. Fortunately, working kept me from becoming too impatient.
And then it was Friday. So many kids were out for the holidays that we combined into two classes. Regular lesson plans went out the window, and we mostly showed cartoons while they played. Only five of us were working: me, two other teachers, the assistant director and Louisa, who didn’t seem pleased about making kiddie lunches so soon after Christmas. Sam wasn’t at school, so Ty must be taking some vacation days and spending them with his family.
Can’t wait to see him.
I got home at half past six, waved to Lauren and Angus, and went immediately to my room to start packing. Lauren followed me back, perching on the edge of her bed to watch me dig for a down vest. Something in her expression nudged at my memory, and then I knew. This was how she looked when she wasn’t sure how I’d react.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
None of my cajoling got her to talk. Eventually, she just said, “Have fun, okay?”
Bemused, I nodded, and she went back to the living room. I had the feeling she wanted to have a heart-to-heart, but maybe now wasn’t the time. I set out my best pair of winter boots and packed a spare set, just in case. Jeans, a thick sweater, my coat, hat and scarf. Gloves...here they are. Soon, I had all of my overnight stuff in a small rolling suitcase that I rarely used.
Good timing, too. Because Ty texted me soon after, much earlier than I expected.
I’m downstairs. Ready for an adventure?
OMW, I sent back.
Quickly, I shrugged into my coat and hat, grabbed my purse and suitcase, and ran for the door. “Have a great weekend, guys. See you Sunday.”
“You sound far too excited,” Angus said with mock-disapproval.
He and Lauren hugged me, then I darted off to find out Ty’s big secret. He was waiting downstairs by the front door with his own luggage. As I ran toward him, he picked me up and swung me around, then planted a firm hello kiss on me. His expression shifted, melted, and it was almost too much for me to bear. I understood what he meant when he talked about my face showing him everything, because now I was getting it back.
“You always look so damn happy to see me,” he said, low. “And it’s like a fist in my gut, every time. I wait for it not to happen, for you to get used to me, or maybe you’re tired or you had a bad day, so you’re in no mood to shine, but no. There’s always that smile. Yeah,” he added, touching my lower lip. “That one. Ready?”
Without waiting for my answer, he grabbed both our suitcases and led the way to his car. The night was cold but clear. He’d left his car running, right by the front doors, so it was deliciously warm when he tucked me into it. Those small gestures stole my heart, again and again, until I was helpless with it.
“I’m so excited. How far are we going?”
“Just a couple of hours. We should be there by nine.”
“Oh, my God, tell me already.”
“You really want to know?”
I shot him a look that could’ve steamed paint off a wall. “Yes.”
“My boss, Bill, has a friend who runs a ski lodge north of here. It’s a beautiful place, downhill and cross-country trails. I asked him to hook us up with a getaway package as part of my holiday bonus.”
“Wow.” I was stunned to silence. “You need the money for school, right? I hope it wasn’t—”
“If I didn’t want this, we wouldn’t be in the car.”
“Then thank you. I brought warm clothes like you said. But you should know, I’m not a very good skier.”
“We’ll work on it. But there’s also sledding, snowmobiling and an ice-skating pond. Pretty much the whole winter wonderland.”
Suddenly, the art pencils I’d gotten him didn’t seem like enough, and to cover my sense that our footing had shifted, I asked, “How was your Christmas?”
“I spent the night with my parents, so they could be there when Sam opened all of his presents. He loves their house because my mom goes all out. It’s like a holiday store exploded and my dad spends two full days decorating outside.”
“The power bill must be insane.”
“No shit, he builds it into the budget annually, that leap in wattage.”
“It sounds fun. Did your sisters come?”