Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 67398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“Nah. They both keep asking for you to come.” Merry shrugged. “And you found the tree. You deserve to help. And we have cookies.”
“Definitely coming for cookies.” And for Merry, but that went without saying.
Thus, I ended up riding to Merry’s apartment with him, the twins, and the box with the red foil tree. They lived in a ground-floor unit of a small complex that looked to be from the seventies or eighties with minimal exterior updating. The interior, though, was freshly white, with a more modern kitchen. Merry and the boys had a mix of furniture that reminded me of my own collection of various pieces.
As soon as we walked in, Barney was utterly delighted to see all of us. While the twins walked and fed the dog, Merry and I managed to use our mutually limited cooking skills to whip up some breakfast for dinner with pancakes and scrambled eggs. I had the idea of adding pumpkin spice to make them more festive, and Merry poured them in the shape of gingerbread men. The dining area was in the living room, so we flipped on an animated Christmas movie to watch while we ate.
It was delightfully homey working and eating together, and my chest ached with the sweetness of it all. After dinner, the four of us put together the small tree. It was a little bigger than a tabletop tree, around five feet, perfect for the space between their couch and TV.
“I love it.” Ryder stood back to admire our assembling skills. Or rather, Merry’s skills, as he’d done most of the work.
“It’s pretty cool.” Legend actually seemed impressed for once.
“It needs ornaments.” Ryder pursed his mouth. I was about to suggest my maternal grandmother’s old trick of salt dough when Merry headed to the hall closet.
“I’ve got us covered there.” He hauled out a cardboard box—the kind reams of paper came in with a separate lid. Removing the lid, Merry revealed a treasure trove of kid-made ornaments from preschool through the present.
“It’s all the stuff we’ve made.” Ryder’s eyes got big and round. “You saved them.”
“Of course I did.” Merry’s cheeks were pink, but his expression was pleased as the boys had fun strolling down memory lane. They held up popsicle-stick snowflakes and construction-paper flowers and shared the stories associated with each. Merry pulled out his phone and shared pictures of the twins at various ages to go along with the stories.
If I’d thought my heart was full merely cooking together, now it was Empire State Building huge and lit up like New Year’s Eve to boot. I felt included in something special, almost too special, like I’d intruded where I didn’t belong.
“It’s gorgeous.” My eyes burned as I took in the completed tree.
“Thanks for the help.” Merry smiled at me.
“Next year, I want even more lights too. We can outline the whole patio. And maybe Nolan can find us a wreath to match the tree.” Ryder was full of big plans, and a lump in my throat joined my stinging eyes.
“Nolan will be back in New York next year,” Merry said gently. “Remember? We talked about that. We’re lucky to have him this Christmas though, so let’s enjoy that.”
“Okay.” Ryder frowned and kicked at a stray piece of tissue paper.
“Who has homework?” Merry asked, and the boys disappeared to their shared room, followed by the dog.
“Good.” Merry grinned at me. “That should keep them busy for eleven point three seconds. Long enough to kiss you in front of the tree.”
I kissed him back, the sort of soft, comfortable kiss where we both knew we weren’t getting anywhere near the bedroom. We cuddled on the couch, trading kisses, until I forgot about my bittersweet feelings over the tree, at least temporarily.
“We need some real alone time.” I gave Merry a pointed look.
“Soon.” He let out a low groan. We’d had several of these sneaky make-out sessions, but it had been far too long since we’d had a locked door and some time on our hands. “If nothing else, the twins got invited to an after-festival sleepover.”
“I like the sound of that.” Certain parts of me perked right up at the thought of doing our own sleepover.
“Me too.” Merry snuck another kiss onto my cheek. “Put it on your calendar?”
“It’s a date.” We grinned at each other. I could only hope the upcoming holiday festival was as big a success as our little fling.
Fifteen
It’s finally here! Join our school and community as we welcome you to our Lights Festival. Come hungry! Aloha!
MERRY
The Friday of the Lights Festival dawned sunny, which had to be a good omen. No rain in sight, which meant a dry courtyard for the festival. The school day was crammed with last-minute preparations, and by afternoon, the chaos had reached a fever pitch. Each of my classes had some major disaster and the after-school setup quickly became a headache.