I start to tell him about it as I tie my apron on, and I’m to the part about “candy cane dust” as I stir the final hot cocoa batch of the day.
“Oh, hang on,” he says, reaching into his pocket for his phone. “I’m getting a call, and that’s always my parents or the magazine.”
My stomach clenches at the thought of work calling. He frowns down at the number and answers. “Hello?”
His forehead doesn’t smooth, and he shoots me a look, pointing to the back to indicate he needs to take the call back there.
I nod and try not to worry as he walks out. He’s gone for almost ten minutes, and when he comes back, I search his face. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, fine.”
There’s something in his voice that catches me, but I can’t quite figure out what it is. He gives me his usual smile and takes back over the register to ring up another customer for stuffing.
About an hour before closing, we’re nearing the last of our baked goods inventory. There’s nothing left to serve diners, and we’re down to a steady but slow stream of customers.
“I feel a headache coming on,” he says. “Do you mind if I head out now? Am I stranding you?”
“Of course not,” I tell him. “Go. I’m sure your mom wants you back home. I’ll see you later?”
He looks at me, his expression confused.
“For Christmas Eve?” I remind him. I know he hasn’t forgotten that our families spend it together literally every year, so he can only have forgotten that today is the twenty-fourth.
“Duh,” he says. “Of course. The best way to spread Christmas cheer—”
“Is singing loud for all to hear,” I finish. The evening starts with a book exchange and concludes with a group viewing ofElfin which anyone who gets a single word of the dialogue wrong is shamed and ridiculed. With love, of course.
He gives me a kiss. “My parents are hosting this year, right? I’m going to ask my mom to put up so much mistletoe you’re going to barely have time to breathe.”
“Better take an Advil and rest up then,” I say. “I’ll be over around 7:00.”
“I’d like to report a toxic work environment,” Celia complains. “I’m choking on cheese.”
Levi laughs as he leaves, and I smile at Celia. “I have a Christmas bonus for you that will probably help you feel better about your job.”
“I’m cured, boss. It’s a miracle.”
We sell out of the last of our goods and lock the doors early, which means I’m upstairs by 3:30 after we finish our closing routine.
I pull out the book I bought for Levi and lay it open on my kitchen table, then I get to work. I bought the slimmest book I could find for this gift—I’d gotten it in the kids’ nonfiction section. But this is still going to take forever, even working at top speed.
It’s after 7:00 when I finish, but it’s done, and I think Levi is going to love it. Maybe one day, one of our kids will—
Whoa. One of our kids?
I go still, but I let the words dance through my head before I smile. Those words don’t scare me. I want to push them out to the universe and do a happy dance. We got to this place in both an insanely short amount of time but also forever. And that’s why it’s going to work.
I grab the goodies I set aside from the café, my gift for Levi, and my overnight bag. I’ve had the gifts for my family under their tree since before Levi showed up. I always stay at my parents’ house on Christmas Eve because watching Christmas morning with kids is the purest form of Christmas joy.
But this year, I’m looking forward to Christmas Eve the most. I can’t wait to see Levi’s face when he opens his present.
As soon as I walk into my parents’ house, the twins grab my hands to hustle me over to the Tafts’ house. I barely have time to drop my stuff for tomorrow before they’re towing me through the gate to the happy chaos next door.
Levi’s brother came in Friday afternoon for their kids to enjoy Christmas Town, and now their toddler is running in circles around the living room, while the baby coos in his sister-in-law’s lap. The twins join the toddler’s game without even requesting the rules, and they’re running loops around the first floor too.
Dr. Taft is making drinks for everyone, Mrs. Taft is making sure there’s popcorn and movie candy at every chair and blanket on the floor.
But there’s no Levi.
