Chapter 14
Fourteen
The trees were delivered to the office the following day right after lunch, and Holly asked for a few volunteers to help.
Twenty people showed up in the lobby hoping to get free Starbucks again.
“Um…sorry! No Starbucks today,” she announced. “We just need to put these trees up in all the places Mrs. Brooks usually has them.”
All but three people walked away while murmuring excuses as to why they had to get back to their desks.
“Okay, I thought maybe a few more people would stay, but…”
“Hey! The trees arrived!” Lennon said as he strolled into the lobby. “Awesome!”
Holly, Crystal, and Emma from Human Resources all turned to stare at him. His eyes went a little wide when he realized exactly what they were all thinking.
“I guess you guys need a hand moving these and setting them up, huh?” It wasn’t really a question.
“That would be amazing!” Holly gushed. “I’d ask Lucas, but he’s getting ready to get on a video call with his sisters to discuss this situation with his parents.”
He nodded. “Okay, hang on. Let me grab a couple of interns and get them to help. I’ll be right back.”
As soon as he was out of sight, she heard Crystal hum.
“What are you humming about? That sounded like a yummy noise.”
“Oh, it was definitely a yummy noise. Lennon is totally hot and he has a really nice butt.”
Emma giggled but didn’t say anything.
“Seriously? Since when have you been checking out Lennon’s butt?” she asked, completely amused.
“Um…since I started working here,” Crystal said, like it was obvious.
“A woman would have to be blind not to notice it. We go to the same gym too, and it’s always a treat when we’re there at the same time.
” She grinned. “And before you ask, no, I don’t stalk him so I can be there when he is. I’m not that person.”
“Good to know.” Holly glanced around to make sure he wasn’t on his way back. “So why don’t you ask him out?”
Crystal’s eyes went wide. “Because he’s not interested in me, duh.”
“Okay, want to answer me like an adult and not a twelve-year-old girl? And why would you think he’s not interested?”
“Because he’s never shown any interest in me. We’re polite and crap whenever we see each other, but he doesn’t go out of his way to talk to me. Trust me. I’d know if he was interested.”
“I didn’t know that Lucas was interested until we started spending time together. Maybe you and Lennon just need a little nudge in that direction.”
“Please don’t start playing matchmaker. As it is, you have all of us decorating and helping you with this party. I really can’t wait for you to just go back to being Holly in payroll. That girl I can handle.”
Frowning, she was about to remind her that she was still the same person, but Lennon was coming down the hall with three interns. Sighing, she put a pin in her conversation with Crystal and would deal with it later.
“Where should we start?” Lennon asked, clapping his hands together.
Holly considered all her options. “Why don’t you take one of the trees and set it up in the conference room? It goes in the back corner on the right. Crystal knows exactly where. You two can start there.”
“And…Mike, is it?”
The young guy nodded.
“Okay, so you and Emma can take one of the trees and set it up outside Mr. Brooks’ office.” They both nodded. Then she looked at the last two interns. “And you’re…Aaron and Nathan?”
They both nodded.
“You guys are going to stay here with me and we’ll get the tree set up here in the lobby. Whoever finishes first, come back and we’ll start on the next batch, okay? Thank you!” She was about to turn and walk away, but Crystal grabbed her arm and tugged her aside.
Uh-oh…
“Thank you!” she whispered. “You’re the best!” And then she sashayed over to Lennon with a big smile. “Do you need a hand carrying this box or should I just follow you?”
Oh, good grief, Holly thought. But she was happy she could help her friend out.
Everyone got to work and it took almost two hours before all the trees were set up and the mess from all the packaging cleaned up. She’d figure out what to do with them after the holidays, but for now, the office looked pretty close to the way Mrs. Brooks always had them.
Sighing, she made her way back to her office and wondered how Lucas and his sisters were doing. Were they coming up with a brilliant plan? Were they going to figure out a way to get their parents home in time for the party? Would it save their Christmas? And if it did, where would that leave her?
As great as everything had been going for her and Lucas, something Crystal had said to her last week stuck with her.
Mr. and Mrs. Brooks might not like knowing that one of their employees knows all about their private business. I know I wouldn’t like it.
Now, not only did she know all about their private business, she’d been in their home, had sex in their home and guesthouse, and was essentially taking on the role of Mrs. Brooks with the parties and decorating.
Crap.
Even if Lucas didn’t think it was a big deal, his parents might, and that could jeopardize their relationship and her job.
“Fine time to be thinking about all that now, dummy,” she mumbled, cursing herself for jumping in with both feet without even considering the repercussions.
And there were many.
Double crap.
She and Lucas had been spending so much time together and sharing so much about their lives that maybe this was something they needed to deal with as well.
The sooner the better.
No matter how afraid she was of the outcome.
It wasn’t going well.
After a ten-minute interrogation about his relationship with Holly, Lucas had put his foot down and demanded that they talk about their parents and not his personal life.
“Can we please focus?” he asked wearily. “I have appointments this afternoon, and you both have kids to pick up from school, so…”
“Okay, okay, you’re right,” Anna said. “I actually talked to Mom last night.”
“And?” Kat asked.
“And…I tried to convince her that she needed to come home because Christmas is about family and she told me we could get together after Christmas. I mean…what’s that about? This coming from the woman who would freak out if we all weren’t there by December 23rd!”
“I know, right? You know, I honestly just thought they were bickering, like…no big deal, just the usual stuff married couples do. But this is starting to feel real,” Kat added.
“They’re acting completely oblivious to the fact that they’re ruining the holidays,” Lucas commented, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. “Well…newsflash: telling your kids you’re getting divorced ruins the holidays.”
“I get that no one wants to say it, but…they’ve been off for a while.
You guys saw it last year. They barely spoke at Christmas dinner unless it was about the thermostat,” Kat reminded them.
“They know how to put on a show for strangers, but they haven’t really hidden it from us. We just didn’t want to see it.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think they’d ever actually pull the trigger. Especially now,” Anna said. “And are we really just going to let them go through with it without at least trying to get them to work it out?”
Silence fell for a beat, thick and heavy, and Lucas was relieved that he wasn’t the only one on the fence with this whole thing. But…
“We can’t just… let this happen, right? Not like this. After thirty-eight years? Over what—vacation plans or whoever’s not getting enough attention? Or maybe retirement plans and dishwasher schedules?” he demanded.
“It’s not just that. It’s everything they haven’t said for years. But maybe if we get them in the same room—really talking…”
Anna quickly interrupted her sister. “They’ll what? Fall back in love between handing out the Christmas bonuses and dessert? Or maybe we wait until Christmas day and it happens between the stuffing and the gift exchange?”
Kat rolled her eyes. “I didn’t say it was a perfect plan, I just…
I can’t imagine splitting holidays. I can’t do Christmas Eve at Mom’s and Christmas morning at Dad’s.
It’s weird. And if they’re both looking at these new lives with younger people, it’s just going to be awkward.
I refuse to call some woman who’s younger than me ‘mom.’ I won’t do it! ”
Lucas looked between his sisters and fought the urge to roll his own eyes. “No one’s calling anyone else mom, so relax.”
“But you don’t know that, Lucas,” Anna said. “If they are being this petty, who knows what sort of weird rules they’re going to inflict on us!”
“I get that, but they’re still our parents. And they’re still family to each other, even if they forgot that at the moment. Maybe they just need a reminder.”
“Do you really want to play marriage counselor?” Kat asked.
“No. I want to play family. Just for one more Christmas, at least. I want to know that we at least tried. Then they can do whatever the hell they want. Because I’ve got to tell you, handling all this party stuff is freaking exhausting.”
Katherine bit her lip, thinking. “Okay, what about dinner? All of us. Just the five of us. No grandkids, no spouses, no plus-ones. We cook, we listen to some Christmas music or have It’s a Wonderful Life playing in the background like we used to, and we talk.”
“You think they'll go for that?” Anna asked. “And do we do it before or after the party? Because I thought we were trying to get them home for that.”
“That was the plan,” Lucas said. “But if we don’t think that’s viable, I’m open to anything. We can still host the party without them.”
“That will kill Mom,” Kat said with a smirk. “I kind of think we need to get them there for the party and then maybe have the dinner the next day. They can’t possibly be mad when they’re the ones causing all these issues.”
“Okay, but we still haven’t figured out how to get them there,” Lucas reminded them. “This feels like we keep going around in circles and nothing is getting accomplished. There needs to be a way that guarantees that they are going to come home for the party without any plus-ones.”
Anna shuddered. “Ew, please. I can’t even think about Mom bringing home some shiny young guy. That’s just…” Another shudder.
“And Dad showing up with someone younger than us who teaches Pilates is just gross,” Kat added. “I mean…he needs to act his age.”
“Right. Because you never see rich older guys with younger women,” Anna said sarcastically. “Be real.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Lucas forced himself to stay calm. “And when we get them home and we sit down to dinner, then what? And if they don’t change their minds?”
“Oh, um…we can try guilting them,” Anna suggested. “You know, use the grandkids and we can say how sad they’ll be.”
“No. They’ll counter with how the kids will be even more spoiled because they’ll have two houses to go to for the holidays.
Double the gifts.” Kat looked at Lucas. “Although I don’t know what you’re going to bring to the discussion, except maybe telling them they won’t be invited to your wedding because you don’t want their new young playthings to come. ”
“I’m not getting married anytime soon, so that’s not going to help anything,” he said wearily. “And can you please be serious?”
“I am! We’ve all been waiting for you to get serious with someone, and now you are. I say let’s use it to our advantage! And obviously Holly’s emotionally invested in this whole thing, so she could totally play it up like the two of you are eager to get married or something!”
“I’m not asking Holly to do anything like that. She knows Mom and Dad and she likes them; there’s no way she’s going to lie to them.”
“Well that’s a bummer,” Anna murmured. “Okay, so…what if we just send them each an invitation—like a big formal one—and you attach some pictures of the house all done up, and we take it from there? We can’t force either of them to get on a plane, but I can’t imagine them staying away if they know their annual party is happening without them. ”
It wasn’t the worst idea.
He let out a long breath. “I think that’s the most logical solution. Obviously there’s no way of predicting how it’s going to go, but we’re just going to have to make sure we’re all on the same page when the time comes and do our best to get them to talk like logical adults.”
“And if they don’t?” Kat asked.
“Then at least know we tried,” he said. “And we gave them one last holiday party where they remembered who they were before everything got hard.”
Anna slowly nodded, the fight leaving her shoulders. “Alright. Let’s make it happen. One more party. One more family dinner. What weekend are you doing it?”
“It’s Saturday the twentieth. If you can both get in on Friday, that would be great. Holly and I will have everything set and ready to go. Just pretend it’s exactly like Mom would have done it.”
They both grinned. “Yeah, but it won’t be because you couldn’t get Mom’s people,” Kat reminded him.
“I know, but it will be close. Trust me. Things are coming along better than I thought, even without Mom’s people. Holly making sure of it.”
“Whatever it is, it’s going to be great. Even if Mom and Dad don’t appreciate it, we all know how much work you put into it, Lucas. So…thank you,” Anna quietly said.
They all looked at each other, a quiet understanding settling between them.
It wouldn’t be perfect. It might not even work. But it was worth it. For them. For the family.
For Christmas.
“Okay, I’ll talk to you both soon,” he said. “And thanks for this.” When they hung up a few minutes later, he felt mentally drained.
And thirsty.
Standing, he stretched and headed out of his office to the break room. No one was in there, but there was a Christmas tree set up in the corner, making him smile. Clearly the ones he ordered arrived and Holly made sure they got set up.
Grabbing a bottle of water, he walked over and studied the tree.
It wasn’t awful, but it was a far cry from the ones they usually had.
But then he reminded himself of how depressing it would have been if nothing had been done around here to commemorate the holidays.
So, whether it was a designer tree or bought online, something was here to make people smile a little.
Like me.
“Hey, you’re done with your call!”
Turning, he saw Holly walking toward him, and for some reason, he felt compelled to go and wrap her in his arms and simply hold her.
So he did.
She didn’t question it; she didn’t ask for details about the call. She simply held on, wrapping her arms around him and giving him the comfort he desperately needed.
He knew they’d talk about it later, but right now, this was exactly where he wanted to be.