Chapter Six
“Iwanted this Christmas to be different,” Celeste said, watching the snow-covered scenery fly past the passenger-side window. “This isn’t quite what I had in mind.”
“You also wanted to go back to Christmases when you were younger. Spending the season near a university campus ought to do that.”
She smiled weakly at his attempt at humor. They were both concerned about Kristina. The eight-hour drive to be with her had given them ample opportunity to worry even more.
“She sounded more like herself when I called her from the rest stop a few hours ago.” Celeste was reminding herself just as much as she was telling him. “I don’t think she’s as worried as we are.”
Mike nodded, keeping his eyes on the road ahead. “We might get there and find out we are overreacting, but I’d rather know that for sure.”
“So would I.” She turned in her seat enough to look at him rather than her window.
What would she have done without Mike? He’d been her rock through all of this, just as he had in other difficult times over the past years.
He’d even found a hotel with suites: a living room and kitchen with a bedroom on either side.
They could comfortably stay there until all was well with Kristina again.
“Thank you again for doing this,” she said.
“For protecting my little girl?” He tossed her a smile. “There was never any question.”
“But I’m sure you meant to spend some time during the holidays with your boys. They aren’t too far from home.” Unlike her kids, who all had moved hours and hours away.
“Brad and Connor think of Kristina as a little sister. When I told them why I was going to be gone, they were not only supportive, but also offered to come pound the creep themselves.”
Celeste adjusted the heating vent so it blew more directly on her. “I hope this turns out to be nothing more than a young man who doesn’t understand social cues.”
“So do I.” His tone was tight, as was his mouth. Mike sounded like he’d enjoy doing a little pounding himself.
“Maybe we can find an Indian food place near the hotel and try our dinner date again.” She normally would have objected to his use of the word date, but having spent the night before their trip to Curry MacMurray writhing in jealousy over Amy from accounting— jealousy which turned out to be entirely unwarranted— she’d instead been excited to hear him call their dinner exactly that.
“Date?” He shot her a quick confused glance.
Nervousness clutched her heart. “That’s what you called it.” Could he hear the uncertainty in her voice? She’d been avoiding anything resembling a relationship with Mike for so long, but now, having crossed that line, even in such a small way, felt like a huge risk.
“Yes, but I also came to your house dressed in a trench coat that didn't fit me, so my judgment is maybe not the best. I only questioned the word because I wanted to make certain you thought of it that way too, that I didn’t misunderstand.”
“Ah.”
He glanced at her for the briefest of moments. “Was it? A date, I mean? We’ve never called any of our time together an actual date.”
“Would it be so bad if it was?” She hoped not.
He shook his head. “Not bad at all.”
“I should probably warn you,” she said. “I have the world’s worst dating track record. Every attempt ends in disaster.”
He shrugged. “And I have no track record. I can count on one hand the number of dates I’ve been on in the past twenty years.”
“What could possibly go wrong?” she said with a smile.
Mike pulled the car into the parking lot of Kristina’s apartment complex.
They found only one visitor parking spot; school wouldn’t officially be out for a couple of days.
The sidewalks had been shoveled but needed to be salted.
Celeste walked carefully up toward Kristina’s door with Mike close on her heels.
A patch of ice caught her off guard. As her foot slid out from under her, Mike reached out and steadied her. He always did seem to be there when she needed him. That was something a woman didn’t always find out about a man until it was too late.
A young woman, probably right around Kristina’s age, opened the door when Celeste knocked. “Hey, Kris!” she called back into the apartment. “Your mom and dad are here.”
Celeste tried to explain, but the girl had already moved back inside, leaving the door open.
“It’s probably simpler just to leave it be,” Mike said. “We won’t be staying here anyway.”
And, when it came down to it, Mike was like a father to Kristina.
They stepped inside. Kristina was there in the next instant, her arms around Celeste. “I’m so glad you came.”
“So am I, hon.”
“But it was so far to drive.”
Mike put his arm around Kristina, making something of a sandwich out of the three of them. “Worth every mile, kiddo.”
“Have you checked into your hotel?” Kristina asked.
Celeste held her daughter even more tightly. “Not yet. We wanted to see you first.”
“Do you mind if I hang out with you guys tonight?”
“Not at all,” Mike said.
Kristina hurried into a bedroom and came back with a duffel bag. She held it up with a shrug. “Mom said there’s a living room. I’ll crash on the couch.”
All the way to the hotel, a full ten minutes, Kristina talked about Econ boy, whose name was Jim, and how she saw him all over campus.
He had asked her out repeatedly, growing more insistent each time.
Kristina said she’d been very clear in her refusal and had specifically told him to stop asking, but he hadn’t.
While Celeste couldn’t say for certain that it was a dangerous situation, it was clearly a case of harassment, and that warranted addressing.
Mike left them in the car and hopped out to check them into the hotel.
“How is your holiday bet going?” Kristina asked when they were alone.
“That’s not really important right now.” Celeste hadn’t thought of it since they’d begun planning this last-minute trip the day before. They hadn’t bothered with the movie on the projector, focusing instead on finding hotels and trying to make arrangements for some time off.
“Of course it’s important.” Kristina sounded annoyed; the dim parking-lot lighting made seeing her expression difficult at best. “You were going to spend Christmas with Mike.”
“I always spend Christmas with him.”
“I don’t mean having him over for coffee and cookies, Mom. Hours and hours together. Dates, maybe.”
Celeste pushed down the bubble of anticipation that created. “We did have a date last night.”
“A real one?” Kristina’s tone couldn’t have been more enthusiastic.
“We had Indian food, at a restaurant, at our own table for two.”
“Mom!”
Celeste held her hand up. “Don’t get too excited. It wasn’t romantic, just friendly.”
“You two have always been friendly. When are you going to get to the kissing part? I’ve been waiting for years.”
Mike was walking back to the car.
“Don’t say that when he’s here,” Celeste said.
“I won’t have to. He’s been thinking about it for years. I guarantee it.”
Celeste hadn’t blushed since she was a teenager, but she was almost certain she was blushing right then.
Mike pulled the door open and leaned inside. “We’re all checked in, ladies. Let’s get our luggage taken up, and then we can go get something to eat.”
“I can stay here if you want,” Kristina said, “then you two can have another dinner date.”
Celeste ought to have known Kristina would jump right on this topic. Any of the kids would have. The only thing they liked more than Mike was giving their mother a hard time.
“Don’t sweat it, kid. You interrupted last night’s date too.” He motioned them out. “Let’s get our stuff in.”
They stepped out of the car and pulled the luggage from the trunk.
“Do I get to go along as chaperone?” Kristina asked. “Maybe sit between you guys in a booth or something?”
If she hadn’t been wholeheartedly relieved to see for herself that Kristina was doing well, Celeste likely would have been very annoyed at her daughter’s teasing. She shot Mike a look of mingled apology and amusement, hoping to mask her own embarrassment. “I’m thinking we should order in.”
Mike walked with her through the hotel doors. “Chinese?” he suggested. “I know you both like it.”
“Sounds good.”
Kristina kept up her teasing as they unpacked, while they waited for the delivery guy, and all through dinner. Celeste was actually relieved when Kristina asked if she could use the desk in the bedroom Celeste had claimed as her own to study for her finals the next day.
The moment she and Mike were alone again, she launched into a much-needed apology. “I shouldn’t have told her we had a date last night. She probably won’t ever let up.”
Mike laughed. “I’m just glad to see she’s her usual, goofy self. If we’d come here and she was somber and anxious, I would be worrying a whole lot more.”
“So would I.” She sat on the sofa next to him. “What do we do now?”
“About what? The creepy guy or Kristina’s offer to chaperone?”
Celeste dropped her head into her upturned hand. “This could be a long trip.”
Mike leaned back, slouching a little. “She’s always been a goofball. I love that about her.”
“Even when her goofiness is directed at you?”
He gave her a knowing look. “I’m just hoping she never hears about the Neo coat.”
Oh, it felt good to laugh.
Mike put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to him. She didn’t resist; she didn’t want to. Having him nearby during the difficulties of the last few weeks had reminded her what a source of strength he was.
“After we get her down to campus for her finals, I’ll go talk to the campus police, see what they’ve figured out and what they suggest we do.
” Mike adjusted his position and Celeste found that she fit perfectly beside him.
“I’m thinking you ought to go talk to the Title IX office, though.
Sometimes having an attorney involved, even if that attorney is there as a mother, can get things done faster than anything else. ”
He was probably right.