9. Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Oak
I looked at my new driver’s license, feeling choked up for two different reasons. One, I was letting go of my birth family in a way that still didn’t feel real, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to have a relationship with them, and I didn’t want to be marked as theirs in name anymore. Two, I finally had a name that I loved, because the people whose name it was loved me. Unconditionally.
To think that it was my mother’s family name. That she’d had this, what I had now, one day, and now she was such a different person. Oak Mulligan , not Oakley Young . Never again. I smiled through the tears.
For once, I didn’t have any music on while I’d been cleaning my cabin—because I clearly didn’t get enough of cleaning at work—so I heard someone talking to Cricket outside. I peered carefully out of the window and saw that it was Law.
I couldn’t help myself; I snuck out and… yeah. So it turns out I had a crush on the man. I felt like hanging my head and kicking myself, but at least it was a harmless one? Nothing could ever come from it and I needed to keep my crush under the wraps, but at the same time, I was kind of… excited?
I hadn’t had a crush in ages. Not since college, and I felt that jittery, hopeful feeling as I watched Law walk away.
Blue yarn. Right. I was pretty sure I had some left. I’d need to get more, but I was pretty sure I could get started right after I finished cleaning my place.
The next day, on Christmas Eve, we had the big extended family party thing in the Inn’s dining room. We would have a Secret Santa—I’d gotten Felix in the draw and had pondered over his present for a couple of days, until it hit me, and now I thought maybe I’d gotten it really right. Besides, I could use the situation to my advantage and flirt with Felix some more. Not because I was serious about it, but because it was fun, and I certainly couldn’t flirt with Law.
All the adults had agreed that if someone wanted to get the kids something, they could, so I’d made each of them a little crocheted plushie. The little amigurumi things were far from perfect, but I didn’t mind, and I knew the kids wouldn’t, either.
There’d be a dinner, of course, and Dana, Grams, and Regan had basically told everyone to buzz off when we’d dared to ask if we could make something. The terrifying kitchen trio was on it, apparently.
I’d gotten myself a nice button up shirt in this burnt orange that made my eyes pop like whoa. I paired it with my black skinny jeans and did my hair just so. Part of me really wanted to pull out the eyeliner I had hidden in my toiletry kit, but in the end, I just painted my nails black and called it a day.
I knew I wouldn’t be judged for eyeliner or hell, even makeup, but I also knew I wouldn’t be able to relax if I had it on. Tonight wasn’t for experiments; it was for feeling safe and loved.
That said, I put my driver’s license into my pocket so I could show it to my grandparents. Uncle Teague and Charlie knew I’d been planning it, as did Aunt Regan, but I had decided to tell Grams and Gramps at the party as sort of a present for them. I don’t know. Maybe it was silly? It felt meaningful though.
I bundled up and left my cabin, just to be intercepted by the kids. Harper was clearly herding the others, and Cricket was there to help her.
“Merry Christmas, Oak!” Tristan yelled and tried to bowl me over.
I hugged him. “Merry Christmas, buddy.”
“Mom and Dad are helping Santa,” Harper explained the lack of parents.
“Oh, well that’s important stuff for sure. Are you going to the Inn?”
“Yup, Cricket is watching us,” Marlie replied confidently and beamed at the dog in a way I’d never seen her beam at a human.
“Excellent, I’m on my way there as well.”
We continued our walk, with Harper scolding her brother on occasion when he got too distracted and tried to jump into piles of snow or start making snowballs. Apparently he was not to do those things to keep his clothes dry and clean.
I had my backpack on, my presents for the kiddos and Felix inside, so I couldn’t even offer him a piggyback ride to calm him down. The boy was practically vibrating with Christmas energy, and frankly? I remembered being like that as a little kid, too.
We got to the highest part of the road before the decline into the parking lot, and I saw Charlie and Uncle Teague coming toward us, likely to gather the kids.
“Uncle Charlie!” Tristan screamed, running to them.
“Uncle Teague!” I yelled just as loud, making the girls giggle like mad and Uncle Teague crack up.
We soon caught up with them, and walked together to the Inn. Cricket turned back, likely to go escort Law and Caitlyn once they were ready.
As soon as we were inside, Charlie made sure the kids shed their winter clothing in one spot instead of all over the place. I had a feeling there was a reason for that rule and its name probably started with T.
I went to the office to say hi to Salem and Steve, who was babysitting the kitten. As long as he had someone to hang out with, Salem seemed good with staying in his crate. I think that was a whole thing with confinement; the right company made all the difference.
I sat on the floor next to the crate, petting Salem through the bars for a while. I heard the front door open and close, and people arriving. Nobody could see me in my spot, so I enjoyed the peace for a while.
The shrieks from the kids were loud and made me smile sadly. I missed my siblings. Of course the Christmases in my childhood home had changed over time when we all grew up, but my youngest sibling, Rudy, was still only ten. Not that it had prevented him from being a total kiss ass good boy when he’d gotten hold of my phone and seen texts between me and a guy I’d been dating at college.
I missed him too. That was the kicker. My sigh made Steve lift his giant head and give me this look I’d realized was his “do I need to support animal you?” expression. I smiled at him, and he put his head back on his paws.
Eventually I knew I couldn’t hide any longer, in fact, I’d heard my name mentioned already, I was pretty sure. It had been my grandma, and I didn’t want to disappoint her.
I grabbed my backpack and told the fur kids bye, then stepped into the lobby. I could do this. These people were my family, after all.
The dining room double doors were open, and just as I was stepping through, Law was coming out.
“Stop!” My grandmother shrieked.
I nearly stumbled into a halt, the only thing keeping me upright were Law’s reflexes. Must’ve been the dad in him.
“Mistletoe!” Tristan yelled gleefully, pointing over my head.
I slowly turned to look up, horrified at the realization. Law’s eyes widened, too, as his gaze met mine.
“Don’t worry, boys; it’s just for hugs,” Grams said, laughing a little. “It’s not for the other reason.”
“’S not for kissing,” Tristan provided helpfully.
I rolled my eyes. “Fine.” Then I looked back at Law, who gave me this grin.
“Well?” he asked, opening his arms.
I sighed, trying to sound put out while my heart picked up speed. I stepped into him, feeling his arms go around me.
Within a second, tension leached out of me as if someone turned a valve, and I might’ve flopped onto the floor if Law hadn’t been squeezing me. The feeling of safety that washed over me was intoxicating, and I made a little sound I wasn’t proud of.
Law slowly let go, so I had to scramble to do the same. I turned to Grams and Tristan. “You happy now?”
They high fived each other and I rolled my eyes again. Those two would be so much trouble.
“They’re going to be trouble, aren’t they?” Law echoed my thoughts quietly, smiling and shaking his head.
“Oh yeah. Welcome to the Mulligan way, I guess.” I grinned, but I couldn’t quite meet his gaze.
Instead, I awkwardly searched for familiar faces in our little crowd, and went to Loreena and Felix. They had commandeered a table by the window, and Felix had a little step stool in front of him, resting his leg on it.
“Bad pain day?” I made an educated guess, grimacing a little.
He lifted his hand, palm down, and did the so-so motion.
“Loreena?” Grams called from the kitchen doorway.
“Will you excuse me, gents,” she said and bustled away.
“I feel like the female population of this crowd would be capable of taking over the country, if not the world,” Felix mused as he watched Harper steer Tristan away from the decorations he was trying to touch and Nic making Gramps laugh his butt off about something she’d said by the bar.
I hummed. “I’m not gonna argue that. Add Aunt Regan and they’ll do it with pastries. Not that they’re a lady but, you know.”
Felix smiled a little, then glanced at the door. Law was walking in with Uncle Teague.
“So, that was some hug,” Felix said quietly, then raised a brow at me in a way that told me he was teasing.
“Shut up.”
“I didn’t even say anything!” He took a sip of his bottle of beer and smirked.
“You didn’t need to, you meanie.”
“What’s my bestie doing now?” Uncle Teague asked as he and Law joined us.
“I was just telling Oak how I’m sure he won’t be getting any presents this year, given what I heard him singing while working the other day when I came by to drop off some paintings for the rooms.”
“Oh, tell us more?” Uncle Teague asked, immediately interested in material to tease me with.
“Hey, we don’t talk about that,” I told Felix. And blushed. Because of course I did.
Law snickered. “Oh really?! Now I’ve got to know.”
“Sadly, I can’t.” Felix made a zipping motion over his lips. Then he smirked. “Not because I want to keep his secret, but because there are minors and elderly people around. We wouldn’t want to cause a commotion.”
I gave him the evil eye. “Screw you.”
“We’ve already established that the age difference is too big,” he replied loftily, but we could see he was trying not to laugh.
“Oh please don’t joke about that,” Uncle Teague whined. “That’s… disturbing.”
“Oak? Can you come here for a bit?” Charlie called from across the room, and I bolted.
Saved by the best friend.
An hour and a half later, we were all full and merry. The kids were playing with the presents they’d gotten from us adults.
When it was my turn to give them the little stuffies, I’d been nervous. I shouldn’t have been; they adored them. I’d naturally made Marlie a dog that was supposed to be a corgi but the dimensions weren’t quite correct, Tristan got a big carrot for his favorite stuffed toy bunny who was called Carrot, and for Harper, I’d made a toadstool with a happy little face, with one eye a bit lower than the other. Like I’d hoped, the imperfections didn’t matter in the least. They all loved their presents and I had been squeezed to the point of feeling bruised, if only mentally.
While they played, all twelve adults that were present gathered around some of the tables to do our little Secret Santa.
I was nervous, suddenly. “Can I start?” I blurted out, then blushed a little when everyone looked at me.
“Of course, sweetheart,” Grams, who seemed like the mistress of ceremonies, said in a magnanimous tone that was probably partially because of the alcoholic mulled wine she’d been drinking.
“Okay. How are we doing this?” I asked as I picked up the little package from my backpack.
“How about you give your present, and then whomever drew your name will give you theirs, and so on?” Charlie suggested.
I nodded quickly. “Okay.” That sounded better than okay, because it would take the attention off me really quickly. “So, I drew….” I started, and as though we’d planned it, Uncle Teague did a little drumroll on the tabletop with his fingers, making some glasses rattle a little. Grinning, I gave him a thumbs up and handed my present to... “Felix!”
He smiled at me, accepting the small, slender present in a non-denominational wrapping paper I’d used just because. He opened it curiously, and pulled out a long, crocheted bookmark in the gay flag colors.
“Oh, Oak,” he said, the words coming out in an exhale. He lifted his gaze to meet mine and I could see how touched he was. “Thank you.”
“That’s a lovely present,” Loreena said, and everyone echoed her. Then she pulled a big, old looking tin from her gigantic handbag and handed it to me. “Merry Christmas, Oak.”
Taken aback, I let out a startled laugh, then took the tin from her. It had an old-timey nature scene painted on top, with some faded gold colored filigree framing it. As I opened it, the lid stuck a bit, but as soon as I lifted it, I gasped.
There were countless little balls of yarn inside. They were perfect for practicing my amigurumi when I didn’t want to use any of my good yarn or just wanted to make something silly and colorful. Like those bookmarks.
“Where did you…?” I asked, choking up.
“Well, your grandma helped, but we’re not the only knitters and crocheters in town. I asked around, and you wouldn’t believe how many leftover bits of yarn a handful of ladies will have.” She smiled at me.
“This is wonderful!” I would’ve gone to hug her if there’d been room to get out of my chair and to her, but we were all kind of squished together in one corner.
Instead, I reached over Felix and she squeezed my fingers.
I felt overwhelmed in a good way. At least mostly.
I think Aunt Regan knew it, because they cleared their throat and produced a very book-shaped present from somewhere, then stood so they could hand it to Loreena from where they were sitting.
Smiling, feeling the pressure of the attention lessen, I went through the balls of yarn. I felt so damn loved. Not just by everyone here, but somehow, the whole town. Even if it had been Grams and Loreena’s friends, it still meant a lot.
I snapped back into attention when Felix nudged me. “Can you hand me that box from over there?” he pointed behind me.
I gave it to him, and it turned out it was Aunt Regan’s present. He’d gotten them a vintage dough whisk that made them overjoyed and a bit teary. It was kind of cute, especially with how Nic and Dana couldn’t really hide their “aww” faces.
As I watched everyone get their presents, I really felt a peace come over me. Whether it was the Christmas spirit or just having had too much food with a big heaping of love, I didn’t know. Or care.