Chapter 15
Devon
The next day was Christmas. It felt wonderful to wake up with Kit, but there was no chance of lingering in bed this morning. He was bursting with anticipation, not for the presents that were waiting for him, but for the one he was dying to give me.
He tumbled out of bed and retrieved a gift bag from its hiding place in his suitcase. “I can’t wait another minute,” he said. “Open it.”
The bag contained an antique doll-sized suitcase, maybe four inches by six, made to look like it was covered in travel stickers. It was a treasure in its own right, but Kit told me the actual gifts were inside.
“It’s stuff I’ve been collecting for you during our road trip,” he explained.
It was full of tiny wonders, including a half-inch long pinecone, a small feather, a pretty stone, a shell, and a pair of vintage earrings, among other things.
I exchanged my usual silver hoops for the oval studs and asked, “How do they look?”
“Perfect. They made me think of you because the stone matches your eyes.” They were mossy green with tiny flecks of brown and gold.
“It’s called aventurine, but I misread it as ‘adventurine’ at first, which seemed to fit you.
The woman at the antique shop in New Orleans told me the stone is known for bringing luck, if you’re into that sort of thing. ”
“I love them. And these are adorable.” I pulled two tiny stick figures from the box.
Each was about an inch high. Their heads were miniscule paper cylinders with tiny eyes and smiles drawn on them, their hair dots of wool, and their clothes were made by wrapping their wire limbs and bodies with different colors of thread.
“I made those for you when we were staying with Hal and Ryder. They’re called worry dolls.
I had some when I was a kid. The idea is that you tell them whatever you’re worried about, and then they carry it so you don’t have to.
” He grinned and added, “They’re supposed to look like you and me, but they both ended up looking like those inflatable dancing tube guys outside of auto dealerships.
” Kit waved his arms and bobbed up and down to show me what he meant.
“I think they’re wonderful.”
“I know it’s not much,” he said, as he lowered his gaze. “But you’re not really into ‘stuff,’ and I wanted to give you a gift you could carry in your backpack. There’s something from all the places we’ve stayed so far. The fortune cookie fortune is from when we had takeout with my dad.”
I read it and grinned. The slip of paper said: You will find love when you least expect it. “When you’re right, you’re right.”
“I asked Belinda for something I could include from here, and she gave me that single cufflink. It belonged to your dad. She said the other one was lost a long time ago, but she could never make herself get rid of it, even though it didn’t have much use without its mate.”
I ran a fingertip over the silver cufflink, which was inlaid with a smooth, deep black square of onyx. “All of this is amazing, and incredibly thoughtful. Thank you, Kit.”
“Do you really like it?”
I gave him a hug and said, “I absolutely love it. It’s perfect.”
“Oh, good. I really hoped it would make you happy.” It did that and more. I was deeply touched by it.
I pulled my backpack onto the bed and took out part of his gift as I said, “I hope you like what I got you.” I handed him a small, red envelope and watched as he pulled out eight iridescent, jewel-toned fabric swatches, each of them two inches square.
He murmured, “Pretty,” as he ran the fabrics between his fingertips.
“Do they look familiar?”
“Kind of, but I don’t know why.”
“When we were in Austin, we walked past a fabric shop that wasn’t open. You plastered yourself to the glass, raved about the beautiful silk fabrics in the window display, and talked about all the things you’d love to make with them.”
He looked up at me with surprise as I continued, “I called the shop later that day and ordered a full bolt of every color. They were shipped to the pink Victorian in San Francisco, and the swatches were included with my receipt. It was sent here, since this is where I get all my mail.”
Kit threw his arms around me. “That’s an incredible gift, Devon! Thank you so much.”
“It’s my way of saying I believe in you and your talent. I know you’ll make wonderful things with that material.”
“I’m going to have the best time with it! I already have a ton of ideas.”
I pulled a fabric-covered notebook from the backpack and handed it to him. “Here’s a new sketchbook for all of those ideas. Your old one is almost full.”
“It’s too pretty to use!”
“Please use it anyway. And there’s one last thing.
I’m terrible about wrapping presents, by the way.
” I took his hand and slipped a silver ring onto his index finger.
It was made to look like delicate branches and the tiniest leaves, wrapping around several times to form a lacy band.
“I spotted it in an antique shop in New Orleans, when I went out to get us coffee. I wanted you to have it because it’s ethereally beautiful, like you. ”
He straddled my lap, throwing his arms around my shoulders as he whispered, “I love it. I’ve never seen a more beautiful ring.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Was it the antique shop with the wooden cat in the window, around the corner from our hotel?”
“Yeah, it was. How did you know?”
He sat up and smiled at me. “That shop was really special. It’s where I found your earrings.”
I kissed him and said, “Merry Christmas, Kit.”
“This is already the best Christmas ever.” I nodded in agreement, and he asked, “Do you think Belinda and Ed are up yet?”
“Let’s get dressed and go find out.”
Sure enough, the two of them had gotten up early and done their own gift exchange, just like we had.
They were waiting for us in the family room—the most casual and comfortable room in the house.
It had a huge fireplace with a fire burning brightly, two walls of bookshelves, a round table by the window for board games, and two comfortable plaid sofas bracketing a big coffee table.
It was also the location of the “real” Christmas tree, the one with all the sentimental ornaments we’d collected over the years, as opposed to the fancy designer trees dotted around the house.
I was happy when I discovered they’d gotten as much for Kit as they had for me.
This included a trio of very nice cashmere sweaters, warm boots, gloves, and high-end ski jackets.
Apparently they didn’t trust our winter coats to keep us from freezing—and I didn’t point out that we’d be going home to much warmer California after this. It was still a kind gesture.
The next gifts we opened were boxes of fancy chocolates for both of us, and a drawing tablet for Kit. “It’s for your sketches,” Mom explained. “That way, you can keep all your designs in one place, try out different colors, and make changes on the fly.”
Ed added, “We don’t know much about this kind of thing, but it’s what the guy at the electronics store recommended when we told them our son’s boyfriend is a fashion designer.”
Kit seemed overwhelmed. “It’s perfect. Thank you! I don’t even know what to say.”
My mom beamed at him. “You don’t need to say anything, sweetie. We just want you to be happy.”
“All of these gifts are wonderful,” I said. “Thank you so much.”
“There’s actually one more.” Ed produced a small gold box from the end table drawer and handed it to me.
By the size and shape, it looked like it might contain a piece of jewelry. I was confused when I removed the lid and revealed a set of keys. But then I noticed the familiar silver keychain, which was shaped like a fish, and asked, “Are these the keys to the cabin?”
Ed nodded as he watched me with a hopeful expression.
“Your mom and I never go up there anymore, and you always loved it, so we’re giving it to you.
We transferred the deed to your name, and your lawyer took care of the details.
I’ve been paying a caretaker to look after it, so I set up an earmarked account to cover his salary, the annual property taxes, and any extra upkeep that might be needed at some point.
You shouldn’t have anything to worry about. ”
I whispered, “I don’t know what to say.” It was a wonderful gift, but what was I supposed to do with it now, with so little time left?
“If you decide you don’t want it, easy peasy,” Ed said. “Just call my assistant. He’ll arrange to have it sold, and he’ll distribute the profits any way you want. Your mom and I promise we won’t be offended if you go that route.”
“I really do love the cabin,” I murmured. “I have a lot of great memories of the time we spent there, and it’s in such a gorgeous setting.”
Ed nodded enthusiastically. “Exactly! That’s why we wanted to give it to you, instead of selling it.”
I got up and hugged him and my mom in turn. “Thank you both. This was incredibly generous of you.”
Kit hugged them too before grabbing me in an embrace and saying, “All of you have made this Christmas so special. Thank you again.” I kissed his forehead, and he asked, “Out of curiosity, where’s this cabin located?”
“It’s about four hours north of here in upstate New York, a little way past Sleepy Hollow.”
He looked surprised. “That’s a real place? Like in the scary story?”
“It is.”
“I had no idea.” Kit looked up at me and asked, “Can we go there? I know you mentioned going to New York City next, so maybe after that?”
Why not? It wasn’t like I’d planned that far ahead. “Sure. There might even be snow. If so, our new winter gear will come in handy.” Mom and Ed both grinned. Maybe that’d been exactly what they had in mind with all those warm clothes.
And Kit looked delighted. The snowfall yesterday had melted within minutes, so he’d missed out on his snowman. This might make up for it.