9. Let It Snow
LET IT SNOW
K andi
After the disastrous road trip, searching for a place to stay, getting to know his family, searching for and decorating a tree, and then the food fight and subsequent cleanup last night, I was exhausted.
Kayn and I didn’t get to bed until around two this morning.
I couldn’t believe that he had such playfulness in him.
When he had first tossed a handful of flour at me, I was bewildered.
But when he followed it up with a ball of cookie dough, the fight was on.
I saw another side of Kayn last night that I never thought I would and I only hoped he would continue to show after we returned home.
His aunt and uncle had come into the kitchen to figure out what all the raucous laughter and noise was about.
I was scared, and we both froze, knowing that we would be in trouble.
But they had burst out laughing, shook their heads, and turned to leave. Kayn’s aunt had hollered out, “Y’all better clean my kitchen before you leave it; that’s all I know.”
We looked at each other, laughed, and finished the fight before we proceeded to clean the kitchen. By the time we finished cleaning, the cookies were done, and we served some to everyone.
I noticed that when I asked questions about his younger pictures, Kayn had disappeared. His aunt hadn’t explained the shift in energy. Instead, she simply patted my hand, stated, “I don’t have those,” and then turned her attention to her neighbors, whom she had introduced me to.
I stretched and yawned. I knew that we had to get an early start if we wanted to be on the road in time for his business meeting this morning.
It would be difficult because although I was ready to get back home to my family, I wasn’t ready for this time with Kayn to end.
I wanted to hold on to the man I had come to know in the last twelve hours.
I sat up in bed to see if he was still lying on the floor where he had made a pallet, but he wasn’t there. I sighed and climbed out of bed. I headed into the bathroom and washed my face just as I heard the bedroom door opening.
“Good morning,” I called.
“Hope you feel that way after I tell you the news,” he grumbled.
That sounded like the old Kayn. My heart dropped, and I wondered what news it was because he was back to business as usual.
“What news?” I asked, stepping from the bathroom and squeezing toothpaste onto my toothbrush.
“There’s been a blizzard. The weather is worse, and we’re not going anywhere.”
I rushed to the windows and pulled the curtains back.
My heart sank at the sight of mounds of snow.
I identified most of the shapes as cars and trees.
Where stately, festively decorated mailboxes had stood were nothing more than banks of snow.
There was no way that anyone would be going anywhere in this.
“All this snow in the last few hours?” I yawned.
“Yeah, while we were sleeping. Uncle JR and I just got back from walking Main Street to see how bad the damage was. We went down to where we left Kyle’s car parked, and it was completely snowed under.
We were able to dig away enough snow to open the trunk, but it took almost an hour just to do that.
We brought back the rest of our luggage. ”
“There’s no way that we’ll be getting out of here today then, is there?” I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice, but the look on his face said I failed miserably.
“No. The weather reports are stating that there’s another round expected by this evening. We’re looking at another day or two here tops before we can find our way out, Kandi. I’m sorry,” he apologized.
“Well, I guess I better get on the phone and see what I can do about rescheduling your meeting.”
“No need. The one in Atlanta has been taken care of already. They’re obviously dealing with the same problem. Carey Carnes’ secretary sent an email last night that we missed. She was informing us that today’s meeting will be virtual a little later this morning.”
I could tell by the tone of his voice that he didn’t like that we had missed the email. Kayn hated missing anything, and he was usually punctual about everything. I knew he had to be thinking about all the things we were doing last night. I hoped he didn’t regret it.
“I’ve got to get ready for it,” he grumbled, pulling his fingers through his beard.
I frowned as I headed back into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I turned the water on and looked at Kayn’s reflection in the mirror. “Aren’t they the same ones who were adamant that the meeting had to be in person in the first place?”
“They were, but they really want this contract done badly so they can get out of the red and start over with a new investment. When people need your money that desperately, they’ll make anything work.
I’ll be on the phone with them in a little over an hour.
Tim will be joining the call, and so will Sheridan,” Kayn stated of our COO, Tim McBride, and Sheridan Parsley, our director of ops.
I felt bad that I hadn’t been on that in advance.
I knew there was a possibility of us running into more bad weather.
I should have proposed moving the meeting back or insisted once again that we hold a virtual meeting.
The last thing I needed was to lose this job because of incompetence.
There were many things that I still needed to learn in this new position, and while others bragged about my work values and ethics, Kayn had not said one thing about how I was working out for him.
I brushed my teeth and glanced up to see him still staring at me in the mirror. He wore a thoughtful expression, and I wondered what was on his mind. I didn’t have to wonder for long because he spoke up.
“Listen, I know that you’re not happy about all this.
Hell, I’m not. Though we had our different reasons, we both needed this trip to be over with as soon as possible.
Any time that I’m away is costing me money.
I know that you want to be back with your family as soon as possible, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make that happen.
Until then, though, I can arrange for someone to give you a tour of the town today after the meeting. ”
I spit my toothpaste out and then began to rinse.
“I mean,” he continued, “since you’ve got nothing else to do, and you’ve never seen a real-life Christmas town.”
I grabbed a hand towel and wiped my mouth before turning around to face him.
None of that would make up for missing my family, especially not at a time that was meaningful to us, but I was grateful that he was at least trying.
I couldn’t ask for more. Although I didn’t feel it in my heart, I plastered a smile on and replied, “That sounds great, but why can’t you give me the tour? ”
He frowned. “Does it matter who does it?”
Crossing my arms over my breasts, I replied. “Yes, it does. I want my husband to give it to me, not a bunch of strangers.”
His face twisted in discomfort before he cleared his throat and asked, “Give what to you?”
“The tour. Isn’t that what we were talking about?”
What the hell was he thinking?
“Oh, uhm, yeah, . . . I’m sure my aunt would love to.”
“As much as I like your aunt, I want you to do it. Besides, I’m sure they’re expecting us to be spending a lot of quality time together.”
Kayn inhaled deeply, held it, and exhaled slowly as his gaze narrowed on me.
“You’re really milking this.”
Smiling sweetly at him, I shook my head. “No. I’m just earning my bonus,” I whispered.
“Fine. Go ahead and get dressed. Meet me downstairs in about fifteen minutes for breakfast. We’ll go on the tour after my meeting.”
“What time is it?” I asked, realizing I hadn’t even once looked at my phone.
“A few minutes after eight.”
I moved toward my luggage and replied, “Okay.”
“This is so pretty. It’s life-sized too.”
“And handcrafted. This Nativity Scene has been put up every year since I was a kid. I recall the first time that it was put out. Old Craig Merchant was the one who built it, and he was so proud of it. Everyone in town gathered around to watch him put every piece where it needed to go. I remember when it was all in place. Man, everyone went crazy, shouting and clapping, and some people were crying. Then, the next morning, everyone was up in arms. Baby Jesus had been stolen from his manger.”
He chuckled and shook his head. We stood outside of Mount Sinai Baptist Church, looking at the Nativity Scene. It was just one stop on the town tour that he had given me.
“Oh no. Did you all ever recover it?”
“Yes, we did.”
“Who was the culprit? Did they get in trouble?”
“No. It was four-year-old Andrea Sprewell. Apparently, the choir had a rehearsal after the celebration. Well, her mother was the choir director. Andrea always wandered around the church but always returned to her mother. She marched herself right out here to this manger, picked up Baby Jesus, and placed him in the little crib in the children’s nursery play area.
She had removed the baby doll that was already in there and laid it on the table. ”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I giggled so hard. “How did they find Him?”
“When the nursery schoolteacher arrived later that day to pick up some things she’d left behind, she saw the baby on the table.
She went to place the baby doll back in the crib, and that’s when she found Baby Jesus.
Andrea’s mother immediately asked her about it when she heard about it, and she confessed that she thought Baby Jesus would be happier out of the cold and inside in a bed with warm blankets. ”
“Oh my goodness. That is too cute. Out of the mouths of babies,” I stated as we walked past the church and toward the square.
“These are beautiful memories. I can’t say that I’ve had the pleasure of having the same kind.
Living in a larger city doesn’t give you the opportunity to know everyone in town. ”
“That can be a curse as much as it’s a blessing,” he replied with a loud exhale.
“Meaning?”
He shook his head.
“If we had arrived two weeks earlier, you would have seen the lighting of our Christmas tree.”
He pointed to a large oak tree that stood in the square. It was beautifully lit with lights, handcrafted ornaments, garland, and even some ornaments that looked like children had made them.
“It’s so beautiful, Kayn.”
“This tree stands here all year long, waiting to be decorated by the townspeople. In most cities, people cut a tree down to decorate. Not Mistletoe Falls. They use what they already have available.”
We toured several more spots before heading back to his aunt and uncle’s place. I slipped on the porch, and he caught me by the elbow.
Gentle, gloved fingers reached out and fixed my hat before they tucked away a stray hair that clung to my face and lips. The front door opened, and Uncle JR pointed above our heads.
We both looked up at the mistletoe hanging over us. “Your aunt just put it up this afternoon,” Uncle JR explained.
I looked back down at Kayn as Uncle JR closed the door. I giggled, but his expression remained serious. I stared up into his eyes, and we both leaned forward.
He brushed my lips with his lips, and I leaned into the kiss. It was sweet, slow, and gentle. I didn’t want it to end, but Kayn pulled back first.
“I’m sorry, Kandi.”
My heart jumped in my throat. I didn’t want Kayn to be sorry. I wanted him to give me what I needed: another taste of him. Instead, I spoke what I hoped were reassuring words.
“No worries. It’s easy to get caught up in the spirit of the season. Thank you for this, Kayn. It was such a beautiful way to spend the day. I’ve enjoyed hearing about your memories and creating some new ones of my own.”
“I think we’d better be getting inside, li’l mama. You gon’ get me in trouble.”
A slow smile crept over his lips, and something sparkled in his eyes when he looked down at me. I hoped that maybe we could have more memory-making times in the future.