Chapter 50
Vivian and Kayleehad asked me to add some lights to the exterior of the house to welcome our visitors for lunch on Christmas Day. I’d never decorated my home because there had been no reason to, especially for a single guy living alone. The maple trees glowed, illuminating the wide path to the front door, which held a glowing wreathe that Kaylee had picked out. Vivian suggested I cover the bushes with lights as well. Overall, the ambiance was warm and homey—something I hadn’t felt in a long time.
Pam and Jarrett were coming over for lunch today. Last year, they’d traveled to Florida to be with his family. This year, they stayed because he’d just recovered from heart surgery and didn’t want to deal with the stress of traveling.
“Wow.” Pam glanced at the foyer as she entered the kitchen area. “It’s like a whimsical winter wonderland.”
Jarrett looked up at the dangling lights that hung from the dining room ceiling and sniffed the air. “I love the magical atmosphere, and it smells so good in here.”
“That’s because Vivian is making something delicious for us.” I placed a hand to her lower back and kissed her head.
Jarrett placed the bags of goodies they’d brought over by the tree and went to join Kaylee in a videogame in the living room.
“How can I help you?” Pam asked Vivian.
“Oh, you don’t have to. Most of the hard stuff is already done. You can just hang out with Kaylee and Jarrett.”
“Sweetheart, I want to learn what you’re making so I can make it for Jarrett one of these days.” Pam pointed to the wall with aprons.
I passed the red apron to her and didn’t know what else to do. This was the most people I’d ever had in my home. Kaylee and Jarrett laughed at something while Vivian chatted with Pam. I’d brought Vivian and Kaylee over to meet Pam and Jarrett once, so this was their second meeting.
Warmth bloomed in my chest as I stood at the kitchen counter, organizing what Pam and Jarrett brought. I placed their apple pie and tins of various cookies next to the ham, mashed potatoes, and appetizers I’d ordered from a nearby restaurant. They just needed to be heated.
Glancing around, magic and joy filled me up. The emotion reminded me of the last step in winemaking—the bottling and aging of wine. As joy and love entered me, I let them sit and transform into something profound that couldn’t be described. All those past experiences had led me to this incredible moment where I got to savor the meaning of family.
“Okay, I think I got it.” Pam gestured to the strainer on the counter. “The Mung beansprouts, Thai basil, and sawtooth herbs are all washed and separated.”
Vivian glanced over. “Excellent. Can you get out the small dishes for the dipping sauce? Squirt the Sriracha and hoisin sauce into them. Thank you!” She returned her attention to the pot of ph?, a delicious beef broth and one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes.
“Sure thing. I’ve always wanted to know how to make this.”
Though danger loomed around us like a dark cloud, I pushed everything aside to be with those I cared about. These moments were rare, and I wanted to make sure I remembered them.
Vivian had gotten me and Kaylee matching Christmas pajamas with tiny snowflakes. I’d never dressed up like this for the holidays. But I’d do it for her.
“Cute outfit,” Pam said. She was like a mother to me, and to see her approve of the woman I loved meant so much to me.
I watched Vivian move around my kitchen with ease, owning it. I could see her cooking for me every day if she wanted to. But if she didn’t, we could always order out.
The sense of completion flooded me. She was the missing piece I’d been searching for. She was like the perfect ingredient that made great wine extraordinary.
My life had been driven by success, to make my mark in this cruel world. But now Vivian was the center of my world. With her, I’d found my sanctuary.
Vivian also made fried egg rolls for the celebration.
“You have enough food to feed an army.” Jarrett came over to get a drink and rubbed his stomach.
“Please take some home later,” I said.
I looked at the beautiful display of food on the marble counter. Food ranged from Asian to Western delicacies. I loved the mixture of it. It represented Vivian and me.
Vivian prepped a bowl of soup for each of us.We sat around the dining table with an ivory tablecloth and neutral-colored modern tableware around a strip of decorative garland at the center. A bowl of glowing ornaments sat on each side of the garland, making it the most beautiful dining table I’d ever seen.
With his chopsticks, Jarrett dove into his bowl of noodle soup. “So delicious. Thank you, Vivian.”
Laughter and chatter filled my home, chasing away any darkness that had worried me.
After the extremely satisfying lunch, we exchanged gifts. Pam and Jarrett excused themselves so they could make a trip to visit a friend’s house for Christmas dinner. I walked them out to their car.
“I like Vivian. She’s good for you.” Pam’s eyes gleamed, and I could tell she was fighting back tears. “Don’t mess it up.” She kissed me on the cheek. “Kaylee is such a sweet girl. She’s blessed to have Vivian and you to guide her.”
“You have a beautiful family,” Jarrett said.
My family.
My heart swelled. “Thank you.”
“Wait!” Vivian rushed out with a bag of food. “You forgot these. I packed a little of everything for you. Be careful with the soup. I don’t want it to spill.”
Pam embraced Vivian. “Thank you, sweetie.”
“I’ll need to hit the gym after the holidays.” Jarrett smiled. “Thanks for the food. See you soon.”
This had been one of the best Christmases I’d ever had.
I pulled Vivian to me. “You should’ve worn your coat. It’s freezing out.”
She looked up at me and wrapped her arm around my waist. “You didn’t wear a coat either. Let’s get inside!” She dragged me through the door.
Once inside, I led Vivian to the living room. The TV was on some news station talking about the weather forecast.
“Kaylee, come here.” I waved her over to the coffee table.
She was curled up on the big chair with a throw pillow and a blanket over her. The big Kuromi stuffed toy was in her arms. That was one of the Christmas gifts from Vivian.
“I’m so full . . . I can’t move.”
“I have another gift for you.”
She bolted straight up and darted beside me in seconds. “Really? What is it?”
I gave them each a black box that matched the one on my lap.
“You already got me a gift.” Vivian stared at the black box. “I’m visiting the spa next week.”
I had another gift for her, but I’d give it to her later.
“A new phone?” Kaylee showed off her white phone.
Vivian picked up her gray phone. “I don’t need a new phone.”
“Yes, you do. These aren’t regular phones you can buy at the store.” I looked at Vivian, and she knew and sighed.
“These are just for us. They’re special.”
“Why?” Kaylee asked suspiciously.
“It’s encrypted, so no one can hack into it. Besides, it holds more data for you to add things to your dating app. The data automatically syncs to my server.”
“So I can make changes on the phone instead of the computer?”
I nodded. “The charge lasts longer and can be recharged if it’s sunnyout.”
“Cool! Thanks!” She turned it on.
I turned to Vivian. “These are all under my account.”
She had questions, but she didn’t ask them because Kaylee was present. I’d spent a lot of money on these high-tech phones to know where Vivian and Kaylee were. It didn’t use regular internet. Instead, it connected to a satellite with a team of experts monitoring it.
What if Ghost was planning an attack on them? I had to protect them.
I gave an envelope to Vivian. “Open it.”
“You got boring papers for Christmas.” Kaylee laughed and ran back to her chair.
Vivian furrowed her eyebrows, opened the packet, and pulled out the documents.
She stared at them, flipped through the pages, looked at me, beamed, and then threw her arms around me. “You were serious about helping me!” She cupped my face and plopped a loud kiss on my lips.
“Ew,” Kaylee said and continued to play with her new phone.
Vivian looked at the documents again.
“You just have to finalize your idea and submit the information to him so he can start on the prototype.”
“You work fast.”
“My legal team will help you get it patented when you’re ready.”
“Really?” She held a pack of paper to her chest. “This was just an idea . . .”
“A brilliant idea,” I reminded her. “And one that could help me too.”
Vivian would soon have a silent handpiece that would make dental visits more comfortable for her patients.
“Oh my God!” Kaylee shouted, jumping up from the couch and pointing to the TV screen. “Viv! Look!”
Vivian and I glanced over at the TV.
Joy splashed on Kaylee’s face as she squealed. “See?”
A news reporterstood in front of agroup of people raising money to help a local restaurant replace their equipment after some vandalism. Nothing stood out to me but one homeless guy wearing a red Patriots knit hat and a ragged brown coat. He stood beside the crowd, holding up a sign with words that didn’t make any sense to me.
“What’s there to see?” Vivian asked. “It’s people rallying support for a restaurant.”
“No!” Kaylee walked up to the TV screen and pointed to the sign in the man’s hand. “Kuraimee!”
“What’s that?” Vivian asked.
“It’s a version of Kuromi.” Kaylee looked at Vivian and me with hope in her eyes. “It’s a message from Aimee.”
Vivian gripped Kaylee’s arm. “How can you be sure?”
“Because it’s something we made up. I told her if I could create a version of Kuromifor her, it would be a cute Kuraimee. She liked that idea because I used her name in it.”
Vivian’s hand trembled. “She’s alive.”
I wrapped an arm around her. “She is. We’ll find her.” I hadn’t told her what I’d learned from Calvin regarding the death of her grandfather yet.
The news reporter had moved on to something else, but we rewound it, pausing at the man holding the sign.
“‘Kuraimee is happi.’” What does that message mean?” I asked. “Happy is spelled wrong.”
“Aimee is too smart to spell happy incorrectly.” Vivian looked at me.
“She was at McDonald’s,” Kaylee said. “She loves their nuggets and fries. They make her happy. It’s something I would know. We always talked about silly stuff.”
“Maybe the man misspelled it,” I thought out loud.
Questions crowded my brain. How had Aimee gotten the man to ask for help? Did she write the message herself? Or had she asked him? Did her kidnapper take her to McDonald’s? What kind of kidnapper was this? Were there other kids with her?
“Maybe.” Vivian met my eyes. “Or maybe it was intentional. Let’s go ask him!”