Chapter Forty-Seven
JT scraped at the snow as gently as she could.
Of course, Ali didn’t want to plan for a future with her.
JT was a fun little diversion over the holiday, nothing major.
If JT was ready to ask the league to put her closer to home, maybe she was the only one thinking long-term.
Ali wasn’t begging her to stay. She wasn’t even making it seem like she cared very much about JT sticking around.
JT worked diligently to create the best snow throne she could.
Ali made the back of the seat look amazingly like a real throne, complete with dimples and buttons like on a real upholstered chair.
JT carved the arms carefully and then moved on to making it appear as though the chair had legs instead of a massive blob of snow.
They had agreed it was stupid to try to get rid of the blob, but her parents talked to her about how she could try to create the illusion of legs.
“Excuse me, would you mind explaining your inspiration behind this piece?”
JT turned to find her parents bundled against the cold, leaning over the fence to look at the throne.
“Hi! Yes, we’d love to talk about this with you art nerds.
The main inspiration was making an object that wouldn’t break too easily and that we thought we could carve in a few hours with minimal skill. ”
JT’s mom cast her gaze over the entire sculpture before smiling. “You’ve done a good job. The arms on the chair are very even.”
“Wow, your work is even? Damn, Mom, do you give such faint praise to your students?” JT asked with a laugh. She genuinely wasn’t offended but wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to tease her mom.
“What? No! I mean it. Snow isn’t an easy material. There’s a reason I don’t carve ice or snow, it’s a pain in the ass. Kind of like you.” She peeked over her sunglasses. “Ali, you’re doing a nice job with the backrest. I can see the buttons!”
Kyle yelled to the judges. “Hey! They’re cheating!”
JT looked at Ali and rolled her eyes.
“I’m talking to my mom, that’s not cheating.”
Kyle walked closer, waving a trowel. “No, she’s an artist or something. They’re cheating!”
The judge stepped off the porch and walked toward them. “Mrs. Cox, nice to see you again. Are you impermissibly helping your daughter and her friend?”
JT’s mom crossed her arms over her chest. “Walter, are you accusing me of cheating? No, wait. Are you accusing my daughter and her girlfriend of cheating?”
Walter blinked. “Girlfriend? I thought they were just friends.”
“Mom!”
Mrs. Cox leaned over the fence. “I’m not a cheater and neither is my daughter. And yes, girlfriend. Gay people exist, Walter!”
Ali joined them. “Hi, Mrs. Cox.”
“Girlfriend?” Kyle asked from his side of the walkway. “Ali, you’re dating her?”
JT froze. Ali looked at Kyle and then at her. She had a panicky expression that melted into a smile. “Kyle, that’s none of your business.”
JT’s stomach dropped. She didn’t expect Ali to tell her ex they were dating when really, they were just kind of fooling around while she was home, but part of her was still disappointed.
Ali dropped her tool onto the ground. “But what if I am?”
Kyle’s jaw dropped open.
Mrs. Cox nodded, a little too proud of herself, in JT’s opinion.
“So you’re cheating on me and in the competition?”
Ali sighed. “Kyle, we are divorced. We have been divorced for a year. I can date anyone on the planet and it would be none of your concern. Do you understand that when two people break up it’s not cheating if one of them dates someone else? Or do I need to explain that to you?”
“Also, aren’t you dating Sharon?” JT asked.
Kyle scowled. “It’s not serious.”
Sharon appeared at his side. “It’s not serious? Are you kidding? You spent Christmas Eve at my house!” She threw her tools on the ground and stomped into the inn.
JT and Ali looked at each other with wide eyes.
Walter did his best to rein everyone in. “Mrs. Cox, were you helping your daughter and her… Ali?”
“No, you fool. I was complimenting them for doing a good job. So, unless cheering for my daughter is against the rules, you have nothing to worry about. God, get a life!”
Walter shrunk under her gaze. “Okay. Well, then continue, I suppose.”
JT looked at Ali and then her parents. This was a mess. She didn’t know if Ali would be happy to be outed to the town but she was sure the information about them dating would make the rounds by the next day.
“You okay?”
Ali shook her head. “Not really.” She walked over to Mrs. Cox. “You misspoke. What you should have said was, ‘Some people are bisexual, Walter.’”
JT’s mom stood motionless for long enough that JT worried she was mad. But then she cracked up. Not a small laugh either. She cackled, and JT’s dad joined her until they were leaning on each other to keep from falling. “Oh, JT, she’s a keeper for sure.” She wiped her eyes. “Try not to screw it up.”
JT didn’t have a chance to respond because her parents walked past them and into the inn. She and Ali stood in the front yard of the inn staring at the sculptures.
“What just happened?”
JT wasn’t sure what to do with her hands. She wanted to give Ali a hug, but after her parents outed her to her ex-husband, she wasn’t sure if Ali would like a hug or would tell her to fuck off. “I’m sorry about my mom, she can be kind of a lot.”
Ali laughed. “That’s one way to put it. Did she just tell Walter that we’re dating? Or am I having a weird-ass dream?”
“No, that actually happened. I’m sorry. Did you not want people to know? I can go yell at her if that would make you feel better.”
Ali shook her head. “Nah. I don’t care about people knowing. Kyle’s a tool, but he’s known I’m bi for a long time. And I meant what I said to him. He doesn’t get a say in who I’m dating…” Ali paused, looking distracted. “Are we dating?”
JT sighed. “We do stuff together, like this contest and going to Ikea, and we have a habit of making out kind of a lot. I think that qualifies as dating. At least it does for me.”
Ali leaned against JT and rested her head on JT’s shoulder. “Me too. I know our lives aren’t set up for us to be together right now…but I meant it when I said I love you.”
“I love you, too.” JT sighed again. She wanted to tell Ali her plan, but if it didn’t work, she didn’t want to disappoint her.
She knew what she wanted, but how could she ask Ali to have a long-distance relationship with her where they might only see each other a couple times each month, if they were lucky?
It was unfair to Ali. It was unfair to both of them regardless of how happy she was with Ali.
It didn’t matter if their lives made a real relationship impossible.
“But you’re here and I have no idea where I’m going to be for the season. It could be anywhere.” JT’s parents returned to the porch, each holding two cups of steaming drinks.
“Where do you want to be?” Ali asked, her voice quiet.
Before JT had a chance to answer, her mom handed her a cup and her dad gave one to Ali. “We thought you two might need something to warm you up.” JT’s mom looked at the throne. “Once the judging is over, can we sit in it?”
JT and Ali looked at each other. “Of course, but only if you agree to take a picture of us in it first.”
“I suppose you’ve earned the right to be first.” JT’s dad sipped his coffee.
“We’ll wait over here. Walter said they’re going to judge in a few minutes.
” He cast his eyes over Kyle and Sharon’s disaster sculpture.
“I don’t think you have much to worry about.
Those two are too busy fighting inside to even try to fix that mess. ”
JT’s parents took a seat on a bench on the inn’s front porch.
JT looked down at Ali. Could she tell her she wanted to be in Boston?
Was that too much or would it get her hopes up unfairly?
JT didn’t know if they had a future together, but she was fairly certain that if she ended up in Minnesota, any chance they might have would fizzle.
She couldn’t do anything about that now.
But she could try to win the contest. Then, at least, she would have one more date with Ali before they both had to go back to their real worlds.
“What do you think, should we finish this thing and win the prize?”
“I can taste that fancy dinner already.”