Chapter 33 Garrick
Garrick
Juliet said they didn’t do Christmas, but I wanted to surprise her. After some persuading, Nathan told me she was at her sister’s house and gave me the address when I promised I wouldn’t do anything weird.
It’s Christmas Eve and I have a family dinner scheduled in two hours, but I decide to make a quick trip.
I knock on a door to a brick house that’s not decorated for Christmas other than a single wreath.
I’ve got my Santa hat and pants on and the jacket for my knight costume.
Does it look ridiculous? Yes, but I wanted to prove to Juliet that I could be a knight in shining Santa.
I shift uncomfortably as I wait for a response, suddenly questioning my life choices up to this point.
Juliet answers the door and looks shocked – and I want to say perhaps happy – to see me?
‘Merry Christmas Eve. Ho, ho, ho. I come bearing gifts.’ I hold up the red sack I have in my hand.
Juliet examines my outfit, cracking a smile. And my heart sings the loudest and happiest carol it knows. ‘I knew the knight Santa costume would be ridiculous.’
‘You know you love it. So, can I come in?’ I hesitate now that I’m here. I didn’t think this through. What if she’s got something else going on?
She tugs at her hair. ‘Sure.’
It’s a modest two-story house with a family room, living room and dining room all in an open concept.
The cabin-like wood walls are accented with deep-blue furniture that looks super comfy and is covered in toys.
I wave to Ms Ripley typing on her laptop at the dining table, and Juliet’s sister, Anna, in the kitchen.
A tiny human sits in a chair at the kitchen island and can only be her niece, Molly.
Anna raises an eyebrow at me wordlessly, making me nervous in a way only the Ripley women seem able to do.
‘I’m Garrick,’ I say. ‘Sorry to drop in on you and the festive celebration.’ Not that I would say this out loud, but there seems to be no festive or celebration in sight – not even the smell of Christmas roast or spiced beverages of your choosing.
I’m not here to knock how one celebrates, but based on what Juliet told me, I think she’d want something.
I scan the house for any signs of Christmas and only spot the slim tree near the front window. ‘Let me guess, you decorated the Christmas tree?’ I say to Juliet, shifting the bag in my hand, which is suddenly sweaty. My hand, not the bag, although if I hold it any longer, the bag will be too.
‘How could you tell?’ The cream fuzzy sweater she’s wearing accents her pink cheeks, and I find my heart flaring with warmth the longer I look at her.
I clear my throat. ‘It’s very organized.
’ All around the tree are rows of red and green baubles, with gold ribbon running in the alternate rows.
Except for the very bottom, which is a mixture of soft animal ornaments hung in wild formations, probably with the assistance of Molly.
‘You should see our Christmas tree. I just slap anything up until I can’t fit any more. ’
‘Sounds about right.’ She laughs, eyes dropping to my hands. ‘What’s in the bag?’
‘Well, I am Santa, so I couldn’t arrive without gifts. I brought one for your niece.’ I scratch the back of my head. ‘And you.’
‘Me?’ Her eyes widen in shock. ‘Oh … I didn’t know we were exchanging gifts.’
I hurry to soothe her worry because I can see her analytical brain spinning. ‘You don’t have to get me anything, Juliet. I like giving gifts. That’s enough for me.’
She looks at me but doesn’t say anything.
‘What?’
She shakes her head, expression softening. ‘You just keep surprising me, Walton.’
‘Stick around, I’m full of them.’ I reach into my bag and pull out the present wrapped in pink paper covered in castles. ‘Molly, looks like Santa dropped off your gift at my house.’ I hold it so she can see.
Her eyes light up and a grin breaks across her face. She’s off the stool and running to me before I can get another word out.
‘Molly,’ Anna scolds. ‘What do we say?’
‘Pleasethankyou.’ It all comes out in one jumble.
‘Happy to help the big guy out.’ I hand her the present, and she rips it from my hands, tearing off the paper. Inside is a replica of the Carpathia castle with several figures of the key characters.
‘It’s cute,’ Juliet says. ‘Is that what you got me?’
‘No, I didn’t think you’d like what I could get in the gift shop at FTG.’ I wink. I pull out a black-and-gold Christmas bag with burgundy tissue paper.
She takes it with the utmost care and I could kiss her right then and there if we were alone. Placing the bag on the coffee table, she withdraws a red glass jar with a wooden lid. The glass is rippled and vintage with bubbles and imperfections.
‘I heard you and Melika talking about how you liked vintage glass – and your apartment smells like a 7-Eleven, so I thought you could use a candle,’ I quickly explain. I am so off my game right now, but with her, I almost don’t care.
‘Balsam and cranberry,’ she reads, opening the lid to smell it. ‘Omg, that’s amazing. It’s like being in the woods with a pie.’
‘That’s exactly what I said. Look at the bottom.’
Her eyes narrow, and that little skeptical smile I adore peeks out. Flipping it over, she reads the label. ‘Romeo and Juliet Candle Company. How did you find this?’ she says through a laugh.
‘A lot of Googling.’ My voice drops when I ask, ‘Do you love it? C’mon, Juliet, you don’t have to pretend.’
‘By saying I love the candle, that does not mean you can keep up your Juliet game.’
I lean in. ‘Oh, it so does. There’s one more thing.’ She rifles in the bottom and pulls out a set of multicolored fineliners. ‘For your planner. Since it didn’t come with any.’
Holding them to her chest like they’re precious treasures, she says, ‘One can never have enough pens.’
My phone keeps buzzing, and I know I have to get to dinner soon, but I don’t want to leave. ‘Do you all want to come to Christmas Eve dinner at my place?’ I look up to Ms Ripley. ‘Unless you have other arrangements.’
The three of them exchange looks in a silent conversation.
‘We wouldn’t want to impose,’ Ms Ripley says, studying Juliet and me.
Juliet takes a small step away from me and I try not to let it bother me.
I know why she’s doing it. After the whole warning about hanging out with each other, I shouldn’t even be here.
But I couldn’t not come. It’s Christmas, I get a pass.
‘It’s seriously nothing. We always make way too much food. Like I have a whole Twelve Days of Cookies thing going on. It’s either eat it with us tonight, or I’m bringing Juliet a doggy bag tomorrow.’
Ms Ripley nods.
‘Great!’ I say too excitedly and try to tone it down, which makes my voice drop too many octaves to seem chill. ‘We’ll see you in an hour.’
Juliet has never been to my house, despite it being within the FTG grounds. I know she already has a sense of me and my family, but I wanted to make sure the first impression she got of us out of the fairytale land was good.
This means I turned on all the Christmas yard lights and made Tristian help me drag some old ones down from the attic for good measure.
‘This is overkill, don’t you think?’ Tristian says after I plug in the last string of lights. ‘You’re probably going to start a fire.’
‘We’re probably going to start a fire. You helped.’ Moment of truth. I hit the button on my phone to turn them on. The yard explodes in a blaze of – color. Of course, I didn’t start a fire. ‘Perfect.’ I rub my hands together for warmth.
‘Great. I’m going in before I freeze any important parts off.’ Tristian trudges inside, kicking off his boots at the door.
I admire my handiwork for a second longer before following him into the warmth of the house.
‘Hey, Dad,’ I say when I spot him in the hallway. He’s looking at the family picture hung on the wall.
‘It was nice of you to invite the Ripleys over.’
‘No biggie. It seemed like the right thing to do.’ I just want everything to be perfect for Juliet. It broke my heart when she said she doesn’t get a real Christmas. Dad runs a hand over Mom’s face in their wedding picture like I see him do every time he passes it. ‘Was it worth it?’
He looks at me with a puzzled expression. ‘Was what worth it?’
‘Falling in love with Mom. Like if you knew how it was going to end, would you still do it all over?’
Wrinkles crinkle around his eyes. ‘Of course,’ he says without hesitation. ‘Not only did I get you boys, but I got to have so many wonderful years with the love of my life.’
‘But it sucked when it ended. It broke you.’
He squeezes my shoulder. ‘We break in all kinds of ways over the course of our lives, but that shouldn’t stop us from living. Besides, love doesn’t end just because the person isn’t here any more. We hold that feeling inside forever.’
Pearl of wisdom dropped, Dad heads back to work on dinner.
‘Are you going to stand at the window all night?’ Bradley, my nephew, slides into the hallway. ‘I want to play.’ He’s wearing a matching ugly orange Christmas sweater to mine. It’s got snowmen in various forms of construction circling the torso.
I glance down at him. ‘Just give me a few more minutes, pal. I’m waiting for a special guest.’
‘A girl?’ He shoves his feet into my oversized black Santa boots.
‘How did you know that?’ The kid’s pretty smart, but that’s a stretch.
‘Daddy said it was a girl. Is she your girlfriend?’
My heart spikes in my chest. I lick my lips, releasing my hold on the blinds. ‘She’s my friend, and she’s a girl.’ Would Juliet even want to be my girlfriend? That’s not even an idea I should be entertaining, but now it’s dug itself in and I can’t shake it.
‘Garrick,’ Ivor warns, as Bradley goes yelling through the hallway: ‘Uncle G’s girl that is a friend is almost here.’
‘Ivor, can we not? It’s Christmas. I just wanted the Ripleys to experience some holiday cheer.’ I don’t meet his eyes as we walk back to the living room.
‘You sure that’s all it is?’ He pulls me to a stop before we reach everyone.
‘Of course. You told me not to risk FTG’s reputation. So, I’m not.’
I’m not. Not really. Unless Desiree and Brett decide to rat us out, but as long as they get what they want, I don’t see them telling on us.
When I hear a car door slam ten minutes later, I jump up from the sofa, leaping over the back to shorten my time to the door.
My brothers yell insults at me as I knock over their game board, but I don’t bother to respond.
I skid to a halt at the threshold, not wanting to open the door immediately and make them think I was waiting.
I’m trying to play it cooler than that.
Juliet gets out of the passenger seat, and I watch her face light up with the Christmas lights, a smirk on those lips I can’t stop thinking about.
‘Grinch!’ Molly yells, eyes wide with delight, pointing at the blow-up in the front yard. I grin. Mission accomplished.
‘You came!’ I answer the door after the bell stops chiming. Chill or not, I couldn’t leave them waiting in the bitter cold.
‘You did invite us,’ Juliet says, shifting from side to side at the looks Anna and her mom are giving us.
‘Don’t just leave them standing there,’ Tristian calls from the living room.
‘Crap, sorry. Come in.’ I move out of the way, and they shuffle inside, passing their coats to me in a heavy lump. I hang them on the rack next to the window with all our old handprint Christmas cards around them.
‘It smells amazing,’ Juliet says, handing me her earmuffs. All I can smell is her peach shampoo, making me think of Christmas at the beach.
But when I place her things with the rest, I catch a whiff of cinnamon and pine cones from the living room, with hints of roasting carrots, turkey and sage from the kitchen.
Bradley slides between my legs, nearly knocking me over in his rush. ‘Want to play Santa’s workshop?’ he asks Molly.
‘Yes! I’ll be Santa.’ Molly strides ahead, having no idea where she’s going but moving with purpose like this is her place. She is definitely a Ripley.
‘My nephew, Bradley,’ I say to Anna, whose eyes follow Molly disappearing into the other room. ‘Dinner will be ready soon, but we have some small bits you can nibble on beforehand.’ I shove my hands into my pockets, aware of how small this entryway is with everyone still standing there.
‘Nibble?’ Juliet chuckles.
‘Oh, Juliet, I’m all about the nibbles.’ My cheeks tinge pink as I realize that might sound super weird. ‘Nibbling food, I mean, obviously.’
Stop talking, Garrick.
Ms Ripley’s keen gaze has been taking in the house, but she must suddenly remember she has food in her hands. ‘I brought a salad.’ She holds out the plastic container with a nearby grocery store label.
‘Too kind, Ms Ripley. We can put it in here.’ I lead them through the dining room and sit it on the table as we pass by.
The tablescape is in beautiful silver and blue colors.
These are the most classy decorations I have put up.
They were Mom’s, passed down from her mom and so on. We only use them on special occasions.
My throat goes thick with tears as I picture her in the room making sure all the places are done just right. I imagine what she would say about Juliet. I know she’d love her.
‘He’s cute,’ Anna whispers to Juliet, and it’s just the distraction I need.
I dip my chin, smiling to myself. At least I know I won her sister over. Juliet is a tougher nut to crack.
‘Ms Ripley,’ Dad says when we get to the kitchen. ‘Ripley, and this must be your other daughter, Anna.’
Ms Ripley studies him behind her glasses. ‘Someone’s done their research.’
Dad is wearing an apron with a reindeer on the front, and it’s far more whimsical than he’d usually choose – weird, considering he owns a theme park.
‘I never go into business any more unless I know what the other person is about.’
I clap my hands together, diffusing what was about to be a very awkward moment. I’m pretty sure we were all thinking about the embezzlement fraud from last summer. ‘Let’s not talk about business on Christmas.’ I turn to Juliet. ‘Help me take these charcuterie boards through, will you, please?’
Juliet and Anna go with me to the living room, leaving Ms Ripley and Dad to chat in the kitchen. Whatever that convo is, I don’t want to be a part of it.
‘What’s Mom going to do in the kitchen?’ Anna asks Juliet.
‘Get lost, probably,’ she responds.
Tristian, Ivor, Aldrich, James, Molly and Bradley sit in the living room.
‘Juliet, you know the others, but the handsome man next to Ivor is his husband, James. Everyone, this is Anna, Juliet’s sister, and it seems like you’ve met Molly.
’ Molly and Bradley are playing with an intricate Santa’s workshop set-up that Aldrich is helping them with.
‘Let’s dig in before we die of starvation as Dad finishes cooking. ’
I lean in and whisper to Juliet as everyone chows down, ‘I’m glad you came.’
‘Me too.’ She smiles at me, and I swear she can see my heart melt.