Chapter 13 Tori
Tori
Welcome, Christmas, bring your cheer.
Cheer to all Whos, far and near.
~ Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
I roll over and repeatedly swat my bedside table until my hand finally connects with my alarm.
I sigh and nestle into my covers. The air in my room has a chill to it, but my bed is warm and cozy.
Alyssa and Carson. This is their day—the beginning of a whole new chapter in their lives.
The wedding isn’t until tonight, but I have an errand I have to run before I meet my friends at the church to get ready.
I shower and dress in sweats, drying my hair, but skipping everything else since I’ll be getting pampered and having hair and makeup done with Alyssa and the other bridesmaids later today.
I grab the bag near my front door and take off for Gage’s house.
As far as I know, he isn’t aware that I’m his secret Santa, though I nearly blew my cover a few times.
Today’s gift will absolutely give me away.
It’s the town’s last day to exchange gifts.
Everyone in Waterford will be doing their final drop offs while trying to go unnoticed.
I may as well go out with a bang. I’m nearly giddy with thoughts of what Gage will think of this last present from me.
I love drawing. I’ve doodled and sketched for as long as I can remember.
When the idea came to me to render a drawing of Gage and Toothpick walking on the trail behind Moss and Maple, I immediately sat down with my charcoals and pastels and got to work.
It was late last night when I finished the drawing and put it in a frame I’ve had stored in my closet.
The drawing captures the two of them, as seen from behind, the woods extending out around them and the path stretching out ahead.
It’s a memory of a moment we shared. I hope he likes it.
I don’t dare hope for more. But if I could, I’d wish that my gift would tell Gage how much he’s come to mean to me. Maybe it will show him that I truly see him as a man and a person, and I like what I see—a lot.
I drive down Gage’s street slowly, checking for any sign that he’s home. His car isn’t parked out front of his house. I park and run up to the porch, carefully setting the bag near the door. Toothpick stands on his hind legs and peers out the window at me.
“Sorry, buddy,” I whisper. “I can’t play today.”
I blow Toothpick a kiss and run back to my car.
On the way home, I stop at Baker From Another Mother and grab a gingerbread muffin and a latte.
As I’m pulling up to my house, I glance down the street. A car is driving toward the stop sign at the end of the block. I know that car. It’s Gage.
My heart rate picks up. What was he doing in my neighborhood? Did he come to see me? No. That doesn’t make sense. Why would he come to see me? He would have texted if he needed to stop by.
His car turns and he drives out of sight.
I jump out of my car and walk to my porch with my muffin and coffee.
There’s a brown paper gift bag on the porch with a big green and red ribbon tied around the twisted rafia handles.
I set my breakfast down and pick up the gift.
I can’t even wait to step inside. I pull the ribbon on the bag and peer inside.
I reach inside and my hand connects with a piece of wood, it feels like a snowman or some sort of figurine. When I pull it out of the bag, I gasp.
The ornament from Maker’s Co-Op.
The mother and child.
The one Gage and I saw during the scavenger hunt.
He remembered?
Gage is my secret Santa!
What’s the likelihood that we’d get one another?
For a moment I wonder if my friends rigged this.
But why would they? It’s not like they’ve been pushing me toward Gage.
If anything, only a few weeks ago they were warning me about his breakup and the way it impacted him.
Alyssa did rearrange the coupling in the wedding party, but I don’t think she had enough pull or enough spare time before her wedding to arrange Gage and me being paired up in a town-wide gift exchange.
They were right to be wary earlier this fall when Gage was obviously consumed by his breakup. But he doesn’t seem to be as caught up in grief anymore.
I smile thinking of our time together yesterday—how he kept offering to do things that kept us together when he could have easily said he needed to go. He laughed more than once and flashed me rare and precious smiles.
My smile spreads, thinking of him—his warm eyes, the way he caught me when we fell, his deep laugh when he finally lets loose. The way he’s so careful and sweet with Toothpick.
The bag still feels slightly heavy. I put my hand back in and bump up against another wooden object. This one is bigger. Round, like a saucer. I pull it out.
My mouth falls open. A beautiful carving of our town square has the words A Waterford Christmas engraved beneath the scene. I run my fingers over the details. Whoever made this is incredibly talented and patient. A true artist.
I pull my phone out to text Gage. Should I call him? What will I say?
No. A gift like this deserves an in-person thank you.
I bend to pick up the bakery bag with my muffin in it and my latte and then I step into my house and dial Noelle.
“Hey,” her soothing voice settles my nerves.
“Hi.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Yes. Um … I just got my secret Santa gift. The last one.”
“Oh? Do tell. What did you get?”
“It’s Gage, Noelle.”
“Gage?”
“He’s my secret Santa.”
“You don’t sound disappointed … at all.”
“I’m not … at all.”
She laughs lightly. “Well, what did he get you?”
I tell Noelle all about the ornament and the carving.
“He would have had to make a special trip back to the co-op to get this. He had to remember my reaction and make a point of going out of his way to get me the ornament I admired. And he got me the teacup and tea. That’s on my bucket list. Christmas tea.
He’s been paying attention, Noelle. Gage. Can you believe it?”
“I can. He’s surprisingly thoughtful when he’s not caught up in his grief.”
“Yeah.”
“Hey,” she exhales audibly. “I didn’t mean that he’s still hung up on someone else. I just meant he’s been off for about four or five months. But lately … ?”
“Yes?” I’m hanging on to her every word as if they’re clues to a riddle I’m about to solve or keys to a treasure chest.
“He’s been more himself. I’d never call him a sunshiney personality. But I’ve seen him smile more, and he does seem less distracted and glum.”
“I’m glad.”
“You like him.” It’s a statement of fact, not a question.
“I do. Isn’t that crazy? I don’t exactly know when it happened, but, yeah. I do.”
“I’m so excited.”
“Don’t be. Just because he got me the gift I wanted doesn’t mean he’s attracted to me. He could see me as a friend.”
“Okay. That’s possible.”
“Yeah.” I can’t help the slightly deflated tone in my voice.
“I don’t think so, though. Gage is a man who’s prone to choose solitude over group events given the option. He’s been showing up to every single occasion you’re involved in. And I see him seek you out in a group.”
“Still could be friendship.”
“Could be,” she agrees. “Or … more. I guess time will tell.”
“Don’t say anything to the rest of our friends today, okay? This is Alyssa’s day. I don’t want to overshadow it.”
“She wouldn’t mind. She’d be thrilled, really.”
“Still …”
“Okay. I won’t say a thing.”
“Thanks. I just had to say something to someone. I was busting open at how special his gifts were.”
“He’s a good man, Tori.”
“I know he is. The best, really.”
“Oh, girl.” Her smile comes through the phone. “You really like him.”
“I really do. I’m so doomed if he doesn’t feel anything for me.”
“But if he does …”
I smile, allowing myself a little wiggle room to imagine what it could be like if Gage actually had feelings for me.
“I’d better go,” I say. “I need to pick my dress up from my mom. She was taking it in for me.”
“I’ll see you at the church in a few hours,” Noelle says.
We say our goodbyes and I set Gage’s gifts on my mantle. Then I sit on my sofa, drinking my coffee and eating my muffin while I study the two carvings.
A few hours later, I’m pulling into the parking lot behind the church.
The bridal suite is upstairs in a large room that doubles as the choir vestry.
A few vanities line the walls and the closet doors have full-length mirrors.
My friends are all seated, getting their hair or makeup done.
Within an hour of arriving, I’m wearing my bridesmaid dress and my makeup is done.
I’m helping button the back of Alyssa’s gown while I still have curlers in my hair.
Noelle stares at me from across the room with a soft smile on her face. Stephanie looks at Noelle, then at me, and then back at Noelle.
“Something you two want to share with the class?” Stephanie asks.
“Not me,” Noelle says sweetly, but in a way that has every eye in the room turning my direction.
“What?” I ask.
“Spill it,” Alyssa says. “It’s my wedding day. You don’t want me preoccupied trying to solve a mystery do you? You look like you’re keeping the world’s biggest secret, Tori.”
I shoot Noelle a look that says, thanks a lot. She smiles a smile that makes me instantly forgive her. No one can stay upset with Noelle.
“It’s nothing,” I try to shrug it off. “Just … I found out who my secret Santa was this morning.”
“Who?” Jennifer asks.
“It’s Gage,” I say, blushing instantly.
“Oh. My. Goodness,” Stephanie exclaims. “Tori!”
“What?” I ask.
“You like him!” She nearly shouts.
“Quiet!” I scold her. “He might be here already.”
“I think he likes you too,” Stephanie adds, her volume barely lowered at all.
“Mm hmm,” Alyssa agrees. “He tracks you like a bobcat watching a cottontail.”
“A what?” I choke out a puff of laughter. “Like he’s hunting me for his next meal?”
“No, like he can’t help but watch your every move.” Noelle smiles.
“Why is this the first I’m hearing of this?”
My friends look at one another, all exchanging glances that tell me I’ve been the topic of more than one conversation.
“You guys!”
“We didn’t want to overwhelm you,” Jennifer says sweetly. “If you knew the way that man watched you, it would have made you self-conscious. Besides, it’s Gage. He hasn’t been in a very good space for a while.”
“But lately,” Alyssa says with a lift of her eyebrows. “He’s smiling a whole lot more.”
“And taking you on errands,” Stephanie adds.
“And hikes,” Jennifer says.
“And driving you home from a rehearsal dinner,” Noelle says.
My eyes meet each of theirs in turn. “I really like him.”
“Awww,” Alyssa says.
“Make the move,” Stephanie suggests.
“What?” I gasp. “You want me to make the move? On Gage?”
“Why not?” she asks. “He’s reserved. Sometimes you have to give a man the signal that you’re open to more.”
“A signal?” I ask.
A signal sounds better than a full-blown move.
Everyone in the room nods their heads, even Alyssa’s cousins who are here doing our hair and makeup.
“Show him you’re interested, Tori,” Noelle says. “You don’t have to ask him out. Just remove any doubt in his mind. Give him every reason to believe you’d say yes if he asked you out.”
“I can do that,” I agree. “But, enough about me. This is Alyssa and Carson’s day.”
Alyssa smiles at me. “And the best present you could give me is to end up starting something with Gage on my wedding day.”
“I’m not starting it.”
“Nudging,” Stephanie says. “Just giving the green light.”
I nod. Green light. I can give a green light. At least, I think I can.
“I’m so excited,” Alyssa says.
“Me too,” Noelle adds.
“Don’t get too excited yet,” I say. “He hasn’t exactly asked me out.”
“He will,” Stephanie says. “You’ll see.”
I finish fastening the last button on Alyssa’s gown and glance at myself in the mirror, smoothing out my dress. My thoughts drift to the time I’ve spent with Gage since Thanksgiving. We’ve become friends, I think. Does he want more?
The carving.
Not only did he go back to the Maker’s Co-Op, but he gave me the hand-carved Waterford Christmas scene. Gage acts like he hates Christmas, and yet he spent all that effort to give me gifts that show he honors how much the holiday means to me.
I hope his thoughtfulness is a sign that he’s invested and interested in more with me.
I take my eyes off my own reflection. It’s not time to think about myself or Gage.
The next hour is spent on final details. My curls are brushed out and set. We all get last minute makeup touch ups. Alyssa stands in front of all of us, a vision. Carson is going to lose his mind when he sees her.
“You’re so beautiful,” I tell her.
“Stunning,” Stephanie says.
Noelle wipes a tear from her eyes and steps in carefully to hug Alyssa. She whispers something private into her ear then steps back.
“Y’all. I’m wearing waterproof mascara, but I don’t want to leave anything up to chance. Please don’t make me start crying.”
The door to the bridal suite opens and Alyssa’s aunt pokes her head in. “Showtime, girls. Everyone ready?”
Noelle and Jennifer grab Alyssa’s train.
Stephanie and I line up behind them and we all descend the stairs to the foyer outside the sanctuary.
Music filters through the closed doors from inside the chapel.
I try to peek through the small rectangular windows to get a glimpse of the guests and of Carson and his groomsmen, but I can’t see anything from where I’m standing.
Alyssa’s aunt lines us up in the order we practiced last night. Jennifer is first, then Stephanie. I follow them with Noelle behind me and finally, Alyssa will make her entrance.
The sanctuary doors open. A local high school girl begins strumming her guitar. She’s seated on a stool up front off to the side behind the groomsmen. Jennifer starts walking up the aisle as the girl sings the first lines of Haley Reinhart’s version of Can't Help Falling In Love.
My eyes have a mind of their own, roving the front of the room until they land on Gage.
He’s dressed in a black suit. His tie matches the blue in my dress.
Our eyes lock and he smiles at me. My mouth goes dry.
My heart races. I don’t recall any man ever affecting me like this.
He looks so good, filling out that suit like it was made for him.
His hair is styled, unlike his usual casually unkempt look—or the way he looked on the trail yesterday, which was a whole other version of gorgeous. I’m so done for.
Stephanie steps forward, leaving three pews’ space between her and Jennifer. I watch her, but then my eyes return to Gage’s. He’s smiling softly—not so much with his mouth as with his eyes. I know him. And he knows I do.
Noelle nudges me. “Your turn.”