31. Cookie Cutter
31
Cookie Cutter
Cookie day created a mini heat wave in our house. The oven was on for hours. Our family was in and out for meals and sorting donation piles. I spent half the morning getting extra cute for Harvey and the other half running around after my cousins.
Aunt Coral helped herself to a glass of ice water. “Where's your boy, Shelby?”
“On his way. But he has to work today, so he might not stay long.” I texted him for an update.
Harvey messaged me back. “I’ll be there soon. Do you have pets in your house?”
“No, why?” I replied.
“You’ll see.”
I bounced on my toes and sent back a million eyes and heart-eye emojis begging him to tell me. The meanie ignored me, probably driving, where his focus should be.
I tidied the kitchen with anticipation. I used to shake the presents under the Christmas tree to guess what everyone was getting. but how could I do that with Harvey’s surprise? And why was he asking about pets? The idea of Harvey showing up on my doorstep with a fluffy friend wearing a big red bow was adorably sweet. But any pet was way too much responsibility to surprise someone with–emotionally and financially. Harvey was pragmatic. Maybe he was bringing chocolate for the cookies?
A knock rattled the door.
“Who is it?” Joon hollered from his spot atop a bunch of coats. He had been spending way too much time around Zack and Aunt Coral.
“Don’t yell. That’s probably Harvey.” I wiped my hands on the back of my jeans.
“Sorry, I’ll get it.” Joon barreled through coat piles, sending feathers everywhere.
I took off running. “Wait.” I wanted to be the first to greet my boyfriend.
Joon twisted open the door. Momentum and streaks of melted snow in the entryway sent me sliding through it–straight into Harvey, who was holding open the screen with one hand and was carrying a potted plant with the other. My shriek was muffled by his coat and the leaves.
Harvey helped me right myself. “Hey. Watch out, it’s poisonous.”
I wiped my face. “What?”
“For cats, at least. That’s why I asked about pets.” He handed me the flowers, then plucked a feather from my hair and smirked. “Getting into trouble?”
“A little.” I backed up, noting the single layer on Harvey’s torso: a dark, thin, V-neck sweater. I smiled at him. “You dressed up.”
Shifting his weight, he looked down. “Too much?”
“No, it’s very snazzy, just like you. Come on in.” I took his hand and led him into the edge of the living room. “Hey, everyone, this is my boyfriend, Harvey.”
Greetings chorused through the room.
Joon flopped onto a pile of coats. “I already met him.”
One of my uncles craned his neck. “How tall are you?”
Harvey shifted his weight to one foot. “Six-foot-three. Why? Do you need help reaching something?”
I pulled him toward the kitchen before my uncle could respond. “Come on, I already have some cookies ready for you to decorate.” I rearranged some trays on the kitchen table to make room for the poinsettias.
“What the hell is this?” Harvey gestured to some round sugar cookies with Christmas trees, reindeer, and Santa emblems baked in. “This isn’t baking , half of these are pre-decorated sugar cookies. You just pop them out of the container and put them on a baking sheet.”
I shrugged. They were cheap and easy, especially for mass-baking. “We don’t trust Joon with real frosting," I said. “But we don’t have to worry about these. The kids just wanted to ‘help’ make something. You and I have the bulk of the real decorating duty.” I showed him a tray of cooling, home-made cookies in the shape of candy canes and Christmas trees. “We have lots of frosting and candy. It should be cool by now, so we have fun and do our thing.”
He nodded and rolled up his sleeves. “I need a piping bag, STAT.”
Oh, I was sous-chef. I scanned the kitchen. “Can we cut the corner of a plastic bag?”
“That's good enough," he said. With his efficient methods, we worked through the trays in now time.
I was more chaos and sprinkles. But when I tried to replicate his cool pine needle frosting effect, it oozed at me.
“No, babe, you have to twist to keep the back end of the bag closed.” He placed his hands over mine, demonstrating the action.
I smiled over my shoulder at him, my affection rising along with the cookies in the oven. “Being messy looked a lot more romantic with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in Ghost .”
He smirked. “Yeah, well, their fingers weren’t dyed green. By the way, what are those green cookies supposed to be?”
“Oh, those don’t need decorating, they’re my special recipe: green tea cookies. I tried to make a tree, plus a cap and a grinch in your honor.” They’d morphed into blobs in the oven, but I bet they still tasted great.
He raised his eyebrows. “You made my hat? And The Grinch? For me?”
“Yeah. Try some.” I sucked my thumb clean. Whew, that was some sweet frosting. I shook my head and offered him a cookie. "Baked with love."
Harvey took a tentative bite, then smiled and licked his lips. “I need that recipe.”
“Really?” I beamed.
“Amazing.” He took a bigger bite. “You’re a pro, Shelby. Or you would be, if you stopped eating the candy.”
“Never.”
We played around in the kitchen until we ran out of space, and even then, we kept talking and reorganizing so we had room for more cookies. The kids occasionally ran through for candy. My aunts snuck through to 'wash their hands' despite the bathrooms being closer and available for that kind of thing. But we weren’t doing anything spy-worthy.
I rolled my eyes as soon as they walked away. “How about we go to my room?” I suggested. It would give us some element of privacy.
Harvey pushed back from the table. “Finally.”
I laughed and picked up the poinsettia plant, then led him to my room. We left the door ajar so my family didn't have to come in to make sure we weren't canoodling.
He scanned the cheap but sturdy furniture. “This is your room?”
“Yes," I said. Was he expecting something else?
He gestured to the bare walls. “There’s nothing here.”
“I know.” I sighed and set the plant on my nightstand, my heart twisting. “This plant brings a nice splash of color, though.”
“Shelby…” He shook his head and played with his eyebrow ring, looking lost or sad or something.
Did he feel sorry for me? My room had no personality, that was true, but that was mostly because my mom wanted to keep it clean. It wasn’t bad. There weren’t bugs or holes in the wall or anything. Harvey’s frown and pacing made me want to crawl out of my skin or at least peel back a curtain so he could see I wasn’t as boring as this blank slate would suggest.
“Let’s go back to the cookies,” I said, wiping my hands on my legs.
“If you want.” He chewed on his lip ring. “I’m not even sure I would fit on the bed.”
To sit? Or cuddle? I patted the mattress. “Try it.”
He stretched out on my sheets, his feet grazing the end of the bed frame. “How do you sleep here?”
“In the fetal position, crying,” I joked, sitting near him. “But you do seem to fit.”
He cracked a smile and laid his hand on my leg. “I do.”
Maybe we fit together no matter where we were or what headspace we were in. Swinging my legs, I grinned and placed my hand over his to seal the warmth of affection. This was the most comfortable I'd been in my own bed since I was a kid.
Mom stopped in the bedroom doorway. “Oh, you came.”
I gasped and shot back into the wall, bumping my head. "Ow." Why didn't she knock like normal, at least?
Harvey scrambled upright. “Are you okay?"
I nodded and rubbed the spot.
He furrowed his brow, looking conflicted, before touching my shoulder and turning to my mother. "We made some good headway on the cookies," he said.
“That’s nice.” She eyed his tattoos.
He touched his sleeve as if he wanted to cover it up, then diverted to grab his buzzing phone.
I pointed at the potted red flowers. “He brought us a gift, Mom. Isn’t that great?”
She folded her hands. “Yes. Very kind. Thank you. Would you mind carrying some coats to the car, Harvey?”
He tensed and put his phone away. “Sorry, what?”
She sighed. “The tubs need to go in Coral’s van.”
Did he not want to go? I threaded our fingers together. “I need him on Team Cookie.”
Mom gave me a withering look. “It’s a few tubs, Shelby.”
Harvey straightened his spine. “I’ll carry a few, but I have to leave soon.”
“Shelby, why don’t you pack him a tin and get started on dishes?” Mom walked away before I could respond.
Huffing, I tugged on his arm. “You don’t have to carry anything.”
He pulled his sweater sleeves down. “I’ll carry a few. I do have to go, though. The higher-ups want to talk about the management position.”
I gasped and jumped to my feet. “Oh my gosh, is that good news?”
He dragged his fingers through his hair. “I don't know. I hope so.”
“Well, you look amazing.” I tugged on his sweater at the waist and bounced on my toes. “You are amazing. You’ve already made so much progress, and you took it upon yourself to get training. Plus, you managed me, huge troublemaker and ball of energy. After that, you can handle anything.”
Flushing, he wrapped his arms around my waist. “Thanks, but I’m still not exactly the kind of person corporate promotes up the chain.”
“So, you’re not a cookie-cutter guy. You’re awesome. And unique. And delicious. Much like our cookies," I said, then gave him a kiss to prove it.
Harvey chuckled and nuzzled my nose. “I’ll be sure to tell them that.”