NEVA
Chapter Three
I’ve been home for three days and let’s just say I’m pining for my own space.
My ex Tony never cleaned up and played his music too loud, but at least he spent a reasonable amount of time away from the apartment.
At home, it’s noisy, crowded and there’s always - always - someone in a room when you walk into it.
On the rare instant you go into an empty room there is at least one dog lying on the sofa you want to sit on or a cat bugging you for food.
That said, being around my crazy family has cheered me up.
They’ve all rallied round, let me cry, kept me busy and kept me talking about everything that I’ve been through.
“Neva! Nevaaaaahhh!” It’s like there’s some kind of emergency but it’s just my sister Bette trying to locate me in the house. It’s a big house - to contain all seven of us Bells it has to be - but couldn’t she just text me or find me in person, rather than shouting up the stairs?
I sigh. I’m in the room I share with Bette trying to read an ebook. “What?” I shout back.
“You have my hairdryer? Can you bring it down here?” That just means she’s too lazy to walk upstairs and get it. I consider just lying there but she’ll keep on shouting.
Trudging downstairs, I smell cinnamon. My Mom and my twin sisters Taylor and Alexis are singing along to Christmas tunes and rolling out dough in the kitchen.
Our ancient family cat, Sylvia, is perched by the counter in her basket eyeing up the butter.
Stepping over Bear the golden retriever, Ron the lab and Missy the corgi, I walk into the living room just as Bette opens her mouth to shout for me again.
“Here you go diva!” I toss the hairdryer in her direction.
She’s washing and drying her waist-length hair for the second time today.
She has multiple social media accounts with lots of followers, and so the entire family gets roped in to take photos of her posing.
I even had to take a photo of her scrubbing the toilet when she wanted to get some free cleaning products.
She smiles at me, “Thanks Nee-nee. I’ve got something for you in return. Give me a sec.” The hairdryer starts up and she concentrates on her reflection.
Oh Lord. I don’t want to imagine what that is. Probably some toilet cleaner.
Walking over to the bay window, I catch sight of Elden’s shiny black Jeep pulling up in next door’s lot. He emerges, looking ridiculously tall, broad-shouldered and handsome. He carefully helps his Mom out of the car and takes her bag.
I have to admit I’ve been peeking out the window quite a bit since I got home, hoping to catch a glance of him.
He leaves early for work and gets back after it's dark so my opportunities for spying are limited to the weekends. His Mom says something that makes him crack a smile and it’s devastatingly attractive - he didn’t smile at me once during our car journey back.
I’ve been going over what happened when I was 18.
I was such an idiot back then. I didn’t stand him up on purpose though - it was a genuine mistake.
But it got talked about at school and twisted into me being out with another guy, and this girl who had a crush on him made sure he knew.
Then I went to college and that Christmas when I came home I went next door to say hi and his mom said he’d left for the rig.
Unlucky.
Story of my life.
I’m back to being the sad-faced emoticon again.
“Neva! What are you staring at?” Bette’s finished her hair and is looking curiously at me.
“Nothing - what you got for me then?” I walk away from the window and sit on the sofa, moving the cat, who’s come in from the kitchen to see what’s going on, to another cushion.
“So you know I told you I lined up a job at Hewitt’s for Christmas?
The department store over in Larsley?” Bette raises one eyebrow at me.
I hate the way she explains everything as if I’d been away so long I had amnesia or something - of course I know Hewitt’s.
We go on a family shopping trip there every Christmas without fail to buy presents and have one of their ridiculous with-all-the-trimmings hot chocolates.
“Yep.” I nod.
“So the Hewitt’s job is yours now if you want it - Barry’s Beautiful Bathrooms have offered me a regular modelling promo gig - it’s so exciting! Great for my social platform. And much better paid!” Bette is clearly delighted by this upgrade.
Bless her - she’s so wrapped up in this influencer thing that this is like Hollywood to her.
She might be a bit self-absorbed but Bette’s got a heart of gold - she’s picked me up more times than I can count and cheered me up while I’ve been lamenting my awful situation.
She’s also nearly got me convinced I could run into Prince Charming at any moment and therefore must always look insta-perfect.
“Thanks Bette.” I smile at her. At least I can make enough money to buy some Christmas presents. “What’s the job?”
“Promo work - they give you something festive to wear and you help hand out presents, look pretty, smile. It’s a piece of cake.” She inclines her head at me. “Are you up to it?”
I need to stop moping around the house. Fake it until I make it. Turn this sad emoticon face into a starry-eyed grin. “Sure.”
Early the next morning Bette has us both blow-dried and made up, and I’m sitting in the front seat of her car.
Her radio blaring Last Christmas by Wham from the local radio station’s all-star Christmas playlist, she drops me off outside Hewitt’s with instructions to find Mr. Walker at the service desk on the third floor.
Hewitt’s is an old-fashioned store that’s a draw for all the neighboring towns.
It’s actually quite charming, with sparkling lights wrapped around every possible surface.
The window displays could do with a refresh; there are some ancient mannequins and it’s cute but a bit dated.
Inside it’s warm, and the main hall smells of perfume, peppermint candy canes and the deep fir scent from the massive central Christmas tree.
I make my way to the elevator, as I can’t face climbing the multiple sets of stairs to the third floor.
It’s one of those old-style huge machines, big enough to transport racks of clothes and boxes.
It has a padded bench at the back - just in case you get tired on your ride up or down - and the front is an open diamond-patterned steel door that you pull back and forth.
It’s slow, creaky and takes its own sweet time.
I get to the third floor and the realisation comes to me once I’m at the service desk that I’m standing opposite a decorated area with a sign that reads ‘Meet Santa’.
Uh-oh.
A harassed guy wearing a crumpled suit looks up and eyes my chest before he looks at my face.
“Bette’s sister? Good looks must run in the family...” he drawls with a smirk. “I’m Dave. Follow me and I’ll get you set up.”
Brilliant.
A sleazebag boss. Just what I need. At least this a short-term job. He leads me to the dressing room and presents me with a red and white outfit.
“Is there a beard?” I raise my eyebrows at him.
“Ha-ha, you’ve got a sense of humour too.
I like that. No, Santa wears his own costume.
Not sure how often he washes it though. You’re just the assistant.
Easy as pie. Control the line at the door, one in, one out, deal with any tantrums. One gift for each kid.
Flirt with the Dads, be nice to the Moms. I’ll be checking in on you.
” With that Dave leaves me to get changed.
Once I’ve squeezed into the helper outfit I check out my reflection in the mirror.
Oh my sweet Lord. The flirty red skirt is way too short and the bodice is extremely tight. It actually verges on inappropriate with the amount of cleavage that’s going on but I need this job so I’m just going to have to wing it.
Footsteps outside and Dave clears his throat. “You done? I’ll take you to Santa.”
When I walk out his face goes bright red and he swallows a few times. “Lovely, lovely... Neva. Lucky Santa. Come this way.”
I’m totally underdressed walking through the store to Santa’s workshop. Luckily it’s not busy. Dave introduces me to Santa, who’s a sleepy old guy who smells quite strongly of brandy, shows me where to stand, and with a final gawp at my cleavage, he leaves me to it.
The set-up is kind of sweet, I have to admit, with a little path for kids to follow, a giant tree with colourful presents stacked high and a huge amount of fake snow. Christmas music is playing and for the first time I tap into that holiday feeling.
A couple of hours later, I’m trying to hold it together. The presents under the tree have nearly run out, Dave keeps walking past to check me out, there’s a boy who’s having a meltdown and the boy’s annoyed father who’s insisting he was never given a present.
There’s a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and there’s Elden, incongruously big and unbelievably gorgeous in a navy blue sweater and pants. Damn - I wish I wasn’t in this stupid outfit.
“Neva - I thought your sister was going to be working here?” He looks quizzical. And gorgeous. He’s still not smiling at me. In fact he’s staring.
“She gave me the job - she had a mix up. She cleared it with Dave...uh, Mr. Walker I mean.” I can’t stop admiring Elden’s sculpted cheekbones, intense eyes and perfect chest.
“Excuse me.” It’s the unhappy parent with the screaming kid. “This is unacceptable, my child wasn’t given a present.”
Elden looks at me. My cheeks start turning red as he gazes at me, running his hand over his lightly stubbled jaw.
“Come with me,” he says to the disgruntled customer, leading him over to the service desk to see Dave. He walks back, taller than anyone in the store, grabs my arm and marches me to the stairway.
Once we’re by the door of the ladies’ fitting room he turns to look down at me. There’s a limited amount of space to stand in, so we’re quite close together. I smell his lovely, spicy aftershave as I crane my neck to meet his eyes.
“Elden - do you work here?” Okay - probably not my smoothest line but I’m frazzled from the screaming kid and slightly faint from the too tight outfit.
“I took over from my uncle Bill once I came home to look after Mom. I worked my way up to director of ops when I was working on the rig - a department store is easier in comparison. What are you wearing?” He takes a long look at my ridiculous red and white costume.
“Uh - this is what Dave gave me to wear. The assistant’s outfit.” I try to pull up the low-cut bodice, without much success.
There’s a hint of a smile on his face but he also looks exasperated.
“Those costumes aren’t very comfortable.
You just wear it on December 23rd when we pull out all the stops for the workshop’s final day.
I think Dave got it wrong on purpose. Just put on what you arrived in and I’ll get you the Christmas sweater you’re meant to be wearing.
” He leaves and I go inside the cubicle to get changed.
I’m much more comfortable in my jeans and T-shirt, when Elden reappears with a red Christmas sweater.
It’s gaudy but much more manageable than that skin-tight thing.
As he hands me the sweater, our fingers brush and there’s a jolt of electricity.
Suddenly I’m lost in a daydream, back all those years ago, when he first kissed me. I want him to kiss me again.
He’s looking at me. He’s about to say something, half turns as if to walk away and then suddenly pushes me back into the fitting room.
We’re alone as he backs me into the cubicle, pulling the floor-length curtain closed.
He’s so much taller and bigger than me that he fills the whole space.
His body is pressed against mine as I stare up at him in surprise.
He’s staring into my eyes, then his gaze travels further down to my lips. He inclines his head until it’s only a few inches from mine.
I open my mouth in surprise and he crushes his lips on mine, running his hands through my hair.
I can’t help a soft moan as he slides his hands down my shoulders to my waist, then to my hips, pulling me even closer.
My nipples harden as his tongue slips into my mouth, exploring and claiming every inch as his.
I’m already wet as his huge rock hard length presses against me, making me imagine what it would be like to have him inside me.
He pulls his lips away from me with a groan as there is the clatter of a garment rail from outside. His huge body is still pressed against me and we’re both breathing heavily as he mouths “Sssh…” at me.
I don’t need to be told to be quiet - I don’t want to get discovered kissing the boss two hours into my new job. Especially not by Dave, who probably thinks I give all managers this kind of welcome.
We listen in silence as someone loads up the rail and then pushes it out of the room. Once the door closes, I sigh with relief. I want to say something about what happened when we were younger but how do I go there? I’m going to try, at least, even if it’s clumsy.
“Look, Elden, remember when we had that date…” I’m trying to get the words out but my head is confused with all the kissing.
He gazes down at me, then suddenly pulls away. The wrench of his body away from mine is almost painful - I just want to be pressed up against him again. He pulls the curtain open sharply.
“I have a meeting now. You should get back to work.” His eyes meet mine again, then he marches out abruptly.
I’m left in the changing room with smeared lipstick and unsteady legs.
This is not like any job I’ve had before.