Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Jenna
I seem to be floating through the next couple of days after the Daniels’ Open House. I hadn’t entirely realized how uncertain I felt about what was going on with Aaron and me until it was settled.
We’re together. He’s my boyfriend. I’m his girlfriend.
Having that touchstone sense of stability makes it easier to face the nonstop chaos that is being in charge of ChristmasFest. And it makes me feel better than even my relationship with Ian did, at least by the end.
Maybe it’s because it’s new and exciting or maybe it’s because for years my relationship with Ian never felt very stable or reliable—no matter how much I tried to convince myself otherwise—and maybe I shouldn’t put too much stock into something so new so soon.
But I can’t help it. And I think that’s okay for right now.
I won’t hang my entire sense of emotional stability on it, but I’m going to enjoy the sense of newfound security while I have it.
We text on Friday and talk on the phone a little in the evening, but I don’t see Aaron at all that day.
So when I spot him at ChristmasFest on Saturday afternoon, I detour from my afternoon rounds to check on everything to go say hi.
“Hey!” I say when I get close, pitching my voice loud enough to be heard over the noise around me.
His face breaks out into a grin when he sees me. “Hey.” His voice is smooth and low, full of promise.
Since we’re official now and kissed in front of essentially the whole town the other night, I feel no qualms about stepping in close and giving him a kiss.
He freezes for a split second, but kisses me back, pulling away quickly in a way that has my brows furrowed in confusion while his are wide. He glances to his side, and that’s when I see Colin sitting on Santa’s lap.
“Oh, god,” I mutter. “I’m sorry. I didn’t even realize …”
He waves away my apology. “It’s fine. Nothing he didn’t see the other night, right?” He chuckles weakly.
“Right,” I croak. “I guess that’s why you didn’t text you’d be here.”
“Yeah. Sorry. It’s not that—”
“No, no, I get it. You don’t need to apologize.”
“We’ve been busy, and this was my last chance to take Colin to see Santa. It’s a tradition.”
My heart warms. “Of course it is. One I’m sure he looks forward to every year.”
Aaron smiles. “Yes. And I have pictures of him every year. Some kids scream when Santa’s holding them, but not Colin—though between you and me, not too many babies scream for this Santa.”
“Oh, I know. I’ve watched him all season. Even the ones that start out unhappy, he has a special kind of Santa magic I’ve never seen before.”
Shrugging, Aaron nods. “I guess after raising four of his own, he’s learned a few tricks. Plus, being a grandpa helps even more. More recent baby experience and all that.”
Grinning, I nod. I’ve met Sarah’s little boy a few times since I moved here. He’s a cutie.
“He seems like he’d be a fun grandpa.”
“Hi!” pipes Colin’s voice as he bounds over, grabbing his dad’s hand.
“Hey,” I say. “Nice to see you again. Remember meeting me the other night?”
He nods. “You kissed my dad.”
I roll my lips between my teeth and glance at Aaron, not quite sure how to respond. But he’s no help, giving me a look as blank as the one I’m sure is on my face. “Yup. That was me,” I say because what else is there to say?
Colin looks up at his dad. “Can we get cookies?”
Aaron blinks a few times like he’s trying to reset his brain. “Uh, yeah. Sure. We can get cookies.”
“Yay!” Colin does a little hop to express his happiness, then looks at me. “Wanna come get cookies with us?”
I glance at Aaron again, who once more doesn’t offer much help. “I’d love to,” I say after a slight hesitation, deciding that firm agreement is better than uncertainty.
Aaron gives me a smile that looks at least partly relieved—was he worried I’d blow them off?
I suppose I am at work, but unless I get called away for a specific issue, I can spare a few minutes to get a cookie.
I’m still in the ChristmasFest, after all.
And won’t going to a booth as a customer help me fully understand the ChristmasFest experience?
Colin tugs on Aaron’s hand, and we set out toward the front of the event space where Give and Cake have their booth. They always have beautifully decorated cookies.
There’s a young woman running the booth today rather than Austin, the grandson of the founders of the shop.
Officially, his grandfather still helps in the shop, but I’m pretty sure Austin is the one running things these days.
I know from the rumor mill that he came back last Christmas and that it took him a little time to find his footing, but as far as I can tell, he’s found it.
They always have a long line and frequently sell out of most of their inventory by the end of the day, offering any leftovers from the day before at half price the next morning, and those get snapped up in almost no time.
I’ve bought a couple of their day-old bundles when I’ve been running late or pressed for time, and even a day old, they’re delicious. It doesn’t seem possible they’d be any better, but since fresh baked pastries and cookies usually are, I’m excited to try one that was baked this morning.
When we get in line, Colin bounces on his toes, peering around the people, trying to see the front. “Dad, can I go look? I wanna pick out what I want.”
“Okay,” he says, “but make sure people know you’re not trying to cut.”
He shakes his head solemnly. “I’d never cut, Dad. Cutting in line is bad.”
Aaron smiles, glancing at me. “Okay. Go ahead. Jenna and I will wait here. Once you know what you want, come back, okay?”
“‘Kay!” he shouts, pulling away and racing the few feet to the front.
Aaron opens his mouth to say something, but Colin’s already at the case at the front before he can get a word out. Grinning, he shakes his head. “He’s very excited,” he says.
“I see that.” I glance around, then look at Aaron.
It’s weird, standing like this. We’ve been together in public before, obviously.
Just the other night, we wandered through the party hand in hand, chatting with people, Aaron introducing me around, talking me up and saying what a great job I’m doing with the ChristmasFest this year.
When I pushed back on that a little, he’d just grinned at me and said, “I know, I gave you grief for a while, but you’re doing amazing.
You’ve proved me and anyone who doubted you wrong.
If they haven’t admitted it to themselves yet, they’ll come around by the time it’s all said and done. ”
And that vote of confidence meant so much to me.
Which is why it sucks that now things feel super awkward.
Sighing, I shake my head and lean close. “Sorry again about earlier. It didn’t even occur to me that you’d have Colin with you. I didn’t even connect the dots when I saw you standing next to the North Pole. I was just happy to see you.”
He brushes my hand with his fingers. “No. Don’t apologize. I was happy to see you too. I’m glad you came over to say hi.”
“This is okay?” I ask. “Me joining you two for a cookie? I don’t want to impose …”
He shakes his head. “No. It’s perfect. When Colin invited you along, I wasn’t sure if you’d want to. I know you’re at work …”
I grin. “I can stand in line for a few minutes and eat a cookie and still do my job. If I have to deal with something, obviously I’ll have to leave. But as long as there are no emergencies, I’m still doing my job by hanging out here.”
He smiles back, leaning closer, then swerving back at the last second.
Chuckling, he rubs the back of his neck.
“I’m not used to spending time with you with Colin around.
The other night, he was safely tucked away with a movie, so it wasn’t like he was in the room with us until it was nearly time to leave. This is …”
“Strange?” I supply, and he nods. “I’m fine,” I reassure him. “If you’re worried about me, don’t. Colin seems like a great kid from what I can tell. And I’m happy to get a cookie with the two of you.”
Colin hops back into line with us then. “They have Santas and trees and ornaments,” he informs us. “No elves, though. Or snowflakes.”
“Thanks for the report,” Aaron says. “Do you know which one you want?”
He screws up his face, considering. “I think I want a Santa. They look the biggest.” Turning to me, he asks, “What do you want?”
Glancing at Aaron, I think for a second. “I’ll get a tree,” I decide. “Trees are some of my favorite things.”
Colin’s eyes light up. “My dad likes trees a lot too. Right, Dad?”
“That’s right. But what about you?” he asks, sounding almost offended. “Don’t you like trees?”
Shrugging, Colin looks around. “Trees are alright. But I really like Legos! And Magna Tiles. Do you like Magna Tiles?” he asks me.
“Uh …” Eyes wide, I look between Colin and Aaron. “I’m not sure.”
Colin looks confused. “You aren’t sure if you like Magna Tiles?”
“Well, I’m not sure what Magna Tiles are. I know Legos. I used to play with those sometimes when I was a kid.”
“I love Legos,” Colin says proudly. “We have a Lego club at my school, and I’m in it. I build so many cool things! Last week I built a truck! And next time they said we’ll build something new that we haven’t done before.”
“Wow. That sounds really cool.”
He nods. “Magna Tiles are super fun too. I use them to build houses and castles. They stick together like this.” He makes a shhh-snap! sound as he presses his hands together.
“They’re magnetic tiles,” Aaron supplies.
“They have magnets along the edges, and they come in flat squares and rectangles and triangles. They make cool three dimensional shapes, like buildings and castles. We have a small set at home, but the kids’ department at the library has a big one, and he loves going there and playing with them. ”
“We’re still doing that today, right Dad?” At Aaron’s confirmation, Colin turns to me again, eyes wide, face full of excitement. “You should come too!” he nearly shouts. “Then you can play with Magna Tiles and decide if you like them better than Legos.”
I open my mouth to answer, but we’ve gotten to the front of the line, so I have a few minutes to formulate a response while we order cookies. Aaron beats me to it, though. “Jenna has to work today, dude. She’s actually at work right now.”
Colin’s eyes are wide again when he looks at me, giant Santa cookie in hand. “You are?”
I nod, accepting the tree cookie from Aaron, who also got a tree. “I am. My job is organizing ChristmasFest.”
Colin’s eyebrows slam together. “I thought Santa did ChristmasFest.”
I nod. “Santa’s a big part of ChristmasFest, that’s true. Santa has lots of helpers, though, doesn’t he?”
“So, you’re like, an elf?” he asks, brows still drawn together.
“Sort of.” I glance at Aaron, but he’s just grinning now. “But I’m only in charge of helping Santa with ChristmasFest. I don’t make toys or anything.”
Brow clearing, Colin nods and takes a big bite of his cookie.
“Why don’t we go sit?” Aaron suggests, leading the way to one of the benches. But I get a call on my walkie talkie just then that there’s a spill by the North Pole.
“Duty calls,” I say, holding up the walkie talkie.
“Thanks for inviting me to get cookies with you,” I say to Colin.
“I’ll see you both later. Have fun at the library!
” They both wave at me as I walk away, and I wave back.
Later, after I’ve dealt with the spill, I check my phone to find a text from Aaron.
Aaron
Thank you. I’ll call you tonight, and we can firm up our plans for this week
Grinning, I head back to work, floating once more.