Darlene Gardner - The Christmas Gift

Rayna thought she’d fallen in love the first time she’d seen him, when he’d sauntered into the dentist’s office for a checkup.

“Did you see that goal?” Trey yelled.

Before she could answer, Trey bent down, swept her into his arms and kissed her. She had to stand on tiptoe because in his skates, he was about three inches taller than normal. His cool lips sent hot sensation sweeping through her—nothing new. She always reacted to him that way. She never wanted his kisses to stop, either, though they inevitably did.

“Mimi said you had two goals today,” Rayna said.

“It was a good day at the office!” Trey didn’t actually work at an office. He was twenty-two, a year older than Rayna but not as sure what to do with his life. He was currently working as a manager at a trendy clothing store and talking about going to bartending school. Sometimes when Alex and his father were particularly busy, Trey helped out at Costas Landscaping.

“I’ll shower and change clothes,” Trey said. “Wait for me, okay?”

“Sure.” Rayna moved toward the now-empty bleachers and took a seat. She wasn’t sure where Mimi was but Trey had stopped outside the locker room to drink at the water fountain.

Trey’s teammates skated off the ice, laughing and talking. None of them looked toward the bleachers, probably because they typically had so few fans in attendance.

“You’re really not coming with us, Bob?” the stockiest player asked Mimi’s husband.

“Can’t,” Bob said. “Mimi has plans.”

“Cancel ’em,” the stocky guy said. “A guy should do what a guy wants to do.”

“Unless he’s married. Then he’s screwed,” another of the players joked as they duck-walked on their ice skates to the locker room. Trey held the door open for them. “You’re coming with us, right, Trey?”

“Damn straight,” Trey answered.

“Your girlfriend won’t mind?”

“She’s cool,” Trey said as he disappeared inside the locker room. Rayna could just make out his next words. “We’re not serious or anything.”

“But—” Rayna started to protest but nobody could hear her. She probably wouldn’t have finished the sentence anyway. If Trey didn’t want to go caroling tonight, she wouldn’t force him.

Not after finding out he wasn’t serious about her.

Rayna got up and headed for the exit, vaguely crossing paths with Mimi. She called to her friend to let Trey know she’d had to leave, then rushed out of the arena, tears already streaming down her face.

She wouldn’t tell Trey she was pregnant, either.

IN ALL HER YEARS OF caroling, Krista had never heard a more off-key rendition of “Silent Night.”

Not everybody in their group of eight was hitting sour notes. Krista, her mother and her grandmother could sing a little. Charlie Crosby had a pleasing baritone, Milo Costas was more or less on key and the neighbors who’d joined them were mainstays in the church choir.

That left Alex.

He was singing about sleeping in heavenly peace, confidently belting out the word peace so it sounded as though it had two syllables.

The elderly man and woman just inside the threshold had been smiling since they opened the door to a care basket and a choir. The man’s smile grew. He laughed. The woman poked him in the side with her elbow.

Mirth rose from Krista’s diaphragm, begging for release. She stopped singing and clamped her hand over her mouth. Her chest rose and fell in silent guffaws.

The song ended, and the couple applauded. The elderly man caught Krista’s eye and winked.

Alex was standing next to Krista at the rear of the group. He edged closer and whispered, “Are you and that man laughing at me?”

Krista removed her gloved hand from her mouth to issue a denial, leaving nothing to hold back the laughter. It burst forth, like a car horn. She swallowed it back, only half-successfully.

“No,” she said on a half giggle.

“Yes, you were.” Alex placed a hand over his heart. “I’m wounded.”

“You sounded like it when you were singing,” Krista quipped in a voice only loud enough for Alex to hear and broke into more laughter.

The flat line of Alex’s lips crinkled. Then he laughed, too.

“Shall we sing another carol?” Krista’s mother sent Krista and Alex a withering look. “Mr. and Mrs. Dombrowski enjoy the religious ones.”

Krista clamped her lips together. So did Alex. They exchanged a guilty look, and Krista felt about ten years old. She giggled again. Her mother looked more stern.

“Let’s do ‘Angels We Have Heard on High,’” Grandma Novak suggested.

Krista caught Alex’s eye and placed a shushing finger to her lips. “Not as loud this time. It’s okay to hear the angels, but not you,” she whispered.

“Smart aleck,” he said without heat.

With Krista’s mother directing frequent warning glances in their direction, Krista got through the carol without laughing. It helped that Alex took her advice and turned down the volume.

While the couple thanked them, Krista grabbed Alex’s hand. “Let’s get out of here before my mom has a chance to scold us. I know the way to the next house.”

Krista wasn’t so much afraid of her mother as she was eager for an adventure. Caroling had never been so much fun. “Faster,” she said over her shoulder, smiling at Alex.

He smiled back. He wore gloves and a brown winter jacket made of a fabric that retained heat. He was hatless, his thick black hair rustled by the wind. With his skin ruddy from the cold, he looked vital and alive.

For the hundredth time that day, Krista thought about what the blonde had said at the Christmas shop. Was it really possible that Krista had broken Alex’s heart? She couldn’t put much credence to it. Their relationship, however intense, had been too brief. Neither could she get the possibility out of her mind.

“Krista! Alex! Wait!”

They’d barely made it twenty yards down the sidewalk before Krista’s mother hailed them. She was securely wrapped in order to fend off the cold, with only her face showing through an ice-blue scarf. “What got into you two back there? The seniors want to hear you sing, not laugh.”

Krista remembered the delight in Mr. Dombrowski’s eyes when his gaze met hers. “I think Mr. Dombrowski liked it.”

“Only after you started to behave,” Krista’s mother said. “I know you haven’t been home in a long time, Krista, but you know how important this program is to your grandmother.”

Krista did know. Grandma had come up with the idea years ago to deliver holiday care baskets accompanied by Christmas carols to the elderly and shut-ins of the community. Grandma got lists of names and addresses of the willing from area senior centers and assigned caroling teams routes, with most of the stops within walking distance. This year, the Novaks’ group had five destinations.

“We’ll be good from now on.” Krista caught Alex’s eye and waggled her brows. “Won’t we, Alex?”

He did a nice job keeping a straight face. “We will.”

“You have to hold up your end of the bargain, too, Mom,” Krista said. “One house and then you go home.”

Her mom had only struck the deal after the Novaks threatened en masse to call off the caroling.

“I know your tricks, Krista Novak.” Her mother wagged a finger. “You’re trying to deflect attention from yourself. If you think that will work, you—”

“Look, there’s Rayna,” Krista interrupted, nodding toward her sister, who was walking toward them with the rest of the group. “Didn’t you say she was bringing her boyfriend, Mom?”

“Why, yes. Trey’s supposed to be with her.” Her mother’s forehead creased. “I’ll go find out what happened.”