A Christmas Delight

24. Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-four

Joel

T hough I’m not fond of crowded places, the Ferris wheel reminds me of Mom. If not for the memory of going on the wheel with her as a kid, I’d probably never show up at the fair. One day, I’ll get Maisie to get on it with me, to see Brindlewood and the mountains behind it in a different light. She’s as excited about Christmas as Dad is, and as my mom was, I know she’d love it up there.

As I climb down, Dad and Brent following after me, I freeze on the spot. They bump into me and ask me what’s happening, but there’s no need for me to say anything. The answer is standing right there in front of us.

“Hi, Joel,” Catherine says, a cup of coffee in one hand, a donut in the other one.

“What are you doing here?”

Dad takes Brent’s arm, slowly dragging him away, though Brent can’t help but to glare daggers at Catherine.

“I told you I’d be in town for a little while. It’s not like I bothered you or anything.” She looks around, then takes a bite of the donut. “It’s a nice fair. And these donuts are to die for.”

I squint at her. “You couldn’t help it, could you? You had to find out who she was.”

“Oh, come on, Joel. This is just a happy coincidence. I had no idea where your girlfriend worked. She’s cute, by the way.”

Those seemingly nice words coming out of her mouth don’t feel right, but I don’t push the issue. “Okay. Have fun.” I start walking away.

“Are you sure she knows you guys are dating, though?”

Despite myself, my feet stop moving. Her words are poison, and I can’t allow myself to listen to her. Still, I look back at her. “You don’t know anything about her. Or us.”

Catherine shrugs, taking another bite of her donut. “No, no, you’re right. I just know that she seemed awfully close to that other guy. Blue eyes, black hair. Quite handsome, I must say.”

Anxiety squeezes my chest. “What are you talking about?”

“I saw them hugging. Like, ten minutes ago. I think he was apologizing for something? And anyway, she agreed to hang out with him and then hugged him. She looked a little giddy after that.”

“You’re lying.”

She chuckles and approaches me. “Listen, I understand you don’t trust me. I’m not asking you to after what happened. If you don’t believe me, just ask her. Or ask that guy, if you know him. What was his name? I’m sure she said it.”

“Finn,” I hear myself say.

“Yes. Finn. Anyway…” She brushes my shoulder as she slowly walks past me. “When you realize that your girlfriend is toying with you, call me. You have my number.”

My eyes switch to the Donut Delight booth. There are people milling about and obstructing my view, but I still get glimpses of Maisie smiling at customers.

It’s nothing. There’s a rational explanation for it.

Light taps on my shoulder shake me out of my trance. “You okay, son? What did she want?” Dad asks.

But I don’t answer as my gaze sweeps over the crowd, the Christmas trees, and the lights, those damn songs blaring in my ears. Then, I see him. Finn. He’s playing basketball at the Free Throw stand. The worker hands him a stuffed animal. Finn takes it, smiling from ear to ear, and walks in the direction of the Donut Delight booth.

“I’ll see you guys later,” I tell Dad and Brent.

“Where are you going?” Brent asks, but I don’t answer and stride to Finn before he reaches Maisie.

I catch up to him just as he walks by the Catch a Duck station, and I stand in his way. He stops walking, frowning up at me.

“Oh, hey. What do you want?”

“What do you want with her?”

Finn does a double-take, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. He seems to think about it, then glances over my shoulder at the Donut Delight’s booth. “Who, Maisie?”

I don’t answer, shooting daggers at him.

“What I do or don’t do is none of your business,” he says.

“It is if we’re dating.”

Finn loses a fraction of his smile but quickly fixes it back up. “Her? With you?” He chuckles. “Interesting. She didn’t mention that at all. Neither before nor after she hugged me.”

Hot lava is burning my chest. “Stay away from her. I won’t ask you twice.”

“Listen, man,” he raises his hands in surrender, but that smug smirk keeps hanging onto his lips. “I’m not the one you should talk to about this, alright? I was just ordering coffee, and then she stuck around, talking and joking with me. Said we should hang out sometime. She wanted me to get her this.” He raises a stuffed penguin wearing a green beanie and hat.

I can’t believe Catherine was telling the truth. Actually, I can’t believe I fell for someone I barely know, who is probably dating me because her evening with Finn hadn’t gone well. It wasn’t really dating, and I was completely blind to it. Now that Finn’s being nice with her, Maisie realized he was the type of guy she wanted.

I will my legs to carry me away from this place, but anger keeps me rooted to the floor. The next thing I know, my hands shove Finn so hard he stumbles back and falls butt first in the water, splashing the kids around and making yellow rubber ducks fly in all directions.