A Curvy Carol (A Curvy Girl Christmas #2)

24. Whit

24

WHIT

I picked up some snow and packed it carefully onto the top of the igloo. It was coming along nicely despite being kind of small. Only young children could fit through the entrance.

Even so, building this with some of the kids staying at the lodge was a good distraction from everything that had gone down with Carolynn.

“This is the best igloo I’ve ever seen!” a kid next to me shouted before he crawled inside the structure.

“I hope so,” I replied. “We’ve spent all afternoon on this thing.”

He crawled back out, and another kid, a little girl, crawled in his place. “Whoa!” she cried. Her words were muffled by all the snow. “I’ve never been in an igloo before.”

My lips tugged up at her excitement. “Well, now you have,” I told her as I packed more snow around the entrance.

Maybe I wasn’t a great ice skater yet, but igloo making seemed to be a skill of mine.

“Let’s make a snow family for the igloo,” the little girl said. “A snow girl and a snow boy.”

“Great idea,” I said, and we got to work making the base of the snow people.

“Whitney, have you ever had a girlfriend?” another one of the boys asked me. Whit wasn’t even short for Whitney. I wasn’t sure if he was picking on me or just confused.

“Um, it’s Whit,” I reminded him. “And uh, that’s kind of a personal question.”

But both kids were still waiting for my answer. Right away, my mind went to Carolynn. She had sort of become my girlfriend. Maybe. Before it all ended.

“Not really,” I said lamely as we worked.

I’d come out here to get my mind away from Carolynn, and here I was, thinking about her again. It was hard to stop thinking about her, especially when building snowmen had been one of the fun things we’d done together.

I still remembered that first day we’d spent with each other, riding the Garland Express and seeing how much she hated Christmas. Thinking she was beautiful but guarded.

She was the kind of person who was rough around the edges but had a heart of gold she only showed a select few. It was my favorite thing about her—feeling like I was in on a special secret. It was clear to me that she didn’t show everyone her kind interior right away, but after a while, she had trusted me enough to show me her true self.

A fresh wave of guilt struck my chest.

She’d let me in and allowed herself to be vulnerable enough to enjoy Christmas for once, only to feel betrayed by me in the end. Would she have been better off schlepping between her parents’ houses, overwhelmed with activities and trying to act like she was having a good time?

I hated that I even had to wonder.

I kicked at a pile of snow and sighed.

“Are you okay, Whitney?” the same kid asked me.

“Yeah,” I replied halfheartedly, giving up on correcting him.

I wasn’t, really, but I wasn’t about to explain the train wreck that was my love life to an eight-year-old.

His little brother came up to me. “My dad says it’s okay to kick snow if you’re upset. Just don’t kick people. Or something someone built.”

“Sounds like good advice,” I said.

“Are you mad at somebody? Like your best friend?” he asked me.

“Just myself,” I replied, and we continued working on our snow girl.

After a while, their parents called them in so they could go get lunch. They said goodbye, and I waved back before heading inside myself.

It was freezing cold outside, and my fingers were numb even through my gloves, so I had to give up on being busy and go inside to warm up.

As I walked through the lobby, an older woman came in, and I immediately recognized her. It was the lady from The Nutcracker.

To my surprise, she spotted me and waved. I stopped in my tracks as she made her way over to me.

“Oh, I’m glad I ran into you, young man,” she said. She had to be a full foot shorter than me. She kind of reminded me of my grandma.

“Your snow globe is ready,” she said, pulling a small box out of a large bag. She handed it to me, and I took it, mostly puzzled before realizing this was the snow globe I had ordered for Carolynn and me.

“I already gave Carolynn hers yesterday. She loved it,” she told me.

“Good,” I said quietly. “I hoped she would. Thank you.”

Her eyes lingered on me for a moment, and she looked like she wanted to say something. Instead, she patted my back and was off again. It seemed she had several orders to deliver to the lodge because she headed over to my mom, who stood at the front desk.

Meanwhile, I studied the snow globe. It was perfect.

A tiny, curvy figure with blonde hair stood next to a taller figure with short dark hair. It was us. With a snowman behind us and snow all around. I shook the globe and watched the snow fall around us.

It was magical, just like the last several days with Carolynn.

Staring at this globe, I knew one thing. I had to find a way to get her back.

I hadn’t thought of anything yet, but there had to be something I could do.

I walked back home and placed the snow globe carefully on my dresser.

As I had some lunch, I thought things over. I was pretty sure I needed some sort of grand gesture, just like in those cheesy movies my mom liked to watch this time of year. And maybe some flannel. The guys were always wearing flannel in those movies.

After I finished eating, I got back into my coat and gloves. Then I pulled my boots on and headed into town.

I had an idea, and I needed to get back to The Nutcracker. When I walked through the heavy wooden doors, I spotted what I was looking for on the shelf. I’d seen this before but hadn’t thought much of it.

Now, it might be the answer to getting Carolynn back.

I grabbed the box off the shelf and headed to the register.

Ms. Merriweather was there, and she smiled wide when she saw me. “Hello again!”

“Hi,” I replied.

“Hello.” She took the box and scanned it. “Starting a new project, I see.”

I nodded. “A special project, for Carolynn.”

She winked at me. “Good luck.”

Something about her words felt like magic. Goosebumps ran down my neck, but I ignored the feeling, paid for the kit, and headed home.

I had work to do.