Havoc for the Holidays (Home for the Holidays)

12. Ezechiel

Chapter twelve

Ezechiel

H e said yes. Thank God for holiday miracles, he said yes. I clutched my phone in a tight fist and scanned the chaos around me with a little less stress than I had just moments earlier. It had been a shot in the dark calling him for help given his noticeable distance over the last week, but in a moment of weakness and utter despondency, I'd called him for help and he said yes. Maybe, with a little luck, I'd be able to get out of the mess and end up with not only a successful showcase, but also a second chance for a relationship I never knew I wanted as badly as I did.

Roughly fifteen minutes after my desperate cry for help, headlights illuminated the back parking lot before shutting off. He'd come, just like he said he would. I almost cried with relief. The chill of the night air swept in to take my breath away as I rushed forward to hold the door open for him and Becs. Their rumpled appearances took me by surprise as they shuffled into the studio in puffy winter coats and heavy boots layered over sleepwear.

“Oh, hi.” Ollie shifted on his feet with a sheepish half smile.

“Hi, Ez!” Becs skipped toward me with an audible clunking of her boots before wrapping her arms around my waist. “Daddy said we’re gonna help.”

“Yes, and I’m so thankful.” I ran a hand over her chaotic, tangled curls and chanced a glance toward Ollie just in time to spy the sad, but somewhat wistful expression on his face. “I'm really grateful.”

“Anytime, Ez. What happened?” His eyes skated away and took in the disarray of the studio as Becs ran head first into the chaos with the excitement only a child could possess.

With a grimace, I followed his gaze. “The storage place where we keep all the costumes and supplies… well, they asked us to get it all out yesterday morning. And today, my principal male dancer called to tell me he couldn't perform. His family is taking a trip to Vale that weekend.”

“Oh… goodness.” Ollie took a step forward and stopped short, wringing his hands. I wanted nothing more than to tug him into my arms for a hug, but everything in his body language told me to bide my time.

“On top of that, we lost our makeup artist and my mother neglected to inform me of this fact until this afternoon, and to be completely transparent… the accountant you told me about? He sent his report over and it's not good.” I ran a hand over my face with a sigh.

“You mean… oh, Ez.” Apparently, I didn't need to wait long. Ollie hurried forward and enveloped me in a hug so restorative, I actually did struggle not to cry.

He squeezed tighter as I stifled a soft sniffle. I hadn't paid attention to how utterly delicious he smelled in all our other embraces, but the memory of it must have been buried deep in my subconscious, because as soon as the unique aroma of vanilla and lavender and him hit my nose, my heart sang.

“It's not good. I never realized how much of my mom’s other income went to the studio. Her finances were all one big jumble, but now that the rental income isn't being invested in the studio… I don't know what to do.” I exhaled a heavy breath and simply allowed myself to wallow in the warmth of his embrace.

“Do a fundraiser!” Becs returned from her explorations wearing a tiara and wielding a wand that I didn't remember seeing amongst the boxes and totes and overflowing bags. She bopped her father on the hip with a giggle. “Like for school. We did a fundraiser for pumpkin picking.”

I reluctantly stepped back as Ollie released his hold on me to give his attention to Becs. With a tilt of my head, I considered her proposal. It wasn't all that bad a suggestion despite coming from the mind of a kindergartener. Ollie caught my eye again and shrugged. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and I wanted so desperately to see the full breadth of the carefree grin I remembered so fondly.

“Fundraising is a good idea. You could do suggested donations at the door, too?” He scuffed one boot and snuck his hand out to link our pinkies together. “I can ask my mom if she'd like to do the makeup? It can't be too hard, right?”

“Your mom?” I blinked in surprise. We’d only briefly discussed his parents and I'd never met them, so I assumed they were no longer in the area.

“I'll ask. Her and my dad are coming for Christmas. She said she is arriving in time to see the show.” He glanced toward the studio and the mountains of storage containers. “As far as this stuff… um… maybe we can… stack the changing rooms and see what's left?”

Humming softly under my breath, I eyed the disaster and tried to find some solace in his seemingly simple solutions. “It doesn't help with the loss of my Nutcracker… but it’s better than nothing.”

“Daddy can be the Nutcracker!” Becs whirled her wand overhead with another giggle. “He dances with me at home. Daddy, be the Nutcracker!”

“Becs, honey… I—”

“Would you?” My eyes snapped toward him in an instant. “I could adjust the choreography. The costume would fit you with only a few adjustments. We have two weeks to practice. Please, Olls?”

He blinked, mouthed a few silent words, blinked again, and froze with his jaw hanging open and his eyes wide.

“Please, Daddy?” Becs tossed her wand atop a pile of clothes and grabbed his jacket in both fists as she jumped up and down. “Please?”

His expression grew downright distraught as he lifted a hand to run his fingers through his hair. A wince flashed over his face as he worked to disentangle the digits from his riotous curls. “Becs, I can’t—”

“Daadddy!” Her whine managed to turn the two-syllable word into one containing three times as many.

He flicked his gaze back toward me and his shoulders sagged. “Oh, f-fine.”

Although he was clearly distressed, I couldn't help the bubble of joy that expanded in my chest. Not only was he saving my showcase, but in doing so, he was all but guaranteeing we would have all sorts of extra time together. Perhaps it was a selfish thing, but in light of how much I was dealing with, the promise of rekindling this thing between us gave me a flood of happiness and hope that nothing could diminish.

“Olls, you have no idea how much it means to me. Thank you.” I shifted my hand till our fingers could lace together before squeezing. “It'll be fun.”

“Right… okay.” He worried his lower lip with his teeth and let his eyes drift away. “Shall we start with this stuff?”

Deciding it was best not to push my luck after he'd made such a huge concession, I let our hands fall apart and agreed. Considering it was after seven at night and I had a class arriving at eight o'clock the next morning, I really did need to figure out how to make some space in the studio.

Becs was no help at all, but she was an absolute riot to work with. I found myself laughing more and more freely at her antics as Ollie and I carted box after box of costumes and supplies and accessories into the changing rooms. The already small spaces soon became even smaller as we lined the walls of each room until we couldn't possibly fit another item without risking a catastrophic avalanche of tulle and spandex.

Back in the studio, the mess was a little more manageable but we still weren't even close to completely clearing out the space. I was going to have a strongly worded conversation with my mother about the amount of costume wear she'd invested in over the years.

“Do you have space in your cottage, maybe? I could fit at least five or six boxes in my car.” Ollie's voice was soft and serene as he stepped into my space and tentatively linked his pinky with mine.

“It's a two-bedroom so… yes. You wouldn't mind?” I turned my gaze toward him and admired his profile in the studio lighting. I hadn't noticed the way his button nose turned up slightly at the end until this very moment and my heart skipped a beat with the realization. He was criminally adorable.

“Not at all.” As if sensing my scrutiny, he made eye contact and a momentary silence fell over us as we got lost in the feedback loop of locked gazes. His tongue snuck out to run the line of his lower lip before he spoke even quieter. “I'm sorry, Ez. About… y’know.”

“Me too. Are we…” I lifted my free hand and gestured between us with my index finger. “Are we okay?”

“Yeah. I got in my head and spiraled a little but if you're okay, I'm okay.” He smiled a sheepish smile and lowered his eyes.

“Can we talk about it? Maybe not tonight, but when you're ready? So I understand better?”

“In the future, yes. It was very much a me problem.” He gave my pinky a squeeze with his. “I can't promise I won't stumble again, but I'm trying. It's a lot. Everything is.”

I laughed quietly and shook my head. “Same. On all counts. Between the studio and the move and this thing I want to work between us… yeah. It's a lot.”

“We’ll get it all figured out, I think. The showcase and… us.” He hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and stepping closer. My lips parted with a soft breath before he cushioned them with his in the sweetest, tenderest kiss of my life. Just like that, the last of my worries melted away as our breaths mingled and our bodies magnetically moved together. There was only the gentle push and pull of lips and reverent hands as we reconnected. Our parting was just as tender as we shared a sigh that turned into a smile.

“I missed you,” I confessed, lifting my hand to trace the line of his stubbled jaw. “I missed this.”

“Oh,” he breathed with barely a sound. “Me too.”

“At the risk of ruining the moment…”

“Let me guess—we have an audience?” Ollie’s shy smile crinkled his eyes as he snuck a glance to the side. “Grab your coat, Becs. We're going to help Ez take the rest of these boxes to his house.”

“Yay! I get to see your house!”

I laughed and shook my head in amusement. Ollie had mentioned how much she loved the decorations on the cottages. The fact that he'd backed out of helping had cut me to the bone. It seemed only fitting that our renewed promise to give our relationship a real chance would result in showing his daughter the decorations. Perhaps I had a holiday miracle to thank for it after all.