One Little Chance (Sweet River)

Chapter 2

DECEMBER 25TH, 2022

Dad

Merry Christmas, Soph! So happy you’re back in town. I know you’re with Mom today, but I’m excited to ring in the new year with you! Love you.

C hristmas morning tasted like hot coffee with cinnamon sprinkled atop and sounded like Mom and Orlando giggling over silly holiday memories while bacon sizzled in the frying pan. The new Christmas tree was aglow in the corner of the living room.

I sat at the round oak kitchen table with fuzzy red and green socks on while Orlando grinned at me through sleepy eyes.

“Little us would judge older us for eating breakfast before presents,” Orlando said as he poured himself more coffee.

“I miss little you trying to sneak into the living room at all hours of the night to catch Santa in the act.” Mom sighed wistfully at the memory.

“Look where we are now,” I said, before taking a hot sip. “I’m back in Sweet River getting my own place. You’re in college.”

“I wonder where we’ll be even a year from now.” Orlando came and sat beside me at the table. That question gave my heart little anticipatory flutters, like turning the first pages of a new story.

“Oh, oh, speaking of little you. Did we tell you who we ran into yesterday?” Mom asked Orlando while pointing toward me with the spatula.

“Who?” he asked. The smell of bacon made my stomach growl.

I hid my face in my hands. “Jordan. And his family. They came caroling.”

Orlando busted out a laugh, leaning back in his chair. “Of course, the Silks came a caroling.”

“ Jordan .” My eyes went wide as I said his name. “Who I haven’t seen in forever, shows up in our driveway right after I’ve slipped on ice getting out of the car?—”

“Orlando, I walk out there and the first thing I see is Sophia’s wet bum like she dipped her tush in a bucket of water,” Mom said as she moved the cooked bacon onto a plate with a fork.

“Why would she ever dip her tush in a bucket of water?” Orlando squinted at Mom.

“I hid it with my jacket!” I dropped my hands to the table. “I don’t know how you saw a thing, Mom.”

“The jacket was drenched, too. It was your entire backside,” Mom said softly as if trying to gently tell me the truth.

I sighed, standing up and walking over toward the stove. “It was awkward. I’m soaked. He’s caroling. He was avoiding looking straight at me.”

“Imagine how he feels—he hasn’t seen his elementary, junior high, high school sweetheart in years. Then there he is wearing his fluffy coat and singing Christmas songs in front of her.”

“How’d you know he was in a fluffy coat?” I snatched a piece of bacon and popped it into my mouth.

“I grew up with Jordan, too. I was there for all of it. Of course, he was in that old giant coat of his that used to be his dad’s.” He crossed his arms. “Yeah, you might’ve been soaked. But you also don’t want to run into the girl that got away in your old fluffy coat.”

“I’ve always loved that coat,” I admitted. I used to wear it more than he did.

A fter we opened presents, Nonna and Nonno came over so Nonna and Mom cooked up their classic Christmas manicotti. Later, while the rest of the family watched Christmas movies, I was going through old cardboard boxes and plastic tubs with Mom in her cramped garage, trying to collect anything I might want to take with me to my new house.

It was like going through a scrapbook of our childhood in objects. Old school projects, favorite stuffed animals, and outgrown shiny yellow rollerblades. Mom and I both got misty-eyed and refused to ever part with it. Did I need a box of old stuffed animals? No. Was I absolutely bringing along my old Lamby and Hop Hop? Yes.

When I found an old, yellowed plane ticket at the bottom of a box. I pulled it out and read the note scrawled over it.

Merry Christmas, Sophie. Come play in the snow with me? Love, Jordan.

S uddenly, I wasn’t standing amongst old boxes anymore. Instead, I was back in my memories, seventeen again and giddy over Christmas break.

We were running late. Jordan, his parents, sisters, brother, and me the bonus tagalong, all crammed into their shiny red suburban speeding along to the airport.

“Check-in is in…” His mom, Pat, rubbed her forehead defeatedly, not finishing her sentence.

“I can get us there.” His dad, Carson’s, voice was as tight as a bottlecap. Jordan and I exchanged a glance, the two of us happily squeezed in together in the backseat, fingers laced. We ignored his sister, Jenna, shaking her head at us.

“These two.” She nudged Sarah on the shoulder and nodded toward us.

“The lovebirds couldn’t care less that we’re going to miss our flight.” Jordan’s brother, Cody, patted him on the shoulder from the backseat.

He was right.

Checking our bags and fumbling through the security line was chaotic and noisy, but it was as if the stress around us couldn’t reach Jordan and me in our little fortress of happiness. Together we could make anything a joke, always taking turns being each other’s sunshine.

We jogged after his dad through the airport, Jordan’s hand never dropping mine with “All I Want for Christmas,” vibrating through the airport speakers.

We arrived at the gate right on time to hear an announcement through the speakers, “Flight 2829 to Ruidoso has been delayed by two hours. Please speak to the gate assistant if this interferes…”

Carson turned to our motley crew squeaking to a stop on the glossy airport tile. He broke into a laugh. It rippled through all of us. After working so hard to barely make it on time…we were now stuck in the airport for the next two hours. Everyone moaned and slapped their hands across their heads, but I liked being stuck with Jordan and his family. They could extend my time with Jordan all they wanted.

“Now we have time to stock up on snacks, I guess.” Pat shrugged, gesturing toward the tiny airport market behind us.

Under the fluorescent lights, the airport shops still hung twinkle lights and positioned Christmas trees with shiny red and green bulbs. I meandered through the glossy racks of magazines with Jenna and Sarah when Jordan snuck his around my waist holding a cup of coffee out before me.

“One cinnamon coffee,” he said. I never did have to ask.

“Just what the doctor ordered.” I gratefully wrapped my hands around the cup, taking a whiff of the nutty, sweet scent.

“I feel like at this time of year you’re basically eighty percent cinnamon coffee. It worries me,” Jordan said playfully furrowing his brows. His jawline now more chiseled than when we grew up.

“Yet you’re buying them for me unprompted?” I shrugged and took a warm sip.

“You know this boy can’t resist giving you whatever you want.” Jenna grinned, holding up a pinky. “You have him wrapped.”

“It’s bad. He’s been obsessed with trying to find you the perfect Christmas gift,” Sarah said as she flipped through a baking magazine. “It has to be perfect.”

“Is that true?” I cocked a head toward Jordan, my cup still warm in my hands.

His cheeks went pink. “Well, yeah, I’ve been stumped. I want it to be just right.”

“I relate.” I stepped closer to him. “I’ve had trouble finding the right gift for you too.”

I’d almost bought several things, but it seemed I’d do what I’d done the past several years which was wait until the very last minute to finally settle on something that was only good enough. When we were fourteen, I’d given him Cowboys stadium tour tickets that I’d won on a radio contest I’d followed along religiously to win. That was the only gift I’d ever felt was sufficient. Every other one had lived in its shadows since.

“You two crack me up. I’m sure you could buy each other some random junk from one of these airport gift shops and be over the moon because it was coming from each other,” Jenna mused as she tucked a magazine back on the rack.

Jordan’s eyes sparkled with an idea. “What would you get me from here?”

I glanced around the cramped shop. “I have no idea. What would you get me?”

His smile spread. “I don’t know, but I kind of want to figure it out.”

“You want to buy each other Christmas gifts here…at the airport?” I said hesitantly. Because I was a competitive person, even when it came to gift-giving, and there was no one else I cared about winning the prize for more than the guy excitedly looking around the shop in front of me.

“I do. I really do.” He nodded, rubbing his hands together. “Let’s find each other’s present here at the airport—and it has to be something that can only be found here. No cheating by hitting up the Brooks Brothers or something.”

“No Starbucks mug?” I teased, feeling myself getting excited in spite of my better judgment.

“Absolutely not. I want something that looks like you forgot about me and grabbed it at the last minute on your flight home.” He started to head to the doorway. “You ready?”

“I’m ready.” I bit my lip. Jordan made even being stuck at the airport fun.

He headed out the door, and I spun back around in the store. Where to begin?

“I mean, there’s this?” Sarah held up a massive blue mug shaped like the state of Texas. I cringed and headed toward the toiletries.

An hour passed, and I couldn’t find anything. I had scoured multiple stores, bumping into Jordan a couple of times, who would wink at me or wiggle his brows, but I came up empty-handed.

“Back to square one?” Jenna asked, who’d been trying to help along the way. We were back in that first shop where we started the game, standing in front of the same magazine rack again. I took in a steadying breath while “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” blared through the speakers.

“Back to square one.” I shrugged when something caught my eye. It would have to do.

As we settled into our seats on the airplane, Jordan leaned down and whispered against my ear, “Find me a gift?” making my hair stand on end.

I glanced sideways up at him. “I did. You have any luck?”

“I sure did.” He smiled smugly as he buckled his seatbelt.

That night, after we’d finally checked into the snow-laden rustic hotel, Jordan and I nestled up by the lobby fireplace under a heavy quilted throw. The wood crackled and the air smelled of pine and ash as Jordan tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.

We’d both brought our presents with us, left in their plastic shopping bags and sitting by our feet. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to exchange presents.” Jordan’s blue eyes gleamed in the firelight.

I’d caught him trying to peek into the plastic bag all afternoon.

“I don’t think you’ll ever get another gift quite like this one.” I lifted my chin. “There’s no competing with the absolute gem I found.”

Jordan ran a hand through his hair. “Enough bluffing. Let’s see the gift, Soph.”

The two of us both grabbed the bags at our feet.

I dropped mine in his lap first. “Open up, buddy.”

He pulled the packaging paper off the giant blue Texas-shaped mug and a laugh burst from his lips. “This is heavy,” he said pretending he could barely hold it up. “And so beautiful.”

I leaned into his arm giggling. “I originally rejected this mug, but it eventually won me over.”

Something about Jordan, and how we loved each other, made me feel safe enough to let my competitive stride slow down enough to be silly with him. To stop hunting for perfect and let myself grab hold of whatever made us laugh.

“I will keep this mug forever and always think of the girl who can make me fall in love with just about anything to do with her.” He twirled it around his hands, examining it. “This baby is the finest ceramic.”

I reached into the plastic bag he’d placed in my lap, grabbing hold of something delicate and small. Dangling from my fingers was an ornament with a preserved piece of mistletoe in glass, red ribbon tied at its base.

Tears prickled my eyes. “Jordan, how’d you find this?”

“One of those ornament racks. It was the only one like it. I saw it, and it reminded me ? —”

“Of our first kiss,” I said, breathless. I fingered the ornament. The glass was smooth under my fingertips.

“I owe a lot to mistletoe, you know.” He ran his thumb along my jaw. “Still can’t believe I get to be the guy kissing you.”

“You never did need mistletoe to kiss me,” I said, placing my hand against the back of his neck and pulling him in until his lips were firm against mine. He dug his hands into my lower back, pulling me closer. There was nothing as fun as being in love with him.

Y ears later, I was digging through boxes and tubs as the sun got low in the sky outside the windows until I finally found that ornament of mistletoe encased in glass. Red ribbon looped around my finger as I dangled it in front of me. After all this time, the green leaf of mistletoe was still preserved. The color was unfaded by time and as evergreen as the night by the fire. I ran a finger across it, trying to ignore the thought that when it came to Jordan it sometimes felt my own feelings had been preserved and tucked away all this time, too. And now that we were in the same city, I’d have to pull them out of the box and face just how vibrant and unfaded they may be.