Trapped Under the Christmas Tree (Christmas Tree, PA Sweet Romcom #1)

Chapter 10

Tessa

I kind of thought there for a moment that he was hinting that he wanted to...ask me out? I’m not sure. Maybe he’s just being lulled into complacency by the cozy nest that we’ve made for ourselves.

Don’t get me wrong, the ground is still really, really hard. I can feel a little bit of coldness seeping up through the blanket. But having a blanket there is better than nothing, and I’m pretty much warm all over. I hope he is too. He’s not shivering anymore, but I know that can be a bad thing, because I think that’s the next stage as a person dips down into hypothermia. But I think he’s not shivering because he’s warm. Not because he’s getting colder.

“I thought I was doing a good job of observing, but somehow I missed you.”

“I’m easy to miss. I’m quiet, I don’t usually kick up a big fuss about much of anything, and I just...try to see where I can be helpful and throw in with everything I can.”

“You help your family, you help the town, and I don’t think being a librarian can pay very much, yet you’ve been faithful to your job.”

“And I have no interest in getting another one. You’re right. I’ll probably never own a nice farm on the edge of town. I will always live in an apartment near the town square. Something I can afford.”

“I wouldn’t say never.” His words have a ring of fortune in them, and I’m not sure I understand.

“I suppose you’re right. It’s not a good idea to say never.”

“Sometimes God has plans for us that shock us when we figure out what they are.”

“He’s shocked me more than a few times,” I say, knowing that God really has twisted my life up in ways I never expected.

“In what way?” he asks, sounding truly interested.

“I direct the church Christmas plays every year. We have four of them, and I never thought I would do that. I mean, I’m kind of quiet, and I don’t like to get up in front of people, but... It was something that the town needed, and no one else was stepping up to do it.”

“So you did it,” he says, as though he’s already figured out that’s part of my personality. People don’t step up, so I do it. It doesn’t matter how bad the job or how unqualified I am, I figure something out.

“I can look back and see. Isn’t it funny how hindsight is so much better than even me sitting there, observing, thinking I’m getting all this new insight, when really what I wanted was under my nose the entire time, and I did not see it.”

What he wanted?

“And what was that?” I say, feeling like I might understand what he’s trying to say, but not sure.

“I was looking for someone just like you. I was observing all of these other women, thinking I was being so smart, and all that time, you were there.” He pauses for a moment, then he says, “Don’t take that the wrong way. I’m not trying to insinuate now that I’ve decided that you are exactly what I want, everything is settled. I understand that I might not be what you want. But I can at least use you as a pattern. As an example, a yardstick, so to speak, to anyone else I notice.”

“That doesn’t sound very romantic,” I say. Although I want to say, no, I’ve had a crush on you for years. This is the best news I’ve had in decades, that you might be interested in me , I don’t want to sound so...desperate.

“It doesn’t, does it? I guess I was all about romance for a long time, and I still think romance is a good thing, but maybe it’s better to have romance between a husband and wife than between two people who may or may not end up married? Does that make sense?”

That sounds...radical. “I’ve never heard of anyone saying anything like that before. Of course, romance is important between people who are interested in each other. How else will they figure out whether they want to be married or not?”

“By looking for those things that aren’t as easily seen. By looking for character and integrity, and by figuring out that they share the same values and morals and that building a life together is something that they can see each other doing.”

“No attraction? No secret smiles and flirty laughs?”

“I suppose there can be those kinds of things too. But can’t you do that after you’re married?”

“I suppose you can. But I think women especially aren’t going to be down with the idea that they’re just going to coldly choose someone.”

“And yet, for a lot of human history, marriages were arranged. People were simply put together and then had to figure out how to make a marriage work.”

“I’d like to say we’ve come a long way since then, but... Maybe attraction isn’t the best way to figure that out.”

He’s quiet for a moment, and I love that he seems to be thinking about what I said. I talk to so many people who seem to be forming their rebuttals to the conversation before the speaker is even done speaking. But Jake listens. At least to me.

“I think women are different from men. I know that’s not profound,” he adds as I grunt. “But I guess I just don’t need to be wooed in any way. And again, that might have to do with all of my failed relationships. I want to know I am with someone who is going to stick by me, no matter what. I feel like as long as our values and morals are aligned, we can work out everything else. As long as we’re committed to staying together and breaking up isn’t an option.”

Now it’s my turn to be quiet. I just thought to myself how much I appreciate how he thought about what I said, so shouldn’t I do the same for him?

It’s that do unto to others thing.

And I think I get what he’s saying. He’s saying that while he’s not completely dismissing the idea of attraction, he thinks it’s important to find someone who is committed to making a relationship last a lifetime. The idea is novel, but... I don’t dislike it.

“The romance would happen after the marriage. I feel like that’s something that keeps a relationship alive. Something that keeps it...interesting.”

And that is something I can get on board with too. “You mean like married couples dating?” I say, thinking I know what he’s talking about.

“Yeah. You agree to a lifetime commitment, and then you agree to nourish your relationship, however that looks. Some people don’t like to go out, so maybe a date would look like sitting in front of the fire with hot chocolate looking at the Christmas tree lights in the corner and holding hands. Or maybe it would look like a long weekend at a ski resort. Or maybe it would look like both. If one person loves to go out and one person doesn’t, it’s compromising.”

“I feel like you should be some kind of relationship counselor.”

He laughs. “That’s the first time anyone’s ever said something like that to me. Ever. I seem to be the king of failed relationships.” He pauses. “Isn’t that what the town’s most eligible bachelor means? That basically, I can’t find anyone to stick with me.”

I had never considered it like that. I just thought he was popular and had everything put together. Now, of course I admire his hard work, admire his contributions to the town, like tonight. Everyone else is either inside because of the weather or on I80 at the accident. But Jake, Jake is in the town square, decorating the Christmas tree by himself, since no one else showed up. How can a girl not admire that?

I haven’t gotten a chance to say anything more, when we hear noises, and Jake says, “I think our rescuers have arrived.”

It sounds like a truck rumbling, people talking, and the next thing I know, a corner of our little cocoon has been lifted, and someone is looking in.

“I heard Jake Bilmer was trapped under the tree. Jake, is that you?” A deep voice, it sounds like Bob Turner, speaks as the cold air slithers underneath and reminds me that my warmth was only temporary.

“Tessa is with me,” Jake says. I was wondering how I was going to explain that, but he saves me. “She found me, brought me blankets, and protected me from the weather, while snuggling up to me so I didn’t get hypothermia. It’s actually not bad under here.”

“I suppose there aren’t too many guys who would turn down being snuggled up to Tessa. She’s a keeper.”

“I know that,” Jake says, his voice a little lower. Like he’s thinking about that.

It makes me a bit uncomfortable, and I start to move.

Jake’s hand lands on my leg. It is the first time he’s touched me.

Bob has turned to talk to someone else, and Jake’s head turns a bit toward me. He’s not looking at me, since he can’t twist that far around, but he says, “Thank you. I... I really appreciate what you did for me tonight.”

“All right, Jake. Let’s get you out of here. I got my truck in position, but I didn’t want to run over you. I have to adjust a bit, and then we’ll get this tree lifted off.” Bob Turner’s voice is no nonsense, like he’s done this a million times before. It is true that he’s worked in more complicated situations than setting a Christmas tree up.

“Let’s get Tessa out of there. In case branches fall off, we don’t want her to get hit.” George Galloway pulls down the other side of our blankets and holds his hand out for me.

“You’re not stuck, are you?” he says as I grasp a hold of his hand, shaking my head.

I murmur a thank you as he helps me out, then I gather up the blankets that were on Jake as they put some protective boards over top of him in case branches fall off the tree, and I stand on the sidelines as Bob maneuvers the truck to the tree, gets out, and uses the boom on the back to lift it up, and then medics immediately descend on Jake and his leg to make sure that he’s okay.

I know I should go back to my warm, cozy apartment. I’m cold, and my work here is done, such as it was. I highly doubt he would have died, but maybe they would have taken him to the hospital to be treated for mild hypothermia. As it is, I think he’s going to be released with no issues.

Instead of going home, I’m sitting in the pavilion, one of the blankets I brought wrapped around me, my hot chocolate still in my hands, as he walks gingerly on the leg that had been under the tree. It’s amazing that he isn’t hurt.

I say a small prayer of thanks, and then I try to convince myself that whatever little bit of personal connection we shared is over.