‘Twas the Love Before Christmas

20. Noah

Chapter twenty

Noah

O nce we got inside, I took Catherine into the living room. I had been busy since my parents had left for Brighton this morning to share brunch with Catherine’s parents and do some last-minute shopping. I had been invited but decided to stay to surprise my parents. My time so far had been spent working outside. The porch lights looked great, but now I was ready to tackle the Christmas tree and all its ornaments. That would be the last of the decorations I put up.

I had set up the Christmas tree for now, but that was it. Scattered around the living room were boxes of various sizes with all the Christmas stuff, the same boxes used to store the decorations for years.

“Wow. The tree looks so bare right now, but at least you’ve got it up…” Catherine said with a slight smile. “How long have you been working on this, and all alone too?”

“I’ve been working since seven this morning. They know I wanted to decorate the porch but don’t know about the tree. They left about an hour ago,” I said. “They wanted to go into Brighton. I hear your parents are having brunch with them. And yes. All alone, too.”

“I woke up just in time to see my parents off,” she said. “They told me they were heading out to Brighton for the day and to text if I needed anything. Here. Let me get the tree fluffed, and you can start on some of the other decorations. I assume you want to put stockings up?”

“I would love to put the stockings up but first I’m going to start a fire in the fireplace. Make things cozy.”

Once I had a nice fire going, I found the box of stockings. As I pulled the stockings and the hangers out of the box, Catherine quickly peeked into the box the Christmas tree had been in and found the tree skirt. But first, she went back to fluffing the tree.

I hung the stockings on the mantle. They were all part of a set, and Mary had left her stocking here. She and Thad had bought their own stockings, and being the dutiful uncle that I was, I had insisted on buying each of the girls their Christmas stockings as they came into this world. Would there be a chance for me to hang stockings on a fireplace mantel for my own children, or had I flown past those prime years with my career?

“You ever wonder about decorating for your own family?” I asked as I put the last stocking on the mantle. “The stockings, the desserts, the Christmas tree with all of the ornaments you’ve gathered through the years because your kids think they’re cute? What do you think you’d use?”

“I’ve thought about it,” Catherine replied. “My favorite thing to think about is what kind of ornaments my children will get so attached to that I can’t donate or sell them,” she said with a laugh. “My parents have so many ornaments they can’t bear to part with now because of the tantrums Chris and I would throw when they tried to get rid of some of them.”

“What kind of ornaments? My mom has kept this little chihuahua on a chili pepper because I loved the thing when I was about five. We put it on the tree every year. My favorite ornament, honestly,” I said.

“It’s a cow dressed as a ballerina for me,” she said. “I can’t even remember where we picked it up.”

I smiled. Now that the stockings were up, I started to pull the ornaments out. Then, I looked over. Catherine was hardly halfway done fluffing the tree. I picked up the top-most level.

“A cow dressed as a ballerina? Did you have dreams of being a ballerina once?”

“When I was a kid,” she said. “Like, when I was five. Didn’t like the art of dancing as much, but I still have respect for ballerinas.”

“I don’t think I ever knew that,” I responded with a chuckle.

Once the tree was fluffed, Catherine began hanging ornaments on the tree. She had picked up a tin locomotive Christmas ornament from years past and it slipped out of her hands. She and I both tried to catch it and bumped heads. Not hard, but it got us laughing.

Suddenly Wally, wanting to be part of the fun, came up behind me and nudged me closer to Catherine.

“Wally. Stop,” I commanded while laughing. But he kept nudging me. By this point, Catherine and I were standing face to face.

“Are you all right, Catherine?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she smiled, rubbing her head slightly.

“You know… this might be an odd change of topic,” I started, not entirely knowing where this would go but knowing I needed to share it. “I’ve been thinking about how things have been between us since we’ve both been home, and I just need to say something. Some old feelings have started to surface. Like feelings are rekindling. Strange after how long we’ve been away from each other and all of that. Are you… do you–” I broke off, the words catching in my throat.

“Oh. That’s… that’s an interesting question.”

I could see there was a good, deep blush on her cheeks. I didn’t try to get an answer out of her immediately. That wouldn’t help the situation, honestly. What I did was start digging in another box for a sprig of mistletoe. As I stood up, our eyes met, and she immediately looked back at the tree.

“I’ve had some feelings, too,” she said quietly. “But I’m not sure what to make of them. Is it just the spirit of Christmas that makes one feel … love? Is it just fond memories of days past?”

“Catherine. My heart races when we’re together, just the way it did when we were in high school. But more than that, I feel that there’s something there that we wouldn’t have been able to appreciate in high school.”

“Oh? And what would that be?”

She looked over at me. The way her red hair framed her face made my heart race just looking at it, and I walked over. I straightened the very top of the tree.

“There. That’s a good start,” she said. “Now… what would that thing be that we couldn’t appreciate in high school?”

“I think it’s something to do with the fact that we understand love is more than just this electric feeling. It’s so much more – like intimacy, protectiveness, trust, friendship.” I took her hand. “And, Catherine, you’re the only woman I’ve found all this with and so much more.”

She turned to face me.

I pulled my other hand out from behind my back. With that small sprig of mistletoe in my hand, I held it above us both.

“It seems we’re caught under the mistletoe, Catherine.” I smiled.

I leaned my head down just as she lifted her chin. Her lips landed on mine—sweet, warm, something old and something very new. I put my arms around her waist, pulling her closer. She put her arms around my neck. Then, she pulled her head away for air.

“Noah, you’re serious?” she asked, her head tilted.

“I’m serious,” I affirmed. “There are some logistics to work out, but I think it would be worth it.”

“I didn’t expect this, but I think… I think it’s worth trying. We’re going to have some things we’ll need to figure out. But first, we need to finish this surprise for your parents,” she said as she pulled away. “If we get it done before they come home, I’ll give you another kiss. Are you up for the challenge?”

“Oh, you don’t want to give me a challenge to rise to,” I said as I started to pull ornaments out. “I’m going to win. That’s what sports are all about, and. I’m all about the challenge.”

“Then, get to decorating with me. Since the tree’s already got lights in it, we just have to worry about the ornaments,” Catherine said.

We started to put the ornaments on, and while we were doing that, we talked about future plans.

“I could probably manage a trip or two out each year,” Catherine said. “I don’t get a ton of time off, and I like to try and fill in when people take a sick day. Gives me an excuse to write, even though I’m looking for another job.”

“Would you look here?” I asked.

“That’s a possibility,” she replied. “But, I could also freelance. I’ve… I’ve kind of already been looking into moving back to Indigo Lake – Brighton at the furthest reaches. Just haven’t found a job that would keep my bills paid yet.”

She shared what she had been doing to try and bring in more revenue, but also that she hadn’t checked on it since Christmas break when I gave her a questioning look. I could understand that. It wasn’t something to worry over right now, especially if she didn’t think it was going to do very well. I wasn’t sure what to say about it, but I wanted to be there to support her.

By this point, we were almost done. I put the angel on top of the tree, and then pulled her into a hug when we were all done and the boxes put away.

“Whatever you decide you want to do for your job, I’ll be there to support you, no matter if you end up here or in Brighton, because it’s what you can afford,” I said. “I know you’ve got that support from your family, but I want you to know that you’ve got it from me, too. No matter what we do.”

She smiled as she rested her head on my chest, squeezing her arms a little tighter around my waist.

“You’re a special man, Noah. How did I get so lucky to get a second chance with you?”

“I could ask the same thing about a second chance with you,” I replied. “Whatever the answer to this question is, I’m glad you’re willing to give me a second chance. You’re a wonderful woman, and I want nothing more than a chance to make you happy.”

“Speaking of happy… I should probably head home. It’s getting late, and I had plans to surprise my parents with dinner,” she said. “Thank you, Noah —for all of this. I was feeling down earlier about my parents having already decorated for Christmas. Being able to help you decorate for your parents gave me a sense of belonging that I didn’t realize I was missing. And discovering our lost love …” she smiled, shaking her head. “I need to go.”

I escorted her to the front door of her parents’ house and gave her a kiss before she walked in.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“I’ll text you when I know my plans for the day,” she said. “Thanks, Noah.”

“It was my pleasure.”

With that, I walked home and walked right over to Wally before giving him some pets and a couple of treats.

“You are a handful sometimes, Wally, but if you weren’t that way, I don’t think I would have gotten together with Catherine again,” I said to him. “Thank you. I don’t know if this could have happened without you. But next time, don’t you run off the porch.”

He started wagging his tail, as if he had not a care in the world other than the fact that I was petting him and giving him a couple of treats.

I finished cleaning up the living room. The last thing to do was to plug in the lights on the tree. When I plugged it in, I realized that Catherine knew exactly what she was doing when rearranging the ornaments once I had picked them out. The tree sparkled. Each of the ornaments had a chance to shine, and my mother’s heirloom Christmas topper glittered with twinkle lights.

“Wally, I am a lucky man.”

I put the last box in the closet where it belonged and then sat down on the couch. If Catherine hadn’t helped me, I wasn’t sure I would have been able to do it on my own. And I wouldn’t have had the chance—or the courage— to kiss her.

It was now mid-afternoon, and I realized I hadn’t eaten lunch at all. Instead of making a full meal, I grabbed some fruit from the kitchen and headed up to my room.

There was a text from Mary waiting for me on my phone.

Ready for the Christmas dance?

I had almost completely forgotten about the dance. The anticipation of dancing with Catherine made my heart flutter. I wouldn’t have another chance to get close to her before she returned to California. This would be the best time to make a move, to try and close the gap that still remained between us. Now, I couldn’t wait, and I was determined to make sure that she had a good time. Especially if this was the last time she could be here for a few months or even years.

She deserved that and more, after all. I started texting Mary back, thinking about how I would surprise Catherine at the dance.