Robin looked over at me and raised her eyebrows questioningly, so I smiled and shrugged slightly. What else could I do, but buck up? I wanted to be with my family, and I didn’t want them to have a terrible time because of me. Besides, the girls were right. Snacks are great, so I could pull it together for snacks and family.
As we walked up to the first house, Robin put her arm around me. “I’m sorry that I was so harsh with you, Sam. I don’t want you to ever feel like I don’t want you here with us.”
“I know, Robin. I’m sorry that I let my emotions get the better of me, and I promise to try harder,” I replied.
I gave her a squeeze back, and we didn’t mention it again. I thought the whole incident was behind us when we walked into the first house, and there he was. Jason Hayes, with his adorable smile, and with him was the cutest little girl who was racing toward my nieces at full speed.
Chapter Ten
Jason
It could not have been more perfect timing. I had been trying to figure out for a good chunk of the late afternoon how I could run into her again, and there she was. Emily ran like the wind toward her friends, and I greeted the Jameson family. Lastly, of course, was Samantha.
“I believe you’ve already met my sister, Samantha?” Robin grinned at me.
“Yes, yes I have.” I winked at Robin, and she walked away to talk to some of the other people milling around, and the kids took off together in another direction. Likely, they made a beeline toward the Christmas cookies.
Samantha was left standing in front of me all by herself. Absolutely stunning, she was smiling bashfully at me. “So, about today …” she started, but I interrupted her.
“Today was fantastic, Samantha.” She was trying to explain, but I didn’t want her to feel self-conscious, and my theory was that, if she were comfortable enough with me, she’d tell me what she wanted me to know when she was ready.
“Thank you.” She smiled. “I enjoyed chatting with you today.” Her eyes shifted around the room anxiously.
“Let’s grab a drink, what do you say? Something a little more festive than coffee,” I offered.
“That would be great.” She smiled at me, relaxing her shoulders.
There was some kind of holiday punch in a bowl, which seemed like the most festive choice, so I scooped out two cups for us and handed her one. “This looks like Christmas, so let’s give it a try,” I said.
“Thank you.”
We walked over to a quieter corner of the foyer area, near one of the many Christmas trees in the home, and I leaned up against the wall. “So, Christmas isn’t really your thing, is it?” Her eyes widened while she took a sip of the punch. Clearly, I’d hit the nail on the head. “It’s okay you know. You can feel however you want about the holidays.”
“It’s not that I don’t like Christmas. It’s just …” She paused.
“But it brings up bad memories?” I offered.
“Well, yeah.”
“Happens to a lot of people. We associate things with each other. It’s human nature. It’s like how some people don’t like the smell of a certain alcohol because they almost died in a field drinking underage. That shit can stick with you forever.” I smiled, hoping my analogy made sense.
She laughed. “That’s exactly what it’s like.”
“Sometimes, you just need new memories to create a new association.”
“I never really looked at it that way,” she replied.
“You want to take off?” I asked.
“You mean leave?” she asked.
“Yeah, let’s get out of here. We can go walk around. It’s not insanely cold tonight, and you appear to have the proper attire for a walk.” He grinned.
“What about your daughter?” I asked.
“Hang on for just a second.” I took off, leaving her there briefly. I found Robin and asked her if she’d take Emily with them to the next few houses. For the kids, it was basically a cookie tour of the neighborhood, and Emily wasn’t going to miss me now that she’d found her friends. Robin grinned at me knowingly, and I just gave her a little shrug and she agreed. I told Emily I was going to go for a walk with my new friend and that she could stick with the girls. She was more than happy to see me later.
I went back over to Samantha, who was right where I had left her. She was watching the families mingle, and saying hello to the folks who were walking past her on their way in. “Oh, there you are. I’ve turned into the holiday-greeting committee,” she said with a smile when I approached her with my coat in hand.