Twenty-eight
November 26, 2019
With no work this week, because the museum was closed for Thanksgiving week, I decided to decorate for Christmas and start buying some gifts. Today I had spent five hours buying more decorations than my house needed. I didn’t care, the retail therapy was good for me. While walking the aisles of Christmas cheer and listening to the holiday music over the speakers, it had made me forget for a moment that I was once again a broken lonely woman.
I was on my second trip to the car to unload when Margie came walking up my drive.
“Looks like someone is about to deck the halls,” she said cheerfully.
“I’m off work this week and thought I’d get started.”
She beamed. “I need to do the same but the boys are coming home and Dan has his wife and kids, then Dale has a new boyfriend we can’t wait to meet. Anyway, I was wondering if you had spoken to Creed lately.”
I shook my head no.
She sighed and looked at his house with a small frown. “Well, Dan and his wife were set to lease his house starting in December, but he canceled on them and said he was moving into it a few weeks ago. We were happy he was going to be home and understood; however, he’s not there much anymore and I was wondering if he decided to take that opportunity he had been given in England. Some architect school or something, I don’t know. It was a big deal and just like with the house, he changed his mind. If he is going to leave the country, which Dale said it would be a chance of a lifetime for Creed in his career path, then I just wanted him to know Dan and Heather are still very interested in his house. Could you mention it if you see him?”
I had no words. Nothing she was saying made sense but then it did. If it made the sense I thought it did…if I understood what I was hearing…no. I had to be wrong. I managed a nod and a smile.
“Thanks so much. Happy Thanksgiving!” she said with a wave then headed back across the street.
I left the decorations in my car and walked to the backyard to stare at his house. He wasn’t home. He hadn’t been for several days.
Why had he decided to stay in Portsmouth when he could be doing something much bigger in England? What had changed a few weeks ago to make him abruptly come here and drop his other plans?
I was the only thing I knew of that had happened to him this past month. Wasn’t I? Was I being self-absorbed to assume he was staying here for me? He’d barely been around me when he would have made these decisions. How could his change in plans be because of me? I didn’t see how it was possible. Yet…
Reaching into the pocket of my coat, I pulled out my cellphone and found his number. My finger hovered over the call button, but I pressed message instead.
“When will you be home?”
I waited and when he didn’t respond right away, I felt the heaviness that lived in my chest these days just get worse. He was probably off with Ember or Stormie celebrating the holiday week. I was being ridiculous. There was no way that he had changed his path to move in next door just to be near me. His feelings didn’t run that deep. If they had, he wouldn’t have walked away so easily. Griff had fought for me. He’d tried. Creed had done nothing. That was not a man who gave up an amazing opportunity and stayed in Portsmouth, NH.
I went back to the car and finished unloading it. The small thrill I’d gotten at the idea of making the house warm and full of holiday joy was gone. I had no desire to decorate anything, but I moved it all in the house and went inside to stare a fire.
I considered calling my mother and seeing if she was going to be in Nashville for Thanksgiving. The idea of going back there made me feel even more depressed but staying here all week by myself didn’t sound like a great idea either. There was only so much decorating and Christmas shopping I could do.
Deciding I would just get up and drink my sorrows away, I was almost in the kitchen when there was a knock on the door. The second of hope that it was Creed came and went quickly. If it was Creed, then what was I going to say? Was there any point?
Slowly I made my way to the door and opened it.
Creed’s hair was pulled back in a low ponytail that it was just long enough to make. His cheeks were red from the cold and he looked tired. “I’m home now,” he replied.