Page 45 of All in for Christmas

“Who’s here? Dean?” Mom asks.

“No, no.” I giggle and angle closer. “Roger.”

“What?”

I hitch my chin in his direction and Mom steals a glance. “Who, him?”

“Yes, him. He’s your one.”

“Now, Paige—”

I stand up and grab her hand, tugging her to her feet. “ Paige Pierce ,” Mom says quietly as I drag her toward Roger’s table. “ What on earth are you doing? ”

“Roger? Hi,” I say and he looks up. “I’m Paige Pierce. I believe we’ve met before?”

He cocks his head to study me but shows no hint of recognition.

His companion smiles cordially. “Dad’s worked on a lot of cars. Maybe yours?”

“Yes, yes,” I say. “That’s it!” I pull Mom closer to my side, but she resists.

I yank harder. Address Roger. “I know you’re really great at, ah—what you do.

” Mom blinks at me in surprise. Too bad.

She’ll just need to tough it out. This is for her own good.

“So, I wanted to introduce you to my mom, Rosemary. She’s in search of—” Mom elbows me hard.

Ow. Right in the ribs. I clear my throat and finish. “—a new mechanic.”

“Oh, Dad’s not in the business anymore,” his son says. “He’s recently closed his shop and retired. Haven’t you, Dad?”

Roger nods.

Goodness knows why, but I find this endearing.

“That’s a shame.” I grin at Roger. “Maybe you could help Mom out? Recommend someone?”

Roger’s gaze lingers on Mom, while she turns deeper and deeper hues of red.

Finally, he says, “I’d be glad to help you, Rosemary.

” He takes out his wallet and hands her a business card.

“The shop phone number’s outdated, but my email’s still good.

Please, get in touch, and let me know about your car.

I’ll fix you up with the perfect person for you. ”

I try not to gawk. Those were more words than I’ve ever heard Roger string together in one sitting. I giggle inside. He must really like her.

I peer knowingly at Mom.

That perfect person will be him for her.

She grouses lightly as we return to our table. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“You’ll thank me later.” I polish off my wine and say sassily, “I won’t even fuss if the two of you move in together.”

“What?” She looks like I’ve floored her.

“On his houseboat.”

Mom’s mouth hangs open. “That is not happening.” She sneaks a peek at Roger across the room and murmurs, “Although he is nice-looking, I’ll give you that. Not in your typical manner. Still. He’s got something.”

“ See .”

She beholds me proudly. “Who is this new you?”

“Maybe I had a secret side that was bursting to get out?”

Mom laughs at this. “Oh, Paige.”

Our server walks over with the dessert menu.

“Want to split some apple cobbler?” I ask her. It looks tempting and is served warm.

She sits there looking mildly stunned. “Sure.” She glances at the server. “And coffee for me.”

Coffee sounds good. Although I recall sleeping soundly beside Dean, the alternate reality was a whirlwind, leaving me exhausted. But pleasantly exhausted, it’s true. Happy memories flit through me of our many sweet family moments. And our super private coupley ones. “Make that two of those,” I add.

The server promptly delivers our coffee and asks, “Cream and sugar?”

“Yes, please.”

Mom blinks at me. “Since when?”

I square my shoulders and say, “A lot of things have changed about me.”

She looks me up and down as I dump sugar in my coffee. “Apparently so.”

Our dessert arrives as Roger and his son stand to leave. Roger waves to Mom. “Don’t forget, now.” He winks.

Oh. My. Goodness.

I experience butterflies on behalf of Mom.

I can tell she feels them too, but she tries to disguise it by taking a spoonful of hot apple cobbler loaded with ice cream. “So you’re a matchmaker now, are you?”

“I just want you to be happy.”

“Same.” She considers me warmly. “Paige, what are you going to do about Dean?”

I’m racked with nerves. “I guess I’ll need to talk to him. Try to explain things somehow.” I sigh with frustration. “Unfortunately, I don’t know where he lives.”

“I do!”

My chin jerks up. “What?”

“His Aunt Jodi told me he moved into Mountain View Apartments. You know, the place with the nice amenities near the edge of town?”

“Do you know which unit?”

She shakes her head. “I’m not sure Jodi knows, either.

I could ask her to ask his parents, if you’d like.

” Talk about awkward. Dean hearing from his parents I was trying to track him down through his aunt, who gets her hair done by Mom.

Getting his Aunt Jodi involved will only expose the situation to town gossip.

Far better for me to handle this solo. I have a nice laptop here and can do some digging around myself.

I can’t show up at his place like a stalker, anyway.

If only I had a way to get his number, I could text him about meeting somewhere, maybe catching up over coffee.

That seems harmless enough. Unless I unload the truth on him and he bolts like a frightened rabbit.

Which is a very good possibility. I’d definitely look at him askance if he shared with me what I plan to tell him.

But no. I can’t let my apprehension stop me.

I have to take this chance. Too many people depend on me .

Possibly. If I believe in fate, and alternate realities influencing the future. I never used to, but now…?

“That’s all right,” I say to Mom. “Thanks, but I’ll find a way to get in touch with Dean.” And it will have to be soon. This can’t wait until Monday. I’ll absolutely lose my nerve, and maybe start thinking like Mom, doubting that any of this happened.

The necklace gleams against the front of my black crewneck sweater.

But it did happen, Paige , an inner voice says.

Funnily enough, the voice sounds an awful lot like Mary Christmas.

Mom smiles behind her coffee cup. “Well, the two of you do work at the same school,” she says about me locating Dean.

Bingo! The teacher and staff directory. Although Dean’s brand new at Walton, that information’s on our school website and updated routinely.

Since Dean’s starting next semester, there’s a good chance his data’s already been entered.

I jump from my chair to hug her shoulders.

“Thanks, Mom! You’re a genius!” I kiss her cheek, and she pats my hand.

“I’m glad you finally noticed.”

Mom and I part with tight hugs, promising to keep each other updated.

She’s dying to know about how things go with Dean, and I’m excited to learn whether Mom follows through with Roger.

Though I have a strong hunch she will. For now, the plan is I’m picking her up at seven in the morning on Wednesday for her medical appointment, and we both agreed to hold positive thoughts.

Mom exits the restaurant in one direction, and I turn in the other—nearly running smack-dab into Heather! “Oh hi!”

Heather’s long brown hair brushes her shoulders. It’s dusted with snow. “Paige!” I blink, seeing Mia’s with her. Her cropped black hair’s cut at an angle, her dark eyes shining.

“Oh gosh,” Mia says. “We were just talking about you.”

I flush self-consciously. “You were?”

“Paige Pierce!” Kirstin says, scuttling up on the sidewalk behind them. She joins the group, her blond ringlets poking out beneath her red stocking cap. “Where’ve you been keeping yourself, girl?”

“Oh me? Um.” I expect tense glances to pass between them, but all three women wear open and friendly expressions.

Heather rolls her eyes as snow pelts us. “I can’t tell you how many times we’ve talked about texting you.”

“Yeah.” Kirstin nods. “Every time we go out, we’re so sad you can’t join us.”

“Can’t?” I don’t understand.

Mia frowns. “You said Friday afternoons aren’t good for you.” She grimaces apologetically. “That’s when you take advantage of the quiet at school to do your teacher planning. So, after a while”—she winces—“we kind of stopped asking.”

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid, Paige.

“I’m so sorry,” I say sincerely. “I want to do better.” It’s not like I don’t have a planning block built into my day, for goodness’ sake.

Why hasn’t that been enough? It’s true I also have papers and quizzes to grade and district compliance paperwork to keep up with, but I’ve got evenings and weekends for that.

Lunch breaks, too. Who does teacher planning on a Friday?

Sigh. Evidently me. No. Stop. The old me.

“But you’re always so busy,” Heather says. I didn’t know what busy was until I had a couple of kids. I don’t know how all of them do it. They’re my new heroes.

I sense an opportunity. A narrow opening, and I rush through it. “Then I’ll make time,” I tell them, meaning it absolutely.

“Are you still at Walton?” Kirstin asks, her green eyes sparkling.

“Yeah, teaching ninth grade English.”

Heather gives a low whistle. “We’ve heard who’s teaching physics there now.”

Kirstin leans closer. “Dean Burton. Gregory told me,” she says, mentioning her husband. “He heard it on extremely good authority from his dad, who’s Dean’s parents’ dentist.”

I laugh at their conniving. “No kidding?”

Kirstin reads my face and quips, “Something tells me she already knew this.”

Heather huffs and plays along. “Of course she did,” she teases lightly.

Mia sets a hand on her hip. “I heard he was in Colorado before. Has he started teaching at Walton yet?”

“No. He starts next semester.”

“So you haven’t seen him then?” Mia asks, big-eyed and with listening ears.

“No, erm. I have.” I feel my face turning red. “I saw him at Walton’s faculty holiday party.”

Kirstin rubs her chin. “Interesting, hmm, ladies?”

They eagerly crowd in. “I hear he’s not married,” Mia says.

Heather spills more tea. “Or dating anyone, according to social media.”

I gasp. “You spy on him?”

“No!” Kirstin giggles. “We’ve been keeping tabs on him for you.”

Spoken in such solidarity, my eyes water. “I’ve missed y’all, I really have.”

“Then come out with us next time,” Heather says. “We go to El Bandito’s happy hour.”

Kirstin shares, “Their margaritas are excellent.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard.” I study their happy faces. “How are your husbands, kids?”

“All good,” Mia says. “We definitely need to catch up.” She winks at Heather. “Though somebody’s drinking mocktails these days.”

“Oh Heather!” I’m so happy for her. “Another baby?”

“Due in July.”

I think of my pregnancy scare with Dean in our alternate reality and feel a tug at my heartstrings. I didn’t understand how much I wanted that kind of life until I experienced it. The sort my old friends have. “I think that’s wonderful,” I tell Heather. “Congratulations.”

She playfully nudges me. “When is it going to be your turn for marriage and a family?”

My face burns hot. “Not sure.”

Mia puts on a teasing tone. “Well, now that you and Dean are working together…”

The others grin and Mia holds up her hands. “We’ll see what the future brings!”

The future. Right. Gusts blow snowflakes up from the sidewalk and into the street in billowy clouds, and I’m treated to a memory of me with Dean and our kids in our cozy cottage, all of us snuggled together on our double bed. Scout’s there, too.

“Let’s plan the more immediate future first,” Kirstin says sunnily. “El Bandito on Friday at five o’clock?” she asks, as more snow cascades around us.

“That’s the day after Christmas, isn’t it?” I ask.

“Then we can share about our Christmases!” Heather says brightly.

My heart swells with happiness. “Oh gosh, I’d really love that.”

Mia grins. “Can’t wait!”

“Yay!” Kirstin joins in.

“Super yay!” Heather echoes as they rush me with happy hugs. Our arms fold over one another’s in an enormous group embrace. “Oh, Paige,” Heather says, holding on tighter. “We’ve missed you.”

“Yeah,” Kirstin agrees, and Mia adds, “We have.”

“And I’ve missed all of you, so, so much.”

We say our goodbyes, wishing one another a merry Christmas, and the women enter Beaumont’s as I stride off in the snow.

Chilly winds blow but my heart is light.

Everything in its place and all things in good time .

Maybe that’s what Mary Christmas was getting at.

First, I saw Roger at Beaumont’s and introduced him and Mom.

Next, I ran into my old girlfriend group and we’re reconnecting.

Paws and Read is back on track, which I’m ecstatic about.

Is it possible I’ll get a second chance with Dean, too?

I pat down my coat over where the necklace rests close to my heart. I sure hope so.