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Chapter Nineteen
On Christmas Day, the options for buying a gift were limited to 7-Eleven and Walgreens. I found myself at the latter of the two, trying to think of something to get Mark. I settled on a completely ridiculous item, hoping to get him a real gift at a later point.
I still couldn’t believe he was coming. After stifling a yawn from an early wake-up, I grabbed my purchase and raced home in order to help my mom finish cooking the big meal. Tristan had woken up at six o’clock this morning. Thankfully, he was down for a nap now during this span of time before dinner. I’d loved the expression on his face when he’d come downstairs to see his new trike. After that, he’d torn through the presents like a maniac, having come to an understanding of what Christmas morning was all about.
I’d held off on telling him Mark was coming just in case he’d changed his mind. But at three o’clock when the doorbell rang, I let Tristan go answer the door.
“Mark, Mark.” His excited voice carried down the hall.
The man I loved hastily set the things in his hands on the floor so that he could pick up the boy I loved and swing him up onto his hip. “Gosh, did I miss you. Did you get bigger? Was Santa good to you?”
“Yep. I got bike. Wanna see?” Tristan wiggled until Mark put him down and then took his hand, intending to drag him through the house to see his new toy.
“Hold on a sec, buddy.” He closed the door and focused on me, picking up the items from the floor and handing over flowers. “Um, these are for you.”
“Oh. Thanks.” After taking the bouquet from his hands, followed by a six-pack of beer he then snagged from his feet, I awkwardly accepted his kiss on the cheek. Neither of us seemed to know what to do.
“I’m gonna go see his tricycle if that’s okay.”
I smiled at an anxious Tristan. “Of course. You can even ride it again outside if we get your coat on. We have a little bit of time before dinner.”
Tristan whooped and rushed to get his coat and shoes on.
A few minutes later we were outside in the cul-de-sac where my mother lived, watching Tristan pedal his way around. Mark stood next to me but kept a careful eye and helped him get turned around when he got stuck.
“Merry Christmas.”
“Yeah, Merry Christmas. Thanks for letting me come.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I— God when did this get so awkward?”
He smiled. “I was thinking the same.”
“Where are you staying?”
“At Josh’s house. He and the family are up in Virginia, so he offered his Charlotte house to me while I’m here.”
“How long are you down for?”
“That depends on you.”
“Me?”
“If you’re up for it, I was hoping I could take you to dinner tomorrow night. That is, if your mom can babysit.”
“Like a date?”
He blushed slightly, reminiscent of our first few interactions. “Yes. I think it’s about time I take you out on a proper one. Don’t you?”
A smile broke out across my face. “I’d love to do dinner.”
“And here, this is for you.” From his coat pocket, he handed me a long box with a bow on it.
“You want me to open it now?”
“Yeah. I have Legos for Tristan for later, but I wanted to give this one to you in private.”
Oh. I untied the ribbon and lifted the lid to reveal a lovely silver bracelet. On it were two charms. One was Tristan’s birthstone, and the other was a sun.
