A few minutes later, Mom and Ed returned. They were dressed in hideous matching holiday sweaters, and since they were also wearing boots and heavy coats, I asked, “Are you walking to the party? It’s literally freezing outside.”
“It’s only a block away, and the fresh air will do us good,” Mom said, as she zipped up her coat and pulled a pair of mittens from her pocket. “Are you sure you boys don’t want to come along? The whole point of an open house is that everyone’s welcome.”
“Thanks for asking, but we’re happy right here,” I said, as Kit climbed onto my lap and I wrapped my arms around him.
“Okie dokie. We’ll be back in a couple of hours,” Ed told us.
After they took off, I kissed Kit and said, “Once again, you’ve been an incredibly good sport about all of my family’s eccentricities. I don’t think a lot of people would be willing to sit through an endless board game or tolerate Ed’s terrible dad jokes.”
“It’s been great. I feel really welcome here, and watching you three together makes me happy.”
Something caught my eye just then. I leaned over to glance out the window behind him and commented, “Oh hey, it’s starting to snow.”
“Really?” He leapt up and spun around. “I’ve never seen snow before. In person, I mean. I’ve obviously seen it in the movies and—oh wow, look at that! It’s really coming down!” Heturned back to me with a hopeful expression and asked, “Can we go outside?”
“Of course.” It made me chuckle when he shrieked with delight and ran for the door.
We’d stuck our coats and shoes in the mud room off the kitchen, and it was all I could do to slow him down long enough to bundle up. As soon as I opened the door, he burst outside and ran into the backyard.
He flung his arms out and tilted his face to the sky, spinning around as he shouted, “This is amazing!” Kit stopped spinning and stuck his tongue out, and after a moment he announced, “I got one!”
He ran to me, and I grabbed him in a hug as he asked, “Will we get to build a snowman? I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“Maybe. It’s too soon to know if it’ll accumulate or melt immediately.”
“I really hope it builds up, but this is awesome either way.”
His smile was radiant. He wrapped his arms around me and leaned back, tilting his face toward the sky again and closing his eyes.
He filled me with wonder. Kit was so beautiful, and so full of joy. He was everything good in the world, everything that mattered. I was overcome with emotion as I watched him.
I whispered, “I love you, Kit,” because it was impossible to hold back the words for even one more moment.
His dark eyes flew open, full of surprise as his gaze locked with mine. “Say that again.”
“I love you with all my heart. It was too much to keep inside, so I had to let you know, even if it’s too soon, or?—”
He pulled me down to his height and kissed me passionately. It felt like a dream when he caressed my cheek and told me, “I love you too, Devon.”
I wanted to remember everything about this moment, from his flushed cheeks and pink nose to the happiness that sparkled in his eyes. His lips curved into a sweet smile as he traced my jawline with his fingertips.
All around us, the snow kept falling. It was incredibly peaceful. As I pulled Kit close and kissed him again, my heart was so full.
15
Devon
The next day was Christmas. It felt wonderful to wake up with Kit, but there was no chance of lingering in bed this morning. He was bursting with anticipation, not for the presents that were waiting for him, but for the one he was dying to give me.
He tumbled out of bed and retrieved a gift bag from its hiding place in his suitcase. “I can’t wait another minute,” he said. “Open it.”
The bag contained an antique doll-sized suitcase, maybe four inches by six, made to look like it was covered in travel stickers. It was a treasure in its own right, but Kit told me the actual gifts were inside.
“It’s stuff I’ve been collecting for you during our road trip,” he explained. It was full of tiny wonders, including a half-inch long pinecone, a small feather, a pretty stone, a shell, and a pair of vintage earrings, among other things. I exchanged my usual silver hoops for the oval studs and asked, “How do they look?”
“Perfect. They made me think of you because the stone matches your eyes.” They were mossy green with tiny flecks of brown and gold. “It’s called aventurine, but I misread it as ‘adventurine’ at first, which seemed to fit you. The woman atthe antique shop in New Orleans told me the stone is known for bringing luck, if you’re into that sort of thing.”
“I love them. And these are adorable.” I pulled two tiny stick figures from the box. Each was about an inch high. Their heads were miniscule paper cylinders with tiny eyes and smiles drawn on them, their hair dots of wool, and their clothes were made by wrapping their wire limbs and bodies with different colors of thread.
