Epilogue
One year later
“This is ahorrible wrapping job,” Natalie said as she took the gift from him.
She wasn’t wrong. Mason was the worst gift wrapper in the world, using way more wrapping and tape than was necessary, but he got the job done. He didn’t let her teasing bother him. Mostly, because what she said was true but also because they were sharing a quiet Christmas on their couch, beside their white fir Christmas tree, inside their living room. While there were still things considered hers and his separately, he took great joy in knowing that many things were now theirs.
As much as they had planned to take things slow (he was even willing to wait years if necessary) things didn’t seem to work out that way. After Mason had helped move his parents and Bentley to Arizona during the summer, he returned to bad news and good news. The bad news was a text message notifying him of a rent increase on his apartment. The good news was his girlfriend throwing herself at him, dragging him to the bedroom and tearing off his clothes soon after his return to Placerville.
“You missed me, then?” he had said after making love to her.
“What makes you think that?”
“My suitcase is still in the entryway.”
“Isn’t that normal? It takes me a week to unpack my suitcase when I come back from a trip.”
“Well, maybe I’ll just keep it packed. I might be moving again since my rent’s going up.”
She eyed him, before her gaze flitted away. “Or you can move in with me?”
“I could. But what about taking things slow?”
“How much longer is on your lease? Like a month? We’ll just slowly move your stuff over during the course of a month. A plate one day, a cup the next. I’m pretty sure most people would consider that slow.”
Either her argument was convincing, or he really loved her. It could have gone either way. “Yeah, you’re probably right about that,” he had responded.
In the end, they’d moved most of his stuff to her place in the course of a day because both of them were busy with work and school and just general stuff. Plus, who had the time to do a bunch of back-and-forth trips when using one moving truck was way more convenient? When his friends volunteered to help him move, with the promise of pizza and beer, things happened a lot faster than planned. Not that Natalie or he ever complained about it. Everything was taken in stride as though this was meant to be. Considering all the adjustments he’d had to make in a year, it was as if his life was in a constant state of change anyway. What was one more?
On top of this, he was dividing his time between taking classes at the local community college, maintaining his beehives, and picking up shifts at the nursery. Natalie was busy working with her uncle. They were considering getting a better coffee truck with a more permanent spot in the city, plus working with Lana at special events. This didn’t leave a lot of free time between them. Living in the same apartment guaranteed time together, and there was something to be said about coming home to someone. They could eat a quiet meal, while streaming a show on Netflix, and he could take pleasure in just being with her. His father had been right. It was the quiet moments where he found true contentment.
“Will you just open it already?” Mason said as Natalie stretched out unwrapping the gift he had handed her.
They had already spent Christmas Eve with her family, staying until the wee hours. They came home and decided to open the small gifts they had for each other before getting some rest. They were flying soon to spend time with his family in Arizona.
She finally pulled off the wrapping and laughed. “A waffle iron? Your Christmas gift is me making you breakfast?”
“Well, when you put it like that—”
“How else am I supposed to put it?”
Okay, she may have a point. He hadn’t thought this through and perhaps it wasn’t as romantic as he originally thought. “I, uh, gave you a waffle iron to show that I’m going to make you waffles.”
“You can barely make pancakes.”
“I’m getting better.”
She laughed again. “Okay. I will let you make me waffles. I might even help. Here’s your gift.”
Natalie handed him a small box wrapped more neatly than his. She nervously pulled on the ends of her sleeves until they mostly covered her hands. He mimicked her by pulling on the tape very slowly to unwrap.
“Will you just unwrap the damn thing before I break your damn hand off?”
“Good grief. You’re a violent Christmas grinch—do you know that?”
“Villain,” she said automatically.
He removed the rest of the paper to reveal a small plain cardboard box. Opening it revealed a Christmas tree ornament, specifically a Sasquatch wearing a Santa hat. Since they’d brought home their tree, Mason had provided her with special Christmas ornaments he picked throughout the season whenever he came across one reminding him of her. While they didn’t have a whole tree filled with ornaments, they were well on their way. Mason planned to take years making this happen. “Aw, honey. You remembered that I wanted a Sasquatch ornament. I love him. He looks exactly like me.”
