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By five o’clock, the sky outside was darkening. We’d played umpteen different games throughout the day, and I was actually getting tired. I could use a nap near the Christmas tree with the fireplace on, and Dean looked a little dozy, too. He poured a glass of wine at the kitchen table, groaning as his phone rang.
I laughed, pouring myself a glass, too. It would help lull me to sleep for a while, because what else were we going to do? And not like we had to be anywhere in the morning. We could wake up at two a.m. and make popcorn if we wanted, watching the sun come up…or at least imagine it through the overcast sky above.
The phone stopped ringing, only to pick back up again. Same ringtone as his manager.
“I’ll take one for the team.” He swiped and put the phone to his ear. “What’s up, Frank?” He rolled his eyes at me and moved to the living room, stopping to stand by the fireplace. He reached over and flipped the switch to turn it on. I approached and held out his wine glass to him. “Thank you…” he mouthed and walked over to the oversized leather couch.
He sat down with a sigh, kicking his feet up on the large wooden coffee table. “I’m fine, Frank. I’m stranded in Aspen. All good.” He huffed out a breath. “No, I’m not alone, and I’m not even thinking about she who shall not be named.”
He held the phone away from his ear, and I could hear the rant from where I stood. I made a face, and Dean muffled a laugh.
“Right…yeah, okay…I’m not ignoring your calls, Frank, I’m busy. There’s lots to do here…and if you haven’t heard, we’re in the midst of a blizzard down here…which means spotty cell service. In fact, you’ve been cutting in and out all during this call. Look, I’ll call you if I’m still here on New Year's. Okay, bye.” He ended the call with a dramatic swipe and tossed the phone aside, then spent a moment rubbing his face.
I laughed at the look on his face as he tucked his phone in between the couch cushions. “He can’t be that bad?”
“Oh, he’s a billion times worse. Did I tell you he dumped me at the airport with nothing?”
“He was trying to give you a nice Christmas.”
“Oh, now you think Miami’s a nice Christmas?”
“It would have less snow…”
“I thought you were used to the snow.”
“I am, but this is…a blizzard. Not a fan. Can’t recommend.”
“I’m enjoying the company immensely, though.”
Dean smiled easily, looking more himself after that phone call. He’d morphed from the relaxed guy I’d gotten to know since we’d arrived to his face hardening with annoyance, and now, the relaxed Dean was re-emerging.
“I’m gonna see if I can get someone to come in and make us dinner.”
“There’s a blizzard.”
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
“You want to strand someone else with us?” I rested my hand on my hip. “My company is not enough for you?”
He laughed. “You need to have some faith.”
“I have faith. Faith that someday, it will stop snowing like we’re in a damn snow globe.”
He looked at me as he finished off the rest of his wine. “Okay, delivery?”
“The guy this afternoon said there wasn’t much open.”
“I can still get something delivered. Preference?”
“Anything I don’t have to make,” I said honestly.
He nodded. “Duly noted.” He went through his phone, then began texting. “You against pizza two days in a row?” he asked, raising his dark eyes to mine.
“Not while I have breath in my body.”
He grinned. “Deep dish supreme pizza, wings, and whatever else they can get on its way in an hour.”
“But the roads—”
