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“Penelope? Is that you?” Nora yells from beside me. “You’re here, you’re here. Best Christmas present ever!” She squeals and jumps into Penelope’s arms, wrapping her arms around her neck.
“Hi, pretty girl, oh I missed you so much,” Penelope says, as she closes her eyes. I can’t help but study her face and notice her take a deep breath. Burying her face in Nora’s curls, she holds onto her, and tears form in my eyes.
“Nora, honey, me and Penelope are going to talk for a second alone, okay?” I say to Nora when Penelope puts her down.
“Okay, Dad, but don’t be too long, I want to dance with Penelope!” Nora says as she bounces off.
“Want to go out front?” I ask. I want to be alone with her and away from the prying eyes of the town. I need to hear what she wants to say and to try and convince her to stay. Now that she’s here, I can’t let her leave again.
“Sure,” she says.
My hand instinctively goes to the small of her back as I lead her out the front door and onto the porch. She starts shivering almost as soon as we’re outside in the cold, so I take off my jacket, wrapping it around her shoulders to keep her warm. I bring my palm to her cheek, rubbing circles with my thumb, and look her in the eyes.
“So, what did you want to tell me?” I ask, my hand still cupping her cheek.
“After you left yesterday, I felt like I’d made the second biggest mistake of my life,” she says. “The first biggest being when I lied to you. I should’ve packed my bags and came back with you yesterday, Brent, but I was scared. I still am, if I’m being honest.”
She takes a deep breath.
“While I was here in Winterberry, it changed me. I’m not the same woman I was when you found me in the middle of Main Street. And that thought is terrifying. But I like the woman I have become. And I know I may live a different life back in the city, and my career isn’t traditional, but I want to try and make it work here in Winterberry. Because… I love you.”
She looks at me through her eyelashes and time seems to stand still. Clearing her throat, she continues. “I’ve been in love with you since the first night we kissed. I’m so in love with you. And Nora. And Winterberry. This is my home.”
Her words hit me directly in the heart. In the two weeks since she left, I’ve wrestled with wanting to go to Manhattan and bring her back to Winterberry. I missed her since the second she left. But, when I put myself out there and went to the city, she turned me down.
Now, here she is, standing in front of me, admitting she’s in love with me. And I want to tell her the truth—that I’m in love with her, too—but a part of me is scared. She left without saying goodbye once, what makes me think she won’t do it again?
“I want to believe you, Penelope, but I’m scared to. You broke all of our hearts when you left. I can’t do that again to Nora… or myself.”
The tears start spilling down her face and I know immediately that she’s telling the truth. Those tears, the emotion written all over her face, that’s real.
No, I’m still not over her walking away without saying goodbye, but I’ve fallen so in love with this woman that I’ll do everything I can to move on and let go of that pain.
Instead of saying anything, I pull her into my arms and hold her. It feels like she’s home, with me, in Winterberry.
And I never want to let go.
“I love you too, Penelope,” I say into her hair.
She lifts her head, gazing at me, and I brush the fallen strand of hair out of her face.
“I love you,” I repeat, in case she didn’t hear me the first time.
Reaching up, she grabs the lapels of my tux jacket and pulls me closer.
“I am so in love with you, Brent. I want to come back,” she says.
“Yes, come home, Penelope,” I whisper. She smiles through the tears. “Come home.”
Using the sleeve of my jacket, I wipe her face. We stand there for a few seconds, letting the world around us fall away. It’s as if we’re the only two people on the planet.
Pulling my gaze from her, I glance at the yard to notice snow is freshly falling. Taking her hand, I walk her toward the steps so she can see the snow too.
When we stop, I look up. The mistletoe hangs overhead.
“Penelope,” I say, as she looks away from the snow and into my eyes. “Look up.”
Slowly, she notices the mistletoe and starts laughing. Putting my hands around her waist, I pull her against me and whisper in her ear.
