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“Not to Uncle Jimmy. He takes his porn stash very seriously.”
Over the next few hours we wound up talking about our favorite Christmas memories. I told Sarah about the year my mom woke me and my sister up at the crack of dawn, put us both in the car in our pajamas, and drove us to the airport for a surprise trip to Disney. It was my happiest Christmas, until I realized the vacation had been my sister Elizabeth’s Make-A-Wish trip, and it meant she’d be gone a few months later. She’d had terminal leukemia. Sarah told me about the boy next door whom she’d had a crush on from the time she was ten, but he was four years older. And how at eighteen she’d tricked him into standing under the mistletoe. Then when he went to kiss her cheek, she turned her head and slipped him the tongue.
By the time we came to a lull in our conversation, it was already dark outside.
“Oh my God. What time is it?” Sarah asked. “We’ve been sitting here rambling all day.”
I looked at my phone and realized it was also the first time I’d touched it all day. “It’s almost eight.”
“I monopolized your entire day sitting here talking about Christmas. You could have been outside enjoying the sunshine.”
“It’s okay. I like talking to you.”
She smiled shyly. “I like talking to you, too. Even though all of our talking about Christmas made me realize I was an idiot for skipping Christmas this year. It’s going to be a long three-hundred-and-sixty-two days until the next one.”
That gave me an idea. “Why wait that long? There are no rules about when we celebrate the holiday.”
“What do you mean?”
“There’s a giant tree in the lobby. I think we should have your missed Christmas tomorrow night. We can even make it fun and grab some cheap presents.”
Sarah’s face lit up. “You’re totally getting these wooden cockroaches I saw a guy carving on the street.”
I laughed. “Okay, but I’m warning you, I actually know all the words to ‘La Cucaracha’. My Spanish teacher, Ms. Chiesa, used to make us all sing it every year. If I get those, expect to be hearing it.”
SARAH
Kelly and I agreed to meet at 4 PM by the giant tree in the hotel lobby. The plan was to exchange gifts down there, then go out to dinner. I was definitely getting in the post-Christmas spirit.
One of the best parts about celebrating Christmas after the holiday? Clearance. I’d asked the manager of the place I was staying for a recommendation on where to get after-Christmas stuff, and he’d ordered a car to take me to this small plaza of shops. After browsing a few different stores for something to wear, I was able to find the perfect ugly Christmas sweater, for a great bargain. Since it was hot, I’d wear it inside the hotel only and take it off before dinner. And not only had I picked up the wooden cockroaches from the street vendor for Kelly, but I found him another special surprise gag gift as well.
I couldn’t remember the last time I was this excited about “Christmas.” Maybe the key was to celebrate away from my family, after the actual holiday, with a handsome stranger. Perhaps this needed to be a yearly tradition. Although I doubted I’d meet anyone by chance again as interesting as Kelly.
Once I got back from shopping, I had about an hour to get ready. Before heading downstairs, I put on a red mini skirt that matched my sweater.
I was so excited to see what Kelly had in store for me. I was a few minutes early, so I stood by the tall Christmas tree and waited, holding the gift bag.
When I turned around, I spotted big, larger-than-life Kelly walking toward me wearing…what the heck was that? I soon realized it was a hat with Santa’s legs at the top. It was made to look like Santa’s feet were sticking up in the air as he got stuck in the chimney, which in this case was Kelly’s head. How bizarre—but totally Kelly.
“Nice hat.”
“Thanks. I looked everywhere for a Buddy the Elf costume, but no luck.”
“I’m so glad you didn’t find one.” I chuckled.
“That would’ve been awesome, though. You have to admit.” He looked down at my sweater, adorned with embroidered cats in winter hats. “Nice sweater. I love it.”
“It was the ugliest sweater I could find. I’m taking it off for dinner, though. It’s too hot.”
“Taking it off is even better.” He smiled mischievously.
I blew out a breath of air, burning up. “Shall we sit to open our presents?”
He placed his hands on my shoulders. “First off, Merry Christmas.”
A shiver ran down my spine from the contact. “Merry Christmas to you, Kelly.”
“I think we should wait to open the presents, actually,” he said.
