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“Okay,” she said, wondering what kind of prices the menu would bear at Riverfront. And how Slate had the money to pay for that. She didn’t question him, because it was rude, and instead, she asked, “So, are you going to book somewhere for Christmas right now too? Maybe a banquet hall or something?”
He burst out laughing again and shook his head. His laughter wasn’t as bright this time, and it didn’t last nearly as long. “Not at all.”
“Why’s that?” she asked. “You don’t like Christmas?”
“As a matter of fact,” he said. “No, I don’t like Christmas.”
Jill gaped at him again. “What? I mean…who doesn’t like Christmas.”
“I not only dislike Christmas, I abhor Christmas. I hate it. I haven’t celebrated it in four years, and I’m not planning to do so this year.”
Jill blinked at him. “But you go to church every week. That’s like saying you believe in God, but you don’t want to celebrate His holiday.”
“First off,” Slate said, shooting her a glance. “It’s Christ’s birthday, not God’s. Second, Jesus Christ was actually born sometime in the spring. Christmas means nothing.”
“It’s a celebration of the Savior,” Jill argued. She didn’t normally spend all of her time and energy celebrating Him; she rather loved the pine trees, the ivy, the colored lights, and the mistletoe. Oh, and the gifts. Jill loved buying, giving, and receiving gifts.
“I can celebrate the Savior any time,” Slate said.
Jill didn’t know what else to say. She and Slate weren’t exactly opposites, but the things they seemed to be on other ends of the spectrum on were big things. And the distance between them on those things was very wide.
“Great,” he said. “I’ve ruined this date with my distaste of Christmas.”
“No,” Jill said. “You haven’t. I’m just processing.”
“Can you process while you hold my hand?” he asked, some of the darkness and bite that had been in his tone now gone.
Jill reached over and slipped her hand into his. So he didn’t like Christmas. Big deal. She didn’t like chocolate ice cream with brownies in it all that much. The difference was, it wouldn’t require a major life change to buy a different kind of ice cream. Cutting an entire beloved holiday out of her future certainly felt like a pretty major thing.
