Unwrapping Holly

“Godlike,” he said proudly.

“Then three miles shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

Forty-Nine

DONOVAN

It really was a magnificent tree: big and full and without even a bad side to it. It was also taller than any tree I’d ever had growing up, but then again we’d never had twenty-foot ceilings.

“Damn, it’s still not straight.”

It had taken us the better part of the morning, just to dig out. The snow was at least three feet deep, five at the drifts — and this even after the driveway had been plowed. Luckily it was still light and fluffy, and not the soggy, water-logged snow that always seemed to weigh a ton.

Even running two shovels non-stop, and trading off whenever someone got tired, it wasn’t until sometime after noon that we actually reached the main road. And the road itself sucked.

“Push… no, no, on this side,” said Brody. “There you go. Hold it right there. Don’t let it tilt.”

Still, all the shoveling was great exercise. I’d been a little panicked at the prospect of missing a few workouts, and secretly even more worried about what would happen when we got back to the City.

No more Crunch Time…

I’d left gyms before, but always voluntarily. Always with something better already lined up, and after having informed my clients way ahead of time. Usually my new home gym would allow a trial period for anyone I brought with me; a free month to enjoy the facilities, on the hope that they’ll switch over.

Only right now I had no home gym. I had no plan…

“There, twist it tight. Both sides. But don’t let go yet.”

I waited until the tree was fully screwed into its stand. Then we all let go at once — tentatively at first — before taking a few steps back to admire it.

“Damn good job,” Brody declared. He put his hand out. Lincoln smirked and slapped him a high-five.

“I can’t believe we didn’t slide off the road,” I said.

“Me neither,” Lincoln swore, “if I’m being perfectly honest.”

It was stupid, really. Risking ourselves for a tree. Driving through a roaring blizzard, swerving around drifts and watching out for the lights of incoming snowplows. The roads had been treacherous, to say the least. Yet we’d all piled into Lincoln’s Bronco and braved the trip together, excited and nervous and still fueled with the adrenaline of having shoveled out a quarter-mile of driveway… or at least it sure seemed that long.

“Hot chocolate’s up!”

Holly re-entered the living room, carrying a tray of steaming hot mugs. She looked radiant, all rosy-cheeked and flush with the combination of outside and inside, of cold and heat. My heart jumped a bit, just seeing her. I’d driven more than four-hundred miles, with the image of her burned into my brain…

And now she was here, smiling and winking at me. Handing me a cup of hot chocolate.

“No marshmallows?” lamented Brody.

“Sorry man,” laughed Lincoln. “Can’t have everything.”

“We have a Christmas tree at least,” Brody agreed. “Even if we don’t have ornaments.”

Lincoln sank into a nearby chair. Before he did, he kicked a dog-eared box his way. “Got lights though.”

In a way it was perfect timing, getting here when I did. Getting out of the City just as the storm hit, and racing it all the way through New England. I’d been very lucky. I’d caught the roads at exactly the right time, just as people had been scared inside due to the upcoming storm. The highways were virtually empty, all the way up.

“Aw crap, they’re tangled.”

I’d been in the City so long now, I’d forgotten what it was like to drive without traffic. It was just me, the radio, and visions of Holly. She’d made such an impact on my life in such a short time, I couldn’t imagine Christmas without her. And not that I was jealous of her spending the weekend with Brody and Lincoln… that part I was totally cool with. But the thought of her spending Christmas without me saying what I needed to say?

That was just too dismal.