Stalking in a Winter Wonderland

“Oh,” she says, smiling brightly as if just now noticing. “That would be you.”

“Excuse me?” I say, and Tori makes a choked noise from behind me.

“I said that would be you, Mr. Sleigh.” She bites her bottom lip and tucks her chin as if she’s trying to hide a smile.

She holds out an iPad similar to Tori’s, and I see the contract I’d barely glanced over. At the bottom just above my signature, the preference for lights is filled in as pink.

“I even personally called to confirm the color last week with your assistant.”

I turn around to glare at Tori, who is fighting a smile of his own. When I narrow my eyes at him, he just shrugs. “I asked you and you said that whatever you had was fine.” He sighs like he knew this would happen.

“I’ll deal with you later,” I say to him,, and he turns for the house.

“I’m going to check on dinner,” he says, and I clench my fist.

“Now that we’ve established who's responsible for this, let’s see what our options are,” Eve says from behind me, and I close my eyes.

When I turn to face her, she’s smiling just as brightly, and it’s innocent and sweet. I try to take a breath to calm myself down, but now I’m even more irritated, only this time at myself.

“You realize the party is this weekend.” I look at her blankly, and she nods. “On Christmas,” I confirm, and she nods again. How is she not the least bit fazed by my panic? In a way it’s calming me. and I don’t like it. I want to be angry.

Just then the family town car pulls down the long drive, and my heart sinks.

“Fuck.” I throw my hands up because now what was supposed to be a surprise for them to come home to is an utter disaster.

Eve stands there with her perfect smile and light-up sweater as the car pulls to a stop in front of us, and Jillian and Rae get out.

Jillian takes one look at the house and covers her mouth with her gloved hand as Rae runs around from behind her.

“Oh em gee!” she squeals, her mouth falling open, and she turns to me. “Uncle Dasher, is this real?” she asks, staring wide-eyed at the pink lights, and my heart melts.

That was the reaction I was hoping for, but I somehow didn’t see it playing out exactly like this. Jillian laughs behind her glove, and she knows me well enough to see that this wasn’t my doing. At least not on purpose.

“It’s real and it’s totally awesome, right?” Eve answers for me, and I realize I’ve been silent too long.

“Did you do this?” Rae asks Eve.

“Well, I had a little help from some elves.” Eve winks at her, and when I see the way Rae lights up, I feel guilty over the way I reacted.

“It’s stunning,” Jillian says as she walks closer. “This will be a Christmas to remember.” When she looks in my eyes, I can see her tears forming, but she doesn’t let them fall. I know this has been hard on her, but I plan on making new and better memories from here on out. Even if that includes pink Christmas lights.

“Oh ladies, you’ve arrived,” Tori says to them. “Dinner is ready.”

Rae and Jillian follow after him, and I pause as I turn to face Eve. “I’d like to apolo—”

“No need,” Eve says, interrupting me. “I’m just happy your daughter enjoyed the lights even if it wasn’t your intention.”

I open my mouth to correct her, but I’ve always thought of Rae as my daughter even if she isn't. “Thank you,” I say simply, trying to swallow my pride. I want to explain that I wasn’t trying to be an asshole, I just want her to have the perfect day.

“I’ll be back tomorrow to go over details of the party just to be sure we’ve got the right color choices made.” She smiles again, and it makes my chest tight.

I nod, unable to say anything else because I’ve made a complete fool of myself tonight. I’m also not sure how to apologize to someone because it’s been a long time since I’ve had to do it. So I just remain quiet while possibly making things worse.

“I hope you and your wife have a nice evening,” she says, and before I can open my mouth to correct her, she’s down the driveway and getting into her car.

Stepping around the spotlight, I watch her and think about that first touch. Why do my fingers still pulse like they’ve been shocked, and why did I like hearing her voice so much? Something about Eve has pricked the hair on the back of my neck, and I’ve been around long enough to trust my gut.

Taking a few steps forward, I grab my phone and unlock it. Before I can think through my actions, I snap a picture of her license plate and then watch her leave.