“I missed you, too, Nicky Boy,” Mr. Kerstman said as he clapped Nicholas on the back. Nicholas was still stuck in his mother’s arms. “How’s everything been so far? I’m surprised you’ve managed to last this long with so much Christmas in the air.”
Nicky Boy.
Nicholas was immediately embarrassed by the childhood nickname, especially in front of Molly, but he managed to keep a straight face. “I’ve been good. Everything’s been good. How was Miami? Mom, you look like you got a good tan.”
Mrs. Kerstman spun around in a circle, showing off her now sun-kissed skin. “Oh, it was lovely, Nicholas. The sun felt so good! I'd forgotten how nice it is to be warm in the winter.”
“Your mother practically lived on the beach the entire time,” Mr. Kerstman told him. A proud grin filled his face. “And I tried my hand at surfing a time or two.”
“You? Dad, you tried to surf?” Nicholas couldn’t hide his astonishment.
“Yes, tried is the key word there,” Mr. Kerstman said with a small laugh. “Didn’t really get the hang of it. Jim tried it, too, and we were both almost visitors of the beach’s First Aid Stand.”
It took Nicholas a moment to place who “Jim” was.
Oh.
Right.
Mr. and Mrs. Carmichael had accompanied his parents on vacation, too.
And now, Nicholas’ stomach began to flip and flop all over again.
He’d forgotten all about the other half of the meeting the parents equation. What about Molly’s parents? What if they didn’t like him? What kind of things had his parents told them about him?
“So, son, what brings you to the shop? Wanted to make sure your inheritance hadn’t burned down?” Mr. Kerstman asked with a friendly laugh. “Have you finally inherited your mother’s gene for worrying about everything?”
“I worry so the rest of us don’t have to,” Mrs. Kerstman replied, finally let Nicholas out of her embrace. “Worrying is perfectly natural, dear. Don’t let your father turn you into someone who doesn’t worry. Worrying saves lives. Who do you think has been keeping your father alive all these years?”
Nicholas smiled at his parents’ exchange. It reminded him so much of growing up, with their responses to each other always playful, little jabs. From the outside looking in, people may have thought that Suzanne and Howard Kerstman couldn’t stand each other with the way they so easily joked about their partner. But Nicholas knew that his parents had been inseparable since the day they’d met, all those years ago at university.
Their sense of humor was something that both Kerstmans shared, even if the rest of the world didn’t always understand their quirky romance. Their complementary personalities melded into the kind of love that had lasted a lifetime.
“Actually, Dad, I uh...” Nicholas stammered in the middle of his sentence as he realized that he hadn’t told his parents about selling the rights to the store.
How would they even react to the news?
Nicholas had been so preoccupied with getting himself out of the Christmas business that he hadn’t stopped to ask himself what would happen if his parents wanted to stay in the Christmas business.
Nicholas shook his head and tried to start his sentence all over again. “Actually, Dad, I just came to—”
“You’re back! You’re back! You’re back!” Molly ran out of the back of the shop, rushing toward the Kerstmans with a giant smile on her face. She gave Mr. Kerstman a big hug before she did the same to Mrs. Kerstman, too. “And you’re so tan! I love it!”
“Thank you, Molly! I think it suits me,” Mrs. Kerstman said, blushing slightly at the compliment. “Anything exciting happen while we were gone?”
Molly glanced over at Nicholas and he gave her the smallest of head shakes.
“Other than Nicholas being here? Nope. Just the usual. Running the store. Helping the Brownstones. Eating a hundred candy canes,” Molly replied, not spilling the beans about why Nicholas was really here. “And Nicholas did an amazing job as Santa.”
Mrs. Kerstman grinned at her son. “Oh my. Please tell me there are pictures?”
“I was too busy to take any, but I’m sure we’ll see them when the parade photos come out,” Molly assured her. “He did a great job.”
“Hey, she was dressed up, too,” Nicholas interjected, tired of being the one laughed at. He nudged Molly in her side. “Don’t pretend like I was alone on that float!”
“Yeah, but I wear Christmas stuff all the time,” she replied with an impish grin. “This was special for you.”
He couldn't help but grin back at her. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him and he felt the happiness that only seemed to come around when she was near.