“What?” Liam’s question made Molly come to a complete stop in the middle of the sidewalk. “Liam, where’d you get that idea from?”
Liam shrugged, as he looked up at Molly. “The way you look at each other.”
“The way we look at each other?” she asked, not understanding.
Liam nodded. “Sometimes, you look at him the way my mom looks at my dad. And sometimes, he looks at you the way my dad looks at my mom. The same way he looks at her when he says it’s their anniversary.”
“Oh. Well, that’s... interesting,” Molly said, trying not to wonder what else Liam had noticed. “But no. Nicholas and I aren’t getting married, Liam. Sometimes, people just look at each other?” Molly was unsure of her own response, but she nodded along with her words like she knew what she was talking about.
“Yeah, right,” Liam said, rolling his eyes at her horrible response. “Sure. Sometimes people just look at each other. Grown-ups are so weird.”
“Hey, I heard that!” Molly said, giving him a small bump with her hip. “I’m serious, Liam, sometimes people just look at each other and it doesn’t always mean—”
“Thirty points!” Liam exclaimed as he took out his pen and paper, scribbling words and numbers down. “House with a red door. No Christmas lights. Wreaths only.”
Apparently, Liam had decided he was done talking about grown up things and wanted to play their game.
“Wreaths only?” Molly peered up at the house, a frown taking over her expression. “I hope that little brown house down the street is still worth sixty points, or else I’m definitely losing the game this year.”
“Yeah, the same way you lost last year,” Liam told her, handing the pen and paper to Molly. “Your turn. You gotta’ call out the first house you see, no cheating! And then we’ll add up all the points at the end.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You don’t need to remind me of the rules. I’m the one who taught you how to play the game, remember?” Molly said, placing the pen behind her ear as she squinted towards the upcoming row of houses.
“Ooh! Red bow tied on the mailbox! Christmas lights! Wreaths in the window!” Molly shouted, pointing toward a house. “If there was a Santa Claus in their front yard that house would be worth 100 points!”
Molly then wrote down the house’s description and her subsequent amount of points. She heard Liam kicking at the snow, signaling his impatience.
“Come on, come on! My turn, my turn!” Liam took the pen and paper from Molly as soon as she’d finished writing down the final number.
“Hey, Liam, look over there!” Molly directed a finger towards a house with only a few scarce decorations, the result of it not being occupied in years. The previous tenants had moved to a different city several summers ago. The nearby neighbors would sometimes add a wreath or two onto the home’s door, just to keep it decorated in the same style as the rest of their homes for the holiday season.
Liam’s attention followed the sound of Molly’s voice and he soon had a devastated look on his face. “Hey! No fair! That house is only worth 10 points!”
“All’s fair in House Hunting, buddy,” Molly reminded him, ruffling Liam’s hat on top of his head. “Gotta’ keep your head in the game, kid.”
Liam muttered and mumbled, but he wrote the house down on the score sheet.
And Molly looked back at the empty house.
It was painted all-white with elegant pillars holding up its main frame. There were at least three stories since Molly could see a snow-frosted window that looked out from the attic. She could also see into the home’s large backyard, and she could easily imagine there being an in-ground swimming pool installed on its grass, perfect for the summertime.
Molly had always liked this home due to the neighborhood and how close it was to Christmas Wishes. Even though Molly would still have to drive to reach her main job at the elementary school, she envisioned those perfect winter mornings during the Christmas season where she could roll out of bed and walk over to the shop, even having enough time to stop for a morning hot chocolate at Sweetness & Light.
Molly turned away from the house, feeling like her heart was breaking right down the middle.
She couldn’t pinpoint why her heart felt so shattered, but she had a feeling it had something to do with how she’d been imagining her future in that house. She'd been imagining a future with Hannah. With Nicholas at Christmas Wishes.
Except she knew that wasn't what was in the cards. The house was a dream.
Nicholas, with his amazing kisses that lit her body on fire, was a dream.
Even if she convinced him to keep the store, his life wasn't here. He wouldn't stay. She shouldn't get her hopes up.
“Your turn, Ms. Carmichael,” Liam reminded her as he offered her the pen and paper. “Go! Go! Go!”
Molly shook her head in a vain attempt to shake off her lonely thoughts. She then took the pen and paper out of Liam’s waiting hands. Now wasn't the time to be sad. Now was the time to crush a seven year old boy's dreams of winning a game.
“House with a red door. Wreath and blow-up decortations. Thirty points.”