The Christmas Deal

The pom-pom on Angela’s fuchsia beanie wobbled as she joined him at the railing of the large stone patio where Seth stood watching the snowpeople being created in all shapes and sizes on the hotel’s back lawn.

Ice covered the empty lake beyond, but Seth assumed it was still too thin to skate on since they were skating later at the Olympic center. Sunlight beamed down, glaring off the snow, the sky having cleared to a perfect blue, the air absolutely frigid.

“It really is festive here,” Seth said, nodding at the decorations strung between light poles.

“It is. I love the holidays. I think no matter what your background, you should be able to enjoy Santa and Rudolph if you want. It’s a treat to get all the snow, even if it’s colder than a penguin’s pecker.”

Seth laugh-choked, coughing hard. “That’s one way to put it.”

Angela laughed. “I speak it like it is.” She eyed Connor in the distance where he stood with crossed arms, watching Logan roll the massive snowball, little Ian joining in beside Logan. Connor was saying something.

Angela snorted softly. “Probably telling his daddy he’s doin’ it all wrong.”

Seth laughed ruefully. “Most likely. Connor can be a handful.” He was acting like he hadn’t just met the boy and guilt nagged at the deception. Still, he had gotten to know Connor a bit and would be spending the holidays with him. He rolled his eyes internally. As if that makes this lie less of a whopper.

“Logan was his stepfather, right? His biological father’s not in the picture?”

“Not much at all. He lives in Florida and is hardly in touch.”

She shook her head, pom-pom waving. “That’ll really do a number on a kid, especially after losing his momma.”

“Yes.” Seth thought of his own parents. He’d been grown, but it had undoubtedly done a number on him to be rejected and ignored.

“It’ll be good for him once you and Logan are married. Give him stability. I realized I plumb forgot to ask about the wedding details when I came for dinner. When’s the big day?”

Uh-oh. Was she angling for an invitation? Seth stammered, “Um, well—you see—uh, I—” He snapped his jaw shut, feeling his ears go hot under his wool hat.

Well, now he had Angela’s attention. Her sculpted eyebrows met. “Is there a problem?”

“No! It’s just… I need to find a church.”

“Oh! Surely there are some open-minded houses of worship up here? New York State doesn’t get much bluer. Heck, you might be pleasantly surprised by some of the churches in Texas. Not all of ’em, I grant you, but I suppose that’s true everywhere.” She sighed heavily. “I’ll just never understand why we can’t love our fellow man the way the good lord made ’em.”

“I’m sure my parents would have some thoughts on the matter.” Seth cringed as soon as he said it. “Anyway, I’m sure we’ll find something soon.” He fiddled with the fringe on his plaid scarf. “So we’re going skating later, right? Can’t wait!”

But Angela didn’t answer, instead watching him with clear sadness, her mouth pulled down. “Your parents aren’t supportive of you and Logan?”

“No. Well, they don’t know Logan exists. It’s been years since I had any contact with them. One Christmas, I told them I was gay and had a boyfriend, and they showed me the door.” He shrugged, going for careless and surely failing.

“Oh, sugar.” Angela squeezed her gloved hand over his where Seth gripped the balcony railing, the icy stone cold even through insulated leather. “That just breaks my heart. I hope you know you’re not alone.”

Seth nodded, a lump in his throat almost choking him. Come January, he would be alone again. Sure, he’d see Jenna at work, but he’d come back to his finally finished house every night and there’d be no one else. Not even Agatha.

He missed her with a sharp pang. He’d felt too guilty about “replacing” her, but he really had to get another cat. And after saying it aloud, he realized he did want to find a church.

He found himself saying, “After my family turned their backs on me, I stopped going to church. I should have found a place in Atlanta, but I told myself I had a private relationship with God. And I do, but it would be nice to find a congregation where I could be myself.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.”

Angela winked, her long lashes heavy with mascara. “Because I’m a nosy broad.”

“I’m not sure whether I should agree or not.”

She laughed throatily. “I get plenty of people blowin’ smoke up my backside. Now tell me about your ideas for your department. No pressure, even though I’m putting you on the spot.”

“Oh! Right. No problem.” For a horrifying moment, his mind was completely blank. But he watched Logan rolling another snowball with the kids and caught his breath. “I’d start with tweaking our initial approach.”