CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
AARON
I unburdened myself at last. I didn’t realize how cathartic it was going to be. It felt like a fifty pound weight had been lifted off my chest finally. I was sorry I’d carried it around and dwelled on it for so long, but I was glad that I’d waited until I met Robyn to do it at the same time. Everything about her radiated warmth and acceptance and made me feel safe. She wasn’t looking at me like I was an idiot for wasting the last twenty Christmases being angry and feeling sorry for myself. She was looking at me with empathy and compassion and it made me drawn to her that much more.
While she put the steaks and the lobster on the table, I tossed the salad I made with some vinegar and oil and put that on the table. She reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of wine. Sitting it down on the table she said, “My best friend gave this to me for Christmas last year. I was saving it for a special occasion. I think this is it.” It was a 2011 V. Sattui Gamay Rouge, a very good dry Rose wine that I’d had before and enjoyed very much.
She sat and then I did too and we began to eat. The steak was delicious, juicy and flavorful. The lobster was tender and she’d served it with a seasoned butter sauce that she made herself.
“This is amazing,” I told her.
She smiled, “It is really yummy, isn’t it?”
“Yes, and that salad… I don’t even have words for how fabulous it is.”
She giggled, “I was just about to say that it was the best part of the meal.”
When we finished our dinner, I helped her do the dishes and clean up the kitchen. It was nice and once again, an intimate experience. It was almost two when we finished.
“Okay, what’s next in Robyn and Aaron’s Christmas day of fun?” he asked.
“Is it too soon for dessert?” she asked me. I couldn’t resist. I made an up and down motion with my eyebrows and then I looked her over like she was on the menu. She got it and laughed, saying, “It’s definitely too soon for all that. I meant cheesecake. I made one yesterday and it’s chilling in the fridge.”
“Mm, cheesecake sounds great, but I’m afraid we’ll have to wait just a bit if I don’t want to pop right out of my jeans.” Her dinner had literally stuffed me.
“Yeah, me too,” she said, patting her belly. “Then on to the board games.”
“Board games?”
“Yep, board games, snowman, caroling…”
“Excuse me? Caroling?”
“Yes, of course. You don’t sing?”
“I never have,” I told her.
“Never? Like never, ever? Not even in the shower?”
“Well of course I sing in the shower, doesn’t everyone?”
“You sang at the park that day with me too…”
“It was lip syncing,” I told her.
She laughed and said, “Okay, well I think it’s still snowing out there. You can just pretend it’s the shower raining down on you.”
“I’m sure it will be exactly the same,” I said, slightly sarcastically. She laughed at me and went to set up the board game. I hadn’t played a board game since I was maybe ten or eleven years old. I wasn’t going to tell her that though. I was extremely competitive. Admitting fear led to defeat, so as far as she was concerned I played scrabble and battleship twice a day. “So which game are we playing?” I asked.
“Monopoly,” she said.
I laughed my evil, take over the world laugh. She was going to dare play monopoly with a world famous business mogul?
“Don’t look so confident Mr. Winters Inc. It’s not as easy as running a business.”
I laughed again, “You think?”
“Yep, running a business is mostly skill. Rolling the dice is about getting lucky and I’ve got all the skills in that department.” She handed me one die and said, “Let’s roll to see who goes first.” We rolled. She got a six and I got a two and that was the way the rest of the game went. By the time I finally gave up and surrendered over an hour later to her mighty monopoly skills, she owned most of the board and I was broke. It was a humiliating thing for a business mogul. It was also one more thing about her that made me feel like a normal person. She wasn’t afraid to be competitive with me.
“If you ever go into business, promise me something?” I asked her.
“Sure, what’s that?”
“Promise that you won’t start your company in any market that will compete with mine.”
She laughed and said, “I promise, but you better start saving me a country or two now, because I’m on my way.”
I didn’t doubt that she was.
ROBYN