Page 1 of A First Sight

ONE

DRAKE

“Have a holly,jolly Christmas. Have a holly, jolly Christmas. Have a holly jolly Christmas.”

I smiled at the man who’d been singing the same lyrics from the moment he stepped into the line. At least he had excellent pitch. Repetition was one thing. Being off-key was worse.

“Would you like ham or turkey?” I asked.

Without missing a note, he pointed to the ham, and I picked up two pieces of meat with metal tongs and placed the ham on his tray. He moved on, taking his music with him, though he was loud enough for me to hear still.

“I’d say it's nice to see someone in the Christmas spirit,” the woman behind him said, “but he sings that damn song all year-’round.”

I chuckled. “I suppose that would grate on one’s nerves in the heat of summer.”

“Especially since I always end up in line next to him,” she added. “Can I have one of each?”

“Certainly.” I gave her a slice of ham and then switched to the other set of tongs for a piece of turkey.

I learned my first time serving here to use only the serving utensils for their specific foods.

“Turkey,” the man across from me mumbled without looking up from his tray. Despite not seeing much of his face, I recognized him.

“Merry Christmas, Ramin.”

His head jerked up at his name, and his eyes narrowed. It took a moment for recognition to set in, and his posture relaxed. “Merry Christmas, Mr. Drake.”

“I thought Drake was your first name,” the teenager serving food next to me said.

“It is,” I said, “but Mr. Mac Gilleain can sound pretentious.”

The kid stared at me. “Do you volunteer like this all the time?”

“I try to volunteer a few times a year,” I said. “Usually on holidays.”

He pointed to a gray-haired pair near the desserts. “My gran and gramp decided this was how we needed to spend our Christmas this year. They said it would be good for us, but I think it’s because my aunt and uncle and cousins all went on a cruise, and we’re the only ones left.”

I felt the smile on my face tighten and hoped it didn’t show. The boy didn’t know the sharp pain that went through me at his words. How could he? “Most of my family is in Scotland.”

“You’re Scottish?” His entire face lit up. “That’s so cool! Now I can totally hear the accent. Where in Scotland? My gran’s been doing this whole genealogy thing and found out her great-great-something-grandfather came to America from there in 1762.”

“Inverness,” I said, trying to ignore the way my heart squeezed painfully at the name. I loved my home country, but memories were too close to the surface this time of year.

“I don’t know where that is, but I bet my gran does. When we’re done, come talk to her. She’d love to pick your brain about Scotland.”

I gave him a vague, noncommittal nod and greeted the next person in line with a cheerier ‘Merry Christmas’ than I felt. I’d been here since dawn as I had for the past fifteen years.

I was tempted to beg off early, except that my uncle, Ben, and his partner, Stellan, were spending Christmas Day with Stellan’s family. I’d have nowhere to go but home by myself, and being alone around the Holidays was something I avoided at all costs. At least until I was too exhausted for anything but a shower, a whisky, and bed.

As we continued to serve and greet those who came to eat, the boy maintained a steady stream of chatter, only stopping when Simone Riddell, the woman running today’s dinner, came toward me.

“Drake. Can I have a word?”

I nodded, and she motioned for another volunteer to take my place. I followed her down a short corridor to her office. I took a seat as she walked around the desk.

“Is everything all right?” I asked. I had only ever been in her office a handful of times and never in the middle of serving.

“Not really,” she said with a sigh. It brought a weariness to her face that aged her considerably. “Malone just informed me our electricity will be turned off Friday morning.”

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