Page 31 of Christmas Rings

She and her family had all kinds of activities planned, but she would call him first to see if he would come out to talk through their problems. If he didn’t want her anymore, it was best to know that now.

Taking a deep breath, she punched in his number. Jed answered on the first ring.

“It’s me,” Alissa said.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Are you?”

“No. I’m miserable,” he said.

“I mean, I’m physically okay,” she said. “But I’m miserable too. I don’t want to live without you.”

“Me either.”

“I’m at the lodge. My family convinced me to comeanyway. I was thinking you should come out here. We can talk through things.” She took in another shaky breath. “I was wrong to react the way I did. I love you.”

“What’re you saying?”

“We can’t let your mother ruin what we have. I made a mistake blaming you. A terrible mistake, and I’m sorry. Come here. Let’s talk through this and come up with a plan. Together.”

“What do I have to offer you now?”

“You. That’s all I’ve ever wanted anyway. We’ll both get new jobs. All the contacts you’ve made over the years will lead you to a new position. You’ll be on your own without having to answer to your family. Think of how free you’ll be.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds. “Do you mean it? You want me even after my mother ruined your life?”

“She didn’t ruin my life. My life is you and my family, not my job. I shouldn’t have hidden a part of myself or been ashamed that I needed an extra job to make ends meet. If anything, the world should be ashamed that a teacher can’t make enough to live without an extra job. My mother didn’t raise me to be ashamed of being a survivor. If the school fires me, so what? There are other schools, other jobs.”

“My bag’s still packed,” he said. “I didn’t have the heart to put everything away.”

“Pick it up and get to the airport.”

“I won’t be able to get a flight today, but I’ll be on the first one out on the twenty-first.”

“I’ll be here.”

“I love you,” he said.

“Wait, Jed, do you still want to marry me?”

“It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted.”

She called her principal next. He picked up after a few rings.

“Alissa, hi. What’s up? Aren’t you supposed to be getting married about now?”

“Um, yeah. I was calling about the photographs,” she said.

“What about them?”

She gulped back a nervous breath. “I wondered if I still have a job.”

“What? Of course you do. I wouldn’t fire you for having another job. You’re not the only staff member moonlighting for extra cash.”

“Oh, well, yes, but I thought given the nature of my other job that you’d have to fire me to please the parents.”

“Alissa, what you do outside of school is no one’s business.”

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