Page 120 of Run, Run Rudolph
It wasn’t one. The movie quote was “LIFE finds a way.”
Char
Josie was our resident magic expert, thanks to all of the paranormal romance she read. Even though she was super analytical, if she believed in the power of love to overcome magic, then that was good enough for me.
Gabby
I think he’s in love. Definitely. Kiss him. I bet all his memories come back. But hurry. Because what if there’s some magical window that’s open right now, and it closes if you wait too long?
The gals all chimed in, very clearly on board with the idea of me kissing Haden to see what happened.
I mean, yeah. I wanted to believe in the power of love. It was a happily ever after of the finest order. Movies and fairy tales had been made on that premise. Everyone felt good about the theme of love conquering all.
But was it all simply wishful thinking? If I kissed Haden, would it ruin what little we had left?
On the flip side, what if there really was a magical window, and it was closing on us?
I finished the dishes for Oma, my mind swirling.
Yes. No.
Real. Not real.
I felt like it might be love.
But could we have fallen in love in just one night?
Unless we’d spent years slowly falling in love, and last night, it had all just slipped into place, finally becoming a real, tangible thing that even magic couldn’t erase.
I left brunch as soon as possible, wolfing down Oma’s special Christmas dessert, and then begged the car off Mom. She could ride home with Dad, whereas I claimed I’d forgotten to check on Dolly, and needed to hurry back to make sure her water hadn’t frozen.
Instead, I crossed town, passing memory after memory. Jannifer’s shop, the hardware store, and finally Haden’s clinic. I had so many memories I couldn’t share with the one person who’d been there with me. Haden would pass these buildings, never knowing what had existed inside them for just one night.
I parked my parents’ car behind Haden’s clinic, beside his truck, and wondered if showing up unannounced was the wrong move. If I’d been thinking, I could have created an excuse to track him down…like giving him a Christmas gift. And then kissing his face off.
What if kissing him didn’t work?
What if he looked at me with those blank, shuttered eyes again?
I felt frantic. Desperate. Hopeful. Scared.
“Why can’t this be easy?” I hollered, my head tipped back.
I immediately felt embarrassed. What if Lady MacBeth was watching me and had heard me scream through the car windows?
Sighing, I gripped the steering wheel. At least I knew where to find Haden. Imagine my frustration if I didn’t even know where to look? Since it was Christmas Eve, I knew his parents’ house was usually stuffed with extended family. And every year he arrived late, sliding into his spot at the table beside me just before grace. I wasn’t sure how he timed it so precisely each year, or why when he loved spending time with his family.
I got out of the car, terrified by what I was about to attempt, and the knowledge that I could truly ruin what little there was left between us.
Chapter 35
~ Haden ~
Someone was knocking on the clinic’s back door, and I grumbled over the interruption. Every Christmas Eve, my clinic was my sanctuary. I’d hide out until supper, then slip into my spot just before grace to avoid Tamara and her cocoa-butter scent. But mostly to avoid seeing my brother fawn all over her. Every Christmas, I was on edge thinking that this could be the year he’d pin her down with a ring.
Even though she wasn’t coming this year, and even though a proposal wouldn’t be happening, I was still avoiding the house out of habit.
It didn’t help that I couldn’t get Tamara out of my thoughts today. Every time I got close to thinking about something else, my groggy mind would pull up snippets of daydreams that felt like reality.
