Page 7 of A Very Oceanport Christmas
"You mean if the twins will let you sleep," I pointed out. Aiden's big brother and his spouse had had babies two years back and the little ones had evolved into true terrors.Andthey were all still living with Aiden's parents for support. Which was all fine for them but not something I wanted for myself.
Aiden gave a heavy sigh. "Don't even remind me. Being an uncle is rough."
"Yeah, whatever. Just be glad you don't have any of your own." Now it was my turn to sigh, knowing that I would soon be kept awake by a screaming baby too.
But that was nothing that I couldn't handle. I patted my belly.You and me against the world, baby.
3
David
Business was slow the morning after I'd invited Sam into my home. I really wished it was busier so that I would stop thinking about him, but there were only two tables that required my attention. Honestly, we could have opened later in the day without losing much in the way of profits, but Dad never wanted to hear about it.We need to be around for people when they need us,he'd say. As if we were selling heart transplants instead of sugar.
I wiped down the counter, my eyes scanning the store to see if anyone needed anything. Sam was still asleep in the apartment and I didn't expect him to come down for another hour or two. He'd never been an early riser. Even if he had been, there wouldn't have been much for him to do here. I understood that he wanted to help, but I wasn't sure how he was going to do that yet.
Truth be told, I'd urged my dad to let go of most of our employees both because we couldn't afford to keep them on and because there was too little work to do in the winter. I could handle most of it by myself.
I looked up when I heard the bells above our entrance door chime, indicating that a customer had entered. Griffin Kramer, local sugar addict. Of course. I greeted him with a smile. "What can I get you today, Mr. Kramer?"
"Something with a little caffeine and lots of sugar," he said with a smile. "I need the boost this morning."
"Sure thing." I glanced at our menu even though I had it memorized. "How about a latte with some hazelnut syrup?"
"Sounds perfect."
"Coming right up." I busied myself with the drink and had it ready in less than a minute. It felt good to finally have something to do. I slid the cup over the counter to Mr. Kramer. "That'll be four dollars."
Mr. Kramer took the cup and paid with his credit card before dropping a small tip in the jar next to the register.
"Thank you," I said.
"No problem." He paused, looking around the store. "It doesn't look very festive in here yet, does it? I remember last year you had all these decorations and mistletoe everywhere."
"Uh... yeah, I guess we did." But I hadn't been the one in charge of that. I scratched the back of my neck. "We've been too busy to decorate," I claimed, even as the nearly empty restaurant called my words lies.
"I see," Mr. Kramer said with the sort of sympathy in his eyes that told me he saw through my deception. "I hope you and your dad have a peaceful Christmas. It's always hardest around this time of the year." He didn't have to specifywhatwas hardest. I knew exactly what he was talking about--my mom.
Sheesh, I really didn't need to think about that while at work. Mr. Kramer's kind words made a lump form in my throat and I wasn't sure what to respond, or how. So I simply nodded while trying to swallow my emotions. "You uh... I hope you have a good Christmas too," I said when I remembered my manners.
It wasn't until after Mr. Kramer had left that I noticed Sam had come down from the apartment. He stood next to the door leading to the back area, wearing an apron and one of our blue shirts and looking absolutely ridiculous and adorable at the same time--especially since the outfit did little to hide his baby bump.
God, it was still weird to think that he was pregnant. Even weirder to think that it kind of made me want to hug him and hold him close and shield him from the evils of the world. Which was really stupid because Sam didn’t need me to do any of that. Nor would hewantme to do any of that, aside from the hug maybe. We’d hugged sometimes. But if I hugged him now, I’d only wind up wanting things I couldn’t have.
I needed to snap out of this odd mood. How long had Sam been standing there, anyway? Now that I was looking his way, he met my gaze and came up to the counter.
"Where do you keep your holiday decorations?"
I actually wasn't sure. "Probably in the attic?"
"Do you want me to go have a look? I figure if you're too busy to do it, that's something I can help with."
Great, so he'd heard that part of the conversation. Had he understood the rest of it too? The way I knew him, I wouldn't be surprised if it had sailed right over his head. "I don't really want to do that right now. Or have you do it," I added before he could protest.
"Why are you being such a Grinch?" he asked. Yup, he truly wasn't getting it. "You might get more customers if this place looked a little more festive."
He had a point there, but still. I blew out a breath, looking at the few customers we did have. It would be super unprofessional for me to start a fight with Sam in front of them. "All that stuff it just..." I lowered my voice. "It reminds me of my mom, okay?" Christmas had been her favorite holiday, and decorating had been her favorite holiday activity, aside from watching the snow fall while drinking eggnog.
"Oh..." Sam's shoulders slumped. "I didn't... I'm sorry, I didn't realize that."
