Page 22 of What Happens This Christmas
It was everything I could have hoped for.
It was what euphoric dreams were made of.
Cloud nine wasn’t high enough to describe how I was feeling.
My muscles were bunching, my toes curling—
“It’s a piano,” Eloise said, her voice cutting into my thoughts like a letter opener did an envelope as she made herself known.
I shut my eyes briefly before flashing them back open. I wasn’t a magician, though, so she was still there, breathing on the back of my neck as she loitered behind me. God forbid she stood at my side like a normal person. It was beginning to feel like there was a draft in here, which wasn’t likely.
I brought my hand to the back of my neck, brushing it, not that it would help, but perhaps she’d get the subtle hint between that and my stepping to the side. “It’s not a piano. It’s a grand piano,” I corrected, smiling as I breathed a sigh of relief that it came in time for the holiday card photos. It would have been disastrous if it hadn’t been timely in its arrival. In that way, I supposed it was good that we had postponed the photo session.
Where exactly would we have taken photos? In front of that dreadful tree Nick had insisted upon? It didn’t matter how many of those beautiful handblown glass ornaments we hung on it.It was still…ghastly. So, that certainly wouldn’t do. Especially since this was our last Christmas card we’d be sending out. It needed to look appealing and evoke emotion, mainly anger…or…jealousy because they didn’t think of having a grand piano in their photo. Thankfully, I thought of everything.
Eloise cleared her throat, walking toward it but staying a good two inches back from it like the smart girl she was. She cocked her head to the side, and I could tell she wanted to reach out and touch it, but resisted, which was good. “Yes, but why is it here?” she asked, confusion evident in her voice.
Jeez, she acted like it was a poisonous snake that infiltrated our home, like it didn’t belong. But of course, it did. This grand piano didn’t belong anywhere else but in our home. It was pure perfection. And perfection was something I strived for constantly, so I felt confident I knew a thing or two about it to say with certainty.
Meanwhile, I wasn’t fond of the way she responded to it. “When it grew legs and walked to my door, I felt like it was my obligation to take it in. Give it a good home, you know? No one should be alone for the holidays, especially not this guy. He’s been through enough,” I said, my words dripping with sarcasm like a murder weapon might drip with its victim’s blood.
She started circling it, hitching a brow in the air. I was almost tempted to inquire if she would have liked a magnifying glass. There wasn’t an inscription on it if that was what she was looking for. Or anything else for that matter.
It was a luxury limited-edition model, Italian-based, and conceived by a pianist duo who was brilliant beyond their years. The seller didn’t need to use flowery words to sell me on it. I knew as soon as I’d read up on it myself that I wanted it in my possession. I was kidding Eloise before, but it was also ironically serious—it needed a home, and I couldn’t see a more suitable one than ours.
The design was made with wood that had a remarkable spiral to it, making the body of it appear even more grandiose than it was. I had to commend the artisans for not only making a musical instrument but also making a piece of art in its own right. It just begged to be played, to be coveted. While neither Nick nor I played, we could certainly covet it.
And it wasn’t like he couldn’t learn if he wanted to. Those long, skilled fingers of his could really find a true purpose. In truth, I’d do just about anything to get him away from that bar, so this seemed like a superb idea.
It was unfortunate really that we would be divorcing. Of course, when I had purchased this, I had no idea of our fate. I’d thought I was doing a good thing for Nick, showing him that something other than making drinks could make him happy. Now, it felt like a wasted effort, but at least I’d enjoy its beauty while I still could. If nothing else, at least his next wife could thank me.
Unless she was a gold digger. In which case, she wouldn’t care how he spent his time. Now that I thought about it, if Nick were smart, he wouldn’t leave her to manage their meals. He might be poisoned that way. Insurance money and all that.
Anyway, that was neither here nor there.
I shook my head softly, making my way over to Eloise. “It’s my early Christmas present to Nick. He’s going to love it, don’t you think?”
Of all the opinions in the world, I didn’t exactly care for Eloise’s, but I suspected I already knew her answer, so she might as well give it.
“Uhh…” she said, clearly stammering. “I guess.”
Oh, what did she know?Besides, I loved it, and that was all that mattered. After Nick loving it too, of course. Plus, it’d be featured in our photography session for our holiday cards, soeveryone we knew could also love it. And be envious—couldn’t forget that.
Eloise snapped her head toward me, finally prying her gaze away from the piano. I didn’t see how she couldn’t tell by the giant red satin ribbon draped across the top of it that it was a present. “He plays? I can hardly get most guys I go out with to finger fuck me properly, and your man can put you to sleep with sweet tunes?”
I was going to ignore most of that and answer the first question she had asked. “No, he doesn’t play.” I shrugged. “That doesn’t mean he can’t or won’t want to. Now Nick has the opportunity.”
“Now I have the opportunity for what?” Nick asked, startling me as he strolled into the room, the picture of nonchalance, his fingers wrapped around a glass of that whiskey he liked so much.
A shiver of appreciation ran through me. He was dressed impeccably, wearing a dapper double-breasted crimson suit with a black dress shirt. Even better, he matched me, and the best part was that we hadn’t even coordinated outfits. See, as much as Nick didn’t want to admit it as of late, we were two puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly. Divorce wasn’t for people like us. It was a mistake, a wrong turn in the road. Nick and I had made vows—till death. I couldn’t imagine exactly how we’d gotten here, but I also couldn’t dream of fighting him.
In many ways, life was a disappointment, and this end to our marriage was no different. I wasn’t blind to the way we had become, especially lately, falling somewhere in the zone of apathy with one another, but it didn’t mean I liked it any. I just wasn’t sure what to do about it. I also knew my husband, and he was a man who didn’t take no for an answer, so I wasn’t going to fight him on this. It would’ve been nothing more than a waste of my time. The bottom line was that we’d peaked with each other, as sad as that was.
“Candy?” he prompted when I didn’t explain what I’d been talking about.
I shook my head. It wasn’t worth getting into. “Nothing.”
Unbuttoning the top few buttons on his sharp dress shirt, he revealed the brush of his light chest hair and the start of the strained muscles on his chest. “Okay. Well, what’s that doing here?” he asked, jutting a thumb toward the piano.
