Page 153 of Holidating
She shakes her head. “No. I’m sure you could do anything if youtry. But I gave you that song and lecture about going to school. And in that note you left with Rose you said the G.I. bill was one reason you enlisted.'"
“Overland.” He sits back in his chair. “You didnotmake me enlist."
"I know. I know. I don’t mean to overstate my own importance. But if you didn’t come back, I was going to feel responsible."
“Well, you shouldn’t have. I joined up because I didn’t want to just…settle. I thought I might look up someday and realize I’m fifty and still stuck in a rut. So, yeah, maybe I got more than I bargained for. It messed me up a little. But I don’t really regret it. I saved a lot of money, and I learned some things about myself. And I survived it.”
“Well, good. Because it really beats the alternative.” She clears her throat.
“No—I meant it in a bigger way than that. Like Ichoseto accept the help that was offered, and let my family take care of me, and then work on myself. And now I can go to school on the damn G.I. bill. If I want to.”
“Do you?”
He looks up at the ceiling, thinking. “Yeah, I think I do. But only if I can study art. I’m pretty old for college, so I’ll only do it on my own terms, you know? I can study art and drive a taxi. Other people might find that weird, but I don’t care what they think. I just need to try.”
“Youshouldtry,” she says, startling both of them with her intensity. “I wish I wanted something badly enough to rearrange my whole life for it.”
He gives her a strange look. “I guess I’m really good at wanting impossible things.”
The conversation gets a little less intense after that. The topic moves on to horror movies and books. It’s been too long since they compared their favorites.
This is how it’s supposed to be, she thinks as he teases her about her taste in B-movies.Easy.
It’s so easy that she loses track of time. Before she knows it, there’re only twenty minutes left to make it to the shop for Veronica’s pickup.
“Oh, heck!” she curses. “My stepmother will skin me if I don’t come home with her flowers.”
“Sorry,” Damien says, rising to his feet. “I didn’t mean to keep you.”
“No! I just lost track of time.” She’s grabbing her shopping bag off the floor, jumping to her feet. Flustered. “It was so great seeing you.”
The hug just happens. Later, she’ll try to remember who leaned in first, and she won’t be able to decide. All she knows is that she loves the feel of Damien’s strong arms around her. He’s so sturdy, and it’s hard to remember the last time she’s been hugged so thoroughly and so well.
But then it’s over, and he’s leading her toward the door. “It wasreallygreat to see you,” he says. “If you’re in Vermont again sometime and you have a free afternoon, call me. We’ll hit a bookstore. Have a coffee. Argue aboutThe Walking Dead. Wait—” He grabs a card out of his pocket. “In case you don’t have my number.”
“Thanks,” she says brightly. Shereallyneeds to get to the flower shop, but he’s still looking at her intently.
“I’ve really missed you,” he says. “Thank you for taking the time today.”
She blushes to her hairline again. “It was entirely my pleasure.”
And then she makes herself hurry away.
CHAPTER 9
ON THE SOUND SYSTEM: “CHEAP THRILLS” BY SIA
The Gin Mill is a brand-new bar in Colebury, Vermont, just a few miles up the road from the Overland estate. Nicolette has just parked her car outside the brightly lit old mill building with the cheerful neon sign above the door.
Snow and gravel crunch under her feet as she walks toward the front door, and the sound of voices and laughter waft out of the many-paned windows.
She and Cam are in Vermont for the holidays, as usual. One of Cam’s college roommates has a ski house at Killington, and whenever they’re in Vermont, Cam makes a point to try to see him.
Nicolette, on the other hand, makes a point to stay away. He’s not her favorite person.
Tonight, they went to a hockey game over the New Hampshire border—Dartmouth versus Harvard. Nicolette begged off, saying she had some work to finish, and they should go without her.
She spent a lovely few hours by herself, and then forty minutes ago, Cam started texting her, asking her to "show her face" at the bar.
