Page 12 of Christmas Crisis
NOW
Itold my crew chief that I would stay until noon. We were making good progress on remodeling the lakefront home for a wealthy older couple. The clients seemed like good people. Besides paying us double time for working over the holiday weekend, they’d provided lunch for the team as well.
“Cutting out?” Charlie asked as I gathered my tools, grabbing one of the delivered sandwiches to eat during my drive home.
“Yeah. Thanks for the save getting the sub. I’ll miss the overtime pay, but it couldn’t be helped.”
“Unplanned visitor, you said?”
“Yeah, my…friend…from California showed up.” I almost said girlfriend because I wanted to try out the word, but it got stuck on my tongue.
“Miranda?” Of course he knew who I was talking about. I’d introduced them several times over the past few years when she’d visited.
“Yep. She, uh, thought she had to work but was able to get off last minute.”
“Cool. Tell her I said hi.”
“Sure thing.”
As Charlie went to sit with Amala, I recalled he’d asked me a year ago if Miranda and I were dating. I’d told him no. I wondered what he’d think when he saw pictures ofmy girlfriendand me online over the next few days.
Because the project was well ahead of schedule, my company was giving everyone time off until after the New Year once it was complete. My guess was we’d finish the punch list around December 5.Even adding in another day or two for paperwork, I’d have almost a month off.
Funny enough, last week I’d contemplated how I should use that time, and I'd put going to California to set things right with Miranda at the top of the list. After that, I’d planned to spend the Christmas season with James and Marley in Coleman Creek. I was almost as fond of my brother’s adopted town as he was. But I guessed this new arrangement with Miranda might require some flexibility there.
And that was fine with me. From the moment she’d launched herself into my arms last night, I’d been filled with overwhelming gratitude that our connection was not irreparably damaged. Our fight on Halloween had been awful, and Iwouldn’t have blamed her for doubting whether she should come to me. As annoying as it was to watch her berate herself for potentially harming Stone, I would have hated it more if she’d thought I wouldn’t help her and hadn’t reached out. But she had. Despite everything, she knew I had her back.
I wasn’t completely sold on her assertion that she’d caused this problem, though. While it was true that she’d accidentally posted a photo she shouldn’t have, Stone could have avoided the PR nightmare by not beginning his deception with Naomi in the first place. But we’d already had that argument, and it had only caused hurt between us. At least with this plan, I had something to do. A way to be proactive instead of just watching from the sidelines while Miranda wrung her hands over Stone.
It felt like I’d been gritting my teeth for a year.
Charlie reappeared at my side as I latched my toolbox. “It’s probably a good thing you’re leaving early today,” he said, reaching into the cooler for a soda. “Amala told me her whole family is visiting for the holiday. All the sisters.”
I smile-grimaced. Amala had three younger sisters, all single, and all looking for boyfriends. The joke on our crew was that whenever her siblings were in town, our colleague turned from a badass construction worker into a scheming matchmaker. And it wasn’t like the sisters were bridge trolls or had terrible personalities or anything. It was just that none of the guys wanted Amala involved in their love lives. Not that it stopped her. The last time her sisters visited, she introduced them to me several times and orchestrated a fewaccidentalrun-ins at the food truck near the jobsite.
“Good thing you’re happily married,” I said to Charlie.
“No doubt.”
It occurred to me that one upside of being in a fake relationship with Miranda would be relieving the pressure of having to answer to anyone about my single status or generallack of dates. I didn’t have close friends other than Miranda, only acquaintances and coworkers good for the occasional hang. Still, after they’d asked enough awkward questions to figure out I wasn’t gay, they pretty much all offered to introduce me to women they thought I might be interested in.
On the surface, I understood. I was thirty-six and single, never married, with decent enough looks, a good job, not a weirdo or a psychopath, and could hold my own in conversation. I enjoyed gaming, but not to excess, ditto with alcohol, and I treated women with respect. Not in a creepy manosphere vlogger way, but genuine respect.
I liked women. I did. I just didn’t want to date them.
But fake dating, I could do. For Miranda.
“Alright,” I said. “I’ll make my escape before Amala can tell me how much her little sisters want to see the inside of my truck.”
Charlie burst out laughing. “Don’t forget to tellyour friendI said hello.”
When I left my apartmentaround six that morning, Miranda had been sleeping off the events of the day before. When I got back, she was still in bed. Only now she was crying.
I heard her sniffles from the living room as soon as I opened the front door. I was on my way to find out what was wrong when another voice came through loud and clear.
Nasally and annoying.
“Darlin’, it’s gonna be okay. I like the plan. With Leo. He’s a good dude, keeping our secret this whole time. This is gonna work.”
