Page 25 of All I Want Is Love
“Weird,” I help out. “Don’t worry, I am not an outsider, and it’s hella weird. They have this insane snowball fight every year.”
“So, they weren’t joking about that one?”
“No, imagine soccer but with snowballs and more chaos. They actually have teams and practice the whole year.”
He stares at me. “No way!”
“You will love it. It’s hilarious. There is something really endearing about old ladies throwing insults at each other like little children and old men crying over a lost snowball fight, and then having mulled wine a minute later together.”
He smiles for a moment, but then seems to be far away in his thoughts again.
“Is something wrong, Leo?”
“It’s just… they saw my decorations,” he says, playing with the hem of his jacket.
“Yes, I guess a lot of them have spotted your work by now. Aspen’s and Robin’s shop is a place many frequent.”
“And they liked them.”
“Of course they do, they are fantastic,” I say. “I guess they want you to decorate for them, too?”
“Yes, but they also want me to help the town with the Christmas party slash snowball fight competition.”
“I had an inkling this would happen,” I say. “West Sunhaven is known for having terrible holiday decorations every year. It’s only one part of the whole competition, though; together with the snowball fight, the Christmas cookie competition, the sledge parade and the hot chocolate food war.”
I don’t know much about what happened to Leo, but I do know the things Aspen kept telling us about his little brother. He has worked in marketing and graphic design. Clearly, doing the decorations for Robin and Aspen was right up his alley, but somehow, he seems to be terrified of branching out or doing anything related to his old work.
“They really mean well,” I add softly. “And they wouldn’t be upset if you decline.”
“Won’t they be disappointed?”
“Not really,” I say, pondering the situation and what he just told me. The setup he did for the coffee shop library was fantastic. He clearly liked doing it. “Do youwantto do it?”
“I am not sure if I can,” he admits quietly.
He goes completely silent, his breath hitching all of a sudden, just like two weeks ago when I met him for our first morning walk. I reach out my hand, touching his knee. I have no idea if this will help in any way, but Leo’s hand snatches forward and grabs mine, holding onto it. “You don’t need to do anything you don’t want or can’t,” I reassure him. “If you want to, I can talk to them. Or Aspen will.”
“I should really be able to decline on my own,” he mutters. “But part of me…”
“Part of you wants to do it?” I conclude
He nods.
“Okay, so, what if you don’t take it on yourself. What if Aspen, Robin and I help you? Granted, we suck, but it’s about the fun anyway. Would that take the pressure away from you?”
He furrows his brows, pursing his lips. “I haven’t considered this option.”
“Take your time to think about it,” I tell him. “And when our mayor contacts you, don’t be scared to decline… or to agree. We’ll find a way if you want to give it a shot.” I smile at him. “Can’t be worse than last year’s decoration.”
“What happened last year?”
“Last year, they decided to skip the creative part and used LED lights for everything. We had a power outage that lasted for a whole day.”
He stares at me. “No way!”
I chuckle. “It really happened. East Sunhaven won by default, and then everyone gathered around Aspen’s shop because he still had hot chocolate leftovers, which weren’t hot anymore, but still enjoyable.”
“Sounds fun,” Leo says with a wistful smile.
