First Kiss at Christmas by Lee Tobin McClain

CHAPTER NINE

FRIDAYEVENING, TONY knocked on the door of Paul and Amber’s place.

Beside him, Jax hopped on one foot and then the other, a big smile on his face.

Clearly, Jax was starting to feel at home here. Tony was, too.

It would be hard to leave at the end of their three-month stretch.

There was an obligatory “woof” from Sarge, and then the door flew open. “Come on!” Davey yelled at top volume. “Hannah’s here and we’re decorating gingerbread boys!”

Jax looked up at Tony.

“It’s okay,” Tony said, encouraging Jax. “You’re allowed.”

Davey turned, then looked back over his shoulder. “Come on!” He ran toward the back of the house.

Given how Jax had been acting lately, Tony expected him to demur and cling, but he sprinted off after Davey without a second glance. Sarge paused to sniff Tony’s hand before trotting after them.

“Hey, Tony. Paul’s upstairs showering. He just got home from work, but he’ll be down in a minute.” Amber gave him a half-hug. “Come in the kitchen and meet my daughter. She’s going to supervise the boys’ cookie decorating so we can have a civilized glass of wine.”

Tony held out the bottle he’d brought.

“You didn’t have to,” she protested. “We invited you.”

“Just contributing to the festivities.” He followed Amber into the kitchen, where a college-aged woman, obviously Amber’s daughter, was stirring food dye into bowls of frosting.

“Hannah, this is Tony, Jax’s uncle and guardian,” Amber said. She pulled a corkscrew out of a drawer and deftly opened the wine he’d brought.

Hannah gave him a friendly smile. “Good to meet you.”

“She said we can put on as much frosting as we want!” Jax’s eyes were round with the thrill of that.

“You do what she says, okay?” He squeezed Jax’s shoulder. “Thanks for this,” he said to Hannah. “Jax will love it.”

“Davey, too, and me,” Hannah said. “I love kids.”

Amber hugged her daughter and then turned to Tony. “Come on, we’ll hang out by the fire.” She snagged three wineglasses plus the open bottle and headed out of the kitchen.

Tony looked at Jax. “I’ll be in the living room, where we came in, if you need me.”

“Okay. I’m not scared.” Jax climbed onto the chair beside Davey’s, seeming to forget about Tony, which was a beautiful thing. The child was bouncing back from his memory-induced clinginess, continuing to gain independence.

“Sarge will ’tect us,” Davey said, reaching down to rub the dog’s drooly muzzle. “He was a police dog.” He wiped his wet hand on his pants, grabbed a plastic knife, and spread a big dollop of blue frosting onto a cookie.

“Davey! Wash your hands,” Hannah scolded, then smiled up at Tony. “Beware the blue gingerbread boy,” she whispered.

“Will do.” He followed Amber into the living room and, at her gesture, sank into a comfortable chair near the fire. She poured him a glass of wine.

Tony looked around at the ceiling-height tree, heavily decorated with ornaments and lights and tinsel. Not showy like a magazine, but colorful and messy, with plenty of obviously homemade ornaments and a crooked star. Red and green stockings hung along the mantel, each labeled with a name: Paul, Amber, Davey, Hannah and Sarge.

Around the base of the Christmas tree, an electric train made its leisurely way around a track dotted with buildings and snowy landscapes and tiny figures.

It was so cozy and family-centered that his heart hurt. He blinked and refocused on the mantel. “The dog gets a stocking?” he asked.

“Of course!” Amber laughed. “Didn’t you ever have a dog?”

“Just a hunting dog that stayed outside,” he said. “We never, um, got it gifts.”

“It’s a whole new world of dog ownership,” she said. “Sarge definitely gets more gifts than either Paul or I do.”

Paul came down then, and they drank wine and listened to the kids and talked. Soon enough, the subject of tomorrow’s big event, Crabby Christmas, came up. Tony admitted he was going with Kayla and Norleen.

“Some guys have it that way,” Paul said, chuckling. “Hard to believe you just got into town.”

“Why both?” Amber asked.

“Norleen is...forceful.” Tony spread his hands. “I don’t know how it happened. I’d rather just go with Kayla, but I didn’t know about the event. Didn’t know to ask her.”

“Seize control, man,” Paul said. “I didn’t, and it almost cost me way too much.” He glanced over at Amber, his eyes warm.

“As well as giving both me and Kayla a really bad time at last year’s event,” Amber said. “Make sure she has a better time this year, will you?”

Tony sensed there was a story there. “I’ll try. But if the two of you see any way to distract Norleen or find her someone else to dance with, I’d welcome the help.”

“On it!” Amber pumped her arm. “I would love to see you and Kayla get together.”

“That’s not what I...” Tony stopped, confused. If he didn’t want to start anything serious with Kayla, why was he conspiring for it to happen?

“That wasn’t the worst thing that happened that weekend,” Paul said, obviously still thinking about last year. He looked at Amber. “Remember?”

“I’ll never forget.” Amber turned to Tony. “We had the most terrifying experience. Davey actually went missing.”

Tony put his wineglass down without taking another drink. He’d always known missing children were a tragedy, but now that he’d taken on guardianship of Jax, the horror was no longer abstract. “What happened?”

“His maternal grandparents decided to take custody of him without letting me know,” Paul said. “We worked it out, but it was dicey before we found him.”

Amber leaned forward so she could see into the kitchen, holding a finger to her lips. “To this day he doesn’t realize he was basically abducted,” she said, keeping her voice low. “He just thinks he had a surprise car ride with Grandma and Grandpa.”

“So...was it kind of a misunderstanding, or an actual crime?” Tony had dealt with some child abduction and custody cases in his counseling practicum, and he knew how difficult they could be. “Did you press charges?”

“No charges, and yes, we get along pretty well now,” Paul said. “They just needed some clear boundaries. And some therapy.”

“Wow.” Tony should have realized that even a perfect-seeming family like this one had its shadows in the past.

“Anyway.” Paul brushed his palms together like he was brushing away those experiences. “Crabby Christmas. They have a childcare area during the first part of the evening, the cocktail hour. People get dressed up. It’s fun.” He grinned and winked at Amber. “That’s when to make your move, if you’re going to make one.”

“Stop,” Amber said, laughing. She turned to Tony. “It is nice. They do a good job with the kids so the adults can have fun.”

Tony frowned. “I would have said that Jax wouldn’t go to strange childcare providers, but I could be wrong. He went to your daughter right away.”

“He did. How’s he doing, anyway, overall?” Amber finished her wine and held out her glass to Paul. “Just a tiny bit more, and then I’ll switch to water.”

“He’s doing pretty well.” Tony thought of the last couple of days and realized that Jax had slept soundly, and hadn’t had any meltdowns. No repeat of the night terrors, either. “The counseling helps, and so does the preschool class. He’s getting attached to Kayla, for sure.”

“That’s good. Kids are more resilient than we are.” Paul poured more wine all around and then turned on a speaker. Low, jazzy Christmas music surrounded them, and the smells from the kitchen were getting ever more enticing.

Tony breathed it all in, appreciatively. “This is nice,” he said. “Thanks for inviting us over.”

“Do you have plans for Christmas itself?” Amber asked.

Tony shook his head. “My sister and brother plan to come on the twenty-seventh, so we’ll do our celebrating then.”

“Oh, no, you can’t skip the holiday itself with a kid!” Amber’s eyes rounded with concern.

“She’s right,” Paul said. “Even last year, when he was four, Davey knew exactly when Christmas was and what to expect in the way of gifts and activities.”

“We’re having a big dinner here and you’re welcome to come.” Amber tapped her fingers on her chin. “Maybe I’ll invite Kayla and her mom, too.”

That idea gave Tony’s heart a lift. To be able to see Kayla on Christmas...

And yeah. It wasn’t only Jax who was getting attached to her. Tony was, too.

“Have you met Bisky yet?” Paul asked. “She does a Feast of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, and I know she’d welcome you.”

“I don’t want to impose.” Tony shook his head. “We’ll go to church and have a quiet Christmas Eve.”

“If you want, but lots of people come after church. Or they leave the party and go to midnight Mass.” Amber smiled at him. “Pleasant Shores isn’t the kind of place where you can spend a holiday alone.”

“That’s nice, but I haven’t even met this Bisky.”

“She’s super friendly. She’d love to meet you.”

“It’s a huge gathering,” Paul said. “All ages, all types. Jax would have a good time, too.” He reached over and patted Amber’s knee. “Pretty special to us.”

Amber smiled, then looked at Tony. “He proposed to me there, last year.”

“Wow, sounds...public,” Tony commented.

“Tell me about it. It wasn’t my style, but it was hers, so I did it. Hannah helped me make it work.” Paul nodded toward the kitchen. “And it was totally worth it.”

“I can see that.” It was good to meet such a happy couple.

Amber reached over and took Paul’s hand. “So you’ll come?” she asked Tony. “Here for Christmas Day, and Bisky’s for Christmas Eve?”

Tony frowned. It was a lot. Too much, too kind, and he felt guilty. But he had to at least make life good for Jax. “To Christmas Day, here, for sure, and we thank you,” he said. “About the other event, we’ll have to see.”

Fortunately, Jax and Davey ran in with trays of cookies and there was no chance for Amber to apply pressure. Sarge loped behind them, stopping to snag a cookie that fell from Davey’s tray.

Paul scolded the dog, shaking his head. “He was a good drug detection dog at one time,” he explained to Tony. “Now...he’s a lazy bum.”

“Daddy! He’s not lazy!” Davey sounded indignant as he knelt in front of Sarge. “He does all kinds of tricks for food.”

“You’re right,” Amber said, rubbing Davey’s shoulders. “He’s a good dog, even if he is a cookie monster.”

Jax handed his tray of cookies to Tony, and Tony praised the messy, overladen cookies. He couldn’t imagine eating many of them, but the fact that Jax had gotten to decorate them was everything. He didn’t know whether Stella had ever done that with Jax, what kind of Christmas activities she’d managed in the midst of her complicated, difficult lifestyle.

Jax leaned against Tony’s leg. “I wish we had a dog and a mommy and a family,” he said.

The words brought a lump to Tony’s throat. He didn’t have an answer; he just stroked Jax’s hair. Sarge came to sit beside Jax, who rubbed the big dog’s ears.

Tony wanted all this for Jax. Wanted to have Christmas traditions and a warm, cozy home. Wanted Jax to feel secure and loved, not just by him, but by a whole family.

The real comfort would be if Jax did have a mom, but because of Tony, he didn’t.

Tony’s determination to help Jax grew stronger than ever. He had to make it up to his nephew the best he could.

KAYLAARRIVEDATCrabby Christmas a few minutes late on Saturday night. She’d spent too much time changing her clothes, and she still wasn’t exactly satisfied with her last-minute conservative choice. But she was looking forward to her friends, and Tony.

Maybe especially Tony.

The fact that Norleen would be with them dimmed her excitement a little. But Kayla was determined to be friendly and civil to the other woman. Middle school was in the past.

DiGiorno’s restaurant had morphed from a big Italian eatery to a fairyland. Candles adorned the tables that surrounded the big dance floor, and tiny white lights lined the ceiling. The big windows faced west, and though the sky was mostly dark, a glow of purple, pink, and orange remained along the horizon, a testimony to the beauty of the Chesapeake Bay sunset.

People stood in clusters, talking, drinking soda, and wine, and cocktails, and eating finger foods and cookies from pretty tables around the edges of the room. Laughter rang out frequently above the Christmas music played by a small band in one corner. Bisky Castleman, resplendent in a sparkly red maternity dress, was making her way to the front of the room.

She grabbed the microphone from a stand in front of the musicians. “We’re going to speed things up and start the dancing, folks,” she called. “Who’s ready?”

Good-natured commentary went back and forth. Kayla remembered that much from last year: Bisky was a lot of fun as an emcee.

Kayla spotted Amber and Erica and waved to them. There was Primrose Miller, her hair piled high atop her head, a shimmering silver sweater making her look festive.

“Kayla!” It was Norleen’s voice, audible from across the room. The woman wore a spectacular, formfitting royal blue dress.

Kayla thought of the red sheath she’d bought for this occasion...and left at home. She’d tried it on, and it had looked fine, but it had emphasized her curves and after how she’d felt at the preschool party, she’d realized she just wasn’t comfortable with that. So here she was in black, serviceable pants and a sweater...not even one of her new ones, but a loose old favorite. She hoped no one would notice that she was underdressed.

“Over here,” Norleen called again.

Kayla started toward the other woman and then stopped, because there was Tony, standing close to Norleen. Uh-oh. She’d known she was going to be a third wheel on their date, but she hadn’t thought through how awful that would feel.

Maybe she should just stop coming to Crabby Christmas. This might be an even worst disaster than her date last year with Paul, who’d gone on to marry Amber.

“Miss Kayla!” Both Rhianna and Jax ran to greet her, and she knelt and let them run into her arms, smelling their sweaty-kid scents, feeling their overheated excitement. What a relief. Kids made sense, and she loved their uncomplicated joy.

She scooted back and studied them, enjoying Rhianna’s fancy velvet dress and Jax’s red sweater. “You two look like Christmas elves.”

“We’re not elves!” Jax laughed.

“I’m kind of an elf. This is a new dress.” Rhianna twirled.

They didn’t notice or care about what she was wearing. They just wanted to have fun at Christmastime, and that was as it should be.

She looked up at Tony, who’d come over to greet her. He looked fantastic in dark slacks and a soft green sweater that looked like cashmere. Although he wasn’t wearing a suit like some of the men, he looked dressed up and even a little festive.

And handsome. Really, really handsome.

Norleen greeted her effusively. “There you are! I was wondering if something came up. I thought you might not be able to join us.”

You wishwas what went through Kayla’s mind. She stopped herself from saying it, though. She was going to take the high road.

Honesty made her admit to herself that there was a little cowardice mixed in with her principles. She didn’t intend to give Norleen any ammunition. That was what was behind her choice of clothing; she didn’t want Norleen to have the opportunity to make any more snotty remarks about the size of her chest.

She focused on the children. “Are you having fun?” she asked.

Jax nodded, but Rhianna glanced over toward the room’s exit. “I wish we could go play games,” she said.

“The kids are getting along so well, ever since our playdate,” Norleen said, leaning against Tony’s arm.

A weight seemed to press down on Kayla. “The kids” sounded like what you’d say when you were a couple. And she hadn’t known they’d gone through with it and had a playdate.

Now they were here together, a great looking pair with same-age kids. Wouldn’t it be sweet, perfect really, if they got together?

“But they can’t go to the childcare room, which is sad.” Norleen bit her lip and looked up at Tony. Kayla could swear she was batting her eyelashes. She could also swear that the lashes were fake, because who had real eyelashes that long?

“Why can’t they go to the kids’ playroom?” Kayla asked, trying to stifle her jealousy.

Tony stepped away to talk to someone, and Norleen came closer, leaning down to speak into Kayla’s ear. “They’re short a childcare person. Someone got sick or something. That’s why the kids are still out here. Only when they have one more person will they have the right ratio, where Jax and Rhianna can join in.” She looked expectantly at Kayla. “Gosh, and I was really hoping to get a break tonight. A single parent doesn’t get that many.”

Kayla knew manipulation when she saw it, but she also liked to help out. If the kids needed her...

“Could you do a shift in the childcare room?” Norleen asked. “I mean, with you being a teacher and all...”

Kayla was tempted to refuse Norleen’s bold request. She wanted to at least mingle with the adults and see her friends. And she didn’t want to support Norleen’s pushy, annoying behavior.

She also didn’t want to leave room for Norleen to move in harder on Tony. Even if their pairing off was inevitable, Kayla just wasn’t a good enough person to want to help that happen.

She looked away from Norleen and saw that both Jax and Rhianna were watching her, eyes pleading. “Will you come help, Miss Kayla?” Jax asked.

“Please?” Rhianna begged.

That settled it. “Sure, I’ll help,” she said, standing up.

Why not, after all? It would give her something to do, something she loved doing. It would help the children. And if it allowed Norleen and Tony to get to know each other better, if that was what they wanted, then so be it.

“You’re the best!” Norleen gave her a hug and air-kiss, the smell of her perfume almost making Kayla choke.

Kayla backed away, beckoning to the children. She’d go before Tony got back and politely argued against her going. “I’ll take them back there and scope it out. You and Tony have fun.”

“Yay! Thanks, Miss Kayla!” Jax crowed. The kids each grabbed one of her hands and tugged her toward the childcare room.

People smiled indulgently to see the dressed-up little children dragging her along. No one looked surprised. She was Kayla-the-preschool-teacher. Always ready to help out. Always good with the little ones.

This was her life, taking care of other people’s kids, and it was a good life.

In the smaller banquet room that was serving as a childcare area, two teenagers were in charge—Bisky’s daughter, Sunny, and Ria’s daughter Kaitlyn, also home for the holiday break. They looked harassed. The children were running around, high on the Christmas spirit and probably sugar; on one of the tables, there was a big platter with crumbs and a couple of broken cookies remaining.

“Thank heavens you’re here,” Kaitlyn said.

“Let me guess,” Kayla said. “You started off with refreshments.”

“Bad idea?” Sunny asked.

“No big deal. It’s nice of you girls to help.” Kayla surveyed the scene. There were crafts on one table, a couple of bins of toys on another, and a Christmas movie playing on a big screen. “Want me to take charge, help you get organized?” she asked the teenagers.

“Yes, please!” Kaitlyn said.

“I wish you would,” Sunny added.

The kids continued running around, now with Jax and Rhianna added to the mix. That made fourteen kids of mixed ages, which was a lot for a small room.

“Okay. Let’s each grab a little one before the bigger kids run over them.” There were three toddlers, and Kayla swung a pretty two-year-old girl she didn’t know onto her hip while the teens grabbed the other two. “Kids, grab a toy or a coloring sheet,” Kayla said to the remaining children. “Sunny will help you with the toys, and Kait with the coloring sheets and crayons. Then we’ll sit on the floor and watch the movie.” This part of Crabby Christmas didn’t go on long, and after this was Santa. So Kayla felt it was best to keep things calm and quiet.

Once the kids had settled down, Kayla had time to think, and that wasn’t a good thing, necessarily. She regretted that she hadn’t gone for it and worn the red sheath. Maybe then, she wouldn’t have accepted being relegated to the childcare room. Maybe then, Tony would’ve noticed her a little.

More than that, she regretted that she wasn’t going to have the chance to dance with Tony. By the time she’d finished her “shift,” as Norleen had called it, the adult cocktail-and-dancing time would be over.

There was a little flurry at the door. “What on earth?” Amber came into the room, Erica beside her, holding little Hunter. “Kayla, why are you here and not out there with the grown-ups?”

Kayla shrugged. “They were short a person.”

“We needed help,” Sunny added. “We didn’t know what we were doing, and Kayla got things under control.”

“Fine, it’s under control.” Erica set Hunter down beside the other kids. “She can leave now.”

“She can’t,” Kaitlyn said, “because there’s some rule about ratio of kids to adults. We were on the wrong side of that.”

“No. Just no.” Amber shook her head. “I want Kayla out there having fun. She does enough childcare in her day job.”

“I’ll take over. I don’t mind,” Erica said.

“That’s not necessary,” Kayla protested. “You should get the chance to have a good time.”

Just then Hunter, Erica’s son, ran over to her. “Mama stay!” he cried, and clung to her.

“See?” Erica said, hugging him. “No way am I getting to leave now.” She paused and looked at Kayla. “You know, Tony’s dancing with Norleen and she’s got him in a death grip.”

“Like an octopus,” Amber added. “She’s practically strangling him. Are you going to leave him to that fate?”

Was she? Kayla didn’t want to compete. Didn’t want to be anywhere near Norleen, who kicked up all of her fears about mean girls.

But then again, she’d just been complaining to herself about staying back here with the kids the whole time.

And now, the image of Tony and Norleen dancing was stuck in her head.

“He’s desperate, from what I can see,” Erica said. “He needs to be rescued.”

“You two are pushy, you know?” Kayla said, but she had to admit, she was glad they’d come in. Tony wasn’t the only one who needed rescuing. Kayla needed to be rescued from herself, her tendency to concede the game, especially to someone like Norleen, without even trying to play.

Amber walked Kayla out, holding her arm, but instead of turning toward the main hall, Amber steered her toward the ladies’ room.

“What’s wrong?” Kayla asked. “I mean, I can wait for you, it’s fine.”

“This is about you.” Amber tugged her inside and did a quick stall check. “Good, we have the place to ourselves. Why didn’t you wear the dress we picked out when we went shopping?”

Kayla shrugged. “It didn’t look right.”

“It looked spectacular!”

“I look too chesty in those kinds of clothes. I have it on good authority.”

“Who told you that?” Amber tilted her head to one side.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Who?” Amber demanded.

“Norleen,” Kayla said finally. “She asked if I had breast enhancement surgery.”

Amber hooted. “Get outta here! I can’t believe that witch! You don’t look like you had surgery.”

Kayla shrugged. “She noticed right away.”

“Why would she think that was okay to say? Where’s she coming from?”

“Directly from middle school,” Kayla said grimly. “She was cruel to me then, when I had scoliosis and wore a brace, and she seems to think it’s okay to dish out some of the same stuff as an adult.” She looked at herself in the mirror, drab in black. It wasn’t that no one else was dressed as casually as she was; she’d noticed people wearing everything from evening gowns to jeans. But most people at least looked like they were going to a holiday party, not a funeral. “I wish I could go home and change,” she said.

“No time. Just give me five minutes to work on you. You did wear one of the good bras, right?”

Kayla laughed. “I did. Truthfully, wearing a bra that fits feels so much better than wearing a smasher.”

“Of course it does.” Amber pulled the scrunchie out of Kayla’s hair, put it on her wrist, and wetted her hands. “Bend over,” she said, “and let your hair fall down.” Kayla did as she asked, and Amber ran her wet hands through it. “Now stand up,” she ordered. Kayla did, and Amber tossed her hair back so it looked kind of wild, and then pulled hairspray out of her purse. “Close your eyes,” she said, and sprayed through.

“Wow,” Kayla said when she looked in the mirror. “Not in preschool mode now.”

“We’ve only just begun.” Amber took the scrunchie and played with the bottom of Kayla’s sweater, making it asymmetrical and caught up to one side. That had the effect of giving her a waistline, at least.

“Now,” Amber said, “we’re trading jewelry. Take yours off.”

“You can’t wear this little stuff,” Kayla protested. Her necklace was tiny pearls, and her earrings were plain pearl posts.

“You shouldn’t either, and it’s more important for you. I’m so mad at that Norleen I could spit.” Amber was removing her large hoop earrings and glitzy necklace as she spoke. “Come on. Off with your pearls.”

“Okay,” Kaya said doubtfully, and took them off.

“Now, put mine on. Do you have lipstick?”

Kayla draped on the necklace, put the hoops through her ears, and rummaged in her giant purse, finally coming up with some lipstick.

“Good. You’ll look good in that bright pink. Put it on.”

“There’s a reason it was in the bottom of my purse,” Kayla said.

“Yeah. And there’s a reason you always look like a preschool teacher.”

“Okay, okay.” Kayla traced her lips with the brighter color.

“Now, your eyebrows. I know you shouldn’t share makeup, but I’m gonna guess you don’t even own an eyebrow pencil?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, you should wear it, because it defines your eyes.” Amber pulled some out of her purse and traced it lightly over Kayla’s blond eyebrows.

Kayla looked in the mirror and lifted an eyebrow. “I look decent,” she said.

“You look great. Most women here are overdressed. Oh, wait.” Amber slipped off her strappy sandals. “What do you wear, an eight?”

“Seven and a half.”

“Close enough. Give me your sensible shoes.”

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I’m not kidding. These things will kill your feet, but they look great.”

“No.” Kayla shook her head. “I draw the line there. For one thing, you’ll look like a doofus, wearing my wedges with your dress. For another, I can’t walk in high heels.”

Amber considered, then nodded. “Okay. Fine. Come on.”

They walked out, and on the edge of the dance floor, Kayla paused. There was Tony, dancing close with Norleen, and their attractiveness as a couple made Kayla’s heart sink. No way would she look that good.

Then she caught the expression on Norleen’s face as she looked directly in Kayla’s direction. It was a triumphant smile. Kayla’s fingers tingled with the desire to wring the woman’s neck.

“Are you going to let her win?” Amber asked quietly.

“No, but... I’m just not that confident.”

“Listen, I know what it is to be insecure, but you are good enough. You deserve happiness. And you’re not going to have a repeat of your awful middle school experience, because Erica and I will take her down if she says or does anything mean. You just whistle, and we’ll be right there at your side.”

Kayla hugged Amber. “Thank you. You’re a good friend.”

“Hey, I figure after last year’s Crabby Christmas, I owe you.”

“That’s for sure.” Kayla squared her shoulders and headed toward Tony and Norleen.