Accepted (14 page)

"I’ll teach you, Ash. By dinnertime, you’ll be a football expert.

****

As it turned out, Colin was wrong. I wasn’t an expert by dinnertime; I was an expert by
halftime
.

Sometime during the first quarter of play, Colin had done something that none of my uncles or cousins had ever been able to: he’d explained football to me in a way that not only made me understand the game, but also enjoy it. By the end of the second quarter, almost two hours later, I was hooked and very upset about the intermission.

When Colin stood and started towards the kitchen, I stubbornly stayed on the sofa.

He turned back and looked at me. "Come on, rookie."

"Rookie?" I asked. "This morning I was a princess, and now I’m a rookie?" I gave him a sideways glance.

"It seems appropriate. You’re a football rookie and a Thanksgiving rookie," he said as he walked back, took my hands, and pulled me up off the couch. "But you’re still a princess too," he finished in a soothing tone.

I laughed.

"What are we doing now?" I asked as he pulled me around the counter into the little kitchen.

He rolled his eyes. "Dinner’s not gonna cook itself, princess."

"But what about the game?"

Colin turned to me, hearing the disappointment in my voice, and I watched as he took in the sad expression on my face.

Then, he burst out laughing.

"What?" I ordered, angry.

Colin continued laughing. "Nothing." He put his hands up as if proving he was innocent. "It’s just that you were so upset about stopping cooking to watch football earlier, and now you’re upset about stopping football to cook." He walked over to me and ruffled my hair, his laughter dying down.

"Look." He pointed over my shoulder. "We can see the television from here."

I turned around, and sure enough, we could clearly see the game. I shrugged. "Good."

I felt, rather than heard, the chuckle behind me.

"Alright," he said behind me, "you’re on mashed potato and dinner roll duty, and I’ve got stuffing, veggies, and turkey."

****

I was preoccupied, trying simultaneously to mash the potatoes and watch the game that had so enamored me, so I didn’t notice when Colin stopped preparing the turkey and stood watching me.

He walked across the kitchen to me and stood to my left, so close that our arms were touching.

I didn’t move; I didn’t even breathe. I just stood at the counter and stared straight ahead at the television.

"So," he began softly, and he nudged me with his shoulder.

I turned my head and looked up at him then leaned in and pushed him back. "So?" I prompted.

He didn’t turn to look down at me or push me back; he just stood there, the whole right side of his body pressed against the left side of mine. Now, he was looking at the television.

"For someone who claims they can’t cook, you seem very natural in the kitchen." He paused, still not looking at me. "More so than anywhere else."

I was surprised by his observation and confused by his last statement. I wasn’t sure how to reply, so I simply asked, "What?"

Now, he turned and looked at me, his face just inches from mine.

"In the kitchen…you seem comfortable." I watched as a little smile turned up the corners of his lips. "You were just dancing, Ashley. You didn’t even notice it, but you were swinging your hips and mouthing the words to the song on the commercial."

I turned back to the potatoes, but he put his hand under my chin and lifted my gaze to his, leaning down until we were the same height.

"Don’t be embarrassed, Ash. It’s nice to see you like this, you know, kind of letting your hair down. I was just surprised."

He stopped and raised his eyebrows, took a step back, looked at me, and waited.

You know…for an explanation.

I hated when he did that.

"My aunt, my favorite aunt, loved to bake," I explained. "She was great at it. I’m actually pretty good at it too." I shrugged. "She taught me. We would spend entire days in her kitchen, baking cakes and cookies and pies." I looked at him, getting a little lost in the memory. "She would turn the music on the radio all the way up, and we would bake and dance and sing in the kitchen the whole day." I could feel the grin take over my face as I closed my eyes picturing the scene I’d described.

I opened my eyes and looked into Colin’s face. I could see that he wanted to know more. I opened up so little about my life and family, that any mention sparked a mountain of curiosity, but as he said last night, Colin respected my privacy and let it go.

Instead, he took a step back toward me and looked down over my shoulder.

"So." And he nudged me as he did at the beginning of this conversation. "Are you almost done?" He nodded at the potatoes I had been neglecting since he first walked over.

I forced my eyes from his face and turned to look at my half-mashed potatoes.

"Almost."

He leaned into me again, pushing me with his shoulder until I looked back up at him. He smiled softly.

"Good, ‘cause the turkey’s ready. I’ll set the table."

And he walked away.

****

"Okay, this is seriously the best meal I’ve ever had."

Colin nodded. "I know. We’re really good at this. Maybe we should quit school and start a catering business or something."

I giggled. "I’m not sure specializing in boxed stuffing and rolls that only need to be heated is a good enough foundation on which to build a business."

"You’ve got a point." Colin laughed, then he looked at me seriously. "I think it was perfect, though."

I looked across our little table into his serious face and smiled. "It was the best Thanksgiving I’ve ever had."

He chuckled, stood up, and began clearing the dishes off the table.

For a minute, I sat there watching him and thought about how perfect this holiday had become. I felt my chest tighten and tears well up in my eyes. Blinking them back, I cleared my throat.

"Colin," I said, my voice hoarse, "even if it hadn’t been my first Thanksgiving, even if it were my twentieth, it would have been the best I’ve ever had."

He stopped and turned to face me, looking serious. I smiled shyly up at him. He nodded, just once.

"Me too."

For a long moment, we just stood there, looking at each other. Finally, Colin cleared his throat and looked away, turning back to the dishes.

I stayed there for another minute, waiting to speak until I was sure I was completely composed.

"So, what’s next?" I didn’t know what else to say.

Colin laughed. "Next, we wash dishes." He threw a towel at me. "I’ll wash. You dry."

I walked over to the counter where he was standing.

"I’m exhausted. We worked hard today."

He laughed again. "I’m always tired after turkey dinner." He moved to toward me and leaned against the counter. "When we’re done with the dishes, we should take a nap so we’re ready to go shopping tonight."

I looked up at him in surprise. "Shopping? What are you talking about?"

"Tomorrow’s Black Friday. We’re going shopping."

"Oh." I was relieved. "I thought you meant we were shopping tonight.

And he laughed again. "We are. Well, sort of. We’re getting in line tonight.

I stared up at him in disbelief.

He looked down at me, his face amused.

"Huh?"

So, it wasn’t an intelligent question, but I was in shock over the whole shopping tomorrow, but getting in line tonight thing.

"What?" he asked, sounding innocent. "You’ve never heard of Black Friday?"

"Of course, I’ve heard of it. I’ve just never done it."

"You’ve never gone shopping on Black Friday? At all?" Suddenly, he sounded incredulous.

"Of course not, I’ve never even been Christmas…" I stopped, hoping that he hadn’t registered that last part, and if he did, that he’d let it drop.

I watched as comprehension slowly crossed his features, and he looked closely at me.

"You’ve never been what?" There was a strange urgency in his voice, as if he knew the answer but wanted to hear me say it.

I had no choice. I couldn’t take it back. Too much of the sentence had slipped out—too much
always
slipped out around him.

I tried to look indifferent. "Christmas shopping. I’ve never gone Christmas shopping."

Colin looked at me intently — he was always looking at me like that — and asked, "Why not?"

I thought about lying to him, coming up with some excuse — religion or something — any excuse that would close the door on the subject, something that left me unsusceptible to his constant, probing questions.

But I didn’t.

I hated the idea of lying to him.

"Because..." I forced a smile on my face. "I don’t do Christmas. I’ve never, you know, celebrated it." I shrugged. "I told you, my family’s not into holidays."

I wasn’t about to explain to Colin all the details about how I’d never lived with anyone at Christmas who liked me enough to allow me to join in their holiday. There had been a few Christmas celebrations at different homes I’d lived in, but I’d never had gifts under a tree or went to church or shared in a big family dinner. That particular holiday just never coincided with the homes I had been welcomed into.

"Well," Colin began, pulling me from the memory, "I promised you a real Thanksgiving, and in my family, it isn’t Thanksgiving without Black Friday shopping."

I looked up at him and raised my eyebrows. "I thought Black Friday shopping was crazy moms with huge families — you know, lots of kids, cheap gifts."

Colin laughed. "It is…crazy moms and poor college students who want to buy good gifts for their crazy moms."

"So you’re going to get in line at a store, outside in the freezing cold, and wait all night until they open to get a gift for your mom." I made a face at him. "And you want me to do this
with
you?"

He chuckled at me then nodded, his face serious but his eyes amused.

"It’s a really good gift."

Chapter Ten

It wasn’t until we pulled into the store parking lot that it hit me that Colin actually expected me to stand outside on a cold, windy fall Chicago night.

As he pulled the car into a parking space, I noticed that people were already wandering toward the front of the store. In fact, a decent sized line was already forming.

It was barely midnight.

"Seriously?" I asked incredulously and looked over at Colin. "People are already in line?"

He just smiled and reached for my hand. "Come on," he said as if coaxing a child and pulled me toward the crowd.

"You made me come here in the middle of the night, and we’re not even the first in line," I said, truly surprised by the number of people already waiting.

He chuckled at my shocked expression, and when he spoke, his tone was amused. "Ashley, some of these people come here right after dinner."

I looked at him, my expression replaced by one of disbelief.

"Seriously?" I repeated.

He just laughed again and pulled me along.

"Come on."

We walked up to the building and took our place in line. Colin handed me a thick blanket, almost like a comforter. I hadn’t thought to bring one.

"Thanks." I smiled at him appreciatively. "Where’s your blanket?" I looked around for one.

"Right here," he replied as he pulled a small fleece blanket bearing the name of a sports team I didn’t know along with a picture of a hockey stick.

"That’s it? It’s tiny! Aren’t you going to freeze?"

He laughed at me again and shook his head. "I think I’ll be okay, and if not…" He shrugged. "You’ll just have to share." Then, he took the comforter from my hands and wrapped it around me, tugging it closed in the front. "There," he said quietly, almost to himself, "all nice and warm." He looked into my face and smiled.

"So..." I said, slightly breathless, caught off guard by the gentleness in his voice and his eyes. "What do we do now?"

He sat down on the ground, laying the small fleece blanket over his legs. "We sit and wait."

I sat down next to him on the hard concrete, the comforter still wrapped around me, and leaned on the building.

"How do we stay awake?" The cold makes me sleepy.

Colin looked at me, amused. "We just do, Ash. We’re sitting outside in the freezing cold, surrounded by people. I don’t think staying awake will be a problem."

I opened my mouth to argue with him, but he put his hand up to stop me.

"Relax, Ashley. It’s no big deal. We’re just going to sit here, relaxing and talking, until the store opens."

I looked at him, obviously not pleased with the situation. Not only did I dislike sitting outside on the cold, hard ground, I certainly didn’t like that our only means of entertainment was conversation. I looked around us. People were playing cards, watching mini televisions, and reading books. I had none of those things. Instead, I had a lot of things I didn’t want anyone to know and a guy who always asked too many questions.

"You okay?" Colin sounded concerned.

I looked up at him and saw the concern reflected in his face.

He reached over and touched my check. "You look so sad."

I forced a smile. "I’m fine," I said and nodded reassuringly. "I’m just wondering how those people can stand taking their gloves off to play cards. My hands are freezing in gloves."

I stretched my hands out in front of me as if to make my point. Colin took them in his and held them tight.

"There. Let me know when they're warmed up."

For a long minute, I stared at my hands in his. Then, out of nowhere, I realized that I had no idea why we were here…outside…freezing in the middle of the night.

"What are you buying, Colin?"

"Huh?" He looked over at me, his expression confused.

"Why are we here? What are you getting your mom?"

"Oh." Understanding registered on his face. "You know your aunt you were talking about earlier? The one who loves to bake?"

I nodded yes.

"Well, my mom is the same way." As with any time he speaks of his mother, his face lit up. "She loves to bake. She’s getting good at it, too. She used to be horrible." He made a face then continued. "She works a lot, but when she’s home, she likes to be in the kitchen baking." He looked at me to make sure I was still listening. "So, she uses this old hand mixer that she got at a yard sale or something years ago, but there is a really nice mixer that she wants. The only problem is that it's three hundred dollars, and she’d never drop three hundred bucks on herself, so I’m gonna get it for her." He stopped and smiled, mostly to himself, then looked up at me and continued. "I don’t have three hundred dollars, but it’s on sale for two hundred and forty, and if you shop early, there’s another ten percent off. It’s still a lot of money, but it’s from the three of us," he said, referring to his siblings, "and she’ll be so excited. She’ll just freak out."