That sucks! she wrote back, adding a frown emoji and fighting a pang of irritation.
Could be another hour, he wrote. So sorry. I’ll make it up to you. I love you.
Don’t worry, I’m fine. I love you, too.
Can’t believe you’re in Chicago and we’re not together. Gotta run.
As she dropped her phone back in her coat pocket, she thought with frustration how much time she’d already spent alone in Trip’s apartment. Then, in a nearby shop window, she saw the perfect gift to give him for Christmas.
It ended up being two hours before Trip called and told her to meet him under the Macy’s clock at State and Washington. She got there quickly and soon realized it was a popular meeting point as group after group of Chicagoans found each other and proceeded to join the line for the Macy’s window displays. The ringing bell of a Salvation Army red kettle volunteer was just loud enough to make her back up—right into the arms of Trip, who wrapped her in a grateful hug.
“Finally,” he said.
“Are you all mine now?” she asked.
“All yours.”
Snow was still falling lightly as they viewed the cheesy but fun window displays, then went inside the store along with about a million other people. Trip bought her a fun but inexpensive watch she admired, a pair of nicer earrings, and a sexy, beautiful dress he made her promise to wear to dinner.
Then, bags in hand, they went two blocks to a German-style Christmas market that was absolutely thronged and utterly charming. There they shouldered through crowds to view handmade glass Christmas ornaments and snack on warm pretzels and steaming-hot mulled wine. The sun set unbelievably early, but when the Christmas lights came on, everything looked festive and delightful. For the first time, Lark allowed herself to wonder what came next with Trip—if they’d ever stop doing things long distance and pick a place to be together. Would he want her to live in Chicago? Could she live in Chicago?
Maybe.
When they went back to his apartment to change for dinner, she followed him through the door, biting her tongue and waiting for him to see her gifts. He walked past the first one, then stopped and did a double take after the second one. Lining the entry hall were six framed photos of the two of them in LA. She’d uploaded them to Walgreens from her phone, selected one-hour printing, and then found pretty matted frames at an old-fashioned photo shop under the L tracks. The clerk at the shop gave her picture hooks, which she’d banged into the wall using a coffee mug that had miraculously not chipped.
She watched Trip carefully, hoping she hadn’t overstepped.
His surprised expression was slowly transformed by a wide grin. “Fucking. Awesome.”
“I want you to see us together every time you walk in,” she explained.
“I’m glad I will,” he said, kissing her. “I don’t know why I never thought of this.”
“You think of practically everything else,” she said, kissing him back. “Where are we going to dinner?”
“Perhaps you’ve heard of a place called Bavette’s?”
Chapter Seventeen
HOLLY
Your family is your greatest asset.
—“How I Lied about My Name and Discovered My Truth,” a TED Talk by Jon M. Wright
Mini-Me was rubbing his nose against the sliding glass doors again. His shaggy winter coat and long mane were dusted with snow—with those big brown eyes, the effect was heart melting, especially on Paige.
“Mom, can we please let him in, just for a little while?” she pleaded. “He looks so cold out there!”
“He’s fine, and he’s not a house pet,” Holly said for the umpteenth time. “He’s got a nice warm shed with fresh straw any time he wants to stop begging.”
Paige pouted, her fingers on the glass like a girl separated from her prisoner boyfriend. “I honestly don’t even know why you got a pet-size horse if we can’t have him inside.”
“We rescued him precisely because someone thought he was a pet,” Holly reminded her. “The poor guy hadn’t been outside in months. He is a horse and needs to be treated like one. Even if he would fit on our couch.”
“Can I at least give him an apple?”
“Make it a carrot,” Holly said.
Jack was frowning at his tablet, seated in his favorite chair. If he had even heard the exchange, it didn’t appear to register. At least he was home for once. The kids were used to his frequent absences, but this past fall it had seemed like he was going for a new record.
While Paige went to collect her hoodie, slippers, and a carrot, Holly sipped hot coffee and folded her legs under herself on the couch. Her laptop battery was dying, but she was making so much progress on the Christmas shopping she didn’t want to get up. Thank god for one-day and same-day delivery. This was the first year the Wright clan had not gone downtown on the first day of winter break to do their Christmas shopping, and when Jack originally suggested skipping it, Holly had been incensed, thinking of it as some kind of family Waterloo. But after Ava and Logan sided with their dad, and even Paige’s support turned out to be lukewarm, Holly faced the facts and gave in, thinking at least she and Jack still had their standing New Year’s Eve reservations at the Union League Club.
What she would not admit to any of them was that staying home was actually a relief. She missed their traditional breakfast at the Walnut Room, of course, and skating in Millennium Park, but those brief pleasures had always been followed by hours of logistical nightmares as they separated, regrouped, and separated again, hauling ever-larger bags of gifts she wasn’t sure any of them truly wanted.
And today was going to be busy enough as it was: Brian and an event planner
