Eggnog & Evergreen

30 • The North Pole

I call Stella and beg her to pick me up. It's not that I'm embarrassed or ashamed about spending the night at Nik's. I mean, I am 27. And also, nothing happened! Still, the idea of calling my dad to come get me just screams high school.

"Life saver," I say, shutting Stella's car door.

"Uh huh." She nods, coy. "And what am I saving you from exactly."

"Oh, stop. We got stranded and fell asleep." I roll my eyes.

"Stranded? Fell asleep?" She repeats everything I say with a look of disbelief.

"Just drive," I say, blushing.

I finally get to Deja's unread texts and almost drop my phone under Stella's seat.

"Oh my God!" I exclaim, breathless.

"What? What is it?" Stella asks, semi-slamming on her brakes.

"Deja!" I shout. "She's on a train coming here!"

I look back at my phone and check the time. She took the first train out of NYC and her ETA is in 20 minutes!

"Can you take us right to the train station?" I implore. "I'm so so sorry about this."

"Don't be at all. It's no problem. Station is in town and town is exactly where I'm taking your slutty ass." Stella laughs.

"Hey!"

We roll up to the station just as the train pulls in. Deja disembarks, dressed to the nines in her furry black coat and silver boots. She really didn't believe me when I said this town was backwater.

"Deja! Oh my God. I cannot believe you're here! Look at you –Here!" I hug her on the platform.

"I had the day off and it's not too far. Plus, I've been hearing so much about this cozy lil spot, so I couldn't resist the urge," Deja admits.

I throw Deja's insanely large bag into the trunk, wondering much could she have brought for a day trip.

"Stella, Deja. Deja, this is Stella, my–"

"Townie friend," Stella finishes for me, interjecting her sarcasm.

"Oh, enough. Stella's one of my oldest friends," I tell Deja.

I catch her in the rearview and can't help but smile again.

"I seriously can't believe you just showed up! I didn't even text you back last night. My phone died –It was this whole big thing."

"Big thing?" Stella jokes, peering at me through narrowed eyes.

"Enough from you."

"Oh," says' Deja, catching on quickly. "So that's why you didn't answer me back last night."

"It was an honest mistake, really."

I launch into the whole story, unable to keep myself from spilling even the most insignificant of details. The sleigh. The snowstorm. Evergreen Alley. The eggnog. Snowman time. Wine and potato chips... You get the picture.

Still, I haven't told either one of them about my midnight drunk dial to Preston or about the subsequent texts I received from him. That I still haven't answered.

"I cannot believe you. Holy –Oh my God, Noe. You are SO into this lumberjack Santa." Deja laughs in the back seat.

"That's what I've been saying," Stella chimes in. "Called it day one. This one wouldn't stop talking about him–"

"Oh, that's her thing. Yup." Deja nods.

"Good talk, guys." I huff grumpily.

"So what's on the agenda today?" Deja asks as Stella pulls into my parents' driveway.