Eggnog & Evergreen

44 • Preston's Gift

I excuse myself from Nik and make my way around the barn. I run into my parents and aunt and uncle; I see Stella and Dani again; I even have a quick chat with two guys I recognized from my high school class.

I'm thankful I had the good sense to pick up a glass of merlot from the makeshift bar. I sneak over to a relatively empty bench by the open doors. no wonder no one is sitting here –It's absolutely frigid! My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I fish it out to see Deja's face.

"Hi honeyyyy," Deja answers the video chat.

"Hey D," I smile. "Merry Christmas Eve."

"Yea, Merry Whatever to you –Tell me everything!" She squeals.

She's referencing my earlier text of course –the one where I told her about Preston and Nik and my mistletoe mishap involving both of them.

Deja listens to my recap, rapt with attention, her purple eyeshadow glistens under the lights above her head.

"Wait, are you at a bar?" I ask, eyes widening.

"Maybe, don't change the subject."

"You would go to a bar on Christmas Eve," I laugh.

"And you would make out with two boys in the same dirty barn," she laughs.

"Hey, what makes you think it's dirty?" I question, sipping on my wine.

"Well it is now," Deja smirks.

I can't help but smile against the rim.

"So what are you gonna do, babe? Come back to NYC?" Deja asks. Someone smashes into her shoulder at the bar.

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't know?" I frown.

"No." She shakes her head. "Ten days ago you were picking out wedding dresses and now your man is legit trying to sweep you off your small town ass."

"Hey, it was rehearsal dinner dresses. And I know, I know," I grumble. "Any Christmas miracles up your sleeve?"

"Out of those." Deja shakes her head. "But maybe another glass of wine will help," she winks.

"Maybe it'll come to me," I shrug. "I need a sign. I'll even settle for a maybe-sign."

Three men in front of me move and I see the life-size nutcracker that resembles the sentry posted up outside our bathroom. I stare at the nutcracker from across the room, only it's not him I'm making eye contact with.

"D, I gotta go." I barely wait for her goodbye before hanging up the phone and stowing it back in my pocket.

Preston saunters towards me, holding a gift bag in one hand and a tall draft in the other.

Is this the sign? Am I about to mark off a point in Preston's column?

"There you are," Preston says. He takes a seat on the bench beside me.

"You made yourself at home," I say, sizing up the beer and bag in his hands.

"It's stifling hot in here," Preston says. He pulls the bag up and drops it into my lap. "And this is a gift for you."

"You didn't need to get me a gift, Preston," I say, taking the brown bag. It's heavy in my lap.

"I know, but it was so good, I had to." Preston watches as I dig through the green tissue paper.

My fingers feel the cool smooth glass and I already know what it is. I pull out a medium jug of Nik's –Allison's eggnog.

So is this the sign? Preston handing me a bottle of the eggnog Nik's been forcing on me since I arrived here?

"That is delicious," Preston says, watching me staring, mouth agape, at the eggnog. "They have a sample table over there."

"I –No –Yea. It's very tasty."

"Glad you love it," Preston says, clearly (and thankfully) oblivious to my perturbed mental state.

Preston checks his expensive diver's watch (I remember it from his snorkeling selfie) and takes another sip of his beer before discarding the glass on the table.

"Ah, I should get going. I need to prepare for a deposition tomorrow."

"Deposition? Tomorrow?" I ask, his words snapping me back to reality and out of eggnog land. "It's Christmas."

"Tell that to the courtroom," Preston says, rising.

I stand up with him and hug him.

"Call me tomorrow?" He asks, hopeful.

I nod against his chest, breathing in his cologne. I might even savor the proximity before he drops his hands from my back and exits the barn, leaving me alone with the bench.

The bench and the eggnog. It sounds like the punchline of some Christmas joke.

A girl walks into a barn...

And drowns herself in succulent eggnog.

"-OKAY? HELLO? NOELLE?"

"What?" I shake my head, all visions of sweet surrender lost.

"Dang, girl," Dani says, hands on her hip in front of me.

I stare at her, noticing that her long ebony hair is almost the exact same color as her sweater dress. She narrows her eyes at me, suspicious, and I laugh to myself. She reminds me of my ex Cami.

"I'm fine. I'm fine," I say, standing back up.

"Sure." She nods. "Have you seen Stella? Why is it impossible to find anyone in this barn?"

"Haven't," I say. "Was just with Preston."

Stella walks up just then and slinks her arms around Dani.

"A souvenir?" She asks, looking at my lap.

"A gift, actually."

"Nik gifting his own eggnog?"

"—From Preston."

"No!" Stella says, giggling. "Gotta be a sign, right?"

"That's what I'm saying," I agree.

Ugh!

...

Finally, 10:30 PM arrives and with it my parents' decision to leave the Barn Benefit.

I stand by the open doors, next to Stella. Snowflakes spiral inside, but it's a welcome reprieve from the stifling barn. My mom and dad are discussing tomorrow's brunch plans with Aunt Holly. I only catch bits and pieces about cranberry croissants and stuffed portabellas.

"I see you purchased a jug." Nik comes up behind me. "I would have given you one, you know."

"Actually... It was a gift," I say. It's not a lie.

"Well, it will taste that much sweeter now," Nik says, smiling.

"Noelle, hun, are you ready?" My mom says, appearing at my side. Convenient timing.

"I need to get going too. I still have half my table to clean up. Just waiting for some stragglers." Nik looks at the people milling around his eggnog display.

"Yea," I say lamely.

"Goodnight, Noe," Nik says, quickly kissing my cheek. I watch him leave, my eyes staring at his dark black work boots.

My face prickles; it's like his lips burned into my cheek. I can almost hear Stella and my mother squealing beside me.

Stop, Noe.

"We gotta go too," Stella frowns, fake pouting.

"Yes, Santa has lots of last-minute wrapping." Dani puts her arm around Stella.

"Merry Christmas, Stel, Dani." I hug them both.

"Yes, yes. I'm ready," I groan to my mom who has started nagging me to leave again.

We brace ourselves against the whipping wind and pile headfirst into my mom's car. I situate myself in the back seat with my phone in one hand and Preston's gift in the other.