The Christmas Conversation

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L E T I T S N O W,

L E T I T S N O W,

L E T I T S N O W,

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I managed to get one call out to my mom explaining the situation. After that, service got blocked. Ten minutes after service went out, the power did. This meant that the once heated bakery, was slowly turning frozen.

Adam tried to fiddle with the power box but it was a goner. He grunted and began to hastily bang on it. I reached out to calm him but he sneered at me, making me cower.

"It'll be okay," I verbally assure. "I'm sure it'll come back on soon."

"It's a snow storm, Winter," he snapped. "It's not coming on any time soon."

"Right, sorry," I feebly said.

Thirty minutes passed and not one mutter passed between us. Adam was sat in a booth in the corner and I was shuffling through the drawers in the staff area. I came across a silver deck of playing cards.

I waddled out and slid across from Adam, displaying them. "Do you want to play Speed?" He observed cards, interested. "I've gotten better."

Adam's eyes glimmered with my challenge. I dispersed the cards in proper order. "1...2...3." On three, we began quickly placing my cards. My pile started to get smaller and smaller. For a moment, I believed I would win. But of course, Adam was faster. My brain couldn't comprehend the movements of his hands. When his last card came, he held it up tauntingly before setting it down, declaring him the winner. I huffed and fell back.

"Best out of three?" Adam mused, his lips tilting upwards.

"You're on."

Once the third game ended, Adam had won. How I managed to win the second game, I'm not sure.

"You used to let me win," I said with a frown. Adam cleaned up the cards, neatly tucking them away. "I used to actually think I was good."

"You're decent," he complimented. "Better than before."

"Thanks. I practiced a lot with my friends in L.A." Once the topic of Los Angles left my mouth, Adam's demeanor hardened. He grabbed the deck before scooting out of the booth. "Where are you going?" I hurriedly asked.

"To check on the power."

"I thought you said it can't turn on."

He flashed me a scowl before disappearing.

The glass of the bakery was frosted over. I ran my fingers over the window, drawing a snowman and tree. Adam came back a few minutes later with a vintage looking CD player. I perked up. "Where'd you find that?"

"Back room." He opened it, revealing a Christmas CD. "Fantastic," he sarcastically let out.

I closed the top, pressed play, and turned up the knob. The first song being Let It Snow. "Very fitting."

Adam placed himself back in the booth. The two of us calmly sat, enjoying the holiday tunes.

Goosebumps arose on the skin of my bare arms and leg. I looked at the tips of my fingers that were bright pink.

Adam sauntered away before returning with a green throw blanket. He reached over, covering me shoulder to shoulder. My cheeks twinged pink as his face landed a centimeter from mine. His spice scent taking over. "Thank you." My voice was not higher than a whisper.

"Not sure I want you to freeze to death."

I laughed. "I could be Anna and you could be Elsa."

"I almost forgot about your Disney obsession," Adam murmured, backing away into his own space. "I'm fairly sure you made me watch Frozen over five times in one semester."

"You liked the songs. I know you did." His face flushed and I cheekily smirked. One day I scrolled through his music and may have came across some saved songs from the movie.

"At least I didn't have to deal with it after you left."

Ouch. A pinch punctured across my chest. I curled into my blanket even more, directing my attention to the table. "We could've but you never visited," I weakly shot back. I slowly moved my eyes back to his.

"You never visited either," he spat back. Adam's jaw was locked, his eyes nothing more than a void.

"I didn't have much time to leave the shop. And when I did, you were always busy. You stopped calling," I began. He looked away. "I waited for you to call. Everyday, I..." My words got caught it my throat, halting my sentence.

Pain flashed across Adam's face and once again, he was gone and disappearing behind another wall.

Everyday I sat by my phone, waiting for you to call back.