Flashbacks

Winter Wonderland Part I

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening.

A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland.

Gone away is the bluebird. Here to stay is a new bird.

He sings a love song as we go along, walking in a winter wonderland.

In the meadow, we can build a snowman. Then pretend that he is Parson Brown.

He'll say, "Are you married?" We'll say, "No man! but you can do the job when you're in town."

-Bing Crosby

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Christmas Eve Day

Jon was running a little behind schedule. There was a water main break near the apartment that led to a flooding issue in the building. As a result, he had to go back to his place and pick up what he and Shawn would need for the next two days before heading to Audrey's.

He was glad to have some time to himself. The past month had really messed with his head, and he was still struggling to adjust to all the changes.

Throughout December, he had frequently been mistaken for Shawn's father or Audrey's husband. Never her boyfriend, which he thought was odd. He still had not figured out what it was he was doing that made the distinction. Regardless, he found himself going along with people's assumptions and did not bother to correct them. He fully committed to the father/husband role as though it was the most natural thing in the world, and no one knew the difference. It was not natural, of course. He was neither father nor husband.

And he kept repeating to himself that he did not want to get married, and he did not want to have kids.

He did not.

He did not.

He did not!

But there must have been something about the festive season that prevented these words from taking hold. Even though he was still chanting them in his head as he walked into the living room where Audrey stood on the threshold between that room and the kitchen, he still walked up to her, put his hand around the back of her neck and greeted her with a kiss as though she was actually his wife.

Caught in the kiss, they stared at each other for a long moment, both too shocked to move.

Jon was horrified. It was one thing to hold her hand or even to hold her. That was bad enough. It was quite another to kiss her. This was breaking about every boundary imaginable.

What on earth was wrong with him?!

"I'm sorry," he finally got out, deeply mortified. "I wasn't thinking. I just-"

"It's okay, Jon, really," she said a little too brightly. Her cheeks were flushed with a crimson blush, and she had trouble meeting his gaze. She pointed to the ceiling above them. "Shawn's mistletoe. It was bound to happen."

It was true about the mistletoe. Shawn had hung the plant or something that looked like it from every conceivable place in the house. And he made its purpose very clear.

"Right," Jon said, attempting to laugh it off. When he tried to disengage his fingers from her hair, he somehow managed to get her locks tangled around his watch. He ended up having to take the timepiece off as his self-conscious tugging was hurting her head.