𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐈𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄 (javier peña) ✔️

chapter one: christmas

December 25th

Nova sat annoyed in the living room in her parents' house and played with her nieces and nephew. Christmas was the same for her every year, she spent it with her sisters children.

Her sister Adriana is with her husband Johnny, her brother Diego with his fiancee Linda. They and their parents sat at the table and talked while they drank wine.

And Nova sat with the kids on a separate table. Not because she had to, but she didn't want to just be around couples. The children were more pleasant to talk to than these people who couldn't stop to kiss each other.

The next time there was a ring at the door, her aunt Alba came in with a man Nova had never seen before.

"Hi dear family, that's Robert" her aunt Alba said proudly.

"Uh Alba, who is that?" Novas Mom asked confused.

"My holidate"

"What the fuck is a holidate?" Nova asked even more confused. And then her aunt explained her everything about it.
It's about being each other's platonic plus-ones on holidays, so you don't have to feel alone.

December 28th, 2018

Annoyed, Nova stood in her mom's flower shop. Her mother asked her to help out. Normally there is not much going on just after Christmas. Most business is on Valentine's Day or Mother's Day anyway. But Nova's parents took the first plane to the Dominican Republic the day after Christmas. And Nova was left with no choice but to say yes.

She actually assumed that nothing exciting would happen today. At least in her shop. Outside of the shop would be another thing. Because the flower shop was in a mall, and being in malls the days after Christmas is the dumbest fucking thing someone can do.

But she was wrong, because just one hour later, a bad-tempered man came into the flower shop and made a scene. A big fucking scene.

He wanted to return a bouquet of flowers and get the money back. Although he had bought the bouquet ten days ago and it was already a bit wilted.

"I'm really sorry Sir, but I can't take the bouquet back" she told him, which just made him even more mad.

"Oh you can't? Or you don't want to? Because you just have to reach into the fucking cash register and give me my money back" he replied.

"Sir, I told you before. I can't take the bouquet back. You bought it ten days ago. It's already a bit wilted"

"I don't care. Thanks to this fucking bouquet, my wife found out about my affair. So at least I want my damn money back!" he yelled at her.

Nova had to suppress a grin. Some people really don't care that they're oversharing everything about their life to some stranger.

"Well, I don't see how this is my fault" she said back, then decided to ignore him and water the flowers.

"Because I bought this bouquet in this shop!" he screamed at her and threw the bouquet at her. But at least he missed her.

"That doesn't give you the right to throw a fuckin' wilted bouquet at me or yell at me!" she said back.

"You dumb Bitch don't tell me what do to!" he replied and came closer to her.

Until suddenly another man stepped between them.
"Hey easy, what's your problem?" he asked the furious man.

As the two men began to argue, Nova watched the man defending her. She didn't know him at all, but she immediately liked him. He was wearing a cap and a denim shirt. He had brown hair, a beard and really dark eyes. He was actually really handsome.