The Perfect Gift

C H A P T E R 🎄14

L I S A

After Rosie and I finished up at Bacchus Deli, we headed to the gallery to pull Miles and Rosie's mom away so they could enjoy the festival. After leaving the gallery in trusted hands, I got the four of us hot chocolate, and then we strolled around downtown, taking in the sights and enjoying the bustling crowd.

But there was still an elephant in the room, so to speak, with Rosie and me. We had to deal with "us" and my being Miles's mother at some point. Our having fun was simply a way of putting it off.

However, a sense of impending importance came over me as the sun went down and the lights turned on. As if there was going to be some sort of reckoning. I wasn't sure how I felt about it.

"Wow!" Miles breathed as we toured the Walk of Lights. "It's magic."

Rosie laughed.

"Yes, it is, little man."

We took photos of each other, posing with street performers or in front of a particularly fancy decoration. In the town square, we stopped and listened to a live band playing Christmas music.

After a while, Ellie and Miles headed back to the gallery, leaving Rosie and me alone again.

Then, a sound reached our ears which seemed to delight Rosie to no end. A big, happy smile stretched across her face. She turned to me, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Do you hear that?" she asked. "Sounds like Christmas carolers."

"There haven't been Christmas carolers running around town since I was a little kid." She tugged on my hand. "Come on, let's go join them."

"I'm not the best singer in the world."

"Who cares? just sing loud," she said, pulling me along.

I laughed and gave up. We followed the sound of the carolers off the main drag and into a more residential area. The carolers had stopped in front of a house, with a family standing on the porch listening appreciatively.

"This is great." She kissed me on the cheek.

"What was that for?" I asked, putting a hand to my face.

"For making this possible. No matter what you thought you were trying to do at the beginning of this whole mess, you helped Greenfield get its Christmas spirit back."

She pulled me along until we reached the back of the line of carolers.

They were in the middle of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." I joined in on it even though I wasn't sure of all the words. One of the carolers smiled at us and handed us a songbook to share.

Standing beside Rosie, the woman I was starting to think I was in love with and the mother of my child, singing Christmas carols was not where I would have pictured myself ten years ago.

And yet, I couldn't think of any other place I'd rather be. Not in the whole wide world. And that meant something coming from a woman with a private jet and a passport full of stamps.

Later, as we walked back through the thinning crowds of festivalgoers, Rosie decided it was finally time to have our big talk.

"I guess we have to talk about the future," she said.

I drew a deep breath and braced myself for the worst. Here it comes.

I stopped on the sidewalk and turned to face her. "Yes. We do." I squeezed her hand tightly. "I'm committed to being a part of Miles's life."

"Yes, I know you are. I believe you." She brushed my cheek with her mittened hand. "But how are you going to do that if we live so far apart?"

My face fell, and I tried to stammer out a response, but it died in my throat.