Chapter Sixteen
My phone rang late afternoon the day after my night at the bar with Mason and Faye. I was in the middle of baking some Christmas cut-out sugar cookies – a Lewis family tradition. I dusted my flour-coated hands off on my yellow apron that read ‘Hot Stuff Coming Through’ with a caution sign. I had bought it that morning when I went shopping for Christmas decorations. All my purchases still rested in shopping bags scattered across the formal dining room table, ready for me to dive into.
It was a restricted number. I didn’t usually accept calls from restricted numbers, but I knew my family was supposed to be arriving today so I answered.
“Hello?” I asked uncertainly.
There wasn’t any sound on the other, just quiet. “Hello?” I asked again. I took the phone away from my ear and looked at it. I hadn’t lost the call. There just wasn’t anyone talking.
With a shrug, I hung up and went back to baking cookies. Ten minutes later, I was elbow deep in flour when the phone rang again. I looked at the screen before answering and gave a little shriek of excitement when I read the name.
“Brad!” I cried out excitedly into the phone.
“Hey, Sis,” my older brother’s voice rumbled through the phone.
"Where are you?" I asked the eagerness in my voice causing it to shrill a little. "Has your flight landed? Or have you not taken off yet? I've got Marcus tracking your flight to come pick you up." Actually, I had sent Marcus, my driver, to the airport hours ago and told him to wait there for him, but I didn't feel the need to go into that much detail.
“Yeah…I’m sorry Elena…” Brad hesitated. I stopped smiling and held my breath, not moving a muscle, sensing what he was about to say. “I meant to call you a few days ago. Terri and I…we can’t make it.”
I stayed silent waiting for an explanation. I could feel the disappointment weigh down on me. I looked down at my Christmas tree cookies and reindeer cutouts, still waiting to be put in the oven. When Brad didn’t offer up an explanation on his own, I asked, “Why not?”
I could hear him sigh on the other end of the line. “It’s this whole thing at work,” he said. “We’ve got a big case in a couple weeks and I thought we’d be more prepared for it. And Jenny hasn’t really been feeling up to traveling so I just don’t think it’s a good time to take a trip. I really am sorry, Elena.”
I felt my eyes sting as tears began to fill my eyes. Why did it seem like my eyes were tearing up all the time lately? I swallowed the lump in my throat and pretended to be unbothered. “That stinks, Brad. But I totally understand.”
“I knew you would,” Brad said, sounding a bit relieved.
“Well, I’ll ship your gifts to you this week then,” I said as if I had already moved on. “Mom and Dad are still planning on coming right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Brad said distractedly. I heard voices talking in the background on his end. “As far as I know, at least.”
“Okay, well that’s good,” I looked down at the reindeer sugar cookie cutout I had just cut before the phone ring. The antlers were a little deformed. I focused on trying to fix them with my fingers as I talked. “So will you all have a family Christmas on Christmas Eve then like we used to, or do you have to go to Jenny’s family Christmas?”
Brad didn’t respond right away and it sounded like he said something to someone in the room with him. “What?” he said after a moment. “Yeah. I mean, I don’t know. Hey, I’m sorry, sis, I gotta go. I’m actually in the middle of something.”
“Oh,” I said surprised. Didn’t he call me? I was starting to feel about ten inches tall. The disappointment I was feeling was so heavy; I just wanted to crawl into bed for the rest of the day. “Okay, sorry. Have a happy Christmas. I’ll try to call you around the actual holidays–”
“Yeah, Elena,” Brad said in a rushed voice. “You, too.”
“Love you,” I said quickly into the phone, but he had already hung up.
I set my phone down on the counter, not even wanting to look at it. Instead, I glowered at my raw cookies. I didn’t even want to make them anymore. My eyes continued to burn and a single tear spilled over, cascading down my cheek. I rubbed it away with my hand. I don’t know what I ever did to my brother and his family to make him not want to see me. I grabbed the cookie dough cutout reindeer with the deformed antlers and stuffed it in my mouth. While chewing pretty aggressively, I took my apron off and threw it into a tight ball onto the floor. I guess it was too much too ask for a little quality time with my family for Christmas.
I stomped off into the immaculate living room where Mason was watching TV, kicked back on the chaste lounge. He looked up at me as I entered and watched as I dropped theatrically on the couch with an angry huff. He muted the eighties action movie on TV and looked over at me. “What’s up, boss?” he asked, concerned.
I grumbled, "Brad just canceled. He and Jenny can't make it."
Mason sat up suddenly, “What?” He looked down at his feet, his brow furrowed. “He just called? Today? Marcus is already waiting for them at the airport.”
“Oh, right,” I said, remembering. “I need to call and tell him he can have the rest of the day off.” Marcus was a sweet man who liked his peace and quiet, so he always chose to stay in a separate location than the rest of us. He kept his distance, so I tended to forget about him the most. It wasn’t something I was proud of. I wanted to be the kind of boss that knew everyone and never forgot anything about any of her employees. But I was an imperfect boss and I knew that’s something I’ll probably always be.
“I’ll call Marcus,” Mason offered. “What about your parents, though? Are they still coming?”
I shrugged beginning to feel very pessimistic. “Probably not, at this rate. But so far, I haven’t heard anything otherwise.” My parents were due to arrive the next day. “I’ll call them now if you want to go ahead and call Marcus.” Mason nodded and left the room.
I went back into the kitchen where I'd left my cell phone on the counter. I sat down on a nearby barstool and called my mom. She answered after the second ring, her southern twang shouting my name in excitement. “Elena! My sweet girl! I was just getting ready to call you! I have some news.”
“Good news, I hope,” I said glumly, resting my face against my left palm. “I’m not sure how well I can handle any more bad news.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, sweetie,” she said. “Actually, your father can’t get away this week. Half his staff is sick and he has so many holiday deadlines…”
I tuned her out. I didn’t even feel disappointed or sad anymore. I didn’t feel anything at all. Maybe it was a low form of shock. My whole family was ditching me for Christmas. I would be alone for the holidays! It was depressing – like a bad Lifetime movie. I knew my dad’s publishing company was important. He had built it up from nothing. Still, it hurt realizing everyone else had priorities over me. I caught the tail end of my mom’s rant. “ …be just a couple of days late, but I’ll still be there! We won’t have as much time together as we’d like, you know. But, I just couldn’t stand the thought of you being alone!”
“Wait,” I said and sat up straighter. “So you’re still coming?”
“Yes, Elena, that’s what I just said,” my mom replied. “Just me.”
"Oh good!" I said excitedly. "I'm so happy! After Brad called and canceled, then you say Dad can't come – but it's fine! I'm just so happy I'll get to see you!"
“Me too, hun,” Mom said. “I’ll be there Monday through Wednesday, then I have to get back.”
My elation dropped a little. “Monday? That’s practically a week away! You were supposed to get here tomorrow!”
“It’s just a few more days, Elena,” my mom said. “I just can’t get away right now.”
We chatted a bit longer about each other’s lives and made plans for Marcus to pick her up on Monday. We also decided to wait and decorate the cabin together while she was here since that was something we always used to do together for Christmas.
When I got off the phone, I still felt disappointed but not as much as I had before. I hadn’t seen my mother in a few months. We usually spoke a few times a month and kept up with each other’s lives, but my mom wasn’t a fan of traveling and my schedule didn’t allow me to go home very much. I could’ve gone home during my time off, but my brother had agreed that a long ski trip would be better for everyone – a chance for a fun family vacation. Then he went and canceled on me, leaving me out in Colorado all alone, having already spent thousands of dollars on the trip (the security deposit for the cabin was ten thousand dollars alone).
I was finishing up the sugar cookies I had abandoned earlier when Mason came in. “How are Mr. & Mrs. Lewis?” he asked still seeming a bit concerned.
“Mrs. Lewis will be here Monday through Wednesday,” I said and put the last of the cookies in the oven. “Mr. Lewis can’t make it.”
Mason sat down at the island bar where I had been sitting a moment ago. “I’m sorry, boss,” he said, shaking his head. “At least your mom can still come for a couple days.”
“True,” I said, cleaning up. “At least there’s that.”
“So, what do you want to do tonight?” Mason asked.
“Hmm,” I pondered. “I think I want to stay in and watch cheesy Christmas movies. Wanna join?”
Mason laughed and shook his head again. "I'll pass," he said. "You cool if I head to town for a while?”
“Sure,” I said, not really paying attention. “I’ll give you a shout tomorrow. Take the rest of the day off.”
“You’re the best,” Mason said hopping up and heading out the door. He poked his head back through the doorframe, watching me clean up the kitchen for a moment. “You sure you’ll be okay?”
“Yes, Mason!” I smiled. “Go have fun.” With that, he disappeared down the hall.
I made my way back upstairs to my room to change into a pair of sweats. I went back to the kitchen and made a bowl of popcorn. When the cookies finished in the oven, I put them on a plate.
With a serving tray loaded with cookies, popcorn, and a cold beer, I carted my load to the huge first-floor living room where I settled into the soft pillows and blankets to select my cheesy Christmas movie. While browsing my Netflix queue, my phone chirped.
How’s my favorite starlet? Anthony had texted. I immediately smiled to myself and felt a blush creeping across my face.
Living the dream, I responded. I clicked on a random Netflix movie title and watched the opening credits take over the huge screen.
Everything ok? How is Aspen?
Lonely, I admitted. I’m alone watching Christmas movies.
Awe. I would keep you company if I could.
I smiled to myself. I would love your company.
Seriously?
LOL, of course!
I paused my Christmas movie and sat up, thinking, an idea developing in my mind.
Would be nice… Anthony replied.
Unexpectedly, I suddenly knew just what I wanted to do. I sent a group text to a couple of my celebrity friends first. Michelle was always my go-to girl for a good time. She was a genuinely nice person and I knew if she was free, she would definitely be down for keeping me company.
Jane Rowe was another of my celebrity friends from LA. She was more of a friend of a friend since Michelle had been the one to introduce us. Jane was a primetime drama television star. She was beautiful and an excellent actress. She was always up for an adventure. These two girls always knew how to have a good time without looking like a train wreck.
I sent both Michelle and Jane a text in our group chat: Ladies! I need help! I have a huge house in Aspen all to myself this week! Need company, ASAP! Save me!
Jane replied immediately, A huge house with my besties for a whole week?! Oh hell yes! I’m there!
I smiled, hopping up and down on the couch. Michelle responded soon after, I’m in! Can I bring my new man?
Yes! I replied. Bring whomever you want!
Great! Send us the deets! Jane sent.
I quickly sent them the address then decided to call Anthony. My heart was pounding as the phone rang. Finally, his deep, smooth voice answered.
"Elena," he simply said, giving me goosebumps.
“Did I catch you at a bad time?” I could hear voices in the background shouting. I bit my lip, unsure what I was even doing.
“Nope. Just at a buddy’s. What are you up to? Still watching movies?”
“Yes. Well, no. Actually, I was calling to see if you wanted to come to Aspen,” I blurted out quickly and held my breath.
“Aspen…wow. Um, when?” he asked. He sounded surprised, but I couldn’t read any other emotion from him. He probably thought I was crazy.
“Well, now. Or as soon as possible,” I let out a nervous laugh.
He chuckled back. “Damn, um, ok.” He hesitated a moment. “Let me make a few calls and check on flights and I’ll give you a call back.”
“Seriously?” I asked, not believing my luck.
“Yeah, well, I’ve really wanted to see you again.”
“Me too,” I admitted. “Well, I’ll pay for your flight. And I’ve got plenty of guest rooms at my house. Just let me know.”
“Ok, Elena,” he said. “I’ll call you right back.”
We hung up. Excitement filled me, adrenaline pumping through me. I jumped up onto the couch and did an excited jumpy dance that if anyone ever saw me do, I would be mortified. I sat back down and tried to go back to my movie, but I couldn’t focus. I kept checking my phone waiting for Anthony to call back.
Finally, my phone rang, Anthony’s name flashing across the screen. I let out an excited squeal, then watched the phone for a couple more rings before answering, not wanting to appear too eager.
“Hey!” I practically shouted, doing a poor job at hiding my eagerness.
“Hey,” Anthony’s voice laughed into the phone. “So I got a flight for tomorrow.”
“What?!” I cried out. “No, you didn’t. Don’t play with me, Anthony Stiles!”
Anthony laughed loudly into the phone. “I’m not playing with you!”
“No, this is so great!” I said. “Just you, right? Like, you’re not bringing anyone with you, are you?”
Anthony scoffed. “Yeah, Elena,” he said sarcastically. “Actually I was thinking about bringing a date.”
“Don’t you dare!” I said excitedly, giggling ridiculously.
“I won’t, I won’t,” he said. “God, I can’t believe how spontaneous this is.”
“I know, it’s crazy,” I said breathlessly.
“Well, I’ve got a lot to do before my flight tomorrow so I’ll text you later Elena. And I’ll see you tomorrow.” I swear, I could feel the butterflies take off in my stomach when he said that.
“See you tomorrow,” I almost whispered and hung up. I stared at my phone in my hand. I would see him tomorrow. This was reckless and crazy. And I didn’t care at all.