“Thank you.”
We walked over to a quieter corner of the foyer area, near one of the many Christmas trees in the home, and I leaned up against the wall. “So, Christmas isn’t really your thing, is it?” Her eyes widened while she took a sip of the punch. Clearly, I’d hit the nail on the head. “It’s okay you know. You can feel however you want about the holidays.”
“It’s not that I don’t like Christmas. It’s just …” She paused.
“But it brings up bad memories?” I offered.
“Well, yeah.”
“Happens to a lot of people. We associate things with each other. It’s human nature. It’s like how some people don’t like the smell of a certain alcohol because they almost died in a field drinking underage. That shit can stick with you forever.” I smiled, hoping my analogy made sense.
She laughed. “That’s exactly what it’s like.”
“Sometimes, you just need new memories to create a new association.”
“I never really looked at it that way,” she replied.
“You want to take off?” I asked.
“You mean leave?” she asked.
“Yeah, let’s get out of here. We can go walk around. It’s not insanely cold tonight, and you appear to have the proper attire for a walk.” He grinned.
“What about your daughter?” I asked.
“Hang on for just a second.” I took off, leaving her there briefly. I found Robin and asked her if she’d take Emily with them to the next few houses. For the kids, it was basically a cookie tour of the neighborhood, and Emily wasn’t going to miss me now that she’d found her friends. Robin grinned at me knowingly, and I just gave her a little shrug and she agreed. I told Emily I was going to go for a walk with my new friend and that she could stick with the girls. She was more than happy to see me later.
I went back over to Samantha, who was right where I had left her. She was watching the families mingle, and saying hello to the folks who were walking past her on their way in. “Oh, there you are. I’ve turned into the holiday-greeting committee,” she said with a smile when I approached her with my coat in hand.
“Told you I’d be right back. Let’s get out of here.” I took the cup from her hand and set it on a nearby tray and then led her outside. There was still quite a chill in the air, but the wind had died down, so it was calm and fresh. Not biting like it could be this time of year. “Are you warm enough?” I asked her as we made our way down the driveway.
“I am. I guess I’m getting used to it after a few days,” she replied.
“All the socializing and group activities can be a lot. Especially if you’re not used to all these people,” I said.
“Yeah, that is true. I work by myself, so I tend to have a fairly quiet life. Sometimes all of the hullabaloo of the holidays can be a bit much.”
“I get it,” I replied.
We walked through the neighborhood, most of the houses covered in lights. Their doors opening and closing with visitors coming and going. Samantha was quiet but seemed to be enjoying the peaceful walk. I led us toward the square, which wasn’t particularly far away.
“I don’t hate Christmas.”
“I never said you did.” I smiled and nudged her.
“Okay, no, you didn’t. But you think I do. I’m not a scrooge or anything.”
“You are far too pretty to be a scrooge,” I replied. She let out a little giggle. I’d hoped that she could see that I had no intention of pressuring her into telling me anything she didn’t want to and that she realized that it was just a walk, away from the crowd. Nothing more.
“Christmas was a huge deal in our house growing up,” she offered.
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. My parents went all out. It was a lot of fun. I always looked forward to it. It used to be my favorite time of year.”
“So what changed?” I asked, hoping she was ready to give me a hint.
“Christmas was always the big thing. It was the celebration of the year for our family. My parents did all kinds of crazy things to celebrate. When they died, I just didn’t want to celebrate it anymore. That probably seems a bit much, right?”
