Her eyes light up and she smiles, looking between Chase and me. “Oh, this is the friend that’s meeting you?” she asks Chase, and he nods.
“Sure is, but how do you two know each other?”
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” I reply. “I met Dani once with Elizabeth. They are friends and roommates.”
Chase nods knowingly, taking another drink of his scotch. “Nice. Well, Dani and I met a few weeks back and hit it off.”
It makes sense that Chase was always busy when I invited him over or why Dani kept slipping out of the apartment. I wonder if Lizzy knows about their relationship. A part of me worries that Dani will let it slip that we are together, but to my surprise, she goes along with my story.
“Yeah, I had dropped a few things off for her at the office and met Jonathan,” she replies. I smile, taking a seat with them and ordering myself a small glass of scotch.
“I hope I’m not intruding,” I add as the waitress sets the glass down in front of me and I take a drink. It’s warming as it runs down my throat, just the thing to take the chill out of my bones.
“Not at all,” Chase cheers. “She knew you were coming. Since you’re here, can you keep her company while I run to the restroom?”
Nodding, I agree, and Chase stands, walking toward the hallway in the back of the bar. Now that it’s just Dani and me, I can speak freely. “Hey. Thanks for keeping that stuff quiet. We haven’t really gone public at work yet.”
“It’s no problem. Can I be frank?” she asks, looking back to make sure Chase is still gone.
“Sure.”
She swirls the glass again and smiles. “I think you should go to her.” Her order is short and to the point, and it takes me by surprise. “You seem to need cheering up, and I know she would love the surprise. Besides…I’ll be more than happy to keep Chase occupied for the night.”
Her cheeks redden as she giggles and looks down at her drink, insinuating she wants alone time with him. I’d be more than happy to provide that, but surprising Lizzy at her parents’ house? That seems out of pocket, even for me.
“I-I don’t know. I mean, I don’t even know where I’d be going.” I think I already have my answer on what I’m doing. I’ve been regretting turning her offer down all day, and there’s nothing I’d rather do on Christmas than be with her.
“That’s an easy fix,” she says, and grabs a small notepad from her purse and a pen. Dani begins writing and slides a piece of paper across the table to me. “Here’s the address. If you leave now, you’ll get there in time for dinner.”
Am I really going to do this? I feel a rush going through my body that I haven’t felt since college. “You sure she won’t be weirded out?” I ask, wanting to give myself the courage to leave the bar.
She nods. “I’m sure. Now go. I’ll explain things to Chase.”
I clutch the small gift bag I brought for my friend, but I can always leave it for him to open. I wound up buying him cufflinks, similar to the ones Lizzy bought me for Christmas. “Okay, just make sure Chase gets this.”
Before I lose the courage I now have, I jump off the chair, grab my coat and scarf off the rack, and run outside where my driveris still waiting for me to finish to take me home. Sliding into the backseat, he jumps, startled by the commotion.
“Here, can you take me to this house, please?”
He inspects the paper and begins driving with a smile on his face. “We can be there in twenty minutes, sir. Meeting anyone special?”
“I sure am,” I whisper as I look out the window and fidget with my hands. I still can’t believe I’m doing this; showing up on her parents’ doorstep like some rom-com movie, but it feels right and the rush is unexplainable.
It’s like I’m in school again and sneaking out of the house. I just hope I don’t freak her out by showing up unannounced like this.
“I believe we are here, sir,” Lee announces as he puts the car in park outside of a small, yellow house with a bright red door and Christmas lights outlining the edge of the roof. I remain in the car for a moment, looking around and trying to muster up the courage to get out.
I don’t see Lizzy’s car, but she could’ve taken a taxi or something. Taking a deep breath in, I thank Lee again for the sudden detour and ask him to wait for me.
Every year, Lee keeps this night free just for me. He doesn’t celebrate Christmas and is always very happy with his holiday pay. He nods and pulls out a few magazines to read while I’m inside.
Climbing out of the car, my shoes leave footprints on the freshly laid snow on their walkway. As I stand in front of the door, feeling both nervous and excited to surprise her, I hear small bouts of laughter behind the front door. It brings me a senseof nostalgia from my childhood, before things exploded and my mother took off.
Sighing, trying to release all the bad memories, my knuckles rap loudly against the red-painted wood. I assume I’ll have a moment to breathe before the knock is answered, but to my surprise, the door almost immediately swings open and a woman stands in the doorway wearing a long, red velvet dress with brown hair and eyes as bright as Lizzy’s.
“Hello, can I help you?” the woman asks, and I have to assume that this is Mary, Lizzy’s mother.
Clearing my throat, I close up my coat a little tighter. “Yes, ma’am, I was looking for Elizabeth.”
