“What time is the party tomorrow night at the club house?” I ask.
“We told everyone to be there for six, but I’m sure they’ll get there early. You know how these Hounds like to drink for every celebration. I’ll be behind the bar for most of it. Cass hired a jam up band, too.”
“Jam up? You’ve definitely been hanging around Cass too much,” I say at the use of Cass’s go to phrase.
Cass starts laughing and gives me a side eyed glance. “What can I say? I’m cool.”
He’s full of it, too. “Oh! Lilly, can we run into town?” Mindy asks, excitedly.
“Yes! I have to get a couple gifts for tomorrow night, and I might as well go ahead and get the groceries I’m going to need for Christmas dinner, too.”
“They’re going to be gone forever,” Linc says, looking at Cass.
Cass nods in agreement and takes a swig of his beer. I stand up, stretch, and walk over to kiss my handsome man before we leave. I place a quick kiss on his lips and tell him I love him then walk inside with Mindy right behind me. It’s so warm in the house that I don’t want to go back outside.
“I’m going to go start the car and get it warmed up.”
“I’m going to pee before we leave,” Mindy says, cutting into the bathroom as I walk past her.
I walk under the carport and shiver, rushing to my car. In the last few months, I’ve put Betty on the back burner and have been riding around in the new dark blue Toyota Camry. She’s not half bad for being from this decade. I haven’t named this car, mostly because my dad and I named Betty and I don’t know if I’d feel right naming a car without him. I always miss him so much more this time of year.
As I sit in the car, waiting for it to warm up, I think of the last Christmas I had with Dad. We spent Christmas Eve riding around looking at the Christmas lights around town before going to visit Mamaw’s grave, something he did every year since Christmas Eve, which was also her birthday. I’ll never forget what he said when I asked him why he was never sad about Mamaw being gone.
He looked down at me and said, ‘Baby, I am always sad that she isn’t here, but I know that she wouldn’t want me to walk around crying all the time. She told me she wanted me to think of the good times we had with her and to celebrate her life…withouttears. So, that’s exactly what I do. And that’s what I hope you’ll do when I’m gone, too.”
The passenger side car door opening makes me jump when Mindy gets in and closes the door.
“Whew. My bladder is starting to realize there’s a little person in there and I feel like I have to pee every hour!”
I giggle and put the car in reverse. “I can only imagine. What do you need to get from the store?”
“I want to get Linc a sweatshirt because I got a new monogramming machine and I want to put something cute and quirky on it about being a daddy.”
“That’s such a good idea!”
I drive us to the nearest craft store, and we spend the next thirty minutes sifting through all of the holiday crafts and finally find the right string that she needs for her monogrammingmachine. I pick out a few cute gifts, both for men and women so that no one goes without. Then we go to Walmart and stock up on all of the food we’re going to need for tomorrow night and Christmas Day and an awesome black sweatshirt that Mindy decided she’s going to monogram with purple and gold lettering.
We’re gone for around two hours total between leaving the driveway and pulling back into it. Mindy leaves her things in the car and we’re going to swap them tomorrow before the party at the club house. The guys are still in the exact same spot we left them. There are multiple empty beer bottles in the fire and they’re laughing when we approach the slowly dwindling fire.
“Took y’all long enough!” Linc says when we walk up.
“We had to look at all of the cute Christmas things that are going on sale in three days and maybe hid a few items so they’d still be there when we go back.”
Cass chuckles. “What am I gonna do with you?”
I beam at him and sit down in his lap. “Just love me.”
His warm hand rests on my thigh while the other lifts the Schlitz beer can to his lips. The heat of his hand on my thigh is comforting and sexy at the same time.
“Are you ready to get on the road? It’s getting colder by the minute, and I want to get you home so you don’t get sick.” The concern in Linc’s voice is heard loud and clear.
“I’m beyond ready. Let’s get home and make a baby. Oh…wait...we already did that,” Mindy jokes, laughing at herself.
Cass pats my side. “Hop up.”
We stand to tell them goodbye and walk them out.
I shiver in Cass’s arms as we wave to Linc and Mindy before he fires up his bike and they take off down the driveway and disappear into the night.
