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Chapter 7

"Mum," Drew grumbled, as Anna tightened his hat down and over his ears. Drew pushed up the space over his head and met his mother's eyes. "I don't want to wear this."

"We're going to be outside and it's cold," she stated, leaving very little room for any arguments. Drew just mumbled something under his breath, before turning to walk outside. Anna chuckled. She threw on her own hat and jacket, following him.

They both got into the car and drove downtown. Anna had to admit that she was a little anxious about how this meeting would go. She only knew John through their phone calls. Mary knew him, though, and said he was nice.

Her stomach twisted slightly, but she reminded herself that they were only walking around the downtown area. This wasn't a date. Nothing would come from it. If it were a date, she wouldn't know how to react. She hadn't been on a date in over seven years. Her only focus had been her job and Drew.

She pulled the car into the parking lot and stepped out, glancing around the nearly empty area. While it had been a while since she had been here during the Christmas season, it was odd not to see cars parked everywhere and people squished along the pathways. It had always been a full area prior to the pandemic. Visitors came from far and wide to see the decorations.

Anna placed her face mask over her mouth and nose, before opening the back door for Drew to pop out. He had already placed his mask on and his eyes widened at the small set of lights he could see from where he stood.

"Wow," he murmured. "I love it."

"Well, you'll really love it more as we go further along. Come on now," she encouraged, holding out her gloved hand for him to take. He took it and happily swung their hands as they headed down the path.

As she grew closer to the entrance, she saw a man standing and waiting. He was facing them, and when he was sure it was them, he waved.

"Hi," Anna quietly said, remaining a safe distance apart. Her eyes fell to his eyes. He was much taller than her, with broad shoulders. On his head, he wore a knitted Santa hat and his jumper had a Christmas scene on the front. She chuckled slightly, but then nodded.

"Hello, Anna and Drew!" He beamed. Drew jumped up and gave him an air high five. John playfully sent him one back. "I'm glad you two could make it."

"Me too," Anna earnestly replied, as she tried to ignore the butterflies that had begun to fly around in her stomach.

"This is so cool! Mum never takes me to see Christmas lights," Drew exclaimed.

"We've seen Christmas lights," Anna reminded him,

"But not like this," Drew pointedly added.

"Well, let's go on then and look around."

They began to walk around the path. Once they got further in the village, Anna could see other families walking along and looking at the beautiful sights. There were so many lights up all around the buildings and along the path. There were a few scenes set up like Santa with his reindeer and the manger scene.

"Do you know all the reindeer names?" John questioned Drew. Drew giggled and then nodded. "Well, then, what are they?"

"Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and of course, Rudolph." Anna patted his head and gave him a wink.

"Very good," John told him.

"Mummy got me an Amazon Alexa Dot and it lets me play Christmas music or I can ask it questions," Drew went on to explain, "So I've been listening to a lot of Christmas songs. That's one of my favorites, except I don't like how mean they are to Rudolph. Mummy says people shouldn't just be nice to you because they want something from you. She says that's not real friendship."

"Your mummy is very smart," John said, his eyes landing on Anna. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks and was glad it was dark out so that he couldn't notice.

"She is!" Drew loudly agreed. "I have the smartest mummy in the whole wide world!"

"That's sweet of you, Drew, but I doubt I'm the smartest."

"You are," Drew just simply said. "She is," he stated, looking at John.

"I'm sure you're right," John added with a wink. Anna inhaled and turned herself slightly, not liking the attention.

"These lights are beautiful," Anna muttered. She watched as a family in the distance was looking at the manger. A little girl was in her father's arms and he was holding her tightly, allowing her to rest her head against his chest. An old memory bubbled up within her chest and she could feel her eyes growing watery.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Four year old Anna called, reaching her hands upwards, as the snow fell around them. Her father glanced down, smiled, and quickly lifted her up into his arms. Then he cradled her against him and pointed out the lights above them. Her mother walked up to them and placed her hand on Anna's back.

"Darling, isn't it beautiful?" Her mother gushed.

"I love it!"

Anna pressed her hand up against her cheek to stop the tears that threatened to escape. She shook the sadness away and took in a shuddering breath.

"Mum? Are you crying?"

"No, no, sweetheart," she assured him. John's eyes landed on her, as well, concerned.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just being stupid," she chuckled. John stepped slightly closer, but then remembered the social distancing rules and stepped back. It was then that she realized his jumper had sequins on it and they were shining from all the lights. "What a colorful top you have on there." John glanced down and laughed.

"Yes, I have quite a few of these sweaters."

"Why am I not surprised?" Anna playfully asked. John just laughed harder.

"Perhaps, we should get you and Drew some."
"Yes!" Drew happily said.

"No," Anna quickly disagreed. "I'm afraid you won't catch me in one of those."

"But Mummy, they're fun."

"Yes, Mummy, they're fun," John jokingly joined in. Anna sighed, but chuckled.

"Alright, you two, why don't we find somewhere for some hot chocolate and where we can sit."

"Sounds good."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

John took them to a small place down the road, a little bit further from all of the Christmas lights. He knew they had outdoor seating and served hot chocolate for those who came down to look at the decorations. He told them to sit and went to the window to get them all some of the hot beverage. Then he took the drinks to them and sat down across from them at the large table.

After he placed the cups down, he pulled his mask from his face. Anna and Drew did the same.

"Now I can see your faces," John said with a bright smile. He could see that Anna's cheeks grew rosy and she bit down on her lower lip.

"And we can see yours."

"I like it here! Mummy, why don't we ever come here for Christmas?" Drew questioned his mother. Anna's head shook.

"I just….I don't know," she whispered. She took a sip of her cocoa and then kept the warm cup in her hands. "I used to come here every Christmas with my parents."

"With Grandma and Grandpa?"

"Yes."

"They died," Drew informed John, "before I was born."

"They did," Anna confirmed. Her eyes were watery and John felt his chest tighten.

"My father died when I was a young boy. It was just my mum and me," he told them.

"Hey! I don't have a dad either!" Drew said, smiling. "Never met him." He then shrugged, not seeming bothered by this fact.

"Oh yeah?"

"Drew," Anna cut in. "Drink your hot chocolate." John eyed her carefully, seeing that she didn't want to speak about Drew's father right now. He wondered what her story was, but knew not to ask at the moment.

"My parents loved Christmas," Anna said a moment later. "We came here every year until the year they died."

"When did they die?"

"In 2013. It was May," Anna said, thoughtfully. "There was a car accident. I had Drew the following May. I always said that he was my present from them to fill that void in my life. My father's name was Andrew."

"Yep!" Drew agreed. "I was named after my Grandpa!"

"It's a lovely name," John stated with a smile.

Anna glanced at her watch and gave John an apologetic smile.

"We should probably get back to Mary's. Drew needs to get to bed."

"I'm not tired!" Drew disagreed. Anna just ruffled his hair.

"You will be very soon."

"Let me walk you back to your car."

"Alright."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

That night once Drew went to bed, Anna pulled out her phone and stepped out onto the back porch. A chill went down her spine and she tightened her jacket around her small figure.

Before she could lose her nerve, she dialed John's number. Within two rings, he picked up.

"Hello?" He said breathlessly into the phone.

"Hi, did I interrupt you doing something?"

"No," he replied. It sounded like his lips were curled up into a smile. "I was just on the other side of my loft."

"Oh. I hope it's not too late. I just got Drew to sleep. He was hyped up from the hot chocolate."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize. We had a good time."

"Me too."

There was silence for a moment. Anna found her thoughts wandering to what it would be like to be with John in his loft right now.

"Is it because your parents died that you hate Christmas?" John then asked, breaking her away from her warm thoughts. Anna's head shook, but then she realized he couldn't see her.

"No, I mean, it made me miss what we had. It was Drew's father that ruined Christmas for me," Anna admitted. She didn't speak of Mark, ever really.

"How so?"

"I met Mark soon after my parents died. We fell in love, or at least, I thought we had. I found out I was pregnant with Drew. We planned to get married on Christmas Eve. I had been so sad to lose my parents, but I was hopeful that my new little family would fill that void. Well, he didn't show up."

"He didn't show up where?"

Anna inhaled sharply, tears prickling her eyes. "To our wedding. It was a small affair, just close friends, but he didn't come. When I finally got ahold of him, he said it was too much for him. He wasn't ready to be a father or a husband. He had received a job offer in New York City and was moving. I haven't heard from him since."

"Oh Anna," John said. Anna could tell he felt sorry for her.

"It's alright. I have Drew now and I don't have to share him with anyone. I just….Christmas was kind of ruined from that point on. I lost my parents. I was stood up on my wedding day. It just…it didn't feel important or magical anymore."

"I'm sorry."

"It's nothing for you to apologize," Anna told him. "I had a really good evening. It sparked a little of the old me."

"Oh yeah?" She could tell that John was pleased. A small smile grew on her lips.

"Yes. Will we be seeing you again?"

"There is a special light show going on, if you'd like to come and see it. But it is later at night. I'm not sure you'd want Drew up that late."

He was asking her out on a date. Her cheeks grew crimson and she was glad no one was watching her.

"It's alright. Drew can stay at Mary's. She won't mind."

"So just us then?"

"Yes, just us. See you tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night it is. Good night, Anna."

"Good night, John."

To be continued...

Looks like John's plan is working ;). More soon!