Bells jingled as she heard the door close in the kitchen. She rose from the couch and heard his cheery voice, "Hey Jo, I'm home." Pacey smiled when he saw her walk towards him. "Hey Pace," Joey said with a smile as she kissed him. "Smells good in here," Pacey said as he set his briefcase down and reached for the paper.
Pacey watched her at the stove. "How was your day?" she finally asked him. He paused before giving an answer. "Uh, um, my day was good but uh, they asked me to go on this business trip," Joey turned to look at him, "for a couple of days, in Baltimore to meet with the executives to discuss plans for a new promotion, so uh," "Well what did you tell them?" "Did you tell them that you couldn't because it's so close to Christmas?" Joey asked. " Well, they had already asked a few of the guys and they all said no, so they moved down the chain until they got to me and basically said I better go or, I shouldn't bother coming to work anymore." Pacey explained.
"That's so unfair, I can't believe this!" Joey said. "I know, believe me this is not what I wanted to have happen." Pacey sighed and walked toward her. "Who the hell schedules a business trip less than week before Christmas?" Joey asked angrily. Pacey offered a small smile, " The anal CEOs who don't have families to go home to and decide to take out their own distresses on other people.
After a long silence, Joey spoke again, "How long will you be gone?" she asked. "Three days, I leave on Monday." Pacey answered.
They ate their dinner in a staggered silence, each only speaking to either ask for food or to comment on the holiday.
Afterwards, Joey sat on the couch, watching the old, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," special. Pacey changed out of his suit and shortly joined her.
"How beautiful does that tree look?" He whispered after he sat down next to her. "I'd say it's the best one I've ever decorated." Joey answered rather quickly. "You've ever decorated, hm, I think I remember us trimming it together, and picking it out, as a matter of fact." He smiled lightly and slid his arm around her, lightly caressing her shoulder. Pacey could sense her temperament, and still tried to make her feel better. "You done your shopping yet?" He asked. "Yeah, pretty much." "Did you get me everything I wanted?" He asked again, smiling at her. Joey decided to play along, unable to resist his charm, "That depends, did you get me everything I wanted?" Pacey nodded, "Yeah, I think so, I got um, a Craftsman tool set, a new Fossil watch, some tasty lingerie, and oh yeah a big screen TV." "Hm, well for you, I got some diamond earrings, a diamond bracelet, an iPod, a lot of clothes and, uh, some other stuff that I can't remember." she said.
"Yeah, I think you got about everything right, you know me so well." Pacey chuckled at her. "Yeah well, I've known you like forever, so it just comes naturally." Joey said and kissed him on the forehead.
They were silent for a while until Joey spoke again. "What time does your flight leave on Monday?" she asked. "Nine o'clock on the dot." Pacey answered. "and you come back on…" "On Thursday." Pacey finished. "So, what time does your flight get in then?" "Around nine-thirty that night." "Which guarantees, that I won't miss any of Christmas Eve, or our tradition of sitting on this couch," he moved closer to her, "while watching the twenty-four hour start of that great movie," Pacey kissed her, "A Christmas Story." Joey smiled at him, "you know how much I love that movie." she whispered and kissed him again. "How can I pass up a possibility like that?" Pacey whispered. "You can't." Joey replied as she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer.
"In the meadow we can build a snowman, then pretend he is Parson Brown
He'll say: Are you married? We'll say: No man, but you can do the job when you're in town." Winter Wonderland, one of my other favorites. There is nothing more special than snow at Christmas. The silent sound it makes as it falls, and the vast white blanket it forms as far as the eye can see.
Oh, sorry for the sidetrack, let me continue.