Caroline wandered aimlessly around Macy's, her tired eyes scanning the large, heavily decorated Christmas trees and the branches of holly that were casually draped over the displays.
She sighed heavily and pointlessly transferred the heavy bags she was carrying from one hand to the other. The handles were digging into her palms and had already left a red mark on her skin. The weight seemed to increase with each step she took and she once again shifted the bags in her hands, wondering how it was possible that she still hadn't found Annie a present.
Finding the others a present had been hard too, especially since she and Del had broken up a while ago and she had been unable to think of an appropriate gift for him. Being a procrastinator, she'd put off the Christmas shopping until the last minute.
But when she had left her apartment with an upbeat mood and a full wallet, she had been so certain that she'd find everyone the perfect present in no time at all. Now, several hours and numerous dollars later, it became hard to embrace the Christmas spirit as 'Winter Wonderland' blared out of the ceiling speakers for the 50th time today and the bags were still getting heavier.
To make matters worse, she was now shopping with a deadline. The dark sky outside and the deserted floors in the store told her she had little time left to get her final present before the store would close.
She struggled to lift her arm to glance at her watch despite the heavy bags.
Her wrist hit her chin and she staggered backward as she crashed into someone.
"Hey watch where you're going!" the other person scolded.
Stepping back to steady herself, she grabbed onto the other person's shirt as she fruitlessly grabbed for the bags that slipped through her fingers.
Without looking up, she then knelt down and scrambled for her bags, noticing a second pair of hands doing the same. Long, slender fingers curled around the handles of the bags and handed them back to her.
Once all the bags had been retrieved, they simultaneously got up, Caroline's gaze for the first time falling on the curly-toed green shoes across from her. She shifted her gaze upward and took in the red puffy pants, topped with a green tunic. Then her eyes reached his face.
A very handsome face.
A scowling face.
It was framed by curly blond locks, one playfully dangling over his forehead as he was adjusting the red, pointy hat that covered the rest of his blond hair.
"You're…an elf" she stated dumbly.
"How observant of you" he snapped, brushing past her, obviously very uncomfortable in his outfit.
"Well, thanks for your help" she replied meekly, holding up the bags.
"And Merry Christmas!" she called after him, receiving a shrug and a dismissive hand wave in response.
Shaking her head to shake off the confusion, she turned and hurried to the cosmetic department to get Annie some perfume before the store closed.
She wondered which one Annie would like best since she lacked the time to whiff each one. Eventually, she chose a green- bluish scent named 'Seduction' and she smirked to herself on her way to the checkout counter, thinking it should be perfect for Annie.
She glanced satisfactory at the bags in her hands while the woman behind the cash register placed Annie's present in a golden shimmering bag with black stars scattered over it.
When she was read her total, she reached for her wallet but as she reached in her bag, she noticed it felt scarily empty. Frantically, her fingers patted the bottom of the bag, hoping to hit the familiar soft leather of her wallet but they only came across the odd pen and a bunch of keys. Nothing…
Against her better judgement, she zipped open every compartment of her bag, for the first time annoyed over how many there were. When this didn't produce her wallet, she patted down her coat pockets and rummaged through the bags in her hands. It was pointless, her wallet was gone.
Shoulders slumped in defeat, she looked up at the woman behind the cash register who had been waiting patiently during Caroline's search.
"It's gone" she stated, "I can't understand how that happened, I never leave my bag unattended."
Her eyes popped wide open and she abruptly looked up as the realization hit her.
"That elf!" she exclaimed, receiving a blank look from the woman across the counter.
"Call security!" she ordered, nervously tapping her foot as the woman turned to the phone behind the counter to make the call.
"I'll have you know we take complaints from our customers very seriously, Mr. Karinsky" the store manager said.
He folded his hands and rested them on the table leaf, looking at Richard who was sitting across from him.
Once taken out of its festive context, the elf-suit looked rather silly as Richard sat in the manager's office. He'd taken the pointy hat off and it was now crumpled in his hands as he stared at the table leaf.
A heavy sigh escaped him as he looked up at the manager.
"Look, I already told you, I didn't steal anything! When are you going to believe me?"
He shifted his gaze from the manager to Caroline and back, hoping to convince at least one of them and see some sympathy in their eyes.
"Ugh, come on!" Caroline scoffed, "I had it before I bumped into you, then you rush off the minute I get to my feet again and when I get to the checkout counter my wallet is gone! I'm not stupid you know!"
He sighed again, putting down the hat.
"No one said you were, but I'm telling you I don't have it."
There was a moment of silence in the room, the atmosphere heavy with discomfort.
When the store manager cleared his throat, Richard looked up expectantly, instantly realizing he'd lost.
"Well Mr. Karinsky, according to store policy I have no choice but to fire you. You can turn in your costume at…-"
"What?" exclaimed Richard, "No! You can't fire me! Please, give me another chance! I'm already in debt and the rent is due next week…."
The manager held up a hand to silence him.
"Mr. Karinsky, don't make this more difficult, huh? Please turn in your costume. Now."
The words were spoken calmly but persistently and left no possibility for contradiction.
Getting up from his seat, Richard took the hat from the table and quietly left the office. When he was gone, the manager slid out of his seat and ushered Caroline to a second door on the opposite side of the office.
"Don't worry Miss Duffy, we'll thoroughly investigate this matter and we'll do everything in our power to recover your wallet. Naturally, Mr. Karinsky will be banned from the premises from now on."
December 25, 1:12 p.m.
The lights in Caroline's Christmas tree shone brightly, changing from slow to flickering and back. She sat on the floor under her tree, arranging the presents under it. She cast a satisfactory glance around the room.
The apartment looked very festive after all the hard work she had put into it.
Each step of her stairs had a poinsettia on it, there were fir tree branches wherever she'd found a place to put them and the 6-feet tall Christmas tree dominated the left corner of the room. The branches were heavily decorated with shiny, silver balls and ornaments she'd made in kindergarten. The presents underneath the tree were the finishing touch.
Pushing herself up from the floor, she took a few steps back to admire the room. It looked all cheerful and festive and yet, she didn't feel it. Something was gnawing at her. What was it?
The knowledge that her wallet was still missing hung like a black cloud over the festivities. Of course Annie would understand why she hadn't gotten her a present and the wallet and credit cards could be replaced. So why didn't she feel any happier?
There was a knock on her door and she smirked to herself, half-expecting to find Annie there who was always first in line when there were presents involved.
But she didn't find Annie on the other side and she exclaimed in surprise when she saw who had knocked on her door. She quickly tried to close the door again but
Richard put his foot between the door and the doorframe, preventing her from shutting him out.
"How did you get into the building?" she asked from the other side of the door.
She was backed up against it, her palms pressed against the door as she tried to close the small gap. It was to no avail. Richard didn't remove his foot and now had his forearm pressed against the door to keep it open. Since he was much stronger than her, the door eventually flung open and she staggered forward into her apartment.
When she spun around, he was standing on her threshold, looking even gloomier without his colorful costume. His normal attire was apparently dark, consisting of a black overcoat and dark gray dress slacks.
"Look, there's no need to freak, okay? I just came to give you this…"
His voice was deep and soothing and it quickly decreased her wariness.
He reached into his coat pocket, gently grasping her hand and turning it over. When his hand closed over hers and something cool and soft was placed in her palm, she instantly knew what it was.
Nonetheless, she looked at the wallet in her hand in complete awe. She hadn't expected to ever see it again. It looked exactly the same, felt the same. Yet she couldn't help but open it and rifle through the compartments. Only to find her credit cards in the exact same place as they'd always been, the leftover dollar bills from yesterday afternoon untouched.
He watched her as she inspected the wallet, the shame on her face evident as she looked up. His tone was more disappointed than angry.
"I only opened it to look for your address you know. I told you before I'm not a thief. Well, anyway, I've done my good deed, that should see me through until next year, don't you think?" he asked rhetorically as he turned to leave, not giving her a second look as she stood there holding the wallet with both hands.
"Wait a minute…" she said, finding her voice again.
He turned back to her, his expression not the least bit expectant as he waited for her to finish her sentence. Suddenly nervous, she started stammering as she put the wallet on the fish tank, stepping a little closer.
"Where did you…um…"
"It was under one of those artificial trees, between the cardboard boxes wrapped as Christmas presents" he interjected.
"Must've slipped out of your purse when you ran into me."
She now knew what the nasty feeling had been that had already ruined the first part of her day. It was guilt. She recognized the feeling because wave after wave now washed over her.
She'd gotten an innocent man fired…
Her throat tightened and she had to force the words out.
"How did you know where it was? Did you search for it?"
He rolled his eyes upward, then ostentatiously studied his watch, indicating that the conversation had gone on long enough.
"No, I used my X-ray vision, okay? Now if that answers your questions I'm leaving, there has to be another meaningless job still vacant…"
When her hand shot out and grasped his coat to stop him from leaving, his expression softened for the first time, her big doe eyes sweeping away his cynicism.
"Look, Mr. Karinsky I'm terribly sorry for getting you fired…" she apologized, her voice unsteady.
"That's okay" he said, prying her hand off his upper arm.
"No, it's not" she contradicted.
"What I accused you of was a terrible thing."
He shrugged, not at all impressed by her statement.
"Yeah well, I don't blame you. The world's hopeless, you can't trust anyone, not even during Christmas."
She vigorously shook her head.
"That's not true and you just proved it. I'll tell you what, I'll talk to the store manager about getting you your job back."
He held up both hands to stop her.
"Caroline, that's really not necessary. It was a terrible job anyway. Besides, it was only temporary in the first place."
"How do you know my name?" she asked in surprise.
Cracking a smile, he nodded to the wallet on the fish tank.
"I'm Richard by the way. Look, I'll be fine. I'll just sell a painting or something. God knows I've plenty of those…"
He wrapped his scarf more tightly around his neck, already dreading the cold he was about to face.
"Oh, so you're an artist?"
He nodded.
"Aspiring. Though until I sell a painting I'm stuck working silly jobs like playing an elf in department stores..."
"Well…thanks" she said softly.
He nodded politely and their eyes locked for a brief moment before hers drifted upward to the mistletoe over his head. Suddenly feeling an incredible desire to kiss him, she impulsively stepped forward.
Instantly alarmed, he stepped back, his eyes warily searching hers.
"What are you doing?"
His question was rushed, his voice just a little unsteady.
She gestured to the broad-leafed plant above the door.
"You're standing under the mistletoe, Richard. You have to kiss whoever is standing under the mistletoe, it's tradition!"
Skepticism spread across his face. She sensed he didn't quite believe her and she couldn't blame him. Gratitude and an ancient Christmas tradition, wasn't that enough to steal a kiss? What else was there?
A pounding heart and knees that felt like jelly, she decided. There could've been cilantro above her door for all she cared, she just wanted to kiss him, more than anything.
He studied her for a moment, noting she was still giving him the doe-eyed look. He could think of worse things than kissing her. Hell, he couldn't think of anything but kissing her! He quickly pondered the consequences of such an action, knowing he would be better off walking away, no good could come of this.
On the other hand, the other side of his conscience argued, it was highly unlikely he'd ever even see her again after tonight. Giving up the battle between right and wrong, he eventually gave a nonchalant shrug.
Two hands then slid up his chest to rest on his shoulders, her face inching closer to his, the vanilla-like scent of her perfume sending his heart racing. He briefly touched her hip as her lips feather-lightly brushed his cheek.
Being so close to him, she didn't want to step away again and she tried to decide whether to pull away or to kiss him, both actions requiring an equal amount of courage.
While she was pondering this, her face lingered close to his, their lips close to touching. Abandoning all rational thought, he leaned just a little closer, his lips finally finding hers. It lasted too long to be innocent and friendly, yet too short to turn into anything more and Richard returned to reality all too quickly, pulling away.
"Well, I better get going then" he said, his voice not quite sounding like his own.
"Yeah" she said as she watched him enter the elevator.
"And Merry Christmas."
December 26, 8: 37 a.m.
Richard looked in the mirror and instantly hung his head, turning away from his reflection. Though being a Macy's shop assistant wasn't nearly as bad as the silly elf costume he'd worn two days ago, he couldn't believe he was here again.
Another day of annoying, screaming kids, tugging on his clothes and giving him a headache…
He knocked back the last of the cheap coffee from the vending machine and decided that if he survived today, he was definitely immune to the Christmas spirit.
Opening the door of the cafeteria, he began his five-minute walk to his department, the decorations on his way too ostentatious, the music too cheerful and the lights too bright.
Hadn't he told Caroline to stay out of this? That it was a terrible job to begin with and that he didn't ever want to come near the store again?
Yet when the store manager had called him and apologized, he hadn't had the luxury of telling him where to shove his job. Rent was already overdue and missing another payment meant eviction. So in a way he should even be thankful to her. He groaned at the thought, finding strength in the idea that in a little over 15 hours, the world would be rid of Christmas for another year…
12:34 p.m.
"Caroline, why did you drag me here?" Annie whined, casting a bored glance around Macy's home décor department.
"I have a huge Christmas party waiting for me, can't we do this another time?"
Caroline tugged on her friend's hand, heading for the escalators.
"I still haven't given you a Christmas present, I'd like to do it before Christmas is over. Besides, isn't it a bit early for a party?"
"I'm talking about last night's party!" Annie explained exasperatedly.
She didn't receive a reply and decided to just give up. Caroline was already engrossed in the Christmas spirit that was so ostentatiously present in the huge department store. Apart from the flashy decorations and upbeat music, the store was scattered with shop assistants. Caroline's head turned whenever one of them passed by and Annie wondered why.
"Caroline, is there something you're not telling me?" she queried, stepping off the escalator.
Caroline turned at her friend's inquiry. Since her friend was a terrible actress, Annie instantly knew that the blank look on her face was anything but sincere.
"I don't know what you mean" Caroline lied poorly.
Arching her brows, Annie regarded her friend for a moment.
Caroline gave up the act and approached her friend. Lowering her voice as she spoke, she arched into Annie as though she were revealing a state secret.
"Okay," she admitted, "So maybe we're not just here to get you a present. There's someone I'd like to visit as well."
She began walking again and Annie wrinkled her forehead in confusion, following her friend to another set of escalators.
Caroline just smirked at her friend's confusion.
"Remember how I told you who found my wallet?"
"Oh right, that elf. So why are we looking for him? Did he steal something after all?"
"Annie!" Caroline scolded, stopping momentarily to send her friend a reprimanding look. "We're going because there's something I haven't told you yet."
Always in the mood for a juicy story, Annie scooted closer to her friend to hear what she had to say.
"We sort of kissed" Caroline confessed, inciting a shriek from Annie.
"What?!" she exclaimed, instantly covering her mouth as some people looked over their shoulders, sending her an irritated glance.
"Under the mistletoe" Caroline nodded, smiling at the cliché.
"I'm hoping for a chance to repeat it" she admitted, receiving an approving smile from her friend. "With or without mistletoe" she added as she strode to the return counter. There was a long queue of people waiting to return or exchange yesterday's presents, secretly or otherwise.
Most customers had brought a friend or a relative, making the group even bigger. Some impatiently shifted their weight from their left foot to the right and back, occasionally craning their necks to see if things were hurrying up. To kill some time while waiting, people were talking, raising their voices to be heard.
The shop assistants were working hard to shorten the queue but whenever they'd helped almost everyone in line, new people joined the queue, making it seem endless.
Though all shop assistants looked alike, Caroline spotted him straight away. He was the tallest person in the group and though he had his back turned to them, she could just sense the discontent frown on his face. Her mouth spread into a wide smile and her feet involuntarily moved faster towards him. Annie followed suit, curious as to whom this man was who'd made such an impression on her friend.
Richard glanced surreptitiously at his watch, sighing when he took in the time. The hours crept by and the afternoon seemed endless. Quitting time was an attractive prospect yet a scary one at the same time. Tomorrow he would have to go back to his old life and the quest for another meaningless job would start again once this one came to an end. He didn't believe in New Years resolutions but his intention to finally sell some paintings as of next week was remarkably similar to one. As long as he could finally stop hopping from one dead-end job to the next, that would be enough to give him some peace of mind.
He turned to get back to work when out of the corner of his eye, he spotted something that made him stop in his tracks. For an instant, he thought it was an angel, beautiful and radiant, striding towards him. Her shoulder-length red hair bounced on her shoulders with every step she took, her smile growing wider as she came nearer.
Caroline had come to see him, there was no doubt about it. He'd thought he'd never see her again and yet, here she was, already calling his name as the distance between them shortened. In her wake was a brunette, her eyes moving from his face to his feet and back, giving him the once-over.
'Great, she brought a friend' he thought, wishing he could just disappear.
It was too late, the familiar vanilla-like scent infiltrated his nostrils and he found the red-head standing there, smiling up at him.
"Hey you" she greeted coyly, seemingly nervous to see him again.
He quickly excused himself to his colleagues and got out from behind the counter, receiving a glare from the customers waiting in line.
"Caroline, what are you doing here?"
It came out snappy and annoyed and he instantly damned himself for even opening his mouth.
She looked a little taken aback, but her smile didn't waver and she looked at Annie who had joined her.
"This is Annie," she explained as Richard and Annie nodded politely at one another. "We're here to get her a Christmas present, I didn't get the chance to get her something, what with the wallet thing and all."
Annie tapped on her shoulder and Caroline looked up to find she had her fingers plugged in her ears, nodding to the group of customers next to them.
"Care, I'm going to browse over there, okay?"
She gave a head-jerk to what could've been any direction.
"It's a bit too noisy here for me" she shouted a little louder than necessary.
Once they were alone, Caroline looked awkwardly down at her feet, not sure what to say next. The only thing slightly lifting the awkwardness was the chatter from the customers and she wished he weren't working so they could go somewhere and talk properly.
"No more costume, huh?" she finally commented, grinning at him.
"What?" he replied, gesturing from his ear to the group and back to indicate that he couldn't hear her and she mouthed, 'costume'.
He then nodded and shrugged.
"Yeah, thanks for talking to the manager" he said, only half meaning it.
She waved away his words.
"The least I could do."
Stepping a little closer, she placed a hand on his shoulder as she leaned in, making sure he'd be able to hear her.
"What will you do after today? Do you have any other job options?"
When he shook his head, relief spread through her body and she instantly felt guilty. Justifying the feeling by thinking of the offer that she was about to make, she wanted to lean into him again but noticed that he stepped back a little.
She kept her distance and shouted the offer instead.
"I have an idea"
She was happy to note this announcement got his attention. Though he tried to conceal it, his slightly arched brows gave away his interest in whatever she was about to say.
"Well, listen. I draw a nationally syndicated comic strip and I need a colorist. I know it's below your level but you know, just until your paintings start selling…"
She trailed off, not sure how to respond when she noted him shaking his head to indicate his answer, 'no'.
The rejection came unexpectedly. She'd expected him to jump at the chance and she wondered if she'd read something into yesterday's event that wasn't there.
'Why?' she mouthed, helplessly holding up both hands.
He sighed heavily, dreading the words that had to come out of his mouth but he knew it would be best to just tell her the truth.
"Remember the mistletoe thing?" he replied, rising his voice to be heard.
She nodded, wondering where this was going.
"Yeah, of course I do."
"That'll always be in the back of my mind" he shouted.
"I couldn't possibly work for you, knowing what happened."
He sighed, awkwardly crossing his arms in front of his chest.
Her heart skipped a beat when she thought about his words. She now knew where the conversation was headed and she smiled expectantly at him in encouragement. This was the part where he'd tell her he couldn't be just her employee, that their kiss yesterday couldn't possibly be the only one they ever shared.
"Well, I'm sure we could arrange something so it wouldn't have to interfere with work?" she said flirtatiously, suggestively cocking an eyebrow.
His jaw was tight as he stared past her, seemingly thinking about how to put his thoughts into words.
"I'm trying very hard to forget about it, Caroline. I suggest you do the same. It would be better for both of us."
For a moment she thought she would've preferred a slap in the face. It would've hurt less than this statement. She stared up at him, waiting for that lopsided grin she knew he was capable of producing. But the corners of his mouth didn't twitch, his eyes didn't twinkle, there were no signs he was kidding.
"Right" she said to herself, the noise around them too loud for it to be audible to anyone else. Trying to mask the hurt, she plastered on a fake smile, promising herself this was the last time she'd ever acted impulsively. Second-guessing and overanalyzing seemed a lot more reliable.
"Well you should get back to work, huh?" she said too cheerfully, turning away from him and scanning the store for Annie. She couldn't wait to get out of there and curl up on her couch.
When his hand grabbed her elbow to stop her from leaving, she looked up in his soft brown eyes, hoping to detect the twinkle after all.
"You understand, don't you?" he asked softly, his expression concerned.
"No hard feelings?"
She forced another smile, hoping he wouldn't see her disappointment. If he suggested they be 'just friends' now, she wouldn't be able to bear it.
"Sure, I understand" she finally assured him. Smiling friendily at him, she turned away to look for Annie.
This was the worst Christmas ever…
6:51 p.m.
"Look Care, just forget about that geek. He's not worth it, not after the way he treated you" Annie said from behind the counter as she watched her friend sulking on the couch, a mug of hot chocolate in one hand, the remote in the other.
"After the way I treated him, you mean" Caroline corrected her without tearing her eyes away from the TV.
"All he did was search for my wallet and deliver it back to me, after I accused him of stealing from me. He probably just indulged me when I wanted to kiss him under the mistletoe. Gosh, how could I be so stupid?" she wondered out loud, covering her eyes in agony. Setting down the hot chocolate, she pulled up her legs and wrapped her arms around them, resting her head on her knees.
"Don't say that!" Annie scolded, rounding the counter and walking over.
"What did he even say to you that got you so upset?"
Caroline looked up and shrugged, resting the side of her head on her knees as she watched her friend sit down on the cedar chest across from her.
"He asked me if I remembered the mistletoe thing and when I said 'of course', he said 'that'll always be in the back of my mind, I can't work for you after what happened', something like that."
She sighed, turning down the sound of the TV a little.
"First I thought he meant that he wanted more than a professional relationship but then he suggested that we forget all about it and I realized that he simply doesn't feel the same way."
"Look, you probably just got a little carried away by the whole Christmas atmosphere" Annie reasoned.
"Things tend to appear better than they are when there are lights and decorations everywhere and everyone's cheerful."
'He wasn't cheerful', Caroline wanted to argue. But she knew Annie was right. Christmas was her favorite time of the year. There was nothing she liked better than seeing happy, giving people everywhere. It was the only time of the year when she felt everyone shared the perkiness she experienced on a daily basis. A look around her apartment told her she might've gone a little overboard, she'd probably be vacuuming pine needles for the next four weeks. She'd just gotten absorbed by the Christmas spirit, making things appear better than they really were.
"If you want we can talk about it some more" Annie offered.
"But can we do it while we're eating? I'm starving!"
Caroline wasn't the least bit hungry. This afternoon's events had sated her hunger for the rest of the day. But she did feel like talking some more and it would probably be good for her to eat something anyway.
"Sure, but I don't at all feel like cooking so you'll have to order takeout. My wallet is on the counter."
Annie went into the kitchen and she slumped back against the pillows, focusing on the movie again. She sat up with a jolt and instantly pressed the red 'off' button on the remote when Annie excitedly shrieked something in the kitchen. Turning to look at her friend, she wondered what was going on.
"Del!" Annie exclaimed, pointing at the wallet in her hand.
Caroline scrunched up her nose in confusion, having no idea what she was talking about. Her friend wasn't making much sense. She just stood there, repeating the same thing over and over, waving the wallet in the air.
"What?" Caroline questioned, slowly getting up from the couch.
"What are you talking about, Annie?"
"He said 'Del'!" Annie exclaimed again, waving Caroline's wallet in front of her face.
Caroline had now joined her friend at the counter, still having no idea what she meant.
"He didn't say 'that'll always be in the back of my mind!" Annie explained, "You must've misunderstood him what with that noise in the background. He said 'Del will always be in the back of my mind!' Caroline, he thinks you're taken!"
With that, she pushed the open wallet to Caroline's side of the counter and Caroline stared at it, everything simultaneously falling into place.
In the photo compartment of her wallet behind the plastic, was a picture of her and Del, embracing and smiling broadly at the camera. It was taken in front of Caroline's Christmas tree last year. Del had given her the picture when they'd been dating a year. He'd even signed it, the right corner of the picture read, 'One year together, hoping for many more. Love Del '.
Ironically, they'd broken up shortly after that which made the break-up all the more difficult for Caroline.
"Caroline, why do you even still have that?" Annie demanded, taking the wallet again and studying the picture of the happy couple.
"Well we didn't split up that long ago" Caroline answered defensively, "I guess I just had a hard time letting go. I just never really thought about it anymore, the picture has been in there for such a long time already."
"Great" Annie said, smacking down the wallet on the counter.
"At least we know what the problem is. He obviously saw the picture when he opened the wallet to search for your address."
"Of course…" Caroline breathed, finally closing the wallet and sitting down on a barstool. "So…do you think he might feel something for me after all then?"
Annie stared at her friend a long moment before exclaiming, "What do you think?! Why would he turn down a job offer because of Del if he didn't?"
Caroline considered this for a moment, then jumped up from her barstool and dashed over to the door.
"Where are you going?" Annie queried as Caroline struggled to get her coat on while grabbing her purse and opening the door at the same time.
"To Macy's!" Caroline called back from the hallway. The wait for the elevator was too long, so she rushed off to the stairwell.
"Maybe I can still catch him…" she clarified before disappearing around the corner.
7:45 p.m.
Panting harshly, Caroline bounded up Macy's escalators, two steps at a time. She ignored the odd looks she received from the customers she passed. Her lungs burned and her heart pounded, the muscles in her calves aching as she forced herself to keep moving. She only had two more floors to go and she couldn't afford to miss him, how would she ever know where to find him?
When she finally reached the right floor, she ran out to the corner where Richard had been, slaloming around the unsuspecting shoppers.
She ground to a halt when she reached the corner, her kitten heels screeching across the marble floor.
The once busy and cheerful section of the store was deserted…
A lone cleaner passed by her as he swept up some pine needles that had scattered across the store floor. He glanced up as he noticed her standing there, her shoulders slumped in defeat, her breathing ragged. She looked as though she would burst into tears any moment. Leaning an elbow on his broom, he stopped sweeping for a moment to look at her.
"Are you okay, love?" he asked with an Australian accent.
Shaking her head, she forced the words out, her breathing not quite back to normal yet.
"I'm looking for a guy who was here this afternoon. Tall, blond, gloomy?"
The cleaner shook his head, his expression turning apologetic as he noted her disappointment.
"Sorry, I think they left already. But maybe you could try the employee exit?"
He was only halfway through his description of where she could find it when she ran off again, calling some words of gratitude over her shoulder as she made her way down the escalators again.
When she came out of the store, she stood still on the sidewalk, momentarily disoriented by the transition from the bright lights in the store to the darkness outside.
It was drizzling slightly, the tiny drops of rain and low temperature making the sidewalk dangerously slippery.
Not allowing herself to catch her breath, she began running again to the employee exit that was around the corner. She found herself crossing her fingers as she ran, hoping he would still be there.
The small heels she was wearing were too round and unsteady to run on and she carefully watched her feet, trying to avoid a nasty fall.
If only she'd taken the time to change shoes, she scolded herself. Her red scarf was certainly no luxury but she would've traded it for proper running shoes right now.
The same scarf muffled her exclamation of pain as she crashed into something. Her kitten heel instantly lost its grip on the slippery surface of the sidewalk and her foot shot out from underneath her, causing her to fall backwards. Before she had a chance to hit the ground, a strong hand grabbed her upper arm and pulled her back to her feet.
She looked up in surprise to find him grinning at her, his breath fogging the air as he spoke, "We've got to stop meeting like this."
"Richard…" she breathed, her own breath instantly visible. Glancing down at his outfit, she noted he'd probably just finished working since he was clad in a colorless outfit, similar to the one he'd worn yesterday afternoon. His cheeks and the tip of his nose had reddened from the cold, his face expressing surprise and concern as he studied her, waiting for her to clarify what she was doing here.
But she didn't explain anything. She simply hooked her fingers around the back of his neck and pulled his lips to hers, kissing him deeply.
She felt him tense up, then pull away.
"Caroline…" he said, visibly shaken from the kiss, "We shouldn't be doing this."
"I'm not with Del" she stated bluntly.
"You're not?"
"No, that's what you thought, wasn't it?"
When he nodded, she continued to explain, "That picture in my wallet was taken last year. Del and I split up a while ago. I just neglected to take the picture out and I didn't realize that you thought he was still my boyfriend."
Richard's relieved, almost happy face spoke volumes and she felt herself grinning back. Suddenly feeling a bit nervous, she decided to make her offer again, having no doubts that he'd say yes this time.
"So basically I'm here to offer you the job again…"
"That would be great" he accepted, studying her. She was shivering slightly and he wasn't sure if it was from the cold or nervousness. When she started fidgeting with a strand of hair, apparently trying to think of what to say next, he realized it was the latter and he found it absolutely adorable.
"So...if that's what you wanted to ask me, can I ask you something now?" he asked, grasping her attention again.
"Sure"
"May I kiss you?" he asked softly, pulling her into his arms.
She smiled, pushing the red scarf out of the way and wrapping her arms around him. He then bent down to kiss her, the winter cold forgotten as they instantly warmed to the feel of each other's lips.
The streets were slowly emptying, the temperature was dropping and Christmas was almost over. But neither cared, the moment was just perfect.
No mistletoe, no snow, and no more misconceptions…
The End