Christmas in Sawyer Falls (7 page)

“You got that vibe, too, huh? I don’t even know her that well.”

Just then we heard Molly’s voice addressing all the guests from a microphone across the room. “Ok, it’s the moment I know everyone’s been waiting for-Christmas Karaoke! “ She gestured to the karaoke machine next to her like she was a game show hostess. “Time to share that hidden talent, or even for those of us that have no talent, to just let our hair down and have some fun.”

She held up a basket full of small, folded cards and said, “I have all of your names here in this basket. We’ll start with volunteers and then we’ll be drawing names!” The room filled with laughter mixed with groans.  A petite girl with strawberry blond hair took the mike first and belted out
Rockin
Around
the Christmas Tree in a surprisingly powerful voice for someone so small. She’d be a tough act to follow. 

Tony had refilled my eggnog and was about to say something to me when I heard Grant’s voice on the microphone. I looked over and saw that Grant had pulled Sabrina with him in front of the machine. The last thing I wanted was to watch those two lovebirds singing a Christmas duet. 

He put his arm around her and she smiled like a blushing schoolgirl. I wondered if she was embarrassed to be up there; that didn’t seem like her at all. She was the type of girl who relished all eyes on her. She thrived on being the center of attention. I wondered what the act was for.

I didn’t have to wait long to find out the answer to that question. They weren’t singing at all. Grant spoke into the microphone, just a hint of nervousness in his voice. His blue eyes were sparkling as he spoke into the mike. “I’m sorry to disappoint anyone who’s expecting me to sing. And anyone who has actually heard me sing before is probably relieved.”

Laughter filled the air and he waited a bit before continuing. “But I have an announcement that I wanted to make tonight and this seemed like the perfect opportunity for it.”

Announcement?
  I didn’t have a good feeling about this. My heart was sinking and I could feel a lump growing in my throat. I hope it wasn’t going to be the kind of ‘announcement’ I was thinking of.  Maybe he was going to announce
that he was responsible for that delicious taco dip in the kitchen or that he was going to be running a special Christmas sale at the store. Oh please, let it be something like that.

But my worst fears were confirmed as he continued his speech. “I know that I haven’t had the chance to introduce Sabrina to everyone yet. So, for those who haven’t met her, I’d like to introduce to you to the future Mrs. Harris, my
fiancé
, Sabrina Hartley. We’ve made it official and will be getting married this summer.” Sabrina flashed her ring to the crowd as he spoke. So that was what she was up to with the shy, innocent act. She hadn’t been wearing the ring when she put her hands over his eyes just a little while ago-I know I would have noticed that. She must have been saving it just for this moment.

There were claps and cheers filling the room as he leaned down to kiss her.  There were also a few looks of confusion, especially among the girls in the party and those who knew Grant well. It wasn’t like him to rush into marriage with someone he’d only seen on and off, especially someone who went through men
like
candy. I caught Molly’s eye from across the room and she look stunned. She mouthed, “I had no idea!” and I just nodded, blinking back tears.

I remembered back to when I was getting ready for the party. How excited I had been, hoping this would be my night to maybe rekindle a flame that had been there, once, long ago. He had felt it once, I thought. The night was definitely not going as I had planned. I wished I was anywhere but there, at that party. My
dream of ever having Grant Harris notice
me as more than a friend was over. He belonged to someone else. The realization of it pierced me like a sharp knife in the stomach. I felt sick. I realized that I shouldn’t have had all that eggnog.  I felt my knees getting weak so I sat down in a chair nearby. Tony followed me, asking if I was ok. I just nodded. I felt like I couldn’t speak or I’d start to cry.

How was I going to endure this
engagement.
It meant the end of all my hopes for a relationship with Grant.  I needed to get myself
together,
I couldn’t wallow like this in public. I was crazy to have had this crush for so long, this was probably the best thing to happen, actually. I knew that I needed to move on with my life.  I made the decision right there that I was going to do something big, something drastic.

A move.
Yes! That’s it! That’s exactly what I needed. To get out of Sawyer Falls. Start fresh. After all, I didn’t have anything tying me down here. My parents had moved to Florida and my older brother lived in Seattle. I had been planning on giving up my library job once I went to grad school and I wasn’t getting any younger.  This was going to be fun.
But where?
Florida with my parents?
The humidity would show no mercy to my hair. Seattle? The weather there was no better for my hair with all the rainy days. But maybe planning where you’ll live based on how the weather treats your hair isn’t the best strategy. 

Suddenly I was hit with a spark of inspiration. San Diego! My roommate from college, Katie, had moved there after graduation and was always begging me to go out there for a visit. Right on the ocean, with plenty of options for grad school nearby, a good friend to help me learn my way around the city. Perfect!

It would definitely be a big change from Sawyer Falls, but hopefully it would help me to let go of the hope I’d been grasping for the last six years of a future with Grant Harris. I should have done this a long time ago.

I was suddenly painfully aware that Tony had been by my side this whole time that I had been mentally planning my future. He hadn’t been saying anything. I wondered what he must have thought of me.  I apologized for my lack of conversation and told him my stomach wasn’t feeling the best, probably from too much eggnog. That was
true,
my stomach was tied up in knots still. He said he was going to go to the kitchen to see if he could get me some ginger ale.

I watched him walk away and realized what a gentleman he was.  There were a lot of great guys out there, I told myself. I wondered how many I had let slip through my fingers. I felt bad for every guy I dated in college because no one ever matched up to Grant. Now, I’d need to be more open to new relationships. I deserved to be happy in life and find someone to spend my life with, just as Grant had done.

Molly saw me alone and came to sit by me. She gave me a sympathetic smile and patted my knee. “Sorry, Court, I really had no idea he was going to spring that on us. Maybe she’s pregnant.” Then she looked guilty. “That’s not very nice of me is
it.
Especially to someone who will soon be my family. I always thought someday maybe you and I would be cousins.”

“That would have been
nice,
I’m not going to lie. I would have really liked that.” I realized I needed to change the subject before I started crying. “I can’t
believe  I
spent $200 for highlights. What was I thinking?”

“Are you kidding? They look gorgeous! The blond pieces really make your beautiful green eyes pop. And I don’t think it’s been wasted at all. There have been plenty of men giving you a second look, tonight, if you would have taken notice. Especially Tony, I can tell he really likes you. What do you think of him?”

“He seems like a great guy. He’s actually getting some ginger ale to soothe my stomach right now, isn’t that sweet?”

As if on cue, Tony came up behind us with a red plastic cup of ginger ale. Molly and I stood up and I thanked him. I was feeling a little better already. That is, until I saw Molly look behind me as the color in her face drained.  I turned around to see the Grant and Sabrina coming up to us.

Molly’s color returned as quickly as it drained and she regained her composure as the consummate hostess. She smiled at Grant. “I was wondering what you had planned when I saw you head for the mike, singing isn’t your thing.” She laughed as she gave him a hug. “I think you surprised everyone here, including me. Congratulations!” 

Then she turned to Sabrina and offered congratulations to her as well, admiring her ring. I wanted to have the grace and courtesy that Molly possessed, I really did. But I just stood there, smiling like an idiot. I finally found my tongue.  “Congratulations to you both,” I said. Grant leaned in to hug me but I stopped him by holding out my hand. He shook it and then shook Tony’s waiting hand as well.

“So, you work in a library?” Sabrina asked out of the blue, looking directly at me.  She said the word library in a condescending and slightly disgusted tone, like working in a library was the equivalent of running a puppy mill.

I held my head high and answered, “Yes, I do for now. I love working at the library, it’s a great job, but I won’t be there much longer. I’m moving soon and starting grad school.”  Well, technically I haven’t even applied to any grad schools there yet, but I would be soon enough.

I saw Molly raise an eyebrow at me. “You’re moving?”

“Yes, I was actually going to tell you tonight, but didn’t get a chance yet.”

“Where are you moving to?” Grant asked me.

“San Diego. My roommate from college lives there and keeps telling me how great it is. I think there’d be lots of opportunities there.” I didn’t go into detail, letting Grant wonder exactly what I’d meant by the word ‘opportunities’.

“Well that’s two surprises for me tonight. I hope there won’t be any more because I don’t think my brain can take it.” Molly smiled at me but her eyes told me that she knew what I was up to. She knew me too well.

Grant looked like he had been taken by surprise. “I can’t believe you’re moving,” he said. “I remember you saying how much you loved Sawyer Falls and that you could picture settling down here, raising a family.”

“Well, maybe someday I’ll do just that, but for right now, I really need a change.” I looked in his blue eyes while reminding myself that he was taken, he belongs to someone else.

Again, our conversation was cut short by a hand. This time, it was a big, masculine hand that clapped him on the shoulder. Grant turned around to find an old high school buddy congratulating him and handing him a drink, drawing him away to a group of his old football friends, leaving Sabrina with us. She was about to turn around to follow him but turned back to us, addressing me.

“I can tell a lot about people by what they wear. It’s just a gift I have. I would have guessed you were a librarian even before anyone told me.  It fits you perfectly, really.
Bookish, uptight, an old maid librarian.
Good luck with your move.” Now that she didn’t have Grant right next to her, the venom came out.  She turned around and flounced away before I could say anything. I looked from Molly to Tony, embarrassed.

“Ooh, she is just evil! And after we just congratulated her!” Molly was looking after Sabrina with a scowl.

“Don’t listen to anything she said,” Tony said, reassuring me. “You’re the best looking girl here. She’s just jealous. Come on, let’s have some fun!  Do you like to sing?”

Before I could answer him, he’d grabbed my hand and led me halfway to the karaoke corner.  I still wasn’t feeling the best but I appreciated his trying to get me to have some fun. 

“Do you sing?” he asked again as he started looking for a good song.

“Sure, I sing. What did you have in mind?”

“Something good.
We’ll show her you can let your hair down; you’re no uptight librarian.”

I smiled. He didn’t know me very well. There was probably more truth in Sabrina’s words than I would have liked to admit.

“How about Jingle Bell Rock?”

“Sounds great!”

He handed me a second mike and I looked out into the crowd, feeling a little self-conscious. I looked down at the words running across the screen, waiting for the music to start. More people started gathering around us. I was getting warm.  The music started and I started singing but then stopped. I couldn’t read the lyrics any more, it was all a blur on the screen, making me dizzy trying to read it. I looked up at all the faces, spinning, trying to focus on one face to make it stop. I saw Molly, Grant,
Sabrina,
the faces were going by too fast, all looking at me.

The last thing I heard before I fainted was Tony asking me if I was alright.

The next thing I was aware of when I woke up was that I was now on the couch and there were many faces still around me, peering down at me. At least they weren’t spinning any more.

“What happened?”

“You fainted,” Molly said.

“Oh no, I’m so sorry.”

Everyone laughed as if I’d said something funny.

“Don’t be sorry, we’re just glad you’re ok. I thought maybe you were trying to get out of our duet,” Tony said.

Once people realized that I was ok, they slowly moved back to other areas of the party, much to my relief. I felt humiliated. I think I’d had enough fun for one night. I told Molly I was going to head home.

“Are you sure, Court? Maybe you should just rest here for a little while, to make sure you’re ok. I’d hate for you to faint again while you were driving.”