Merry's Christmas: A Love Story (12 page)

As Daniel drew Merry next to him, the
warmth of his nearness went all through her.

“I’m afraid you’ll need to lead,” he
confessed.

“That’s okay,” Merry answered. “Just take
it when you’re ready. I’ll sense it.”

Thousands of lights illuminated as Merry
and Daniel began to waltz around the patio. They were tentative at first, but
before long they had lost themselves in the moment.

♥    ♥    ♥

Hours after
Merry had left for the diner, Daniel sat at his desk, half paying the bills and
half deep in thought. The decision about what to get Catherine for Christmas
weighed heavily on his mind. She was a woman who already had everything, he
thought, everything that money could buy.

In the five months since he’d met
Catherine, she hadn’t once asked him for anything beyond the pleasure of his
company. There’d been no occasion for gifts yet, no birthdays to pass, nor any
material need. What he’d found they had in common was a deeper longing, a
desire for companionship.

It wasn’t that attraction hadn’t played a
role, but there was a genuine quality beneath Catherine’s refined beauty,
something of substance that had captured his attention. Perhaps it had been
their intersecting career paths that had drawn them together; perhaps it was
her sparkling intellect. But whatever it was, it had made him believe he could
love again. For years, he had thought of no other woman than the wife he’d
lost. Yet, from the moment Catherine had come into his life, something had been
reawakened.

The ringing phone brought Daniel out of
his reverie. He could see from his Caller ID that it was Catherine. Daniel
picked up. “I was just thinking of you.”

“Really?” Catherine replied. “Because I
was just talking about you. With Daddy. I’m afraid the cat’s out of the bag.”

“And which cat would that be?”

Catherine paused coyly. “Let’s just say,
he approves. Highly.”

Daniel listened with interest. “Oh?”

“He said...so many things,” Catherine
went on. “How he trusts you, that you’re a man of your word—and what else—ah,
yes, that a man of your particular ‘intentions’ toward me would be most welcome
to, let’s say, advance within the Strong family. Banking and otherwise.”

Though, as usual, the meaning of
Catherine’s words wasn’t conclusive on the surface, her subtext rang through
loud and clear to Daniel. Indeed, he was a man of his word. He had expressed
his sincere intentions to Catherine. She had voiced his stated interest to her
father, his boss, and the idea had met with the soon-retiring bank president’s
resounding endorsement.

Though they chatted on about the minutia
of the day, Daniel rocked back in his chair, reflecting on the big picture of
their lives. Every romance comes to a crossroads, he realized, a pivotal point
of decision. As he listened to the happiness in Catherine’s voice, he knew
that—one way or another—the
 
time had
come.
     

♥    ♥    ♥

At the Downtown
Diner, Merry counted tips as Kiki closed out the register. It had been a good
night.

“And how long did this dancing lesson go
on?” Kiki inquired.

“Two, three minutes,” Merry smiled. “Even
though it still doesn’t seem like he wants to take Catherine to that Ball.
Afterward, he said he might go another way with her gift.”

Kiki closed the cash drawer. “So, next,
float something more businessy for her. See it he latches onto that. Any more
love notes yet?”

“Just the one I’m working on,” Merry
glowed. “I’ll leave it in the drawer tomorrow night.”

Just then, Merry’s cell phone rang. To
her delight, a look at the screen confirmed that it was Daniel. Purposefully,
she walked away from Arthur’s earshot to answer. “Hey, Daniel...all right...Uh-huh...Yeah.
I got it...Sure. See you there.” With that, Merry hung up. She returned
wordlessly and started to wipe the counter, covering her excitement as much as
she could.

“Oh, no,” Kiki insisted. “No, no. What
did he say?”

Merry played it down. “No biggie.”

Kiki put on her sassy-pants voice. “Then
why your eyes popping half out your head?”

Merry glanced to the kitchen to see if
Arthur was listening. He was. Caught, Arthur resumed cleaning the grill.

Under her breath, Merry whispered to
Kiki. “He just... The things he says... This could be going somewhere.”

Kiki reared back, thrilled. “You have got
it bad.”

“I’m supposed to meet him downtown at
noon tomorrow,” Merry enthused. “He wants to take me shopping.”

Kiki mouth dropped open. “He. Mr. Ritzy Bank
man, taking you shopping? That’s what he’s paying you to do!”

Merry leaned in. “Which is why I think it
has nothing to do with the job and everything to do with what he said is
happening between us.”

“Where’s he taking you?” Kiki probed.

“I dunno,” Merry replied. “He just said
it’d be our secret till Christmas.”

Long after her normal bedtime, Merry sat,
curled up on her bed, writing a draft of a note. Rudy purred lazily at her
side.

“Okay, how does this sound, Rudy?” Merry
held the paper up and read aloud: “
Dearest Daniel
...” She stopped,
hesitant about her choice. “Should I say dearest? He did. Maybe I... Ah, I
know...” Merry scribbled in a change, then resumed the recitation:

My dear
Daniel,

I can hardly
even write those words or wrap my head around the idea that this could possibly
be. But it is, and you are, all part of the wonder that is this Christmas.
You’ve been so brave to take the lead, to say so much more than I’ve been able
to, but now I want you to see my answer plainly—right here, in my hand. My
heart is yours, Daniel.

Merry stroked Rudy’s back. “That’s it,
boy, isn’t it?” Her eyes shining with hope, she reached for a small shopping
bag and pulled out a tiny, wind-up kangaroo. “Look what I found. It’s a hopper.
Like me,” she explained to Rudy. “I’m saving this for his Christmas.”
 
Merry set the toy aside and gazed
contentedly at her note to Daniel. “This, he’ll get tomorrow.”

nine
 

E
xcited
at the prospect of shopping with Daniel, Merry had arrived early. As she sat
waiting on a bench, she looked around at the uptown retail district. There were
ritzy boutiques, high-end eateries, and posh gift shops that the well-to-do
frequented. It was so far out of Merry’s economic stratum that she’d never even
window-shopped there before. She’d always been far more of a discount store
type, but this was the place where Daniel had invited her to meet him, just a
few blocks from Strong Bank & Trust.

Mid-day traffic rumbled by as Merry read
over her card to Daniel, confirming to herself that she’d said everything she
wanted so much to say to him. She reminded herself that, since he had sent her
two notes, the ball was in her court to reply.

Suddenly, Daniel rounded the corner on
foot. Merry quickly stowed her note for later, gathered her bags, and rose to
greet him.

“There you are,” Daniel called out.
“Sorry I’m a little late, but—”

“No, it’s fine,” Merry insisted, showing
him one of her parcels. “I just picked up a few doodads at the market along the
way.”

Daniel beamed at Merry. It seemed to her
that he was every bit as energized about the excursion as she was.

“So, here we are,” he acknowledged.

Merry nodded. “Yes. Here we are.”

“You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a bit
nervous about this,” Daniel started. “I guess we haven’t known each other that
long. I mean, it feels like we practically just met, but we’re not kids anymore
and... Well, sometimes you just have to go for it.”

Merry took Daniel’s words to heart. It
was true that they hadn’t known each other very long, but something undeniable
was growing between them. She leaned toward him reassuringly. “You do have to
go for it sometimes, and—don’t you think surprises, coming right out of the
blue—isn’t that the best part of Christmas?”

“It is,” Daniel agreed. “But in this
case, at least everyone else will be surprised and...I just thought it would be
better if you were with me. If you could tell me what you like...that would
really help take the worries out of choosing.” Daniel gestured toward the
corner.

As Merry turned, he briefly guided her
with a genteel hand on her back. It had just been a momentary brush, but the
memory of his touch lingered. Even through her woolen coat, it had warmed her
through and through.

As Daniel’s destination became clear,
Merry’s heart skipped a beat. This was to be no casual gift, she realized.
Daniel planned to shop with her for jewelry.

Everything inside the opulent jewelry
store glimmered. Precious gemstones set in gold and platinum rested on velvet
inside gleaming glass cases. Fine silver services were polished to perfection.
Merry looked around, overwhelmed as Daniel approached a dark-suited
salesperson. Clearly, only the wealthy frequented this place.

“That one. There—first from the left on
the second row,” Daniel directed.

The salesperson bowed his head
respectfully as he unlocked the case. “Excellent, Sir. Just a moment.”

Daniel motioned Merry over as the
salesperson pulled out an exquisite ring and handed it to Daniel. A princess
cut diamond flanked by radiant sapphires shone in an elegant platinum setting.
“I saw this yesterday afternoon,” Daniel said, “And I just had to be sure.”

Merry watched, stunned as Daniel held the
ring up toward the plate glass window. Prisms of light danced on the many
facets of the diamond. Merry swallowed hard. Had it been a bracelet or
earrings, she might have reacted differently, but clearly, this was an
engagement ring.

Despite everything that seemed to have
been happening between them, and as much as Merry wished she could believe
otherwise, something told her that she must have completely misunderstood. It
was far too much, and far too soon. Merry’s heart sank as she realized the
crushing truth:

This gift was for Catherine.

With everything in her, Merry fought the
tears that threatened. The last thing she wanted Daniel to see was how
distraught she was, or how mortified she felt at having read more into his
notes than he seemed to have intended.

“Well... What do you think? Will she like
it?” Daniel asked. He handed the ring to Merry for a closer look.

Merry gazed at the ring, doing her best
to form a response, to find some honest way to be happy for him. She couldn’t
say how broken-hearted she was. She couldn’t speak to his now-obvious interest
in Catherine. She could only focus her answer on the ring itself. “Daniel,
it’s...it’s completely stunning. She’ll love it,” Merry said. “It’s the most
beautiful ring I’ve ever seen.”

“Would you mind trying it on for her?”
Daniel inquired.

Reflexively, Merry handed the ring back
to Daniel. “No... No, I couldn’t. “

“Sure. That’s why I called you,” Daniel
protested. “I’m dying to see how it would look.”

Before she could stop him, Daniel took
her left hand in his. He slid the ring onto Merry’s finger. It was almost more
than she could bear. Merry gazed at the ring on her hand, both dazzled and
devastated. “We’ll probably have to get it sized,” she noted.

“It fits you amazingly,” Daniel observed.
“I wonder how close you are to Catherine’s size.”

Through her pain, Merry willed a
bittersweet smile. “I don’t know,” she said. “My hand versus Catherine’s—it
probably doesn’t compare.”

Merry approached Joan’s pottery shop on
foot, barely holding it together. She had no idea who else to turn to at that
moment, no one who would understand like Daniel’s mother.

As she opened the door, she saw Joan,
gliding through a class of senior women as they beat the air bubbles out of
balls of clay, slamming them against a canvas-covered table. Merry’s eyes
brimmed at just the sight of Joan. “Could I come in?”