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Whatever it was, I knew April had something to do with it, and now that I’d agreed to have my home featured on her show, I wanted it to be exactly right.
"Yep, that's perfect," I said, agreeing with the home decorator I’d hired in a rush (and at significant expense) to bring in enough furniture to fill my big house and make sure it all actually went together, something I could never have done on my own. Finding someone willing to come immediately and able to access existing stock in a variety of warehouses and showrooms throughout the mid-Atlantic in the short time frame I specified had not been easy. It had taken hours on the phone and it had been pricey. She'd brought a lot of pieces with her that very afternoon, but much more would be coming over the next week as she was able to get it delivered or go pick it up around the region.
On the heels of furniture being staged, a second decorator was hurrying around with a small team of high school girls who clearly worked for her, directing the hanging of mistletoe and erecting of second, third, and fourth Christmas trees around the house.
As the crews moved through his space, eventually I settled myself on the back porch with a beer, my ankle aching fiercely and my body reminding me that even staying on my feet for four hours was more exercise than I was used to at this point. I put my foot up and leaned back into the wicker chair, letting the chilly air wrap around me as I gazed down at the river flowing by below. After a bit, I picked up my phone and pulled up the number April had given me the night before. I took a deep breath and sent a text.
Callan: How is the filming going?
April: Good, I think. Very … Christmassy.
Callan: I'm sorry. And the chinchillas?
April: One is wearing a hat. The others r not cooperating as well. One ate most of the gingerbread village overnight.
Callan: Oh no!
April: It's like an apocalyptic village now. More my style.
Callan: Would you be up for dinner later? Here?
I gazed over my shoulder, wondering if the decorating madness would be done by dinner. Cormac had opted to keep the girls in daycare today, based on my description of the excitement involved with decorating, so I was on his own.
April: That would be great.
Callan: What time?
April: Seven?
Callan: Perfect. See you then.
I set the phone down on the low table at my side and let my mind wander as I watched the peaceful water drift along. Something warm was blooming inside me, and I forced myself to just let it happen. I wasn't going to overthink it.
What I did end up overthinking, however, was dinner. I knew April was fine with eating things in buckets, and that she wasn't a fan of Old Bay seasoning. Beyond that, I wasn't sure what she liked, so I decided that an assortment of options might work best. And while I was a decent cook, my skills were limited to grilling steaks, microwaving vegetables and making eggs and pancakes. Breakfast for dinner was a totally viable option, in my opinion, but I thought maybe you had to be further along in a relationship before you could play fast and loose with the definition of "dinner." April was not coming over expecting waffles. So I needed other options.
The decorating vans were just pulling out as the deliveries for dinner began arriving. Singletree might have been small, but it did have its fair share of restaurants once you ventured beyond the tiny town square. I had discovered a whole street full of restaurants just beyond the Target on the other side of the peninsula, and most were willing to deliver—for a price, of course.
A low-country boil was first—shrimp and sausage, corn and potatoes. I’d asked them to hold the Old Bay, which had earned me a snort, but as I opened the containers, I found they'd followed my directions. Next, I opened some Thai food—most people liked Pad Thai, I figured. When April pulled up the lane just after seven, I had a veritable smorgasbord laid out on my new dining room table, and the steaks were resting in the kitchen.
I buzzed open the gate and stood in the open door, the nearly frigid air rushing around me on the porch as she pulled up and stepped from the car.
"Hey!" she called up, bundled in a big coat that fell to her knees. She wore boots and gloves, and her cheeks were glowing pink in the lights shining off my very-decorated house. "Wow, look at this place. You've really outdone yourself!"
"I think the decorator I hired outdid myself," I corrected, waving her through the door. "It's gotten cold all of a sudden," I said, and then cringed at the way I’d defaulted to talking about the weather like a ninety-year old man.
I wasn't sure exactly how to greet April. I’d always been polished and suave, but now I felt muddled. I wanted to take her in my arms. Actually, I wanted to pick her up and carry her upstairs and keep here there for days. But that was certainly not the polite thing to do. Instead, I went in for a hug, just as April began removing her coat, so I ended up grabbing her arms instead of her body, and it was almost like I was trying to stop her from taking off her coat. I went in to kiss her cheek at the same time, almost as a second thought, and as she reacted to the arm grab, she ducked her head, and we ended up banging foreheads and then each stepping back in surprise.
"Oh. Um. Sorry," I said, crossing my arms over my chest in embarrassment.
"No, that was me. I'm eternally uncoordinated." The pink that had risen in her cheeks in the cold was turning a deeper red. "Nice to see you," she said, finally managing to take off her coat and handing it to me. I hung it in the hall closet as April gazed around, her eyes wide.
"Wow, you've really made a lot of progress here. Did your big moving truck just arrive?"
I cocked my head at her, so focused on her face I wasn’t understanding her words. It took a minute. "Oh, the furniture, you mean. No, I never had a lot to begin with. Most of what I had in San Diego I just left. This is all new. It was easier than trying to divide things after…" I trailed off, not wanting to taint this evening with memories of my ex. "I hired someone to find things and decorate so the place won't be totally empty when you come to film. I needed a lot. It's not done."
"It looks great, though," April said, wandering into the living room where an area rug had been laid over much of the hardwood, covered with a plush leather sofa, two chairs, a low coffee table and a bookcase in the corner. Stockings hung from the mantle over the fire, and an array of angels stood on the mantel around a photo of me and Cormac next to a woman and two tiny girls. "That's the girls' mother?"
"Yeah, Linda," I said.
