Chapter 14

Christmas party, year 1 

I looked around at the others already seated as I headed to an empty table near a window. Placing my back to the window, I had a perfect view of everyone else and hoped Alison would hurry up. She told me to get a good seat, and there was nothing better available. Looking around the room, I was surprised how beautifully decorated it was for the holidays. Glittery strings of tinsel around the walls caught the candlelight, making the room appear to glow.

One thing I really hate to do is decorate. I’m willing to carry stuff up from the basement and have someone else put it all about. If it were left up to me, you wouldn’t be able to tell the year was ending until you went out in the cold. Polly, and apparently most other people, loved that part of the season. Maybe when the kids are a few years older, they’ll help so I don’t have to.

Nell the red was the first to arrive at the table with Jimmy a close second.

“Why are we sitting here?” Nell complained, plopping down across from me. “It’s so far away from the food.”

I was about to tell her that sitting somewhere else was okay, but I didn’t want her to tell me off with a string of profanity. My ears were probably still red from the cold, hiding my blushing at the mere thought of her customary cursing.

“It gives a good view of the whole room from here,” I said, shrugging.

Jimmy had some trouble squeezing past Nell, and she let him know her dissatisfaction as she pulled in closer to the table. For a vegetarian, he was surprisingly large. Actually, everything about him seemed a little off. He claimed to be very athletic; however, it was not something you could guess by looking at him. Sitting to the left of Nell, he was one chair away from my right, and I do believe he smelled a little ripe.

“You have any races coming up?” I asked as he got comfortable.

Blowing out a big breath and fanning himself, he shook his head. “Nothing until the spring. I’ll start doing some training in mid-January to get myself back in running shape.”

Nell smirked. “Is that so?”

“Sure, I don’t want to hurt myself.” He reached for the pitcher and poured himself a glass of water. “Anyone want any?”

After we declined, he gulped down the first and gave himself a refill.

“Did either of you see Alison?” I asked while watching the rest of the company fill up the tables.

“She was talking to Mr. Manor about something, but she did say she would be here as soon as possible,” Jimmy said, looking around the room. “This hotel is very nice.”

“It’s not even open yet,” Nell added.

“I know. Isn’t that pretty cool that we get to have a party here?”

I was impressed, but Nell pursed her lips and stared at her nails.

“There she is,” he said, waving to Alison.

For the last several months, I have hardly spent any time with Alison. When she hired Jimmy, they wouldn’t give her any more staff but were willing to allow some of Nell’s time to be used for support. It never seems to be a good idea for an employee to split their time between execs, but they keep doing it. So most of the time it’s Nell whom I help with the association’s desktop work.

It took a lot for Alison to tell me something happened to her, and now it has drastically altered our relationship. Honestly, I don’t know what to say to her, and I know she looks at me like I’m thinking she’s completely broken. We haven’t hung out after work either. Something has to change because I still have the same feelings for her.

“Hello, everyone,” she said, sitting in the chair to my left.

We all said our welcomes and waited to see if she had anything else to say.

“What’s everyone staring at?” she demanded.

“You’re usually the one with interesting things to say,” I admitted.

“Is that so?” Alison said, locking eyes with me. “I wouldn’t know that, given the situation.”

I’m not sure what had her upset, but I was not about to cause a scene. “How about we go look around at the decorations?” I said, standing.

Jimmy started to stand too, but Nell pulled him back into his seat.

“Doesn’t that sound like a good idea?”

Alison looked at Nell, who gave her a nod that it was the right thing to do. “Sure, Derrick, I’ll spend time with you. What’s the worst that could happen?”

She stood and walked toward an enormous Christmas tree that was lit brighter than the entire room. It was away from most of the others, so I followed her quickly. We both stood there, looking at it with our backs to the crowd.

“Are you okay?” I asked while we pretended to admire the scene.

“All I want is to start again,” she said, touching the tree.

“Same here. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to act.”

“I feel so alone inside. The only people that know about what I told you are you and my mother. She thinks it’s her responsibility to now overprotect me, and you, you disappeared from my life.” Alison wiped her eyes and turned to me. “Do you know what that did to me?”

“I don’t know what to say except maybe how sorry I am.” I leaned closer. “Can you forgive me?”

She smiled while stepping on my foot. “I expect you to be my knight in shining armor from now on, understood?”

I managed a grimace and nod that ended the pressure.

“You need to work on your friendship skills.”

I stood up and backed up a step. “I told you I’m socially stunted. Be honest, did you think I would properly handle such a bombshell like that?”

She laughed. “You are an idiot. We better get back before people start talking.”

We took a stroll by a couple of tables that had gifts on them.

“What’s all that?” I wondered aloud. “Is it for us?” I didn’t see any tags on the boxes.

“Probably.” She leaned closer and picked up a few. “Feels like shirts and towels.”

“How can you tell by touching them like that?” I poked one, and it felt solid. “This could be anything.” There were envelopes with city names on the front. “Do you think they are trips or something?” It would be really nice to go to some of the places.

“Let’s hope so. How about we get some food and sit down again?”

I followed Alison to the buffet line and picked up an empty plate. There were little signs next to all the dishes, but I still had no idea what they were serving. Each item had something about it that made me balk at trying it.

“You’re almost through the line, and your plate is still empty?” she asked, concerned.

“I don’t want to take something and then not eat it. I’ll eat some rolls. They can’t mess that up.” I picked up two tiny ones and balanced them on the plate.

There was a big bowl of salad, and I reached for the tongs. The whole thing looked like someone tossed in weed clippings and added a pungent vinegar mix on top.

“Is this supposed to be lettuce?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I’ve never seen anything like this before, honest.”

“Do you trust me?”

I wanted to make it through the night with no more toes getting crushed. “You have to ask?”

“You are getting better at answering me correctly.” She smiled.

She took the tongs from my hand, grabbed a small bowl, and filled it. There was some sort of cheese that she piled on before handing it to me. “You will like this if you stop being so stupid. I will never steer you wrong with food.”

I held it up to my nose and faked a wide smile.

We headed back to our table and found that Cedar and Manor had joined us.

“I hope you don’t mind,” W.C. said, enjoying a piled plate of food. “Is that all you’re going to eat?” he asked, reaching for a glass of yellow liquid with bubbles on the top.

“I might go back for another bowl of salad if it’s as good as its reputation,” I said, pulling out Alison’s chair.

CS gave me a look and then a quick smile. “You’ll find something you like eventually,” she said, looking at Alison. “No need to rush the first dish you see.”

Alison sat down and pulled in her chair. “He’s picky but has good taste. No one would want him to wait too long to choose. He might end up with nothing.”

I’m pretty sure those two had stopped talking about food.

I sat down and started on the salad. Surprisingly, it was tart and tangy, but the cheese brought the flavors together. “Wow, that is pretty good.”

Everyone looked at me happily as I shoved the last bit in my mouth. A few more yummy noises escaped me uncontrollably.

“Who needs lettuce when you’ve got…” I stopped and looked at Alison. “What’s this called?”

“Arugula. You can call it salad rocket, if that makes it sound better.” She took the pitcher and poured herself a glass and then took mine and filled it too. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Hey”—I leaned forward—“what’s with all those presents?” I said quietly.

WC put another big forkful into his mouth and pointed to CS. “Her idea.”

“Are they for us?” I asked impatiently.

“Some of them. You’ll have to wait and see.”

I could tell my enthusiasm made her happy.

“I am sure you’ll be pleased.”

We passed the meal, talking about what our plans were for the holidays. Most people were going somewhere, like relatives or friends. I did not have any real plans except to hang out with my sister and kids. Saving my vacation allowed me to take off between Christmas and New Year’s Day. My plan sounded like a good idea since a lot of other employees took that week off too.

I was surprised at how much alcohol everyone was consuming, but most people balanced it with keeping their stomachs full. On occasion, someone would stop by the table to chat, and it was obvious they were feeling no pain. Some people’s teeth were almost purple; their eyes were slightly glazed, making red the preferred color for cheeks and noses. I enjoyed it all because when guards were down, information flowed more freely.

Ms. Cedar stood up and walked to a podium near the front. She motioned for everyone to settle down and pay attention. “I’d like to thank everyone for coming out to our holiday party. The coming weeks are busy for all of us, so it’s good to see everyone could carve out a few hours.”

Mr. Manor stood, and all eyes focused on him. “Here, here,” he said, holding a glass high. “Happy holidays.”

Everyone grabbed a drink and matched the sentiment. He sat down again among cheers and claps.

“Some of you have asked me what was going on with all the presents on those tables,” Ms. Cedar said, pointing. “Well, you’ve all been good this year, so along with our hotel partner, we have a little something for everyone.” Producing a big festive hat from the podium, she held it up for all to see. “When I call your name, please quickly come up and take one gift. If you touch it, you take it.”

I watched as nearly all the employees were called one by one. Once someone opened up one of the envelopes with hotel stays in them, they disappeared quickly. By the time it was my turn, there were slim pickings. Alison was right about the one containing a shirt because that is what I picked. A collared shirt with the hotel’s logo on the short sleeve cuff was my choice. As long as I could wear it to work, I didn’t mind.

“I got a shirt,” I said, holding it up for the table to see.

Nell held up the same one, and I could see her lips forming one of her favorite words.

When all the gifts were gone, Ms. Cedar put on the hat. “I just wanted to let everyone know that there will be some big changes happening in the beginning of next year.”

That statement got everyone’s attention.

“Ever since our in-work retreat, a few of us have been working diligently to come up with a plan to replace our aging computer system and programs. I’m happy to announce we will be switching in the next few months.”

I was one of the people she was referring to, and I was not prepared when she asked me to stand up and say a few words. All eyes were on me as I stood up and looked over the crowd. Jumping through the window seemed preferable, but the glass was probably too thick. When I felt Alison tap my foot, I looked at her, and that gave me a boost of confidence.

“Doing something new is never easy, but we all know it’s time. We had a lot to consider, and making a decision like this took a combined effort. Is there anything specific you want me to mention?” I asked, looking at Cedar and Manor.

Mr. Manor stood up. “The boy is being modest. We have spent more than a considerable amount of time on this and will soon put out a lot of money too. Our company’s future depends on constantly moving forward. I hope you will all see this as an opportunity to better serve our associations.” He sat down, and I followed suit quickly.

“Well, feel free to fill up your plates several more times and enjoy the beautiful surroundings,” Ms. Cedar said before returning to the table.

“I had no idea you wanted me to say something,” I apologized.

“You are better when you wing it. It comes better from your heart than the head,” she said, smiling.

We all spent the next hour or so eating all kinds of desserts that came out after the gift giving.

“Do you want to get out of here and talk?” Alison said quietly to me.

“Sure, looks like others have already left,” I answered. I stood up and said my good-byes to those still at the table. “I’ll see everyone tomorrow, bright and early.”

Alison did the same, and we walked to the front to get our coats.

“Did you have somewhere in mind?”

“It’s a beautiful night. How about we just go for a walk?” She grabbed my arm tightly, and we left the hotel.

read Chapter 15