Winter Wonderland

twelve: christmas eve

"Have you got any plans for New Year's Eve?" I ask as I get out of the car.

"Um, no," Storie says, laughing. "Not much of a party animal, still. I'll be home, I'm sure."

"Any chance you want to come to mine?"

She raises her eyebrows. "Yours, as in Cincinnati?"

"Yeah. I'm going home tonight, and I'll be there until New Year's Day, at least. I'm not actually sure what my plans are for the new year." I've made enough to cover the next month's rent, but ahead of that? I've got no clue. All I've done is give myself another four weeks to figure my shit out.

"All right," Storie says. "Yeah. That'd be nice, actually. I'd love to."

"Really?" I expected her to say no; I figured she'd want to spend the time with her family rather than mine.

"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll be there."

"Awesome! I guess I'll see you in a week, then?"

"Sounds like forever," she says. She isn't wrong. "I can't wait."

The car behind us honks at Storie to move on. I step away from the door and shut it; she winds down the window to say goodbye, and then she's gone, and I drag myself into the garden center.

"Morning, Liam!" Kaylani's wearing an uncharacteristically bright smile.

"Hey, Kaylani. Why're you so happy?"

"It's Christmas Eve!"

I narrow my eyes at her. "You give off major grinch vibes. Are you a secret Christmas fan?"

She laughs and shakes her head. "Nah, not really. But Christmas Eve means it's the last day of the Winter Wonderland! Which means the last day in the costume!"

Oh, yeah. I knew I was forgetting something. This is my last day with a job.

"And you were finally growing on me," I joke, hanging up my coat in the break room. "What're you gonna do after the holidays then?"

She shrugs. "Back to being a regular old student," she says. "I go to Case Western. This is just a convenient winter job."

"Wait, how old are you?"

"Twenty-two," she says, like it's obvious. I almost laugh. This whole time I've been bossed around by someone two years younger than me. "What about you? Any plans, other than missing me catastrophically?"

"Not yet," I admit. "I think I'm probably gonna have to move in with my parents for a bit, see how things go. Unless you happen to know anyone looking to hire a business graduate for ... well, virtually anything?"

She pulls a face. "Sorry, Liam. I can't help you there. But, hey, I'll keep an ear out."

For once, she sounds sincere. "Thanks, Kaylani."

"You can call me Lani," she says.

I press a hand to my chest. "Really? On our last day working together?"

She rolls her eyes at me and pushes my shoulder. Her hat threatens to fall off her head, even though she has tied her Afro into a couple of tight buns and pinned the hat down between them. "I was thinking maybe we could hang out sometime outside of work? As, like, friends?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah! I know surprisingly few people my age in the city, and you're pretty cool," she says, "and I wanna keep up with the latest developments between you and complicated girl. So if you're down for an extra friend, th—"