Finding You At Christmas

Dinner At Nancy's

Harper’s POV

   After talking with Caleb and Peter by the meat counter I quickly hurried off to find Nancy and Kevin in the store. I found them in the frozen foods section looking through the coolers. I felt like I had walked around for an hour looking for them.  

   “What took you so long,” Nancy asks.

   “I ran into some people I know,” I breathed out. 

   “Oh yeah? Is that why your face is so red?”

   I started laughing then said, “I’ll tell you about it in the car.” 

   With that, we finished getting what we needed then hurry to the cash register to check out and leave. It takes us no time and we are loaded up in the car with the groceries headed back to Nancy’s house for dinner. 

   “Ok, so what had your face so red in the store,” Nancy asks from the front seat.

   “I ran into two of the guys from Joel’s old unit. They had no idea what happened to him. I’m meeting up with them and some of the others for drinks later tonight. I had no idea they had moved here to Weslaco.”

   “Alright, so what about all that made your face turn bright red,” Nancy asks confused. 

   “This one guy has never given me a hug before today or touched me for that matter. Also, he asked for my number so we could grab drinks. Not to mention he’s hot as hell, but a complete ass.”

   “Baby, all men are asses,” Nancy says simply. 

   “That’s fair. Also, the last time I talked to him he was married,” I tell her. 

   “Well, then find out if he’s still married.”

   “All I’m doing is going for a drink, not going to get drunk then sleep with him,” I say, a little astonished by her. 

   “That may be but still. I would find out,” she tells me coolly. 

   “What will that do,” I ask.

   “Maybe there's a reason y’all bumped into one another after so long, and here of all places,” she simply says. 

   I don’t say anything else but sit there and think about what she has said. She might have a point. I mean, Caleb is attractive but is he really for me? 

   Soon we are back at her house and unloading the car. As I help Kevin put the groceries away Nancy starts cooking dinner. Her cooking always smells so heavenly. Once I’m done helping Kevin with the groceries I sit at the bar in the kitchen and chat with Nancy. 

   I hear my phone’s text tone go off in my pocket and grab it out. It was Archer texting me to make sure I had arrived safely at my destination. Him and Olivia worried about me constantly, and I was always reminding them that I was the parent and I was supposed to be the one worried about them. They didn’t need to grow up before it was time for them too. They needed to be kids for as long as possible. 

   I answer my texts with the kids then go back to chatting with Nancy while she cooks. I love to cook just as much as she does and not to toot my own horn, but I know how to cook. I would offer her help but the last time I did she chased me out of the kitchen with a wooden spoon. She was more like a mother than my mother was. 

   When dinner is ready, I leave my phone on the bar counter and sit with everyone at the table. Nancy has this strict rule of when we are at the table no phones and no TV. Dinner is family time. I took the idea and used it at my house also. It was a great way to bond with the people you loved over food. It was supposed to be an enjoyable experience. 

   As we ate everyone talked about things they would do in the New Year. Jodi was looking to get a head start on finishing his college degree early. He was studying to be a pharmacist. Elena was just looking to beat her old track records from this past school year. She’s a great runner and I’m sure she would reach her goal. 

   Nancy was working to increase knowledge to the public about Leukemia and Lymphoma. She was very active with hospitals and foundations when it came to Leukemia and Lymphoma. She worked with some non-profit organizations all over the country. She had the biggest heart of anyone I knew. 

   Kevin was still working in real estate and was giving himself a goal to sell or refurbish one house a month. He loved what he did.  

   Then they asked me what I was going to do in the new year. I sat there and thought for a moment. 

   “I want to get my third Airbnb opened and have at least one more book written.”

   Once dinner is done we all help clean up the table and do dishes. Halfway through helping with dishes my phone’s text tone goes off again. I pick it up off the counter and see it’s a number I don’t have in my phone. I opened the message to read it. 

   “Hey, it’s Harrison.”

   “Hey.”

   “If you’re still interested in a drink, we are meeting at Brews N Cues Sports Bar.”

   “Yeah, I'll be there. What time?”

   “In an hour.” 

   “Perfect. See y’all then.”

   I close my phone after saving his number and go back to helping with the dishes. Once everything was cleaned, I said my farewells to everyone. Letting them know I would see them tomorrow for a day of fun. 

   I get in my vehicle and head to my Airbnb I rented here for the week. Once I get there I go knock on the main house door to check-in. The owner Tony greets me with a smile then shows me to the guest house they rent out. 

   He hands me the key and leaves me to my business once it’s unlocked. It’s a simple guest house with nice furniture. The walls are gray and so is the carpet. The kitchen is stocked with cooking utensils and is separated from the living room/ bedroom. Yes, the bedroom and living room is all in one room. That’s normal for a single bedroom Airbnbs. The bathroom is small, but for one person on vacation that won't be here constantly this works nicely.  

   I head back to my vehicle after looking around the guest house to get my bag of clothing and bathroom amenities. I quickly hang my clothes in the tiny closet so they don’t get wrinkled. I then go back to my vehicle to get the cooler I brought with simple store items I would need and want during my stay. I had breakfast items, snacks that I liked and drinks I enjoyed. 

   Once I was done I looked at the time and noticed it had been an hour already. I sat down in a chair and opened google on my phone, typed in Brews N Cues Sports Bar in the search bar to get the address. Once it had popped up I grabbed the key to the guest house and walked out, making sure to lock the room up before leaving. 

   I quickly got in my vehicle to drive to the bar. I started feeling the very unfamiliar feeling of butterflies in my stomach and sat there in my driver's seat for a minute. I finally admitted to myself that I was overly attracted to Harrison. I always had been and I hate it. I was getting excited to go see him and I felt bad about that. He was married and I shouldn’t be feeling like this about a married man. 

   I took a deep breath to settle myself down. I would go have a beer or two, chat and catch up with him and Peter then leave. There was nothing wrong with what I was about to do. I just needed to calm down. It was just drinks. Nothing more. 

   After settling myself and giving myself a silent pep talk I started my vehicle and followed my GPS to the Bar. Finding a parking spot close to the front door I parked and then took another deep breath. Everything was going to be fine. This was just a couple of friends going to hang out for the first time in several years. 

Deep breaths Harper. Deep breaths.