After the Snow

Chapter 4 - Dinner

Chapter 4

Dinner

"Are you sure you're doing that right?" Anthony asked, leaning over my shoulder yet again. I spun around, hitting his shoulder with my big wooden spoon.

"Yes, I am sure!" I exclaimed, laughing. For the past twenty minutes, the whole time I had been cooking, Anthony had been looming in the corner, constantly asking me if I was doing it right. Even though I should've been annoyed, I couldn't help but laugh. "It's a salad, I don't think I can mess it up."

He shook his head. "It is you, Bree, don't underestimate your ability." I stuck my tongue out at him, giggling. God, why was I acting like I was twelve?!

Just then, Scott came back. He walked into the kitchen and set the bags on the table, eyeing us curiously. Anthony was pretty close since he had been looking over my shoulder, so I quickly pushed him away.

"Thanks, babe!" I chirped, throwing my arms around his neck. Scott hated going to the store, but he would always do it for me. It was just one of the constant reminders of how much he loved me and how lucky I was. "Dinner is almost ready. Now, both of you boys, get out of my kitchen!"

"But I want to watch you cook," Scott pouted, pulling me in for a kiss. I smiled against his lips, pushing his shoulders to try to get him out of my kitchen.

"PDA!" Anthony screamed, throwing his hands in the air and running out of the room. I burst into giggles, that boy was really something.

"Grow up!" I yelled, finally pushing Scott out. "I'll call you when dinner is ready."

When I was finally left alone, I was able to finish dinner. I tossed the salad, made my special sauce, and pulled the meatloaf out of the oven. So far, so good. After I set the table I prepared myself for the stampede and stepped back.

"Dinners ready!" I screamed, cupping my hands around my mouth. Two seconds later a buffalo herd came running into the room, completely demolishing my beautiful food. Even Mackenzie was going crazy. "God, I'm living with crazy people," I muttered under my breath. Eventually, I was able to get my food and sit down with the others.

"Mm, this is so good, Bree." Mackenzie moaned, shoving another bite of meatloaf into her mouth. I giggled, she had sauce around her mouth.

"Yeah, Bree," Anthony added, "You were definitely doing it right." I smirked.

"Of course I was, I told you!" I laughed, slapping his arm playfully. Scott's warning glance landed on me, so I lowered my arm. Why was he so worried about this? Anthony was just a friend!

Scott coughed, "So, Anthony, what brought back in town?" I felt my back stiffen. Even I haven't asked that question. I guess part of me didn't want to, though, because I didn't even care so long as he was spending time with me. It was sad, I know.

After a moments hesitation, Anthony said, "I had some...Work to get done." Lie. That was a complete lie. I could tell by the way his eyes darted around the room and his fingers drummed nervously on the table. No one else seemed to notice, though.

"Oh really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He nodded, raising his water glass to his lips. "What do you do?" As soon as the words left my mouth Anthony choked on his water. Yup, he was lying.

"Oh, um...It's like a toy business type thing. I'm just making a delivery." He muttered, playing with the food on his plate. Another sign he was lying.

But wait, a toy business? Does that mean..? No, I'm crazy. That was just a coincidence, there was no connection between that and what I had seen the night Anthony disappeared. There was no 'Santa's sleigh.'

"That's cool," Mackenzie interjected, saving us from more awkward silence. "How long will you be staying? I'm sure you'll be home in time to celebrate Christmas with your family."

He shook his head. "I don't have a family to celebrate Christmas with..." Anthony looked sad, so, so sad. No family? I mean, I remember him telling me his mom died, but what about his dad? Siblings? I can't even imagine not having anyone to celebrate Christmas with.

"You can celebrate with us." The words left my mouth before I could stop them. My eyes widened, and both Scott and Mackenzie shot me glares, but it was too late.

"Really?" Anthony asked, his eyes lighting up. Oh my god, that face...How can you say no to that face?! I nodded slowly.

"Uh huh, no one will mind, right guys?" I asked, giving them a pleading glance. They only hesitated for a moment before shaking their heads no. I smiled. They were too smart to say he couldn't stay, they knew I would kill them. "Do you have a hotel yet?"

"No....Not yet." He said, giving me a strange look. I smiled, opening my mouth to respond, "But I can't stay here if that's what you're getting at. I'd be too much trouble." I frowned. He didn't want to stay here? But why?

"Nonsense, it's just one person!" I exclaimed, waving my hand in dismissal. "It's settled, you will be staying here. Don't argue."

I'm not even sure where all these words were coming from, but they certainly weren't coming from me. They were coming from deep down inside of me, the part that was afraid that if I let Anthony out of that door, he wouldn't come back for another five years. I couldn't handle him leaving, at least not yet.

When we finished dinner, everyone migrated into the living room. Well, everyone but me. I stayed behind to clean up and get dessert ready.

"Babe, you coming?!" Scott yelled from somewhere in the apartment. I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"These dishes aren't going to do themselves," I replied. "I'll be there in a minute!" He sighed but left me alone. Praise God! Ever since he had moved in, Scott had been on my nerves. Our relationship was bi-polar, like he said. One minute we were in love and the next we were ripping each others heads off. I roughly shoved the plate in the sink, hissing when my hand scraped a knife. "Damn it!" I hissed, watching the blood slowly drip from the back of my hand.

"You okay?" Anthony asked, startling me. I jumped around to look at him, my eyes widening.

"Um, yeah," I sniffed, quickly grabbing a dish rag and covering my hand. "Just a scratch." He eyed me suspiciously, but let it go.

"Here, I'll do the dishes for you." He said, gently pushing me away. I scrunched my eyebrows in protest.

"But you're a guest, I'm not going to make you do that!" He laughed, shaking his head.

"If you're making me stay here, I'm not a guest." Dang, why was he always right? "Why don't you make hot chocolate for everyone? It's cold outside, I'm sure we could all use the extra warmth."

I removed the dish rag from my skin and checked my hand. It wasn't bleeding tpo bad so I just went ahead and grabbed the mugs from the cupboard. I put in the milk and hot coco packets into the cups and then placed them in the microwave. Just as the hot chocolate was done, Anthony put the last of the dishes into the dishwasher.

"We make a good team." Anthony smiled, giving me a high five. I pulled the cake Scott had gotten from the counter, looking it over. It was a chocolate vanilla swirl cake.

"Do you think this will go with the hot chocolate?" I asked, glancing back up at him.

"Um, yeah." He shrugged, grabbing a knife. While he cut I placed the pieces on plates. It was a good system, and in no time we were ready to deliver the dessert.

"Wait, how're we going to get all this into the living room?" I asked, looking it over carefully. Something told me carrying four plates of cake and four steaming hot cups of coco wasn't a good idea.

"Um, we take two trips?" Anthony laughed, shaking his head at me. My cheeks flushed. Why hadn't I thought of that? Because I was the weirdest person on earth. "Watch out, we've got a genius over here, folks!"

"Shut up!" I laughed, shoving his chest. He chuckled, grabbing one plate and cup and heading into the living room. I did the same. "We bring dessert," I announced, handing the cup and plate to my boyfriend.

"Yum!" He smiled, giving me a peck on the cheek. "Come and sit with me!"

"Okay!" I chirped, hurrying to get my food as well. When I had my plate and cup I cuddled next to Scott, letting him wrap his arms around me.

"This is good," Mackenzie said, "thanks, Bree."

"No problem." I smiled, digging into my cake. Yum! Scott turned on the TV, and the Grinch came on. One of my favorite Christmas movies! We all watched it silently, zoned into the Christmas show. When my cake and hot chocolate was gone, I placed the dishes at my feet and cuddled closer into Scott. He was so warm...

*

"Bree...Bree." Whoever was hissing in my ear they needed to stop. I was in the middle of a very nice dream. "Bree!"

"Someone better have died, Scott," I mumbled, rubbing my eyes. I must've fallen asleep. I had the weirdest dream, too. Anthony came back and he was going to stay with me for Christmas...The second my eyes opened they landed on Anthony's sleeping body sprawled out on the couch across from me. My heart lept into my throat. That wasn't a dream?!

"No ones dead, but it's one in the morning and I figured you would want to sleep in your own bed," Scott whispered in my ear. I yawned, trying to push the sleep to the back of my mind. It was one in the morning? Gosh, we must've all been tired.

"Yeah, okay..." I mumbled, "I'll be there in a minute." He pecked my lips before heading into our bedroom, scratching the back of his head. Huffing, I forced myself to stand up. In my sleepy daze, I decided not to put up the dessert dishes until morning, so instead, I headed to the blanket closet. Anthony and Mackenzie would freeze to death if I didn't give them quilts. I grabbed four blankets and walked back over to them.

First, I examined Antony. His head was hanging over the edge of the couch with his arms above his head. His legs were hanging off the front. That must've been really uncomfortable. Praying he wouldn't wake up, I pulled his legs onto the couch and pulled his whole body down. It was harder then it sounds, guys are heavy. Then I put his arms by his side, put a pillow under his head, and covered him with two heavy quilts.

Mackenzie was the easy one. I knew from experience she wouldn't wake up. She was in a reclining chair, her legs and head hanging off either side. I'm not even sure how she fell asleep like that. Huffing, I grabbed her arms and pulled her so she was the right direction in the chair. Then I reclined it, gave her a pillow, and covered her with the other two quilts.

Yawning, I shuffled back into my room. I wasn't even that tired anymore, but at one in the morning, it was time to go to sleep. Scott was already in bed, snoring away. Deciding to sleep in my jeans and t-shirt, I crawled under the covers and closed my eyes.

My mind wouldn't let me sleep, though. Anthony wasn't a dream, he was here, in my living room, and he was staying for Christmas. All those years of wishing he would come back, all those tears and heartaches, and he was finally here. Was it a good thing? I hadn't quite decided yet, but maybe, if I bugged him enough, I could wear him down and get the answers I was looking for.

After what felt like hours I cracked my eyes open and checked my bedside clock. 2:36 AM. Great, I couldn't sleep. Carefully, I slid out of bed. Scott didn't even move. I went over to the closet and looked at the top, my stomach clenching. It had been so long since I had seen it.

I pulled down the box labeled 'junk,' coughing when dust came flying down with it. Yup, it had been quite a while since I had seen it. Inside was exactly what the box said was inside; junk. There were old letters, markers, a couple of those cheap toys that you get from McDonald's, and even an old bag of marshmallows. I'm not sure why that was in there, though.

I sat down on the ground, grabbing the small wooden box. It was still just as beautiful as the first day I had received it as a gift. Hesitantly, I cracked it open, revealing a small necklace. It was a red stone heart lined with gold. My breath hitching, I pulled it out. The cold gold chain stung my fingers. I cupped the red stone in my hands, lifting it to my mouth.

Was this a gold idea? Probably not. There was a reason I had locked it away all those years ago; to forget. I hadn't wanted to remember what it said, or who gave it to me, but now that Anthony had walked back into my life, that was impossible.

Taking a deep breath, I blew on the necklace. It started to glow, heating up a little bit. A small smile crept onto my face as the gold, swirly letters appeared.

Bree,

Merry Christmas

Love,

Anthony