Before Christmas Comes Knocking

CHAPTER 4 Hi Audrey

~NICHOLAS~

Throughout the whole drive, I kept telling myself I shouldn’t have leaned in.

It didn’t help in any way.

That moment kept replaying anyway —Audrey pulling back and telling me she remembered. The past, of course. Maybe she didn't want anything to do with me anymore. Maybe the hurt was still there, and I gave her every reason to remember it tonight.

The wipers brushed the windshield in slow and tired strokes, like it was imitating how I felt. I let out a breath that felt heavier than the storm that had calmed minutes ago.

I hadn't planned to make things confusing…or harder…or whatever this night had turned into.

By the time I pulled into my apartment building, the snow had piled up along the sides. The place looked plain and a little lonely, the same way I had left it in the morning. It sure hadn't noticed I left.

It was colder inside than I had expected. I dropped my keys after I turned on the lights, and stood there letting the silence press in. Maybe I expected some sense of familiarity, but everything felt empty, and loneliness pressed in instead.

Then I noticed a cardboard box on the table.

Right. That thing. I didn't know I included it in the things to be moved to Winterbrook Heights.

I reached for it, tearing off the packing tape. Inside were a handful of old things: folded receipts I didn't care to open, prints and images of Audrey and me back in college. And beneath it all, a short picture frame of Audrey and me on the day I graduated.

The crack was still there, and it reminded me of that rough but passionate night we knocked the frame off.

I closed the box gently before more memories fully took shape. I'd spent much of the night drowning in old moments.

Morning came too soon. I dressed, brewed an espresso and sat on the sofa in the living room. My laptop was already set on the desk as I waited for the redevelopment meeting to begin, hoping work would force my mind to behave.

My laptop kept pinging as people joined the online meeting one after the other. I grabbed my coffee and took a sip. The meeting began and people started talking in overlapping voices.

“What do we have today?” I asked no one in particular.

“We're reviewing the second phase streets today,” one of the consultants replied, and I grabbed my tablet, sliding through the folders.

Then I stopped.

Frostlight Avenue. Her neighborhood.

Highlighted. Flagged for evaluation. Not demolition, but close enough.

I read the line again, hoping I'd misunderstood it.

It was written boldly there. I hadn't.

Something uneasy set into my chest. If Audrey were to find out that her shop would be affected, it would hurt her. I would hurt her once again.

“Everything okay, Nick?” Another consultant asked, everyone fixing their gazes at me.

“Yeah,” I said, almost breathless. “Just thinking through the layout. Where are we?”

“We’re checking for sites that have new complexes planned nearby. Competition matters,” the consultant replied.

“Alright. Go ahead,” I said, taking another sip of coffee.

The meeting lasted for two hours before it ended. Everyone pulled out of the call but Davis, a close colleague, stayed.

“What was that earlier, Nick?” he asked.

“What was what?”

“When the meeting just started, you were lost in thought.”

“It's nothing. Just thinking about the layout,” I lifted my cup to take a sip, forgetting it was empty and sighed as I dropped it.

“Being back must feel weird.”

Weird. Heavy. Awkward. All true.

The corners of my lips turned up and I narrowed my eyes.

He gave me a look. “Have you met her?”

I nodded slowly. “Yesterday.”

“How did you feel? Old feelings resurfaced?”

“Not sure how I feel. But I do want to see her again,” I brushed my thumb along the cup handle.

“Then give her a call, dude!”

I froze for a moment.

Maybe I should. It then occurred to me that I forgot to ask for her contact last night. f**k me.

“I don't have her contact,” I said, regret filling my tone.

“Damn you, Nick. How could you forget?”

I exhaled deeply. “I know where she works and lives by the way,” I said, a smile escaping my lips.

“Nice one, dude,” he cheered on me.

We spent more minutes discussing work and what my plan for Audrey was.

Audrey. Was my reason for coming to Winterbrook Heights part of her?

By afternoon, I drove to the City planning office to discuss the redevelopment.

The meeting lasted for hours, and one of the things on my mind throughout the session was Audrey. Maybe dropping by her shop as the meeting was coming to an end wouldn't be bad. It was only a ten-minute drive.

“What’s holding Ms. Sips up?”

Mr. Hale, the director, who's a bald, stocky old man, asked one of the staff who entered the meeting room.

“She should be pulling up soon,” the staff responded, entering what should be a storage room.

Mr. Hale grunted, rubbing his nose with his left hand. “Mind joining us for a little hangout tonight, Mister Nicholas?”

“No, Mr. Hale. I've got plans for tonight,” I answered, arranging the files on the table.

“Too bad. You'd miss a good drink,” he raised a brow.

I stood, pushing the chair back. “Do keep some for me. I'd have it next time,” I smirked. “I’ve got to use the restroom.”

He nodded and I exited for the restroom.

When I returned, the room was a little crowded with staff who were chattering and holding paper cups. In the middle of the crowd was someone in a brown dress and black jacket.

“Hope you don't mind some coffee too, Mister Nicholas!” Mr. Hale called out from where he was seated, holding a paper cup.

All eyes turned to me, the crowd dispersing. Then my breath hitched as I saw her. Audrey.

The universe has brought her out of my thoughts, I suppose.

Her blue eyes stared at me in surprise and her lips parted. “Nicholas?”

I smiled. “Hi Audrey.”

With quick steps, I approached her, grabbing the paper cup she held in her hand. Our fingers bumped lightly as I did. “I don't mind, Mr. Hale,” I raised the cup towards him.

“You two know each other?” Mr. Hale asked, glancing at me and then Audrey.

“Mm,” Audrey nodded slowly.

“Old friends,” I added.

“Old friends,” Mr. Hale repeated. “Ms. Sips, we're having our little hangout,” he tilted his head, wiggling his brows to Audrey.

“I'm in!” Audrey exclaimed, packing the empty paper cups.

"So, Mister Nicholas. You're about to miss…”

“I'm in too,” I interrupted, louder than I had expected. Audrey turned to look at me and I smiled at her.

With the project hanging over her neighborhood, avoiding the conversation wasn't an option in any way. And this hangout was a good time for me to have a talk with her. And maybe, fix things.