Boycotts and Barflies (31 page)

Meg was standing off to the side in her silk pajamas, looking very excited but unsure of her wardrobe. She kept fidgeting with her pajamas and running her fingers through her blond hair. Meg was most comfortable when she was showered and dressed to the nines.

“Don’t worry, you look beautiful, Meg.” Grace skipped past her to the Christmas

tree. She quickly grabbed all of her gifts: one for her parents, one for Meg, and

one for Michael, who eyed the presents curiously.

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“Mr. Nosy, don’t worry about which one is yours. Just get in the car. You’ll find

out soon enough.”

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The Andrises’ house was about twenty minutes away and sat a little higher up  in the mountains. It was a beautiful red brick colonial with black shutters,  complete with white pillars on either side of the front door. A single candle  illuminated each of the windows of  the house, and perched on the roof of the  garage was an enormous lighted Santa, sleigh, and four glowing reindeer. “Merry Christmas!” Liz cried as they approached the front door. She was  dressed in green plaid pajamas that matched Mr. Andris’s exactly. Gra ce  glanced down at Michael and found him wearing the exact same plaid bottoms,  but with a solid green shirt. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

“One day a year I wear them because it makes her happy if we all match. Tel  anyone and I will scan your prom picture and make T-shirts. Do we understand  each other?” His cheeks turned pink from embarrassment.

“I think it’s adorable, and very thoughtful.” With a quick wink at Michael, she  went over and hugged Liz and Michael’s father. “Merry Christmas, and thanks  for sending the human alarm clock after us.” Grace gave a nod in Michael’s  direction.

Liz stole a quick look at her son, her eyes twinkling. “He’s the one that woke us up so early this morning. It was like he was five years old all over again.” Liz leaned in, grinning and said, “I think he missed you.”

“That’s enough, Mother.” Michael scowled as he placed a hand on Grace’s back, leading her out of the foyer and far away from Liz.

They wandered into the kitchen where Ryan was flipping pancakes into  the air and Meg was catching them on a plate. Michael started to work on the bacon and sausage when he handed Grace a box of eggs. “Get scrambling, girl.” They all worked side by side, watching Meg run around chasing Ryan’s flying pancakes and trying not to get hit by the airborne flapjacks when one sailed out of control.

Breakfast was delicious. Both families gathered around the dining room table and spent the next hour listening to stories about Liz and Susan from their

college days and all the trouble they’d gotten into. A few times, Grace covered

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her ears because she was learning more about her mother than she ever  wanted to know. More than once, Michael also cringed at hearing about his  mom and the frat boys back in the day.

When the last plate was loaded into the dishwasher, Liz gathered everyone  around the Christmas tree to exchange gifts. Grace and Michael sat next to Meg  and Ryan on one side of the tree while their parents sat on the other.

“I want my gifts first,” Meg demanded. Patience never was her strong suit.  Grace dug around under the tree and found a large, rectangular box with  penguin wrapping paper and handed it to Meg, grinning madly. “That smile has  me worried,” Meg said hesitantly as she started tearing  the paper off the gift.  She opened the box and stared at the contents with a confused look on her

face. Her nose wrinkled like she smelled something bad as she began  inspecting what was inside.

“Sweatpants? You got me sweatpants?” She sneered as she looked at the tags. “Are you serious? I don’t wear sweats, ever. Heck, I don’t even like to sweat!” Grace started hyperventilating, she was laughing so hard. “And a sweatshirt— size large? What are these, new fat clothes? Are you trying to tell me  something?”

She was glaring at Grace for explanation.

“Remember a few weeks ago, when you asked me to go outside my comfort  zone, and I agreed, under the condition that I got to push you out of your  comfort zone just once? Well, Bianca went to a football game as her payment,  and I decided that you would get to wear whatever I picked out for you for one  day, and I picked bland clothes.”

“Wait a minute, I ask you to go outside your comfort zone and you get … this!”  She waved her hands, motioning to Michael. “A totally hot guy that you fall  madly in love with!” Grace heard Susan and Liz screeching on the other side of  the tree. “And I get this?” She thrust the pair of gray sweatpants into the air. Michael was slapping the floor with his hand he was laughing so hard.

Ryan was trying his hardest not to laugh at Meg, but was failing miserably so

he buried his face in his hands.

“Come on, Meg, it’s just us and we all love you. You’ll look cute. If anyone can  pull off gray sweats, it’s you.” Grace unleashed her big brown eyes on Meg. “For me?”

“I hate you!” she spat as she marched off to the bathroom to change.

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When she was out of earshot, everyone burst into hysterics. Meg was gone much longer than Grace thought she should be, and part of her was worried she was shimmying out the bathroom window, trying to escape. But they continued opening gifts, anxiously awaiting her return. Ryan went next and gave Michael a bunch of CDs while Michael gave Ryan a set of DVDs on World  War II. Both of them were examining their gifts when Meg returned.

As she stood in the doorway, Grace almost didn’t recognize the clothes she was wearing. It looked like she had been attacked by Edward Scissorhands. The sweatshirt was cut so that it was now sleeveless and hung  fashionably off her shoulder, exposing the white tank top underneath. The sweat pants were rol ed up to her mid calf and somehow she’d made them very form fitting. To get around the bland color, she took a marker to certain sections of it, making a

gorgeous tie dyed effect and bringing in the brightness she was known for in  her clothing choices. Even though Meg would never agree, Grace thought she  looked cute.

“Happy?” Meg scowled.

Ryan saved the day by whispering something in her ear that made her grin  bigger than Grace had ever seen before. She threw her arms around his neck,  and as she hugged him tight, her entire attitude changed on a dime.

“OK, where were we before I was forced to dress like a bland hobo?” She  reached under the tree and found a box wrapped in red paper. Meg held it out  to Grace to give it to her, but not before she stuck her tongue out at her one  more time and smiled to let her know she was forgiven.

Taking the package from her hands, Grace gingerly removed the paper.

Inside was a first  edition copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, her favorite novel.  “Meg, this is fantastic!” Grace wailed as she tackled Meg.

“I bet you feel pretty bad for doing this to me now, don’t you?” she teased as  she tugged on her sweatpants. Grace searched behind herself and pulled out a  small wrapped box then handed it to Meg.

“Here’s your other gift,” she said as Meg’s face broke into a smile, realizing the  sweats weren’t her only gift.

Inside the box was a charm bracelet that she had admired once when they  were shopping. Grace added a few charms, some to make her laugh, but each  representing an important person in her life. There was a high heeled shoe, a  tiny Seattle Seahawk, and a book. She even found an ‘R’ charm which was  hanging beside the shoe.

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“I love it!” Her body crashed into Grace, knocking her to the floor. She climbed

off of her friend and ran over to Ryan to show him all the charms. He smiled

proudly when he saw the gorgeous script ‘R.’

“Would you like your gift now?” Michael asked, his smooth voice making

Grace’s heartbeat speed up in anticipation. There was a twinkle in his eye as he

waited for her answer.

“Sure.”

As he handed Grace her present, she tried to rack her brain and guess what it could possibly be. The package  was a long, rectangular box, a bit deeper than a normal box, but not large and not very heavy. Grace gave it a playful shake before she started to carefully rip the gold paper off the box. With trembling hands, she lifted the lid, and what she found inside took her breath away.

“Do you like it?” Michael asked anxiously as he awaited her reaction.

“Oh, Michael, it’s beautiful.” Grace gingerly picked up the fabric to reveal the most exquisite black dress she had ever seen.

“I wanted you to have something beautiful to wear with your new shoes on our first date.”

His silky voice stirred something deep down inside her. Grace imagined how she would look in this dress and a second later, imagined how it would feel to have Michael take this dress off her and carry her to his bed. She gave her head a shake to bring her out of her vivid fantasy.

With a confident grin on his face, Michael watched Grace stare at the dress, hypnotized by it. It was so beautiful she couldn’t stop looking at it or touching it. She stood up and held it up against her body while Meg jumped to her feet and started clapping her hands together, giving her seal of approval. Liz and  Susan came over to admire the dress as well.

“Michael, it’s spectacular. You’d better take her someplace wonderful,” Liz advised her son, while Susan nodded her head in agreement. They gawked a minute longer, then instructed Grace to put it away before it got dirty.

Still smiling, Grace careful y placed it back into the box. “Thank you so much.

I absolutely love it, and I love you.” She brushed his hair out of his eyes and ran her fingers down the side of his face before placing a tender kiss on his lips. As she rested her forehead on his, Grace smirked. “Would you like your present

now?”

“Absolutely!” he said as Grace reached for the box wrapped in the cranberry

colored paper. She placed it in his lap and sat at his feet to watch while he

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opened it. He looked down and raised a suspicious eyebrow at the excited grin

on her 240

face. As soon as his fingers broke through the paper and peeled back, revealing  the gift underneath, he started laughing. His reaction was music to Grace’s ears  and she could no longer contain her excitement.

“Do you like them? I thought they might come in handy.” With a teasing grin,  she reached into the box and pulled out one of the running shoes and dangled  it on her finger. “Maybe you’d like to work on your stamina over the next few  days.” She was still giggling when he snatched  the shoe off her finger and  stuffed it back into the box with a smile on his face.

He coyly crooked his finger at Grace, calling her closer. His eyes were so full of  fire and desire that she felt the butterflies swarm in her stomach as she inched  in his direction. “So, worried about my stamina, are you?” He asked the  question so softly that Grace was the only one who could hear him. “You know,  I’ll admit that when I run, I don’t have the greatest stamina. However,

in other activities, my endurance is rather … phenomenal. I’ll have to show you  sometime.”

Grace rocked back on her heels, completely speechless, her mouth dangling open. Screw the shoes, Grace!

Michael was grinning proudly at her flabbergasted expression. She could feel the blood coursing through  her veins as her body responded to not only his words but the expression on his face. She also became very aware of his lips and just how sexy they looked curled up in that smirk of his. Grace couldn’t take her eyes off of him, and she could see the same yearning and fire in his eyes. He reached down, picked up her hand, and kissed the inside of her wrist gently.

Her entire arm began to tingle under his touch.

“Michael …” Trying to warn him not to push things too far, Grace nodded toward their parents who were on the other side of the room and Meg who was watching them like a hawk.

“Thank you for the gift. I’ll put them to good use. I promise,” he said with a wink, and then returned her trembling hand to her lap.

“Meg, give Ryan his gift,” Grace awkwardly called out, trying to distract herself from the fact that Michael was now caressing her hair, making her shiver with excitement.

He chuckled softly behind her. “What’s got you so worked up, sweetheart?”

Grace turned and smirked as she pointed directly at his face. Extremely pleased with himself and not even trying to hide it, he sat back and laughed. Everyone watched as Meg gave Ryan a beautiful, hand carved mahogany box, which could be used for storing his important papers, mementos, or letters. 241

When he opened it, Grace could see a few pink envelopes peeking out that Meg must have slipped inside.

The antique shop, where they bought it, said they thought it was from the mid  1800’s and as soon as Meg saw it, she knew Ryan would love it. He ran his fingers across the carvings on the top of the box a few times, admiring the craftsmanship that had gone into making it. He scooped Meg up in his arms and hugged her tightly and again whispered things privately in her ear.

Ryan sat Meg on his lap as he handed her a beautiful box, covered in silver paper with an enormous red bow tied on top. She carefully slid the ribbon off and ripped the paper from the box. Opening the box a crack and squealing, Meg pulled out three thick, bound journals.

Meg had been writing in her journals every night since she was ten years old, recording her thoughts and experiences, documenting every day in her life. Grace knew someday she hoped to share them with her daughter and show her how she had been feeling at some of the most important times in her life—her first love, the boy who broke her heart, examples of true friendship and love. Grace watched her caress the leather covers as Ryan pointed to the one with the darkest cover. Meg placed it in her lap, opening it to the first page. Her eyes immediately filled with tears as she started reading. Her eyes darted across the page, taking in every word, and then she  collapsed back into Ryan’s arms and buried her tear-stained face into his chest.

Taking Michael by the hand, Grace and he went and joined their parents, giving  Meg and Ryan a moment alone.

“So what did you get, Mom?” Grace asked Susan, who was clutching a  box in her arms and grinning.

“Well, Liz and I got each other gift certificates to the salon, so we can get our hair and nails done one afternoon. And Daddy got me the Food Saver food vacuum!” She was giddy over the crazy machine in her hands.

“Very romantic, Dad.”

“Hey, she’s been asking for that crazy thing since she saw it on television last month. And she looks rather happy to me.” Henry wrapped his arm around

Susan and kissed the top of her head. “Now just think how much fun you can have when I come back from fishing, honey.”

Liz showed off the new mixer Michael’s father had given her. It was a pale blue and matched the small flowers on the wallpaper in her kitchen. She was 242

as pleased as Susan with her gift and asked Michael to carry it into the kitchen  for her. Henry and Michael Sr. followed, wanting to get another cup of coffee. “Grace, I have something for you, dear,” Liz said softly as she held out a present  with a warm smile on her face. She patted the couch next to her, hoping Grace  would sit down.

“I’m sorry, Liz. I feel terrible. I didn’t get you anything,” Grace said with  embarrassment.

“You have given me the best gift of all: you make Michael happy.” She glanced  toward the kitchen, where they could hear the  men arguing about who was  going to climb on the roof and take down the giant Santa, and smiled. “All I  have ever wanted was for him to be happy and to find true love.” She placed  her hand on Grace’s knee, her eyes glistening with tears. “He found that with you, Grace, and I couldn’t be happier. You’re such a lovely young lady. I can see  in your eyes how much you love him. It radiates off of you when you look at  him. He’s happier than I have ever seen him, chipper and smiling for no reason. That’s all becaus e of you.”

By the time Liz finished speaking, Grace had been trying to hold back her tears,  but a few escaped and streamed down her cheek. Liz motioned to the gift, and  Grace started to rip the paper, her heart pounding. Meg came over, interested  to see what would be inside. When she took the lid off, Grace nearly dropped  the box in shock.

Sitting on her lap was an ornate, antique silver picture frame that held two  photos. One was the picture that Meg must have taken the night Grace and  Michael fell asleep  on the couch. She was on her back, clutching the front of  Michael’s shirt in her hand and he was huddled next to her, his arm draped  across her stomach, his face right beside to hers.

“That was the picture I took, right after you told him you loved him, Grace,” Meg said quietly. Grace’s tear-filled eyes looked up at her friend as she  mouthed a silent “thank you,” because she was too overwhelmed to speak. Her  eyes then moved to the adjacent photo.

It was a very sweet picture. There were two small children who couldn’t have  been more than two years old, lying on a couch sound asleep. The little boy

was lying on his back and the little girl had her head resting on his stomach,

her dark hair spread over his chest as she slept. Grace looked up at Susan,

confused.

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“Is that me?” she asked pointing to the little girl. The face was half hidden in

the boy’s shirt, but she looked familiar. Susan nodded her head yes, and Grace  noticed her eyes were full of tears too. She glanced back at the picture and  looked at the little boy. “Then who is this?” Grace looked Liz, who was staring  off in the distance. She followed Liz’s eyes over to Michael, who was standing in  the doorway, watching them quietly.

“Michael?” Grace asked in disbelief.

“This was taken just before they moved to Salt Lake City. When Meg showed

me the picture she took of you guys the other night, I called Liz to see if she still  had a copy of this one,” Susan said softly, stroking her hair.

“Thank you; it’s the most precious thing.” That was all Grace managed to  squeak out before she started crying, as she clutched the photo against her  chest, holding onto it for dear life.

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Chapter 19

Michael watched from the doorway as Grace held the picture in her arms.  Susan and Liz reminisced about the day it was taken. They had gone to the local park for a picnic, but instead of eating, Grace and Michael had discovered a playground to explore. They’d spent the afternoon running, climbing, and going down the slide. By the time they made  their way back to the house,  Michael was sound asleep, so Liz laid him on the couch for a nap.

Grace apparently crawled up there a few minutes later and fell asleep, too. After they shared the story behind the picture, Susan and Liz excused themselves into the kitchen. Meg mumbled something about going to find  Ryan, and then she too disappeared. With the room empty, Michael walked over to the couch where Grace was sitting,  and joined her.

“May I?” he asked as he took the frame from her hand. Grace watched him tilt his head to the side as he inspected the picture. He ran his finger delicately across the little girl’s hair in the photo, a small smile on his face. He seemed to be taking in every detail of it, holding the frame close to his face occasionally to get a better look at something. “You were a very cute little girl,” he said softly, his voice thick with emotion.

Grace took the picture from his hand and pointed at his sleeping, toddler face.

“And you were adorable. Just look at all the curls you had.” She looped her  finger through a wavy piece of hair that had fal en into his eyes and pushed it  to the side, then let her hand rest on his cheek. “Did you know about this?”  she  asked softly.

He shook his head, his eyes going back to the picture for a second. “I found out when you did. My mom was looking through her old photo albums, but I just thought that she was being nostalgic because it was Christmas.” He shrugged his shoulders, and again turned his attention back to the pictures, searching them as if trying to remember something. “I’ve seen this picture so many times, but I never knew who she was,” he whispered so softly Grace didn’t know if he meant for her to hear.

“I will treasure this always.” Collapsing against his chest, Grace clutched the picture in her hands.

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The day went on with typical Christmas fanfare. Grace was still affected by her  emotional gift from Liz. She had looked at the picture at least twenty times  since opening it. Every time she saw Michael’s baby face, complete with  dimples, her heart melted a little more. As she stood in the kitchen, Meg caught  her peeking at it again and laughed.

“Do you believe me yet?”

“Believe you about what?” Grace asked only to be met by the smug look on  Meg’s face.

“About this,” she said, tapping her finger on the frame. “That the two of you are  meant to be.”

More than anything, Grace wanted to believe her, but in the back of her mind,  her insecurities flared. “I don’t know.” As much as she tried to bury the voices  and the doubt, they were still there, screaming in her head. Reminding her that  she really didn’t deserve someone like Michael.

“He loves you, Grace. It’s written all over his face . Every time you walk into the  room, he absolutely glows,” Meg said with certainty. Grace, however, was  hesitant to believe it. “Surely you can’t be questioning how he feels about you?” “No, I know he loves me. I just …” Her mind was racing for the words to make  Meg understand. “I guess I just don’t understand why he loves me.” Grace  looked back down at the picture, letting her hair cover her face so she could  hide.

From behind her, Grace heard the kindest, most gentle voice offering a very simple answer to her complex question. “I love you because you’re brilliant

and funny, clever and silly, beautiful and honest, loyal and trusting, thoughtful  and kind.” Michael gently spun her around to face him so she could see the 246

sincerity on his face. He lifted her chin and looked into Grace’s tear -filled eyes  as he continued. “I love you because you are the most amazing woman I have  ever met, and I will love you forever.” There was no doubt or uncertainty in his  voice, only love.

His thumb feathered across her cheek as he slowly wiped away the glistening  trail of tears. “I love you,” he whispered. If the look on his face wasn’t enough to  convince her, the intensity of his eyes told her that every word he spoke was  true.

“I love you, too. More than I ever imagined I could love someone.” Grace stood  on her tiptoes to kiss his now smiling lips. “Only one hundred fifty-six more  hours,” she whispered while her lips were still touching his.

He made a playful growl then buried his face in  Grace’s hair. After they spent a  few moments in each other’s arms, Michael sighed. “Now I’m off to find Ryan.  We have a Christmas dinner to cook.” He gave Grace’s hand a reassuring  squeeze before he disappeared out of the kitchen. A minute after he left, there  was a ruckus in the other room. Grace heard Michael and Ryan arguing about  who got to drive the girls home.

“Feel better?” Meg asked gently. Grace nodded her head, still smiling. “Good.

Be happy, Grace, you deserve this.” She hugged her friend as tightly as her tiny  arms could. When Grace wrapped her arms around Meg to give her a hug, her  fingers got tangled in the shredded sweatshirt that Meg was still wearing. Laughing, Grace said, “Come on. Let’s get you home, out of these ugly rags, and  into something more Meg-worthy.”