Chapter Six
“Wow, I didn’t think it was this far.”
“What do you mean? I told you it was up near Chimney Rock.”
“I know, but…I’ve never been to the mountains, so I guess I didn’t think about how long it would take to get here. I stopped driving up to Maryland because I don’t enjoy long road trips.”
“We’ve been in the car for three and a half hours,” he reminded her blandly.
“That’s a long time, Gage, and we’re still not even there!”
“We’ll be there in twenty minutes, I promise.” He looked over at her and laughed softly. “I didn’t realize this was such a big deal to you.”
Shrugging, Hannah sighed. “It’s crazy, I know. And honestly, this drive hasn’t been so bad. The scenery is nice–nothing like the awfulness of I-95. Trust me.”
“It’s why I guess I don’t mind it so much. I find it relaxing. Normally it’s just me in the car and I use the time to unwind and enjoy the quiet and listen to a couple of podcasts. Plus, I know once I get to my mom’s she’ll make a big fuss over me and I can seriously just relax the entire weekend.”
Reaching over, she pat him on the knee. “Aww…sounds like someone enjoys having his mommy take care of him,” she teased and luckily he laughed with her.
They turned off at the next exit and he began pointing out local landmarks and telling her stories of things he did while growing up in Evergreen Valley. It was nice to hear him share such fond memories. Tilting her head, she studied him and tried to imagine a younger version of Gage doing all the things he was telling her about.
And secretly hoped his mother would have some pictures on display of Gage as a little boy.
“Can I ask you something?”
He nodded. “Sure.”
“So if your mom can’t cook–and everyone knows it–what should I expect while we’re there?”
That made him laugh again. “Okay, she can cook some things. Mostly casseroles. I guess I exaggerated when I first told you about her. There are some basic meals she does really well and I’m sure she’ll stick to those on the nights she chooses to cook. We’ll get takeout a couple of times and then I like to cook for her while I’m there. She tends to hover and pretend like she’s trying to learn, but I think she just likes to hover.”
“That actually sounds kind of sweet. And you’re sure she’s okay with us coming up so early?”
“You heard her scream with excitement when I called her this morning, right?”
It had definitely been loud, she mused. “And we’re going to stay at a hotel, right?”
“Well…”
Twisting in her seat, she stared at him hard. “Gage, we’re staying at a hotel, right? Please don’t tell me we’re staying in her guest room or sleeping on a sleeper sofa!”
“I don’t see what the problem is,” he said calmly, his expression neutral. “She has a spare bedroom and that’s where I always stay.”
Groaning, Hannah straightened. “I just feel a little…awkward about sharing a room with you with your mom like ten feet away. There’s no privacy. It’s…it’s…I don’t know. She’ll probably think I’m a little slutty to be sleeping with you after only a few weeks.”
“Hannah, the day the two of you met, you were coming out of my bedroom talking about doing laundry. I think she already assumes we’re sleeping together.” When she groaned again, he reached over and took her hand. “You need to relax. It’s not a big deal. I promise.”
Only…it was a big deal.
With the change in their plans and coming up here to Evergreen sooner rather than later–and now finding out they were sleeping in his mother’s apartment–it meant that when they made love this morning, it was the last time–which is what she told him.
“The last time…wait, what?”
Nodding, she explained. “Gage, I’m leaving for Raleigh before you. As it is, I’m renting a car to go home because you didn’t want us to drive up here separately. Then you’re staying here through New Year’s Day. By that time, I’ll be packing things up and possibly already on my way to a new job in another state! You know I sent out about a dozen resumes this week.”
“Okay, I get that, but…”
“Had I known we weren’t going to have any privacy for the next ten days, I wouldn’t have agreed to coming up here early.”
“Why would I stay at a hotel when visiting my mother?”
“Um…maybe because she lives in an apartment,” she reasoned. “And with all your sisters and their families, I can’t imagine her place being big enough for all of you to sleep there.”
They drove in silence for several minutes before turning into a beautifully landscaped driveway that led up to a large apartment building. Hannah figured this was the 55 and over building his mother managed and she was actually impressed. It had six stories, and from the look of it, it easily housed at least eighty units. Having worked on so many commercial buildings, she learned how to size them up.
“Wow, this is much bigger than I thought it would be. It’s twice the size of our building.”
“It has a lot more amenities too,” he told her as they parked. “Heated indoor pool, a gym, movie theater, library, hair salon, a gourmet kitchen where they do demonstrations, a game room…I’m telling you, it’s like a resort. Mom likes to say it’s like a cruise ship on land.”
“I never even knew places like this were a thing,” she said as she climbed from the car, anxious to go inside and see it all. It was almost bitterly cold and there was already a light dusting of snow everywhere and she swore she could almost smell more in the air. It had been a long time since she’d had a white Christmas and…
She still wasn’t going to have one even if it did snow because she wouldn’t be here to experience it.
Forcing the thought from her mind, she pulled her coat a little tighter around her and opted to stick to safe topics. “So, they offer a lot of activities?”
Laughing, he opened the trunk and began pulling out their luggage. “The calendar of events is mind-boggling. Book clubs, yoga class, wine tastings, movie nights, mahjong, bridge club, Pictionary night…the list is endless.” Closing the trunk, he faced her. “But you need to brace yourself.”
“For what?”
“We’re going to walk in there and if you thought the lobby at our place was a lot, believe me when I say where we’re about to go is all that and much, much more.”
“Oh boy…”
“And…every event will be holiday-themed and the amount of loud Christmas sweaters and Santa hats is going to…well…it’s going to be a lot. So…brace yourself.”
Brace herself? If anything, it made her even more excited to go inside!
She may have rolled her eyes at the stuff Shawna did to their lobby, but the truth was that she loved Christmas and all the decorations.
At least…when they were tasteful.
The holidays were a decorator's dream and it wasn’t something Hannah got to do very often because they were always working on full business décor or keeping things simple. Just once, she’d love to be in charge of a big Christmas display like the kind you see in the department store windows in New York City. It was a silly dream and not particularly practical, but every year around the holidays, she wished someone would let her go wild with a project like that.