10

For being as free-spirited as she was, Ginger had a few dyed-in-the-wool convictions. One of those was that Christmas decorations were not to be put up until the first weekend in December; anything earlier than that, she'd said many times, was just plain gauche. (She'd said it so often, in fact, that Archie had won $20 off a volunteer at the shelter three years ago, who bet that Ginger didn't know the meaning of the word "gauche.") So, the first Saturday in December saw Ginger, Archie, Samantha, and a couple volunteers making the shelter look festive. When they ran out of tinsel, Ginger sent Samantha on a tinsel (and beer) run.

Once she was out the door, Ginger wheeled on Archie. "Hey, do you need any suggestions about what to get her for Christmas? It's only three weeks away, you know..."

"Uh... I don't know. Are we at the 'giving each other Christmas gifts' stage? I mean, tonight will only be our fourth date, though we do talk on the phone pretty often."

"Yeah, I know. I'm getting pretty tired of talking to her voice mail... every day." Archie blushed at the idea that Ginger knew he talked to Samantha every night, sometimes for hours. "But yes, you definitely need to get her something."

"Okay. Then yes, I need suggestions. Flowers? Jewelry? What do you think?"

Ginger suddenly got quiet. "Archie, I need to ask you something, if you'll forgive me for prying."

"Why should this time be any different from the last 80 times you pried into my life, and that was just last week?"

"Because this is serious." In thinking about it, Archie couldn't remember the last time Ginger said something was serious. Maybe he'd see if that volunteer would go double or nothing on whether she knew the meaning of that word. "Archie, just between you and me -- I swear I won't breathe a word to Sammi. Are you in love with her?"

He could not have been more surprised. The thought had crossed his mind only recently, when he realized how much he looked forward to talking with her each night, how he'd save up things he wanted to tell her throughout the day. How eager he was to answer the phone, and how disappointed he was when sleep started to overtake one of them.

"Honestly? I don't know. I mean ... it's been a long time since I felt anything like this. I know that there's ... there's a part of me that still misses Valerie. But she's never coming back. Being around Samantha gives me feelings that I haven't had since... well, you know, but I can't put my finger on exactly what those feelings are. I ... I'm not sure. But I know I'm willing to find out."

Gently, Ginger took his hand. "Archie, that's the healthiest thing I've heard you say in five years. But, that feeling you can't describe? The fact that you're blushing as you think about her? Yeah, it means what you think it means. You may not be prepared to admit it, even to yourself, but you love her. And that's okay. It's even invigorating, isn't it?"

"No, it's terrifying. What if ..."

Ginger cut him off. "Don't. Just don't. That way lies madness. Revel in this feeling, the excitement and the panic of a budding romance. It really is the best feeling ever. I'm guessing that you haven't told her yet."

Archie blushed again. "God, no! If I'm not sure myself, then I'm absolutely not going to say it to her."

"Good. Because she's probably going through a lot of the same emotions, and if you tell her before she's ready to hear it... Well, just don't."

"Okay, so ... what does this have to do with Christmas presents?"

"Everything. Don't give her jewelry, or anything extravagant. Just give her a piece of your heart, wrapped in a pretty red bow. You know that saying, 'It's the thought that counts'? It's true. Give her something that will show her how you feel, without scaring her away."

"Do they have that section at Sephora? Seriously, Ginger, you're not giving me a lot to work with here."

"I can't help you there. It's got to come from your heart, not mine. But, speaking of Christmas, what are you guys doing that day? I'd love to have you over for Christmas dinner."

"I'd like that. Let me ask her. Oh, she's back, festooned with both decorations and libations!"

"Archie, don't tell her we talked about Christmas gift giving. She'll want to believe it was your idea."

"Gotcha, boss. Mum's the word."

*****

Over the next week, they came up with a plan. Samantha would come into Golden on Christmas Eve. They'd all go caroling that night, assuming the weather held. Then, back to Archie's apartment where Ginger was making hot cider. Christmas morning, Samantha and Archie would have a quiet morning together, then go over to Ginger's for dinner in the afternoon.

Archie's mind wasn't anywhere near as settled as the plans were. He hadn't slept well the night before, so when he stirred awake at 4:30 on Christmas Eve morning, he couldn't get back to sleep. For one thing, he still had no idea what to get Samantha; thank goodness her birthday wasn't until April. And Ginger's "helpful" talk turned out to be anything but. What do you give someone when there's a part of you that wants to give them everything, and another part that wants to move slowly so you don't scare them away?

More importantly, the plan meant Samantha would be staying with him overnight. For a couple who hadn't even kissed yet, that seemed like a huge step. He admitted to himself that waking up beside Samantha on Christmas morning was going to be the highlight of the season for him, but still. Were they going to sleep together, or sleep together? What did she want? For that matter, what did he want? And if getting a gift for her was a struggle to find an intermediate ground, then how they handled the night before was going to be even more of a tightrope to walk. With all that swirling in his mind, it was next to impossible to get into the Christmas spirit. Still though... He had to admit that he was looking forward to Christmas for the first time in a long, long time.

*****

Twenty miles to Archie's east, a very similar set of concerns roiled in Samantha's mind as she dozed in bed that morning. She'd already settled on what she was giving Archie for Christmas; in fact, she'd figured that out the night of their blind date. She really hoped he'd like it, though if she were being honest with herself, it was as much for her as it was for him.

And Christmas Eve was shaping up to be a great deal of fun, even if she was a little wistful about not having her parents around. They would have liked Archie. They would have loved the way he treated her, certainly better than the last few guys she'd dated. But she really wished they could have met him. She had a feeling, a dream maybe, that she might be spending a lot of holidays with Archie, and the thought warmed her from the inside out.

But, what did he expect from her? Spending the night together? In looking back on it, she realized that he hadn't suggested it, nor had she. It just came out during their conversation, as though it was the most natural thing in the world for them to do.

"Wait. Hang on here. If I didn't suggest it, and he didn't suggest it, then..." There was only one other person in the conversation. Samantha grabbed at her phone, without thinking about whether Ginger was awake or not.

After eight rings, she heard a groggy "Hello?" Yep, she woke her aunt up. Nope, at the moment, she didn't care, thanks much for asking.

"Ginger, how do you do things like this? Why do you do things like this?"

"Oh, good morning, Sammi. Do things like what, dear?"

Samantha's blood was boiling now, though she couldn't really explain why she felt that way. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about."

"I might, if I'd had my first nine cups of coffee by now. Since I haven't, you're going to have to spell things out for me."

Inhale, exhale. In through the nose, out through the mouth. One more time, and breathe. "I just now realized how you manipulated me into staying the night at Archie's."

"Sammi, I have no idea what..."

"Save it, Auntie. I know you better than that."

"Okay, okay." Samantha could hear the at-the-moment insufferable glee in her voice. "I confess. But the truth of the matter is that you needed a gentle push in the right direction. As sweet and wonderful as a friendship can be, you both deserve more than that from each other.

"Sammi, you're mad at me, and that's fine. But I know that he wants more than a new friend out of this, only he's skittish. And I also know you feel exactly the same: eager, but apprehensive.

"Look, before you start fuming and doing that silly breathing thing to calm yourself down, let me ask you something."

"Dammit. And damn you for knowing me that well. Fine. One question, but it better be a good one."

"Okay, but I reserve the right to ask a followup: in the time that you two have spent together, has Archie ever, even once, physically touched you in a way that would suggest he wants to be more than your friend?"

Samantha was quiet for a full minute. "Okay, fine. You got me there."

"My followup: do you want him to?"

She could almost feel the anger draining from her face, being replaced with another, more rare but equally intense, emotion. "You know that I do, when the time is right."

"Then what you should be saying is 'Thank you, Auntie Ginger, for putting Archie and me in a position where the time can and hopefully will be right.'"

Chapter 10

The calendar said it had only been about a month since Samantha had asked Archie out for the first time, using Bailey as a flimsy excuse. To her, it somehow seemed like both a blink of an eye and a lifetime ago. They didn't need an excuse anymore, flimsy or otherwise, to get together, to talk, or anything else. Archie made her feel so at ease, so comfortable, that it felt like she'd known him forever. All those phone calls, the evenings spent quietly talking, just being together... It was like a dream come true. But Aunt Ginger was right: Samantha did want more than a friendship with Archie, and she was sure he did too. The only question was: how?

If working up the gumption to not-exactly ask Archie out had been difficult, finding the courage to initiate a physical relationship was proving to be nigh on impossible. But Samantha realized that Archie couldn't. Or wouldn't. Either way, she was going to have to make the first move, no matter how far out of her comfort zone it put her. She could only hope that, once he realized what she was doing, Archie would meet her there, maybe even enough to take the next step himself. That would be a relief; pretending to have the confidence that she really wished she had... well, it could be exhausting.

No plan. No strategy. Just play it by ear, and take the opportunity when it appears. Tonight, no matter how she had to manage it, her lips would feel the warmth of his for the first time. And if that led somewhere, if that would mean a night of exploring each other's bodies intimately instead of another night of dreaming about it, so much the better. With that conviction, Samantha set about to packing an overnight bag. One set of comfy flannel jammies, and something a bit sexier that she bought just for the occasion. You know, just in case.

She giggled like a girl half her age, but since no one was around, she could deny it ever happened.

*****

Archie was too restless to get back to sleep, too worked up about the night ahead. About 37 shopping trips, at least a billion web searches ("perfect gift ideas for new daters" was spectacularly unhelpful; seriously, who gives a crotch-less teddy as a first Christmas gift?) later, and he was still no closer to finding the perfect gift. The one that would show her how he felt, that this first Christmas together would, if he had his way, be the first of many.

His apartment was spotlessly clean. He knew it was, because the maid service he'd hired yesterday used "spotlessly clean" as the slogan on their vans. The next step in getting his place ready was cleaning himself. So even though dawn hadn't broken yet, and Samantha wouldn't be there for another 9 hours or so, he headed to the shower. Maybe that would clear his head enough that he could come up with the perfect gift in the final hours of shopping. Or at least enough that he could catnap.

Standing in the shower, he looked around to see if it was spotlessly clean too. And it was; all of his hygiene necessities were in their correct places. Wait... Hey, that might just do it! He quickly finished up in the shower, threw some clothes on, and called Ginger to demand that she meet him at Wal-Mart in 20 minutes.

That wasn't going to fly without a series of protests. "Archie, why this early, and why, for God's sake, are you shopping for your true love's perfect first Christmas gift at Wal-Mart?"

"Ginger, you promised to help. So get your ass in gear, and I'll explain it when I see you."

This was a side of Archie that had lain dormant for years: the confident, self-assured, but still chivalrous gentleman, capable of making sure decisions quickly. Ginger knew he was still in there, that he hadn't died in the Accident along with Valerie. And she was so glad to see him again, and so eager to encourage Archie to re-become that person... well, she was waiting for him outside the Wal-Mart in ten minutes flat.

When his bike pulled in, he did just that: explain to Ginger what he needed her help with. At that moment, she knew two things: the Archie she had missed for a long time was definitely back, and Samantha was going to love this side of him.