Carol had known Mike since high school. She admired him from afar through their formative years—even though she knew he was aware of her crush. Now that they were both in their mid-30s, she found herself once again lusting after him They literally bumped into each other at the superstore while she was shopping for Christmas presents. He was in town on business for a few days. They each exchanged numbers before going their separate ways. That was two days ago.
She was no longer the shy, quiet nerd who rarely spoke in class unless called upon. Now she knew what she wanted and with a confidence she felt through and through, she punched the numbers into her cell phone and hit call.
Carol laughed as she heard Mike's ring back song "Never Say Goodbye" by BonJovi playing. It was their class song in school and it made her smile. The smile turned into a giggle which turned into a full-blown fit of laughter.
"Yo," answered Mike. "What ARE you laughing at?"
"I can't believe you have THAT song as your ring back," said Carol. "Talk about living in the past. Speaking of the past, I was wondering if you'd like to come over and catch up on old times."
"Sure," he said. "Just gimme your address and I'll be right over."
She did and as she hit the end button thought he sounded just as eager as she to see each other again. Not wanting to look too eager and wanton, she had just a touch of makeup on, wore a pair of oversized loungewear that covered her large breasts. A smile crossed her face knowing she wore nothing underneath her clothes.
Ding-dong went the doorbell and Carol's heart jumped in her throat. She walked to the front door and whispered, "Who is it?" "It's the big bad wolf. Don't make me huff and puff and blow this door in."
It felt good to Carol to be laughing and joking with Mike. This is just what she had imagined them to be like in high school. He still looked practically the same—tall, dark and handsome. He had lost the curl in his brown hair and gained a few pounds around the middle, but he still made her insides melt after all these years.
"Nice decorations," he said bringing Carol back to the present. He pointed at the colorful display of lights surrounding the top of the house and the many inflatable Santas, snowmen, and presents adorning her neatly manicured lawn. She motioned for him to come in and her wreath covered in ribbon and gold balls swayed against the door as he shut it.
"Good Lord! Did the North Pole throw up in here or what?!?!" Mike noticed the inside was even more decorated than the outside. Carol's 7 ft. Christmas tree stood lit in front of the double windows in the living room and had at least 100 ornaments on it including the silver and blue accented ones. He also noticed she had many presents wrapped and ready for Christmas Eve.
"What can I say?" said Carol. "I love this time of year...most of the time." Carol and Mike didn't get that much time to share all that had happened since that graduation day years ago. Carol didn't want to dwell on her bitter divorce two years ago on this night.
"I was married for almost 10 years and became not-married two years ago," she said. "We didn't have any children but last year's Christmas was pretty rough for me. I decided it's no reason for me to not celebrate my favorite time of year."
"Wow," said Mike. "I had no idea. I was married for a brief time right after college but it didn't last long and have been living as a happy-go-lucky bachelor ever since."
"Nothing like getting all that mushy gushy stuff outta the way first," she said. "Let's sit down and see what you've been up to all these years."
Mike told her about moving to Chicago and working as an engineer while Carol spoke of her life as a graphic designer.
"Oh my goodness. I'm such a horrible hostess!" she said. "Would you like something to drink? I've got some wine, Bud light, diet pop, water or milk."
"How about you break out the wine and we'll share a toast," he said.
She brought back two glasses, the bottle and the opener and handed it to him. He made quick work of the cork and poured the reddish-purple liquid into each of the glasses.
He sat back down on the couch and handed Carol her glass and raised his.
"To us," he began. "May we find peace, joy and happiness during this festive season."
"To us," repeated Carol. They clinked their glasses and began to drink their wine. "Now that I'm getting you all liquored up, I have a question for you."
Mike nodded, having a pretty good idea what was coming.
