"Merry Christmas!" Blaine greeted Reese as she opened the front door. "Is Natalie around? I brought her a Christmas present."
"You're just in time," Reese said as she walked with Blaine into the living room. "She was just getting ready to meet with her friends."
"If it's not a good time, I can come by later," Blaine offered.
"No, it's fine. I know she will be glad to see you."
As Blaine sat down with Reese in the living room, he noticed Simon was on the other side of the room talking on the phone.
"So, have you been having a nice Christmas so far?"
"Yes, very nice. How about you?"
"It's been good. I just came from spending some time with the kids over at Cassie's house. I guess it's technically my house too, but it feels weird to say."
Reese just nodded and was thankfully spared from further small talk as Natalie came downstairs. Blaine and Natalie greeted each other with hugs and season's greetings before Blaine handed her the gift he had brought.
"I hope you like it."
"I do. Thank you so much," she said as she opened the box and fastened the necklace inside around her neck.
"Your mom said you had plans, so I don't want to keep you."
"No, it's fine. My friends can wait."
Even though Natalie insisted that she didn't mind staying, Blaine felt like she was trying not to hurt his feelings. "If you aren't busy later this week let's go out and see the Christmas lights or go to a movie. I can see if Brooke and Doug want to come too."
"I would like that," Natalie said hesitantly, "but I don't think Brooke likes me that much."
"Oh. Well, we can figure something out. I thought it would be fun to do something together before I start my new job."
"I heard about the job. Congratulations," Simon said as he hung up the phone and joined the group in the living room. "I work at the Townsend Corporation too, so we might be running into each other."
"Cool. I'll keep an eye out for you."
"Sorry if I'm interrupting, but I have good news," Simon said, turning his attention to Reese. "My family is going to be able to make it for the wedding. My parents have their flights and hotel rooms booked."
"That's great," Reese smiled.
"I can't wait for them to meet you and Natalie."
"So you've set a date?" Blaine asked.
"Yes. New Year's Day. A new year and a new beginning," Simon smiled.
"That's soon," Blaine remarked.
"I know," Reese agreed. "But it's going to be a very small wedding. Just immediate family."
Blaine just nodded as he tried to sort out the mix of emotions he was feeling. He wasn't sure how he should be feeling, but he was slightly stung that he wasn't included as family and not invited. He also couldn't help feeling like he had a real connection with Reese that he didn't want to let go before he even had a chance to explore it.
As he walked out with Natalie, she on her way to meet her friends at the park and he back to the Spencer's, he felt unsettled. He had expected to feel something more warm and inviting at Reese's house like he had with the family at Cassie's, but instead, it had been quiet and a little bit awkward.
As he passed by Cassie's house, he wondered if he should have stayed longer or if he should go back there now. Being there had been lively and fun but underneath it all he still felt the constant pressure to try to fill the role he used to play in the family. He wasn't sure if that was who he was anymore.
He was sure he had known where he belonged before the accident, but now he felt like he didn't fit in anywhere. He wondered if he was always going to feel out of place.
* * * * *
After parting ways with her father, Natalie headed toward the park. She was excited and intrigued about the text that had asked her to meet at the picnic shelter as she wondered what the meeting would bring.
She read it again as she walked. Hey Natalie, I'm at the park thinking about how fun it was hanging Xmas decorations with you. Can you meet me there now?
There was no name on the text and the number wasn't in her contacts, but she had a pretty good idea of who it must be from. When she saw Vince sitting on one of the picnic tables at the park, drawing in his sketchbook, she was both nervous and relieved.
"Hey," she greeted him.
"Hey. What are you doing here?" he asked, quickly closing his sketchbook.
Natalie frowned. "You didn't text me to meet you here?"
"No, sorry." When she showed him the text, he shook his head. "That's not my number. Were you hoping it was me?"
"I thought maybe," she admitted, but now she was more concerned about who had actually sent her the text.
"Maybe it was Jeremy," she said hopefully as she saw Jeremy leaving the Wilton's house, followed by Judith.
"I hope not," Vince said. When Natalie looked at him quizzically, he explained, "I wouldn't like it if he were arranging secret meetings with you when he's supposed to be seeing my sister."
"I wouldn't like that either," Natalie admitted. "But at least he's someone I know."
Even though Jeremy and Judith were headed to the park, instead of coming toward the picnic shelter they stayed near the pond where they met up with Maura who approached from the other direction.
"So, not Jeremy or Judith or Maura," Natalie said, starting to feel frantic. Maybe the part about decorating the park together had been a lie and it didn't come from someone in the neighborhood. "Then who is this from? What if I have a stalker?" She felt incredibly stupid for assuming a text from an unknown number was from someone she knew and could trust. Anyone could have been here waiting for her.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone else here," Vince said as he looked around. "I can wait with you and see if anyone else shows up."
"Would you? I would like that," Natalie said.
* * * * *
Across the park Maura was excited to spend time with Jeremy. She had their meeting all planned out, starting with exchanging presents and ending underneath a sprig of mistletoe she had hung at the picnic shelter. However, Judith's presence was a detail she had not prepared for.
"I hope you don't mind that Judith came with," Jeremy said as they approached.
"I was hoping it would just be you and me, but it's fine," Maura said.
"Sorry, but I just had to get out of the house," Judith apologized. "I can give you your space."
"No, don't worry about it," Maura insisted. "You're my best friend and it's Christmas, of course, I'm glad to see you."
Even though she was sure Maura meant what she said, Judith could tell that her friend was mentally scrambling to make adjustments to whatever she had planned for her time with Jeremy.
"Look, Vince and Natalie are here too," Judith said as she spotted the pair at the picnic shelter. "I'm going to go over and say hi."
As she left Jeremy and Maura, eager to jump on an opportunity to give Maura and Jeremy some privacy, she felt like she was just moving from being a third wheel with one couple to a third wheel with another couple.
"Are your brother and Natalie dating now?" Jeremy asked as he squinted at the pair at the picnic tables.
"Not that I'm aware of," Maura responded. Normally, she would have been excited about that possibility, but at the moment she was more concerned about how long they were planning to stay there. She loved her brother, but wasn't excited about the possibility of him witnessing her first kiss. Maybe her plan wasn't so well thought out after all, but there was still part of her agenda that could be salvaged.
"I got you something," Maura said as she produced a wrapped gift. "Merry Christmas."
"I got you something too," Jeremy said as he handed her her present. He was glad his father and Judith had drawn attention to the fact that he needed to get her a present, otherwise, he would have felt like a complete jerk.
"Open yours first," Maura insisted. She was more excited to see his reaction to her present than she was to see what he had gotten her. He had barely removed the wrapping before she was telling him what it was. "I made you a mix CD, so you have something to listen to in your car."
"Thanks. That's really great," he said as he flipped the case over to look at the back.
"The list of songs is a surprise. You have to listen to it to find out what's on it," Maura said with a smile. She opened the gift that Jeremy had given her and pulled out a crystal snowflake ornament. "It's so beautiful. It's just like the ones I said I liked when we were decorating together."
"I remembered."
"Now I can put this on the Christmas tree every year and remember this Christmas when we decorated the park. I love it!" she said as she grabbed him in a big hug.
"Yeah, no problem," he said awkwardly. He tried not to, but he couldn't help glancing over at the group at the picnic tables to see if any of them, and especially Natalie, were watching.
* * * * *
At the picnic shelter, Natalie and Vince had filled Judith in on Natalie's unknown text message. She joined them on their lookout for the mystery texter, but there didn't seem to be anyone else in the park or anywhere nearby in the neighborhood.
"Why don't you call the number and see who answers?" Judith suggested.
Natalie took out her phone but hesitated. "Why does this have me so spooked?"
"Because it is spooky."
"I'll call them for you if you want," Vince offered.
"No, I can do it," Natalie insisted. "If they're expecting me and hear a guy's voice, it might scare them off."
Nervously, Natalie hit the call button. She placed the call on speaker as Vince and Judith leaned in to listen.
"Hello?"
Natalie was startled to hear a woman's voice answer. "Hi. I got a text from this number earlier and I wanted to know whose phone this is?"
"Who is this?" the woman asked suspiciously.
"Did you try to text someone named Natalie earlier today?"
There was a long pause before the woman answered. "No, I haven't sent any texts. Please don't bother me again."
The three teenagers exchanged bewildered looks as the woman on the other end of the line hung up.
"Okay, that was really weird," Judith said, breaking their stunned silence.
"Are you okay?" Vince asked Natalie, who just shook her head. "Do you want me to walk you home?"
She nodded. "Yes, I would appreciate that."
"Be careful," Judith said as they moved to leave.
"Are you going to be alright, Jude?" Vince asked.
"Yeah, Jeremy and Maura are here. We'll keep an eye on each other. I'll warn them to watch out for anyone unusual."
"I'll be back in a few," Vince promised as Judith started to walk away. If there was a weirdo around, he didn't want to leave Maura in the park either.
When Vince turned back to Natalie she was staring off, lost in her own thoughts. "This has you really shaken up, hasn't it? It was probably just a wrong number or a crossed connection."
"I would think so too, but how could it be when the message was so specific and it mentioned me by name?"
"I wish I knew."
As Vince gathered his sketchbook and pencils, Natalie wandered around the picnic shelter. She gazed out across the park, looking for some clue, but the park was quiet, with no one other than her friends in sight.
"Ready?" Vince asked, startling Natalie from her thoughts.
"Yes," she said, but before she started to leave she added, "I am really glad you were here."
"Me too." As he glanced up, something caught his eye.
Natalie followed his gaze, alarmed that he might have spotted something suspicious, but instead, she saw something completely benign.
"Huh? It looks like someone hung up some mistletoe. We don't have to-" Vince started to say, but before he could finish his thought, Natalie was already leaning in to kiss him.
* * * * *
Across the park, Jeremy looked up to see Judith hurrying towards them, but his eyes went past her and his heart sank as he saw Natalie and Vince kissing under the mistletoe. He quickly looked away, telling himself that he had no right to feel any certain way about them together when he was supposed to be with Maura. He knew he had to stop doing this.
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