Can't Love Christmas

One

Ash finished scrubbing dried potato from the last of the serving spoons and tossed it into the rinse sink. The splash soaked the sleeve of the man beside her.

He sighed. "It was only the dishes that need washing right now, not me." It was the longest sentence he'd grumbled to her all evening.

"Sorry!" Ash blushed as her blue eyes met his brown ones, and bit her lower lip. She had tried not to stare at the handsome stranger all evening, but it was more than the heat of the kitchen and dishwashers that made her flush.

He sighed. "Don't worry about it. This water was clean at least."

"Let me find you a dry towel at least!" She shuffled through the drawer trying to find anything half decent. After an entire day serving food and washing dishes, there was almost nothing left, but for one ratty rag in the back of the bottom drawer. "Here you go."

He snatched the rag from her hand with a grunt and wandered back to the bar area. "I didn't do it on purpose," she whispered at his retreating back, her cheeks bright with shame.

Ash finished wiping down the counters and took one last look around the area. Her broody dishwashing partner had dried and put away everything else while she searched for a towel. It looked pristine, so she headed out to the office to find her coat.

An elderly lady with dark skin and greying braids piled atop her head focused on the spreadsheet in front of her, but she looked up when Ash knocked on the door frame.

"Oh! Come in, come in. Got something on your mind, Miss Ashtyn?"

"Oh, no I didn't want to disturb you Miss Charlene, I just wanted to grab my things." She gestured to the coats and bags hanging on the wall.

"Oh of course. I'm just looking at the invoices for everything. Trying to see how much money we have left for Christmas this year."

At the mention of Christmas, Ash perked right up. "Oh! I love Christmas. I can't wait to see everything they do around here for it. I'm sure it's beautiful!"

"Oh, it really is, dear. The town goes all out."

"No Christmas talk until AFTER Remembrance Day!" Ash shrunk back as the large form of the grumpy dish dryer crowded through the doorway. There was nearly a foot of height difference between them, and at least fifty pounds of muscle.

"Oh hush, Rowan. Miss Ashtyn was just asking what the town does for the holiday season. No harm in that now is there?"

He appeared to disagree. "It's like Christmas starts earlier and earlier every year. We haven't even had Halloween yet, and those decorations are already getting pushed to the side in stores to make way for fake Santas and fake trees. Not to mention the lack of respect for our vets if they'd just wait twelve more days before shoving Christmas so far down our throats we practically choke on the tinsel and fake snow. It's barely fall here, why are you worrying about Christmas already?" He glowered at Ash.

She struggled to find her voice to respond, but Miss Charlene cut in first. "You better direct those eyes somewhere else Mr. Bremmer. I brought it up first. Miss Ashtyn has done nothing wrong. You're going to scare her off from ever helping again!"

He glanced down at his sleeve, as if wondering if that would be such a bad thing after all. He opened his mouth to speak, but Ash cut him off. "Well, I'd best be getting home. Thanks for everything today, Miss Charlene."

"You're not going to stay for the volunteer thank you toast?"

"No, I should head out."

"Okay, you take care now sweetie! Drive safe."

Rowan stared stonily at the opposite wall, so Ash ducked out of the room behind him and headed straight to the parking lot.

***

She pulled into the driveway of her duplex and saw Mrs. Rawson's cat sitting on her front step.

"Geoffrey! You're not supposed to be out here." The fluffy white cat seemed to escape outdoors every other day, much to Mrs. Rawson's displeasure. If he wasn't "lost" outside and sending her neighbour into a panic, Geoffrey would sit in the windows and judge passersby. Ash was not particularly fond of Geoffrey, but she was very fond of Mrs. Rawson and wanted to help.

She hefted Geoffrey up to Mrs. Rawson's front door, despite his indignant meows. She rang the doorbell and waited the full two minutes it took Mrs. Rawson to answer it. The door opened to a thin woman with her white hair perfectly styled, makeup done, adorned in big earrings and a classic pearl necklace. She wore leggings and a ruby red tunic with an open kimono flowing from her shoulders.

"Geoffrey! Bad kitty. How did you get outside again?" Ash handed over the cat, who looked less than pleased with the handling.

"He was sitting on my front step again."

"Of course he was. He's fixed, but he doesn't act like it. Still thinks he's the stud of the block."

Ash let out an awkward chuckle. "Was he ever?"

"We'll never know for sure, but Mr. Nickels accused him of such when he ended up with a litter of kittens. Twice."

"Oh! That's a lot of kittens."

"I took both cats to be fixed after that. Now he can't blame my sweet Geoffrey for causing trouble." She nuzzled Geoffrey and Ash took a step back from the door. Mrs. Rawson noticed the movement. "How was Thanksgiving dinner at The Willow and Fern"

"It was good. Busy, lots to do, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves."

"Did you meet anyone who caught your eye?" The wink Mrs. Rawson sent her made Ash blush again.

"No, no such luck today."

"Oh." Mrs. Rawson pouted at that. "Wasn't Rowan there? He's always at those dinners."

"Oh. Yeah, I kinda met him."

"He's such a lovely young man. And so handsome!"

Ash could only find it in herself to agree to half of that statement.

Mrs. Rawson was undeterred by her shrug. "Well, you'll find someone. I have no doubt about that."

"Thanks, Mrs. Rawson. But I'm not too worried about it. I'm just focusing on getting settled here." Ash shuffled her feet, inching towards her own door. "Well, I better head inside. I've got a few chores I need to get done tonight."

"Oh of course my dear, I won't keep you. Thank you for bringing Geoffrey back. I haven't got a clue when the little rascal got out!"

"Good night Mrs. Rawson."

Ash looped around and up the stairs to her own front door, easing the door open. She tossed her keys and purse on the small table next to the door, and hung her coat and scarf on their pegs. Though her entryway was narrow, the rest of her space opened up quite nicely.

It was a one bedroom plus den, with a large bathroom, and a decent sized kitchen. The living room had off-white walls and carpet, and there was a large mandala tapestry tacked above a large, grey couch littered with multi-coloured throw pillows. There were mismatched coffee and end tables which Ash had painted all light blue in an attempt to bring them together, but she didn't use the right paint and it had already flaked off in a few spots. The television was small and perched on a small tv stand that was stacked with a haphazard collection of CDs, DVDs, and notebooks. The corner was occupied by a big round chair with a fluffy yellow blanket thrown on it.

The kitchen was messy with the dishes from breakfast and lunch balanced in a precarious pile in the sink, and some snacks still spread over the counter. Ash glanced at the mess  and made the executive decision to ignore it in favour of crashing on the couch instead. She'd done enough dishes for one day, and they weren't hurting anyone as they were.

*Author's Note*

Hi Friends! Thanks so much for checking out my book. 

If you like what you've read and want to support me, please click the star to vote. Don't forget, you can vote on every single chapter, and each vote helps me out.

-K