Can't Love Christmas

Six

There was a shift in the energy in the town on November twelfth. As social media was inundated with images of holiday cups from the big coffee chains, all the stores in town put up their Christmas displays. Christmas was in the air.

Ash woke up early on Sunday morning. It was parade day. The official start to the Christmas season. Sadiq had asked for volunteers to hand out Christmas stickers with the Pharmacy name on them, and Ash jumped at the chance. She would be at the parade for hours, but having something to do seemed like a good alternative to watching the parade alone.

She dressed in her cutest winter outfit. She wore black jeans with her Chelsea boots, put on her red pea coat, tossed her white leather mini backpack over her shoulders, and topped the look with a cream coloured beanie with an oversized fur pom pom. Mother nature had blessed the town with a light dusting of snow overnight, and it looked magical. Ash was going to get the perfect photos.

She arrived an hour before the official start of the parade. There were already chairs set out along the street, the unlucky family members set out to save seats for the rest of the family huddled from the cold. She spotted Rowan setting up a table in front of the Town Hall. There was a truck parked nearby with some folding chairs and three large percolators in the flat bed. There was a stack of large cardboard boxes that Mandy lifted easily, as if they weighed nothing at all. Ash watched as she carried them to Rowan, then continued searching for Margaret's arrival.

"Ashtyn, I didn't expect you to be here so early." Margaret called out as she approached.

"Hi Margaret. I just couldn't resist. Happy official start to Christmas!"

"Oh settle down dear girl. My morning coffee has not kicked in yet. I need to get another one from Rowan, but he doesn't look ready yet. Tsk tsk, he's running late this year."

Ash had enough energy she didn't want to wait around for coffee, so she grabbed her materials from Margaret and headed to scout out the floats before the parade began.

For such a small town, she was impressed with how big the parade seemed to be. There were classic cars, bands, dancers, and floats all lined up and ready to go. Most of the participants were huddled around their hot chocolates or coffees, anxious to begin and unable to snuggle under a blanket during the wait.

One of the floats turned on its music and everyone started to find their way to the starting positions. The streets were lined with spectators, and Ash immersed herself in the crowd to give out the stickers and share in the joy. 

The parade marshal got the crowd pumped up, and the marching band followed. Ash wasn't sure how they could play in such cold weather, but nothing seemed to stop their beat. Her area covered the first third of the parade route, and she loved the behind the scenes feel it provided her. 

_

An hour later, Ash was out of stickers and headed back to Town Hall. She had the perfect idea for a picture, and if she timed it right, she'd even get Santa Claus's float in the background. She'd have instagram gold.

Rowan wasn't at the refreshment table when she got there; she quickly thanked her lucky stars for that, and pulled out her phone. She tried to line up her shot, but couldn't quite get the right angle. She heard the cheers of the crowd getting louder, and knew her perfect shot was upon her.

"Do you need some help?"

"No, I'm fine." She turned her face away to hide her blush, and tried to line up the shot again.

Rowan watched quietly for another minute. "Are you sure?"

Ash could see the float turning the corner and sighed. "Fine. I'm trying to get Santa's float with the edge of town hall, the main clock, that Christmas tree, and me all in one shot."

"Oh is that all?" He smirked. Ash worried it was one of only three facial expressions he was capable of.

"Are you going to help or not?"

"Yes I am. Let me see your phone." She handed it over and he moved around to snap some photos. He handed the phone back to her, "how's that? Need me to change something?"

Ash scrolled through the photos and gasped. They were perfect. They didn't even need a filter. "Thanks," she whispered under her voice, looking at her phone.

"You're welcome." His voice sounded smug, and she glanced up sharply.

"Why are you being nice now? You hate me."

Rowan looked truly shocked. "Where did you get that idea? I don't even know you well enough to hate you."

"Well you certainly haven't acted that way."

"What?"

Ash put her hands on her hips. "You've been a jerk to me every time we've interacted. So either you hate me, or you're just a jerk. Since you just did such a nice thing, it's sort of ruling out you being a jerk."

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no sound came out. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Listen, Ashtyn, I'm sorry I've given you that impression. I have to finish some stuff up here, but will you meet me at the pub later? So I can figure out what the hell you are talking about, and maybe explain myself?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Okay. Meet me there in about an hour."