Audrey Hepburn's Pearls: Part I

Chapter 28.1: 1994, Ruiz

Chapter 28.1: 1994, Ruiz

 

"Ambrose, are you even pushing it?!"

"What? Of course I am! Are you pulling?"

Ambrose and I were in the middle of another tradition: the annual pulling of the Christmas tree to Miss Cha Cha's car. Next we would have to tie it to the roof, with spirited direction from Miss Cha Cha herself. Of course she was waiting inside the car with the heat blasting while we were outside pulling the prickly tree. 

The worst part was we'd have to come back for my Mama's tree later.

"I swear sap is rolling backwards up my nose! Can we switch positions?" Ambrose called up to me from what seemed like miles away. 

"Isn't that what you told your girlfriend last night?" Miss Cha Cha asked, suddenly standing in front of me like Wonder Woman. I blushed, stopping my pulling.

"No...Your Mama...I told...her," Ambrose breathed in the sudden stop, exhausted, slapping his hands on his knees to try to catch his breath doubled over. 

"Thank you for trying!" Miss Cha Cha chirped at him, taking the rope tied to the top of the tree from me. "You're almost there. I'll pull, you two push it."

"Its so cold," I complained, taking a position mid-way up the tree and grabbing some branches to pull it instead of pushing. 

"Here," Ambrose said, taking my mittened hands. He blew air into them, warming them sweetly with his body heat. I felt it filling my heart, too.

"After this we're going to get doughnuts and coffee," Miss Cha Cha announced, starting to pull on the rope. 

"I could use a jelly doughnut," Ambrose sighed, closing one eye so a prickly branch didn't stab it. 

Pretty soon as promised, we were at the car. Thankfully, Miss Cha Cha helped us heave the tree on top of it. I sat inside, tying the ropes against the ceiling tightly. When it was secure, Ambrose flew inside the car next to me like he was escaping a yeti. He was breathing heavily, the air from his mouth still making a puff. His heavy breathing was making my heart beat faster. Immediately, he began running his hands up and down my back. Warmth seeped in from his hands despite how cold he was.

"Are you warm enough?" he asked, still rubbing.

"Are you?" I asked, beginning to do the same to him. He giggled. At that moment, the car was filled with the sounds of Judy Garland singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". 

"Oh," Miss Cha Cha whispered quickly to herself, pressing a button on the radio to make it jump to another station. 

"Wait, that was nice. I want to hear it," Ambrose said after her, looking up at the radio. I paused, thinking about how Miss Cha Cha had just said "oh". I took Ambrose's hand, thinking still. 

"That song, no," Miss Cha Cha said quickly to us in Spanish. I saw her eyes darting in the mirror, but Ambrose didn't seem to. 

"Why not?" he protested. My grip squeezed his hand and he looked at me questioningly. I shook my head at him. He still looked deeply confused. But of course he didn't get the connection, because it hadn't been drilled into his head.

 

At Dunkin' Donuts, Ambrose and I were seated at the table while Miss Cha Cha was standing in line to get our coffees and doughnuts. Ambrose held my hands across the table, staring at the slow moving line. I squeezed his hand like in the car, and he looked at me with a wondering expression.