A Husky Christmas

❄️Chapter 5❄️

"The address is Ninten St. 3499?
That's...maybe an hour or so from here." Mary fiddled with her pen and finally popped the cap off. She set the cap aside and bent over the pad to write down the address. When she finished, she tossed the pen aside and handed the paper to me with a slight hesitance.

I took it and looked down at the clean handwriting before looking at her with a concerned, 'what's wrong?'

Seeming to see this, she ducked her head before silently asking, "Is it alright if I go with you guys? I want to make sure Ruby's alright."

Silence engulfed the room, but soon enough, I snapped out of my haze and nodded quickly, "Yes- yeah. That's fine. Right Hannah?" I turned almost hopefully looking at her, but making myself seem nonchalant.

However Hannah saw through the charade and nodded with a small smirk.

"Yup, that's great with me. We," she pointed at herself and I, "are just best friends."

I couldn't help but give her a silent glare as we walked away with Mary trailing behind us.

She just replied with a knowing and daring look before speeding up her walk and almost prancing out the door with Caramel in her arms.

Silence, once again, hovered around Mary an I. I couldn't help but slow down a bit so she could catch up, and when she did I bit my lower lip as I thought of what to say.

Finally, something did blurt out.

"So, what's your last name? If it's Christmas, say no more."

What?!

I heard Mary chuckle softly beside me and then she went silent a moment.

"It's Breames. Mary Breames." She said. Suddenly, she whipped around and gave me a little mischievous look and stuck her hand out like she had just met me.

"Hi, good sir. What's your last name?" She asked and couldn't maintain the giggle that spluttered from her lips after.

I took up the act and smiled broadly, sticking my hand out and shaking hers.

"It's Shawn, Shawn Matthews ma'am. And must I ask, how're you?" I said, in such a trivial and thick voice that Mary couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"I'm...laughing. That's how I am..." She said in between laughs, breathing in shallow and giggling breaths.

I grinned, my eyes dancing with happiness as we came up to the Cherokee.

Hannah rose a knowing eyebrow at me from the other side of the car as she got in the drivers seat, and started the car.

I reached out before Mary could get to the back door and I grabbed the handle for the front passenger seat. Opening the door, I smiled the same broad smile as before at her.

"After you, madam." I chuckled when she just smiled back, barely holding back a giggle. But Mary stepped in and I closed the door behind her.

Getting into the back of the car, I immediately noticed the two girls talking already as if they were best friends. They were talking about romance, apparently.

"I had no clue there were so many ways to win someone over." Mary laughed.

"Yeah. And the best way is to offer them true love. And by that, I mean a puppy, or a kitten. Really, anything they would want." Hannah explained as if it was that simple and easy.

"Han, stop filling this girl's mind with lies. The only way to find true love is to actually be yourself and ask the person you like. If they say no...well then it's not exactly true love then, is it?" I was joking at the start, but as I had started saying more and more words, I started meaning them. Does that mean that I should ask Mary if she'd go on a date with me?

I immediately shook myself out of those thoughts and looked out the window to see the houses trail past swiftly. Each had different Christmas light designs on it. One, in fact, had a nativity scene on it and it seemed like it was a huge family of Baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and all the animals and wise men.

I wasn't exactly Catholic, but I definitely went to church every week on Sunday, and I'm hoping maybe Mary does too.

I sighed, my breath hitting the window and making it fog up for a minute before dissolving into nothing.

Apparently Mary caught my instant disappointing sigh, and turned a bit in her chair to look back at me.

"What's up?" She said, then seemed to think that over a bit and rephrased the question, "I mean, you alright? With Ruby and all that..."

I looked at her for a moment before nodding with a small smile, "I'm fine. I just hope Ruby is."

Then a bark emitted from beside me and I almost jerked the car, snapping my head to look down at Caramel, who had been curled into a ball beside me. She was apparently awake now.

"Hey Caramel." I smiled, letting her little tongue lick my hands. She sniffed the air and then hopped up onto my lap and sniffed the window.

"What're you doing?" I murmured, watching the small puppy stick her nose against the window, making it look like her nose was smashed against it.

I rose an eyebrow at Caramel and then glanced up at Mary, seeing her looking back here with a beautiful smile on her face made me break out a smile too.

"O-Oh!" Hannah instantly blurted out. She reached out and hovered around the dashboard, figuring out what she wanted to flick before finally pushing a button.

Almost immediately Christmas songs were bursting through the radio and I saw Mary shoot a big smile and an excited look at Hannah.

I chuckled, hearing the two girls nod along to the music in the car. I could barely keep my own foot from bouncing along with the beats that came on.

"I dare you two to sing along!" Hannah proclaimed, eyeing me through the rear view mirror, and then winked when Mary was looking the other way.

"What?" I spluttered, "I really have no singing voice. You guys can sing along." I instantly backed off.

Mary gave me a little pleading look, but went no further, turning back to Hannah and opening her mouth as if she was about to say something.

Then the next song started, This Christmas Eve, by Ryan Stevenson, and Mary instantly smiled.

"'I wake up in the morning- open up my shades,'" Mary began with Ryan, nodding along, "'there's a winter wonderland outside.'"

Hannah nodded along for a moment and then joined in, "'Even though...it's been cold! I know we can weather any storm.'"

I couldn't help the gleeful smile that fell upon my face when I heard Mary sing happily with Hannah. I wrapped my arms around Caramel and made a small show of pretending to make the puppy dance to the song, except with only her paws and not the rest of her.

The car rumbled along the road with Christmas songs in the air around us. Caramel was yipping happily. I was laughing at the adorableness of her. Mary was laughing and singing at the same time, and Hannah was singing along to the song and driving, smiling at me through the mirror.