Crazy for Christmas

Chapter 1

It started a year ago on a forum devoted to prehistoric sites in Europe. Two users named artwelivein and mathgirl06 had a lively discussion in the section devoted to Newgrange in Ireland which lead to private messages. Which eventually lead to emails and nearly nightly chat sessions using a messaging program.

Eventually the two had exchanged their real names and over the course of their conversations had determined that they lived in different cities. Cassandra Cillian, mathgirl06, lived in Chicago. And Jacob Stone, artwelivein, was based out of Dallas but traveled quite a bit for his job. But beyond that, the two didn't talk about their jobs and they'd made an unspoken agreement not to seek out any communication beyond their emails and chats.

Both had been tempted to google the other, but never did. They'd built up a special relationship that seemed to be on another plane entirely. It was, as Jacob told her one night in chat, the best relationship he'd ever been in.

It's weird to have such strong feelings for someone whose face I've never seen and whose voice I've never heard.

Well, we could Skype I guess . . .

I know but somehow . . .I guess it's the romantic in me. I like what we have.

Sitting on her laptop at home, Cassandra lovingly caressed the screen, lost in thought.

Cassandra? Did I say something?

No, I just, I do kinda want to know what you look like. What color your eyes are, that kinda thing.

I guess maybe sending a photo wouldn't hurt. I'd have to go search, mine are all on my phone.

Well, I got some here, hang on.

There was a pause on both ends while they hunted for photos. Cassandra opened a folder that had some recent photos of herself and her friend Eve at a party. Eve was her usual stunning tall super model gorgeous self, but Cassandra felt like she at least had made a decent showing, even though she was so shy and nothing compared to Eve.

She returned to chat and typed Here we are:

Then attached the photo.

And stared in horror as the photo loaded and she realized she'd clicked on the photo next to the one of her. One of Eve.

Okay, well that was embarrassing. She'd just have to apologize . . . .

My God, you're gorgeous.

And then Jacob launched into nearly a paragraph of poetic praises of her beauty while Cassandra stared mouth open at the laptop. No, no, no, what had she done? Now she couldn't tell him that she'd made a mistake could she? Well, it wasn't as if they were ever going to meet. They'd discussed it a few times but their schedules made it impossible and Cassandra had long since given up. Maybe it was time to take Eve's advice and start looking for a man in town and start breaking away from this online lover. Even though she would never find a man like him, ever, anywhere. There was only one Jacob Stone and she was in love with him, sight unseen. What had she done? Now he believed that she looked like Eve. His artistic soul would be disappointed in her. She was pretty enough, but quirky and frilly, everything willowy Eve was not.

She realized that Jacob had excused him from the chat for a minute. That was good, it would let her have time to compose herself further.

Meanwhile in a hotel room across the country, Jacob Stone was panicking. He never expected his Cassandra to look like that. He imagined her to be small and bookish, she seemed so shy and quiet. A lot like him.