"Guess what tonight is!" Evan said excitedly. Zoe looked up from her copy of To Kill A Mockingbird and looked at him.
"I don't know. What is it?" She asked.
"Lighting of the lights! Down in the park!" Evan said. Zoe smiled.
"I guess we have to go then don't we?" Zoe asked. Evan nodded and Zoe continued to read her book.
"We should go out for dinner and then go to the park." Evan said. Zoe smiled.
"That sounds nice." She said.
"We could go to the Symposium." Evan said. Zoe smiled and nodded.
"That sounds perfect." She said. She put her book down and Evan leaned down and kissed her. She opened her book up again and Evan playfully ruffled her hair.
"Hey!" Zoe yelled. Evan laughed and grabbed his phone.
"I'll call Symposium!" Evan yelled. Zoe smiled and looked at the words on the page and laughed.
+++
"Okay, so dinner and then lights?" Zoe asked. She adjusted her shirt and looked into the mirror on her vanity.
"Yes!" Evan said. Zoe fixed her hair and Evan looked at her.
"You look beautiful." Evan said softly. Zoe smiled as Evan wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed along her jaw.
"I love you." Zoe said.
"I love you too." Evan said. Zoe fished her lipstick out of her makeup bag and Evan pocketed his phone. Zoe put her lipstick, her phone, her wallet, and her keys into her purse and adjusted her shirt.
"Okay! Le's go!" Zoe said excitedly. Evan grabbed her hand and the pair of them walked down the stairs.
"What's it like in the park?" Zoe asked, looking at her shoe collection.
"What?" Evan asked.
"Are the paths clear?" Zoe asked.
"I don't know. And either way, we're not staying on the paths. We need to get up close!" Evan said.
Zoe smiled and pulled her snow boots out of the closet and pulled them on. She laced them up and Evan helped her put her jacket on. She grabbed her mitts and her hat and handed Evan his.
"I'll drive if you want." Evan offered.
Zoe looked at him and fished her keys out of her purse. She handed them to Evan and Evan kissed her forehead after she pulled her hat on. She pulled her mitts on and kissed him.
"Let's get the hell out of here." Evan whispered.
Zoe nodded and Evan opened the door. She walked out and waited for him as he locked the door. She took his hand and the pair walked towards Zoe's Jeep.
+++
"Okay. Are you ready to go to the park?" Evan asked.
Zoe smiled and picked up her purse. She stood and put her jacket on. Evan stood and put his own jacket on. Zoe grabbed his hand and walked out of the restaurant. Evan looked across the street and smiled.
"Look at how dark it is." Evan said. Zoe smiled.
"It won't be for long. Come on! I think they start at 7." Zoe said.
She pressed the button at the crosswalk and waited for the light to change. Evan kissed her on the cheek as the light changed.
"Let's go!" Evan said excitedly.
Zoe and Evan ran across the street and into the park. Zoe looked around and started walking towards the platform where they'd announce the lighting of the lights.
They got to the platform just in time for the opening speech. The mayor was standing in front of a microphone completely bundled up.
"Welcome everyone to the annual Lighting of the Lights ceremony. It is an honour and a privilege for me to be here to celebrate with you all. So, the way this is going to work. I'll light the first tree. The other trees are on timers and they will come in when needed. After the first tree has been lit up, you are welcome to wander and see the other Christmas decorations in the park." The mayor said.
Evan tightened his grip on Zoe's hand and watched as the mayor plugged a cord into a power bar. The biggest tree in the park lit up almost instantly with candy cane coloured lights. Zoe gasped and smiled. Evan hugged her and the pair watched as the trees throughout the park lit up with different colours.
Zoe smiled as Evan dragged her to different coloured trees. They would stop and stare at the tree for a few minutes before moving to the next one.
"We should get hot chocolate after this." Evan said, standing in front of a blue and white coloured tree.
"Or, we could go home after this and I can make my special hot chocolate." Zoe asked. Evan looked at her and smiled.
"Yes. Let's do that instead." Evan said. Zoe smiled and Evan led her to another tree.
"How long do you think it takes to get all the lights up on the trees and all of them plugged in?" Zoe asked.
"A million years." Evan said. Zoe laughed and gently nudged him.
"Be serious." She said giggling. Evan shrugged.
"I don't know. Maybe, a week or two? Depending on the size of the group of people helping." Evan asked. Zoe nodded and Evan kissed her forehead.
"Either way, they still look pretty. Don't they Zo?" Evan asked.
Zoe nodded and rested her head on Evan's shoulder. He squeezed her hand and started to rub circles on the back of her hand.
"Thank you for coming with me." Evan said.
"It's no problem. I was hoping we'd be able to do this." Zoe said smiling. Evan kissed her forehead.
"I love you." He said.
"I know. I love you too."
