The rest of the night felt like a blur but the numerous people who kept stealing Lucas and I away from each other to give their congratulations distracted me from what he had confessed. By the time we finally met up with each other and Abbie and Sophie, my mind had forgotten all about it.
"I'm sorry you guys! I have to run! One last test super early tomorrow then I'm off to mom and dads for Christmas," Abbie said sounding sad.
"You'll do fine tomorrow!" Lucas reassured her, bringing her in for a hug. "Tell mom and dad we say hi and sorry we couldn't make it this year with my schedule being too busy."
"They know! And they're really proud of you, Lulu!" Abbie gave him a stiff sisterly punch in the chest when he tried to put her in a headlock for calling him that name.
"Give a big hug to Auntie Abbie and we'll see her in two weeks!" Lucas said but Sophie was already on it.
"Oooh, I'm gonna miss you!" Abbie squeezed Sophie like a python.
"And LULU better video your ice skating performance for me! I can't believe I'm going to miss it!"
"You've seen me practice a hundred times!"
"I know but I want to see it 101 times!" Abbie stated, giving Sophie another hug.
"And I'm sorry I haven't had much time to hang out with you, Sydney, but maybe we can all get together when I get back?" Abbie suggested kindly.
"That sounds great. Have a safe flight and good luck on your finals."
"Thanks! Alright you guys, Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Congratulations again! I'll miss you-"
"Get outta here already!" Lucas shooed her lovingly and she walked off, turning around waving bye for the millionth time.
We walk around the town hall together where there's plenty of festivities for Christmas including an arts and crafts station for the little ones, wreath and ornament making and so much more until we come across Santa Claus and a large line of kids waiting to sit on his lap.
"Wanna go see Santa and tell him what you want for Christmas?" Lucas said to Soph and she looked up at him with a know-it-all look on her face.
"I'm too old to believe in Santa, Dad!" she replied with sass.
"Wait! Are you telling me Santa isn't real?" Lucas whispered, sounding panicked and Sophie burst out in giggles.
"No matter what Soph, everyone has a Christmas wish and I still believe Santa has some magic up his sleeves!"
"Alright, fine! Can we get hot cocoa after?"
"Tell you what, you go wait in line for Santa with Syd and I'll grab us all some hot chocolates so they're ready by the time you're done."
"Ok!"
We make our way to the back of the line while Lucas goes out of sight to grab us some hot chocolate.
"Soo, what do you think you'll ask Santa for?" I started up small talk with Soph.
"I dunno. Dad already got me what I wanted and your gift was totally awesome too!"
"Well, just like your dad said, a Christmas wish can be a-n-y-thing you want. Even something that's not materialistic," I told her and she looked at me like she was really thinking of that one special wish.
The long line was surprisingly speeding through as most kids already had what they wanted from Santa on the tip of their tongues or some kids were still too young and burst into tears the second they were plopped on his lap. The next thing we knew we were up next.
"Hmm, your dad's not back yet," I said looking around thinking he'd want to be here for this too.
"Ok, you're next sweetheart" The elf attendant said to Sophie, escorting her to Santa sitting in his big chair.
I whipped out my phone and got my camera set on video to record Sophie sitting on his lap so Lucas could at least watch it later.
"Ho! Ho! Ho! What's your name, little girl?" I heard Santa ask from a distance away but luckily I was close enough to catch Sophie's faint voice.
"Sophie."
"And what would you like for Christmas, Sophie?"
"Well, I know everyone asks for toys and stuff but I just want one thing." Her soft, sweet voice sounds so innocent and sincere, it melts my heart.
"It's always just been me and my dad and I've been ok with that, but...now he has a girlfriend and that's been cool too but..." my stomach begins to turn as my heart feels like it's about to plummet at her words, tone of voice, and most alarming is the subtle mention of me. "It's made me miss having a mom and so...that's what I really want for Christmas." Sophie finished.
"Well, wrapping up a mom and putting her under a tree is a very hard thing to do, Sophie," Santa replied in his deep, grumbly voice.
"I know, but could you at least try?" Sophie said looking up at him so pitifully, I stopped recording and dropped the phone to my side as my arms just went limp.
"Ok, I'll see what I can do. Merry Christmas, Sophie."
"Shoot! Did I miss it?" I heard Lucas's voice coming up beside me, sounding out of breath, holding three to-go cups of hot chocolate.
"Merry Christmas, Santa," Sophie said, hopping off his lap.
"Yeah...you missed it," I answered, nearly choking back tears and keeping my head down.
"I ummm, I'm going to go. It's been a crazy day and I'm exhausted." I try to escape before Sophie comes back.
"Are you ok?" Lucas asked worriedly.
"Yeah...just tired. Go enjoy the night just the two of you." I gave him a quick peck so he wouldn't keep prying or suspect anything and he reluctantly handed me a to-go cup of hot cocoa.
"Alright then. I..." he cleared his throat and nervously scratched the back of his neck like he just stopped himself from saying something. "I...will see you tomorrow then?"
"Yeah, goodnight," I responded weakly, turning around but didn't stop as I made my way through the crowd quickly. I made it just outside to the cold, brisk air hitting me like a thousand needles on my skin just like how my heart felt.
***
"Oh wow!" Naomi said solemnly as I showed her the video of Sophie and Santa. "That just makes you want to cry."
"Did you show it to Lucas?"
"Of course not! This would break his heart."
"Not necessarily, Sophie could be feeling a connection to you."
"She clearly wasn't talking about me, Naomi. You heard her! Now he has a girlfriend and that's been cool too BUT!" I emphasized my reasoning.
"But what? You don't know she wasn't talking about you, and what if she was?" Naomi said with hopefulness in her voice.
"She deserves someone much better than me, Naomi. Someone like Miss Beth!"
"Who's Miss Beth?" Naomi questioned.
"Her ice skating teacher. I met her out on the rink with them and she seems like she's the perfect fit for Sophie," I said gravely walking away to stop this conversation from going any farther.
"Sydney!" Naomi called out but I was already grabbing my coat and heading out for a walk to clear my head.
YOU ARE READING
Love Is Messy, Love Is Sweet
Conto***COMPLETED*** Lucas Wilde is wild and carefree at heart. He has the tendency to not follow the rules or do things by the book. Which just makes Sydney loathe him even more when his new coffee shop down the street has been stealing the thunder from...
