Christmas Steele (15 page)

Her goodbye exchange with Mr. Middleton had
given Lacy even more cause for hope. “Goodbye, Mr. Middle—Tom,” she
had corrected herself, politely extending her hand.

“Goodbye, Fran,” he had said in his usual
reserved way that belied none of what he must have felt at saying
goodbye to his daughter as if she were a stranger.

“Call me Frannie,” Lacy’s mother had replied
with a smile. He had smiled in return, and Lacy’s spirits had
soared.

Lacy’s poor grandmother, on the other hand,
had spent Christmas day with a miserable hangover, but still
managed to have a good time after Lacy and her grandfather managed
to convince her that she hadn’t done anything too embarrassing
while she was inadvertently drunk. They also convinced her it was
their little secret, not telling her that Tosh, Jason, and Gladys
had all been witness to her show. Tosh and Jason wouldn’t say
anything, of course, and Gladys would hopefully take Mr.
Middleton’s proffered excuse and chalk her friend’s odd behavior to
being in love. Since the church’s rumor mill wasn’t buzzing about
the incident, Lacy thought they might have gotten away with the
ruse.

After stuffing her suitcase to maximum
capacity, Lacy stood back to double check that she had everything.
Satisfied that she was prepared for every contingency, she began
putting away everything she hadn’t packed. That’s when she stumbled
across her ring, the one Robert had given her when they first
started dating. She held it in her palm, comparing it to Jason’s
ring which lay propped in its open box on her nightstand. They were
vastly different. Robert’s ring was a cheap knockoff that had
turned her finger green. The stone was a piece of glass. Jason’s
ring was vintage—real gold and a real ruby. Oddly enough, however,
the meanings behind the rings were the same. Both had been a
promise on an unknown future.

In Robert’s case, he had broken his promise.
Lacy’s insides twisted with the thought that Jason might do the
same. What if she gave him a chance and he broke her heart? How
could she survive that kind of heartache twice in a row? She
couldn’t. Wasn’t it better not to try?

She found solace in the fact that Jason
wasn’t pressuring her for anything right now. He had said they
might be ready for something in the future, but the future was
shady and far off. That uncertainty gave Lacy hope that someday she
might actually be willing to try love again and maybe with
Jason.

With that thought in mind, she fisted her
hand around Robert’s ring. Before she could lose her resolve, she
walked to the bathroom and flushed it down the commode, watching as
the water slowly swirled the ugly little ring out of sight.

“Why are you bent over the toilet?”

She hadn’t heard Tosh enter the house, but
she didn’t jump in surprise, even though he had startled her.

“Are you sick?” he added, looking
worried.

“No, I’m fine. Or I will be.” Jason was
right; the past was over, and it was time to move on. Maybe someday
she would be ready for something more. But for now there was
Chicago and Tosh.

“Ready?” Tosh asked, his faced breaking into
an excited smile.

“I’m ready,” Lacy replied, placing her hand
in his as he led her out the bathroom door.