Twenty Four

 

Talia clutched the paper cup filled with hot chocolate and glanced around the packed living room. All of the Hunters plus extended family members filled the room. She'd met Jasmine's mom and Amara's brother's family, but couldn't remember anyone's names.

"They're going to light the tree in a half hour," Zachary said. "We should get going."

"It'll take twenty minutes—tops—to walk there," Rafael said. "And they never start on time."

"I heard they did last year," Zachary said, glancing back at the clock on the wall.

Talia turned to Cruz. "What's with your brother?"

He shrugged. "I guess he really wants to see the tree lighting. Maybe Jasmine's excited about it or something."

Everyone spoke excitedly around them. Talia sipped her cocoa, glancing around at all the people bundled up in their warm winter gear. They'd need to leave soon before she broke into a sweat. Another minute and she'd have to remove her fleece Seahawks scarf. At least it was green—kind of seasonal.

The Christmas music suddenly stopped.

"Is everyone ready?" Dawn asked.

"Yes!" Zachary exclaimed.

"I think we're set." Allen grinned. "I can't wait to see if the tree is as great as everyone says."

"It's better," Robert assured him.

Zachary and Jasmine were the first out of the room, followed by everyone else. Talia nearly lost Cruz in the mad dash, but he wrapped an arm around her and kept it there as they made their way out into the snowy front yard.

Everyone paired off in couples, with some of Amara's nieces and nephews grabbing some hands. Even Talia's dad walked with and talked to Jasmine's mom.

"What's the tree like?" Talia asked, sliding her fingers through Cruz's.

"It's kind of the like the one in front of your church, but on steroids." He chuckled. "With as many strings of lights as they use, I'm always waiting for it catch on fire. So far it hasn't."

She laughed. "That's always good."

"We're leaving," Zachary announced. He and Jasmine headed down the sidewalk.

Talia shivered, watching. "She's got to be freezing wearing that dress."

"She's crazier than you." Cruz looked lovingly into her eyes and then gave her a quick kiss.

Her stomach flip-flopped. She glanced over at her dad, who hadn't seen the display of affection.

Others followed Zachary and Jasmine. Talia and Cruz had people in front of and behind them, and everyone stayed close, keeping warm. Before long, they came to the tree. It was impossible to miss. Most of the town was gathered around it. Some people shone flashlights onto it, showing the multitude of colored lights. There had to be millions of tiny bulbs.

Talia couldn't help being excited just from the buzz of excitement that ran from the throng crowded around. Being there with Cruz made it all the more exciting. More families came in from all over town, pushing them even closer to the large tree.

Cruz stood behind Talia, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her close. He pressed his scratchy cheek against hers. "This is nice."

She smiled. "It certainly is."

A beach ball was thrown into the air, sailing halfway across the crowd. Someone hit it back into the air, sending it over Talia and Cruz's heads. Then it flew back over them in another direction. Another ball went up and before long, half a dozen went back and forth over the audience. At one point, Cruz jumped up and hit one, sending it over the tree.

"Nice shot," Talia said, impressed.

"What's taking so long?" Zachary asked from in front of them.

The screech of a microphone sounded. "Welcome residents of Kittle Falls," said a masculine voice. Talia couldn't see who it belonged to. "It's great to see another fantastic turnout for our annual tree lighting. Christmas is almost here, and I don't know about you, but this is a favorite tradition of mine."

Cheers sounded.

"Should I give a speech, or do you want us to just light her up?"

"Light it up! Light it up!"

"No one ever wants a speech. Okay. Let's count down. Five—"

"Four!" shouted the crowd as one. "Three… Two… One!"

Cruz tightened his arms around Talia, and she brought her hands up and held onto his wrists, holding her breath in anticipation.

A slight buzzing sound came from the direction of the tree, and then in one brilliant flash of multicolored brightness, the tree lit up. A moment of hushed silence ran through the residents of Kittle Falls. Talia took in the beautiful slight, and she assumed everyone else was, too. The quiet was short-lived as more cheers and shouts erupted all around.

It sounded like someone was speaking over the microphone again, but the people were too loud to tell for sure. Once the noise lowered, the same voice from before boomed from speakers.

"Now that the tree is lit, we're going to sing some carols, starting with the kids' favorite, Frosty the Snowman."

Kids all around jumped up and down, shrieking with joy.

Cruz kissed Talia's cheek. "I'm so glad to be here with you," he whispered in her ear, his warm breath tickling her skin.

She shivered and turned to him, accidentally brushing her lips against his. They both laughed, and Talia could see the reflection of the bright tree shining in his eyes.

The children's song sounded around them. She turned around, watching all the excited kids dancing around. Cruz belted out the words, obviously remembering all the words from his own youth. After the song ended, he whispered in her ear, "Was I off key that time?"

Talia giggled. "Not at all."

They sang a couple traditional songs she knew from various church services and pageants over the years. She was kind of disappointed that they wouldn't have a Christmas program this year, but spending time with Cruz more than made up for the one thing their new church lacked this season.

After the songs ended, most everyone milled around. Applause sounded from the other side of the tree.

Talia glanced over, curious. She thought the festivities were already over.

"Sounds like someone just got engaged," Cruz said.

"Wow." She scanned the crowd, curious if anyone was getting engaged near her. Cheers erupted not far away, but not close enough to see.

"I have an announcement," Zachary called, glancing back and forth between all the Hunters' guests.

Talia raised an eyebrow at Cruz, who shrugged. Zachary and Jasmine were already engaged, so that wasn't it.

"With all of you here," Zachary said, "Jasmine and I are going to get married."

"What?" exclaimed Dawn.

Gasps from others sounded all around Talia.

"Allen already agreed to marry us," Zachary said.

Talia shot a glance at her dad, who only smiled. "Do people usually get married here?" she asked Cruz.

"It's a first that I know of. I did miss about eight of these, so maybe it's new."

Zachary pushed his way through the horde. "We're getting married. Make way."

In a whirlwind, they made their way to the base of the tree, with Jasmine, Zachary and Talia's dad directly underneath. Clicks of camera phones snapped from all sides. Cruz moved beside her and snapped pictures.

"I can't believe my dad didn't tell me." She shook her head.

"Zachary probably made him promise. He was being pretty secretive."

"I wonder how long they've had it planned."

Cruz didn't reply because her dad started speaking about the wonder of love and becoming one through marriage. It was a similar speech he'd given, and mixed around, many times over the years. It was sweet and beautiful, and as Talia glanced around, she noticed tears in quite a few eyes. Before long, she had tears in her eyes, also.

Her dad moved on to share about Zachary and Jasmine, and how they had met by accident and though he'd been shy, they managed to find love and work hard for it despite the obstacles that came their way. Talia hadn't heard any of that story before, and that made her all the more curious about how long her dad had known but not told her. They rarely kept anything from each other.

Jasmine and Zachary shared their own personally written vows, not that that was surprising. Zachary was a writer and Jasmine was also artsy, running her own dance studio.

Talia shivered, growing cold. Cruz moved closer to her, wrapping one arm around her, while still capturing images on his phone.

After just a minute, they exchanged the rings and kissed. Cheers erupted all around. It had been the quickest wedding ceremony Talia had ever seen, but it was also the first she could recall out in the snow.

The Hunters gathered around the two newlyweds, embracing them and offering congratulations. Cruz stayed back, taking more pictures.

"They didn't have a wedding planned?" Talia asked.

"I don't think they really had anything set in stone, yo." He leaned to the left, snapping a picture while the couple stood with Dawn, Robert, and Jasmine's mom.

Talia took his phone from him. "Your turn. Get a picture with the happy couple."

"Why don't you come with me?"

"I'm not really a part of this. Besides, you need to be in some of these."

Cruz opened his mouth like he was going to protest, so she shoved him forward.

"Go on before your miss your opportunity. Who knows if they plan on running off to a honeymoon?"

He headed toward his brother and new sister-in-law, mumbling something under his breath. Talia snapped a bunch of shots while Cruz congratulated them. And just in time, too. Two people with a larger camera and a mic came up to the couple, asking questions for the local paper. According to the lady with the mic, it was the first wedding at the lighting ceremony.

Talia made her way over to her dad. "Keeping secrets from me now?" she asked, half-teasing.

"It was their wish. I thought it was a nice ceremony, didn't you?"

"You did a great job, as always."

He hugged her. "Hopefully, I'll get to officiate yours one day soon." He glanced in the direction where Cruz stood, talking with some guy Talia recognized, but didn't think she'd met.

"Dad," she said, shaking her head.

"Don't lead the boy on if you don't have plans to—"

"Dad! We've barely started this… whatever it is."

He wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "You two gave your hearts to each other long before either of you acknowledged it."

She gazed back over at Cruz, knowing her dad was right. Though he drove her crazy for so long, it wasn't just because they had their differences. She sighed. But to think about marriage? To have her dad bring it up?

"You're older than Mom and I were when we got married. You're actually close to the age she was when she had you."

"Thanks. Really."

He laughed. "I'm just saying the truth, honey. You've never had much of an interest in dating, but then again, your personality has always been to go after something only when it's what you really want. And I couldn't agree more with—"

"I'm going to talk with Lana. See you back at the Hunters' place."

As she made her way to Brayden's fiancée, someone stepped in front of her. She tried to move around him, but he wouldn't let her. Julian.

"Pardon me," Talia said.

"Where are you going?" he asked, not budging.

"Over there." She stared at him, waiting for him to step aside.

"Do you want to have dinner sometime? I can give you a tour around town in my new Lexus."

"I'm busy, but thanks."

He chuckled. "I didn't give you a date. You're busy every day from now until the end of time?"

"Pretty much." She stepped over to the right, and he took a step in the same direction. "I'm trying to get to Lana."

Julian nodded, then gestured toward the newlyweds. "Nice ceremony. Those Hunters sure are impulsive, don't you think?"

What was he getting at? "Not really. They had that planned with my dad long ago."

"Really?" Julian curled his lip like he didn't believe her. "I've always been a meticulous planner myself. That's why I own a home in the nicest neighborhood—it really puts the Hunter house to shame. You want to see it?"

"I've seen the Hunters' place," Talia said. "It's lovely."

"That's not what I meant."

Talia stared into his eyes. "Julian, I appreciate you helping us with our church, but I really have no interest getting to know you beyond that. It's nothing personal. Please let me by so I can talk to Lana."

He flicked a glance over at Cruz. "Don't tell me it's because of that tattooed motorcycle rider. My Lexus will keep you warm and comfortable."

"That's the second time you've mentioned it, you must be proud of it."

"I am." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Come with me."

Talia's stomach twisted into a tight knot.