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Hands shoved as deep into the pockets of his coat as they’ll go, Anthony weaves his way through the wandering crowd, searching for the small cafe he remembers seeing on the way in. He’d wanted to duck into it earlier and see what drinks were available, but his sisters had all but dragged him through the tree farm in search of the best tree for the house as soon as they stepped inside. It didn’t take long for the arguing to break out amongst all of his siblings, though, and that’s when he was able to make his escape.
Finally finding the cafe, Anthony steps inside and heads straight for the counter, falling in line behind several other patrons. He does his best to peruse the menu from a slight distance, only managing to decipher a few of the handwritten drinks on the chalkboards hanging on the back wall.
When it’s his turn at the counter, he smiles politely at the cashier as he digs a small wad of notes from his pocket. “Hello. One apple cider, please.” He quickly pays for his drink and then moves off to the side to wait, allowing the next customer to step forward.
“Here you are.”
He smiles politely at the man who hands him his drink. “Thank you. Happy Holidays.” He turns and walks a few steps away from the counter, stopping for a moment to take a few sips from his drink. A smile tugs at his lips as the warmth coats his throat on its way down.
Looking around him, he tries to find a place to sit, but all of the tables are currently occupied and he doesn’t exactly want to go back out into the cold just yet. But he also doesn’t want to stand in the middle of the cafe and be in anyone’s way.
Making a decision, he walks toward the doors of the cafe and then steps outside, stopping for a moment and letting out a breath of relief when the warmth from the cafe still envelops him. He leans back against the doorway and takes another sip from his drink, slight movement out of the corner of his eye catching his attention. He turns just enough to see a dark-haired girl standing on the opposite side of the entryway, leaning back as well with a paper cup from the cafe cradled in her hands.
“Seems we had the same idea,” he calls out, raising his cup in the air.
She looks at him with slightly wide eyes and then shifts. “Yes, it seems we did.”
“I’m Anthony, by the way.”
She eyes him carefully. “Kate.”
The edges of his lips curl. “Lovely to meet you, Kate. Are you here with anyone? Family? Friends?”
She raises a perfectly shaped brow at him. “I don’t see how that’s your business.”
He holds a hand up, chuckling quietly. “Just making conversation. You don’t need to tell me.” He’s quiet for a moment and then leans in her direction. “I’m here with my family.”
“I didn’t ask.”
He shrugs. “Yeah, but I felt like telling you.”
Kate sighs, her shoulders slumping. “I’m sorry. I’ve had a rough day.”
“That’s alright. We all have them now and then. I had a pretty rough one recently, nearly tore my brother’s head off for simply asking me if I’d take him to get more paint supplies.”
Kate snickers. “I’m sure he loved that.”
Anthony breathes deeply. “Well, he’s finally decided to start talking to me again.”
“Older or younger? Sounds like a younger brother.”
Anthony nods. “He is. We’re two years apart so we either get along great or are at each other’s throats. There’s really no in-between.”
Kate smiles. “I get it. There’s a bit of an age gap between me and my sister. Some days she’s my best friend, and others I wish I was an only child again. And then I immediately feel bad because I do love my sister, she just drives me a little crazy sometimes.”
“I know the feeling very well. It’s why I ditched my family for a warm cup of cider.”
“Same here. I just needed a moment to breathe.”
“Exactly.” Anthony lifts his cup to his lips and takes a small sip. “It’s not very often I find someone who gets it. It’s especially difficult to find someone who understands what it’s like being the eldest.”
“Well, now you’ve found one,” Kate tells him with a small smile.
Anthony smiles back. “How many siblings do you have?”
“Just Edwina. Technically speaking, she’s my half-sister, but that never mattered to us. We’re sisters, through and through.” She takes a swig from her drink. “What about you? Just the one younger brother?”
Anthony shakes his head and breathes deeply. “No. Though, it would probably make things a whole lot easier. I uh, I have six younger siblings, and one more on the way.”
Kate’s eyes go wide. “Goodness. All full siblings?”
“They are.”
“Well, then, I truly admire your parents. I don’t know if I’d be able to handle being pregnant eight times over.”
Anthony chuckles. “Oh, it’s definitely not always enjoyable for my mum. I’ve heard many colorful things shouted at my father whenever she’s particularly uncomfortable the further along she gets. It never lasts too long, though. They swear that this baby is going to be the last, but they said that about Gregory two years ago as well, and look where we are now.”
Kate laughs. “Sounds like an interesting family you’ve got.”
Anthony shrugs. “I’m used to them.”
“Yet you’ve escaped them to engage in conversation with a stranger.”
Anthony dips his head. “Touche. And are we really strangers at this point? We know each other’s names, how many siblings we have, and that we’re both the eldest. I think certainly qualifies us as acquaintances. At least.”
She smiles. “Alright, acquaintance Anthony. We’re no longer strangers.”
“I’m very happy to hear that, acquaintance Kate.” He lifts his cup to his lips and smiles around it, taking a long swig as he tries to think of what to say next.
Before he gets the chance to come up with something smooth or clever to say to Kate, a familiar voice drifts toward him and he immediately turns to find it. He smiles brightly when he sees two-year-old Gregory toddling quickly toward him across the pavement.
“Ant! Ant! Ant!” the toddler chants as he gets closer.
Anthony stoops down and scoops Gregory up with one arm, settling the boy on his hip with practiced ease. “Hi, Greg. Did you escape from Ben?”
Gregory just grins. “Hi, Ant!”
Anthony chuckles. “Hi, Greg.” He sees Kate shift out of the corner of his eye and turns back to her. “Greg,” he says to his brother, “can you say hi to Kate?”
Greg waves a small, chubby hand. “Hi, Kate!”
Kate smiles, reaching out to grab Gregory’s hand and give it a quick shake. “Hello, Greg. It’s nice to meet you. Is Anthony a good big brother?”
“Yeah!” Greg shouts, bouncing a little with a smile.
In a moment that Anthony really should have seen coming, Gregory makes a lightning-quick move for Anthony’s cider, knocking the lid off in the process. He barely has time to react, roughly pulling the cider away but managing to get most of it sloshed out of the cup. And right all over him. He can feel the cider slowly starting to trickle down under his clothes, though most of it thankfully got on his coat, and none got on Gregory.
Anthony closes his eyes and breathes deeply to keep his temper under control. Greg’s only two, he doesn’t know any better; he’s always curious, always wanting to see what everything is, even if he can’t have it. He should have expected this.
“Anthony? Are you alright?”
He opens his eyes and looks at Kate, taking in her slightly furrowed brows. “Uh, yeah. Trust me when I say that I’ve experienced far worse than cider spilling on me.” His face scrunches up and he winces when the cider starts to drip lower. “Just…the cider is reaching places I was hoping it wouldn’t.” He tosses the nearly empty cup into the closest bin and then glances at Gregory. “Next time, ask,” he says gently. “You can’t just lunge for a cup someone is holding. Understand?”
Gregory’s quiet and then nods slowly.
Anthony’s not sure if Gregory genuinely understands, and he’s certain it’ll happen again. The boy is only two, after all, he’s still learning. He sighs heavily at the reminder that the cider is still rolling down his skin. “Alright, Greg, let’s go hand you off to someone else so I can go take care of the cider.”
“I can watch him for you.”
Anthony looks up at Kate, brows furrowed slightly. “What?”
“I can watch him for you,” she repeats. “You’ll want to get that cleaned up as soon as possible and it might be difficult trying to find your family in this,” she says, gesturing to the seemingly ever-growing crowd of people.
He opens and closes his mouth a few times, ready to protest her offer, but then he sighs. “You’re sure you don’t mind?”
“I wouldn’t have offered if I did.”
He nods. “Right. Greg, I’m gonna leave you with Kate for a few minutes while I clean up. Promise me you’ll behave and listen to her?”
Greg nods with a small smile. “Yeah.”
“Alright. That’s probably as good as I’m gonna get from you.” He lets out a heavy breath as he passes his little brother over to Kate, offering the both of them a smile before he turns in search of the nearest washroom.
It doesn’t take him long, thankfully, and there are plenty of empty stalls for him to choose from to get cleaned up. He does the best he can with what’s available to him, hoping to at least combat the stickiness that normally lingers on skin. Though, there’s not much he can do about his clothes until he gets home again.
Satisfied for the time being, Anthony makes his way back out into the crowded tree farm, heading for the cafe again to find Kate and Gregory. They’re waiting in the exact spot he left them and he lets out a small breath of relief. He really wouldn’t hear the end of it if he ended up handing his brother over to a stranger who ended up kidnapping the toddler.
“Kate,” he calls out when he’s close enough.
She turns and smiles at him. “All better?”
“As much as I can be. Though I’m sure I’ll feel much better when I get home and can have a shower.”
“Yes, I’m sure.” She sighs and glances down at Gregory who’s curled up comfortably against her. “Well, I suppose I should give him back to you now.”
Anthony smiles at the sight of his brother looking so content and then focuses on Kate. “Yes, you probably should. My parents are pretty attached to him. I am too, of course. He’s pretty adorable when he’s not causing trouble.”
Kate’s hand rubs up and down Gregory’s back. “Oh, I find it very hard to believe that he’s a troublemaker.” She looks down at Greg. “Do you cause trouble, Greg?”
Gregory smiles and shakes his head. “No.”
Kate looks up at him again, a satisfied smile on her face. “See? He’s not a troublemaker.”
Anthony chuckles. “That’s because you’ve barely spent any significant time with him. And it’s bound to be much worse with the excitement of the holidays. Speaking of, we should get back to our family and see if they’ve finally picked out a tree.” He reaches out to take Gregory back, frowning when the boy curls in closer to Kate. “Gregory, come on, we need to get back to mum and dad.”
Gregory shakes his head. “No.”
Anthony sighs. “Gregory.”
“No, Ant.”
He ducks his head just enough to look his little brother in the eyes. “Listen, I know Kate’s pretty cool, but we’ve gotta get home. And I’m sure Kate does as well. But Christmas is all about miracles, so maybe we’ll run into her again and you can talk her ear off all you want. Okay?”
Gregory hesitates and then nods. “Okay.” He leans out of Kate’s arms and reaches for Anthony.
Anthony smiles as he pulls his brother into his arms, holding him close and dropping a kiss to his hair. A figure standing a few feet away catches his attention and he shifts his brother just a little. “Greg, I think I see Ben over there. Why don’t you go run back to him and I’ll be along in just a moment.”
Gregory nods quietly and then slides down out of his arms, quickly making his way through the parted crowd.
Anthony keeps his eye on the toddler the entire time, waiting until he’s safely in Benedict’s arms before turning to face Kate again. “Thanks again, for keeping an eye on him for me.”
Kate smiles. “Not a problem. He’s a sweetheart. You’re a great brother. Though I do have to know if you plan on working any miracles this season like you told Greg would happen.”
Anthony winces slightly and shuffles on his feet. “Yes, that. I don’t normally like lying to him, but I needed to get him to let go of you so we could leave.”
“I see.”
Anthony nods. “Yeah. I’m sure he’ll forget about you soon enough, so there won’t be any disappointment when he doesn’t get to see you again.”
“And what about you? Are you going to forget about me?”
Anthony gives her his usual charming smile. “Oh, I don’t see how I possibly could.”
A slight flush creeps up her cheeks, her head ducking a moment later. Then she looks back up at him. “Well, then I guess it’s a good thing I won’t forget about you either.”
“Yes, I suppose it is.” He takes a deep breath. “Well, I should probably get back to my family now.”
She nods. “Yeah. I should too. It was nice meeting you, Anthony.”
“You too, Kate. And I truly hope this won’t be the last time we see each other.” He turns to leave when he’s stopped by a gloved hand on his arm. He looks over his shoulder to find Kate standing there. “Yes?”
She releases his arm and shuffles on her feet to avoid a passing body. “Give me your phone.”
He raises a brow. “Sorry?”
She sighs, rolling her eyes slightly. “Just do it.”
Without another word, he pulls out his phone, unlocks it, and then hands it to her. He waits as she taps at the screen and then hands it back to him. He takes it with furrowed brows, staring down at the screen and then his eyes going wide with realization. “This is your number.”
She smiles and nods. “Yes, very observant.” She gives a one-shouldered shrug. “In case that Christmas miracle needs some extra help to happen.”
He chuckles and nods. “Of course. Though, it is missing one thing.” He quickly opens the camera app and then holds his phone up in front of him. “Smile.” He snaps a photo when Kate is mid eye roll, her lips pursed together as if she’s fighting back a smile. “Perfect.” He taps against the screen to set the image as Kate’s contact photo.
“Do I at least get to see the photo?”
Anthony grins as he locks his phone and slips it back into his pocket. “Not a chance. See you around, Kate. And Merry Christmas.” He turns before she can say anything else and walks in the direction of his family, already seeing Benedict eyeing him curiously as he holds a squirming Greg in his arms.
But all Anthony can focus on is the idea of getting to see Kate again. He’s just not sure exactly how long he should wait before texting or calling her. He really doesn’t want to mess this up. Maybe, by some Christmas miracle, he won’t.