Chapter 3 – Christmas in Chicago (Part 1)

Elizabeth sloshed her boots through the mucky sidewalk while questioning her sanity. What person of sound mind chooses to live in Chicago through the winter? It was only a few days before Christmas and she was already growing tired of the biting wind sweeping off of Lake Michigan. As she neared her apartment building, she shaded her eyes and looked up at the sky.

The snow started just before she left work. Today was her last day at the office before the holiday break and she had planned to take the train to Ann Arbor tonight. What started out as a cascade of beautiful, fluffy snowflakes had quickly turned into a deluge of blinding white snow that was rapidly accumulating. She bit her bottom lip worriedly as she finally reached the door of her apartment building. With a brief wave to the security guard, she walked to the elevators. Waiting for the doors to open, she decided to check the weather on her phone again. Elizabeth smiled broadly as she glanced at the screen to see several text messages from Will.

The past month had passed in a flurry of texts and phone calls with Will. Elizabeth would always be thankful that she had the opportunity to make things right with him on Thanksgiving. She was finally getting to know the real man behind the severe mask that he often wore in public. A new text popped up and brought her attention back to her phone. She scrolled down to the first missed text and then proceeded to read them all.

"How is your last day of work?"

"Lunch on the run for me today. Wish you were here. : )"

"I'm bored! Was that immature of me? I apologize. P.S. I'm bored!"

"Have you made it back to your apt yet? I saw that the snow is brutal there right now."

Just as Elizabeth stepped off the elevator, her phone rang.

"Hello," she answered.

"Oh Elizabeth! Thank goodness you answered. Are you safe? Your father and I just turned on the weather channel and saw that a blizzard is sitting right on top of Chicago! How could such a thing happen on the day that you are coming home?", cried the voice on the other end of the phone.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes slightly and responded, "Hello, mom. Yes, I am safe. I've actually just arrived back to my apartment."

She quickly unlocked her door and shut it behind her as her mother began another diatribe.

"But what will you do, dear? You father says that the roads will be a mess and the train schedule will be affected. What's that Tom?"

Elizabeth smiled as she heard her father yelling at her mother through the phone.

"Your father says that perhaps you should wait and take the train home tomorrow instead of tonight."

"I'll have to check if there are any available seats tomorrow, mom. It's unlikely since Christmas is Monday." Elizabeth said calmly. She immediately heard her mother hum worriedly and quickly added.

"Mom, I will do my best to make it home but we can't control the weather. Let's see how things progress in the next two hours before my train is due to leave, okay?"

"Okay, I'll call you back in an hour. I love you."

"Sounds good. I love you too. Bye." Elizabeth answered before ending the call.

A quick glance out the window showed that the snow was still steadily falling. Elizabeth's heart sank a little as she accepted that the likelihood of her getting home this weekend was not high. With a sigh, she picked up her phone again to finally respond to Will.

"Back at apt now. Weather sucks. Might be delayed. : ("

Snapping her phone on its charger, she went into her kitchen to see if there was anything edible left. Since she had planned to take the train tonight from Chicago to Ann Arbor and stay there until the day after Christmas, there was precious little food in her apartment. Settling for some string cheese and crackers, she walked into the living room just in time to see her phone light up with a text.

"Glad you're safe. Talk soon."

Elizabeth was a little disappointed that he hadn't called her so that they could commiserate over the hitch in their holiday plans. She hoped that he was as anxious to see her again as she was to see him. Those few days after Thanksgiving were fun, if a bit awkward. A year's worth of misunderstandings couldn't be erased in a matter of days, of course. Yet, their steady stream of conversations since then had bloomed into the beginnings of what she hoped would be a strong relationship.

Smiling at that thought, Elizabeth relaxed on her couch and turned on the television to pass the time.

She was surprised when there was a knock on her door. She looked through the peep hole and only saw the petals of a poinsettia which made her smile. She opened the door and gasped when she saw who was holding that poinsettia.

"Surprise!" Will said quietly.

"William! What are you doing here?" She asked bewildered.

"Oh, I'm showing you that I can be wild and spontaneous. And…hopefully, this is a good surprise?" He asked hesitantly.

Elizabeth finally realized that she was still holding the door open and had left him standing in the hallway. She smiled before throwing her arms around him.

"This is the best surprise ever." She whispered.

"Oh, that's good because I don't think that I'll be able to leave anytime soon." He said sheepishly.

She laughed and led him into her apartment. He handed her the plant and she said thank you as she placed it on her table. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him towards the couch.

"Now, tell me all about this wild and spontaneous plan of yours."

Will smiled but only pulled on her hand to bring her back to him and wrapped his arms around her one more time.

"I will but there's just one thing I need first…" He whispered before kissing her gently. It was slow and sweet and wonderful. When the kiss ended, Will chuckled and said, "That's all I could think about doing for the past 4 weeks."

Elizabeth leaned up on her tip toes to reach his face again.

"Best." (Kiss) "Surprise." (Kiss) "Ever." (Kiss)