Christmas Spirit

Anja's smile lasted for throughout the rest of her afternoon trading, through closing up the shop and all the way home. It was only as she considered what she was going to wear that it dimmed a little. Anja did not have a lot of clothes suitable to wear out. After the purchase of her shop and the running cost and living costs, she never had a lot of money to spend on socialising and clothes so her choices were very limited.

In the end she decided on her best pair of jeans, some high heels to make her look taller and a red top that she had had for many years but was of good quality so it still looked good. She had been concerned when she had first pulled it on because she had worn it numerous times but realising that Sacha would not have seen it before she stopped worrying.

With just seconds to spare Anja walked into the bar called Red and looked around. It was an interesting place, where the décor lived up to the name. As far as the eye could was the colour red. It was in the glass behind the bar, the upholstery, the wall art. In between the bursts of red the only colours breaking it up were black and silver. Together they made for a sleek, modern environment.

Standing just inside the door Anja scanned the space, looking for Sacha. She spotted him just as he turned and saw her. He smiled and walked towards her. Anja liked how he moved. He had a lithe, easy gait. She also liked the way he smiled at her.

“Hi” he said stopping in front of her. “Did you find the place okay?”

“Yes” she said “no problem.”

“You look really nice” he said as his eyes skimmed over her.

“Thank you” she said performing an inspection of her own. He looked as good in jeans and a white shirt as he had in business clothes. “So do you.”

His smile widened. “Thanks” he said. “Let’s find somewhere to sit down” and clasping her hand before turning away he led her over to a table on the far side of the room. It was surrounded on three sides by banquette seating.

Anja slid onto the seat on one side of the table while Sacha released her hand and slid onto the seat opposite. Anja had liked the brief warm, contact of his hand and she was sorry when it was withdrawn.

A waitress appeared before they could say anything more to each other.

Christmas Spirit

Sacha laughed too. “I’m just happy there was a yes in there somewhere. And now we have that established, are you free tonight?”

“Tonight” Anja said a little thrown by his haste.

“If you’re busy….” he said.

“No” she interrupted “sorry I’m just a bit surprised I guess. I don’t have plans tonight.”

His stunning smile flashed out. “Wonderful” he said “would you like to meet somewhere or will I pick you up?”

“I’ll need to go home first” she said looking down at her jeans and t-shirt. “So I think I’ll meet you somewhere.” Anja was also not ready to have him know her address just yet. He may profess to be a good son and a thoughtful partner but she knew very little about him as yet. It could all be an act.

“Do you know the bar Red?”

“I’ve heard of it” she said remembering a girlfriend talking about the city night spot.

“Seven o’clock?” he said.

“Okay” she said thinking about all that she needed to do before that time.

“I’m looking forward to it” he said smiling at her once more.

Anja nodded and returned his smile “same here.”

“Well I’ll let you get back to work. See you soon Anja.”

“Bye Sacha” she said.

His smile turned into a grin and he said “nice to know that you remembered my name.”

Anja blushed a little as he raised a hand and left her shop. If only he knew that she remembered everything about him. Once he was out of sight a huge grin spread across her face. She could not believe that he had come back to ask her out.

Christmas Spirit

For the next seven days Anja relaxed, saw friends and generally enjoyed her time off. Often she would contemplate the silver frame that still sat on her coffee table where she could see it. Every now and again she considered putting a photo in it but each time she looked at it she saw Sacha’s image. His face seemed to be burnt on her brain as she could recall every feature with ease. So the thought of filling the space with a different image did not feel right and in the end she resolved to leave it empty.

 All too soon it was time to open the shop again. Anja felt rested but the time had passed so fast it seemed like only the night before that she had closed up on Christmas Eve. However she loved her shop and as she got down to the job of removing the Christmas decorations and redoing the displays, in between serving customers, Anja was filled with renewed enthusiasm for her work.

It was late in the afternoon, almost closing time when the handsome face that had been filling her mind every time she looked at the silver frame on her coffee table walked back into her shop. For a moment Anja was so shocked to see him that she forgot to greet him.

“I hope I’m not too late again” he said with a smile.

Pulling herself together, Anja returned his smile and said “no, you’re fine.”

His smile widened and leaning on the counter he said “I just wanted to tell you that my mother loved her present.”

“I’m glad” Anja said. She was pleased that her suggestion had worked out. “Thank you for coming in to tell me.”

“Well that’s not the only reason I came in” he said with a cheeky grin.

“Oh, did you need another gift?” Anja said.

“No” he said “I didn’t come to shop.”

Confused Anja frowned at him.

“I have spent the last week thinking about you and waiting for you to reopen” he said. “Is there any chance that you would have a drink with me?”

“Oh” Anja said as warm colour seeped into her face. She was more shocked now than when she had seen him walk in a few minutes before. Never in a million years did she ever think that a man like him would ask her out.

“You can say no” he said when she did not respond further.

“No” she said still trying to get her head around what was happening. She was too stunned to even smile.

“Right” he said as his smile faded “no worries.”

“No” Anja hurried to say “I meant no I don’t want to say no.”

His frowned “no you don’t want to say no?” he said.

“Yes” she said.

“So you’re saying yes?” he said sounding confused.

“Yes I want to say yes” she said.

He grinned “does that mean that two no’s make a yes?” he teased.

Anja laughed “in this case I guess they do.”