Nick walked in and started to laugh as soon as he saw her- lights half on the tree, half encircling her arms. “Do I even want to know what you’re doing?”
India made a face at him, “The damn lights don’t work! I plugged them in before I put them on and they were fine… I get them on the tree and they don’t work anymore. Fuckers.”
Nick laughed again and helped to extract her from the knot of lights and then get them off the tree.
When they were finished, India threw her arms around him and kissed him, saying ‘thank you’. She’d been delighted with the domesticity of the whole scene- the two of them working on the Christmas tree together, obviously belonging in each other’s life to cooperate on a very “family” type task. “So, you’re ready to take on the mall?” she asked.
“I guess so… I think I know what I’ve got left to buy..” Nick paused and thought for a moment. “I think…”
“Think what?” India disappeared into the kitchen to get her purse and then sat next to Nick on the couch to slip her shoes on.
“I think I remember… I was making a mental list on the way over here…”
“You totally forgot didn’t you?”
“Yeah.” he admitted.
India giggled and kissed the tip of his nose. “You’re so cute.”
“What do you have left to buy?” Nick asked her.
“Just for Chasity… she’s ALWAYS the last one… I don’t really have trouble shopping for her… it’s usually that I just can’t decide on ONE particular thing, or a few little things or whatever.” India answered, jumping back up. “Let’s go!”
Nick followed her out the door, still trying to remember who he was supposed to be shopping for, besides her. He’d been contemplating what he wanted to get her for a few weeks now, and had yet to come up with a really good answer. While they hadn’t been together THAT long, he felt they’d reached a level of seriousness and intensity that belied the actual amount of time they’d been a couple… and somehow that made shopping very difficult.
~~~
India signed her name to the credit card slip and did a little happy dance, “I am FINISHED!!!”
Nick grabbed the bag for her and headed out of the store, feeling significantly less accomplished than she was. He’d finished the rest of his shopping, but still hadn’t solved the mystery of what to buy for her. He guessed he was just going to have to ask her for an idea, which was precisely what he’d been hoping to avoid.
“Okay, all this productivity has made me very hungry… can I tempt you towards the food court?” India asked, reaching to hold his hand.
“Hell yeah.” He replied, stopping mid-step to turn and go in the direction of the food court. He asked India what she wanted and sent her to find a table among the crowd of people while he got their food. Once he had everything and was settled across the table from her, he watched her for a few seconds… just feeling lucky to be with her… and glad they’d been able to make it through the entire morning/afternoon without something about that damn school board meeting coming up. He was so irritated with the whole thing- he knew how heavily it was weighing on her mind and he hated that, especially since he couldn’t do anything about it.
India noticed him watching and asked, “What? I haven’t even started eating so I can’t have made a mess somewhere yet…”
“Just thinking about how much I love you.” He said, smiling.
India scooted her chair around the table to sit closer to him and kiss him, “I love you, too.”
“And because of that, this is probably going to sound awful…”
India looked at him, immediately alarmed, “What???”
“What do you want for Christmas?”
India let out a sigh of relief, but still fully intended to tease him. “You don’t have my present yet? I already bought yours…”
“I know, I know… I’m a terrible boyfriend…” he said, making his infamous puppy face at her.
“Nah, I’ve got you pretty well trained now.” She said.
Nick laughed, “I try my best to be obedient.”
“And you’re quite good.”
“So tell me what you want…”
She munched on her fries for a few moments, “You promise you won’t laugh?”
“I promise.” He said, wondering what she was going to tell him.
“I want a teddy bear.”
“A teddy bear?” he asked, a little surprised.
“Yeah… I’ve never had a boyfriend give me a teddy bear… and I want one from you.”
He smiled, “I can do that.”
~~~
After Nick had taken India back home and helped her solve the mystery of the malfunctioning lights, he went back to the mall headed to the Build-A-Bear shop. Almost two hours later, after much deliberation, he emerged with a box containing what he considered to be nearly the perfect bear for India’s Christmas present. He stopped at a sports store before leaving the mall, grabbing a few more little things for her, and then, satisfied he’d finished his shopping, headed home.
***
“So you’re spending the day with loverboy tomorrow?” Chasity asked, laying back in the recliner in their parent’s living room.
“Yup.” India replied. “He talked his family into celebrating tonight, too, because he didn’t want me spending Christmas day alone while he was with them.”
“That’s so sweet..” Chasity said, sarcastically, then shrieked when India launched a throw pillow at her. “How’d we get started celebrating on Christmas Eve, anyway?”
India shrugged, “Who knows. Mom and dad probably started doing it to throw off Grandma or something.”
Chasity considered her sister’s statement and nodded, “Yeah, probably!”
“Who wants more eggnog?” their dad asked, poking his reindeer-antler-wearing head around the corner of the wall that separated the living room from the kitchen.
“Oh hell no… no more of that shit!” Chasity exclaimed.
India laughed, “Yeah, I’m gonna pass this time, too, dad. Sorry.”
“Party poopers!” he said, dismissing them with a wave of his hand and disappearing back into the kitchen to join their mother in loudly singing the more obscure verses of “We wish you a Merry Christmas”. “Now bring us some figgy pudding, now bring us some figgy pudding…”
“You ever wish we’d gotten more normal parents?” Chasity asked, looking over at India.
“All the time.” she replied.
***
“Which one first?” India asked as Nick presented her with several boxes of various sizes as they sat next to her Christmas tree.
“This one…” he said, pointing to a medium-sized, flat box.
“Okay…” India tore the wrapping paper off and opened the box, cracking up at what she saw inside- a picture of the Taj Mahal.
Nick smiled at her amusement- he’d seen the picture a few days earlier and couldn’t resist buying it, just for laughs.
India studied the picture, “This is actually really pretty… I’d like to go there someday…”
“We’ll go for our first anniversary.” Nick told her, smushing the torn wrapping paper into a little ball.
“You’d go with me, even with knowing what can happen on romantic strolls around the gardens?” she asked him, jokingly.
Nick nodded, “Yeah… that might even make me want to go more…” He quickly handed her the next box for her to open before he said too much.
India realized he’d made himself a little uncomfortable and accepted the gift, tearing it open. Once again she began giggling at what was inside- a slinky nightgown and a pair of panties- covered in the Buccaneers logo. “Guaranteed to get you in the mood, huh?”
“Like I need any help.” he commented, giving her the last, and largest box.
When she’d gotten the paper and bow off the box, she recognized the logo from Build-A-Bear and smiled- he’d gotten her what she asked for. She opened the box and pulled out her bear- laughing again at the bear-sized sombrero sitting on his head and his tiny poncho.
Nick reached into the box and pulled out the bear’s ‘birth certificate’, “This is Tequila…”
India was laughing so hard there were nearly tears in her eyes. She was completely amused that something could be so funny and so romantic at the same time. He’d not only gotten her a teddy bear- he’d MADE the bear specifically for her- and had related it to a special memory of theirs- meeting over a tequila shot. She held onto Tequila as she moved over to sit in Nick’s lap, kissing him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you… that is all so much fun and I LOVE my bear.”
“You’re welcome and I’m glad.” he told her, then returned her kiss.
A few moments later, she broke their kiss and reached under the tree for the last two gifts sitting there- two small boxes with Nick’s name on them. She handed him the slightly larger of the two boxes, “Here. This one first.” She watched as Nick opened the box, fairly sure that’d he’d receive both of the presents well. She’d surprised herself with both of her purchases… more so with the one she intended him to open second than the one he was working on now.
Nick opened the small white box to reveal a fairly thin black leather wrist cuff. He traced his finger over the outside design, “That’s cool!”
“Look at the inside of it.” India instructed.
Nick flipped the bracelet inside out to read the branded inscription: Property of India. He immediately slipped the cuff on, then looked over at India, with a sexy smirk on his lips. “I like it... inside and out.”
She returned his lustful look and handed over the second, tiny box…feeling much less apprehensive than she’d anticipated.
Nick tore off the paper and flipped open the tiny black velvet box to see a ring- black with two tiny silver stripes around it. He instantly liked it, but couldn’t quite figure it out… what was it made of?
India noticed his puzzled expression as he inspected the ring and said, “It’s black titanium. It’s one of the strongest metals in the world… it can’t be resized and if it gets stuck on your finger you’re shit outta luck because it can’t be cut off…” She took the ring from him and slipped it on his right ring finger, “I bought it for two reasons… one, I think it’s fucking cool looking and two, I think…. I think we’re that strong…. I know it kind of sounds crazy… we haven’t even been together that long… but I feel like I know when something is right… and this… we… are SO right together….” She suddenly stopped talking, feeling like she was rambling and saying too much, but she was quickly assured the feelings were mutual by the look in Nick’s eyes.
“I think you’re right,” he said, quietly. He was surprised- again – that she’d made a move like this… not by the boldness, he was accustomed to that from her… but just the seriousness, letting him know just how she felt… and being just nervous enough for him to be able to reassure her. “I know you are, really… I love you…”
“I love you, too.” She got up off the floor, and held her hand out to him. After he jumped up, she led him down the hall to her bedroom, wanting to celebrate this Christmas- a very serious, very romantic Christmas- in a way she’d never forget.
~~~
Nick’s hand slipped over India’s skin – her arms, her hips, her stomach- as he spooned her, holding her close to him. He was sure this was the best Christmas he’d had thus far… being with her, knowing she felt so much like he did… he’d always heard that he’d just KNOW when he’d found the woman he was supposed to be with, and he guessed everyone was right. If he felt it and she felt it… it had to be right… had to be real.
India lie contentedly pressed back against Nick, still warm and tingly from the delicious release she’d had only moments ago. She was happy in a way she was sure she’d never felt so completely before, a feeling she knew she’d do anything she had to in order to sustain it.
His fingers trailed softly back and forth over her lower stomach, from hipbone and hipbone as he continued to think. He’d been thinking about it for a while, he’d found himself wondering a week or so ago while lying in India’s arms... it was mainly curiosity… but the thought in general appealed to him… it never had seriously before just recently… He bowed his head to kiss just below her ear, and whispered, “I wonder sometimes… what it would be like… if you got pregnant…”
As she turned over on her other side to face him, she understood why he’d been lingering on her stomach. “You mean what it would be like if something was happening right now… as we lay here?”
“Well not just like that… but just… us having a family someday… I want that.” he told her, tracing over her lower lip with his thumb.
She moved his hand away as she leaned to kiss him, “I’d like that, too, but god… I don’t even feel like I can think about things like that right now… I have to try so hard to keep the meeting off my mind, but yet, I can’t stop thinking about the things I want to say to the board… and then if I keep my job, I feel like I’m going to be too busy trying to prove myself again to have time for much of anything… if I … don’t… keep my job… I’m going to feel like I need to be busting my ass to find another one…”
“India… don’t worry about it… you don’t know what’s going to happen yet…” he said, anxious for the meeting to come and go so she could stop fretting over it. The discussion about their possible future was obviously not going to happen right now, but he at least felt good that she hadn’t totally shot the idea down.
“That’s what makes me nervous!” India whined. She stopped herself from saying more- it was Christmas day for god’s sake and she was lying in bed with her boyfriend… NOT the time to freak out over that fucking board meeting again. “I’m sorry, I’ll stop now.”
“Good.” Nick said, then kissed her forehead and hugged her a little closer to him.
***
India walked into the council’s chamber holding Nick’s hand, with Chasity right behind them. Her stomach had been in knots all day, trying to decide everything- what to say, what to do, what to wear. She could feel all the parent’s eyes on her as they walked into the room, and was glad she’d chosen to dress fairly conservatively. She walked to the front of the room to take a seat just behind Mr. Crutchley, her principal. She’d met with him yesterday, and he’d assured her that she had his full support. She could see the stack of papers in the seat beside him that he’d promised to bring- glowing reports of India’s effectiveness- amazing numbers on statewide assessment tests, essays submitted from last year from students that had been asked to write about their favorite teacher or a teacher that had changed their attitude about learning. She knew he was prepared to offer at least a middle ground to the board if they voted to fire her- that she’d be allowed to stay if she agreed to stick more to the curriculum and have an outside observer sit in her classroom.
Chasity stepped over Nick and India to sit on the other side of her sister, partly to show she had support on both sides of her, and partly to put a buffer between India and any hostile parent that might want to have a few words with her. She’d been furious about the whole situation since India had told her about it, and she was more than ready to let anyone who’d give her a chance hear about it.
Promptly at 7 p.m. the meeting began, and the president of the board, Mrs. Loar, called everyone to order. India was surprised at how small the meeting actually was… the only ones in attendance were really the parents who’d filed the complaint. She knew the board and the principals had gone out of their way to keep things quiet… they’d probably know that as popular as India was with the students- they’d have a riot on their hands if more people knew she was in trouble.
Nick squeezed India’s hand as Mrs. Loar explained why they were all here and began reading the complaint that the minister and group of parents had filed against India. He figured someone had hired a lawyer to look over it, there was a lot of legal jargon peppered in with the overly moral concerns about the things that India was teaching and the discussions about her personal life that she had with the class.
India bit at her lip as the complaint was read, having to consciously keep from rolling her eyes or scoffing at the ridiculousness of most of it. She knew that Mr. Crutchley was going to speak first, to show all the evidence he had that India was a very successful teacher, then it would be her turn to defend or explain herself. When Mrs. Loar turned the floor over to Mr. Crutchley, she tried her best to listen to him, to be proud of what he was saying about her knowledge, her teaching skills, but she couldn’t quite sort through all the thoughts that were swirling through her mind.
“Miss Evans? Would you like to address the board?” Mrs. Loar asked through the microphone.
India gave Nick’s hand a squeeze and stood up, “Yes, I would.” Though she didn’t have to, she walked to the front of the room, commanding everyone’s attention. She took a deep breath, considering her thoughts one more time, and then began to speak. “I teach history…things that happened in the past… that nobody can change whether they liked what happened or not. I teach the truth, even if it makes people uncomfortable. So what if it’s not in the text book or the curriculum? It’s my job to present the material that I’m teaching in a way that the students are going to listen, understand, and remember it… and maybe if I’m lucky, they’ll even enjoy it. If I can’t do that… I don’t want to teach. Yes, I do discuss my personal life with them, because they’re curious. They’re at an age that they need all the adult guidance and input they can get, especially from an adult that they trust… They want/need to hear that my life and my problems are just as real as theirs are… that adults face the same issues they do. They know they can trust me, they know I’ll listen and take them seriously and help them in any way that I can… if I can’t have that… then I quit. Consider this my verbal resignation. I’ll have a letter to the board by the end of the week.”
There was complete silence as she walked back to her seat. She could see the shock on everyone’s faces- especially those of Mr. Crutchley, Nick, and Chasity- who were all staring at her in disbelief.
Mrs. Loar finally broke the silence, saying, “If there are no objections, the meeting is adjourned.” She knew everyone was probably too surprised to object, even if they wanted to- she knew she had no idea what to do.
India stood up and leaned over to Mr. Crutchley, “Sorry.” She took Nick’s hand and walked out of the room, Chasity following behind them again.
When they got out to the parking lot, Chasity stopped as Nick unlocked the doors to the Escalade. “I can’t believe you did that, India.”
“What else was I going to do? I’m not going to get boxed in or held down or whatever by a bunch of conservative, over-protective parents who don’t want their 17- and 18- year old kids learning anything that might not fit into their tiny, narrow-minded views of the world and how things should be.” India said, and got into the passenger’s seat, not wanting to talk anymore just then.
Nick stopped to drop off Chasity, then without asking, took India back to his house. He was uncomfortable with her silence, because he had no idea what she was thinking or why she’d suddenly decided to change her mind about trying to fight. He went to open the door for her, and stopped her as she was stepping out of the SUV to give her a deep kiss. “You taste spicy tonight. “ he said, smiling. “It was hot to see you stand up to all those people… not let them tell you want to do.”
India gave him a weak smile. She wasn’t even entirely sure what she’d done, but she knew she didn’t want to think about it anymore for the rest of the night. She'd only decided while she'd been speaking what her choice was going to be, and there was so much she still had to consider. “Take me to bed.” She told him, wrapping her arms around his neck so he’d pick up her to carry her. She felt so drained- all she wanted was to sleep lying snuggled up with Nick and worry about everything later.
Nick scooped her up and carried her into the bedroom, lying her gently on the bed and sliding behind her, draping his arm around her waist and pulling her against his chest. He wanted to know what was on her mind, but wasn’t going to press her to talk tonight. Apparently, they’d have plenty of time to do that, starting tomorrow.