A North Carolina Autumn - Chapter 45: Chapter 45

"We don't have to dress a certain way for this light thing, do we?" Rylie calls from the bathroom.
"Nope, just wear something warm!" I answer before slipping a cute, thick white sweater over my head. We'd gotten tickets a few weeks ago to go see the Christmas Lights Festival at a nearby place, and I was excited.
My father had taken me when I was a child, so it was bittersweet to be going back. I was excited to go with Rylie and see how much it had changed since I'd been with my dad years ago. The only downside was the weather. It was already too cold for my liking during the days, so I wasn't looking forward to experiencing the cold at night.
I pull my warmest coat off of its hanger as Rylie joins me back in the bedroom. "Here." I smile, handing her a thick pair of grey gloves and her coat.
"Thank you, love." She replies before kissing my cheek. "You ready?"
I nod before following her out the door and locking it behind us. The moment we get outside, I start shivering. "Maybe this wasn't a good idea..." I mutter, teeth chattering.
"Baby," Rylie laughs before pulling me to her side, rubbing a hand up and down my arm. "Maybe we can get hot chocolate at the festival to keep you warm" She suggests with a smile.
"That's not a bad idea." I agree, bobbing my head as my teeth continue to chatter. "Maybe I need a heated coat!"
"Is that a thing?" Rylie asks skeptically.
"Yup.. I looked it up last winter." I answer, laughing. "My favorite was the one with a heater in not only the front and back, but also each arm."
"That... is actually brilliant. How have I not heard of heated coats before?" Rylie says, slightly awed.
"They're not a big thing yet." I assure her with a smile as we climb into the car. Thankfully, the car heats up quickly and my shivering finally calms down about five minutes into the drive.
"So," Rylie starts, slipping her fingers between mine. "The puppy."
"Ah, yes." I laugh. "The puppy. How could I forget?"
"Well, we did get a little bit distracted earlier, so I'll let it slide." She grins at me before focusing back on the road.
"So kind of you." I joke. "You really like that puppy, don't you?"
"Aspen, you have no idea. He is so cute and sweet and reminded me instantly of Harvey!" Rylie replies excitedly, and I can't tear my eyes from her beautiful face as it lights up.
"Ry, did you know that there is absolutely no way for me to say no to you, especially when you're this adorable?"
Her hand tightens in mine and I smile when I see the blush coloring her cheeks as the passing streetlights briefly illuminate her face. "No way at all? For anything?" Rylie teases with a smirk.
"Hey," I say carefully. "Don't get any crazy ideas."
Rylie laughs before speaking again. "Okay, I'll be honest. As much as I instantly loved this puppy, I don't know if having two dogs would be the best idea for us right now, especially since we both work so much and have school."
Despite being hesitant about getting another dog in the first place, I'm a little bit surprised by the disappointment I feel at Rylie's words. "I sometimes hate when you're right." I sigh jokingly.
"Are you telling me you were actually willing to possibly get another dog?" Rylie asks, sounding genuinely surprised.
"Why are you so surprised?" I laugh. "You know how much I love dogs. And I was serious when I said it's nearly impossible for me to say no to you. But yes, I was really thinking about it, especially because your picture with him was very adorable." I smile.
"Well in that case," Rylie starts, a grin spreading over her face. "I have an idea that you might like..."
"Oh?" I reply skeptically.
"Remember the other day at your moms, when she mentioned maybe getting a dog?" Rylie asks, and I nod, instantly knowing where this is going. "Well," She continues. "What if we got her this puppy as a present? Christmas is in two weeks, and the puppy will be just over eight weeks old at that point so it would be perfect!"
Even though Rylie is focusing mostly on the road, I can see just how excited she is about this idea. And I can't deny that it's a good idea, especially with her beautiful face all lit up.
"That's actually a really good idea, Ry." I smile, squeezing her hand. "What kind of puppy is he, though? I don't know if she wants a huge one..."
"He's a Samoyed. They grow to be a medium-sized dog, and they have the fluffiest fur which makes them look a little bit bigger than they are."
"Do they shed?"
"They do shed quite a bit, but with your moms house having mainly wood floors, it would be very easy to clean up the fur."
"She would love how soft and fluffy he is, and he looked absolutely adorable in that picture..."
"I promise you he's even more adorable in person. I really would want him if we could manage another dog, but since we can't, at least with your mom we would still be able to see him often!"
"I don't know if there are any downsides to this idea..." I admit with a laugh.
"I know!" Rylie agrees happily. "I think it's a sign." She grins.
"Okay, I'm in. But, I think I'll text Jay and talk to him to make sure they'd be okay with it. I'll swear him to secrecy though, don't worry." I assure Rylie as she opens her mouth. She closes it and smiles at me.
"That sounds good to me! Let me know what he says, and I'll talk to the puppy's owner as soon as we know for sure. They even offered a great price since they like me more than the other techs." Rylie jokes.
"I'm not surprised at all. You're impossible not to like. And from what I've seen, you are the best vet tech there. Besides Jarom, of course." I tease.
Rylie laughs. "Year right. He has gotten a bit better, though. I can't figure out why." As Rylie says this, the memory of Jarom helping me out to my car flashes through my mind.
I don't think I ever told Ry about that...
"How has he gotten better?" I ask her, wanting to know if he had been genuine that day when he'd helped me.
"He's... nicer. And more respectful. Not just to me, but everyone he'd been awful to. Oh! He even apologized to me about what happened that day you came in with me."
"I'd hoped he would apologize." I say with a soft smile. "While you were in the hospital..." I trail off and take a second to push aside the painful emotions connected with this memory, reminding myself it was all in the past. Rylie is okay. "While you were there, the vet kept Harvey for a few extra days while I figured things out." Rylie gently squeezes my hand to comfort me. "When I went to pick him up, I still had my cast on so I knew it would be a struggle to carry everything out to the car. On top of that, Mindy had made some food for us too, and even she knew I wouldn't be able to carry it all. Jarom was there, so she asked him to help me carry everything.
"When we got out to my car, he was really quiet as he helped load everything in. But afterwards, I was really surprised when he apologized to me for that day. He felt bad about how he'd treated you after you'd been nothing but kind to him. He apologized for that too, and said he hoped you would recover from the accident quickly. He even offered to come visit you." I finish with a small laugh.
"I had no idea..." Rylie says, slightly awed. "I was wondering if it was just a brief nice phase, but apparently it's genuine!"
"I wondered the same thing!" I laugh. "I'm really glad it's genuine. He's probably a lot more tolerable this way."
"Oh, no doubt about that." Rylie laughs along with me.
We spend the rest of the drive talking and making plans for if we end up getting my mother the puppy. The more we talk about it, the more excited I get. As Rylie drives, I make notes in my phone of everything and even look up pictures of Samoyeds and how big they could get. I couldn't get over how fluffy they were, and it only made me want our plan to work out more.
By the time we get to the Light Festival, we have a pretty good idea of how to go about everything, and the last thing we need is a response from Jay. I was fairly certain he'd be all for it, he always went above and beyond doing things to make my mother happy and getting her a puppy would definitely be one of those things.
I push down the familiar bitter thoughts as they try to push their way back in, reminding me of how I'd felt years ago when I'd wanted a dog, reminding me of the things Gabe had said.
Why does everything always lead back to him? I think, slightly frustrated. I shake my head and take Rylie's hand as she opens my door, smiling as she kisses me softly.
"You ready for some pretty lights?" She asks.
"I am, but I don't know how much I'll be looking at them."
"What do you mean?" Rylie's eyebrows draw together in confusion.
"You look really, really pretty and I'm just remembering how you looked on the couch earlier after I..."
"Okay!" Rylie laughs, putting a hand over my mouth. "I can't have your words making me feel this way while we're in public!"
"What way are you feeling, Ry?" I smirk.
"You know what way." She whispers while pulling me through the door of the small entrance building leading to the festival. "Now shush!"
I laugh as we walk over to the refreshments counter where Rylie orders us two large cups of hot chocolate.
"Can you add extra marshmallows and two shots of caramel to one of them?" Rylie asks the boy behind the counter, and he nods as he starts on our drinks.
"You know me so well!" I say softly to Rylie before kissing her cheek. "Thank you."
"You're welcome, my love. Seeing how happy you get about your hot chocolate makes me want to get it for you every day." She laughs.
"That's a dangerous game..." I grin.
"Not for me!" Rylie argues with a matching grin.
"Ah, so you want a plump wife!"
"I want a happy wife. So far I think I'm doing an okay job, and hot chocolate seems to help with that!" Rylie clarifies.
"You are doing a really, really good job. Hot chocolate does help for sure, but you're what makes me happiest." I promise with a smile.
"It's the least I can do." Rylie teases while handing me my hot drink and taking my free hand again. I let my eyes wander around the room as we walk towards the door, enjoying all the Christmas colors and decorations on the tables and walls. A doorway to my left leads to a gift shop, and I make a mental note to check it out with Rylie afterwards.
All the head I'd managed to build up while inside the building abandons me the moment we step outside, only to be replaced once again by the cold winter air. I take a careful sip of my drink, hoping it'll keep me warm enough while we walk around.
"Here," Rylie says, setting her cup on a bench and stepping in front of me. She slips off her gloves, handing them to me before zipping my coat up. "Can't have my baby getting too cold. I can't warm you up later if you're frozen solid." She grins, a suggestive look in her eyes. Suddenly, I couldn't wait to get home.
"Thank you." I laugh, doing my best to calm my slightly inappropriate thoughts. It doesn't work, and judging by the smirk Rylie gives me, she can tell.
I take her hand once her gloves are back on and hand her the cup before pulling her down the path. Beautiful, colorful lights surround us the moment we walk through a tall stone archway, and my eyes widen as I take everything in.
"Wow..." Rylie breathes, echoing my thoughts. "It's almost overwhelming." She laughs as we continue down a stone path. Lights cover every available branch of the trees lining the path, reminding me of Rylie's mothers house. Farther up, the lights become more intricate and creative, making shapes, animals, objects, things I never would've thought possible to make out of Christmas lights. While Christmas music can be heard on speakers spaced out along the path, some areas are specifically for light shows, the lights blinking and dancing to the beat of whatever song is set for that area.
There are even certain spots for non-light things, like a display of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, a pen with several reindeer that people could pet, and benches around fire pits for warming up.
"Look, they have those just for you!" Rylie jokes as she sees the firepits.
"Shush." I laugh. "It is a good thing they have them, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that will appreciate them."
"I know, baby. I just like teasing you." Rylie grins before kissing me softly.
"Tease me as much as you'd like, as long as I get kisses afterwards."
"That, my love, will not be a problem at all." Rylie whispers before pressing her lips back to mine. I'm suddenly very warm despite being nowhere near one of the firepits.
Rylie pulls away all too soon, and I focus on steadying my suddenly weak legs as we continue along the pathway.
It takes us a little over two hours to see everything we wanted to see, and although my toes went numb about an hour in, it was worth it.
As we walk towards the last few areas of the festival, I gasp as I notice the white flakes falling softly around us. "Ry, it's snowing!"
Rylie glances up at my words, her face lighting up as she sees the snow. "I always forget how pretty snow is." She says softly. I can't take my eyes from her as she watches the flakes, but even if I could, I wouldn't want to.
The flashing Christmas lights send color dancing across her face while lighting up the snow that was beginning to fall faster. I quietly pull out my phone, wanting to capture this and keep it forever.
It was moments like this that made me fall in love with Rylie all over again. Seeing how excited and happy she got about even the simplest of things made me wish for a way to bottle these things up so I could give them to her every minute of every single day.
Rylie turns to me after a few moments, her eyes catching the phone in my hands. She shakes her head and smiles before grabbing my hand. "Come here." Her voice is soft as she pulls me into her arms. I quickly end the video and slip my phone back into my pocket before slipping into her embrace.
"Mmm... who needs a heated coat when I've got you?" I whisper as I breathe in Rylie's warm scent.
"I have to go everywhere with you if you'd like me to be your source of heat." She laughs.
"That wouldn't be a bad thing at all. In fact, I would prefer that." I grin, pulling back slightly to look at her.
"Hmm, we're on the same page yet again." Rylie purrs before kissing me gently. "You ready to head home so I can keep you warm in our big comfortable bed while we watch the snow fall outside the window?"
"I want nothing more than to do just that." I answer before kissing the tip of her slightly red nose. "And maybe we can start our Harry Potter movie marathon." I suggest, grinning when Rylie nods enthusiastically.
"Sounds like the perfect plan to me." She smiles before pulling me in the direction of the car.