Page 187 of Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal
“Yes,” I say, a tear falling down my cheek, which I quickly wipe away. “I love her, Dwight. I’d do anything for her. Fucking anything. I was actually... hell, I was going to take her to the outlook point, and I was going to tell her everything today. That’s where we were headed. I was going to tell her how this all started and how it turned into so much more. I was going to tell her that I love her, because I knew you were coming home, I knew I was going to have to have a hard conversation with you, and I wanted her to know how I felt before I had that conversation.”
“To manipulate her once again.”
I shake my head. “No, to let her know that I love her, so when I had the conversation with you, she at least could hold that close to her heart.”
“I don’t believe you.”
I toss my hands in the air. “I don’t know what else to say to convince you. I love her, Dwight. I’m in love with her.”
“Hey,” a voice booms from the side, pulling both of our attention. Bob Krampus walks toward us, looking none too pleased. “My house, now.” He points toward Ornament Park. “That’s an order.” Then he grabs me by the arm and Dwight by the shirt, and he pushes us in the direction of his house.
Fuck.
And here I thought it couldn’t get any worse.
“Sit down,” Bob booms when we step inside his living room. “On the couch.”
Dwight and I, with our tails tucked between our legs, sit on the couch and watch Bob pace his living room.
“This is not the kind of behavior I like to see in my town, especially right before Christmas.” He turns toward us. “Tanya got complaints from patrons about you arguing. Do you think that’s the experience I want visitors to have when they come to our town? Two numbskulls arguing outside a coffee shop?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I’m sorry.”
“I thought that rivalry worked last year when you two were battling out to see who could win the Christmas Kringle competition. It added a lot of hype. But now... now you need to look at yourselves and realize you’re adult men. We can’t have this argument anymore.” He takes a seat in his green recliner. “Now what’s going on?”
“I fucked up,” I admit, wanting to take the blame, because that’s what happened. I fucked up. “Dwight was challenging my family farm, bringing in Betty to create a similar business. Instead of acting like an adult and having a conversation with Dwight to clear the air, I was scared and concocted a stupid plan to get Betty to fall for me so I could change her mind into planning a different idea.”
“And it worked,” Dwight says, crossing his arms.
“It did,” I say with shame. “But I fell in love with her along the way, and the bitterness I had quickly turned into so much more. Her idea for the property, for Dwight’s property, is so much better than what they initially planned, and I’m not saying that because I’m nervous about my family’s business shutting down, but because it truly has merit and she’s so smart and she’s really thought everything through. And fuck, I don’t know what I’m saying. I messed up, Bob. I love her, and now... now I know she’s not going to ever give me a second chance, especially if Dwight keeps telling her I’m a liar.”
“You are a liar,” Dwight shouts. “You’ve lied about so much.”
“What has he lied about?” Bob asks in a calmer voice.
“It started back in high school. He lied about not being interested in playing basketball, and then he goes and joins the team, taking my spot. He lied about not liking Jessica, but then I go and find her journals, saying how much she liked him. And then he lied about taking the ornament. He’s been lying for fucking ever.”
“Hold on,” I say, turning toward him. “I didn’t lie about basketball.”
“You said you didn’t like playing and you’d never try out.”
“When did I say that?”
“You said that to Duncan.”
“No, I didn’t,” I say. “I was playing basketball before you moved to town, but I skipped my freshman year, when you moved here, because my dad needed help on the farm. He lost some employees because they moved, and basketball season is during the busy Christmas season, but after that, Dad was able to hire, and I could join the team again.”
“That is true.” Bob nods his head, validating me.
“Really?” Dwight asks, looking stunned. “Duncan said it was because you didn’t like basketball.”
“Duncan also liked to sniff glue,” I point out. “And I never liked Jessica like you did. She was a friend, and we were all pulling for her, but we were never romantically involved. Whatever was in her journals was all from her, man. And I’m sorry if that hurts. I can’t imagine finding that out, but I promise you, I had no romantic interactions with her. And the ornament, like I said, that was Ansel, and I still need to confront him about it, but that wasn’t me. I’d never do that. The Ornament Park Christmas tree is sacred to my family. Well, at least I thought it was sacred to all of us.”
Dwight sits there, staring at his hands. And after a few moments of silence, he says, “It wasn’t you?”
“No. I promise you. I know that probably means nothing to you at this point, but I promise you, it wasn’t me. We might not have gotten along throughout the years, but I’d never do anything vindictive like that.”
He stares out the window and then says, “I want to believe you, but after what you did to Betty?—”
