Hayden drove Stefan back to his school after they left the room.
Stefan still had a military drill to attend. And he just thought that it would be weird to go back home with
Hayden now that he made things clear.
On her way to the kindergarten to pick up the kids, Hayden got a call from Joseph.
“Where are you?”
“Driving to pick up the kids, I’m almost there.”
“You can return.”Joseph slowed down his speech purposely, sounding gentle.
“I have Mark to pick them. I’ll eat outside tonight.”
“With grandpa?”Hayden paused, and then realized that it was New Year’s Eve tonight. “Then I’ll go
home and change.”
“It’s just the two of us.”
His voice was pleasantly low. Suddenly, Hayden blushed. “Could you wait for a second, I have to get
changed.”
“No need to, just wear whatever makes you comfortable.”
“No, I have to! It’s a date!”
It has been onerous in ST Group, but still, Joseph made some time to have a dinner with her. That was
such a big surprise for her. How could he not take it seriously?
She had to be garbed, and outshine every other woman that showed up in Joseph’s sight.
When she got home, she poured all the clothes in her closet out and made a video call to Alayna,
asking for her counsel.
It was morning at Alayna’s end, sunshine shed on her face while she sat on her bed. She waved her
hand constantly while Hayden showed her her clothes.
“Too plain, it’s going to make you so out of place in the festive atmosphere of the New Year.
“Still not, everyone’s wearing red now. you don’t want to do the same if you want to stand out.”
“….”
“This dress’s fine, but it’s winter there, isn’t it? Don’t get a cold.”
It took Hayden about an hour to finally decide her date dress.
Their rendezvous was at the most bustling square in the city, T. Square. It’s named so because it
boasted a 100-meter-long canopy. It’s a starry sky above the canopy. The square was saturated with
song of joy.
“Where are you?
She talked to Joseph on the phone. The snow just topped, it’s still cold out here.
“Walk through the canopy.”
Joseph’s voice rang on the phone, “I’m right at the end of it.”
“Alright.” Hayden was chilled to the bone, she snuffled, murmured.”Why not meet in the mall, it’s
warmer there.”
Despite her complaint, she walked in under the canopy as Joseph had told her. She kept talking to
Joseph while walking.
“I never really looked at the square before. It’s beautiful. How about we spend some time and make our
new year resolutions here after the dinner?”
“Sure.”
“The sky’s beautiful.”
Hayden muttered nonstop in the walk. She looked around curiously when she’s almost at the end of the
hallway.
“I’m here, where are you?”
She stepped out the hall way as she said. And as her vision expanded, a Christmas tree two-floor high
entered into her sight. On it hung bells and present and the likes.
It’s not strange to see a Christmas tree at the square. But the weird thing was that no one was around
the tree. It was crowded before she entered the canopy, but people just disappeared now.
“Joseph.” Hayden was rattled, she asked on the phone. “Where are you?
But then it was hung up.
Bewildered, she looked down on her phone. As she did so, light flashed and the cosmetic commercial
on the displayer hung on the building was replace by a familiar scene.
It was a child’s voice that she heard first.
“Uncle Joseph, it’s all set, you can talk now.”
Stella? Hayden raised her eyes at the voice.
The video was shot at the living room of Joseph’s house. It must be shot not long ago, Hayden thought,
she could see a Christmas tree at the corner.
Facing the camera, Joseph seemed to be nervous, his fingers rubbing around his knee cap.
“Hayden…” he twitched his mouth, trying to make a smile that he thought would be warm. But the
nervousness made him look kind of awkward.
Covering her mouth, Hayden laughed.
“I have so many to tell you but they all stick in my throat once I see you. So I decided to make this
video and tell you my feelings. It was March when I first met you, it was in the company’s elevator.
Before that, I thought I didn’t anyone to affect my life. But my world changed radically after I met you.”
Joseph looked so affectionate even thought the smile on his face stared to fade.
“Maybe it was when you first came to my house and cooked for Noah. For the first time in my life, I
thought marriage might be a good idea. That thought scared me. By then, we had known each other for
no more than a month. And I realized, love, has nothing to do with time.
People started to emerge on the square, but Hayden took no notice of that.
“Then I started to think about you all the time. I think about you when the sun rises, when the moon
floats; I think about you when the sun smiles, when the cloud cries, and now, when the snow dances.”
Hayden felt something cold fall on her nose. Then she saw snowflakes falling as she raised her head.
“I hope you will be with me forever.”
The video stopped there, and then Hayden heard music coming from the Christmas tree. She knew the
song, Can’t Stop Loving You.
Out of nowhere, seven elves ran up to her hopping, each with a present box in their hands. They
tucked the presents into Hayden’s hands.
Then it came Snow White, Rapunzel… almost all the Disney characters were there, with flowers and
presents in their hands to give them to Hayden.
In the blink of an eye, a hill of present was piled beside her. She’s still confused, a cluster of roses
clutched in her hands. She didn’t know what’s happening, nor what’s going to happen.
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