Some links may be affiliate links. We get money if you buy something or take an action after clicking one of these links on our site.

Christmas All The Time is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

It’s Your Lucky Day

12/5/2024

“Heading to work, honey?” Grace’s mom handed her a cup of coffee.

She sniffed and smiled. “Yup. Dr. Hu keeps me pretty busy.”

“So, that’s going well?”

Grace sipped her coffee. “It’s great. She’s showing me a whole different side of psychiatry.”

“That’s good. It can’t all be supervillains and such. Right?”

“Yeah, chaos poisoning is a whole field of study in itself. Dr. Hu’s patients have more traditional organic conditions.”

“Can I pack you something for lunch?”

“PB&J is fine. I don’t really have a fridge to keep anything in. What’s for dinner?”

Her mom reached into the cabinet. “This bitter cold we’ve been having.” She pulled the jar of peanut butter out and grabbed the bread off the counter. “I’m craving some comfort food. Y’know?”

“Sounds good. What did you have in mind?”

“I’ve got some cabbage set aside to make a nice big batch of gołąbki. How does that sound?” She pulled the jelly out of the fridge.

“Great. I haven’t had a good cabbage roll in ages.” She tipped her cup up to hide her face while she finished her coffee. ‘He had to have known. How could he know she was going to make gołąbki?’

“It’s not Empire City pizza, but I like it.” Her mom shrugged as she unscrewed the jars. “One sandwich or two?”

“Do we have any snack bags? Chips or mix maybe?”

She pointed to the pantry door. “Big box of nacho chips in there somewhere.”

“Okay. Just one sandwich, then. This and that should be plenty.” She pulled out a bag of chips and dropped it into a paper bag. “I’m looking forward to having some gołąbki, Mom. I haven’t had it in ages.”

“Probably this time last year.” She slipped the sandwich into a plastic zipper bag and handed it to Grace. “Are you sure this is enough? I worry about you.”

“This is plenty. Thanks, Mom. Gotta get going.”

“If you say so. Have a nice day.”

Grace put on her coat and dashed out to her car. “I wonder how you insulate a car? Jeez, I’ll be lucky if it’s warm by the time I get to the hospital.” She turned the dials to put the controls on maximum heat. As she waited for the windshield to defrost, she got her phone out and added Leo to her contacts.

‘I’m actually doing this?’

She pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street.

‘Well, just because I put his information in my contacts doesn’t mean I have to contact him.’

She turned and headed down Apple to Constitution.

‘I promised I would. If he’s going to have a gołąbki craving, might as well give him the best. Right?’

She followed Constitution to the on-ramp to Kościuszko Memorial Highway.

‘Why does he have to be such a pest? If my parents are telling me to leave him alone, his parents have to be saying the same thing.’

She fell in with the flow of morning commute traffic.

‘What the heck is wrong with me? Why would they tell him not to see me? I never did anything to them.’

A few exits rolled by as she fumed over that. She cruised to her exit and followed the ramp down to the hospital parking lot.

Naturally, the nearest spots were taken. It was that cold outside. Nobody wanted to take an extra step in the frigid parking lot if they didn’t have to.

The car was finally warm, so she dashed off a quick text.

It’s your lucky day.

She jumped out of the car, lunch bag in hand, and dashed for the hospital entrance. The vestibule was like stepping into an enormous hairdryer. She hurried through the second set of doors, grateful for the gust of toasty air as she stepped into the cool lobby and headed for the elevators. She checked her phone for a response.

Great. Should I wear my edible underpants?

‘Okay, I walked right into that.’ She shook her head and typed back as the elevator door opened.

No, perv. Mom’s making golabki. Do you want some or not?

She shook her head and got off at the fifth floor. “Hi, Marge.”

The nurse waved as Grace hurried to Dr. Hu’s office. “Morning, Doc.”

“Hello, Grace. Brown bagging it today? Very sensible. Do you need a fridge?”

“No, it’s just PB&J and some chips. I’ll hide it in the filing cabinet until lunchtime.”

Dr. Hu smiled and shook her head. “I don’t see how you can have so much energy with such a meager lunch. In any case, Sarah will be in this afternoon. She seems very taken with you.”

“She’s nice. I wish she wasn’t so sad.”

“It’s a process. She’s been through a lot.”

“Oh, that’s a shame. Where would you like me to get started?”

“Open the calendar for today’s appointments and pull the files for me. Get the first three and we’ll circulate from there. Okay?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Great. Everything okay?”

“Sure, I’m just trying to negotiate a lunch exchange with my idiot neighbor. He’s having a gołąbki craving and Mom happens to be making a batch tonight. He’s so annoying.”

Dr. Hu laughed. “If he’s annoying, why do him any favors?”

“I keep asking myself that very question.” Grace looked at the calendar in the hospital software system.

“Oh, he’s cute. Is that the problem?”

“Kind of.” She got up and opened the file cabinet. “What makes it worse is the whole light fight thing.”

“Ah, that’s serious business in town. Your families are rivals in this?” She took the first file from Grace and set it on her desk.

“For years.” Grace shook her head. “We just went for coffee the other day and I came home to an intervention.”

Dr. Hu smiled. “They thought he was trying to wheedle secret information from you.”

“Exactly!” She handed the doctor another file. “Can you even imagine?”

“How do you feel about him?”

“If I’m being honest, I’ve got mixed feelings about the whole thing. I’m just home for Christmas. You know? Why would I wrap myself up with a homebody like Leo? He doesn’t want to move to the city and I really don’t want to move out of the city. I asked Dr. Wisler if I could just stay there.”

“But?”

“He’s so annoyingly cute.” She shook her fists as she looked for the third file. “I can’t imagine why he’s making all these moves on me. I’m sure he’s getting as much flack from his family as I am. No consorting with the enemy.”

“Seems like you have to decide where your heart really is.”

“My heart is at school. I want to be a psychiatrist like you and Dr. Wisler. I’ve got so much more school to get through. Just because his cologne makes me want to…” She shook her head and pulled the third file for the doctor.

She smiled and took the file. “Annoyingly cute. I understand. Mr. Sanders is probably waiting in the other room. Can you see him in?”

“Yes, Doctor.” She headed to the door.

“You say your heart is at school. Do you know where his heart is?”

“On his sleeve, I think. Leo isn’t particularly complicated.”

“Men rarely are.” She smiled. “See if Mr. Sanders has arrived.”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Do I want some or not? Of course, I do. I asked for it, after all.” Leo shook his head.

“What’s that, dear?” Mrs. Kubiak asked.

“Nothing, Mrs. K. I was just musing about a discussion with my neighbor.”

“Anyway, I was hoping to freshen up the room, but I don’t have a very big budget.”

“I understand. I believe we can take care of that with a fresh coat of paint and a few touches to complement the color. What were you thinking of? Perhaps a cheery blue to go with your vase there?”

“That sounds lovely, but I was just about to put that vase away to get my Christmas decorations out.”

“A nice powder blue would create a wintry backdrop for your Christmas decor and still make your vase really pop when you get it out again after the holidays. Perhaps you had a color in mind?”

“No, I think you’re on to something, Leo. Do you have some paint chips?”

“Why, yes, I do. Let’s take a look at some lovely shades.” He pecked out a quick message as he dug for a collection of ring-bound paint chips from his bag.

Yes, I’m dying for some. What do you want in exchange?

‘Okay, that’s certainly a good question. What do I want from him?’ Grace sat in the cafeteria munching her peanut butter sandwich. ‘You had to know he was going to ask that.’

She looked around at the lunch crowd. Doctors, nurses, support staff and visiting family members were scattered throughout the room.

‘Sure don’t see this at the Wisler Institute.’ She pulled a chip from the little foil bag. ‘Where is my heart?’

Even though she’d told Dr. Wisler she’d rather stay and discharge Blue Bolt than come home for Christmas, she was glad she had. News of Emma’s baby would have seemed distant and irrelevant if she’d gotten it over the phone or email. Touching base with her family was a needed reprieve.

‘Where is Leo’s heart? Is he really into me or is it just the novelty of being home for the holidays?’

She studied the red-orange cheese powder on her fingers.

‘Good thing I can’t respond. I don’t know what to tell him.’

“Mind if I sit with you?”

Grace looked up from her napkin to find Sarah holding a tray. “Oh, sure. Did you find something good?”

“I like their stew.” She sat down across from Grace. “People talk hospital food down, but it’s actually pretty good here.”

“Seems like. How’s work?”

“It’s okay.” She scooped up a spoonful and blew on it. “I’m on again tomorrow.”

“That’s great. Another evening shift?”

“No, I’ll be there in the morning. That’s good. I was hoping to have tomorrow evening free.”

“Yay, sounds like you’ve got plans.” She studied her fingertips to see if all the nacho powder was off. “Something exciting?”

Sarah shrugged. “Just bumming around my apartment. Figured I’d put on some Christmas music and bake a couple batches of cookies.”

“That’s great. My mom won’t start baking cookies until closer to Christmas Day.”

Sarah nodded and continued working on her stew.

Satisfied that her fingers were clean enough, Grace pulled out her phone and read the last message from Leo. ‘Hmm, what do I want in exchange for a portion of gołąbki?’

“Are you okay?”

“Huh?” Grace looked up. “Oh, sure. I’m just wracking my brains here.”

“That sounds serious.” She dipped some rye bread into the gravy.

“No, it’s nothing, really. My neighbor is having a craving for gołąbki and he offered a trade for something I want, but I can’t figure out what I want in exchange.”

Sarah nodded.

“I mean, I’d love a chocolate chocolate chip muffin or something, but it’s Advent.”

Sarah cocked her head. “I don’t follow.”

“It’s not a big deal, but our parish priest likes to treat Advent like it was Lent junior. Gave a big sermon about austerity and preparing for the miracle of Christmas.” Grace fiddled with her braid. “I’d feel guilty asking for something extravagant.”

“If you’re giving him food, let him give you some back. Is there something you haven’t had in a while that your mom doesn’t make?”

“Hmm, that’s a good point. I’m bringing him lunch. He can bring me some. Right?”

“Mm-hmm. He said he’d bring you whatever you want?”

“Yeah.”

“So? What’s on the menu? Steak? Falafel? Moo Goo Gai Pan?”

Grace lit up her phone again and read the message. “I don’t know. Ah, what am I supposed to do?”

“Do you trust him?”

“I guess so.”

“Let him pick.” Sarah shrugged, and she wiped her bowl clean with another slice of bread. “I’ll see you upstairs. Okay?”

“Sure. I’ll be up in a minute.” Grace waved as she studied Leo’s message. “Huh, let him pick. Guess we’ll see what he thinks some gołąbki is worth to him.”

Surprise me.

She stood to clear her spot when the phone buzzed.

So, you do want the edible underwear. 😁

Grace shook the phone angrily and stuffed it in her pocket. She finished cleaning up and dropped her lunch bag in the trash on the way to the elevator.

Do you seriously think that’s a fair trade for golabki?

She poked at the elevator button and waited for the car to arrive.

I’ll bring something nice. 😇 I promise.
I’ll be at Maslov’s tomorrow at lunchtime.
Meet you there?

‘Hmm, if I go there to swap lunches, I can see Sarah’s elf costume.’ She entered the elevator.

Deal