She was facing away from the door, but at the sound of footsteps, she sprang up to kneel, quickly sliding the cushion under her knees back beneath the table and picking up a pen to pretend she was diligently copying something.
The table was a mess, covered in papers, which were punishment assignments from Hamilton.
After scribbling a few words, she glanced back and saw it was Phillip. "Oh, it's you."
Dropping the pen, she pulled the cushion out again and sat cross-legged, lazily grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl and peeling it.
"What brings you here?" Tina asked.
"Just passing through on a business trip. I thought I should drop by for Christmas," Phillip answered briefly.
"Got any gifts for me?" Tina asked.
Having handed all his gifts to the kids, Phillip said, "Next time."
Tina didn't press on when his 'next time' would be. She wasn't really after the gift.
She bit into the apple, wincing at the sourness.
"Are you cold?" Phillip noticed her red fingers.
"Freezing," Tina complained. The chapel had no heating, and the floor tiles were ice-cold. Her knees would have been wrecked if her aunt hadn't sneaked her a cushion.
And in this cold, she still had to copy texts, each sheet secretly embedding "Hamilton is a complete ass" between the lines.
Phillip took off his leather gloves and left them on the table.
Tina paused mid-bite. He was already leaving.
Exiting through the family chapel's front door and circling the cobblestone path, Phillip saw Tina watching him from the window. The rustic chapel, covered in pristine snow with its red-tiled roof thickly blanketed, made his black coat stand out starkly.
They locked eyes for a moment.
"What are you looking at?" she challenged.
Suddenly, a gust of wind scattered the papers on the table, some flying out the window. Tina rushed to gather them.
As the papers scattered in the snow, Phillip helped gather them and one of them caught his eye.
Phillip, Phillip, Phillip... His name was everywhere on it.
Tina stumbled at the doorstep, nearly
fooling, her shoe flying et
the cold snow on her
she hopped over. S
Seeing Phillip holding the paper, her face briefly betrayed her despair.
She grabbed the papers back, trying to play it off. "My dad made me
to thinkingl'd fall for you if I c
Write
name repeatedly. So funny."
As she turned to hop away, he caught her by the arm.
She looked back at Phillip, but he let go, picking up her fallen shoe and walking toward her.
He knelt before her, holding her ankle to slip the shoe back on.
Tina looked down at her foot and said, "Merry Christmas."
Phillip replied, "Merry Christmas."
Tina smiled, turning back toward the chapel.
The leather gloves lay quietly on the table. Tina picked them up, slipping her hands into the warmth he left behind.
Whatever Phillip had said to
Hamilton, or whether Hamilton
finally found his conscience, Til net
was@eleased from her punishment that afternoon.
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