He Took Her To The Lake We Promised To See Together Chapter 04

He Took Her To The Lake We Promised To See Together Chapter 04

The day before I left, the hotel hosted a special Christmas dinner.

Ethan reserved a table for four, but only three holiday gift boxes had been placed on it.

Sophie’s featured Santa’s sleigh beneath the stars. Mason’s showed reindeer in the snow. Ethan’s showed a lit Christmas tree in the snow.

Together, the three boxes formed a complete holiday scene.

Once again, there was nothing for me.

Sophie put on a look of surprise.

“Where’s Emma’s?”

Ethan poured her a cup of hot spiced cider.

“Her stomach’s bad. She can’t eat the cookies.”

“But there are ornaments and keepsakes inside too.”

“She wouldn’t use them anyway.”

He made the decision for me without even looking up.

Mason laughed, trying to smooth things over.

“Emma and Ethan are a couple. His box is basically hers too, right?”

The message on Ethan’s box read:

[For the one I love—together every Christmas.]

The first thing he did after opening it was hand the gingerbread cookie to Sophie.

It was her favorite.

Before dinner was even over, Sophie brought out three matching Christmas outfits.

Sophie had an ivory winter dress, Ethan a black wool coat, and Mason a navy one.

All three had matching gold holly embroidery at the collar.

“The photographer’s waiting for us by the old clock tower,” Sophie said with a smile.

“It’s Christmas. I want us to take some holiday photos together.”

Mason asked casually, “What about Emma’s outfit?”

“The shop only had three.”

Sophie looked at me.

“Besides, Emma doesn’t like taking pictures, right?”

I’d never said that.

For years, every important day had ended with me holding the camera.

Their albums were full of memories I’d captured for them.

I was the only one never in the frame.

Ethan noticed my silence.

“When we’re done, I’ll come back and have some cookies with you.”

I asked, “What time will you be back?”

“Before eleven.”

“You’re sure?”

Impatience flashed across his face.

“How long can a few pictures take? I said I’ll come back, so I will.”

I nodded.

“Okay.”

After the three of them changed and left, Sophie walked beside Ethan with the glowing reindeer lantern in her arms.

From a distance, they were the ones who looked like a couple.

No one looked back at me.

I went upstairs alone and packed the last of my clothes.

In the drawer were the apartment key, our matching watches, my studio keycard, and the Boston travel journal I’d been working on for four years.

On the first page was a note Ethan had written when we were eighteen:

[After graduation, we’ll spend Christmas in Boston.]

In the middle of the journal was the Moonsea Lake route I’d planned and revised over and over again.

From the old clock tower to Silver Arch Bridge, then all the way down the Moonsea Promenade.

I’d left the final page blank, planning to have Ethan write a promise about our future there.

Now I picked up a pen and wrote the last line myself.

[Christmas is over. So is our promise.]

I placed the journal and the ring on the table.

For years, I’d brought in clients for Ethan’s creative media studio, written proposals, and scouted locations.

That afternoon, I’d already sent over all the handoff materials and transferred access to every account.

From that day on, his dreams and his future were no longer my responsibility.

At 9:30 that night, the car arranged by the project team arrived.

I wheeled my suitcase downstairs.

The front desk clerk handed me a box of holiday cookies.

“Merry Christmas, Ms. Parker. Aren’t you waiting for Mr. Cole before you leave?”

I glanced at the unlit holiday display in the center of the lobby.

“No.”

The car pulled away from the hotel.

The driver said traffic near the airport was backed up, so we’d have to take a detour past Moonsea Lake.

As we crossed Silver Arch Bridge, Ethan called.

In the background, I could hear Mason directing them.

“Ethan, move a little closer to Sophie.”

Ethan stepped away from the others.

“Where are you?”

“Out.”

“What are you doing out this late? Go back to the hotel right now.”

“Didn’t you promise you’d be back before eleven?”

His voice sharpened with impatience.

“The photographer added another set at the last minute. What was I supposed to do?”

“Set the cookies out and wait for me. We’ll eat them together when I get back.”

I watched the Moonsea Promenade slide past outside the window.

“Ethan, do you remember why we came to Boston?”

“Of course I do.”

He answered without hesitation.

“You wanted to spend Christmas at Moonsea Lake. I came with you, didn’t I?”

To him, simply coming to Boston with me was enough to count as keeping the promise we’d made four years ago.

But what I’d wanted had never been a city or even this lake.

What I’d wanted was the Ethan who’d held my hand at eighteen and promised he’d be beside me for whatever came next.

That person had been gone for a long time.

Sophie’s voice came through the phone.

“Ethan, the photographer needs you over here.”

His attention shifted immediately.

“Go back to the hotel and wait for me. I’ll finish up here, then come back and light the holiday display with you.”

The line went dead.

I powered off my phone.

Back beneath the old clock tower, Mason was taking their final set of photos.

Sophie carried the glowing reindeer lantern and slipped her arm through Ethan’s.

Mason lifted the camera.

“Everyone, look at the camera.”

The shutter clicked.

The three of them stood beneath the Christmas lights, smiling like a real family.

At the same time, my car was making its way along the Moonsea Promenade.

I never hung the Christmas wish ornament I’d spent four years planning for, and I never looked back at the lights.

At eighteen, I’d believed that if we kept our promise, we’d have a future together.

That Christmas, I finally understood.

Moonsea was never the point.

There was no future left for Ethan and me.