Eighteen-year-old Trixie Belden looked around Mart and Dan’s tiny apartment and let out a soft huff of frustration. For the first time since Jim and Brian had left for college, the Bob-Whites were all living close together and they had decided to meet and make plans for a Christmas project. Only five of the group had arrived on time. Honey and Brian sat on the two-seater sofa, their hands linked and their eyes on each other. Their relationship was still very new and it showed. Trixie sat on the floor on the opposite side of the two wooden packing-cases that functioned as a make-shift coffee table.
She took her gaze from her brother and best friend and frowned at Mart and Di, who were embracing by the room’s single window, oblivious to everyone and everything around them. Despite appearances, they were a long-established couple and had survived the stints of separation without apparent ill-effect.
Trixie looked at her watch, for the fourth time. Ten minutes had elapsed since the meeting time and still the two remaining members of the group had not arrived. It left her wondering what she had done to deserve being stuck with two affectionate couples while she was unhappily single. That thought drew a sigh from her lips.
“I’m sure they’ll be here soon,” Honey assured her, in low tones. “Jim told me that there was a chance he would be held up at work.”
“Well, what’s Dan’s excuse, then?” Trixie grumbled.
The sound of a key in the door heralded another arrival and she glanced over her shoulder, hoping that the two had arrived together. Unfortunately, Dan was alone. He looked around the room before making a bee-line for her. Trixie’s heart sank just a little as he settled on the floor next to her, his arm almost brushing hers.
“Shouldn’t you let me sit next to my co-president?” she asked, in a voice that she hoped would not betray her feelings.
A rather predatory smile crossed Dan’s face. “Seeing as he’s late, how about if I take his place?”
“You were late, too,” Trixie pointed out, edging away from him. “He sent an excuse.”
Dan shrugged. “I’m here now, though. Why don’t we start the meeting?”
“Because not everyone is here.” Trixie frowned at him as he settled closer to her once more; there was now no further for her to move away from him. “We need to wait for Jim.”
“You’ve done a lot of waiting for Jim,” Dan observed in a low voice. “Maybe it’s time to stop waiting.”
Trixie studied his face, but did not reply. Her racing thoughts wavered between several possible interpretations of his words and she did not know which one to choose. She was saved by the sound of a knock at the door. Mart let go of Di and went to open it. Trixie breathed a silent sigh of relief to see that the final member of the group had arrived and that the meeting might now commence.
“Sorry. I had to wait for a delivery and it was late,” Jim offered, as he swept into the room. He turned to Dan. “I think that’s my place you’re sitting in.”
Dan glanced from Jim to Trixie and back again. “If you say so.”
When Dan failed to move, Jim gestured to a space in the farthest corner of the small room. His friend muttered something under his breath as the two passed each other, but moved to the indicated place. With one final glare at Dan, Jim eased himself onto the floor. He left Trixie with her personal space, however. She did not feel crowded against the wall when Jim was sitting next to her and had no urge to sidle away.
“Let’s call the meeting to order and get right down to business,” Jim began. “Has anyone got a project idea for us to work on?”
At once, the group started calling out different ideas, ranging in creativeness from the standard to the ridiculous. Even as Mart outlined a scheme involving large quantities of food being left in his sole charge, Honey was waving a brochure.
“How about this?” she asked. “A friend of mine told me about a group that sends gifts to children around the world who would otherwise never even get one Christmas present. They pack toys and clothes and school supplies and so on into shoe boxes and ship them overseas. It also has the advantage that it needs to be done in time for them to send them, so we won’t be still working on it when Christmas actually gets here.”
She passed the brochure around for the others to see, and smiled as many of them nodded.
“We would know for sure that the recipients were worthy,” Brian noted, touching on an issue that had troubled them in the past. “It sounds like a good idea. I’m in agreement.”
Soon, it became clear that all of them liked the idea of the project. In no time at all, they had arrived at the idea of packing seven boxes, one for each Bob-White, for children of different ages and genders.
“If that’s settled, we’ll need to divide up the jobs,” Trixie announced. “How about if someone is in charge of each thing – so, someone is in charge of getting the boxes and making them look nice, someone else figures out what we’ll need to fill them, someone does the buying, someone else does the packing and someone delivers them to the warehouse. The other two people will have to team up with someone, and anyone can ask for more help if they need it. So, do we have a volunteer for getting the boxes?”
Brian put his hand up for that task, while Honey volunteered for the next.
“Then there’s the task of buying supplies,” Trixie continued. “Is there anyone who’d like to handle that?”
Mart gave his sister an evil grin. “That, it would seem, is the perfect task to assign to our esteemed leaders.”
“No!” Trixie cried. “Not shopping. Give me any other job, but please don’t make me shop!”
Honey spoke to her in a comforting way, but it was obvious that she was smothering a smile. “No one is making you shop, Trix. Maybe Di and I can take care of that, if someone else wants to do the figuring out.”
“I guess I could,” Jim mused.
“You can’t do that by yourself, Jim,” his sister chided. “It’s too big a job to do alone.”
He gave her an exasperated look, since she had apparently been going to do it by herself, but seemed to think him incapable of the same task.
“Well, how about if Trixie helps with that?” Diana suggested, giving the co-presidents a pointed look.
Trixie’s heart sank a little to see the expression on Jim’s face, which reminded her of a cornered animal. A moment later, he nodded and murmured, “That will be fine. If it’s okay with Trixie, of course.”
“Yeah, just fine,” she muttered, looking away from him and turning to the matter of assigning the rest of the tasks. Before long, it was all arranged, including a time for Trixie and Jim to start their task the next morning in the apartment he shared with Brian.
“Meeting adjourned,” Jim announced. “Next meeting will be the same time next week and I’ll hope to hear that you’ve all made some progress.”
At once, there was a burst of movement and conversation as the group gathered their belongings and started going their separate ways. Trixie left them to it, taking her time as she sorted her notes. She kept her eyes down on her task, unwilling to look at any of the others. She had tucked everything away into her bag and was about to slip out of the door when she heard Jim’s voice right behind her.
“Trixie, wait,” he asked.
She turned towards him, raised an eyebrow and paused, but did not speak.
“Listen, can we get together sometime and talk? I know that you’re probably annoyed with me and don’t want to hear it, but I’d like to explain what’s going on and I guess it would be best to do it before we have to work together on this project.”
“Okay,” she replied. “When would suit you?”
“I’m busy for the rest of this afternoon, but I have some time tonight, between seven and nine,” he answered.
Trixie shook her head. “Study group. I’m free after nine-thirty.”
Jim frowned in return. “I can’t. And I’m not going to meet you later than that, anyway. I have a full day tomorrow and need at least a little sleep.”
Trixie gave him the shadow of a smile. “How responsible of you.”
“Well, at least we can talk while we’re working,” Jim decided, as they gave up. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Trixie.”
She smiled sadly as he walked away.
When her study group finished at nine-thirty that night, Trixie rushed off to seek her best friend. She had been waiting all day to discuss the events of the meeting, but their schedules pulled them in opposite directions. They met in the room they shared about fifteen minutes later. Trixie pulled Honey to sit on her bed and launched into the discussion at once.
“Please tell me that you and Di aren’t conspiring against me, again,” she moaned, slumping onto the pillow. “I can’t take it if you’re going to gang up on me!”
“We’re not,” Honey assured her. “We’re just… well, helping, I guess. It’s what friends do.”
“My friends don’t seem to be helping me.” Trixie closed her eyes for a moment. “More like torturing.”
Her friend laughed. “It wasn’t that bad.”
“It was. It’s a lost cause, Hon. I only ever get attention from males that I don’t want to get attention from. It’s my curse. And speaking of which, what is going on with Dan?” Trixie demanded. “Every time I turn around, he’s right there, and whenever he and Jim are in the same room, they’re glaring at each other.”
Honey eyed her friend in speculation. “Well, I can think of two explanations.”
“And these are?” Trixie made wild gestures for her to continue.
“I don’t think you’re going to like either of them.” Honey bit her lip, but hastened to explain as Trixie’s exasperation grew. “Either he likes you, or he’s trying to make Jim jealous, and considering the way that you already mentioned that Jim is glaring at him, I would think that maybe it’s working – though, even if he’s not trying, but the first option is right, I think he’s succeeding, even if that isn’t what he’s trying to do, which doesn’t make so much sense, now that I come to think of it, but I’m sure that that would be the effect either way, anyway, because we all know that Jim likes you and that it’s only circumstances that have kept you apart so far, and not lack of interest, so of course he would be jealous, whatever the motivation was in the first place.”
Trixie groaned and dropped her face to her hands. “What did I ever do to deserve this?” she wondered. “I don’t like either of those explanations and I don’t know why everyone still says that Jim likes me, when he’s not said or done one single thing about it and we’ve been living in close proximity for months.”
Honey draped an arm around her friend and gave her a squeeze. “Just because he hasn’t said or done anything doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel anything.”
Trixie shook her head and pulled away. “Okay. Pity party over. I don’t need to feel sorry for myself; I need some way to deal with this.”
“You could just kiss him,” her friend suggested, with a small smile. “Jim, I mean; not Dan. I think that would deal with either problem, because if he likes you – Dan, I mean, not Jim – then he’ll back off, and if he’s only trying to make Jim make a move, then you’ll have done it for him and his work here will be done. It’s quite simple, really.”
“I can’t just go around kissing people!” Trixie almost shouted.
“I’m quite sure you know how it’s done,” Honey answered, in mock seriousness. “After all, I saw you try it quite a few times, with quite a few different boys.”
“Well, what was I supposed to do? Just sit around and wait for Jim to come back?” She shook her head. “I couldn’t leave my life on hold while he travelled and studied and did who knows what, who knows where.”
Her friend giggled. “I never said you should. I’m pretty sure that what I did say was that you already knew how to kiss and that you should try out this skill on Jim.”
Trixie rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to do that.”
“Just a suggestion,” Honey placated. “If you don’t like it, you can continue moping.”
“I’m not moping!” Trixie stood up and began to pace the small room. “I’m… frustrated and confused and stuff.”
Honey gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m sure it will work out soon, Trixie. You just need to give him a little more time.”
Her friend sighed. “I know. It’s just hard to be patient, especially since I’m not at all sure this is going to work out.”
By the time that she had to meet Jim the following morning, Trixie was feeling disproportionately nervous. She had spent half the night tossing and turning, trying to guess what it was that Jim wanted to tell her and coming up with more and more incredible ideas the longer she tried. When she actually arrived at his door, it was to discover that he was also looking nervous.
“Before we get to work,” he explained, not meeting her eyes, but ushering her inside, “I thought I’d better tell you something. I think you noticed that Dan and I are having something of a disagreement.”
Trixie nodded and sat down at the table as Jim had indicated. “I’d been wondering about that, actually, and Honey had a couple of theories, but I was kind of hoping that there’d be another explanation.”
Jim nodded, but did not continue. He took a seat next to her.
“If you’d like to do the actual explaining,” Trixie prompted, “it might help me to understand.”
He cleared his throat. “Well, it’s a little complicated. You see, Dan is of the opinion that … He thinks I should…”
A horrible suspicion seized Trixie that the rest of that sentence would contain the idea of Jim getting out of Dan’s way so that he could have her. She squared her shoulders and looked Jim in the eye.
“Whatever it is that Dan thinks, I don’t like the way you two are acting around me, so either tell me what it is, or get over it.”
For a moment, Jim looked taken aback. Then, he leaned toward her and for an instant she thought he was going to kiss her. All at once, understanding dawned in Trixie’s mind. The idea of Dan pursuing her faded into the background and Honey’s other theory – of Dan goading Jim into action – took hold of her mind.
“Sorry,” Jim breathed, pulling away.
Trixie closed the gap between them and kissed him, instead. He did not respond at once and she felt a surge of insecurity. Losing her nerve, she drew back and watched the emotions cross his face: surprise, at first, then acceptance as he smiled.
“I guess that proves that you’re braver than I am,” he whispered. “As if I didn’t already know.”
The next thing she knew, he was initiating a kiss. This second kiss lasted much longer than the first and left both of them breathless. Jim’s fingers were entangled in her hair and he seemed unwilling to let her move very far away.
“I’ve waited such a long time for this,” he told her, in a soft voice.
She nodded. “I didn’t think it was ever going to happen.” The thought occurred to her that there were things that she still did not know. “So, what is it that Dan thinks?” she asked, and saw him redden.
“Uh… well, he thinks that I’m too slow in asking you out.”
“I’d have to agree with him,” she answered, laughing. “You still haven’t asked me out.”
“I’d better fix that right away, then.” He took her hand and pretended to be serious. “Would you go out with me, Trixie?”
She grinned. “Sorry, I can’t at the moment; I don’t have the time. You can feel free to kiss me again, though. I don’t mind.”
“I think, actually, we’ll need to get down to work. Honey and Di will be relying on us to get our part done so that they can start shopping. And, as much as I like spending time with you, I can’t afford to neglect my other responsibilities to do so.”
Trixie gave an exaggerated sigh and pulled away. A moment later, they were busy at their task, listing the items needed for the boxes and figuring out ways to make the shopping easier, by doubling up items between different boxes. When they had made considerable progress and their time was almost exhausted, they set their papers aside and went back to kissing. Time was slipping away and the need to touch each other was growing. At last, they had to part, having made a time to meet again. By the time they actually left, both of them were running late.
The following day, they met again and followed a similar pattern. First, they could not help but spend some time talking and kissing; then Jim reminded them that there was work to do. Trixie already had handed over to Honey the list of stationery and toiletries that they had made the day before, so now they started on the next category of items. When their time was almost up and another list made, they curled up on the sofa together to kiss some more.
“Let’s go out for dinner, sometime,” Jim suggested, as they prepared to part. “We still haven’t made that date.”
Trixie frowned. “I’d love to,” she told him, “except that I don’t know when I can fit it in. I’m booked solid through the weekend after next.”
He ran his fingers down the side of her face and kissed her lips. “Well, I don’t suppose it’s all that important. We’re going to be spending a lot of time together as it is, while this project is on.”
“That’s true,” she answered, “and I’m really glad we got this job – where we can meet in private and spend time alone – and not the shopping one.” Her scrunched-up nose spoke eloquently of her opinion of shopping. “Though, our part of the project will be done in another couple of days and then we won’t have this alone-time, either.”
“Is there anything you need to be tutored in?” he asked, hopefully.
Trixie shook her head. “After the way you treated me in Arizona, I don’t think so! But we could study together, I think. Provided you’re not going to revert.”
“I’ll try my best,” he answered, giving her another kiss. “I think this might be a bit different from that time. Just think of the kinds of rewards I can offer for good work.”
She laughed. “That sounds like fun. Maybe I’ll work harder just to get those.”
Over the next few weeks, Jim and Trixie managed to spend a lot of time together while working on the Bob-Whites’ project, or studying together. Between those things, their classes and their part-time jobs, every hour of the day was so full that there was no time left for anything else. The promised date still had not eventuated by the time the project ended.
When everything else was done, all seven Bob-Whites got together to pack their boxes and deliver them to the warehouse. They were in high spirits as they walked away from the drop-off point, glad to have done something for someone else. Without much discussion, they decided to head over to Mart and Dan’s apartment for a little celebration before going their separate ways.
Someone had picked up some snacks and drinks along the way. Somebody else put on some music and pushed the packing-case coffee table and the sofa to the furthest ends of the room. Trixie felt someone take her hand and looked up to see Jim smiling down at her.
“Would you like to dance?” he asked, with a grin.
She nodded and allowed herself to be folded into his arms. Mart and Di followed suit, but Honey and Brian just sat on the sofa and watched. Dan wandered in from outside and frowned for a moment, before tapping Trixie on the shoulder.
“May I cut in?” he asked, with a quirk of his eyebrow and a wicked expression on his face.
“No!” Trixie and Jim cried together. Jim continued, “Get your own girl.”
“I was close to hitting it off with Trixie,” Dan teased, leaning in close to them to speak in a low voice. “You almost missed out there, Frayne.”
“No, he didn’t,” Trixie objected. “Sorry, Dan. You were never in the running.”
“I do know that, really,” he answered, suddenly serious. “I just thought he needed a kick up the pants.”
“In future, you can keep that kind of idea to yourself,” Jim muttered. “I don’t like being rushed; it makes me take longer.”
Trixie closed her eyes and leaned against Jim, hoping that Dan would take a hint and go away. Her ploy worked and soon no one was paying them particular attention. They swayed gently to the music, just enjoying the feeling of being together. Outside the circle of their arms, the rest of the group were laughing and talking, but Trixie and Jim felt no need to be a part of that. At some point, the music stopped playing, but they did not notice.
Trixie awoke the next morning with a slight feeling of anticlimax. The Christmas project was finished and now she really needed to concentrate on her studies. And she still had not gone on a date with Jim. Setting her mind on the job at hand, she was on her way out the door when the telephone rang. She ducked back inside and grabbed the receiver.
“Trixie,” she heard Jim say. “I only have a minute to talk, but I was wondering if you were busy this evening. Mother and Dad have stopped by for a visit, they’re taking Honey to lunch, and want to meet me for dinner, since we’re not available at the same time. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me.”
“Sure,” she answered. “Sounds nice.”
He named a time to pick her up and ended the call without more than a few words of farewell, leaving Trixie to wonder where he was taking her and how on earth she was supposed to know what to wear – especially since she knew that she would see neither of her fashion advisors, Honey and Diana, in the meantime.
When the time came to get ready, Trixie squinted through the open doors of her wardrobe, reached in and grabbed something almost at random. The garment in question was a dress that her mother had insisted she take with her to college and that she had thought she would never need. Its soft, blue material smoothed over her curves and swished around her calves, making her look more feminine and more grown up at once.
Trixie glanced in the mirror, wishing that she could see all of herself at once. She frowned at her mop of curls, at the freckles on her nose and at the hint of cleavage revealed by the scoop neckline of her dress. Deciding to make the best of what she had, she set about trying to tame the hair, suppress the freckles with make-up and distract from the cleavage with a fine gold chain and pendant. Once finished, she frowned again at the result. She felt overdressed and uncomfortable. A glance at the clock told her there was no time to make further alterations.
A soft tapping at the door had her clutching at her bag and darting to answer it. She threw the door open to see Jim standing outside. Her breath caught at the sight of him, looking more handsome than usual in a suit and tie. All at once, she was glad that she had made an effort to get dressed up. It took a moment for her to notice that Jim was staring at her.
“Is something wrong?” she asked, in a small voice.
The intensity of the look he flashed her made her feel weak at the knees. “When did you get to be so gorgeous?” he asked. “And why didn’t I notice?”
She felt a blush creeping up her cheeks and dropped her gaze. “You’re looking pretty good yourself,” she murmured, evading the complement.
He stepped forward, lifted her chin with one had and kissed her, his other arm slipping around her waist to pull her closer. The moment lengthened as neither of them wanted it to end.
“I guess we’d better go,” Jim mumbled against her lips, “before Mother and Dad start wondering whether we’re standing them up.”
Trixie was about to follow him when a sudden thought caused her to put her hand to her lips. She darted back towards the mirror and saw at once that he had kissed off her lipstick. She took her time reapplying it before stepping out into the hallway.
They walked together to the car, which was waiting outside, and climbed into the back seat together. Jim kept hold of Trixie’s hand as greetings were exchanged. The ride to the restaurant did not take long and the four went inside together. The table that Mr. Wheeler had reserved was near a window that overlooked the garden.
Trixie felt a little nervous in the elegant surroundings of gleaming silver and candlelight, but Jim squeezed her hand and she began to calm down. Mrs. Wheeler made a point of ensuring that Trixie found something she would like on the menu and Mr. Wheeler turned the conversation to points of common interest. By the time their food arrived, Trixie was feeling completely at ease.
All too soon, the evening was over. Mr. Wheeler drove her back to her dorm and Jim escorted her upstairs while the other couple waited below. He walked slowly, holding her hand.
“How did you enjoy our first date?” Jim asked, as they neared her door. “Was it everything you’ve been dreaming of?”
Trixie laughed. “Yes, I’ve always wanted a double date with your parents. It’s what I always thought of when I imagined dating you.”
He drew her into his arms and kissed her cheek, then her lips. “I’m sorry it’s been this long coming. And I promise we’ll have a proper first date by ourselves – but probably not until after Christmas.”
“I’m willing to wait,” she answered, smiling.
The End
End notes: Merry Christmas, everyone, and Merry Christmas to Kaye, in particular! This story was written for Kaye in the annual Jix authors’ Secret Santa. Kaye asked for a romance, which did not include shopping. Since I hate going near the shops at this time of year and Trixie is not fond of them anytime, that restriction wasn’t too difficult. The charity that the Bob-Whites support is based on a real one called Samaritan’s Purse, who do just what is described in the story every year in what they call Operation Christmas Child.
A very big thank you to Mary N. (Dianafan), who did a very speedy last minute edit for me after I left writing this to the absolute last moment. Your help, as always, is very much appreciated, Mary! Thank you!
Please note: Trixie Belden is a registered trademark of Random House Publishing. This site is in no way associated with Random House and no profit is being made from these pages.