Chapter Four
Liam ran his finger along the edge of the counter and looked around the bus. It had been cleared of almost all of its contents but a few small mementos remained. A beanie Harry favored had been left behind along with a sock that had long ago lost its mate and an empty bottle of water. The tour had been long and demanding but they were off for the holidays and he intended to enjoy it.
The screen on his phone lit up the bus. Niall. Liam brought the receiver to his ear and answered, "An Irishman says what?"
Niall's voice was loud on the other end to be heard over the excessive background noise. "What?"
Liam laughed. "Exactly."
Niall was either unaware of Liam's teasing or he chose to ignore it. "Do me a favor."
"Yeah," Liam said. "What's that?"
"Ya know that watch I bought for my dad?"
"I remember you buying it," he said.
"I think I left it on the bus."
"I'm on the bus right now, don't see it."
Niall paused on the other end of the line. "Em, have a look in the third drawer down, left of when you get on the bus."
He walked to the drawer Niall spoke of and pulled it open. Inside was a small burgundy box with a gold scalloped design around the edges. "You mean the watch in the box that is in the third drawer down left of when you walk on the bus."
"Yeah," Niall answered cheerfully, "That's the one."
"You've forgotten it," Liam replied.
"No kidding. Thanks for pointin' out the completely obvious."
Liam tilted his head to keep the phone in place, "Anytime."
"I really need that watch, mate."
He flipped open the box and looked at the face. Six pm. The time seemed about right. "Listen," he said. "I can probably make it to White Rabbit Delivery Service before they close for the day. That way your package will never ever..."
Niall cut in before Liam could finish reciting the well known slogan himself, "be late, late, late." They both laughed. "Would ya mind doing that for me?"
"Yeah, I can help you get it sorted."
"Thanks."
"No problem."
Historically, Liam had spent Christmases at home in Wolverhampton with his parents and sisters. They'd share a traditional Christmas dinner and enjoy the important things in life...like each other. Now that he was in a position to do so, he wanted to treat his family to a side of the finer things that he'd recently been exposed to. This year he'd organized a ski trip to Aspen. Up until Niall's phone call, he'd been about to head to the airport to kill time and board his plane solo.
Flight schedules between his family and him didn't mesh and they were stuck in the UK for two more days but were due to meet him there later in the week. He figured it would be the perfect opportunity to get in some of his own skiing, possibly even take a snowboarding lesson or two before their arrival when he'd be required to mellow out and visit.
The White Rabbit was located just a few blocks from where their bus was and Liam made it there in short order. As he walked through the front door, a rush of concentrated, warm air surged over him. He stopped for a moment, enjoying the contrast between the heat and the crisp air outside.
