Page 58 of Always Us

The tree is for the bedroom so I bought a small one. It’s just three pieces, so only takes a few minutes to assemble. I add the lights and then tack another string of lights along the bedroom window. I don’t have time to change out the ceiling lights but this is good enough for now. I also bought an ornament. I stuff it in my drawer to give to her later.

I go to class, then meet Jade at the coffee shop a little after four. She’s smiling as Sara talks and laughs about whatever she’s saying.

I sit down and put my arm around Jade. “What’s so funny?”

“Just something Caleb did,” Sara says. “You want some coffee?”

I look at Jade. “You want to stay or go home?”

“Let’s stay.” She points to a Christmas tree in the middle of the room. “They put up a tree.”

“I decorated it,” Sara says. “That’s why it doesn’t look very good.”

Sara and Jade both put themselves down like that. I don’t understand it. Jade doesn’t do it nearly as much as she used to, but Sara does it constantly.

“The tree looks great, Sara,” I tell her. “And yes, I’ll take a coffee.”

“I’ll be right back.” She leaves.

Jade kisses me. “She said they’ll start playing Christmas music next week.”

“Then you’ll never want to leave.”

“I have my own tree at home and my own music. And I’d much rather look at the lights while snuggling in bed with you. Thank you for doing that last night. It made me feel better.”

“Good.” Just wait till she sees the tree I got for the bedroom. Hopefully, she’ll feel even better.

“So how was class?”

I’m surprised Jade’s not asking about my grandfather. I was prepared for her to bombard me with questions now that she’s had almost a day to think about it.

“It was okay.” Sara comes back with my coffee, then takes off again. I turn to Jade. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you yesterday but I met this guy at my entrepreneur class and he offered to be my mentor. He was speaking to the class about how he started his business. He owns that sporting goods store you like. WaveField Sports.”

“Yeah, I love that store.”

“I talked to him after class and he invited me to the headquarters in LA to follow him around for the day.”

“That’s great. What’s he like?”

“He’s 29, loves sports, loves surfing. I liked him. I think we’ll get along well.”

“Maybe he’d give you an internship this summer.”

“I don’t know. I just met him. We’ll see how it goes after I spend the day with him.”

“When are you going down there?”

“Probably not until January. He’s traveling a lot in December.”

“You seem really excited about this.”

“I am. I think it’ll be good.”

We stay there a little longer and Jade tells me about the courses she’s decided to sign up for next semester. She avoids any mention of what we discussed last night. I guess we both need a break from it. I’d prefer to never talk about it again, but I’m sure at some point she’ll ask me about it.

Since we’re already out and it’s dinner time, we stop and eat before heading home. I didn’t feel like making dinner. I haven’t for weeks. There’s been too much going on.

When we get home, Jade plops down on the couch. “You want to watch a movie?”

---