Page 20 of Pitcher Us
“Okay, I know it looks like a mess.” Callie walks to the edge of her living room looking at everything on the floor. “I’m going to get it all up, I just got a little overwhelmed with the lights being in a giant knot. But now that I have my tea to start my day properly, I can try again.”
“Do you need any help?”
She turns to me with a look on her face that’s hard to read.
“I…um…” This is a bit of how our conversation a few weeks ago went. Started out normal then sputtered out about halfway in. Already preparing to leave, I’m taken back when she says, “Yeah, actually, I do.”
Thank fuck.
“Okay, what’s up first?”
Callie looks at me and my heart clenches in my chest. Back in Seattle I only knew her as overly positive from a far, but now, I see that when she’s around crowds or strangers. And right now, in the comfort of her own home, I’m seeing her soft smile with genuine excitement in her eyes.
“The Christmas tree!”
Callie walks in her living room and gestures to the box. “You should have seen me dragging this thing in yesterday. Adam didn’t answer his phone, so I decided to lug everything in myself. While the feminist in me was proud, I’m positive the surveillance footage is highly comical.”
I snort a laugh at my situation. I thought my pull to be around Callie came from the desire to take care of someone again. But at the same time, I like that she’s independent.
“Well, since you did all the heavy lifting to get it up here, why don’t I put it together?”
Callie takes a sip of her tea. “I’m going to take you up on that, but I would like to acknowledge that Icando it.” She laughs.
I set my drink down and pull off my coat. “I know you can, Blaze, but let’s not let the fire get out of control when dealing with flammables.”
Callie scoffs like she’s offended but there’s a touch of her true smile there. “We never joke about fire safety, William.”
I can’t help but let a full laugh escape. I don’t remember the last time I did that with anyone but my family.
After assembling her plastic tree, I join her on the floor to help untangle the giant ball of lights. We’ve made small progress and have it separated into two parts.
“Callie, please tell me when you thrifted this giant mess of lights, that you made sure they worked.”
Biting her lip, she hums. “Well…”
“Cal—”
“Hear me out, okay?” She shoots up on her knees dropping the tangle that was in her lap so she can use her hands as she explains herself. “It was one giant ball, and I didn’t know where each and every end stopped and started.”
Knowing she’s not done defending her thinking, I rest my head on my hand, listening intently. I should probably tell her she doesn’t have to explain herself, but I let her continue.
“But!” She holds her finger up ready to dive into the full story. “I did find one end, so I plugged it in, and one strand definitely lit up. I also asked the nice little old lady working there and she said that they were a new donation. So, I was hoping that maybe it was the knot that made the people throw them out because, I mean, look at it, I might have thrown them away too.”
“And we can’t throw them away now because…?”
Rolling her eyes, she huffs, “Because if they do work then I got a bunch of lights for five dollars and that’s a bargain!”
I try to hold back my laugh, I really do.
“Will! Stop laughing! Here, look we got some more ends out at least, why don’t we test those now?”
“Oh, let’s.” Standing I take mine over to an outlet on the wall. “And so help me, if even one of these doesn’t work, I’m going out and buying you all new Christmas lights.”
She scoffs as she stands bringing her tangle with her. “You will not.”
“I most certainly will. I’ll even buy the most expensive ones just to spite you.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen because they are all going to work.” Callie shoves her bundle against my chest. “Go on, light ‘em up.”
