Page 21 of Pitcher Us
I’m pretty sure something has already been lit by Callie Reyer, but I can’t tell if it’s going to go out or fully ignite anytime soon.
Kneeling down by the outlet, I plug the first one in and it immediately lights up with a warm glow.
“Ha!” Callie claps her hands in excitement.
“Okay, that was one. You’ve got three more to go.”
“Yeah, yeah, hurry up. You’re wasting detangling time.”
Plugging in the next one Callie does another small victory dance when it lights up the same as the first. Her dance gets a little bigger at the third, but as I reach for the last plug, I can already tell it’s a different plug from the others. Oh, please God let this one be a dud so I can buy her non-knotted ones.
I plug it in, and it immediately lights up…in multicolor.
“Alright, I win. I’m going to get new ones.” I stand back up ready to head for the door, but Callie shoots in front of me.
“You are not! You didn’t win! Excuse me, but that looks like it’s working to me.” Callie gestures back to the multicolor strand on the floor.
“I can see that, but it’s a completely different type of light, Callie. Those two colors are probably all mixed together, so half of them you won’t even use.” I try to step around her, but she follows me.
“Who says I won’t use both! Maybe I want to mismatch the lights. Have you looked around my place before?! It’s all mismatched! And just so we’re clear, you said that you would buy new lightsifone of them didn’t work and they all do.”
“Callie, they’re in a giant knot. Will you please let me buy you new ones?”
And here we are again, every emotion shown on her face. Her smile disappears and the light in her eyes dim. “No, I bought these. I’m going to use them. You don’t have to help me. I can do hard things, Will.”
She steps to the side and walks back over to pick up her lights before plopping down on her couch with a sigh.
Well, shit. I know she can do hard things, but what’s the harm in me taking care of something so small like buying her new lights?
I guess that’s not really the point though. Didn’t I just say I liked her independence too?
Sitting on the opposite end, I hold out my hand. “Give me one.”
Looking up, she wants to argue, I can see it. “But you?—”
“Callie, if I can’t do it for you, then I’m going to help you, so give me one.”
“Okay,” she mumbles, tossing one to me.
She looks down at the mess, starting to unknot what she can then huffs. “Look, I get that this is annoying to undo, and I know that I should just buy new ones, but I like the challenge. I like that these are something I bought, and I don’t know, it feels like it’s more fun this way.”
“You don’t have to ex?—”
“But I want to.” She shifts facing me on the couch with her legs crossed. “I want to explain. All my life, Christmas was done for me. People came in and decorated the whole house with these extravagant lights and fancy decor that I was never allowed to touch. Our Christmas trees were quite literally perfect, nothing out of place. No ugly ornaments that we made in school, only classical Christmas music, and never ever did we have mismatched lights. So, yeah, this might be annoying, and it might not look amazing, but it’s mine. I did it. And that’s why I want to sit here and fight these damn knots.”
Well, I think I fucked up here. “Callie, I’m sorry.”
Shrugging, she leans back on the arm rest. “It’s okay, I get what you were trying to do. It’s just…Christmas is also my birthday, and I guess I’ve always resented it a little.”
“Hold on. Your birthday is on Christmas?”
“Yuppp, it kind of sucks, honestly. My parents always said we would ‘float’ my birthday out so I could have a party when it wasn’t the holidays, but that never really happened. I guess I just thought since I’m not going back home this year, I could try to reclaim both. That’s why if you look under the box with the snowman and reindeer pillows there’s also old curtains that I want to DIY into streamers. And I picked up a bag of balloons from the dollar store next to my thrift shop. So, I know I didn’t mean to buy multi-color lights but it kind of works.”
Oh, so Ihateher parents. “So, let me get this straight. You never got to decorate for Christmas and then you never had an actual birthday?”
She shakes her head. “Nope.”
“And Adam never said anything growing up?”
