Page 38 of Heartstrings & Horizons
“Is that really a good idea?” It’s my sister, Kim, who chimes in next. “How are you going to make it work?”
I open my mouth to defend my relationship but it’s Jemma who starts talking first. “Y’all, it’s not 1960 anymore. There are a million different ways this can work. Airplanes, buses, trains, FaceTime, phone calls, texting… should I keep going?”
I appreciate her defending me, and she’s right. We’re going to make this work, one way or another. We’ve already been doing a long distance friendship for months so I know at least that part works. Now I just have to figure out how I can see her face to face, and touch her. Fuck, do I dream of being able to touch her.
“Thanks, Jem. I’m hoping to fly there for a visit soon.”
I look around at the smiles on some of the faces scattered around the room, then take note of the look of disapproval on my mom’s face. It wasn’t entirely unexpected. I’m her youngest and the only boy. She’s always had very high expectations for me.
“Mom, before you disapprove, I’d appreciate it if you would let me figure things out first. Maybe even bring her back so she can meet everyone.”
My mom is likely concerned that Paige might convince me to relocate to Canada. It’s not entirely out of the question, but Oak Ridge has always been home to me and I’m secretly hoping she will fall in love with it, too. Mom simply nods and gives me a disingenuous smile.
The rest of the day is a whirlwind. We stuff ourselves full of good food and friendly conversation, then the kids open their presents with wide eyes and gratitude, giving out hugs before settling in to play with their new toys.
With the kids occupied, the adults gather in the family room for our annual dirty santa game. One at a time, we pick a number from a hat. Once everyone has a number, we take turns picking up a gift and opening it, or you can choose to steal a gift that’s already been opened. By the end of the game, our faces are sore from laughter and I head home with a full heart, and a dinosaur onesie.
Paige
Christmas passes in a flurry of activity and, thankfully, no more outbursts or interventions from my mother. And more importantly, no revelations about my future. Before I know it, it’s New Year’s Eve. Cade and I have yet to talk about what happens next, but I know he dodged a bunch of questions at his family Christmas get-together.
Cade: What do you have planned for your birthday?
Paige: I’m not sure. I’ll be in Toronto, but I don't really have any plans yet.
Cade: What if your fiancé could fly in for a visit?
Paige: What? How? Last time I checked, you don’t have a passport.
Cade: Yeah, so about that… It should be here next week. What do you say, Sunshine? Meet me at Pearson International in 3 weeks?
I’m speechless. In order for Cade to get a passport next week, he must have applied ages ago. But why?
Cade: You there? Have you gone into shock?
Paige: I don’t know what to say.
Cade: Say yes.
Paige: Yes.
I spend the rest of the day cleaning and preparing for a New Year’s Eve party with my old high school friends. None of us love big crowds and truthfully, our small town doesn’t have much of a bar scene. Instead, we’re going to hang out in mom’s basement with some drinks and snacks, just like our old high school get-togethers.Nothing like a little juvenile nostalgia to ring in the new year.
Kevin, Bristol, and Jaz are the only reasons I even survived high school — I’ve missed them. I just hope I can avoid the topic of my engagement and my subsequent drop out. I’m not sure what to tell them yet. There’s too much still up in the air for me to answer anything about the future.
My friends arrive around, 9pm and Kevin is already 3 sheets to the wind. I saw them when I was home over the summer, so we spent the next hour catching up on everything that’s happened since we went our separate ways.
Jaz is studying economics at Western, Bristol is living with her while working odd jobs, and Kevin is still in town doing a welding apprenticeship at the local college.
I probably could've chosen to study in my hometown, too, but I was determined to leave behind all the ghosts of my past when I fled to Toronto. We still keep in touch over text, and we follow each other on social media so we don’t really miss out on a lot of the big events in each other’s lives. That’s how I know that Jaz has a viking-like boyfriend waiting for her back in London. I haven’t posted anything about Cade yet, choosing to keep our relationship private for the time being.
Eyeing the lineup of blue raspberry flavored shots, I spot Bristol out of the corner of my eye holding a suspiciously familiar phone. Choosing to ignore my irritation at the intrusion, I turn my attention back to the task at hand.
“For Gondor,” I shout before I throw back my first shot. I follow it up with another, and another, and one more for good measure. Suddenly, I’m hearing a voice that can’t possibly be in the room with me, except it is and now I’m scowling at one of my closest friends because she’s pointing the phone at me and the face looking back is my fiancé. I snatch the device out of her hands, hoping I can avoid any impending questions.
“Did you say ‘For Gondor?’ before throwing back your shots?”
“Are you judging me, Cowboy?”
