He frowns. “You really want me to invite my parents for Christmas? They said they’ll come, but if they actually do, it might be better if I did a meal with them, and a meal with you guys, separate.”
“If they come, and Mom invites them again, we’ll deal with it. But I was talking about my family. At Christmas, it’s your turn to meet my extended family.”
One eyebrow quirks up. “Is that a good thing?”
“It’s always a blast when Uncle Henry and his family visit. It’ll be a great thing.”
The trace of anxiety I’d heard in his voice is gone when he says, “I’ll look forward to it.”
“Is there a Christmas edition of Friendsgiving?”
Eli stares at me for several seconds, and under his breath, mutters, “Idiot.” My pulse picks up, lips twitching at the corners. “It must be Friendmas.”
“Must it?”
“If it isn’t, I’m calling it that.”
“I will too. And just think. We packed so much into this short break. We get over a week off for Christmas.”
“We’ll have to be just as good at spending time together, then, just us. I’ll need it.”
I lean closer. “That can be arranged.”
A firm gust of wind sends leaves drifting down around us, pumpkin orange and golden brown catching in the fading sunlight. I watch two leaves chase each other in whirls as they fall, taking in the beautiful autumn afternoon, but I don’t see them land. Maybe they never reach the ground, swept up by another breeze. Chasing each other until they collide. Eli gathers me close as they dance by, and I close my eyes to bask in him instead.
NINE
ELI
Fall always disappears so fast, after Thanksgiving.
If Jack said that out loud, I’d call him an idiot without missing a beat, yet here I am thinking this obvious truth with wonder. It does make sense. Thanksgivingisat the end of November. Still, part of me misses the leaves coating the ground and the crisp snap in the air, as we head into winter. The light that seems to fade like water in a sieve.
Winter may be beautiful, but light is in short supply.
It does make a semi-permanent blush color Jack’s pale cheeks, though. And his ears stick out from beneath the orange cap I gave him more often than not. If I got him a pointed hat he’d really look like an elf.
He certainly has the Christmas spirit to be considered an elf. Winter spirit in general. I guess itisfitting that his birthday is in the middle of winter. The excitement in his eyes when wegot the first dusting of snow of the season, in the second week of December? It hasn’t faded in the days since, even though the snow has vanished.
I don’t think this winter will be as dark as last year.
How can it, when this embodiment of the sun is constantly by my side?
The days are shortening, so when we stay after school to practice drills and hang out with Seth and Fred, it’s dark by the time we head to Jack’s house. Fred’s taken to driving us home without asking if we want a ride.
“My phone says we’re getting more snow tomorrow!” Jack says, sitting next to me in Fred’s truck.
“Snow on a Saturday doesn’t do us any good,” Seth says, looking back at us. “We didn’t get a single snow day last year. We’re overdue!”
“Still plenty of time for snow,” Fred points out.
“But it’s best before Christmas,” Jack insists.
“Still time for that, too,” Fred says in his calm voice. “We have all of next week before break.”
“Your phone said we would get snow two days ago,” I say without looking at Jack. “I’m not sure I trust it.”
“We need to ask Mrs. Goodman,” Seth says. “The woman is a walking snow-day predictor. Gavin says she’s never been wrong.”
