They step inside, and Dad walks to the door and takes their coats.
“Merry Christmas!” he says.
They reply with their Christmas wishes and make their way into the living room. Mrs. Starr stops in the kitchen and asks my mom if she can help. Mom, of course, says no. Mom gets everyone drinks, and she and Mrs. Starr sit at the bar and chat while we wait for our other guests to arrive.
I walk to Jake. “Where’s Susie?”
“She’s not coming. She got mad at me last night, because I didn’t buy her jewelry for Christmas, and broke up with me.”
“Are you kidding me? How can someone be so shallow?” I quickly realize what I said. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Oh, but you are right.” He reaches in his back pocket and pulls out a long skinny box. “Here, I got you a little something for Christmas,” he says as he hands me the box.
“Oh wait, let me get your present.” I’m glad he got here early, before Dan. Even though Dan knows Jake and I are just friends, he gets a little jealous sometimes. Dan and I exchanged our gifts last night, so I don’t need to worry about that today. I walk to the tree and pick up the present I got Jake. “Here,” I say with a smile.
Teasingly, he says, “Oh, you shouldn’t have,” and we both laugh.
I tear away the paper and open the box. My eyes go wide as I see what’s inside. “It’s a Madonna bracelet!” I squeal. I pull the multi-layered bracelet out of the box. It’s black leather with studs, chain rope, and a heart charm. “I love it! Thank you!”
Jake rips the paper away on his present and opens the box. He immediately laughs as he pulls out a Property of Bushwood Country Club 1980 Caddy Day Golf Tournament T-shirt. Jake loves the movieCaddyshackand ever since it released a few years ago, he constantly quotes it. It really is a great movie, and so funny.
Jake gets on his best Ty Webb stance and quotes: “I’m going to give you a little advice. There’s a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and be the ball.”
I come back with “I thought you were the man to beat this year?”
Jake responds, as Ty again. “I guess you’ll have to keep beating yourself.”
We both burst out laughing as Dan walks into the living room. Oh crap, I didn’t even hear the door. Mom and Dad are in the kitchen with Jake’s folks. They must have gotten the door.
“Hey!” I say. I walk to Dan and give him a kiss on the cheek. “Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” he says as he walks to Jake and shakes his hand. “What are you two laughing at?”
“Oh, Jake is quotingCaddyshackagain,” I reply.
“Great movie,” Dan says.
Mom calls us for dinner, and we head to the dining room. Everyone sits in their assigned seats. Before I sit, I remove Susie’s plate from the table. I feel bad for Jake, but in all honestly, I am so glad he is done with her. He never really saw her true colors. I’m glad he finally did.
Dinner is wonderful. We have great conversations at the table, the food is delicious, and I can’t begin to express how thankful I am that my mom and dad are here and we are celebrating this amazing holiday. After dinner, Mrs. Starr and I help Mom in the kitchen while the guys sit in the family room and talk college football. The bowl games will be starting soon, and everyone is hoping the Hurricanes take number one in the Orange Bowl. They are playing the number one team, Nebraska, and we all hate Nebraska.
Mom and Mrs. Starr have become really good friends over the years, so Jake’s mom knows what’s going on with her health. Sometimes I think it helps her having someone who’s not family to talk about it with. I guess she is impartial, even though she cares for my mom. They are both planning on doing day-after-Christmas shopping tomorrow, because we need to stock up on wrapping paper and decorations. Not to mention all the other sales going on. Dad plans on staying home and watching football all day, which I can’t really blame him for. He’s not a shopper. I don’t mind shopping, but in all honesty, I hate shopping with my mom. I’m the type of shopper who goes in and gets what I need or want. Not my mom. She will spend all day just shopping, going from store to store and browsing. I absolutely hate it. Now if we are in a craft store or hobby-type store, or even a gift shop, then I like to browse. But clothes? No way. Not my thing. I hate clothes shopping, especially trying on clothes.
Dan comes into the kitchen and asks, “Are you going shopping with your mom tomorrow?”
I laugh. “Are you kidding?”
He laughs. He knows me pretty well too, so I am not sure why he asked. Then it dawns on me. He is staking his claim because Jake is here. “Wanna hang out tomorrow?”
“Sure. I think I am going to stay home and watch the game with Dad. You’re welcome to come over if you want.”
“Cool, that sounds great.”
Jake comes into the kitchen. “Hey, you gonna be around tomorrow? Dad and I are coming over to watch the game with your dad.”
I look at Dan and hesitate. “Ugh, yeah, I’ll be home. Dan is coming over too.” Okay, that was a little too awkward for my taste. I love them both in different ways. Jake is my best, most-favorite friend and my confidant. Dan is my boyfriend. I want it to be easy with them.
***
