“Can you believe that Christmas is in less than a week?” my mum asked me, sounding a little more excited than I would’ve anticipated. She was just as excited every year as the year prior, so I honestly don’t know why I was surprised by it. “Only five more days to go!”

And, holy shit, I honestly sort of forgot about the impending holiday. I’d been so busy with everything else going on in my life that I’d never found the time to concern myself with what I was doing. Sure, I’d seen the way my house (as well as numerous other’s around the town) was decorated, and sure, Jack had told me that the dinner with his parents had been a “pre-Christmas Christmas dinner,” but what with my midterms, dealing with Oli, becoming closer with my boyfriend, and having to help him through all of the recent arguments going on under his roof, it had managed to slip my mind.

Nonetheless, I did my best to reciprocate the enthusiasm my mum was still displaying by grinning so widely that my cheeks hurt and nodding my head.

“I can’t remember the last time you had a boyfriend or girlfriend around this time of the year. That’s so exciting! Everyone gets all lovey around this time of year, and then in a month and a half, it’s Valentine’s Day! Can you believe it? I’m still so happy for you, hunny. Jack is such a fine boy. He and his mother will have to come over for dinner with us one night. Make sure you tell him, alright? Maybe the night before Christmas Eve would work. Tell them that whenever they’re free next, we’d love to have them.”

I could feel the smile dip just slightly on my face at the mention of Jack, but not because he’d been invited here. Really, it was more so the fact that I didn’t have the slightest clue as to what he’d appreciate. With my parents, I’d surely just be able to guess and it’d almost be a complete guarantee that they’d adore it, but with Jack, I was at a loss.

As soon as my mum moved away, more than likely up to her room to look through possible outfits for the dinner that hadn’t even been fully planned out at that point, I scrambled around on the couch in order to pull my phone from my pocket. Jack and I had been texting earlier about nothing much in particular, so the messages we’d exchanged were at the very top of the screen. Clicking it open, I typed and then retyped out a few different approaches to my predicament before finally choosing one that worked just right.

I know it sounds kinda stupid considering how everyone else in the city is bound to be rushing around last-minute at this time, but would you maybe wanna go to the mall with me in a little bit? I need to get my parents something for Christmas, and it would suck a lot less if you were there with me.

I was also hoping that he’d point something out on our excursion that I’d be able to go back and get before it was too late, but it felt like that wouldn’t have been the right thing to say. After all, Christmas is supposed to be about surprises.

You should’ve thought of that earlier, Gaskarth, was his response after a few moments of tapping the side of my phone anxiously. I knew that he was only teasing me, and I could just imagine the giddy smile he’d be sporting. Then, my screen lit up once more. Of course I’ll go with you, pumpkin. Just give me, like, twenty minutes to get ready, okay?

With an I’m just gonna leave now then. Want anything from the store before I show up?, I was standing and moving toward the front door. A detour was taken so that I could grab my heavy winter over clothes, but then I was back on track and grabbing my keys. A shouted ‘goodbye’ to my mum and I was out the door.

---

The mall was packed quite a bit more than I had honestly expected it to be. There were a few points during our little outing that I felt like, even with our hands all but melded together, I’d lose my boyfriend in the crowd and not have a way of getting back to him. People shoved and pushed, shouted and snapped, panicked and cursed. A lot of stores didn’t have nearly half as much in stock as they’d usually, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think that prices had been marked up by nearly seventy-five percent… if not even more than that.

It was only after nearly four hours of traversing back and forth through the crowd that I ended up with two bags in hand. For my mum I bought a few gift cards—one to Bath & Body Works, one to Yankee Candles, and one to Olive Garden. They were some of her favorite things, and though each only had twenty-five dollars to them, I knew that she’d appreciate them nonetheless.

My dad, on the other hand, was a little more difficult to shop for. He’d never been one to care much about gifts, and it was only in Dick’s Sporting Goods that I found a few different camouflage shirts and pants that he was bound to appreciate, seeing as how he wasn’t one to shy away from a good hunting trip once or twice every year.

When Jack had seen the price for everything I’d bought, it almost looked like he’d choked.

“How do you have so much money without a job?” he whispered as we made our way through the large store. The exit was in our sight, but it would no doubt take a good while to reach.

“My parents started a savings account for me when I was born. A little went in every month, and then the interest was added in. When I turned sixteen, I was able to convince them to let me use it. I’m not supposed to, like, spend it all at once or anything, but every now and again they add a little more in. I’ve got quite a bit saved up, so sometimes it’s no big deal. If I keep up with football and my grades, I’ll get scholarships and won’t have to pay that much for school, which was what the money was originally for.”

I knew I shouldn’t have really told him about how I got all of my funds, seeing as how he was still something of a new boyfriend, but I knew that the trust and love between us was mutual. There was little doubt in my mind that he’d ever use me for my money.

The door was reached as Jack nodded his understanding and squeezed my hand. He let go then, but that was only so that he could hook his arm through mine and pull our bodies a little closer together. I didn’t mind at all, but it made walking a bit more difficult.

“So how does an impromptu date sound to you, angel?” I asked as we trudged our way through the parking lot in search of my car among the ever-growing masses. The wind was whipping wildly, and I had to shout over it to make sure that he heard me. No answer was given until we had both climbed into my car and turned on the heat.

“I d-don’t know,” he finally stuttered out, shaking in his seat and glancing over at me. “W-what do you have in m-mind?”

Honestly, I hadn’t the slightest clue where I would take him. Food sounded good, seeing as how we’d be able to talk and I’d maybe be able to get something out of him about what he’d want for the upcoming holiday (since he hadn’t once showed any personal interest in the things we passed).

“We could try and get a table at Friday’s or Applebee’s, if you want. I haven’t eaten in a few hours, and neither have you. I don’t think we’ve talked that much lately, either. Like, in person talking. I don’t know; it’s up to you. Wherever you wanna go, let me know and I’ll take you there.”

Jack seemed to ponder that for a moment as I put the car in reverse and turned the heat up just a little higher. When the stop sign leading from the parking lot to the roadway was reached, he gave a shrug.

“I haven’t been to Steak N’ Shake in a while. It’s, like, right there, too, if that’s okay. I mean, we can go wherever you wanna go. I’ll be happy as long as it’s warm and I’m with you.”

“Sounds great, angel,” I answered, allowing my right hand to move from the wheel in favor of placing it on his thigh.

The journey, which should’ve taken no more than three minutes at most, took almost ten. Traffic was backed up pretty heavily considering it was snowing, and then it was near impossible to find a parking spot at the restaurant. The very second Jack saw a family climb into a car and pull from where they’d parked, he’d all but jumped from his seat to point it out to me. Thankfully, we were able to get to it before another car was.

Inside, a few minutes had to be taken for a table to be cleared away for us. Jack leaned against my side as we waited, and it was just nice to know that he found so much comfort in me. I felt the same, if I was going to be honest. However, I still could’ve cried with joy when a waitress directed us to our table.

Orders were taken, our heavy jackets were removed and set beside us, and then Jack was smiling at me from across the booth.

“What made you want to take me out? I’d think that you’d wanna, like, head home and go to sleep for a bit or something. It’s been kind of an exhausting day,” he said, drumming the fingers of his left hand against the table top as he reached for my own with his right.

I gave a shrug. “I feel like it’s been a while since we did something out of the house that was fun. Figured it’d help you take your mind off of everything for a while, too. I told you I wanted to make things easier, and I’d like to think that doing things that you wanna do would be a good way to start.”

Jack mirrored my shrug. “I guess it does… what do you wanna talk about, then? I don’t have much to say, really. My parents haven’t gotten any better, I haven’t heard from my dad, my mom’s been trying to make ends meet and act like nothing’s changed… I don’t know what else to tell you; you already know this.”

“Well,” I started, trying to articulate my sentence well enough so that he wouldn’t catch on to what I was suggesting, “maybe we could talk about the holidays a little more. I forgot to tell you earlier, but my mum wants you and your mum over for dinner. I think she said three days from now, if that works for you both.”

“I can tell you right now that my mom would be more than delighted,” he answered, laughing a little at the thought. “She also wants me to ask you now if you’d be able and willing to maybe spend some time with us on Christmas. I know it’s a family holiday, but we think that maybe you’d make the house seem a little less… empty, I guess.”

I gave a nod. “I’d love to. Should I bring anything? What would she like? I don’t think it’d be too right to just show up empty-handed. What would you like? Maybe we could go somewhere after this, and you could pick something out—” I stopped myself abruptly, realizing a little too late that I’d spilled more than I’d hoped to.

“You don’t have to get me anything,” he dismissed. “We can just count this as a gift.”

“But I really think that I should at least—” I began, that time being cut off by my boyfriend.

“If you really want to do something for me,” he said, smiling in a quick thanks as the waitress came back with our drinks, “then you can just make me something, y’know? It would mean a lot more to me than anything you could buy, I promise.”

A sigh was given in response, but it wasn’t even two minutes later when I had an idea formed and nearly planned out perfectly. All I would need would be a piece of paper, some courage, and a few colored pencils. I just hoped he would truly enjoy what I was going to do.

Notes