the twenty-first century ellinghams

chapter thirteen: green light

~about eleven years ago~

     the next few hours pass, and everything becomes easier. it stops feeling like a first date and begins to feel like the hundredth date. two years no longer feels like an eternity, it feels like a minute. the passage of time is marked only by the setting sun, the increase in people, and the switch from booze to water. eventually the music gets too loud, the place gets too crowded, and it's clear the date is coming to a close. david pays for the meal, and she covers the tip, an old tradition. they wait outside of the building for his uber, and stevie wonders if there will be a goodnight kiss. it was cheesy and juvenile to wonder, but she did, of course.
     "so, i mean, this went well, right?" david asks. she pretends to consider it, even though she already knows her answer.
     "yeah. it did," she replies.
     "cool, cool. so, considering the fact that this went well... can i see you again before i leave?"
     "when do you leave?"
     "next saturday." she tries to think of the best day. she was free all week, her social life practically nonexistent due to work and how recent the move had been. but she didn't want to come on too strong either.
     "i'm free monday," she suggests.
     "monday," he repeats, nodding his head slightly. "i can do monday." they stand in an awkward silence for a moment. why was this so weird? on the rooftop, everything had come so naturally. now, standing here, everything felt tense. maybe he was wondering about the goodnight kiss thing too. a car pulls up in front of them. "i guess this is me," he says. "i'll see you monday, then."
     "see you monday. drive safe." he gets into the car, and it begins to drive away. for a moment, she thinks that that's it. that the night is over, and she just needs to get to her car and get over it. it's not even a big deal. the car stops a few feet away at the red light. suddenly, one of the doors open, and david gets out of the back seat. he begins walking fast towards her, and she begins walking towards him. they meet halfway, under a streetlight, where he takes her face in his hands and kisses her. now this was a goodnight kiss. everything fell back into place. the two years weren't even a minute, they were a second, an oxford comma. when he pulls back, they both laugh a bit.
     "i'm also free tomorrow," she says. "are you free tomorrow?"
     "i'm free tomorrow," he replies. he brushes a hair behind her ear. "sorry about that," he says with a laugh. "i just couldn't let the night end without it."
     "no, no," stevie replies quickly. "i'm glad you did." they stand there for a moment, under the illumination of the streetlight. the light turns green.
     "tomorrow," he says finally.
     "tomorrow." he walks back to the car, giving her a final lingering look before getting in, and driving away. stevie stands there for a moment, unable to move her legs. finally, she begins her walk to her car.

     once inside, she pulls out her phone and connects it to the car's bluetooth. it doesn't even ring twice this time.
     "tell. me. everything," janelle says.
     "it was..." stevie couldn't choose the word.
     "bad? good? horrible? amazing?" her phone pings, and it's a text from david. it's a link to the website of a small, local movie theater. one of those quirky ones that only showed a niche selection. this one seemed to have a wide selection of hitchcock movies, a screening of "the birds" tomorrow night. it was perfect. "hello?" janelle says.
     "i'm sorry, what was the question?" stevie asks with an apologetic laugh.
     "how was the date?"
     "perfect," stevie replies. "it was perfect."

~present day~

christmas day passed as well as it could considering the christmas morning they all had. it seemed that the adults were putting on a show for the children, and possibly for becky. everyone laughed a little louder or smiled a little wider than they possibly really felt. maybe faking it helped a bit because by the time she went to bed, stevie felt a little lighter.

after goodbye hugs and kisses, they were on their way back to ellingham. dana and henry, successfully exhausted after the past few days, slept in the backseat. usually at this point, stevie and david would be deep in conversation, basking in the lack of interruptions. but david is oddly quiet, his expression far off.
"what're you thinking?" stevie asks.
     "hmm?" david replies, coming back down to earth.
     "i said what're you thinking?" she repeats. he sighs.
     "nothing."
     "you sure it's nothing?"
     "yeah. it's just-" he cuts himself off then clicks his tongue. "i love that my mom is sober, and i love that she's so close with dana and henry. i love that when stuff like eddie showing up out of the blue doesn't send her spiraling anymore." the way he says it, it seems more like he's reassuring himself than explaining it to stevie.
     "... but?"
     "i just wish that she was like that when i was growing up is all." stevie's heart sinks deep into her stomach. his voice is calm and unemotional as if the words meant nothing to him. but she knew him better than that.
     "i'm sorry," she says once the silence had gone on too long, and no other words of comfort would do. he nods and smiles a bit.
     "thanks." the conversation is clearly over, neither of them wanting to linger anymore.
     "so i opened your dad's gift," stevie says, switching the conversation to something lighter.
     "and what did eddie bring you this year?" david asks, his voice perking up. it was an annual tradition of eddie bringing awful, vaguely sexist gifts to stevie. it was offensive the first few years, but it had become a bit of a joke over time.
     "a brand new salad spinneeeeeeer!" david scoffs.
     "he did not."
     "oh yes. he did," stevie continues. "i can add it to the rolling pin from last year, and the cake stand from the year before that."
"well it doesn't beat my gift," david says.
"and what gift is that?"
"a fancy, over priced pen."
"same as last year!" they both laugh. stevie turns on the radio, changing the stations until she finds the right one. "doesn't beat my salad spinner though."

"3... 2... 1.... happy new year!" stevie, david, and dana blow on their noise makers while henry claps his hands excitedly. they all laugh and cheer for a moment before the adults begin to fake yawn.
"i think it's time for bed," david notes.
"agreed," stevie replies, fake yawning again. the kids begin to groan and complain. "look at the clock, munchkins, it's past midnight which means it's way past your bedtime. come on." reluctantly, the kids are tucked into bed, goodnight kissed, and lights flipped off. stevie and david trudge back to the couch, flopping down onto it, exhausted. "what time is it really?" stevie asks. david checks his watch.
"nine twenty-two," he replies.
"not bad."