Love Letter

Lynne:

I had finished my novel from the bus a few days in and adventured out in the cold to head to downtown.

Being home was better than I thought it would be so far. I had little to no interaction with my mom, and on the times I had, she was grumbling about Lisa's new boyfriend. None of her venomous comments were pointed in my direction for once. I had a feeling that Victor was put in a bad spot due to this, and I felt horrible for him. He was mom's new kicking dog until she was over being mad at him.

Fred noticed me in my workout clothes heading for outside. "What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously, looking down at my tennis shoes.

"Going for a jog into town," I say.  

"It's four miles away," he says, looking confused since none of them had ever seen me go for a jog throughout high school. Jogging was something I had started in New York. My roommate Blair, a true New Yorker, said jogging was invented at Central Park. She insisted I join her multiple times the first few months of rooming together. I caved to her whines, and she was right; it was enjoyable. My brother, however, did not know this about me.

"I kind of picked up running freshman year – I do about six to seven miles when I go out," I said. He looked pleased; it was fun to surprise my family. 

"Wow, good for you. I thought something was different." He says, and I smile at my brother for being kind and acting like I don't look ten times different from high school. I forgot how he and Zach had their workout routines – sometimes, they didn't want to be around one another and would work out separately. "Where you heading to?" he asked.

"I was thinking into town? I have to get a gift for Keith this year." He looked up with a smirk on his face.

"Good luck. I had him last year." Since I was never home for the holidays, I would have to ship my gifts out a few days before Christmas so they would get in time to open them. I would get a thank you text message from whichever sibling I had. The year I had mom for Secret Santa – I didn't get a phone call or a text message. I summed it up that my perfume and macaroons were not a good enough gift even though I had to next day air them, going over the limit for the gift.

"Hey stranger," Luke calls out to me when I am halfway into town. I had forgotten his family's house was dead center of us getting to downtown. I start descending into town; the jog there would be a lot easier than the way back.

"Hey," I say, slowing my pace even more. I didn't want to break a sweat until I was running home.

"How's it going?" he asks, walking beside me.

"Good," I say, taking a moment to inhale it was freezing out.

"I meant; I haven't seen you a lot lately. I thought we would be hanging out all the time since we are both back and whatnot," he says, bumping my arm, and I know this is his way of flirting with me. Why couldn't it have been like this in high school? Thankfully I think before I can blurt that embarrassing question out loud.

I shrugged, saying "siblings" even though Luke was an only child, so he didn't know what it was like.  

"Well, how about I walk to town with you? I have to find my mom a gift before Christmas."

"Always a procrastinator," I say, and he smiles at this.

We had been to a few of the specialty stores that downtown had to offer, but nothing struck me as Keith. "I wish I could just give him cash," I say, almost giving up. 

"Why can't you?" he asks.

"Kelly would freak out... What about a book? What about a gift card?" I ask him, and he shrugs, letting me think this is a good enough gift. We make our way down the block, and I walk into the book store while he tells me he will be a few stores down and to come to find him when I am done.

Luke knows that when I go to a book store, I could be browsing for hours.

He lets me know he has lunch plans with Ryan; the only other kid in our class I could say was maybe a second friend of mine. Stepping into the shop called, The Book Store, I catch the bell above the door from chiming so Mrs. Frankel will not come out of her back room where she took many breaks. She would walk out any time she heard the door chime.