The Christmas Party

The Happiest Season Of All

When I woke up, Jennie wasn't in bed and a mild panic struck my heart. Her side of the bed was still warm and the bedroom door was open. I could hear the faint sounds of clatter in the kitchen, so I slipped out of my bed and pulled on my clothes from last night, strung across the floor.

I found Jennie in the kitchen pouring coffee from the French press into two holiday mugs. She was in her underwear, socks, and law school sweatshirt. My heart clenched with longing and relief. She was right here. She wasn't going anywhere.

Jennie turned to smile at me when I walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning," she said. That smile melted my heart; she could ask me to walk across the earth and back and I would do it if only to see her smile like that.

I leaned her against the counter and kissed her. "Good morning."

"Coffee?"

"You're making coffee now?" I teased.

"On special occasions, otherwise that's your job."

"I'll happily make you coffee for the rest of our lives."

Jennie kissed me again. "Good, because you're much better at it."

Taehyung never came home last night. Jennie and I both had a creeping suspicion that his plan was to trap us together until we worked things out, for which I was grateful. Waking up with Jennie alone in the apartment and making coffee in our underwear was a gift from heaven and I spent the day in her gravity, unable to spend even a moment separated from her.

When Taehyung finally did come home around, he took one look at us and pulled us both into a hug.

"Thank God," he said. He kissed us both on the cheek. "Stop being stupid and just accept that she loves you," he said to Jennie. Then to me: "Don't let her be stupid."

We both agreed.

"Good. Now's the part where you both live happily ever after."

Jennie and I grinned at each other; we were both perfectly content with that ending.

***

Things weren't perfect, they never would be; we're humans, after all. But things were perfect for me. Every day I worked to prove to Jennie how much I loved her and I worked to prove my devotion. Despite her best efforts, I still noticed these small moments of doubt that were deeply embedded within Jennie's mind. I worked tirelessly to chip away at those pieces and assure her that she was loved beyond all comprehension by Taehyung, by me, by my—our—family. Slowly the doubts, the insecurities, the fears fell away.

Over the next seven months, Jennie and I were together every day, taking turns sleeping at each other's apartments. I cleared drawers and closet space for her and bought a toothbrush to keep at my place. I already had a toothbrush at her apartment, but it moved from Taehyung's bathroom to hers and she cleared me space in her room and even bought me a nightstand. When my lease expired in July, Taehyung and Jennie convinced me to move in. I didn't put up much of a fight, so I sold my furniture and moved the rest of my possessions into Jennie's—our—bedroom.

Taehyung still pulled me aside again to remind me he would kill me if he ever heard us having sex, which so far, we'd complied by using my apartment for the purpose of intimacy and privacy. I told Jennie about Taehyung's threat this time, which wasn't the best idea because Jennie decided it would be funny to get me in trouble by seeing how loud she could make me. I eventually took to reciprocating, both because it was funny and I would not be the only one going down for this.

Taehyung did not like this game.

We went home for every holiday and spent it in the company of our parents and nieces. Everyone, myself included, refused to allow Jennie to refer to my family as my family. Whenever she said "your mom" whoever was closest would correct her: our mom. Every Christmas I made sure Jennie knew she had a family that was never going to leave her. My mom even made it a point to tell her that if she had to choose she'd choose her over me, which always made Jennie laugh. My family signed Jennie and Taehyung's gift from 'Mom', 'Dad', or 'your sister'.