Open When I'm Gone

23. Graveyard Shift.

After about an hour of laying on the stiff carpet of Jolies bedroom, her father shouts at us all to come downstairs. Jolie grins at me, offering me her hand. "Come on, we have family traditions to uphold."

I grab her outstretched hand, trying to steady myself while holding on to the precious gift with my other.

When we come down the stairs, the rest of the family is clumped together in the living room, a tray of cookies on the coffee table, filling the room with the smell of sugar and spice.

"We've been waiting for you!" Charlie exclaims, scooting over on the loveseat so Jolie and I can squeeze in next to him. And of course the second I sit down, Alyssa jumps up onto my lap, laughing as I bounce her in my arms.

Jolie gives me a knowing look, my heart jumping at her perfect brown eyes.

Wow.

This whole day doesn't feel real, but that's okay. All I know is that I never want it to end. I never want Jolie to stop looking at me this way, like I'm her whole world.

"So," Mr. Cherith hums, pulling out a thick envelope from behind him, passing it to Charlie who then passes it to me. "I know that we said we weren't gonna get you Christmas gifts, but there was... an opportunity that came up."

The envelope feels achingly heavy in my hands, all of their eyes on me as I slide my finger under the paper flap. My hands are shaking, the feeling of attention making my heart speed up to a million beats per second.

There's a bright pamphlet slid in the envelope, a bright blue sky against an even brighter ocean.

"It's tradition," Hannah tells me, "And this year, I couldn't get the time off, so we all thought... that you could go instead."

The pamphlet in my hand is for a city at the tip of the Florida coast, Fort Myers. With sandy white beaches and a radiant blue ocean, brightly colored houses and shops along the shoreline. It's almost picturesque, like a movie set that's never actually there, all cgi generated.

"You're serious?" I breathe lightly, sliding out the rest of the papers from the pack. A plane ticket for three days from now, and a list of everything to pack.

"We thought it might be fun." Mrs. Cherith smiles, "And your mom told us you haven't been on vacation in a while, and your parents said that it was alright, so if you want to come-"

"You guys," I feel tears welling up my throat, "This is... This is incredible. I can't believe that you guys thought of me."

"So you're coming?" Alyssa bounces on my knees, a shining smile stretching her small face.

"My mom said it was okay?" I ask hesitantly, my voice catching with all the emotion bubbling up. No one has ever done anything even close to this kind for me, not even close.

Mrs. Cherith nods, even her eyes welling with the emotion I feel mirrored in mine.

"You're always welcome, son." Mr. Cherith arm slings across his wife's shoulders, a broad grin mirrored on both their faces. "We just wanted you to know that."

"Thank you." I laugh, purely out of disbelief. "This.. This is incredible. I can't believe it-"

"Well believe it!" Jolie looks at me, the joy seeming to overflow out of her body, like a radiating heat that spreads through my limbs, up to my heart. "We're doing this!"

I feel like the grin on my face is going to crack my features, the expression feeling so foreign on my mouth, my muscles being so used to being tense and creased that the unused parts of my face ache at the unfamiliar expression.