Christmas at Joes

1. An Invitation

    "Deck the halls and Chuck you Farley, jumpin' up and down like a kangaroo" Roger cheerfully sang his improvised version of the carol as Ritu was decorating the small Christmas tree in the two-bedroom apartment that she shared with her sister, Aastha. Aastha was in the kitchen baking cookies. The warm sweet smell along with Christmas music from the radio was filling the shared living area. The smell was mouthwatering. The music, ignoring Roger's adlibbing, was a joyful instrumental version of "Deck the Halls."

For the holidays, Roger was also practically living with them. It made spending the night with Ritu more convenient. Roger is a freelance jack of all trades. He splits his time between managing apartments, working for a cybercrime private investigator and any other jobs he can find. The apartment building that he currently manages for his father is in the bay area two hours away from Ritu's place. Her place is in Sacramento near the medical research facility at UC Davis where she works as a lead researcher.

Ritu sighed, "Roger, do you even know the correct words to any Christmas carol?"

"Tis the season things get gnarly, tra-la-la-la-lah and I love you too," he sang at her. "You know the words don't matter; it is the spirit of the season that counts." Roger took a deep breath looking around the gaily decorated room and stated emphatically, "I love everything about Christmas. I love the sound of Christmas carols, cheerful decorations everywhere, the smell of baking cookies and fresh evergreen, and of course the taste of peppermint." He finished unwrapping a candy cane and stuck it in his mouth."

"Those are for decorating the tree. Don't eat them all." Ritu scolded him.

"I've got to have my peppermint candy canes. Without that taste and smell, it's not Christmas," he said as he continued to suck on the candy.

"You can have the taste and smell of that one. I'll even listen to you sing about decking the halls with them. But I need to see the rest of them hanging on the tree."

Roger grinned and moved closer to Ritu saying, "So, we've got the taste, smell, sound, and sight of Christmas covered. That just leaves touch to finish off the five senses." With that he leaned in and kissed her. "Glad I don't have to wait the three weeks until Christmas to unwrap my favorite present." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"You do have to wait until we finish decorating the tree," she said playfully pushing him away.

"One more to tie me over," he said leaning in for another kiss, but was interrupted by Jingle Bell Rock coming from his cell phone. It clashed with Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer that had followed Deck the Halls on the radio. The combined cacophony completely spoiled his mood; so, Roger gave her a quick peck on the cheek and then checked his phone. It was a text.

"What is it?"

"An invitation to the annual Christmas party at Joe's Bar in Tahoe. Do you want to go?"

"I really don't want to leave Aastha alone for that long over the holidays especially this year. It is almost a three-hour drive there and back. For a party we'd definitely have to spend the night there."

"I'm sure she can come too."

"We can ask her, but you know how self-conscious she is about being around strangers now that her muscular dystrophy has her confined to a wheelchair."

"Yeah, I'm guessing she won't want to go." Roger was clearly disappointed. He rubbed his chin thinking, which for Roger is a dubious activity. "How about the three of us take a drive up into the mountains to see the snow. That is always fun and 50 is a beautiful drive. We could drive to Joe's and stop in for a bite to eat. You and Aastha could meet some of the gang there and they'd no longer be strangers. They are really a great group. I'm sure you all will like them. And maybe we could invite her boyfriend Toby too?"

"Yeah," Ritu lowered her voice. "That is the real reason I don't want to leave Aastha alone for the holidays. She and Toby broke up."

"How can that be?" Roger's jaw dropped. "They were perfect for each other. They both suffer from the same ailment, both love the same things, especially video games. My god, they even started a software consulting business together. Last I knew, they were both still quite in love. What happened?"

Roger's mouth continued to gape in disbelief. Ritu put her hand under his chin and gently closed it for him. Then she explained, "Well, the good news is that they discovered that Toby was misdiagnosed. It turns out that his muscular dystrophy symptoms were really polymyositis. It is a common misdiagnosis."

"So, is this poly my oh my stuff better than having muscular dystrophy?"

"If untreated it is actually more deadly. The difference is that it can be treated. Fortunately, they got the right diagnosis for Toby in time and with treatment, his muscle weakness practically goes away, and he can live a near normal life."

"That is good news! Please don't tell me he dumped Aastha now that they no longer share an ailment."

"No. It is not like that at all." She was shaking her head disappointedly as she continued, "She dumped him. I think he is heartbroken."

"Why did she dump him?"

"She thinks it is for his own good. Now that he can live a normal life, she doesn't want to be the one holding him back.".

"Is that what she told him?"

"Of course not. She made up some garbage about being bored by him and not loving him any longer. I think she got quite hateful and really hurt his feelings."

"Did you try and explain to her that it should be Toby's decision as to whether or not he would be better off without her?"

"Yeah, like she is going to listen to me," Ritu said making her sarcasm clear.

Roger nodded his head knowingly. "We definitely have to take her up to the lake now."

"And why is that?

"I have a friend there who is an expert at manipulating people. She will definitely know what to do."

"What makes her so great at manipulating people?" Ritu cocked her head doubtfully.

"She used to be a spy."