Yes, I understand Christmas is over.
Love you all, my darlings.
"That's it. I'm done. So done. This whole holiday, I'm over it. Forget the tree. Forget the ornaments. Forget the presents, the decorations, and the food. Just forget everything. It's not worth it anymore, not if every single Christmas is going to end up like this."
Mitch had had it. He was done. There was noting a single person could say to him that would change his mind. Not even if Scott managed to convince Beyoncé or Mariah Carey to stop by would his holiday spirit return. He would turn into the Grinch or Scrooge for all he cared. Christmas was ruined, and that was it. He wasn't even going to attempt restoring the joyous mood.
"Mitch, let's just take a second to calm down and think."
"No!" Mitch interrupted. He went to grab his coat. "Try to save Christmas if you want, Hoying, but I am through! Through! Through!" A strand of tinsel was ripped from above the doorway. "Screw whoever decided to invent this stupid holiday! They obviously didn't know the Grassi family!"
Scott couldn't get a word in before the door slammed shut behind Mitch. The blonde sighed and glanced at Wyatt. "At least someone is enjoying Christmas," he muttered as the cat played with his new ball of yarn.
Scott had no idea what had happened or where things had went wrong. It was just him and Mitch in the apartment that evening. Their roommates had gone out of town already, and Mitch and Scott were scheduled to head out the next day. Scott had come home from Starbucks to find Mitch packing his bags full of clothes and presents. There had been soft Christmas music playing in the background. It had sounded like Destiny's Child. The lights on the small tree had been turned on, and the decorations hung around it as neatly as ever. Brightly wrapped presents sat snugly underneath.
All had seemed normal until Mitch came storming out of his room, his eyes flashing passionately with rage. Then, his outburst, which left Scott in a whirlwind. Following a rather rash decision, Scott grabbed his keys and quickly headed out after Mitch. "Mitch!" he yelled to the brunette that was walking down the street.
Mitch huffed but continued walking, muttering to himself. "I don't understand how they can do this every year. You would think after all of this time they would have come to some sort of an agreement during the holidays. But no, it's always the same empty promises."
"Mitch!" Scott called again as he caught up to the shorter man. "Mitch, stop. Please. Tell me what's wrong? Is it your mom or dad? Your sister? Is everything okay?"
"No, everything's not okay!" Mitch yelled out sharply. "I can't have one damn Christmas that turns out to be argument-free! Apparently, it's simply too much to ask for divorced adults to get along with one another! They're worse than rabid dogs!"
Scott was relieved that no one's health was in danger, but he was worried about Mitch. "Who's arguing?"
"Clarence and Viola."
Ah, Scott had heard a lot about them. They were friends of Mitch's family and had been for quite some time. They first came into Mitch's life when he was very young, and they acted as a second set of parents to the teen. However, they later divorced. It was a rather nasty affair. The process was drawn out because of the disagreements between the two. A settlement was finally made, but neither appeared to be extremely happy about the deal.
"They're both as loud as I don't know what, and they love to mouth off about the smallest of things. Last year, they got in an argument over Christmas dinner about the strawberry jam. It lasted for nearly about an hour, and all they did was yell at each other. I don't even think Clarence tried the jam. He just made a snide comment that pushed Viola over her proverbial edge. This year, Mom says they refuse to even come to the house unless they arrive at different times. That means that we would have to essentially put on two separate dinners just to appease them! And, I love them to death, but they're so damn childish! I mean, they're adults! They should just buck up and act like it! There's no need to put this much stress on Mom and Dad during the holiday season! They're still trying to get everything set up, and it's four days until the actual holiday!"
Scott took a deep breath and tried to brainstorm a solution. "Could you have lunch with one and dinner with the other? That way, the eating schedules won't be interrupted and another meal won't have to be added?"
Mitch shook his head. "They're having lunch with their individual families out of town. They won't be back until later in the evening."
"Could you have one over for Christmas Eve and the other for Christmas day? Or, maybe the day after Christmas?"
"That might interfere with my flight back to L.A." Mitch sighed in frustration. "I just hate that they're doing this. I hope they realize just how much trouble they're causing others because of their lack of general respect."
Scott rubbed Mitch's shoulder. "Some people just refuse to get along. It's nothing you can change, Mitch. You just have to play the cards you've been dealt."
"And I will. By giving up the game entirely. I'm not going to sit in that house and watch my mom please others when she needs to be enjoying the holiday herself. You know Mike won't give a shit, but Mom does." A tear slid down Mitch's eye. "I just wanted one stress-free, happy Christmas. I can't even get that."
Scott began to understand what was really going on. Sure, Mitch wasn't pleased about the situation with Viola and Clarence, but what was really hurting Mitch was his belief that Christmas had been ruined. Scott had to admit it was a little naïve to think that any holiday, especially a large one such as Christmas, could go off without a hitch. Something would always happen. It's inevitable. But, he could sympathize with wanting a joyous Christmas with family and close friends. A simple affair to commemorate the day of Jesus's birth.
"Mitch, why don't we go back home and drink that coffee? I'm sure it's starting to get cold. And while we drink, we can throw out possible ideas of how to solve this problem."
Mitch slumped in defeat but obediently walked behind Scott back to the apartment. "I apologize for being immature. I wanted to go home to an enjoyable, calm environment."
Scott poked Mitch. "Cheer up. It is Christmas, even if the days to it are a little bumpy. You're still getting to see your family." He thought of little Landon. "That's all that really matters."
"I guess you're right." Mitch perked up a bit. "I need to have an open and positive mindset. Without it, no matter how good Christmas turns out to be, I'll still be a Grinch."
"Exactly," Scott commented. "Now, let's get our thoughts flowing with some Starbucks and deal with these Christmas difficulties of yours."
