What Comes Next

Chapter 11: Leo

Chapter 11: Leo

Lunch was *delicious* and the amount of pride I felt watching Jack's performance was hard put for words. My mom had tried teaching me the guitar when I was younger; I learned the basics but could never read music, something I can now add to my long list of regrets. Mulling in the nostalgia, I start to pick at the strings on Jack's guitar, which I am currently gaurding. Lost in the muscle memory I don't even notice my one-person audience. "Sounds amazing." I look up to see Nellie. "How long have you been there?" I ask. "Long enough to identify that song as Landslide, Fleetwood Mac." She emphasizes the 'c.'

"You never said you were a musician. Or a singer?" She says sitting down on the grass beside me. "That's because I'm not." I say shyly. "I played some guitar and a pitiful piano when I was a kid, but I'm no Jack Nelson." She takes the guitar from me, "I play piano. Took some violin lessons as a kid, but that didn't really work out. I have a keyboard, though it's not the real deal. I've always wanted to learn guitar." she adds proddingly. I scrunch my face, though there's no point in resisting. She smiles knowingly and I sit up straighter. "Well I assume you know how to hold a guitar."

"Like this, right?" She says intentionally facing it the wrong way. I look to the skies for what to say as she giggles shamelessly. "Let's start with the basic chords: G..." I place her fingers in their place. "...C..." She bites her lip concentrating on the task at hand. "...D...Am...Em...and F." She grits her teeth trying to stretch her small fingers. Giving up she looks at me, "I don't think the F chord and I are getting along just quite." I laugh, "That's okay. Do you like Coldplay?" She nods. "Alright. Start with D...now Am, Em, and repeat." She plays each chord. "Now try strumming to the beat of the drums. Kind of like pressing down on the piano keys. Follow me."

dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun

Lights go out and I can't be saved, tides that I tried to swim against

Brought me down upon my knees, oh I beg I beg and plead

Her finger slips at the end of the second verse, "Damnit."

"You did good!" She looks up from the guitar and our eyes meet for a moment. "NELLIE!" We both jump back as she scrambles to her feet, "Patty's calling," she says before disappearing into the house. I look around for Jack, but he's no where to be found.

After scouring the yard, the basement, and the main floor I make my way up to the bonus room where I find him sprawled out on a bean bag chair playing snake on his phone.. "You're missing all of the fun, everyone's getting ready for the marshmellow fight."

"Sounds fun," he says sarcastically. I return his guitar to it's stand and sit down on a bean bag next to him. "So you never get caught with that?"

 "Nope." He says popping the 'p'.

I pull out my phone and settle in, scrolling through Tumblr and glancing over every now and then waiting for him to look up. After about  ten minutes have passed he pulls out a bag of chips. "Doritos?" He offers. "What are you, a food wizard?" I ask. "No, I stash food the red bean bag chair. So far my secret pantry consists of Doritos, Nutella, and Twizzlers."

"And what happens when people sit on the red bean bag chair?"

"No one has dared to find out." He says matter of factly. Not too keen to find out what that means, I coax him into rejoining the party. Pocketing our phones we return to the mass of people and separate. I perch myself on the stairs and wait for the legendary youth center Thanksgiving feast.

~

I inhale the glorious scent of honey glazed ham, fresh fruits, mashed potatoes, buttery corn, a small but heavenly chocolate fountain, the sweet allure of- "Are you alright?" I open my eyes and let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. Spinning around I look for the voice until I bump into Mave. "You coming?" she says walking into the room which is now filled with tables. I follow her and take an empty seat next to Nellie.

"For those of you who are new with us this year, we have a tradition. Before we eat we go around the room and all say one thing we're thankful for, starting with table one." Being the adults we're table 7 so there's a ways to go.

Sammy said she was thankful for Nellie resulting in a lot of "Aww's". Chris said he was thankful for food and Jack, well, you don't want to know. It was now down to our table. "I'm thankful for Starbucks." says Nellie, resulting in laughter. My turn. "I'm thankful for happy accidents." I say winking at Nellie which makes her blush. She's so cute when she's embarrassed.

We move on and finally it's time for the feast. The kids ate first and then the volunteers since we were the ones serving. I'm sitting between Nellie and Mave, which I'm realizing was not the best seeing as that puts me in the middle of a heated debate about how you are supposed to eat macaroni and cheese.

"Well fork you and your forking fork!" Nellie yells, as she pointedly eats a spoonful of mac 'n' cheese. "On second thought maybe I will use a spoon...to dig your grave ya filthy spooner." Mave says, stabbing at her pasta.

After establishing the Spork Treaty of 2014, the rest of the meal went by quietly, for me that is. With the other volunteers cleaing the main room, Nellie, Mave and I were washing dishes in the kitchen.

"I can't wait to eat your famous coffee cake!" exclaims Nellie.

"This year I used a different recipe and incorporated Starbucks coffee instead." says a proud Mave.

"You just made me more hungry!"

"Is that even possible?" I chime in and she replies by flinging soapy water at me. "I always repay my debts." I say returning the favor but she ducks and I hit Mave. This results in an all-out war until Patty walks in and Nellie turns around quickly throwing bubbles at her.

"Kids watching kids." She voices before stalking off while flicking bubbles from her face. We finish the last of the dishes and set them out to dry. To insure we have our share of desert Mave had hidden some away in Patty's office. After seeing the loot my stomach grew considerably larger. We ate in silence, not because of a loss for words but because our mouths were too busy savoring these precious delicacies.

By the time we finish, most of the kids have filed into the back yard for today's final event: a movie under the stars. The winning film this year: Home Alone. Most of the children have grouped together and Mave spots the center's newest couple, "I'll keep an eye on them." She says dutifuly walking over to set up camp uncomfortably close to the lovebirds. Seeing Jack has found a few guys to talk to, I lay my blanket and pillow next to Nellie's. In a few moments the movie begins and chatter subsides, leaving only the sound of children giggling and munching on popcorn. The wind is cold as Nellie leans in closer for warmth. By the time Kevin's family has left him behind, Nellie's curled up in a ball, her head against my shoulder. I drape another blanket over the two of us and she relaxes a bit. For once, I don't mind contact.

~

Apparently we both drifted off at some point during the movie. By the time I wake up it's Christmas at the McCallister's. Nellie is still curled up in my arms and I move her aside hoping nobody has noticed. She shifts a bit before falling still again. I lay back down and count what few stars have managed to penetrate the city lights. I know this feeling. This long forgotten feeling. Happiness.

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For all you lovers out there I hope you enjoyed this. (Love makes the world go round J. ~L)

Love my chapter!

~J