This Winter

Chapter 32

Senior year

Before Christmas, when Noah would inevitably leave for the break, I had decided to make our little gathering the best one of the years.

I was going to tell Noah I loved him, tonight. Though I knew he already knew, I was blatantly obvious.. I wanted to formally tell him.

Was that weird though? I felt dumb waiting anxiously to tell Noah. Checking the time every minute that passed.

I was also just excited to see him outside of lunch, where I could hold his hand and kiss him, because with high school exams we hadn't spent much time together. I couldn't even remember the last time I was able to hold his hand, let alone kiss his beautiful lips. It was maddening.

Twenty minutes and he'll be here.

I groaned, throwing my phone on my chest as I laid on my bed. I should've said 5:00 instead of 5:30.

"Ethan?" My mother yelled from the kitchen.

"What?" I yelled back, abstinently staring at my ceiling.

"Ethan?" She yelled louder and I groaned.

"What, Mom?!" I yelled back through the door, still not making an effort to come to her.

"Come here," she huffed and I groaned.

Rising from my bed and rolling my shoulders a few times before I exited the room.

I found her near the kitchen island, rummaging through mail with her left hand as her right held an envelope.

"What's this?" I groaned for the hundredth time today as I took the envelope from her hands. "Please don't tell me this is about college." I was steering well clear from college until after the break. It wasn't about to dampen Christmas.

"No, it's not college," she huffed, "It's from your Aunt Lynn and Lennie."

"Thank, God." And with that I tore the envelope open.

It was just a simple Christmas card with a cheesy line and picture of Santa. I shrugged and started to make my way back to my room- card in hand.

"What is it?" My mom asked.

"Christmas card," I said nonchalantly.

"Well put it on the mantel!" She stated back a little eagerly.

I shrugged again, putting the card on the living room mantel with three other cards, all from coworkers. Sometimes Christmas was a little bare, without any close family to visit or buy gifts for.

"We'll have to call them tonight," she stated and I nodded along, knowing full well we wouldn't. I didn't even know who they were really. I might've met them a few times as a child.

I think Lynn was a friend of my Dad's, but I wasn't really sure. My mom hadn't really spoken to anyone on my Dad's side of the family since his death. I wasn't really sure if it was her choice or not, or if she even cared. I wasn't old enough to even remember my Dad, let alone his family.

I knew whoever Lynn was, she sent cards on birthdays and Christmas and that's all I really needed to know.

"Are you and Noah going on a date tonight?"

"Oh um.. yeah?"

"That's nice! Are you picking him up?"

"Oh no, he's coming here," I told her walking back to the kitchen.

She ripped open another envelope, this one with another Christmas card, but this one had a family picture covering the front. "Oh, isn't she adorable," she awed, at a picture of her coworker's husband and daughter. "Do you think you and Noah would adopt kids?"