The Sun, The Moon, and Their Stars

Bonus Chapter : Surprise

December 2005

Benjamin

Me: can I call u?

Kim: yep

"Good morning, KP. What are you up to today?"

"We just got back from the mass."

I can hear faint sounds from a TV on her end.

"I'll just stay home, I guess," she adds. It gets quieter now. And there's the sound of a door closing.

"Perfect," I say, "'cause I have a gift for you."

"What? How? And we said no gifts."

"I know, but I can't resist."

"Huh."

"What time is it?" I ask.

"Ten thirty-five," she replies.

"Good. My gift is being delivered to your house right now."

"What are you—?"

"Go out," I say with a laugh. "You better check if it gets there...any second now."

I wait for her to come out of their screen door. And from the peep opening in their gate that's level with my eyes, I see her pushing it open and gracefully going outside.

"Feliz Navidad, Kim Possible."

We're still on our phones.

She smiles. "You dork," she says. "You could have just said that you're in town today."

"That's not how surprises work, KP."

I end the call and see her drop her hand to her side. She steps down from their veranda and opens the gate. She's still in her going-out clothes; a black collared shirt and jeans.

"Hey, you." She stands on her tiptoes and offers me a hug. I smell her sweet familiar scent; milky strawberries and her shampoo.

"These are for your parents." I give her the box of brownies. "My mom baked them last night. And they're low-fat."

There's a card on top of it, saying happy holidays with my parents' names at the lower edge.

"Thanks," Kim says. "I'll just bring them inside. Wait here."

I lean back against the concrete balusters on the side of the veranda. Seconds later, her brother comes out of the door, wearing a shirt with the name of the company he works for.

"Hey, city boy!" Kelvin says.

"Merry Christmas."

"How are you doing?"

"Eh. You know...this and that."

"Your grades?"

I stand up straighter. "One's and two's," I say with a shrug.

He nods. Kim is back out now and stands beside her brother.

"How long are you in town for?" he asks me.

"We...uh...we leave on the twenty-seventh."

Kelvin turns around and nods at his sister. "I...I better go now," he says. "I'm on midday shift today." He pats me on my arm. "Nice seeing you around."

"You too."

Kim and I sit on the chairs just like we did in the summer when I still lived in this town. We talk about anything we can think of. From our classes to our old friends (I last saw Jay during sem break, and Steve in September), to the new songs she filled her MP3 player with.