Cherry Bomb (A Michael Fassbender Fanfic)

1: The Unwelcome Party

Dragging my suitcase through the freshly fallen snow along the hidden cobblestone path leading to the front door of my grandmother's house, I cursed under my breath. Of course my mother would forget I was coming. Of course no one would be waiting at the airport. Why, on Christmas Eve, would anything be different? In the past seventeen years, my mother had received me at the airport only a handful of times. Seventeen years of summer vacations and every other winter break from the northwestern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois to good ol' Killarney, Ireland.

Waiting for the taxi to drive out of sight, I pushed my knitted winter hat up off my forehead. It was too big, another masterpiece creation to add to the pile of things knitted by my half blind grandmother. But I knew it would make her happy, to see it on me. Then I would never have to wear it again. I could hear muffled music from inside the house and knew it would be a full house like every Christmastime. Family friends of my grandparents always spent their Christmases with them. Maybe this year no one would pinch my cheeks and tell me about how "yeh high" I was last time they saw me.

Once the taxi disappeared, I fisted my hand and rapped on the door with the back of my knuckles. Almost immediately the door opened and a wave of warmth washed over my face. The music grew louder and several people inside let out boisterous laughs, probably from the same joke Uncle Geoff told every damn year.

"Francis? I thought you spent last Christmas with us?" A tall woman with salt and pepper hair, hands on her hips and a necklace too large for her thin stature stood eyeing me. My mother, ladies and gentlemen.

Several people within earshot grew silent and turned toward the door. I felt like an outsider intruding on their very private party. "Uh, no mother." I stood there, waiting for any sort of welcome, any at all. A smile, a wave of a hand, a "oh do come in dear, it's too bloody cold to be dawdling around out there" but no. "Maybe I should have called," I dropped my head, feeling defeated. My mother sure did get me worked up but when it came time to face her, I suppressed my feelings and turned into a coward.

"I could have sworn you were here last year." Still, my mother stood in the doorframe, keeping me out in the cold.

"No," I said flat out. "Last Christmas I stayed with Dad because of my knee. This year it's your turn, you lucky duck." I stepped up to the threshold and gently pushed past her, my suitcase thumping harshly against the wooden floor. Now everyone was turned in our direction.

Glancing around, I recognized everyone's faces frowning at me. It's as if no one realized who I was. I let my suitcase drop completely and shed my bulky white coat. Ignoring the stares, I placed my coat on the coat rack in the foyer, my mother still scratching her head trying to remember the last time she saw me as she closed the door.

"Francis?" My grandfather appeared at the bottom of the stairs with a big smile on his face. Finally, a sign of friendliness. "My Frank-n-beans?! What on earth happened to you?" He closed the distance between us and took me into his arms. It was nice feeling them around me completely, something that hasn't happened since I was a child.

Though the big band music still flooded the air, I could hear the others. "That's Frankie?"

Let me backtrack a bit. I used to be big. Like, really big. I've struggled with weight my entire life. I was always a chunky kid but once my parents decided to split, I often comforted myself with junk. It wasn't until I broke my knee and had some extensive physical therapy that I began to lose weight. The weight loss inspired other changes in my life and I began to see a therapist for my emotional problems instead of trying to manage them on my own. Lord knows I still have a long way to go, but I'm happy. I can finally say that now. I'm happy and it can only get better from here on.