"Ready?" I turned to face Alex who was sitting patiently in the driver's side, pulling down his teal beanie to cover his reddened ears. He picked me up at noon. Apparently, he's got another surprise super date to take me on. "Gosh, it's cold," I turned up the heat in the red Jeep as I awaited his reply.
"Yes ma'am," he chattered between his teeth, reaching for my hands. He held mine in his and blew on them, rubbing his thumbs over the backs of my hands, warming them successfully.
"Ahh, thank you," I whispered. "Alright, here we go," I withdrew my now-thawed hands from his grasp and tapped 'Video Call' on the Skype call actions below my mom's profile picture. The ringing began, and after six rings, the camera steadied, my mom's voice became audible, and Alex and I were being recorded from the front camera and streamed all the way to Chicago.
"Hi, baby!" mom exclaimed in a crisp scream. This woman is so damn loud. Literally. If you were to be speaking to her face to face, she'd be yelling like you were 50 feet away using a hearing aid. "How are you?"
"I'm good, Ma. How are you?" I smiled.
"I'm doing alright. I miss you! Merry Christmas, sweet heart!"
"Thanks! Merry Christmas to you and Dad! Wish we could all celebrate it together. I think this is the first one we're all spending apart."
Mom, evidently broken-hearted by the solemn look on her face nodded her head. "That's right. So where is Alex?"
"Right here," I drew my phone back further away, allowing Alex to fit in the screen.
"Hi there, Mrs. Hemmings!” Alex waved. “I'm so sorry that we had to meet like this, and really.. not all of this was Casey's fault, and I... I really hope that you aren't upset with her. If you want to be mad at anyone, please take it out on me. I take full responsibility, and... and I think that your daughter is an amazing person, she really is! And, and I wish that one day I'll be able to meet you and Mr. Hemmings, because I want to show that I respect you both and that I respect your daughter, and..." he rambled. It was so cute actually. His lips were moving every which way. I reached for his hand in the middle of his rant and felt it shaking. His palms were sweaty, his cheeks were turning tomato red, and it wasn't from the Canadian cold weather either.
"Oh," mom giggled. “Slow down, hon. You’re alright. Thank you for all of that. Y’know, I really appreciate that a whole lot. I’m Miranda, and this is my husband, Lance. We’re glad to finally be able to meet you, even if it’s just through a computer screen,” she smiled.
Play nice, mom. I was literally holding my breath for Alex every time mom spoke. She’s the type of woman to say whatever’s on her mind, and dad says that’s one of the reasons why he fell in love. He likes a woman with authority, I guess. Eww, gross. OK, no. Eww. I admired mom for it, though. She was truly the mama bear that you didn’t want to mess with.
“Really nice to meet you both, Mr. and Mrs. Hemmings. I’m so sorry, uhm.. my name is Alex,” he cleared his throat. “Alexander Meyer. I’m sorry, I totally forgot to mention that earlier in my tangent,” he laughed.
“That’s quite alright, bud,” my dad started. Praise you, Jesus! We have been touched by an angel! Dad was always the outgoing one. He was more of the buffer in the conversation. Mom was the blizzard, and dad was the light snowfall, if you get what I’m saying. “So, where are you taking our daughter today? Are y’all in a car?” dad squinted. Alright, I must admit. Dad wasn’t the complete wimp of the relationship. He was authoritative when he wanted to be, and this was one of his moments to shine. He was curious about Alex, but he’s not the type of person to hammer Alex with 20 questions all at once. He did have to make sure his little girl was safe though, and I loved him for it.
“Thank you, sir,” Alex smiled. “We are actually in my car right now… sir,” he said, biting his lip. He gave me a quick glance, as if to say ‘Shit, I hope your parents don’t think we’re being careless in here.’ He looked back at the camera and said, “I am taking her out to downtown Toronto for the annual Christmas Festival, if that’s alright?”
“Oh, you’re learning well, son,” dad smirked and lifted his eyebrows up and down. Alex and I both cracked up in laughter with dad, but mom was only a tad bit impressed. She nudged dad’s arm and got right back into business.
“Please keep her safe, dear,” mom began her speech. Here we go. “Okay? I’m… We’re trusting you, Alex. We’re in a different state.. hell, we’re in a different country, so we need to be able to have a little peace of mind here. She’s my baby girl, and she’s all I’ve got. She’s allergic to cucumbers and watermelons, and she gets cold real easily. I know it’s cold over there; it’s definitely much worse than here in Chicago. So, don’t be out too long, okay? I don’t want either of you to get pneumonia or anything. Bundle up! Don’t let each other out of your sight, because I know festivals are really crowded and a lot of people go to those things. I know Canadians are really nice and all, and you’re a sweetheart, it seems, Alex, but I just want you guys to be safe and. –“
“-- Yes! Mom! We get it. We’ll be just fine, and I’ll text you and stuff. Just breathe for a sec,” I smiled reassuringly. Wow, to think that it was Alex ranting just a few minutes ago. Apparently, it was mom’s turn.
“Yes, ma’am. Your daughter will be safe with me, and I’ll make sure to get her back to Leigh-Ann’s apartment as soon as the festival is over. You have my word,” Alex promised.
Mmm.. ‘You have my word.’ Well damn. How much hotter can you get, Mr. Alex Meyer? The fact that he got along so well with my parents was such a plus. He got brownie points, for sure!
“I love you mom. Love you daddy. Merry Christmas, and I left your presents under the tree before I left, so make sure to open them!” I waved.
“Thanks, sweetheart. We will! Have a great time. I’ll try to keep mom in her seat for now. You owe me big time, kiddo. She’s been freaking out non-stop, but thankfully we got to meet Alex. This’ll give her some reassurance,” dad admitted.
“Your dad is just kidding. Don’t let us freak you out, Alex. Be careful, you guys! Enjoy yourselves!... But, you know… not too much! I love you, Case,” mom blew a kiss.
I caught the kiss and pretended to put it in my pocket. It’s a thing that my mom and I do whenever we blow kisses to each other. It’s like we’re stowing it away in a collection of flying kisses and stuff. I think we’re kinda cute.
“Have a good night, Mr. and Mrs. Hemmings –“ Alex waved goodbye.
“—Please, call me Lance!” dad exclaimed. I slapped my forehead. I can’t believe he’s first-name-basing him already.
“Oh, I can’t do that, sir. Doesn’t feel right,” Alex laughed. “Merry Christmas to you both!”
“I don’t know, darlin’, I like him already,” dad winked at mom. Before anything else was said, I pressed the red button and ended the call. At that rate, I knew we would never get off the phone with my parents. Besides, I just wanted to get going. I wanted to see what Alex had in store for me tonight. But, wherever we ended up going, I didn’t care. As long as I was with him, that’s all that ever really mattered to me. He put his Jeep in drive, and we were off into the Toronto city lights that were gently kissed by a light fall of snowflakes. I thought driving down Michigan Avenue in Chicago with the snow-covered trees was nice, but it sure as hell wasn’t anything like this. And Alex, being on the left of me, made it that much better.
YOU ARE READING
An Hour Ahead
Teen FictionCasey was a typical 16 year old girl living in the heart of Chicago. Her life was plain and bland until she met a boy. A boy online. His name was Alex. He seemed perfect for her, until she learned that he was miles away from her, residing in Canada...
