Christmas

Christmas in the neighborhood and no one was expecting anything special except for Jackie cooking us brownies to eat at the boulder. While her parents went to Fiji for their annual paid business vacation she turned her house into our personal bakeshop, with Derek and Blondie providing some ingredients. Derek and the boys brought out an oil barrel to have a fire in and we spent an afternoon gathering stuff to burn. Whoever managed to get out of whatever crappy family gathering they were sucked into met up at the boulder. By the time I snuck out the fire was in full force, kids were dancing to songs playing from red-headed Mitch's radio, and Theo was high, mumbling his fables.

"Merry Christmas Theodore," I said and sat beside him.

"Because it's Christmas Eve I won't correct you. Merry Christmas Dana," he said.

I smiled and looked to the flame lit scene below us. "It's nice this year."

"It is. Where's Derek?"

"Probably at his cousin's Christmas party."

"What?" Theo asked.

"His cousin he likes, Sal or something, he has a big booze party with college kids. Derek blends in."

"Oh. Too bad he misses this," he gestured to our own little Christmas.

"Yeah too bad."

He handed me a joint he had saved for me and lit it. The two of us shared it and sat in a manufactured oblivion.

The fire burned well into the night, far beyond the time dear old Santa makes his rounds in this neighborhood. Mitch took his radio home with him around one in the morning. He wished everyone a Merry Christmas and trekked home in a group of three others.

With the music gone and no Derek to light up with, others began to pitter off as well. Theo and I still sat, like the night of smashing glass.

"It's too bad Derek missed this," Theo said.

"Yeah," I said. My eyes closed and I felt a bit of warmth on my face from the flames we had  moved closer to.

"... Too bad." I heard him shuffle before I felt his lips on my cheek, "Merry Christmas Eve Dana."

That was the first of many kisses from the genius busboy that I would receive.