There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays

As the day went on, Alyssa was becoming more and more upset. Mike could see it in her features with each tradition he did with his family, which by now had grown considerably. Despite the bad weather, people continued to show up to the Komisarek house like they did every year.

“Hey, are you okay?” Mike asked Alyssa after bringing her into a secluded corner. She looked over at him and forced a smile, but it soon broke and her eyes welled with tears.

“No,” she whispered. Mike grabbed her hand and led her out of the crowded living room where his family was gathered around the tree singing in Polish. Alyssa tried to wipe her eyes as he led her into what looked like the library. There was a fire going, since his dad had been in the room minutes before with a few of the other men as they smoked cigars. Mike locked the door behind them, because he didn’t want anyone to walk in on them in case she got hysterical. He didn’t want her to feel embarrassed or anything. Mike led Alyssa over to the rug in front of the fire, sitting on the ground so their backs were pressed against the couch right behind them.

“What’s wrong?”

Alyssa stared into the fire for a moment, gathering her thoughts.

“It’s just…your family, they’ve all been so nice, and-” She stopped, trying to hold back a sob. “I feel so guilty.”

“Hey, listen, so you’re not actually my girlfriend like a lot of them thought you were, it’s not big deal,” Mike laughed. “No need to feel guilty.”

“You saw the weather outside. And your family, they all still came. I just feel like I didn’t try hard enough to get home to my family. That’s why I’m guilty,” she said.

“Lyss, these guys all live in New York. You’re over eight hundred miles away from your family. It’s different,” he told her. “When you called your family, were they upset?”

“No,” Alyssa said. “They were just glad I was safe somewhere.”

“See? They understand.”

“But even when I’m fifteen miles away from them I don’t take the time out to see them,” Alyssa noted. “My job, it’s just so hard to-”

“Hand me that photo album right there,” Mike interrupted, pointing to the table next to her. Alyssa did as she was told, and Mike flipped through some pages. He finally stopped at one with a man and a woman and two small children. “That’s me and my sister and my parents,” he said. “I was about seven, and Joanne was about five.”

Alyssa nodded, not sure where he was going with this whole thing. He turned a page, and there were similar photos, except everyone was aging throughout the pictures. Finally Mike turned the last page he intended to, which showed his mom in a hospital bed. It was just her and Mike, and it was evident neither knew the picture had even been taken.

Mike’s hands were in hers as she sat up in her bed, their foreheads pressed together and their eyes shut. Smiles were on both their faces, despite the obviously sad situation.

Alyssa stared at the photo, unable to move, think, or even breathe.

“She had pancreatic cancer. She died ten months after she was diagnosed,” Mike stated. Alyssa closed her eyes, which allowed a few tears to fall. “I know I’ve been kind of harsh to you,” he continued. “But it was just because I felt like you were taking your family for granted. I didn’t want you to regret not being home more often like I regret. And it’s weird, because I barely know you. I shouldn’t care how you live your life. But it made me angry. It made me feel almost like, you were rubbing it in my face that you had a full family you could skip out on if you wanted to, and I felt like it was my responsibility to knock some sense into you.”

Mike suddenly let out a laugh, which made Alyssa open her eyes.

“That sounded a little violent, but I hope you understand what I mean.”

“I do,” she nodded. “You’ve also officially made me feel guiltier about not being home right now.”

“Sorry,” he smiled, throwing an arm over her shoulder for a type of side hug. Alyssa just smiled and shrugged, as if saying ‘What can you do?’

“I’m sorry about your mom,” she said, looking back into the fire. “How long has it been?”

“Four years,” Mike murmured, as if it almost surprised him as well. He let his head drop back onto the seat of the couch and he looked at the ceiling. His eyes narrowed for a moment and he let out another laugh.

“What is so funny now?” Alyssa smiled. He looked over at her before motioning above their heads. Alyssa looked up, and felt her face heat up.

Mistletoe.

She let her eyes fall back to Mike, who was looking right at her with a small smile. The arm around her shoulders was pulling her in slightly, and Alyssa didn’t fight it. He took his other hand and lifted her chin slightly before bringing his face closer to hers. He paused before their lips met, looking into her eyes for a few moments. He finally closed the gap the rest of the way, pressing his lips against hers softly.

Alyssa’s hand went to his chest instinctively, but not to push him away. Mike decided he didn’t care that he had known this woman for barely a day and he licked her bottom lip, and Alyssa decided she didn’t care either when she allowed his tongue to enter her mouth.

Mike began to lay her backwards, so she was flat against the ground as he hovered over her. He pulled away from the kiss and looked down at her, not sure what to do.

On one hand, he was pretty sure that he could take this all the way and she would let him. On the other hand, he didn’t even know this woman’s last name.

If her last name is going to end up as Komisarek, who cares what it is now? An inner voice provided.

Alyssa was becoming impatient, so she tugged at the chain he wore around his neck and brought his lips to hers once more. His hand traveled down her curves and stopped at her hip, pushing her shirt up slightly so that he could feel her skin. He felt her shiver, and he knew that since they were in front of a fire that it wasn’t because she was cold.

Alyssa felt Mike’s grin into the kiss, and part of her wondered if she should stop. She didn’t know this guy. She had met him like, a whole twenty four hours before.

But for some reason, as she felt him grip her hips and trace his tongue along hers, she couldn’t find the will to care.

“Michael?” A knock on the door broke Alyssa and Mike apart. He stayed on top of her and lifted his head.

“Yeah?” He called out, knowing it was his dad who knocked.

“Oh, we were just wondering where you and Alyssa disappeared to is all,” his dad replied. Mike could hear the smile in his dad’s voice, and he could almost feel his cheeks start to redden.

“Yeah, we’ll be out in a minute,” Mike informed, getting up and pulling Alyssa up with him. She wasn’t expecting it to be so sudden, but she didn’t mind when Mike caught her and pulled her in for another kiss. “Alright,” he said when he pulled away. “Ready to go back out there?”

Alyssa nodded and let herself be pulled back out into the living room where Mike’s family all grinned knowingly at them. Mike just laughed and pulled Alyssa to the couch, where she sat next to him with their hands still entwined.

“Czy ma Pan uczucia dla niej?” Roman directed at Mike. Everyone turned to Mike, interested in his answer. Alyssa didn’t know what was going on, but she figured she would see how everyone reacted to Mike’s answer before getting worried.

“Tak,” Mike answered. The women all giggled and the men all smiled proudly.

“Good,” his dad nodded. Alyssa was still confused, but Mike didn’t look like he was about to tell her what happened any time soon.

As the night wore on and people began deciding whether or not they were going to stay or leave, Mike decided to take Alyssa to bed. She was dozing off on his shoulder, so he picked her up and carried her upstairs. He laid her in bed and walked over to his dresser, taking off his clothes and throwing on a pair of sweatpants.

He grabbed a large t-shirt of his and walked back over to Alyssa, shaking her lightly.

“Hm?” She sounded.

“Do you want to stay in your clothes to sleep in? Or I have a big shirt of mine you can change into real quick-”

Alyssa peeled her shirt off, stopping Mike’s words immediately. She grabbed his shirt and pulled it over her head, making sure it was down all the way before undoing her pants. She pulled them off under the covers and then tossed them to the side, making Mike smirk.

“Goodnight,” he said to her, getting up to walk over to his pile of sheets on the floor. Alyssa grabbed his hand however, pulling him forward onto the bed.

“Goodnight,” she smiled. He smiled back at her and got under the covers, pushing himself against her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in closer, placing a kiss on her shoulder. “Hey Mike?” She asked a few moments later.

“Yeah?”

“What did your dad ask you earlier? In Polish?”

“He asked if I had feelings for you,” Mike told her.

“And what did you say?” Alyssa asked, bracing herself. Mike turned her body so that she was facing him, but he still had his arms around her.

“I said yes.”

“You don’t even know me,” Alyssa pointed out softly.

“I want to,” Mike shrugged.

“I want to know you too,” she laughed.

“Are you sure you have time for me on your busy schedule?” He teased.

“I should be asking you that,” she countered. Before Mike could say anything, she continued. “But I think I’m quitting my job.”

“What?! Look, I know I harped on you about it and everything, but I don’t want you to stop doing what you love-”

“I don’t love it,” Alyssa cut him off. “I hate it, actually. It’s not what I wanted to do, I just kind of, fell into it. I’ve decided to go back to school to do what I want.”

“Which would free up your schedule significantly?”

“Enough to see some people, like my family,” she nodded.

“And your boyfriend?”

“What boyfriend?” Alyssa playfully raised an eyebrow.

“Your hockey player boyfriend,” Mike answered. “He’s pretty good you know. A beast on the ice. I hear he’s pretty good in the sack, too.”

Alyssa burst out laughing, but Mike silenced her with a kiss.

A few days later, Alyssa was finally able to get a flight to Chicago, excited to be able to at least spend New Years Eve and New Years Day with her family. She walked up the steps to her family’s house, all their Christmas present’s in her hands. A few days ago she would have been excited to see their faces upon opening these gifts, but now she just wanted to see their faces for the sake of seeing their faces.

She laughed at that thought as she waited for someone to answer the door. A moment later her mother flung open the door, pulling Alyssa inside immediately and wrapping her in a hug. The rest of her family followed soon after, and the presents were pushed to the side to be worried about later.

“And who is this?” Alyssa’s dad asked, motioning to the person Alyssa had brought with her.

“Hi, I’m Mike Komisarek, defensemen for the Toronto Maple Leafs. And I’m your daughter’s boyfriend.”

Mike had since found out Alyssa’s last name, but realized he forgot it when he was in front of her dad and had no idea how to greet him.

Oh well, that inner voice said. You can always call him Mr. Future Komisarek-in-law.

Alyssa smiled over at him as his mom pulled him in for a hug and his dad shook his hand. Alyssa couldn’t explain how her life had completely changed over the last few days, but she knew that she owed everything to Mike, a random stranger who later became the love of her life.