Together by This Christmas Tree

john o'callaghan

I dropped Cally off at her apartment, kissing her forehead and making a date for tomorrow night at eight, before returning to the war zone. Not first without a call to Garrett and Kennedy, my relationships gurus. “How do I break it off with Sumner without telling her about Cally?” I said by way of hello, and they sounded pleased.

“You made a move, finally, John Oh?” Kennedy asked, shifting the phone against his face and evidently, smirking. “Good, you and Cally are perfect for each other, and besides, she was head over heels in love with you.”

“Funny how it only took twenty three days for you to fall in love.” And suddenly, it hit me. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve. I suddenly had a plan, and it involved my guitar and the lyrics rolling through my head. Evidently, England changed my perception of time.

“Yeah, but how do I break up with Sumner? I mean, she did cheat on me while I was gone, but I can’t let-” I shook my head. I was so stupid. “Never mind, I figured it out.” Kennedy chuckled.

“Are you going to go out with Cally tomorrow night? After all, she hates Christmas more than anything else.” Garrett sounded concerned for her somehow, but I understood. Garrett and he were best friends. “And besides, you didn’t hear that her and Pat broke up before she went to England-”

Shit. I had completely forgotten that she and Pat were together. But it made me feel better than she broke up with him before we went to England, hell, she probably dumped him for me, and that made me queasy. I wasn’t that good, hell, I was an awful person.

“Guys, I have to go.” It was now or never, and I opened the dark red door and Sumner sat there, her bags packed, her eyes misty, and some huge black dude sitting on my fucking couch. This was going to be interesting.

“So, she’s pregnant with this guy’s baby?” Cally asked, her voice quiet into the phone. The argument and shock with Sumner had taken up most of the day, and it was now 9:30, and Cally sounded exhausted.

“Yes, Cally!” I said, still angry. Sumner had been sleeping with this guy since the first time we broke up, and she was three months pregnant with his kid, and thought she could somehow slip it by me, but since we hadn’t slept together in all the time we had been together this time around, she was running out of options.

Cally seemed to shrink down, and spoke quietly. “John, don’t get angry with me. It isn’t my fault Sumner’s a whore, okay?” And things began to sour as Cally sighed. “John, I’m sorry, but isn’t this a good thing? Her cheating compared to your cheating is negligent.”

“I know, baby, I know,” I whispered, and ran my fingers through my hair, suddenly wide awake. “Will you come stay with me tonight, Cally?” I murmured, running my fingers through my hair. Cally chuckled.

“What happened to doing this the old-fashioned way?” Cally murmured back, sounding more exhausted then I was. “I think sharing the same bed does not qualify.” I groaned, despite my plans. “I’ll stay on the phone with you, if you like.”

“No, that’s okay, I have a song to write,” I said, and Cally chuckled again. “Night, love, sweet dreams, Cally McGregor.” She laughed, and her laugh was like bells, a sound I couldn’t wait to hear again.

“Goodnight, John. I’ll see you tomorrow, love,” She said, her British accent smirking past everything she spoke as a dial tone hung through my iPhone. I laughed and shook my head, more in love with Cally than I had been before, and I picked up my guitar from its corner and more paper and my lucky pen.

I began strumming a long intro, words flowing through my head and my lips as I messed around, finally writing my perfect Christmas song.

“John, look, okay? Don’t blame Brad. He and I were meant to be but I still loved you-” Sumner was pleading with me now, like she had anything of value left to say. I shook my head.

“No, you didn’t. You loved my money, my fame, you loved my fucking face, Sumner, not the way Cally loves me-” Sumner’s eyes narrowed, and Brad muttered something about waiting in the car, and calmly walked out.

“So, Cally.” Sumner was clearly pissed. “You cheated on me?” She said, her face turning red. I laughed, quite literally, in her face.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Sumner! You’re pregnant with somebody else’s kid! And to think, I almost let someone great like CALLY slip through my fingers because of you.” I was furious now, my fingernails making little crescents in my palms and had began to bleed down onto the floor. “Get out of my fucking house, Sumner, or I swear I will make sure you wish you were never born.”

I woke with a start, my guitar strings leaving indents on my cheeks as someone bustled around in the kitchen, and I was surprised to see Cally standing there, an omelet in a plastic baggie and being shaken out onto a plate. She smiled. “Morning sunshine!” She handed me the omelet, and Garrett, who had the spare key to my apartment, came out of the bathroom with an omelet in hand. I groaned.

“That’s disgusting, Gare,” I said, and he kissed my cheek, laughing and flopping next to me, and I was struck by how fucking sweet Cally was, too.