I Never Told You

The holidays had arrived. I had a great first term in college. Met some great friends and knew my way around some parts of Stockholm like the back of my hand. Bea was a great help in adjusting to the school system in Scotland. It was tad bit different from home, but not by much. A little bit more strict was about all.

I had called my mom about Christmas holidays and whether or not I was going to go back home or not. She had suggested I stay, which after a little convincing from Bea, and a couple of my new found friends, I agreed. My mom had made plans to ship my gifts to me, so I could open them on Christmas morning. I had a small surprise up my sleeve for that one.

After the last day of school before the month-long holiday break began, Bea and I were decorating the house while her mother was busy out running errands. While we wrapping the tree with tinsel, the phone rang. Bea rang to answer it.

“Hello.” I heard her say. “Oh, hi Gabe.”

My ears perked up. I looked over at Bea, who thankfully had her back to me, with a smile on my face. I listened in closely to Bea talk, not really paying attention to decorating anymore. I was fidgeting with some tinsel in my hands when Bea looked over at me, trying to make myself look immersed in a task rather than eavesdropping. I looked up and raised an eyebrow at her. She smiled over at me. I rolled my eyes and ran upstairs to grab some of the other decorations. Bea had hid some that she wanted to hang on the tree before her mom had a chance to stop her. I had kept the bag in my room, since Cecelia very seldom went in there. Forgetting where I had placed it, I began to dig through some of the piles of clutter that have accumulated since I started going on bi-weekly shopping trips with Bea. I was knee-deep in shopping bags when a knock on my door startled me.

“It’s open.” I yelled, knowing it was Bea. She opened my door and stuck her head in.

“Hey.” She smiled. “I guess you heard that I was on the phone with Gabe.”

I nodded and I saw her smile grow.

“And you’re sure about not going home for the holidays?”

I nodded slowly, not really knowing where she was going with this.

“Well then, pack your bags.” I raised my eyebrow. “We’re going to Colorado.”