Ache With Me

I dropped my backpack by the door and then did one last sweep through my apartment to make sure everything was in order and that Cheshire was settled in her crate. I was going to my parents’ house in Mt. Baker for Christmas and I had to bring her along for the trip. I couldn’t leave my baby unattended for too long.

My phone started buzzing in my pocket. “Hi Daddy.” I said. “Are you downstairs?”

“Yeah, come on out. See you in a bit.” I hung up and slung my backpack over one shoulder. A few minutes later I was opening the passenger door of my dad’s car.

“Hi baby.” Dad said, leaning over to kiss my cheek. His dark hair was starting to go gray at the temples and he had a few more wrinkles, but he was still the same man I’d known and loved all my life. Everyone seemed to think I took after him and I just had weird eyes from somewhere back in my family tree. That was a lie of course. Both of my parents were whiter than Wonderbread, and no one in my family had green eyes. But it made people uncomfortable to just have someone blurt out that they were adopted, so I let them think what they wanted.

Nicholas and Marcy Ashworth had adopted me from an orphanage near Port Angeles when I was about six months old. All they really knew was that my mother had placed me in the orphanage and that I was half Canadian and half Japanese. Avery, my adoptive sister, was only five or six when I got there, so we grew up as close as real siblings. I loved my family, and I couldn’t love them more even if they were my biological family.

Mt. Baker was only ten minutes away, so soon we pulled up in front of the old stone house I’d grown up in. Based on the cars parked outside, my aunt and her family and Avery were already here. I grabbed my bag and Cheshire’s crate and raced up the front path, bursting into the house.

“Honey, I’m home!” I bellowed, rather enjoying the way the house seemed to shake.

“Will you keep that racket down?” My mom said as she came around the corner. She looked exactly the same as she always did: soft blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, and a big smile on her face. “It’s good to see you honey.”

“Good to see you too Mom.” I let go of her and embraced my sister next. Avery looked like a carbon copy of our mom, if a little taller and slimmer. Then my brother in law James, who looked perpetually serious but was actually the biggest practical joker I’d ever met. My aunt Milly was here, with her husband Jack and their two grown children, Lori and Mark. As soon as we’d said our hellos, we started carrying the food into the kitchen. Dad had been a little late in picking me up because of the Christmas Eve traffic, but it all worked out because it meant I didn’t have to wait around too long to eat. My mom made the best Christmas dinner and I was just dying to dig into it.

And dig in we did. By the end of the meal, I was extremely glad I’d picked a dress with a high waist line so my bulging stomach was free to balloon out from under it. After cleaning up and putting everything away, we congregated in the living room to drink eggnog. Since all of us were of age, Uncle Jack had just bought the alcoholic kind and so soon we were all full of a rosy glow that had very little to do with Christmas cheer. We stayed up playing cards and cheesy board games and drinking until the clock struck midnight. Then we started passing out presents.

As much as I know that Christmas is all about being with your family and celebrating togetherness and stuff like that, I fucking loved getting presents and giving presents. There was nothing better than seeing someone unwrap something you gave them and getting that smile on their face that just makes you know you did the right thing. Like when my mom unwrapped a massive box that I’d given her and pulled out a canvas carefully swaddled in tissue paper.

“Oh my God, Lily, how did you afford this?” She gasped, unwrapping the painting. It was one of Max’s Alice in Wonderland paintings, a series that had been featured in the newspaper quite prominently. I’d gotten my love of the stories from my mom so I thought it was the perfect gift.

“I know the artist.” I shrugged, leaving out the fact that before said artist had left for London last week, he’d been on top of me in my bed, kissing me senseless.

“That sounds very suspicious.” Avery said, lifting one eyebrow. My sister always could tell when I was leaving stuff out. Mark and Lori chimed in their agreement.

“Okay, okay, I’ve been dating Max Brooks for a few months.” I admitted, if only to shut them up.

“Why didn’t you bring him with you?” Dad asked, probably grumpy he hadn’t gotten to meet him and intimidate him.

“He went to London to see his family.” I missed him terribly but I wasn’t going to tell anyone that. I quickly changed the subject and we went back to opening our presents. I ended up with a pretty great haul of presents by the end of the night. Around three, we all decided it was time to turn in. I was sharing with Lori on the pull out couch, since Avery and James were taking her old room and Milly and Jack had mine. Poor Mark had to sleep on the floor since there were no more available surfaces to sleep on. I had a feeling he’d squeeze in with us during the night if he could.

Later that morning, when we’d all slept as much as we could, we got up and began the Ashworth family brunch: pancakes, eggs, bacon, roasted potatoes, sliced fruit, you name it and we ate it. Dad drove me home in the afternoon so I could get some rest before I had to go back to work tomorrow.

When I got into my loft, I let my cat out, then figured out what time it was in London. It was a little late to be calling, but I was sure Max was still awake. I flopped onto my bed and dialed his number.

“Hi Lily.” He said, picking up after the first ring. “How was your Christmas?”

“Good. Would have been better if we were together.” I couldn’t help saying that last bit. I did miss him a lot. We’d exchanged gifts before he left; I’d gotten him a sketchbook and a set of nice pastels since he told me he wanted to try them out, and he gave me a new camera bag that was bigger than the one I had before.

“I miss you too.” I heard sounds like he was rolling over in bed. “I’ll be home in a few days.”

“The bed is kind of lonely without you.” He spent most nights over here with me, since it was easier to sleep here than have to drive me back in the morning to get ready for work.

“I’m so used to you kicking me in the middle of the night its strange to wake up without sore shins.”

“I don’t kick you! I may talk in my sleep but I don’t kick.”

“Whatever you say love.” He laughed, the sound quickly turning into a yawn.

“Go to sleep, I just wanted to hear your voice for a bit.”

“Okay. Good night Lily. Happy Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas Max. Good night.” We hung up and I curled onto my side, missing him even more.