Light Up My Life

Conor was beyond nervous. This was the first holiday season with his girlfriend, Cameron. Conor had no idea how to celebrate Hanukkah. He knew about the menorah and the eight days of gifts. That was a given and he had learned all that back in third grade. The presents were bought and hidden in his closet. But was he supposed to buy a Christmas tree? Would Cam be offended if he did? Was there even a Hanukkah equivalent to a Christmas tree? He wanted Cam to have a great holiday season since it was her first away from her family. He didn’t want anything to be missing for her.

“Conor, where are you? I brought take-out for dinner,” Cameron’s gentle voice echoed.

Conor took one last look at the sixteen professionally wrapped gifts in his closet before he walked out to the living room. Cameron sat on the couch with two take-out bags on the coffee table. She was too busy with her boots to notice him staring with a soft smile on his lips. It had been almost a full year of them together but he already knew that he was completely and happily in love with the brunette. She had been there for this AHL season and never once was scared away by his hard work ethic for hockey. He admired how caring she was for being in the stands for his home games no matter what.

He walked over to Cameron and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before he peeked at the food. Of course she had gotten chicken tenders and fries. Conor was pretty sure that if they were to ever get to the marriage stage, there would be chicken tenders and fries at the reception. He was perfectly content with that idea too. If anyone had asked him in college if he’d be this sure of a woman, he probably would have looked at them as if they had five heads. People didn’t fall in love this quickly without there being a fallout. Cameron had completely changed his mind and he was totally okay with that.

“Tonight’s the first night of Ch—Hanukkah. Damn it…I don’t think I’ll ever say your holidays right,” he noted.

“You’ll learn, babe. But it’s the thought that counts,” Cameron replied before she planted a kiss on his lips.

The two devoured their dinner with little conversation. Conor was deep in thought about how empty the living room looked without a Christmas tree. Cameron was deep in thought about how to tell him how she felt about him.

Sunset came and Conor watched in awe as Cameron lit the first night’s candle with the prayer. He watched as her sterling silver Star of David pendant glistened in the light.

“Are you ready for your gifts?” he asked as he reached for her hand.

Conor led her back to the living room and lit a fire in the fire place. He hurried to his closet and randomly chose two gifts. They weren’t the extravagant gifts he wanted to buy her but Cam wasn’t that kid of girl. She didn’t care about the price tag. She cared about the thought put into the gift. Conor returned and Cameron was on her phone. She looked up and a blush flooded her cheeks.

He handed her the two gifts and sat next to her. She ripped open the first gift to find a framed picture of the two of them. It was one that his mother, Robin, had taken when he took her to Massachusetts to meet his family. He had the color removed so it was black and white and the frame was shiningly new. Conor had no idea the picture was even taken until he asked his mother for help with gift ideas. The picture of the two of them sharing a kiss on the porch swing of his childhood home.

“Conor, this is beautiful. I love it,” Cameron cooed.

“Good. My mom helped with that one. I was worried you wouldn’t like the picture,” Conor rambled.
“Stop…I love it. I’ll have to send your mom a thank you text later,”

The second gift was a bit pricier. It was a pair of platinum diamond earrings. Cameron looked at the earrings and attempted to hand them back. Conor knew that he didn’t make much compared to NHL players. He also knew that Cameron was far from using him for what little money he did have.

“They’re a gift and I wouldn’t have gotten them if I didn’t have the money,” Conor explained.

“They look so expensive, Conor. It wouldn’t be fair. You work so hard for that money,” Cameron sighed sadly.

He knew she really loved them already. Conor smiled to himself before he leaned over to kiss her cheek. She wouldn’t take her eyes off of the small earrings.

“Yes, I do. And when I get to the NHL, I’m going to work just as hard to buy you more beautiful things,”

Before Cameron could stop them, tears fell from her blue eyes. She tried to look away from Conor so that he didn’t see. But he was too quick. Conor wrapped his strong arms around her and held her close. She could feel his heartbeat from her position against his chest. Simple actions like this one were what had her falling hard in the beginning.

Cameron had been so hesitant to tell Conor of her devout Judaism. People didn’t understand. While she didn’t keep kosher, she did go to synagogue and she did celebrate the Jewish holidays. Conor had been surprisingly understanding of her devoutness. He went with her to synagogue and learned the stories of Passover, Hanukkah, etc. She, in turn, attended church with Conor for Easter. She also said she’d attend midnight mass with him for Christmas if he was home. Conor had been so willing to learn for her, it was only fair on her part to learn his religion.

“We have to talk,” Cameron whispered.

She could feel Conor stiffen. She knew those four words never started something good. She’d heard it before from ex-boyfriends and she knew Conor had heard it from ex-girlfriends. But she hoped that it would have a different outcome.

They had turned out the lights and popped in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It happened to be their favorite holiday movie. Cameron had her body half on top of Conor’s with her head on his chest. She felt Conor’s eyes on her so she sat up.

“I feel so silly…it’s hasn’t even been a year with you yet. But I love you, Conor. You’ve been so understanding and wonderful to me. It’s okay if you don’t feel the same,” Cameron said while she focused her eyes on her fingers.

She felt Conor pull her upper body into his then his lips were on hers. She wanted to pull away and ask what he was doing. But she understood it perfectly. He felt the same.

“I love you too, Cam. I don’t care how short of time it’s been with you. You’ve been the only woman to understand my schedule. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy before,”

The rest of Hanukkah flew by with Conor consistently spoiling Cameron. No matter how times she asked him to return the more expensive gifts, Conor always gently refused since they had been gifts out of love. Before the two knew it, Conor got the call from the Penguins. He was going to Pittsburgh. Without a second thought, Cameron packed a suitcase and went with him. She was there in Consol when he scored his first NHL goal against the Bruins. She saw how happy Pittsburgh made Conor. She wished that they would keep him. There was nothing that could make December better for them. Conor had Cameron and his dream in the NHL. Cameron had Conor and one semester left of college. Both of their lives were full of happiness and light.