I'm just a little ray of pitch black

 

Why did he make her feel so damn beautiful? Crystal didn't mean to fall for it. All CW had to look at her with those puppy eyes of his, and before she knew it, she had him hugged up tight to her breasts.

He was a pitiful thing when he got his wisdom teeth out. Honestly, he was right pitiful before then, but she was gonna take care of him, even if Darry's family came through at the end. Sure, CW still had a bit to pay, but it could have been bigger, and Darry's dentist dad got a credit system all filled out. Money would be deducted from CW's paycheck until it was clear.

He was wozzy then, and she knew no one else was going to be there for him for Christmas. What in the world was she thinking? Had she let him move in? Honestly, that was not the plan. Just a friend helping a friend. Add in the holidays, and somebody who could only eat soft things.

She didn't know what to think of herself now. Even CW  said she'd changed.

"What happened to your curls?" He asked one morning.

"I have curls," She looked at him laying there next to her in her precious bed that she just didn't share with anyone.

"No, you don't."

Oh, he was clueless. What did she see in him? Oh, she was clueless. She knew. She was just going to push him right out.  She did a lot of talking, hoping she'd make him spitting mad and he'd slam the door behind him. CW did no such thing.

He listened. "That really happened to you when you weren't even twelve?" He said it was awful hear of the abuse she'd been through, yet he made it all sound like it made her a stronger person. "You're the strongest person I know."

It was hard for her to decide if he was the most amazing person she'd met or plain stupid. It depended on what time of the day she thought about it. By nightfall, she knew she wanted him here and she'd make the best of it.

So let me tell you a little story

 "Well, this is so terrible," CW didn't know how he could best console Darry over the breakup with Junie. "She said it was only a break."

"Well, it's final, I'm not going back." Darry stayed even-tempered, but CW knew he was thinking the worst. "She wants someone who's obviously not a virgin."

"A virgin?" CW looked at him as if they were talking about religion. They had time to talk at Crystal's place. She was out grocery shopping, which probably meant an extra hour at Dollar Tree too. 

"What?" Darry looked at him seriously as they sat on the sofa, talking while snacking on a pretzel mix. CW was better, but he hadn't left Crysals for some unknown reason.

"Nothing." CW  shook his head, no. "I get you. I do."

"Oh, really, is that so. So what's up with you and Crystal?" Darry told him he should be at his own place.

"Well," CW winced, mentioning the holidays. He wasn't sure if he wanted Darry to know, "We..we made love with our clothes on."

Darry shook with laughter. "How do you do that, man?" Darry smirked.

"I don't exactly know," CW wished he was closed lipped about the matter. "I kept my eyes closed."

Darry grinned from ear to ear then. "God, you know something? We are so much alike."

He sighed then as if it didn't matter now with Junie. 

"You could get her back." But then CW said she hadn't shown up for work. "Do you know where she could be?"

"No, I went to the Youth Center, hoping I could find her, but I found somebody else." 

Darry kept his elbows propped on the knees of his jeans in thought.

"You found somebody else?" CW squinted.

"Oh, it's not what you think- she's a middle schooler. But it felt nice to have someone to talk to."

"You better be careful, man. She's a lot younger than you." CW reminded him.

"Just five years. I'm not dating her. But-"

"But what?"

Darry's hair was in his eyes.

"Um, maybe some day." He shrugged. "I can wait."

CW doubted that, but whatever. 

Hello 2026

 "You think you're the only one going through growing pains?" Gage's smile was open, but he was tired of listening to Alfie go on and on about how Lucas was growing and almost walking.

They were finally getting together after the holidays. Perhaps, they were starting the new year together, over coffee and leftover Christmas cookies and pie.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound, you know, mad or anything. It's just one thing leads to another, and I wish we could find a house." Alfie shrugged and dipped an oatmeal cookie into his coffee, then ate it.

"Alec," Gage shook his head in thought. "I hardly know him anymore. I don't want him growing so fast either, but they can't be babies forever."

"You're telling me, my mother bought Lucas clothes for a fifteen-month-old, and he can grow into them-" Alfie shook his head as if it was all going too fast.

Gage chuckled. He knew Alfie wasn't really listening. "We have to be happy and enjoy this. Not bicker about it. There's nothing to be sad about, and you know that. We need to be thankful and be the dads we should be."

Even so, Gage did worry about Alec. He didn't want Alec to make mistakes, but he knew that was part of growing up. He didn't know if he was a soft parent; maybe he was. He'd done his best to be there for Alec when he could. He knew it was Nora who'd help so much in raising him. 

Alec knew about chores. He knew how to cook. He knew how to help out with his baby sister. Nora was the one who made time to teach him how to do a layup and throw a baseball. Yet, Alec wasn't afraid to tell them his own worries, and Gage wasn't sure how that happened. Maybe he didn't need to know. He hoped they could navigate these teen years together. 

"Don't you feel so old now?" Alfie asked.

"No," Gage cracked up. Maybe he'd always feel young even if his lower back wasn't as great as it used to be, but he didn't feel that right now. He was happy to come this far and hoped the future was bright, even if there were so many uncertainties in the world.

There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort

 

Tyra wished they could have stayed home for Christmas, but she knew that would be selfish.

"We've got New Year's," Naoki reminded her. They'd just finished up all the leftovers that everyone gave them. Although Tyra gave the Christmas cookies to the squirrels. "And you know how happy you were to see how much your mom loved getting that new electric tea kettle and the Village Inn gift cards, and the fleece jacket we found at the last minute."

Tyra and Naoki actually went  Christmas shopping and found everything at ROSS or Marshalls, which was close to where they lived. 

"I know, I know, it was a good Christmas." Tyra gave in with a hug on the couch as they were watching a fire in a fireplace on their smart TV. She sighed. It was quiet for a while, nestled in each other's arms, wearing matching pajamas. They hadn't spent too much on each other. Just little quickies of lust, sometimes in the livingroom, but in the steamy shower, and of course, the bedroom. 

Tyra looked around their place. "We should decorate."

"Really?" 

They didn't have a tree this year. There just wasn't time for one. Of course, they could have, but that just wasn't them.  Now Tyra felt they should make the condo more of a home. Her sister Millie and KC had found time to make a statement wall in their living room with something of a cottage core theme, dotting in pictures of when they were little or together. Some of it was cheap art that her sister either thrifted or crafted from old calendars. They had a tree, and practically every stuffed animal her little sister had had since she was in elementary school adorned the tree.

"Millie seems happy," Tyra mentioned about her apartment with KC. Tyra and Naoki had spent Christmas Eve dinner with them. It was just pasta and meatballs, but it was a sweet occasion while her parents had dinner with Naoki's mother and Joe.

"We should invite Millie and KC over for New Year's Eve." Tyra decided.

"Really?"

"Yes, we can do this, she told him. They could stay over." She looked him in the eye as if it were the right thing to do.

"OK." Naoki nodded as if he understood.

"But first we have to make this place cozy," She got up as if she was ready to make these bare walls home.

"Cozy?" Naoki winced. He switched to YouTube, then on the TV. "We're going to need some video to be inspired."