Unwrapping Holly

We walked a dozen steps in silence, while my words sunk in. I hoped I was getting to her. It was tough to tell.

“He could go to the University, Andrea,” I said. “You’re both students, both in subsidized housing. If he took this up with them you’d get thrown out of school.”

Her head spun my way. She looked suddenly terrified.

“Would he…. Is he…”

“No, Brody’s not like that,” I said dismissively. “You know he isn’t.”

The girl walking alongside me let out a long, deep breath. In the bitter cold, the steam leaving her mouth looked like dragon’s fire.

“I… I know,” Andrea admitted. “He’s great. That’s part of what makes this so hard, seeing him with someone else. Seeing him with you.”

I nodded in acknowledgment. “He doesn’t know what to say to you, Andrea. He doesn’t know how to act around you. It’s uncomfortable for the both of you, not just yourself.”

“I… I can’t afford to move out. The school pays for a good chunk of the rent, and—”

“Brody isn’t happy there either,” I said. “And not because of you,” I added quickly, “he just needs more space. Four people, one living area. One television. Ugh! How do you ever decide what to watch?”

More silence. More walking. We were almost out of the park.

“You both need to move on,” I said. “It’s not going to get better until you’re not in each other’s faces anymore.”

Andrea jammed her hands in her pockets. Her expression was still miserable.

“He’s staying with you, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” I replied. “But whatever happens next, he probably needs to get out of that apartment. For your sanity as well as his.”

Out in the street, we walked a little more. A delicious aroma reached my nostrils, and ten steps later I found myself buying a hot pretzel. The street vendor smiled at us and wished us both a merry Christmas, which was funny, in an odd sort of way. To anyone looking at us for the first time, we could’ve been friends.

“Here.”

Tearing the pretzel down the middle, I handed half of it to her. She hesitated only a second before accepting it gratefully.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it,” I smiled. “As delicious as street pretzels are, I think I bought it more to keep my hands warm.”

Andrea actually laughed, and we both stopped walking at the same time. She tiled her head to stare at me.

“You know, for a bitch I really hate you’re not half bad,” she chuckled.

I grinned right back at her. “Well as far as psycho ex-girlfriends go, you’re pretty reasonable yourself.”

Fifty-Eight

HOLLY

“Alright,” said Lincoln, taking the Santa hat from Donovan’s head. He plopped it down on his own and pulled it tight. It barely fit. “My turn.”

We watched as he took his place in front of tree, kicking aside a big pile of discarded wrapping paper. Everyone else had gone already. Everyone else had given their gifts.

“Best for last?” Brody asked hopefully.

“You’ll soon find out.”

Lincoln’s studio apartment was bigger than five of mine, a contemporary masterpiece of steel and glass. Every pi