A Lost Christmas Eve

Ms. Young in her bed had suddenly realized she had awoken. She turned over and moved her long flowing hair out of her face. She yawned as she began to stagger out of bed. It was cold in the house so she quickly threw on a Seahawks sweat shirt, and placed her feet in her slippers. She looked out her bedroom window, and saw a dark gloomy day with many clouds in the sky. She smiled though because she just realized it was Christmas Eve, and she was praying Ben could make it tonight for dinner. Ms. Young left her room for the kitchen where she started up the coffee maker.

She was in a good mood this morning for two reasons. First off, her mother was leaving town this afternoon for Las Vegas. Her mother had celebrated Christmas there for years ever since her parents had divorced. Her mother had become a blackjack fanatic to fill the time, and had become a serious player at many professional tournaments. Ms. Young was an excellent card player herself taught by her mother over the years. It was really the only thing they had in common. It's also part of the reason Ms. Young loved games, risking taking, and she hated to lose.

Ms. Young didn't have much contact with her father during her teens, or even now. He lived clear across the country in Washington D.C., and had little time for her. During high school, and even a year during college she found herself alone in a casino hotel room for Christmas Eve. She hated the holidays because they always made her feel lonely, and even unloved.

The other reason she was cheerful was that she was waiting for Ben to tell her whether, or not he was coming over for Christmas Eve. His parents had suddenly considered changing their plans. They decided to travel to San Francisco to see his uncle's brand new baby girl. Ben was going to try to convince his parents he had to stay in Seattle, and work at part time job he had recently gotten. The job was mostly a cover to be with Ms. Young, but there was no guarantee his parents would let him stay behind. She thought to herself how wonderful it would be if the two of them could be together tonight. She didn't want to consider the possibility of them not being together tonight.

"Mother," she yelled as she pulled out the egg carton from the refrigerator. She walked out of the kitchen, and yelled again, "Mother? Are you up?"

"Yes Monica you don't have to yell anymore," her mother replied from her bedroom down the hall.

Ms. Young was in such a good mood she offered to cook breakfast. "I'm cooking; do you want any eggs, and bacon?" She headed back towards the kitchen.

Her mother came down the hall at that moment. "How about French toast," she asked happily.

Ms. Young rolled her eyes as she pulled out several eggs and placed them on the counter. She whispered to herself in a sarcastic voice, "Oh yeah I'll just whip that up for you." Her mother entered the kitchen waiting for an answer.

"Mom I'm kind of under the gun this morning. If you want French toast you'll have to make it." She reached into a cupboard, pulled out two coffee mugs, and placed them next to the brewer.

"All right, over easy please." Her mother left the kitchen, but soon returned with the newspaper. Ms Young pulled out a frying pan and got the gas range fired up. She poured coffee into the two mugs, and handed one to her mother. "Thank you," her mother took a sip and then placed the mug on the kitchen table. "You're on break; what are all these things you have to do?"

"Well I thought I'd make ravioli tonight."

"Just for yourself," her mother questioned.

"That's right. Don't worry I'll save you some." She cracked an egg on the pan and poured it into the frying pan.

"No plans?" She turned the page of the newspaper.

"You know I never have plans on Christmas. My mother abandons me, and my father is to busy for me." She took a quick sip of coffee as she flipped the eggs in the pan.

"Oh are we having another pity party honey?" She flipped another page of the newspaper as she quietly laughed at her own comment.

Ms. Young sighed while she pushed the bacon around with a fork. She almost wanted to laugh at that comment too. "You brought it up mother."

"You know you're more than welcome to spend Christmas with me."

Ms. Young rolled her eyes, and faced her mother. "Why would I want to spend the holiday in a smoke filled casino getting hit on by a bunch of drunks? Don't you find that a bit depressing?"

"Not when I come home with 7,500 dollars." Ms. Young just shook her head in mild disgust. "I don't understand why you can't find a man? Aren't there male teachers at your school?"

"Here we go," Ms. Young replied in a loud voice.

"Well I'm sorry honey; you don't want to live with me forever?"

"We both know why I'm here, and by some miracle I'll be out of here by summer." She pulled out a plate and began to place the eggs and bacon on it.

"What about sex?" She turned her head, and lowered the newspaper.

"What?" Ms. Young's eyes and mouth both went wide.

"Well Monica it has to have been awhile, and it's a fact…"

Ms. Young cut her off, "…ok that's it." With the plate of food in her hand she turned to face her mother. "I don't need a man to complete my life, and I'm definitely not talking to my pain in the ass mother about my sex life!"

"Don't you mean lack of?"

She slammed the plate on the table, "Here, enjoy your damn breakfast." She quickly turned and left the kitchen.

"Are you going to do the dishes," her mother questioned.

Ms. Young let out a loud groan as she slammed her bedroom door.

Her mother inspected a piece of bacon, "Hmm, overcooked."

Ms. Young sat at her desk and began looking in a mirror. "Clam down; oh God you've have to get an apartment soon," she spoke to herself. Her cell phone suddenly rang, "Ben," she said, and stumbled out her chair to find it. She frantically searched for it in her bed, and on the forth ring she hit the talk button. "Ben, Ben is that you?"

"Yeah, hi Monica."

She smiled wide as she pushed her hair out her face. "Oh it's so good to hear your voice babe. So, so, are we on for tonight. Please tell me we are?"

"I have some good news, and some bad news," Ben explained in a sad voice.

Ms. Young's smile was quickly replaced with a worried look. "Ok what, just give me the bad news now," she commanded as she began pacing out frustration.

"No I'm kidding there's no bad news." Ben laughed as he sat on his bed.

Her smile returned as quickly as it had disappeared. "We're on? You're coming over tonight," she excitedly asked.

"I can hardly wait to come over."

"Ah," she exhaled loudly and fell back on her bed. "Ben Conner if I didn't love you so much I'd kill you."

Ben laughed and slapped his knee, "I'm sorry. So what's the plan?"

"I was hoping you weren't counting on the traditional Christmas goose and stuffing," she frowned as she asked him.

"No, no, as long as I'm with you I don't care."

"Ok I was planning on making ravioli," she stated.

"Make? You mean from scratch," he questioned in a surprised voice.

"Oh yeah; you'll love it."

"I didn't know you could cook? Isn't this a lot of trouble?"

"There are a few dishes where I am an expert." She rolled over and rested on her stomach. "I use a type of mushroom that's supposed to be an aphrodisiac."

Ben was confused, "Aphro what?"

She laughed, and in a low, and passionate voice, "Mr. Conner you need to work on your vocabulary. Your English teacher would be somewhat embarrassed that you don't know that word."

A little self-conscious he laughed, "I'll get on it."

She spoke up, "Oh, yeah it is a lot of trouble, but you're worth it. This will be our first dinner not from a drive-thur, and eaten in my car. This is huge! So is six tonight all right? You're going to dress up right?"

"Uh, yeah, ok," he immediately started rummaging through his closet.

"Ok then. I'll see you at six. I've missed you."

He stopped searching, "I've missed you too...goodbye."

Ms. Young screamed in joy and ran to open her door. Her huge smile turned to a blank expression when she saw her mother standing outside the door. "Yes mother," she asked in an annoyed monotone voice."

"You'll drop me off at the airport at two this afternoon?"

"Yes mother," she responded in the same voice.

"What was that scream for?"

She looked at her mother with an alarmed expression. "Uh, nothing…I mean there's was a spider. It's dead now."

"Ok," her mother answered a bit puzzled. She walked down the hall to her bedroom.