Christmas Morning

"Tell me I'm ugly, Just tell me."

Kath sighed. " Well, probably you're just going though that time of the month." Outside it was just beginning to drizzle as they sat at their favorite hang-out spot.

Shannon slurped on her near-empty Starbucks, looking across at her best friend's almost untouched one. "All I want for Christmas is a guy who would appreciate me. Is that too much to ask?"

"Maybe you're barking up the wrong tree. I thought Andy's a nice guy, maybe you shouldn't have left him."

"Oh, him? Puh-leeze, I'm already over him. He's not exactly mmm, how would you say, exciting enough for me. Just an old douche-bag, well mannered la-ti-da kind of guy. He's nice, but not for me. End of story."

"Look Shannon, maybe you shouldn't keep finding. Who knows, maybe the right one will come eventually. Anyway it's Christmas eve already, can you even expect anything extraordinary to happen tomorrow?"


Later that evening, Shannon got dressed for dinner as the relatives came to visit. As usual, Mama got a giant turkey running out of the oven and got the approval of the whole table with her Caesar salad.

"I bet 10 bucks, that you can't say how the Caesar salad got its name." said Grandpa over a mouthful of salad.

"It must be from the emperor Caesar, Dad." piped in Mama.

"No, it was from an Italian immigrant who does restaurants in Mexico and the US. Hah!" chuckled Grandpa like a 4 year-old who said something funny.


Shannon didn't join in when Aunt Rachael suggested Pictionary after desserts. All she wanted to do was to flop on her bed and dream about anything at all. Her mind started to wonder as she subconsciously drowned out the laughter coming from the living room directly below.

I haven't thought about Andy in a while, I wonder how he's doing right now. But I like someone else now, and he's all I want. He's my close friend, but I don't know whether he feels the same way about me.


Shannon awoke the next morning, racing down the stairs 2 steps at a time and Eagerly tearing open the presents with shrieks of surprise. A purple top from Papa, earrings from Mama, a cute handmade card from little Johnny and a box of candy from Grandpa.

*Ding dong*

Who could be at the door at this weather? It's snowing. Plus it's Christmas morning, thought Shannon.

"Shannon would you get the door?" yelled Mama from the kitchen.

Shannon curiously complied. There was no one there, save a nicely wrapped box with a note on it.

It read:

"There's nothing more I would like to do than to spend this Christmas with you, but I guess in this situation this present has to make do. Merry Christmas Shannon."
-Andy

All the past emotions, all the hurt, all the good times came back in an instant.

A guy who cared, but whom she didn't like that much anymore; or the one whom she cared about, but may not have feelings for her?

She thought it over in her tiny heart.