8. Thanksgiving

Chrissy reveals some of her dark past.

Strong language warning!

It was Thanksgiving Day and Ian was depressed. He sat on his sofa alone and in pain. He had spent the past week and a half confined to his apartment recovering from an emergency appendectomy. The time crawled by at a snail's pace. He had dropped a hint to Chrissy that he had no plans for Thanksgiving dinner, but she either hadn't heard him or had just ignored him.

He sighed.

He had had plenty of time to ponder his strange relationship with Chrissy - if they had a relationship. They really didn't know each other that well, nor had they known each other very long. They had had sex twice, but that had been purely physical. They weren't in love or anything. They were barely friends.

He was surprised when Chrissy had shown real concern for him when he'd gotten sick, staying at the hospital for nearly twelve hours until he was out of danger. Then she'd volunteered to take care of him after he was released and stayed at his apartment, sleeping on his sofa. Her bedside manner left much to be desired, though! She was stern and bossy much of the time and they bickered a lot. She especially gave him a hard time whenever he wanted his pain medication. When he asked her about it, though, she became evasive.

But they had some enjoyable times, too. They discovered that they both liked to watch old classic movies on the TV and they both enjoyed backgammon.

She only stayed for two days, but continued to stop by after she got off of work each day to check up on him and bring him take-out food. He was recovering quite fast and after about a week she stopped dropping by everyday. As temperamental and moody as she was sometimes, he found himself really missing her company and looking forward to her visits. He chalked it up to being a virtual prisoner in his own apartment, though, and not to any 'feelings' he might have for her.

He sighed again and looked at the clock on the wall. It was half-past three. He had still been holding out a dim hope that Chrissy might show up, but he was just being foolish. Surely she already had plans for Thanksgiving, probably with her own family.

He heard someone try the knob on his front door. His mild concern grew to alarm when he heard a key being inserted into the lock! The door opened and Chrissy entered carrying two large, canvas tote bags. She set one down next to the door and carried the other one with her toward the kitchen. “Don't get up!” she ordered as she passed him.

“Um... hello?” he called after her.

He slowly (and painfully) arose from the sofa and went out to the kitchen. She was taking groceries from the bag and setting them on the counter. She saw him and said sternly, “I thought I told you not to get up!”

“I'm just happy to see you,” he replied.

“Well, go back out on the sofa. I've got this.”

He started to return to the living room, then stopped and turned back toward her. “How did you get a key to my front door?” he asked.

“I had one made while I was taking care of you.”

“Don't you think... maybe... you should've asked me?”

She stopped and looked at him. “Do you want it back?” she asked impatiently.

“Um... no. That's okay. Keep it,” he answered, wondering why he kept letting her get away with such things.

She pointed toward the door in a silent command to leave. He turned and went back to the sofa. He eased himself down and sat pondering why he was so intrigued with such an abrasive woman.

He listened to the noises coming from the kitchen. Comforting sounds of dishes clinking and pans clanking. Before long the aroma of dinner cooking reached him. It made him hungry. After about an hour, she came out to the living room and said, “Dinner's ready. Come on.” She helped him up off the sofa and he followed her out to the kitchen. His tiny kitchen table was set with a small and rather unremarkable dinner. One place had a bottle of Hammerhead Cream Ale, the other an empty wine glass.

“Wow! Look at this!” he said, “Looks great.”

“Do you need help sitting down?” she asked.

“No. I'm getting a little better everyday.” He eased himself into his chair.

“Did you take a pain pill today?” she asked him.

“No, I don't need those anymore. It only hurts when I get up or down, now.”

She grabbed a bottle of wine that was sitting on the counter and filled his glass. “I guess you can have some wine, then,” she said. Then she sat down. She seemed especially moody.

After sampling some of the dinner, he said, “This is wonderful, Chrissy. It's delicious!”

“Don't bullshit me, Ian,” she said sourly, “It's instant potatoes, instant stuffing, a precooked turkey breast, and canned peas. And for dessert there's a frozen pumpkin pie!”

He set his fork down rather hard and looked at her sternly. “Well, considering my previous plan for Thanksgiving dinner was to heat up a can of turkey chile, I think this is a feast! Why can't you just accept my appreciation for what you've done here?”

Her face softened and she sighed. “I'm sorry. I'm just not a big fan of the holidays, I guess.”

“The holidays are what you make of them. And you just made mine a little nicer.”

She smiled faintly at him. “Thanks,” she said.

After that they enjoyed their meal. Ian told humorous stories of Thanksgivings from his childhood and Chrissy seemed to enjoy them, even smiling at the funny parts. During a lull in the conversation she said, “It sounds like you had a nice childhood.”

His smile faded as he looked down at his plate. “Well, I only told you about the parts that are worth remembering. I won't get into the other parts right now.”

“There was just my mom and me, so we never really celebrated Thanksgiving,” she said, “My father ran out on her a week after I was born.” It was the first time she had ever really told him anything about herself.

“I'm sorry to hear that,” he replied, “But if he was anything like my old man, you were better off without him. My old man was a drunk!” There was a brooding silence for several seconds, then Ian smiled and said, “Hey, this party's turning into a real drag. Let's clear the table and go see what's on TV.”

He grimaced in pain as he stood. “You go out on the couch,” ordered Chrissy, “I'll clean up.”

“D****t Chrissy! I'm not an invalid!” he snapped at her. She looked at him with shock and a little hurt. “I'm sorry,” he said, “Look, I really appreciate you coming over here and making dinner for me and now you want to clean up and all. But more than that, I appreciate your company. And I can't enjoy that if I'm on the couch and you're in here working. Let me help.”

She nodded and said, “Okay, you put the food away and I'll clean the dishes.”

Since there was just the two of them, there wasn't much to clean up and they were done in less than twenty minutes. As they headed toward the living room, she said, “I'm not watching any sappy Christmas specials!”

“Oh, I hate those, too,” he lied. He handed her the remote. “Here, you choose.”

She surfed the channels until she settled on an old, black-and-white film noir mystery. “How's this?” she asked.

“Looks good,” he answered.

They watched mostly in silence, only commenting occasionally on their predictions of the outcome. By the time the movie was done, night was beginning to fall. Chrissy surfed the channels for a couple of minutes, then turned the TV off and set the remote down. She just sat there and silently stared ahead into the darkening room for several minutes. Ian wondered what she was doing. Was she waiting for him to say something? Did she want to have sex? He hoped not. He wasn't recovered from his surgery enough for that, yet. He was about to say something when she said in a very matter-of-fact voice, “When I was nineteen, I spent about a year addicted to crystal meth.”

Well, there's a conversation starter! he thought to himself. He had been wanting her to tell him something about herself, but he wasn't expecting anything like that!

“Have you ever used meth?” she asked him.

He shook his head silently. She didn't say anything for a long time. He wondered if that was all she was going to say. Was she expecting him to comment on what she had just told him? After a long silence, she continued. “They call it a stimulant, speed, an upper. But it's much more insidious than that.” There was another long pause before she spoke again. “It binds with the pleasure receptors in your brain to create intense pleasure. Before long it supplants all the other things that create pleasure for you; food, music, reading, sports, sex. None of those things give you pleasure anymore. Only more meth does.” She was silent again for a long time. The room was growing quite dark. She was saying all this without any emotion. He could sense that it was hard for her to talk about it. Eventually, she continued, “I quit using it. Cleaned myself up. All alone without any help. No one can know what that's like unless they've been through it.” Again there was another long silence. He wondered if he should say something, but decided it was best if he just listened without comment. She finally spoke again. “Coming off of a meth addiction can make the world very grey and dreary, even six years after you quit.” There was another long pause, longer than the others. He wondered if she was done. He was uncomfortable and not sure what he should do. Was she trying to explain why she was the way she was? The room was almost dark now. She finally spoke again, “Your paintings remind me that there is beauty in the world after all, often in the most unlikely places.”

Ian was stunned! Over the years lots of people had told him that they liked his paintings - even loved them. But no one had ever told him anything like that before! He didn't know what to say to her! He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Don't say anything you idiot! You'll just f**k it up! You always do! Not knowing what else to do, he reached over and took her hand and held it. They sat there quietly in the dark like that for several minutes, and then she pulled her hand away and picked up the remote and turned the TV back on. She surfed the channels, settled on a show and asked, “How's this one?” as if nothing had happened.

“Uh... yeah, sure,” he answered, though he wasn't paying any attention. His mind was preoccupied. It was one of those moments when something was slowly dawning on him. Something so obvious that he didn't know how he had missed it. All the clues had been there, but as usual, he hadn't put two and two together. Perhaps he had subconsciously tried to deny it. Even now he was trying to consciously deny it. But he knew deep inside that he couldn't, and it profoundly depressed him.

He was in love with a dark, moody, temperamental enigma of a woman his daughter's age.

Idiot!!

~*~

“I have to work tomorrow,” she said later, “so it's time for bed.”

He got undressed and she helped him into bed. She walked out of his bedroom but she left the light on, so he assumed she was coming back. It looked like she had brought an overnight bag with her, so he figured she was going to spend the night on his sofa again. A few minutes later she came back into his bedroom clad only in a tank top and panties. She climbed into bed with him, gave him a quick kiss, turned off the light and lay down facing away from him. “ 'Night,” she said.

“Goodnight,” he answered. It was the first time they had actually slept together. He wasn't sure what it meant. Friends didn't sleep together, did they? Were they more than friends or not? It was all so confusing to him. Maybe this was something that younger people did.

And what about the story of her drug addiction? He was sure she didn't tell that to just anyone. That she told him about it at all must mean something! He could feel the warmth of her body next to him and he desperately wanted to put his arms around her and hold her, but he didn't dare. Why did it have to be so damn complicated?! He went over it again and again in his mind, but still couldn't come to any conclusions.

He finally decided that he would just ask her outright. That was it! First thing in the morning he would ask her where their relationship stood - if they had a relationship, that is. Maybe he would even confess his love for her. While the thought of doing so was frightening, it also gave him a sense of relief. He would know once and for all, for better or worse. He was finally able to relax and enjoy her nearness. Before long he drifted off to sleep.

When he awoke the next morning, she was already gone.

Author's Note

Suggestions and constructive criticisms appreciated.

Next - it's Chrissy's turn!

Reviews

[John Lauterbach]

Another good chapter, though I wondered why Ian's daughter didn't show up; she did just visit him in the hospital and he's still recovering.

Turkey chile stood out. During Chrissy's monologue to Ian, I think all the tellings of their pauses should be replaced with more of Ian's thought-reactions. Separating Chrissy's speech and making the reader spend time away from her gives the impression that time has passed anyways and doesn't just dictate it. If it's a really long time, I can see the necessity, but overall I think having more from the characters adds more to the story.

[Craig2591]

You make a good point about Carey. I didn't explain that she alternates the holidays each year and this is her year to spend it with her mother. I should include that.

I agree that Chrissy's confession of her former addiction could use some work. I really struggled with that part and I'm still not satisfied with it.

[Bella Luna]

Chrissy is always so full of surprises! I really liked seeing her open up to Ian and she seemed a little softer with him now too. Their relationship is really starting to evolve and I'm really curious to see what happens when Ian finally confronts her about the relationship! Awesome chapter!

[Craig2591]

Thank you. Yeah, Chrissy's reaction is pretty funny, but I better shut up and not give anything away.

[Faith]

Didn't she already have a key made? Just wondered....
Love the storyline though

[Faith]

I like the way changes occur in a moment. At his age, should he be saying maybe that he was falling for her instead of the unstoppable I am in love and demand her attention of it. Is that what she thinks of as a jerk. Makes me wonder and that's good!

[Tina Kline]

A very enjoyable chapter. I like seeing how their relationship is evolving even if he's not sure about what sort of one it is.

[Craig2591]

I don't remember if I sent out a read request or not on this chapter, but it's done and ready to read if you haven't already.

[Kaya]

What i really love about your storyline, is that its sweet in a realistic way. Its not sweet and cute in the typical story way, the way you know it never happens in life. I can actually see this happening and it really enhances my enjoyment when i read it. It just makes the story seem so much better. As always i love it.
Always waiting for the next upload :D