Celebrate the Season--Home for the Holidays

by Taylor Garland

  Alyssa glanced at Elle and Rachel as they watched happily from Alyssa’s doorway.

  “Look at how much she loves you,” Rachel cooed.

  “She really does, Alyssa,” Elle agreed. “I think this was definitely meant to be.”

  Alyssa sat down on her bed and continued to run her fingers through Dasher’s silky fur. “I think this might be the chubbiest cat I’ve ever seen,” Alyssa said.

  “I was just thinking the same thing,” Elle agreed.

  “She’s not fat… she’s just fluffy!” Rachel cooed.

  Elle and Alyssa laughed.

  “I can’t believe how comfortable she is with you,” Elle said as she gingerly sat down on the bed next to Alyssa. Dasher watched her closely but didn’t change her position.

  “I think it was all the time I’ve spent talking to her this week,” Alyssa said as she rubbed Dasher’s expansive tummy. “She knows my voice.”

  “It’s more than that,” Elle said. “She knows she’s home.”

  “The cat whisperer has spoken,” Rachel added.

  Alyssa felt her heart swell with joy as she smiled down at her cat.

  “Welcome home, Dasher.”

  “If I eat one more cookie, I am going to explode,” Rachel declared. “I am too full to ever eat again!”

  “Me too,” Elle agreed, rubbing her stomach for emphasis. “I should have stopped after Home Alone 2,” she joked. “Those were the best sugar cookies I’ve ever had. You were totally right about adding a pinch of brown sugar.”

  Alyssa smiled happily from her spot on the floor of her bedroom. They had just finished watching Home Alone 3, the third movie in their holiday movie marathon. Dasher was curled up next to her, purring contentedly while she napped. “I can’t take credit for the cookies. It was my mom’s recipe. She’s an amazing baker. I’m actually kind of a terrible baker unless I follow a recipe.”

  “Well, you can’t be any worse than—” Rachel stopped speaking suddenly.

  “Than who?” Alyssa prompted.

  “I think she was going to say Becca,” Elle finished. Rachel nodded. “We used to have a holiday sleepover every year, just the three of us. We’d been doing it since second grade, and so we had a bunch of traditions.” Elle began to pet Dasher gently as she spoke. “One was making a million Christmas cookies. Becca would somehow mess them up. Every year. It was kind of hilarious. Baking is, like, the one thing she’s not good at.”

  “We’re not making fun of her when we say that,” Rachel added quickly. “You can ask her—she’d tell you herself!”

  “Oh, it’s okay, I didn’t think you were being mean,” Alyssa replied. Dasher woke up, stretched, and curled back up into a ball, moving even closer to Alyssa. “Speaking of Becca… I had invited her to come tonight,” Alyssa said quietly.

  For a moment, neither Elle nor Rachel spoke, and Alyssa felt a knot form in her stomach. Are they angry I invited her? Say something!

  Elle spoke first.

  “What did she say?” she asked.

  “She said she couldn’t make it,” Alyssa replied uncomfortably. Why did I bring it up this way? This is just awkward. “She had plans with Renee…?”

  “Renee is one of the girls from the soccer team,” Rachel said. “One of the girls Becca is really friendly with now… now that she’s not friends with us anymore.”

  The air grew thick. Alyssa hated how uncomfortable things became whenever Becca came up. She took a deep breath and blurted out what she had been wondering for a week now. “What happened between you guys?”

  Elle and Rachel exchanged a look. Rachel shrugged and nodded to Elle.

  “At the beginning of last year, Becca went out for soccer,” Elle began. “She made the team. She’s really good.…”

  “So good,” Rachel interjected.

  “And the kids on the soccer team are really close,” Elle continued. “They have their own parties and sleepovers and stuff.…”

  Alyssa nodded. “Yeah, my brother is on the boys’ team and he’s always doing things with the guys from his team.”

  “Exactly.” Elle nodded. “And I guess Becca just liked hanging out with the soccer kids more than us because before long she just stopped spending any time with us. She came to my birthday party that year, but she showed up an hour late and then had to leave early because there was some soccer team emergency.”

  “And then she bailed on our annual holiday sleepover,” Rachel added sadly. “She called at the last minute to say she couldn’t make it because of some soccer party. And then when we returned to school after the holiday break last year, she stopped sitting with us at lunch so she could sit at the soccer table. No explanation or anything. She just stopped being our friend.”

  Alyssa looked at her friends’ faces, and she could tell it was hard for them to talk about it. They missed Becca—she was sure of it.

  “I’m really sorry that happened,” she said finally. “I have to say, though, that does not sound like the Becca I know. I mean, she’s busy with soccer for sure, but she’s been making all this time to help me knit scarves for this insane scarf order I have. She’s being a really good friend to me.…”

  “She’s a great friend to have,” Rachel agreed. “She just stopped wanting to be our friend. My mom said that sometimes friends grow apart, and that’s what happened, I guess.”

  “I just can’t believe that,” Alyssa said honestly, even though her own mom had told her basically the same thing. “She doesn’t seem like the kind of friend who just… discards her old friends when she makes new ones.”

  “Or maybe she just got tired of us,” Elle said simply. Alyssa started to protest, and Elle held up her hand. “Hey, it’s okay, Alyssa. You are awesome and I don’t blame Becca for finding room in her busy schedule for you. She just never made time for Rachel and me after she joined the soccer team. It’s like she decided she wanted to move on, and she did.”

  Alyssa was positive that wasn’t what happened, but she knew she couldn’t keep disagreeing with Elle.

  “It’s okay, Alyssa,” Elle continued. “Rachel and I have each other, and now we have you, too, as our friend.”

  “Right,” Rachel said.

  Alyssa twirled her fingers in Dasher’s fur. “Thanks for saying that—I’m so glad you guys are my friends! But I have to tell you, I think you’re wrong about Becca. I think this was all just a misunderstanding. I can’t explain it, but I really think she misses you.”

  “Has she said that?” Elle asked.

  “Not exactly,” Alyssa admitted. “It’s just a feeling I get. I feel like if she could have come tonight we all would have had so much fun. You guys remind me so much of each other,” she added, looking at Elle.

  “OMG, tell me about it.” Rachel laughed. “I used to say that all the time.”

  Elle smiled, too, at the memory. “Maybe you’re right,” she said finally. “I miss Becca, and I’d love to be friends with her again,” she added. “I’ve just never thought that maybe she missed us, too.…”

  “Me neither,” Rachel said softly.

  “I have an amazing idea, then,” Alyssa said, jumping to her feet so fast she startled Dasher. “Let’s have a do-over sleepover next weekend with the four of us!”

  “Actually, about next weekend…” Rachel began. “Elle and I were planning to have our annual holiday sleepover on Saturday night.…”

  “Oh. Right,” Alyssa said. She felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. “That’s okay. We can do it some other time.”

  “Alyssa, let me finish!” Rachel said playfully. “Elle and I already talked about it, and we wanted to invite you to come this year! And maybe… well, maybe we can invite Becca, too.…” Her voice trailed off as she looked at Elle uncertainly.

  “I don’t know,” Elle said, replying to Rachel’s unspoken question about Becca. “First things first… Alyssa, will you come to our sleepover next weekend?”

  “Definitely!”

  “Great. And as for Becca, Rach
el and I will sleep on it. Maybe we can talk to her at lunch next week or something and see how it goes. I’m all for giving this a chance if she wants it, too, but we need to know that she actually does want it. Is that fair?”

  “Totally fair,” Alyssa replied.

  A short while later, Alyssa was curled up in bed with Dasher beside her. She could tell Elle and Rachel were asleep from their even breathing. Alyssa sighed happily and snuggled with Dasher. She’d had the perfect holiday sleepover tonight and had plans for another one next weekend… one that would hopefully include all her friends.

  As Alyssa drifted off to sleep, she realized she knew exactly what she wanted to write her holiday-wish essay about. She just hoped it was okay to write about a wish that had already come true.

  “I thought you said last night that you were too full to ever eat again,” Alyssa teased Rachel as she reached for another waffle.

  “I know, but my appetite miraculously returned overnight,” Rachel explained. “Besides, your mom’s waffles are so good!”

  It was late Sunday morning. The girls had slept in and were enjoying a lazy breakfast. Dasher wandered into the kitchen, as if to see what the girls were up to, and when she determined the girls were too busy eating to pay attention to her, she wandered back out.

  “I can’t believe how quickly she made herself at home,” Rachel commented.

  “Yeah, she even found the litter box we set up for her and used it like a champ,” Alyssa replied. “It’s so hard to believe she was a stray.…”

  “Alyssa, speaking of that…” Elle shifted uncomfortably. “I was thinking, what if Dasher belongs to someone and she just got lost or something? Maybe you should call the animal shelter and find out if anyone reported her missing.”

  “My mom already talked to me about that,” Alyssa replied. “She’s going to take Dasher to the vet next week to have her checked out, and they can check to see if she was microchipped. If she was, they can scan her microchip and find her family.” Alyssa’s voice wavered a little bit as she said the last part. I don’t know what I’ll do if that happens, she thought. She knew her mom was right, that they had to make sure Dasher was really theirs to keep, but the thought of finding out she couldn’t keep her was just too upsetting to think about, so Alyssa was trying very hard not to.

  “She definitely belongs with you,” Elle said kindly.

  “Agreed.” Rachel nodded. “She might have belonged to someone else before, but why aren’t they looking for her, putting up flyers and all that? Or I bet she ran away because she wanted to live with you instead and her owners know they’ve been rejected!”

  Alyssa laughed. Her friends definitely knew how to make her feel better.

  Just then, the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it,” Mrs. Sing called from the den.

  A few moments later, Ben, Becca’s brother, darted through the kitchen on his way up to Cody’s room. “Hi, bye!” he called as he sped past the table.

  Mrs. Sing popped her head into the kitchen. “Alyssa, Becca is here, too. She came with Ben. She realized you have guests, and she’s saying she wants to leave so as to not interrupt you.…” She gave Alyssa a look, but Alyssa didn’t even need for her mom to tell her what the right thing to do was. She glanced at her friends, and they both nodded.

  “Becca, get in here,” Alyssa called. “We’re just finishing up breakfast, but there’s still plenty of food if you’re hungry.”

  Mrs. Sing smiled and excused herself as Becca walked into the kitchen. Alyssa thought Becca looked nervous and realized that she felt pretty nervous herself!

  “Hi,” Becca said slowly. She stood awkwardly by the table. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I just came by to see if you wanted to work on some knitting, but you’re busy. Should I come back later?”

  Elle spoke before Alyssa had a chance to reply. “Like Alyssa said, look at all this food. Why don’t you join us?”

  Alyssa knew from the grin that lit up Becca’s face that she had been absolutely right—Becca did miss Elle and Rachel and wanted to be friends again. Alyssa was sure of it.

  Becca set her bag of knitting down on the end of the table and took a seat. “Yum, waffles!” She reached for a plate. “Still your favorite breakfast, Rachel?”

  “You know it,” Rachel said. “I am currently trying to decide if my stomach can handle a third one or not.…”

  Alyssa, Becca, and Elle laughed.

  “Ooh, is that the calico cat from outside?” Becca asked suddenly, eyes wide. She pointed to Dasher, who had wandered back into the kitchen.

  “Yep, she came inside last night,” Alyssa replied. She explained how they had lured Dasher inside by leaving the door open and how she had slept by Alyssa’s side all night.

  “Are you allowed to keep her?” Becca asked.

  “Hopefully…” Alyssa recounted how her mom would be bringing Dasher to the vet and they would check for a microchip.

  “She definitely belongs with you,” Becca said firmly.

  “That’s exactly what we said,” Elle replied.

  And just like that, the girls were laughing and chatting like the old friends they were. Alyssa got up from the table to refill Dasher’s food bowl and to give her friends a chance to chat for a few minutes. This is going even better than I ever imagined it would, she thought excitedly as she measured out some cat food. Dasher weaved herself around Alyssa’s ankles; she clearly understood what Alyssa was doing!

  “Be right back. I have to go use the bathroom,” Becca said as Alyssa returned to the table.

  Alyssa snuck a look at her friends’ faces, and they were both relaxed and smiling. There was no tension at the table at all. Alyssa sighed happily and began picking at some of the fruit left on her plate as Cody and Ben came into the kitchen.

  “Are there any cookies left over, or did you guys eat them all?” Cody demanded.

  Alyssa rolled her eyes and pointed to the plates of cookies on the counter. “Of course we didn’t eat them all,” she replied. “We just ate… a lot of them.”

  “Hey, Ben, I was trying to explain to Alyssa last night just what a big disaster Becca is in the kitchen when it comes to baking,” Elle said, giggling. “Do you remember that time she used a cup of salt instead of sugar? I was joking that it was a good thing she wasn’t able to join us last night. She probably would’ve contaminated the cookies!”

  Ben laughed as he took a giant bite of a cookie. “Ugh, she’s the worst baker ever!” he agreed. “But why couldn’t she join you last night? She was just sitting home doing nothing.”

  “I thought she was at Renee’s?” Elle said.

  Alyssa felt her stomach clench as Becca returned to the kitchen. She seemed to sense that she’d walked in on an awkward conversation.

  “Why did they think you were at Renee’s last night?” Ben asked his sister. “You haven’t hung out with her in forever.”

  When Becca didn’t answer, Ben just shrugged and grabbed a handful of cookies. Cody exchanged a sympathetic look with Alyssa and pulled his friend out of the kitchen.

  Becca returned to her seat at the table. Her head was down, but Alyssa could see that her cheeks were red.

  “So you stayed home last night instead of coming to Alyssa’s sleepover?” Elle asked finally, her tone frosty.

  “Alyssa said you had plans with Renee,” Rachel added.

  Alyssa wanted to say something—anything—but didn’t know what to say.

  “I made that up,” Becca said finally. “I made it up after Alyssa told me you guys were going to be here because—”

  “Because you didn’t want to spend time with us,” Elle interrupted.

  “No, that’s not true,” Becca cried.

  “We’re sorry that we’re so horrible to spend time with that you have to make up excuses to avoid sleepovers with us,” Elle snapped.

  “Elle!” Alyssa exclaimed. She knew Elle was upset, but that didn’t mean it was okay to speak so harshly to Becca.

  “Alyssa, don’t you see?�
�� Elle’s voice rose. “She lied to you. Are you really okay with that? I mean, what kind of friend lies about having plans to avoid spending time with you?”

  Alyssa didn’t know what to say to that. She knew it was wrong that Becca had lied, but she also knew she had probably done it because she was afraid Elle and Rachel didn’t want to spend time with her.

  “She’s right, Alyssa,” Rachel said sadly. “It’s never okay to lie to your friends.…”

  “I know, but…” Alyssa’s voice trailed off as she tried to think of a way to fix what was happening. She didn’t want to say anything that would make the situation worse.

  “I should just go,” Becca said. She stood up from the table and grabbed her bag of knitting. “Alyssa, I’m sorry I lied to you.” Becca’s hair fell over her face, but Alyssa was pretty sure she saw teardrops on her cheeks. “I’ll just talk to you later… about the knitting… if you still want to talk to me, I mean.” With that, she fled from the kitchen.

  “What was that?” Alyssa asked, turning to Elle. “You made her cry! You didn’t even give her a chance to explain!”

  “Are you seriously siding with her right now?” Elle demanded. “Alyssa, she lied to you. Friends don’t lie!”

  “I know that,” Alyssa said, trying to keep her voice even. “But I think she lied because she thought you guys wouldn’t want to spend time with her.”

  “So it’s our fault?” Elle got up from the table. “I’m going to go text my mom and see if she can come pick us up.”

  Alyssa sat down at the table and looked at Rachel, who looked as upset as Alyssa felt.

  “She’s not really mad at you,” Rachel said quietly. “She gets really upset—as you just saw—and does not choose her words carefully. Once she calms down, I promise she will apologize.”

  Alyssa sighed. She felt like her head was spinning.