by Erica Lee
I knew I needed to drag myself out of bed though. No matter how sad I was, I wanted to enjoy this last day with Layla. I didn’t have much time since I had asked nana Harvey to have someone else drive her to the airport. Watching her walk away to get on her plane would have been just way too hard for me. Before I had a chance to get myself up, I heard a soft knock on my door. I yelled for the person to come in and was pleasantly surprised to see Layla standing there.
I couldn’t help but light up when I saw her standing in the doorway. “Since when did you become the one who is consistently awake first?”
Layla laughed and jumped onto my bed. She then started jumping up and down like a kid trying to wake up her parents on christmas morning. “Santa came! Santa came! Ok, he didn’t, but I made you some hot chocolate. So you should probably come downstairs.”
We walked downstairs where nana Harvey was waiting with three cups of hot chocolate. There were five presents sitting under the tree. Nana picked up the two boxes that were from her to Layla and I. She told us to unwrap them at the same time, so we both immediately started tearing wrapping paper away. Inside the box was an envelope.
Nana Harvey giggled. “I wanted you to have something to unwrap. But the real present is in there with the card.”
I opened the envelope to find $500 in cash, which was a usual for nana Harvey, and then a voucher for a round trip plane ticket to anywhere in the country. I looked over to Layla and saw that she had gotten the same thing.
“Now you girls can use the plane ticket for anything you choose, but Adrienne I thought you might want to use yours to go visit Layla at some point and see what life is like in LA. And Layla honey, I really hope you use yours to visit us here at home.”
We both agreed that we would use them for those purposes and gave nana Harvey a thank you hug. Next, Layla grabbed the gift we had gotten for nana Harvey. As soon as she opened it she started to cry and wrapped us both in her arms. I handed Layla her gift from me and she smiled when she saw that I had gotten a copy of the Santa picture for her as well. She shook her head when she saw that I also bought her a planner.
I grinned. “I thought you could use something to remember me by. And I got you the planner just in case you decide to actually take my advice and plan things out every once in awhile.”
Layla grabbed my hands in hers. “It’s perfect. But there’s no way I could ever forget you. And I think this planner will make a very good doorstop for me.”
We all laughed as Layla walked over to the tree and picked up her present to me. She laid it in front of me and when I tried to pick it up, I realized it was very heavy. I unwrapped it to find a karaoke player, complete with two microphones and a Christmas karaoke cd.
“I figured you could use this to let loose every once and awhile. Plus, I need you to practice for our duet next year.”
I felt my heart start to beat rapidly. “Does that mean you’re…”
“Yep. I’m coming home for Christmas next year. I’ve realized that Christmas in California doesn’t even compare to a Christmas in Pennsylvania. Depending what I’m getting up to out there, hopefully I’ll be able to stay a whole month again.”
I found myself equal parts excited and disappointed. I was happy that I would most likely see Layla twice over the next year between my trip to LA and her coming home for Christmas, but for a few seconds I had let myself hope that she had decided to stay here. Of course she wasn’t staying. She loved LA, apparently more than anything else in this world. I pushed the feelings aside though and thanked her for her thoughtful gift.
We decided to spend the rest of our morning watching a cheesy Christmas movie. I grabbed a blanket since it was chilly in the house and Layla asked if I would mind sharing it with her. I found it strange that she wanted to share when nana Harvey had countless amounts of blankets in the house, but I wasn’t going to complain since sharing a blanket would force us to snuggle close together.
Layla spent the movie with her arm across my stomach and her head on my shoulder. I tilted my head so it was laying on top of hers and cherished every minute. I couldn’t tell you what the movie was about, but I would never forget the warmth of Layla’s body pushed up against mine and how her whole body shook when she laughed and the way the smell of her perfume absolutely intoxicated me.
As soon as the movie ended, we ate an early lunch since Layla had to get ready to leave for the airport. Nana Harvey was one of those adults who insisted you had to get to an airport at least 2.5 hours early, just incase something crazy happened while you were going through security. Normally I would agree with her, but today I was unhappy with the fact that Layla was leaving 4.5 hours before her 6:00 flight.
Layla’s driver arrived at the house at promptly 1:30 and carried her bags to the car. She said her goodbyes to nana Harvey then turned to me with tears in her eyes.
“Take care of nana for me. And Adrienne, take care of yourself too. Don’t take life so seriously. Have fun. Be happy.” She smiled at me then added, “I’m going to miss you so much.”
I wiped a tear away that was rolling down her cheek, then took her in my arms. I opened my mouth to say something, but no words would come out. I had so much that I wanted to say to her, but nothing seemed right. She let go and headed to the car to leave. Right before she got in, I shouted her name.
I didn’t actually plan anything to say to her and was just as surprised as her to hear my own voice, so when she looked back at me the only words I could get out were, “I’ll miss you too.”
She gave me a slight smile, then slipped into the car. I watched as the car drove out of sight and felt like I was going to be sick. She was really gone and would never know how I truly felt about her. I felt a hand on my shoulder and nana Harvey asked if I was ok. I nodded and told her I just needed to rest for a little, then slowly made my way up to my room.
I tossed and turned in my bed for about an hour and a half, then decided I should go downstairs to be with nana Harvey. I was actually being pretty selfish. Her only family had just left. She had to be hurting too. I came into the family room to find nana Harvey watching the end of a Christmas movie. I joined her on the couch and we both watched silently.
When the movie ended, nana Harvey turned to me. “You look like you could use some hot chocolate. I’m going to go make you one kiddo.” She patted me on the arm then walked away.
I walked over to look at the picture of Layla and I with Santa that nana Harvey had already put on the fireplace. I had flashbacks of that day and all of our other times together over the past month. I remembered how much I hated her when she first arrived and had to giggle at the fact that my first impression of her was her throwing up all over the front of my car. Before I knew it, my laugh turned into tears and soon I had tears streaming down my face.
When nana came into the room, she ran over to me and wrapped me in a hug. “Oh honey. I miss her too.”
I pulled away and wiped the tears from my eyes. I glanced at nana and noticed she had a look of sincere concern on her face. “Nana…” I choked on my words and had to swallow hard to keep myself from crying again. “I think I’m in love with her.”
She smiled softly. “I know sweetheart.”
Her words shocked me. “You know? But how would you know that?”
“I’m nana. I know everything. But does Layla know?”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t tell her. It would have hurt way too much to find out that she didn’t feel the same way.”
Nana let out a little laugh. “Oh honey. I don’t think you have to worry about that.”
Was nana saying that she thought Layla felt the same way as me? The realization made my heart flutter, but I’m not sure what I could do about that now. Confessing your love for someone isn’t the type of thing you do over a phone call when you’re both on opposite ends of the country.
“Well, it’s too late now,” I said softly.
Nana’s smile grew wider. “My dear, it’s never too late.”
Nana Harvey looked at her watch. “She’s not gone. Her flight hasn’t left yet.”
“What am I supposed to do? Get in my car and race to the airport? This isn’t some movie. It’s almost 4:00. I probably wouldn’t even make it on time and, even if I did, it’s not like they are going to let me through security just because I have some sob story about the girl I love leaving me.”
Nana Harvey picked up her purse and started sifting through it. “It turns out I have one more gift for you.” She pulled out a plane ticket and held it up to me. “It’s the last flight of the night out to LA. It leaves at 10:00. Use it to get through security. If you don’t get to her on time, fly to LA. Make the grand gesture. You both deserve that.”
I gave nana a questioning look. “When did you buy this ticket?”
“Weeks ago. I was hoping we wouldn’t need to use it, but I had a feeling the two of you would probably be stubborn until the bitter end. I’m just happy you came to your senses now so it wasn’t a complete waste. But enough questions! You need to get to the airport young lady.”
I gave nana Harvey a kiss on the cheek then ran toward the door. I turned around one last time before I walked out. “I just have one more question. If you knew we both felt this way, why didn’t you just sit us down and make us talk about our feelings?”
Nana Harvey’s face got serious and she shook her head wildly. “Oh dear, who do you think I am? I’m not one of those meddling old lady types! You two needed to figure this out on your own.”
The irony wasn’t lost on me as I ran to my car and quickly drove to the airport. I parked in short term parking, hoping that was all I would need. But at that point, I didn’t even care if my car got towed. I had more important things to worry about. As I made my way through security, I realized that it was almost 6:00. Unless her flight was delayed, Layla would have boarded by now. I still ran to her gate with the hopes that I could somehow catch her.
When I got to the gate, I saw her sitting by the window. My heart was pounding as I made my way over to her. I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this. What if nana Harvey was wrong? What if she didn’t feel the same way? It was too late to turn back now as I was standing right in front of her.
She looked up and caught my eye. A confused smile crossed her face. “Adrienne? What are you doing here?”
I took her hands in mine and pulled her up so she was standing beside me. I kept her hands in mine while I spoke. “When I moved in with your nana 6 years ago, I was completely lost. I felt like I had nothing and she made this my home. Even though I loved the life your nana made for me, it still felt like something was missing. I felt like there was something that was keeping me from being truly happy. I always thought that it was my parents and that I would never find that happiness. Then you came and for the first time in so long, I remembered what it felt like to be sincerely happy. You changed everything for me in such a short time. I’m not sure how this is going to work or if you even feel the same way, but I just needed to tell you. I love you Layla.”
Before she could respond, I looked out on the runway and saw her plane flying away. “Wait. Layla. Isn’t that your plane? Why aren’t you on there?”
She smiled at me and squeezed my hands. “I couldn’t get on. I couldn’t leave. Adrienne, I love you too.”
I took her in my arms and held her tight. I couldn’t believe this was real. This beautiful, amazing girl who I was madly in love with actually loved me back. It was the type of thing that only happened in fairytales. When I pulled back to look at her, Layla’s eyes lit up and she pulled away to rummage through her backpack. A minute later, she pulled out mistletoe and held it between us.
I laughed and shook my head at her. “Why do you even have that?”
“Hey, you can never be too prepared.” She winked at me, then pulled me closer. When our lips met, it felt even better than the first time. I had no question that she was the only person that I wanted to kiss for the rest of my life.
When we finally pulled back from the kiss, we spent a moment lost in each other’s eyes. I leaned in and gave Layla one more kiss on the cheek, then took her hand in mine.
“Let’s go home.”
Epilogue: Layla
I woke up on thanksgiving day to the bright Los Angeles sun sneaking through the blinds. I was surprised how easy it was to adjust back to life in LA, but I had rather easily. I stretched out across my empty bed and reached for my phone to check the time. It read 12:00 so I figured I should get up. I threw myself out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants. I paused for a moment to watch the news on the tv that had accidentally been left on the night before.
When I walked into the main room of our suite, nana and Adrienne were staring at me. Adrienne pointed at the clock on the wall. “Would you look at that. It only took two days of being in LA for you to become super lazy again.”
I stuck my tongue out at Adrienne then walked over to give her a kiss. When I pulled back, I pointed a finger at her. “Hey now. It’s not my fault I’m being worked like a dog back home. This is my vacation. Let me enjoy it.”
Adrienne pushed my finger away and rolled her eyes at me. “Don’t act like you’re the only one working hard. I think nana here is the only one who doesn’t actually need the vacation.”
It was true. Nana was really enjoying her almost-retirement, as she liked to call it, since Adrienne and I had taken over running the business end of things back home. When she suggested using our plane tickets from the year before to spend a week in Los Angeles over thanksgiving, we both jumped at the opportunity. Don’t get me wrong, I actually loved working, especially with Adrienne by my side, but the bit of rest and relaxation was very appreciated.
My thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of Adrienne wrapping her arms around my waist. “It’s lunch time and I’m starving. Could you please get your cute butt dressed and figure out somewhere good to take us for lunch? I want a place where I can get a thanksgiving type meal.”
I smiled and pulled her closer to me. “Or we could just get back in bed for a few hours.”
“Get dressed now or I’m sleeping on the pull out couch with nana Harvey tonight.”
I got dressed, then took nana and Adrienne to a small diner in West Hollywood. Before we could eat, nana insisted that we go around and say what we were thankful for. I volunteered to go first again.
“I’m so thankful for everything that happened this past year. I’m thankful that my life took me in a direction that I never expected that turned out to be better than anything I ever dreamed of. Nana, I’m so thankful for you and the fact that you stuck by me through so many confusing years. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me, but thank you for always letting me find my own way. And Adrienne, you’re the love of my life. Thank you for showing me how to be happy again and for truly making everyday better than the last. I’m so glad that I met you and I can’t wait for the infinite amount of years we get to spend together.”
I squeezed Adrienne’s hand and motioned for her to go next. A mischievous grin crossed her face. “I’m thankful for the AWESOME hotel we’re staying in and the PERFECT weather in LA.”
I glared at her for her blatant jab at my thanks from last year. She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “I’m just kidding. I’m so thankful for the two of you. You two are my family and I love you more than anything in the world.”
Nana walked up behind us and put her arms around us. “Oh my girls. I love you both so much.”
The End.
About the Author
Erica currently resides in Pennsylvania with her fiance, bunny, and chinchilla. She spends her days looking deep into people's eyes (as an eye doctor) and her nights snuggling up with her furry family.
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