The Other Guy

Maureen was the first girl that I dated seriously, the first girl I fell in love with, and the first girl to call me two days before Christmas to tell me that she had run into Jethro at a Christmas craft sale, where he was helping an old lady change her flat tire, and they got to talking and ... well, you can imagine how it ended.

I finished playing and looked up, and the room was silent. After a moment, Keenan shook his head.

"Holy fuck, Mate. That was amazing."

Sasha sat up and clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Daddy! You said a curse word!"

Feeling embarrassed, I looked over to Anne-Marie who had a soft smile on her face.

"That was beautiful, Lawrence. I don't think I have ever heard anything quite like it."

Not knowing how to reply, I decided to shift the focus off me.

"Is there anyone here who might like to open some Christmas presents?"

"Presents!" Sasha squealed as she hopped off the couch, earning a reproachful glare from Schrodinger who had been napping beside her. She carefully unwrapped each present and could barely contain her excitement when she saw what was on the inside. Keenan was also very appreciative of his wine.

Sasha immediately chose some colorful construction paper and started to make a drawing. When I mentioned that Anne-Marie was an amazing artist, Sasha grabbed her hand and pulled her over to help.

"Maybe you can help me draw a picture of our Christmas together, and we can draw mommy up in the sky so she can be here with us too."

I saw Keenan close his eyes and his jaw tightened, as he tried to fight back his profound grief. Not knowing how to comfort him, I opted for distraction instead.

"So, are you still interested in that beer I had mentioned earlier?"

His face softened and I could see gratitude in his eyes.

"Thanks, Mate. That would be nice."

******

An hour later, Sasha had fallen asleep on the couch, cuddled up next to Schrodinger, and I had started to prepare our late lunch, with some help from Keenan and Anne-Marie. I had just put the shepherd's pie in the oven, when Anne-Marie's phone started ringing. She answered it quickly so as not to wake Sasha.

"Hey Beautiful Girlie, Merry Christmas!"

"What's that? ... Broken down? ... Where are you?"

Anne-Marie looked at me with concern on her face.

"Becky, my best friend and college roommate's car just broke down. Thankfully, she made it off the Interstate safely, but she is stuck at some place called Jack's Truckstop and Diner. Do you know where that is?"

After consulting my phone, I told Anne-Marie that by a lucky coincidence, her friend was surprisingly close by.

"She is only about 15 minutes away from here. Tell her I will come and get her, and we can be back in time for lunch."

Anne-Marie relayed the information to her friend before hanging up.

"Can you keep an eye on the food while I am gone, and maybe throw together a mixed green salad? All the ingredients should be in the fridge. And what does your friend look like? That truck stop is a big place from what I remember, and I wouldn't want to miss her."

"She is driving a red VW, but don't worry, there is no way that you will miss her."

Anne-Marie looked a little nervous as she said it, and I almost asked her what she meant before I rushed out the door.

Traffic was very light, so it only took me ten minutes to get there, and I immediately understood what Anne-Marie had said about Becky. In a room filled with a thousand swimsuit models, she would be the person that you would look at and say, "Damn, she's pretty." On a scale of 1 to 10, she was a solid 12.5, but somehow, she still managed to look like the girl next door. To be clear, she DEFINITELY didn't look like the girl who lived next door to me. But she looked like she could have been someone's next door neighbor. Lucky bastard.

When I pulled up, there were already a half dozen men vying for the honor of trying to fix her car. Several of them seemed to have lost the ability to form coherent sentences. I got out to introduce myself, and Becky's smile immediately brightened. She had a face and a smile that would have launched a thousand ships, if that was still a thing these days.

"Hi, Becky. I am Anne-Marie's friend, Lawrence. Sorry you're having such a crappy Christmas Day so far. Let me grab your suitcases and we can head back to my place to figure out the next move with your car and how to get you to your parent's place."

"Thank you so much, Lawrence. Does anyone call you Larry? Actually, never mind ... you don't really seem like a Larry to me. Unfortunately, my back seat and trunk are full. I have all the presents for my nieces and nephews, and I don't know what I am going to do if I can't get to my family farm where they are all waiting for me. It will ruin their Christmas and ..."

Becky was beginning to sound a bit panicked, so I took her hands and told her to take a few deep breaths, and then to let them out slowly.

"You're going to be okay, Becky. We will figure this all out together. It's going to be alright."

Turning to the men who were still standing around hoping to help Becky in some way, I asked, "Could a few of you help us to transfer these packages over to my car? I am afraid Becky is in a bit of a rush, if she still wants to be able to play Santa Claus for her family later tonight."

In no time at all, my car was filled with suitcases and presents, and we were back on the road. As we pulled out, my phone, which was connected to my car's entertainment system, rang and I could see that it was my sister calling.

"Becky, I know we just met and all, but would you mind answering that call and putting the phone on video so I can wish my sister and her family a Merry Christmas. They have three kids who are under four, so the windows when we can connect are pretty tight right now."

Becky picked up my phone and switched it to video.

"Merry Christmas!"

I could hear the distinct giggles of the twins, along with the voices of Eileen and her husband, John. Little Charlie wasn't on screen, so he was probably down for a nap.

"Thank you for the presents, Uncle Lawrence!"

Again, it was the twins speaking and their excitement was infectious.

"How is your Christmas going big brother? We sure wish you were here with us, but Mom said that you had met some hotty at church, of all places, and were hanging out with her today."

I immediately blushed from my hairline down to my toes.

"Em, it's a long story, but I am in the car right now with that 'hotty's', her name is Anne-Marie by the way, best friend, Becky. Her car broke down and I am bringing her back to my place for Christmas lunch, and to figure out how we are going to get her to her parent's place, with all her presents, in time to save Christmas."

When I mentioned Becky, she swung the camera around and waved hello to my sister and nieces. I could see my sister's eyes almost bulge out of their sockets when she got a look at her.

"Hi, Lawrence's family, it's nice to meet you. You have a great big brother; not many people would come out to rescue a stranger on Christmas Day."

With that, the twins launched into an almost unintelligible babble about their new toys, and Christmas, and their cousins, and the stars, and the snake they saw out in the backyard, but don't worry, it wasn't dangerous. We were almost back at my house, by the time they started slowing down and my sister took over.

"Okay, you girls run along with your dad. I need to talk with my big brother for a minute before we let him go."

After the girls had left the screen, and their voices had faded away, Eileen got a more serious look on her face.

"I know you hate to hear this shit, but thank you, Lawrence. The girls don't know that most of their presents this year were from you, and not us or Santa Claus. I wish that we could have done more, but the damn co-pays on my medication along with the cost of daycare is just so ..."

"Eileen, listen. You don't ever need to thank me; I should be thanking you for letting me be such a big part of your kids' lives. There is nothing, and I do mean nothing, that I wouldn't do for you and those kids. I wish you would let me cover some of those co-pays for you, you could ..."

"Listen big brother, I am going to stop you right there. You already do enough for us, you need to start looking after yourself now as well. Maybe starting with that hot ... with Anne-Marie. You deserve the best, big brother, you really do."

"Thanks, Sis. I love you all lots and lots and am looking forward to the first sleepover when you and the kids are back."

With that, Eileen ended the call and Becky put my phone back down.

"Cute kids," Becky said with a pretty smile.

"They are the best. My sister has some medical challenges that cost a lot to manage, so I try and help with birthdays and Christmas and such, when they let me."

With that, we were back at my place. I brought Becky in the back way, and we could immediately smell the shepherd's pie that had finished cooking and hear a number of voices. When we walked into the kitchen, Anne-Marie was talking to her family in California. Sasha was sitting beside her, showing her family the drawing they had made together.

"And this is me, holding my daddy and Anne-Marie's hands, and that is my mommy who is always with us, even though she is up in heaven."

That last elicited an overwhelming chorus of support from the other side of the videocall. Anne-Marie looked up, saw the two of us and beckoned us over.

"Lawrence, meet my mom and dad, and the rest of the gang."

There were so many people on the screen, I could barely make out any individual faces, but I waved and said, "Hello" and that I was glad to meet them.

When Anne-Marie's mom saw Becky, she broke into a huge grin.

"And how is my favorite adopted daughter?"

"Hey there, Mama Carstairs. Merry Christmas. I am not doing so great today."

With that, Becky tearfully explained to Anne-Marie's mother how her whole family was at their family farm, two hours further north of the city. Most of her family had gone up early, to celebrate the holidays, but Becky stayed behind to look after the family bookstore and to collect the various presents for the children as they arrived, since the farm was too remote for deliveries. She explained how her car had broken down on the way up to the farm, and that now, none of her nieces or nephews would be getting their presents on Christmas Day.

"And the worst part is, even if my car was still working, it would take a tank to get up to the farm with all the snow that we have been having. But there is one nice silver lining, getting to see Anne-Marie and meet her friend Lawrence and ..."

Becky looked over at Keenan and Sasha looking a bit confused, since there hadn't been time for introductions yet. Luckily, Anne-Marie stepped in.

"Becky, this is our friend Keenan and his daughter, Sasha. Keenan is visiting from Australia, and we met them earlier today while we were building a snowman in the park. Lawrence invited them to join us for lunch, since they didn't have anything planned.

"Anyway, it was great to talk to you all, but it's time for us to eat lunch."

After everyone said goodbye, we all sat down at the table. I noticed that, try as he might, Keenan couldn't keep his eyes off Becky. After a few minutes, he hesitantly spoke up.

"Becky, what if Sasha and I drove you up to your family's farm? I don't have a tank, but I do have a Range Rover which is the next best thing, particularly in snow like this. I don't have to be back at the hospital for another three days, and Sasha has never been to a farm before."

Becky stopped eating, and tears filled her pretty eyes.

"You would do that for me? For my family? But you barely know me."

"It would be our pleasure; we would just need to stop by our place to grab a few changes of clothes and such."

"Are you sure that Sasha won't get bored on the farm? There isn't that much to do, but she could go sledding and riding with the other kids. And if the pond is frozen over, maybe even try a little ice skating."

Sasha's eyes got bigger with each thing that Becky said, and soon she couldn't contain herself anymore.

"Did you hear that, there's riding with real horses and everything!"

Keenan laughed at Sasha's antics.

"Well, I guess it is settled then."

Keenan and I quickly finished our meal and then went out to transfer Becky's presents and luggage to the Range Rover. The girls stayed inside and cleaned up, and Anne-Marie made a care package of cookies and leftovers.

As they were getting ready to leave, Keenan suddenly looked chagrined, "But I don't have any presents for your family. I can't show up unannounced on Christmas day empty-handed."

I caught Keenan's eye and looked down at the wine that he was holding.

"It's okay if you want to re-gift the wine. I totally understand."

"Thanks again, Mate. You and Anne-Marie are the best thing that has happened to us in a long while."

After a quick round of hugs, the three of them got in the Range Rover and were off on their Christmas adventure.

******

Anne-Marie and I watched as the Land Rover pulled down the street and out of sight. Once they had turned the corner, she took my hand and looked up at me with a smile.

"Well, that all seemed highly implausible don't you think?"

"Which parts? The ridiculously hot Australian doctor with the tragic backstory and cute-as-a-button daughter? The fact that he happened to be driving a Range Rover, when no one else in the U.S. even owns one? My unbelievably hot college roommate's car breaking down less than 15 minutes away from your house, on Christmas Day no less, with all the presents for her nieces and nephews in her trunk? Keenan's offer to drive for three hours through a snowstorm just so that said hot college roommate could make it home to save Christmas?"

"Actually, that last part is believable. Your friend Becky really is wicked hot."

Anne-Marie gave me a look of feigned disgust along with a shot to the arm.

"Hey, now. What happened to all that peace and good will towards men stuff? Or at least, good will towards this man. But I agree. The rest of that stuff? If this was a movie, I would say that they spent too much money on the photogenic stars, and not enough money on the writers."

We stood together on my front step for another minute, watching the snow fall, before I turned to look at Anne-Marie.

"You know, I really was scared that I was going to lose you to Keenan—that you would become just another Christmas heartbreak for me."

Anne-Marie rolled her eyes and punched me again, in the same arm, but more gently this time.

"Don't be a dumbass. I would choose you over Keenan any day of the week, and twice on Sunday."

"Are you sure?" I asked, a little skeptically. "I mean, when he took his jacket off and showed his muscles, I was pretty sure that I would have married him if he had asked. And he is a really great guy."

Anne-Marie reached up and brushed the backs of her fingers across my cheek sending a shiver down my spine.

"Lawrence don't sell yourself short. You are a great guy as well. You opened your home to four complete strangers on Christmas Day, without asking for anything in return, even though you were sure that at least one of those strangers was going to sweep me off my feet. You look after people who need a little help without any fuss or bother—you just see what needs to be done and you do it. Becky told me about the way that your sister, and your nieces and nephew, talk about you and how much they love you. You don't earn that kind of love and loyalty without being a special kind of person.

"And if we are being totally honest, I was sure you were going to fall for Becky once you met her. I mean, come on now, how many men would choose the sassy best friend over the lovely damsel in distress?"

"Well, this one would, with no regrets."

Anne-Marie smiled her radiant smile and tilted her neck back so that I could lean down to kiss her. After a minute of what was by far the best kiss that I had ever been a part of, however, I was struck by a thought.

"You know, we never did get the chance to open our presents. I am dying to see what you got me."

Anne-Marie let out a small groan.

"It's nothing, really. We can just leave it, or you can open it once I am gone."

"I don't think so, I think we should open our presents together. And let's face it, Schrodinger has been waiting patiently all day to pounce on that glittery paper once it has been removed from the presents. He would be very upset if we let him down now.

******

Anne-Marie and I went back into my house, holding each other's hands and filled to the brim and beyond with love and Christmas cheer (with maybe a little bit of lust mixed in, at least on my part, for good measure). I went to the kitchen to make us each some hot chocolate while Anne-Marie settled into the living room. I grabbed the tin with the remaining Christmas cookies, as I made my way back to the living room.

Anne-Marie was sitting on the couch with her legs tucked underneath her and with Schrodinger curled up in a ball by her side. He was fooling no one, however; we all knew that he was ready to pounce as soon as the wrapping paper started to fly. I gave Anne-Marie her mug of hot chocolate and then brought over the presents.

"Here, why don't you open your present first. I have had it for a while and for the longest time I didn't know why I got it and, even more so, why I kept it. But now, I think that maybe the universe was giving me a sign that someday things would get better. That I would meet you."

Anne-Marie picked up the present and felt around the edges.

"Hmm, this feels like my favorite kind of present ... a book!"

"Alright, enough with the amateur sleuthing and open it already."

Anne-Marie carefully unwrapped the gift and folded the paper as she took it off, much to Schrodinger's chagrin. Inside was a well-aged book with a warm beige cover and a muted olive spine. There was an understated floral design on the front cover, embossed in a light blue with silver highlights and the title of the book, "Poems Emily Dickinson" was engraved in faded gold lettering at the top.

"Holy shit, Lawrence, is this a First Edition? This must be worth a fortune! It's way too much to give something like this to a silly girl that you barely know."

"I guess it's worth a bit, I wouldn't really know. I found it in the spring after my first fiancée left me for her one-true-love. I was wandering around the backroads of Vermont, when I came across a small estate sale. I picked it up, not really thinking about what I had found, but I was taken by the inscription on the inside of the front cover."

Anne-Marie slowly, almost reverently, picked up the book and turned to the inscription which was handwritten in flowing cursive script.

Beloved,

Forever - is composed of Nows -

'Tis not a different time -

Except for Infiniteness -

And Latitude of Home -

You are my home, and I eagerly await to share an infinity of Nows with you,

Both the signature and date were smudged and illegible, but the inscription itself was still crisp, if a little faded.

"Oh. Lawrence. It's incredible. I don't know what to say."

"I find that a simple 'thank you' often does the trick," I replied with a shy smile. "Although I also accept kisses and other signs of affection at par."

Anne-Marie leaned over and gave me the most passionate kiss that we had exchanged thus far, which caused Schrodinger to hop down from the couch and then settle on a pillow near the fire.

"Lawrence, your present makes mine look paltry by comparison. Please, don't open it. I will find something better later in the week."