The next four weeks fly by in a mad rush. Kookie and Emmie are busy with high school musical practices. So is Janna. She’s the backstage manager. This job was designed for her. She gets to boss people around and use all her detail-oriented abilities to make sure the show runs smoothly. Lyric is busy with basketball practices and games. Of which we attend many. At least, the ones that don’t interfere with play practice.
At one such game, I finally get to meet Lyric’s parents, Candice and Song. Yes, you heard me right. Lyric’s father is from Korea, and his name is Song. Perhaps this was the inspiration for his children’s musical names? A little happy wordplay, perchance?
Janna and Lyric are still so adorable around one another. Always staring across the room dreamy-eyed at each other. Unlike my daughter and her beau, who are obviously nuts about each other, my eldest son and his beloved have kept their distance from each other. Kookie and Emmie seem to be carefully circling each other. I haven’t seen them talk more than a handful of times since homecoming. And it wasn’t exactly scintillating conversation. But when she’s not looking at him, he gazes at her with such affection in his eyes and in his smile. And when he glances away, she stares up at him like he put the stars in her eyes. And I don’t think she’s taken that green hoodie off since he gave it to her.
Ah, young love. It’s so cute to watch blooming.
––
One night in the middle of that month, I sit down in the living room to listen to Kookie practice playing his guitar. After twenty minutes of utter beauty, Kookie’s fingers cease to move on the strings of his guitar for a moment.
I decide to broach a subject that has been on my mind for a while. “Kookie, what are you going to give Emmie for Christmas?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know.” He smiles ruefully as he comments, “I already gave her my hoodie.” Then his face brightens. “Maybe I should give her my leather jacket.”
I laugh, absolutely certain that would make her day.
“Are you looking for a romantic gift?”
“Mah-ahhhhm. You know I haven’t done anything about my feelings for Emmie, right? Beyond giving her my hoodie, I mean.”
He still misses that hoodie. I can tell. Every so often, he says, “Let me grab my hoodie, and then I’ll—” and he cuts himself off in mid-sentence as he remembers that he sacrificed it for Emmie’s sake. Then he shrugs and says, “It’s okay. It looks better on her anyway.”
Now I respond to his statement about not moving on his feelings for Emmie.
“Yes, Kook, I know. And that is perfectly all right. It’s more than all right. I’m good with it.”
He glances up at me, his face alight with laughter. “I am well aware that you’re okay with it!”
I laugh. “It’s just you’re so young yet. You don’t need to rush into things, you know? It’s so much safer that way.”
He grunts and returns to playing his guitar. But I can tell that he’s thinking about Emmie now.
––
Thanksgiving passes soon enough, and I awake on Black Friday to my daughter’s urgent whisper.
“Mom! Aren’t we going shopping?”
I force my eyes open to see my only girl bending over my bed, her long honey hair nearly tickling my nose. It’s become a true waterfall, nearly three feet long now!
“Nana,” I whisper. “What time is it?”
“Nearly six.”
“Six! Nana, I gave up early Black Friday shopping long ago!”
“But, Mom, I’ve got to find Lyric something nice.” She pauses a moment before continuing, “Puleassssse.”
My eyes have already closed again. “Let me know when the hot cocoa is ready. And I want extra whipped cream,” I mutter. “And a shot of caramel syrup.”
It’s a tradition. We always take to-go mugs of hot chocolate with us on all our Black Friday expeditions.
I lie in bed for a moment. But I have this sense that someone is standing over me again. I crack an eye open. A dark form looms above me. He bends towards me, still silent. But in the light pouring in through my open doorway, I can see his dark fringe falling into his eyes. Kookie.
My heart melts as his melodious tones whisper over me, “Mom, can we go Black Friday shopping?”
What?! Now both my eyes are wide with shock. Kookie has never risen early to go shopping with us before. What on earth is going on?
I hear my husband rolling over in the bed. I slide towards Kookie. He backs up as I climb out of bed. We head for the living room. As we enter the light, I see how sleepy he appears, his dark eyes squinting in the brightness, a glazed look shadowing them. Still adorable.
“Tell Nana we need one more hot cocoa! I’m going to get ready.”
I head back to my bedroom, hoping I won’t wake my husband. And I thought my days of rising before six in the morning on Black Friday were well behind me!
A few minutes later clad in warm coats, a cup of hot cocoa heating up our cold fingers, we head out to Wal-Mart. The parking lot is packed, so we have to park in a neighboring lot and walk through the brisk air for a block. We finally make it into the toasty store to discover a herd of people lunging for the best deals. I take one look at the chaos and say, “Skip the shopping cart. You can only buy what you can carry.” I turn towards my twins. “So…what are we buying?” Internally, I am groaning because I know that the checkout line wraps around the store.
They both stare at me, dumbfounded. Kookie shrugs as he mutters, “I hrmmmmm.”
Janna looks just as clueless.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll get in the checkout line while you two shop. When you’re ready to check out, you can come find me, and hopefully we can check out quickly.”
They glance at each other. Then back at me.
“Mom, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I need your help,” Janna murmurs.
Kookie nods his head. “I’ll stand in line while you shop with Nana. Then it will be my turn.”
Half an hour later, Janna and I make our way to Kookie’s side. At least, we try to.
