TKB - The Time Apart

Chapter 4 - Winter Break in Phoenix

Woo hoo!  We have chapter names now!  Not super fancy or creative like lewwilson, but, hey, its something!

Elle POV

Now that we're back from Berkeley, I have another trip lined up.  But this one is with my family....and Linda.

Christmas is coming up, and rather than spending it at home, Dad has convinced Brad and I to visit Linda's family in Phoenix.  Its about a 6 hour ride away, so we left the day before Christmas Eve.  I wasn't thrilled about going, but it was an excuse to avoid Noah, who I knew was coming home the day we left.  

Linda has an older brother (John), who is married with 2 kids (Paul and Stacey), and one grandkid.  His grandson just turned 1, and from pictures, he's adorable.  She also has a daughter, Kelsey, who is currently studying in England, and won't be around for Christmas - hence my dad, nor I, will get to meet her on this trip.  For most of our trip, we'll be staying in a hotel nearby, but Christmas Eve, we're going to stay with Linda's brother.  Not going to lie, I still haven't gotten used to my dad having a girlfriend, let alone sharing a room with her.  But here we are, in the middle of the desert, celebrating Christmas for the first time without the Flynn's.  

Not seeing Lee for Christmas was pretty hard for me.  But not being with Noah was pretty hard too.  We always had this tradition of who could out-do each other with gifts, even before he and I were dating.  I guess I had a little less pressure this year to try to come up with something, but I kinda wish I had to.  We still hadn't spoken, so I guess we weren't going to start now.  Lee, however, did FaceTime me on Christmas morning to show me his favorite gifts.  He's totally a kid at heart, because he was thrilled that his uncle got him a new hover board.  What is he, 10?  He was also happy about his new gaming headphones.  I showed him the new smart watch that my dad and Brad had gotten me. (he must have known I was getting it, because when I got home, he gifted me with a new pink band to go on it, and it had been out of stock for a few weeks - I had already tried to get one!)

The trip was, admittedly, not a bad time.  Linda's niece, Stacey, was about my age, so I had someone to hang out with.  Her nephew, Paul, who was obviously a little older since he had a baby, was cool too.  He and his wife lived about 15 minutes away, so they spent time with us too.  I realized that I didn't have too much experience with babies, and I hadn't even thought too hard about what I'd like to see in my future.  I should definitely consider doing some babysitting in my spare time though.  Every time I pinched little Jacob's cheeks, he just kept giggling.  And diaper duty wasn't too bad either.  But, its always nice to give them back afterwards!  

It was nice to see my dad happy, and it was good for me to see Linda in her element with her family.  From what my dad had shared with me, she had always been close to her brother, and while she was happy that he decided to stay in Pheonix after college (many years ago), she decided to stay back in LA where they had grown up.  She had considered moving there, but she knew she had built her life in LA and had friends there that she wanted to be around too.  Kelsey would be back in LA, either summer, or sometime later, if she decided to stay when she wrapped up school.

After we got back from Phoenix, winter break seems like it sped by so quickly.  We took a quick weekend trip with Carly down to San Diego, where we visited the zoo, an amusement park, and enjoyed the drive up and down the coast.   

We also hit an LA Kings hockey game one night.  Lee looked ridiculous with his goalie mask and foam finger.  However, the funniest moment was when the guy next to me nudged my back and pointed to the big screen.  Looking up, I saw Lee and I plastered in the middle of a giant heart on the kiss cam.  We could NOT stop laughing, and Carly definitely did not let us forget about that one.  I'm glad she was quick enough to get a picture of it.

Lee and I also spent a significant amount of time in my garage on the DDM machine.  We were still pretty good at it, and sometimes we even let Brad join a game with us.  Since Brad went back to school right after New Year's, and Lee and I were home a few more weeks, we were able to get some of that good quality Lee & Elle time in, and it felt like old times. 

As the days ticked by, it was really time for me to finish getting ready to leave for school. My nerves were starting to get to me about leaving home. And it didn't help that I was avoiding the Flynn house at all costs. June came over to help me go through my things, because I think she understood my apprehension about coming to her house.

Was this how Noah felt heading off to college?  When he left, he was leaving me behind. Going to USC is so different... I don't feel like I'm leaving anything behind.  Instead, they have left me instead I guess.  But, rather than feeling hopeless, I've decided to commit to being hopeful I feel like I'm moving forward with my life and can't wait for my next chapter.

Sorry this is a little shorter than normal - the next chapter will be up soon, and it will be Elle finally heading off to USC.   I wanted to put a little more behind winter break, even though its only a few weeks long.  I hope no one minds!