A Moment Longer [Chaelisa] [COMPLETE]

20. The panic

The days leading up to the holidays were the most difficult ones without Lisa. Bea's first Christmas would be this year, and we would be celebrating it without her.

Lisa's journey has reached the West. She wouldn't have any time to slip away to go home because she would be playing two gigs in Los Angeles, one on Christmas Eve and one on Christmas Day. The band would only stay in the US for another week after those shows before departing for Europe, where the tour would continue until they came back to the US in the spring. Just imagining how much travelling she was doing exhausted me.

Lisa deserves some credit, though. She had kept her promise to skype with us every other day. Even though I eagerly anticipated our conversations, I found it more difficult to be apart from her. The new recollection of our time spent together in Massachusetts faded as the days passed. With every day that went by, the assurance that night had provided me was gradually being replaced by anxiety and insecurity once more. While I trusted her more after we'd made love, she still hadn't told me she loved me. In my mind, that meant that nothing was set in stone. That made for one paranoid girlfriend, especially when you consider the fact that she would be gone for more than a dozen further weeks.

Two days remained until Christmas. I received an invitation from Roger and Hailey to attend their ugly sweater party with Bea. Lisa had called earlier to say they'd just arrived in California. I was appreciative of the distraction the party would provide. It would keep me from pouting in front of the Christmas tree at the beach house, at least for a few of hours.

I had purchased a hideous red sweater with tiny Christmas lights sewed onto the front at a nearby thrift shop. Even better, I was able to find Bea an ugly Christmas sweater onesie online. Thus, we were all prepared for the celebration.

I wrapped Bea in a blanket and went across the street to the neighbours' house, which was decorated with colourful lights because it was bitterly cold outside. Out front, an inflatable snowman was being blown by the wind. It wasn't ideal to live by the lake in the dead of winter.

Since I didn't have any extra hands, I used my foot to knock on their door while carrying a few freshly baked sugar cookies.

Roger let the door open. "Roseanne, you made it! Hailey didn't have any idea that you would show up."