The Minor

Wednesday (Christmas Morning)

I woke up to the tune of Jingle Bell Rock & Amber jumping on my bed. Cal was standing in the corner, dancing & laughing. My room had never been more festive. There was a wreath with pinecones & fake snow on my door & mini Christmas trees everywhere.

Amber came crashing down on top of me with a thud. "Wake up, sleepy head!"

I groaned. "Your elbow is in my spleen."

"You don't even know where that is," Cal rolled his eyes before helping Amber off of me. "But, I'd like to remind you that it is CHRISTMAS TIMEEEE." He picked up the speaker & dashed into the next room without looking back. Amber stayed a little longer.

"Girl, we've got to have our own Christmas celebration before we get ready for the boys to come over. Remember? You planned this!" Her eyes looked like they were going to bulge out of her head. I nodded slowly, gingerly touching the place on my ribs where her elbow had landed moments before. "You've got to be the life of the party, sister. This is your deal & we are here to help you, but you've gotta be awake enough to tell us what to do."

I pushed down the covers a tiny bit. Amber grabbed them & pulled them down to my feet, to which I immediately curled up into a ball. She grabbed an extra pillow & poked me with it gently before laying it on top of me & pretending to smother me.

"Amber," I wheezed, trying to breathe instead of laugh. "I am awake, thank you!"

She pulled the pillow away from my face & hovered over me. "Just checking." Throwing the pillow, she then hopped onto the bed next to me. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I confirmed, smushing my face into my pillow. "Just confused. Why didn't he seem like he wanted to touch me?"

"Some people aren't as touchy as we are," she shrugged. "I don't get it. But, apparently, it's a thing." She immediately began poking my face. I shooed her hand away.

Stopping all movement, Amber sniffed the air. "Do you smell that?"

Cinnamon buns. The air was delightfully scented with the soft, delectable, sugary taste of them. All of my sad, confused state was pushed aside in an instant. Amber grabbed my hand & pulled me out of bed & towards the kitchen, where Cal was standing by the oven, grinning like a cheshire cat.

"I knew this would work." He placed a mug under the Keurig & pressed the button. Smelling the caffeine mixed with the cinnamon goodness felt like a caffeine rush before the caffeine. He pressed the mug into my hands when it was done brewing. "Drink up. We've got a big day today."

"We found all of these decorations at the dollar store," Amber called from the couch where she was pulling out tinsel & ornaments & more fake snow. I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the floor. "Well, you couldn't very well shop for decorations when you were visiting the boys. Cal & I went yesterday. Everything was super on sale because the holidays are almost over."

My eyes wandered around the room as I marveled at the fact that my friends had gone above & beyond, once again. Cal called me back to the kitchen. "We also bought tons of Christmas cookies, since we forgot to get those at the store. We bought everything from gingerbread to snickerdoodle. Amber even remembered to get coffee & cider."

"And presents!" Amber tossed me a large stuffed bear. "We wanted to get things that would be able to go home with them. Or, at least, back to juvie."

I felt my eyes begin to tear up. These people were too good to me. "How did I ever get lucky enough to find you angels of human beings??"

Amber snorted. "You hit me in the head with a paper airplane in 2nd grade & wouldn't let me leave until you apologized for 30 minutes & went to the nurse to check if I had a concussion. I will never let you forget that."