"Julie."
Julia was sleeping soundly when she heard a familiar voice calling her name.
"Julie, get up."
She tossed in her bed, pulling the quilt up to her chin, and tried her best to ignore the voice.
"Rosie, you have to go home!"
She gasped, sitting up in her bed. Her bedroom was just starting to see the pale light of dawn.
"Dad," she said quietly, looking around her room. It took her only a split second to remember that she wasn't a little girl anymore. Her dad wasn't in her bedroom, calling her name gently to wake her up. Her heart raced, and her head spun. It had been a long time since she had dreamt of her dad. She leaned back against her headboard, remembering what day it was.
December 24th. Christmas Eve. Her last day in Minnesota.
Reaching over to her bedside table, she grabbed the small alarm clock she never used. Upon seeing it wasn't even 7 o'clock in the morning, she groaned. She had a feeling she wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon. Hearing her dad's voice so clearly, only to wake up to an empty bedroom, had left her feeling hollow. She rubbed her eyes, trying to silence the voice nagging at her in her head. She laid back on her pillow, willing her mind to slow down and go back to sleep.
After a few minutes of unbearable silence, she huffed. She threw her blankets off, getting out of bed. Clearly she wouldn't be allowed to rest. She dressed quickly, putting on warm clothes. After brushing her teeth, she snuck quietly downstairs. It was shocking that no one else was awake, but she didn't question it. She stopped in the kitchen to write a note explaining her absence, and then she grabbed her keys and headed out to the Corvette.
She got in the car, sighing when she remembered it would be one of her last times for a while. Ignoring the frigidly cold feeling of the leather steering wheel, she left the house, heading towards her destination in a comfortable silence. She thought a lot about how much she would miss Minnesota. She would miss it more than she ever had before. Her stomach twisted in knots as she neared her destination.
She pulled in, parking her car quickly and starting the short walk. The sun still hadn't risen into the sky, although the sky was becoming lighter. It was silent, the kind of quiet that felt almost irreverent to break.
"Hi, Daddy," Julia said softly as she approached the headstone she knew too well. She sat on the ground without hesitation, staring at the stone.
William Michael Brooks
April 2nd, 1936-December 6th, 1971
Beloved father, brother, and son
"I'm sorry I didn't come by sooner. I've been here for months and I only manage to come the same day I'm leaving," Julia acknowledged with a lone, humorless laugh. The truth was, she didn't necessarily feel closer to her father sitting in a cemetery surrounded by graves than she did anywhere else. It felt more like an obligation to visit most of the time. Today was different, though. Her dream had left her with an overwhelming urge to sit and talk to her dad.
"I should've brought something," she sighed, looking around to see nearby graves decorated for Christmas. She thought of Christmas with her dad, and remembered the picture of the two of them taped to her vanity.
"Jack saw a picture of us from when I was little. He said you look like Uncle Herb," she reminisced with a smile.
"Jack's a really good guy, Daddy. You'd like him a lot. I know Uncle Herb and Robbie do. Robbie says we're good for each other. Uncle Herb didn't blow a gasket when he found out we were together, so I know he likes him," she giggled. "He's from Boston. He's got the accent and everything. When he gets mad, it gets so bad I can barely understand him. He's incredible to watch on the ice. I love watching him play, and the rest of the team too. I wish you could be here to see everything Uncle Herb has done with the team."
She smiled sadly as a gentle breeze blew through the cemetery.
"I've been talking to my mom," she admitted barely above a whisper. She wondered how her dad would have felt about it, as she truly had no clue. "I'm going to her house for Christmas. She's meeting Jack today."
The ground was cold underneath Julia, and she pulled her knees up to her chest.
"I wish-" she stopped, taking a deep breath to fight off the sob that was building in her chest. "I wish it was you here. I wish you were meeting my boyfriend and getting ready to spend Christmas with me. I know that that's a terrible thing to say, but I can't help it. I miss you."
"I should've brought Jack here," she said as a tear rolled down her cheek. "I should've brought him here before I had to go."
"It would just be so nice if you could be here to help me figure everything out with my mom. Robbie and Uncle Herb think I should just stay away from her. Jack's too nice to tell me, but I think he thinks the same."
The haunting silence was comforting in a way, and Julia continued to talk as the sun slowly poked into the gray sky.
"I'm going back to California soon. Our third album is coming out. I think you'd really like it. And...and I promise I've gotten my act together. No more partying like I used to. I like to think you're proud of me."
Memories of her dad playing his favorite music for his young daughter filled Julia's mind. He really loved The Beatles, and when The White Album came out, they were excited to see a song titled "Julia." She sat for a while, telling funny stories about the boys or updates about the family. When the sun had fully risen, she said her goodbyes and got into the Corvette.
Herb was in the kitchen, pouring a cup of coffee when a handwritten note caught his eye. He picked it up, reading it quickly.
Went to see Dad. Be back soon. -Julie
He had heard the sound of the front door closing earlier that morning and hadn't worried. In his opinion, his niece had done plenty to prove herself. Honestly, he would've guessed she was sneaking off to see Jack.
"Good morning," Patti greeted, walking into the kitchen. Herb handed her a cup of coffee, which she took gratefully. "Merry Christmas Eve. What's that?"
"Note from Julie. She's at the cemetery," Herb explained. Patti looked at her husband, clearly a little surprised.
"The cemetery? You think she's okay?"
"She's probably just thinking about how she's leaving tonight. This is the longest she's been home in years," Herb pointed out. Patti sat at the kitchen table, taking a long sip of coffee.
"I can't believe she's leaving. It's been nice having her home," Patti said with a smile. Herb nodded, draining his coffee mug.
"I've slept better at night, I can tell you that much," he chuckled. Before long, they heard the sound of the Corvette pulling up, and Julia was walking through the front door. She walked into the kitchen and straight to the coffee pot.
"Good morning," she greeted as she joined her aunt and uncle at the table.
"Morning. How was the cemetery?" Herb asked.
"Surprisingly quiet," she remarked, making Herb and Patti laugh.
"Are you still going to lunch today?"
"Yeah. Jack and I are meeting Mom at her hotel at noon. Apparently there's some nice restaurant there."
Herb and Patti just nodded, sharing a worried look when Julia wasn't paying attention.
Jack could tell how nervous Julia was as she drove toward downtown Minneapolis. She had insisted on driving, as it was her last day with her precious car.
"There's nothing to be worried about," Jack reminded her as they pulled up to the hotel.
A valet attendant was waiting outside of the luxurious hotel. Why her mother had insisted on one of the nicest hotels in the city, she wasn't sure. Regardless, she and Jack were dressed nicely. She left the car for the attendant, smiling gratefully when Jack was beside her in a second, taking her hand in his.
The lobby of the hotel was plush and opulent, with well-dressed people everywhere. It was decorated for the holidays, with a large, full tree trimmed in silver and gold. A man sat at a grand piano, playing traditional Christmas music. Julia had never felt less Christmas spirit in her life.
Walking into the restaurant inside of the lobby, the two of them spotted Sylvia sitting at a table in the middle of the dining room. Jack had missed the last rendezvous with Sylvia, but it was impossible to miss the resemblance she shared with her daughter, despite their drastically different hair colors.
She stood up when she saw them, holding out her arms for a hug from her daughter. Julia complied with ease, and Jack noticed how big her smile grew in her mom's embrace.
"Mom, this is Jack O'Callahan. Jack, this is my mom, Sylvia Belisle," Julia made the obligatory introduction. The two of them had heard plenty about each other and probably didn't need introducing. Jack smiled politely, shaking Sylvia's hand.
"It's so nice to meet you, Jack. I've heard so much about you," Sylvia grinned. It wasn't lost on Jack where Julia got her charm.
"You, too, Mrs. Belisle."
"Oh, please, call me Sylvia," she insisted as the three of them sat down. Jack nodded as Sylvia looked at Julia. "Are you all packed and ready for tonight?"
"I'm packed, at least. Not sure I'm entirely ready to say goodbye to everyone," she admitted. "But I'm excited for Christmas, and I'm excited to go back to Los Angeles."
"When does Tommy come home?" Sylvia asked.
"I think it's the 28th," Julia answered quickly, looking over the menu.
A well-dressed waiter came over, asking if he could start anyone with a drink. Sylvia ordered a nice bottle of chardonnay for the table. Julia told her mom the story of Robbie's Christmas tree, leaving out the bit about Jack being in her room. Sylvia nodded along and laughed at the appropriate times.
When the waiter returned with the bottle of wine, Sylvia poured each of them a glass. Jack pressed his lips together to keep from saying anything. Julia had an occasional drink now and then, but barring the incident in Canada she didn't drink a lot. Sylvia asked Jack polite questions about his upbringing and his future. He couldn't help but notice Julia polishing off her glass of wine, and he wondered if she was still feeling nervous. Sylvia smiled fondly as Jack told her about growing up in Boston.
"Oh, I just loved Boston. I lived there for a summer," she told them, before pausing. Her eyes widened ever so slightly. Julia refilled her wine glass, remembering that her mother had lived in Boston briefly after leaving her and her father. Jack picked up on the tension and changed the subject to hockey.
"And what about the album? When is that coming out?" Sylvia asked after they had ordered their lunch. Jack hadn't thought to ask Julia if the album had a release date yet.
"They're thinking mid-February, but we don't have a specific date yet," Julia explained. She looked down at her wine glass, not offering up much more information.
The rest of lunch went by in a fairly mundane way, excluding the fact that Julia finished a third glass of wine. Jack bit his tongue and made a mental note to drive them home. After Jack and Sylvia said goodbye, she and Julia went over their plans for departure that night. Julia didn't argue with Jack when he asked for the keys to the car.
"I went to my dad's grave this morning," she said quietly once they were in the car. Jack glanced over at her, but her eyes were focused on the road ahead of them.
"How was that?" He asked her gently. He couldn't tell how she was feeling after lunch with her mom, but he didn't think the wine was helping. She seemed strangely aloof, and he only hoped the party that evening would raise her spirits.
"Fucking hard," she let out with a puff of air. Jack reached over, taking her hand in his. He was officially concerned. He didn't want to tell her the strange feeling he had gotten from Sylvia, or how badly he didn't want Julia to go to her house. He would've felt better knowing she was going home to Los Angeles. He decided to raise his concern as subtly as he could manage.
"Are you gonna be alright going to your mom's, sweetheart?"
"It's only one night. I'm sure I'll survive."