Another week that had passed successfully. Another week in which everyday it felt easier to breathe, and there was that feeling of being in a place where love abounded in every corner.
It was Friday again, and more and more I was surprised at how unnoticed the days passed by in the long run. Perhaps a month specifically felt eternal, yet I could hardly believe it was the twentieth day of December.
Marcia and the kids were officially on vacations, so we would have until the first days of January to get into the Christmas and New Year's spirit. Two years in a row have forced me to lose the excitement of this holiday, but 1996 proved to be different, where I had amazing people with whom I was guaranteed we would have an unforgettable Christmas, so it wasn't hard for me to get super excited about all the plans that awaited us.
This time, Marcia took her children to their father's and they would return on Tuesday the 24th to wake up on the 25th at their mother's house to open the presents. I assumed she would want to lay on the couch, cuddle up with me and watch some film we hadn't returned to the movie shop yet, but I was very wrong.
"To Jessica's house? Of course I want to go! Is it okay if I bring... someone?" She eyed me for a second, and with the hand that wasn't holding the phone, she squeezed my thigh. The older woman smiled at how I sucked in a puff of air through my nose. I guessed the person on the other end of the phone suggested something, by the way her cheeks took on that peculiar blush I loved so much, "well, I have a lot to tell you, but yes, my single days are over."
My eyes widened.
My great love was willing to introduce me to the people she loved, to show me those little parts of her life and make me a part of them. She was proud to be my girlfriend. Maybe I was worthy of it, and I had more power than I thought to touch people's hearts.
It was time to stop letting one act of justice I committed define my whole persona. That was what Peter would have wanted, and I won't give him the pleasure of even doubting whether I deserved this.
Dealing with people was something I was very used to. At first, I had no idea what was being asked of me, and was hesitant to even say "have a nice day", but of course fate was the better chess player, so it managed to get me to meet my best friend through work, who helped me understand the dynamics of the place. Eventually, my palms no longer sweated when I heard the little bell that signalled when a customer came in, and I learned to exude confidence just by the tone of my voice.
Nevertheless, it felt like I was in my first days of work again. My heart pounded through my chest and I hadn't said a word since we left home. A million scenarios were running through my mind at once, all in which I thought of possible ways to say hello in order to make a good impression on Marcia's friends. I knew they would receive me wonderfully, otherwise my girlfriend would not have asked me to accompany her to the Christmas get-together.
With her hand intertwined with mine, Marcia waited patiently for the front door to open once we arrived. I don't know what they expected to meet, but I was sure it would be anyone but someone like me.
A middle-aged woman with glasses and wavy red hair opened the door. I was the first one that caught her attention, and what was really two seconds well spent sizing me up, felt hellishly long.
"Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Jessica," she greeted me with a warmth that, without me knowing how, managed to get rid of any concern.
So she was the owner of the house Marcia mentioned on the phone.
"Nice to meet you too, Jessica. I'm (Y/N)."
"(Y/N), nice name," she complimented me.
"Hi, Jess, won't you hug me?" Marcia greeted her before I could respond.
My girlfriend let go of my hand so she could greet the red-haired woman, who didn't hesitate to open her arms and walk over to her to hug her. I found myself thinking about the time the brown-haired woman mentioned to me that their group of friends hadn't been separated since High School, and that even though they all had issues to deal with on a daily basis, their friendship remained strong enough to get together from time to time and hang out as if no time had passed at all.
It was something I admired, and something I aspired to find with my sweet best friend Stefan. I hoped that no matter if the challenges of adulthood consumed us and time marched mercilessly on, our friendship would endure without mishap.
"Everyone is in the dining room. Food will be ready in about ten minutes, there is hot air conditioning and drinks for you to choose from. Make yourselves at home."
"Thank you very much," I gave her a smile, once we escorted her to the part of the house where the meeting would be held.
There was a long table for six people, and this one had only three free spaces, two that Marcia and I would occupy and the one that would be occupied by the kind Jessica who had previously hosted us.
"(Y/N)! Come here, my dear!"
I knew that voice! Oh, I had no idea what he was doing here, but I was so relieved to find him around. I felt all my muscles relax immediately and my heart returning to its normal rate.
"Stefan! What a coincidence!" I exclaimed, as he stood up. I proceeded to walk over to him to put my arms around him.
"Not such a coincidence. He's my assistant, the best I've ever had," a woman next to him spoke.
"Oh, shush! I don't want to cry today," he covered his mouth with his hand, "it's a great honor to pass you dental tools five days a week."
"Please sit down," prompted us the woman I knew as the dentist the black-haired boy worked for.
Marcia and I sat next to each other. We exchanged a brief glance until she spoke, "well, this is Élise, the dentist who was kind enough to hire our dear Stefan," Marcia introduced her, "this is Chris, this is Joanne, and this is Diego," she introduced each of them, who smiled or waved in greeting, to which I reciprocated.
The event of introducing myself as such lasted far less time than the time I spent mentally preparing myself for it.
The one who caught my eye was Chris. I could instantly recognize him as the lawyer with whom Marcia worked on the very important O.J. Simpson case, and there were strong rumors that he was in love with her. Oh, the jealousy I felt when I read that, I wish I hadn't been so well informed. Still, he was as welcoming as the others. No hints of jealousy from his part either.
"I think you know Chris Darden. The only one guy who we didn't meet in high school but for my work. He teaches law at Southwestern University now," Marcia commented. "We had to take advantage of him being in town during the holidays to have him join us."
"Yes, of course I know him," I confirmed, with the politest smile I could outline. "It's nice that you came back to Los Angeles."
"So, you're Marcia Clark's sweetheart," spoke the one who was introduced to me as Diego.
I felt all my blood rush to my cheeks, making me blush, and eliciting a giggle from everyone present. Marcia took my hand from under the table, entwining it with hers, a habit we had for no particular purpose, or without something to provoke it, but this time, she did it to make me feel safe.
"Yes, I am her sweetheart and she is mine," I spoke, in a confident tone like the one the others used with me, thus making me more a part of the atmosphere.
"We always knew that she has always felt attraction or love towards people, regardless of their gender," he assured me, somehow letting me know that they were not as surprised to meet me as I thought they would be.
"She's just like me!" Stefan exclaimed, raising his drink. Marcia laughed and, even though her glass was empty, toasted with him.
It was not only that what worried me, it was the fact that she was in her forties and I was twenty years younger, and that I was a suspected criminal. I had no idea if everyone who thought I was guilty of that murder had already found out that I was discarded as a suspect once the alleged culprit was arrested. Someone probably didn't know, and that left me wondering. No one mentioned either of these two options, so I was just overthinking.
"Our beloved prosecutor has become too bitter, it's so good that she has someone to take the bad mood away," Jessica said, walking to the table to place a bowl of vegetables that looked quite tempting.
"What do you mean? She always has an occurrence for every occasion and laughs at everything," I countered, noticing out of the corner of my eye that Marcia had an indignant expression on her face, still smiling.
"Admit it, at first she was so intimidating she terrified you," Stefan interjected, pointing accusingly at me and giving away the multiple remarks he heard from me where, in effect, I said I was intimidated by her back when we'd only known each other for a short time.
"Thanks, asshole," I grumbled, making everyone laugh again. "Yeah, sure, but Stefan can't deny that said intimidating countenance somehow appealed to me."
"She was the life of the party," Joanne spoke up for the first time, and Marcia protested slightly at the fact that she was being the main topic. "We worked our asses off to save up to buy a used van that was acceptable, and she was in charge of driving it most of the time. She was the one with the initiative, the one who encouraged us to skip college classes to take the vehicle if there was a concert taking place."
"Oh, I heard about that," I chuckled, feeling that need to turn to look at her from time to time to catch her reaction.
"No, I proposed it and you agreed," she clarified. "By that you also imply that I was the responsible one. You guys always ended up high or drunk to the bone and I stayed clean so I could drive back."
"Yes, always except for one occasion where Diego," Joanne said, pointing at the aforementioned, who couldn't stop laughing, "the poor man set out to stay clean so he could drive back from the Pink Floyd concert and you took the opportunity of a lifetime. You smoked so much marijuana that you started crying because you had lost your sense of taste, because you thought you were drinking soda when you were really drinking water." At this point, the end of the sentence was barely understandable, as she was slowly exploding with laughter.
And I didn't know what caused me to laugh out loud just as much, the fact as such, or the woman's laughter.
I couldn't help but imagine a younger Marcia in her early career, panicking and crying because she lost her sense of taste when she was drinking water and not soda as she thought she was. If I had been there, or if that happened to Stefan, it was a fact that years would pass and I would still remember it and bring it up in conversation whenever the opportunity arose. Oh my, it was too funny a situation!
"It was dark and you guys tricked me. I spent the whole time drinking soda but when I asked for something to drink, you gave me water! Water!"
"Because water is necessary to keep your throat from drying out!" Justified Jessica, having placed the last plate of food down, and subsequently sat in the only empty spot allotted to her. "Admit you were really high."
The brown-haired woman raised her hands, and proceeded to grab a portion from the food placed in front of her, "yes, not only that time but many times I've been high. Don't do it," she pointed at me and Stefan, and we both hummed knowingly, causing the woman next to me to look at us in surprise.
"Come on! Tell an anecdote!" Chris exhorted me, getting wrapped up in the conversation, as previously he was only laughing at what others were saying.
"I think it's not the wisest thing to do so, given that we have two lawyers between us," I joked, referring to my girlfriend and the man who asked me the question. "However... I have one, when Stefan brought four blunts and we smoked them while watching the 1995 Video Music Awards on MTV..."
"Don't you dare! Don't. You. You. Dare!" I was interrupted by the tall boy, who was returning the pyrex to the center of the table as he finished serving his food on his plate.
I proceeded to take it to serve myself my portion, "when Madonna won best female video for 'Take A Bow', Stefan crawled over to the TV and started kissing the screen, while swearing he was going to marry her," I recounted, making sure not to take my eyes off him to observe how blushed he looked, as he covered his face with his hands.
"Don't make fun of me for having a crush on Madonna!" He exclaimed, "you've had a huge crush on Jennifer Tilly since 'Bound' came out."
"I've had a huge crush on Jennifer since 'The Getaway' came out," I corrected. "I'm not making fun of you for that, I'm making fun of you because you were kissing the screen and you really sounded so confident! You even came up with a plan on how to conquer her heart. You were saying you'd go to a concert and act like you didn't know her so she'd think you were different from the others."
"I still think that's a good plan," he assured, and that caused me to let out a loud laugh. Everyone present laughed along with me.
The rest of the evening was perfect in every sense of the word. Everyone shared a part of their lives with all of us, consisting mostly of funny anecdotes. I felt completely welcome among the kind people Marcia introduced me to, for which I will always be eternally grateful.