As low man on the totem pole, I was going to have to work all during Christmas. I was the on-call reporter in case anything happened. My mom was completely unimpressed that I had to miss a lot of holiday events with my friends and family.
April insisted that I attend Ben’s Christmas party—no matter how late I might get there. It was going to be at his new townhouse in Yaletown. The fact that he could afford a townhouse showed how well he was doing. Of course, his family wealth gave him a head start—success always seemed to be about connections.
“Isn’t Phil going to be there?” I asked.
“Of course he is,” she replied. “But you guys will have to meet again sometime. And anyway, he has a new girlfriend.”
“He does?” I asked. It wasn’t a huge surprise to me, but sometimes the essential unfairness of life struck me. While I genuinely wanted Phil to be happy, I wished that my life had more balance. Many nights I wished for someone to talk to at the end of a frustrating day. Someone who would take my side, regardless. Once or twice, I even picked up my cell to call—well, I didn’t even know who I would call.
Ben’s townhouse was absolutely gorgeous. I think April had been involved in some of the decorating choices. She certainly spent enough time here. Between my long hours and her busy social life, I hardly saw her these days.
I felt a little nervous, but Ben was as sweet as ever.
“Kelly! It’s great to see you.” He gave me a big hug. “How’s work going?”
“Oh, fine.” He didn’t want to hear how I was bashing my head against a brick wall all day long.
“I haven’t seen you on television yet,” he commented.
“Uh, well, you have to stay up pretty late to catch anything I’ve done.”
“I saw you go one-on-one with the golden retriever—a new journalistic high,” said a familiar voice behind me.
I turned around. “Hey, Phil.” I hugged him, but his body remained stiff and straight. He looked very handsome—as usual. The disdain in his expression was new though. The dog piece was the one I was most infamous for. It had the most website hits of any video on our website this month. “I know, I’m still learning.”
“The main thing is that you have a real career. Because that’s your big priority, right? Other than dating crappy Canucks prospects.”
I glanced over at Ben, who at least looked embarrassed. I couldn’t believe he told Phil about Peter Haines.
“We went out to dinner once. That’s hardly dating.”
So this was how things were going to be between us from now on. If Phil wanted to crap all over me, that was his choice. I was hoping for something better though.
“How’s your job going?” I asked politely.
“Good. Busy, though.” Phil looked over my shoulder.
A dark-haired woman in a slinky black dress walked up and passed Phil a beer. “Here’s your drink, babe.”
“Thanks.” He draped an arm over her shoulder. “Emily, this is Kelly.”
“Hi, Kelly.” Emily seemed genuinely friendly, which gave me a feeling of relief. If Emily had no idea who I was, then either he wasn’t a big sharer or I hadn’t affected him that much. I smiled back at her.
“What do you do, Emily?” I asked.
“I’m a lawyer,” she said. “I work for the Crown Prosecutor’s office.”
Clearly, he had traded up. I always worried that I wasn’t smart enough for Phil. “That’s a tough job.”
“Yes, but I promised Phil I wouldn’t talk shop and ruin the festive spirit. What do you do, Kelly?”
“I work for C2C Sports,” I replied. Did I have to add junior-junior-junior reporter? I decided not.
“That sounds great,” Emily said. She seemed to be settling in for a long chat, but Phil pulled on her arm. “There’s someone I want you to meet. Excuse us, Kelly.” They left without a backward look.
My emotions did another seesaw. There was time when Phil couldn’t take his eyes off me, and now he couldn’t wait to get away. I gave my head a shake. I had been miserable about hurting Phil. Now he was happy, and he’d found someone new—and better. I didn’t have to worry about him anymore.
I was chatting with Charmaine when April started whacking a spoon against her wineglass.
“Could we have your attention, people,” she called out. With her acting background, she could really project her voice, and everyone hushed up right away.
She looked up at Ben, who was standing right beside her.
He cleared his throat. “While we have all our friends here, we wanted to tell you—we’re engaged!”
A happy whoosh went through the living room. There was cheering and even clapping.
“Oh my gosh, Kelly. I’m shocked,” Charmaine exclaimed. “I guess you knew this already.”
I shook my head. “I had no idea.” Of course I knew that they were serious and Ben had given her an ultimatum the last time they broke up, but April had never breathed a word. For the second time tonight, I felt strangely forlorn. But that was selfish; April was happy, and that was the important thing.
April danced over a few minutes later, flashing her new diamond ring.
“It’s beautiful,” Charmaine said. We both stared at the big diamond, flanked by two smaller ones.”
“Jeez, it’s bigger than the fake diamond on my fake engagement ring,” I declared.
“Is everything okay with his parents?” Charmaine wondered. Ben’s mother was very strong-willed and had hoped he’d marry a Chinese girl.
“Yes, she’s coming around. There’s been some discussion about me joining the family business.” Maybe Mrs. Cho recognized that April was a fellow human dynamo. “We told them first, of course.”
April gave me a hug. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, Kelly.”
“It’s okay,” I reassured her. “Have you set a date yet?” Thanks to my fake engagement, I knew all the right questions to ask when shown a ring.
“Yes, May 16th, 2009. Mrs. Cho consulted the Chinese Almanac for auspicious dates.”
“Wow, that’s not very far away,” I said.
April looked guilty again. “I won’t leave you in the lurch, Kelly. We can move to a month-to-month lease after April 30, and I’ll be your roommate until the end of May. It gives you plenty of time to find a new roomie or find a place of your own.”
“Don’t worry, April. I’ll be fine.” I was happy for her, and I didn’t want to bring down this happy occasion.
“Of course, Ben wishes we could get married even earlier.” She gave me a conspiratorial wink. “A big wedding like this will take a lot of planning, but I’m up for it.”
“You were born for this,” I told her, and we all laughed.
Ben swooped in and took April away. Of all our high school friends, I always thought that Karen would get married first, but I was wrong about that. Of course, I always thought I’d be last, and that still looked like a good bet.
Because I had to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, my parents agreed to have an early Christmas dinner. Our house felt completely weird. My mom was a big collector, and every corner had been full of flowers, vases, artwork, and nature bits like seashells or branches. Now everything had been stashed or given away. The movers were coming on December 27th to take the furniture to storage.
“Man, it’s like someone else’s house,” I said to my brother.
Roger nodded. He was so mature and confident since he started his work co-op. He loved going to Waterloo. He had found his tribe there and really blossomed. We all had a fantastic dinner together, with much reminiscing and also looking forward to the future. My parents were so excited about their trip. I had never worried about money as I grew up, but now I wondered if my parents had made sacrifices so Roger and I could have everything we wanted. Because it was clear that they loved to travel.
I didn’t tell my family how precarious my job situation was because I didn’t want them to worry about me. But I could tell my mom was still concerned.
“So, April’s getting married in May? What will you do for a roommate?”
“I don’t know. I can either find my own place or ask around.”
“Something else to worry about. If only you were still going out with Phil, I would know there was still someone looking out for you.”
“Mom! That’s so old-fashioned. Women look after themselves these days.” Just then Gino came into the dining room and rubbed up against my legs. “So, is Martha still planning to take Gino? Because now that April is leaving, maybe she’ll let me have him.”
She shook her head. “That’s not a good idea if you might have to find a new place. So many rentals don’t take pets. Besides, you’re working ridiculous hours. How can you take care of a cat too?”
My mom was right. If I took him, Gino would spend a lot of time alone. I didn’t even have enough extra energy in my life to love a cat.