Humming joyously, Jonas stacked the glasses onto a tray while the guests chattered noisily outside. Just a month ago, his freezing cold department was burning in flames, and now they were having a warm winter party at his place. It was quite unbelievable to him, but he was glad. He carried the tray of ten cups out to the living room and boomed,
“Drinks, everybody?”
He had made a variety of beverages; three types of coffee, peppermint and ginger tea, three hot chocolates with candy canes and special condiments, as well as a couple of surprise beers. The perceivers picked their drinks, some without knowing what they had chosen. In a second the tray was empty, and Jonas was about to return to the kitchen to get more when he spotted from the corner of his eye, a perceiver standing at the far end of the room with his arms folded. Jonas smiled, put the tray down on the dining table and made his way to him. He said good-naturedly,
“Leo, I don't think we need a flower on this well-decorated wall.”
The dull grey in Leo's eyes glanced up at him.
“You said just a few other perceivers were coming.”
“Change of plans,” Jonas’ eyebrows raised. “Since our department seems to be getting along so much better, I thought, why not?”
“You promised me food,” Leo grumbled.
Jonas laughed with a sigh. “The food's coming in ten minutes. Now why don't you join in the fun? Check out your presents. Tell the others about your latest assignment. Count the number of baubles on the tree.”
“There are twenty-seven.” Leo stated.
“Not bad,” Jonas chuckled at his degree of boredom. “Where’s Clarisa?”
Leo shrugged. He hadn't tried to perceive her location and didn't intend to.
“Probably working overtime.”
Jonas’ lip curled. “That sounds like her. Just hoping she doesn't miss the party.”
“Oh, she won't,” Leo muttered. He knew how much Clarisa loved parties. That was proven to be true when ten minutes later, she materialised with a glimmering blue light in the centre of the room, at the same time as the arrival of the food caterer. The house warmed up so much that they didn't need a fireplace, and the spotlight wasn't on the roast chicken. Clarisa was more than the life of the party. She greeted her colleagues first, talked with them, laughed with them, helped serve lunch, and even conducted a ten-minute tutorial on gift wrapping. Everyone piled her with presents of all sizes, too many for her to carry. They were later placed under the tree in a large shopping bag. He didn't even receive more than two. He wasn't envious of her, though he admitted feeling a little jealous of the crowd. So caught up in it she was that she hadn't noticed the wallflower standing in the corner of the room. Had she moved on that quickly? Because he hadn't, and he couldn't bear to watch the scene any longer.
He excused himself from the living room and walked out to the balcony behind the sliding doors. It was freezing there, but at least he had privacy. He slumped with his arms on the railing and looked out at the streets below. The last of the autumn leaves had already fallen, so the trees were bare, as were the sidewalks since everyone was indoors hiding from the cold. That left not much of a view to look at; there wasn't even snow.
Leo's thoughts found their way effortlessly to the events of two nights ago. He wondered if everything had changed between he and Clarisa, if he could ever strike up an ordinary conversation with her again. Or were they just going to keep avoiding each other and pretending they had never met? He knew that Jonas would never allow that; he and Clarisa worked too well together to be separated. Their leader would easily spot a hole in their relationship and encourage them to make up, and he didn't think Clarisa wanted a middleman any more than he did. Whatever it was, if they were hoping to fix things, Clarisa had to come to him.
And he was waiting.
* * *
The energy of the room had finally gone down; people were unwinding by the fireplace and chatting in small groups, a few still trying to pick the last scraps of log cake off the plate. Clarisa sat at the gift table with her chin resting on one hand, feeling contented and drained. Jonas came by with a bottle of champagne and sat down beside her.
“More?”
Clarisa shook her head with a smile.
“I can't have more if I haven't had any.”
“I see,” Jonas chuckled at her quip. He brought up gently, “Clarisa, I noticed that you haven't said hi to Leo.”
“I didn't know he's here,” she lied. She wasn't stupid. She had seen him walk out to the balcony.
“I just… can't help but find that there's something wrong between you two,” Jonas said tactfully. She sighed, knowing that he wasn't stupid either.
“Yes, there's…” she trailed off, thinking of what to fill into the blank. In the end she decided to leave it empty.
“There’s something.”
“I bet he's out there waiting for you,” Jonas grinned. “To make the first move.”
Clarisa stared at him thoughtfully, appreciating how he didn't force his way into the details. A minute later, a wan smile spread across her face as she changed the subject,
“I’ve got a present for you.”
“Ho ho ho, finally,” Jonas chuckled. Clarisa bent over and reached into the bag of gifts she had prepared. She pulled out a medium-sized square box, wrapped intricately with decorative layers and ribbons. Jonas held it in his hands and took a moment to admire the handicraft.
“Are you expecting me to rip this up?”
“If you want,” Clarisa smiled. To her surprise, Jonas tried to remove the wrapping paper neatly. It was going well, until he got to a strip of tape that refused to budge. Only then did Jonas tear through the paper with one violent yank. In it was a black box, and he removed the lid to stare blankly at its contents.
Clarisa sat back to watch his reaction. It went from utter confusion to a blink of surprise, then a burst of hearty laughter. He picked up the wooden figurine and let it stand on the table. As he grinned at it, Clarisa remarked in teasing singsong,
“Always playing the optimist...”
Jonas snorted. He smoothed the animal's back, then stroked its delicately carved trunk and tusks with his finger. He nodded in gratitude,
“Clarisa, I'll treasure this for a long, long time.”
* * *
He was close to shivering, and starting to reconsider waiting for her. But go back indoors? That didn't sound appealing either. He was rubbing his hands together, hoping to generate some warmth when a gentle voice greeted,
“Hey.”
Leo swallowed. Had she… had she possibly changed her mind? He turned his head halfway around and caught a glimpse of her golden hair before facing quickly back to the plain view. He responded in an undertone,
“Hi.”
He had no idea what to expect. Clarisa stepped onto the balcony and stood by the railing beside him. She pretended to be distracted by the streets, but it was a difficult task since there was nothing to see. She looked down at her winter boots and took a slow, deep breath.
“I'm sorry,” they said together. They turned to each other and broke into nervous laughter, which managed to knock down some of the ice.
“You first,” Leo gestured, then remembered the context and corrected himself embarrassedly. “Wait, I meant me first.”
“No, me first,” Clarisa insisted. She paused to summarise everything she had been wanting to tell him in her head before saying,
“I'm sorry things didn't turn out the way we wanted. I hope you know my decision changes nothing about how much I appreciate you, and I hope you're okay with… staying as friends.”
Of course he wasn't okay.
“Your decision is respected,” Leo dug his hands into his pockets in bashfulness. “I’m sorry if I was… too pushy.”
“You were absolutely not pushy,” Clarisa quickly assured him.
“The thing is, I truly enjoy being with you,” Leo said, failing to hide a tinge of disappointment in his voice. “Just as long as I still get to do that, I'm happy.”
Clarisa frowned, realising what he was worried about.
“I won't avoid you anymore," she promised. "Never again. And I certainly look forward to trying more of your dishes.”
A smile of relief lit up Leo's face. “So… close friends at best?”
Clarisa beamed sweetly back and was about to reply when a teenage girl appeared right beside them. Wide-eyed, the girl stared at the couple who were standing too close together not to let pass. She remarked,
“Did I just interrupt something again?”
The two quickly took a step away from each other. Leo looked as stunned as a statue, while Clarisa laughed.
“You sure did.”
Before Kathryn had a chance to feel awkward, she added,
“But you're on time. Come with me.”
Clarisa turned and slipped her way through the sliding doors. Kathryn cast a look of amusement to Leo, who shrugged before they followed suit. She raised her eyebrows as it turned out that she had guessed right; Clarisa made her gatecrash a party. The adults in the room glanced her way, and some of them recognised her as she did them. She remembered that they were soon going to be her colleagues. Clarisa announced to the room,
“Hey everyone, this is Kathryn Martinez, and she's going to be a new perceiver in our department. She'd very much like to meet all of you.”
The crowd went forward to shake Kathryn's hand and say a few welcoming words. [Help me,] she sent desperately to Leo, who could do nothing but smile and feel sorry for her. Meanwhile, Clarisa had gone over to her bag and pulled out two presents. One of them was a huge box which she passed to Leo. He weighed it with his hands, and presumed that it had to be some sort of electrical device. He asked,
“What’s the price of this thing?”
“Affordable for a close friend,” Clarisa took the chance to smile her approval. “Merry Christmas Leo.”
With that, she disappeared into the crowd surrounding Kathryn, leaving him with the heavy box and a difficult dilemma.
* * *
“What did you do that for?” Kathryn whined after the perceivers had cleared, and Clarisa grinned mischievously.
“An efficient way to do a warm welcome,” she said. “I’ve got something for you, and I think you'll really like it.”
She handed Kathryn a flat, square shaped present, with a Christmas greeting attached to it.
“Let me guess,” Kathryn said immediately. “It's a CD.”
“That's right.”
“It's Taylor Swift's latest album!” Kathryn could barely contain her excitement.
“Very good,” Clarisa nodded with a smile. “Now it's no fun anymore.”
“Don't say that, I love this!” Kathryn bounced on the balls of her feet. “I'm sorry I didn't buy you anything… though I wrote you a note.”
“Kathryn, you know it's the thought that counts,” Clarisa said as Kathryn reached into her sling purse. She smoothed the piece of coloured paper before giving it to the recipient.
“Please read it when you're alone,” Kathryn told her rather seriously. “And don’t show it to anyone. Not anyone, or I'll never trust you again.”
“Alright Kathryn,” Clarisa assured, knowing that the teen never would indeed if she broke her promise a second time.
“Is there any food left?” Kathryn asked, and Clarisa looked around at all the empty trays.
“No, unfortunately,” she sighed. “But there’s some chocolate in a jar on the dining table.”
“Great, I'll take that,” Kathryn said, and was about to run off when she turned back to Clarisa and raised up her present.
“By the way, thanks a million!”
Clarisa beamed at her, and she dove for the chocolate jar. Leo was sitting at the table, staring at a huge box in his hands. As she tried with all her might to unscrew the lid of the jar, she asked,
“Did Clarisa give you that?”
Leo watched as Kathryn struggled and offered his help. With a sudden effort on his part, the lid was off. He replied,
“Yeah.”
Kathryn popped three chocolates into her mouth, and while chewing she asked,
“Did you get her anything?”
Leo shook his head, but replied, “I did, though I'm not sure if I should give it to her.”
“Why not?” Kathryn frowned.
“Well… I bought it a little too soon, and I don't think it would be appropriate.”
“What sort of gift wouldn't be appropriate?” she asked with her mouth full of a second round of chocolates. Leo replied succinctly,
“A gift that signifies something that it turns out we're not.”
Kathryn stopped chewing.
“Oh.”
So that was probably what they were discussing at the balcony. On one hand Kathryn was a little disappointed that her ship sank, but on the other, that made Leo available. She smiled at the thought, but stopped immediately when she remembered that he was right in front of her. After another moment’s pause, she told him,
“Give it to her anyway.”
Leo frowned at the suggestion, and Kathryn added,
“Tell her that it signifies something else.”
He continued to stare at her incredulously, and Kathryn stared back him.
“You can't give her nothing,” she pointed out with an eye roll. “Do you need me to pull her over here?”
Leo shot her a glare and rose up from his seat resolutely.
“Never thought you'd be giving me advice,” he said to her,
“But thank you.”
Kathryn chuckled to herself as Leo went off to do what he had to.
Clarisa was sitting in a chair and reading one of the many greeting cards their colleagues had written to her. As he approached her he hesitated again, but it was too late because she had already seen him. He took a deep breath before starting the conversation,
“It’s a coffee maker.”
Clarisa closed her greeting card and confirmed reluctantly,
“You're the second person to guess their present right today.”
Leo said mildly, “I suppose it's because you know us too well.”
He took a seat on the couch beside her and shared,
“I talked to my mom.”
Clarisa turned to him in excitement.
“And?”
“She passed out after the demonstration,” Leo revealed. “But when she came to, she told me she was proud of me.”
Clarisa smiled. “That's good, isn't it?”
“I think so,” said Leo. “That was yesterday. Right now she's still in the hospital.”
Clarisa froze. “I hope she's okay.”
“Oh, she will be,” Leo didn't want to worry her. “But besides that, thanks.”
Clarisa shook her head. “Don't mention it.”
Leo sighed. There was only one thing left to do. He pictured Kathryn's eye roll, and that gave him the courage.
“Clarisa, I… got you a present as well.”
Clarisa's blue eyes lit up, but even so, she sensed that something was wrong.
“The thing is, I was a little early to get it, and I was wondering if you'd accept it.”
Leo reached into his pocket, and she understood his nervousness the moment he revealed the gift. Her pulse stopped when he placed it into her hands, and carefully she opened the dainty little box. Sure enough, in it sat a sparkling ring, and though the jewels on it weren't real, they were iridescent and dazzling. She wanted to respond but her tongue was in a tight knot. Leo added,
“Just know that it signifies… friendship.”
After an eyeful of the precious item, she closed the box, her heart beating at its maximum capacity.
“Leo… thank you.”
There was no smile on her face, and he was worried that she didn’t like the gift. Clarisa had to admit that it took her by surprise, but she was in love with it all the same and didn’t want him to think otherwise.
“I really appreciate this," she whispered. "More than you know.”
Leo exhaled in relief for what he counted was the umpteenth time that day. He was beginning to wonder how long the so-established 'professional boundary’ was going to last, or if it even existed. They both felt a powerful grip on their shoulders, and needn't turn around to know who it was.
“I see things between you two are okay now?”
Clarisa smiled beatifically as she slipped the box into her pocket. “Since when have things between us not been okay?”
Jonas patted them both and nodded. “That's good then. Just hoping you’re enjoying your holiday. You guys deserve a break from this freakish year.”
“Oh, it was one hell of a year,” Leo groaned.
“Indeed,” Clarisa looked back, “But I learned a lot from it, honestly.”
“Something only Clarisa would say,” Jonas remarked. “I'm kidding. We’ve all learned that it's very important to get a second job.”
“And that we should start a mutiny if necessary,” Leo added matter-of-factly.
“I've learned…” Clarisa thought for a moment.
“Not to be too nice to some people.”
Leo and Jonas looked at her in amusement, and she added with a smile,
“And also to be nicer to some others.”
“You have been very nice, Clarisa,” Jonas assured her. “Number one on Santa's list.”
Clarisa turned to Leo, who looked back at her with slightly raised eyebrows. She wanted to respond with a witty remark or a confident smile, but finally settled on a private message to Leo and a look of sincerity into his deep grey eyes.
[I can still do better.]
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