Celeste

"Do you want us to come home, darling?" her mother cooed into the phone.

"No, it's okay," Celeste said, trying hard to keep the tremble out of her voice. "How would you even do that?"

Celeste had called her mom in a moment of weakness. After Jared left, she had been looking for comfort, but now she was regretting it. Her sob story had only made her mother worry, and there wasn't even anything her parents could do about it.

"Simple," her mother said. "We'll catch the first flight home."

"But you're on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean!" Celeste cried.

Her mother and father had been obviously disappointed when Celeste broke the news that she wouldn't be coming home for Christmas this year. Christmas had always been a big deal for her family, and she'd grown up loving the season with them.

But they had got their Christmas cheer back when they decided to do something special for themselves—a holiday Hawaiian cruise. A cruise they were already several days into.

"So? We'd get off at the next port and find a flight home," her mom said like it was really just that easy. "Hawaii does have airports, you know."

"Airports are not the problem. You're going to try and get a last minute flight? At Christmas?" Celeste said, incredulous. "How are you gonna manage that? Even if you can find one, it'd be so expensive!"

"Don't worry, darling. We'll figure it out," said her dad. "We have that emergency credit card for just this type of situation."

"I don't know if me getting dumped constitutes an emergency—" Celeste began, then paused. "Wait, Dad? Why're you—Mom, did you put me on speaker phone again?"

"Of course, I did! Your dad wanted to know what was going on. He cares about your life just as much as I do!"

"That's right," her dad added. "And I never liked that Jared."

Celeste sighed and rubbed at her face. She hoped they were at least somewhere private on the ship before putting the details of her broken heart on blast. "Uh, thanks, dad. I think."

"So, do you want us to get that flight?" her mom prodded.

"No, please don't," Celeste said. "I don't want you to cut your cruise short because of me. I know you've been really excited for this trip."

"We were only doing it because we knew you weren't coming home!" her mom said. "But now that you might be, that changes everything!"

Celeste felt a rush of guilt. Her parents had been so looking forward to their cruise, and now they were willing to cut it short just because of Celeste's mess of a love life...

"Don't worry about me," Celeste said. "I appreciate the offer, really, but you should enjoy your cruise. I'll be okay."

"Will you?" her mom did not sound convinced.

"If you really need us," her dad piped in, "we'll make it work!"

"That's right. Just say the word, honey," her mom added. "And we'll come right back."

Celeste wanted to say yes. She really did. She wanted to run back to her mom and dad and cry into their arms and be comforted by a little kid again. But she wasn't a little kid. She was a grown woman, and she shouldn't—she couldn't—let her parents do that for her.

So instead, she said, "Thank you, but I'll be okay. Really. I promise."

"Well, then, if you don't need us to come back," her dad said, "then do you want to go back to the house? It's all ready for you if you need it. We can let the cat sitter know—"

"No, no," Celeste said. Spending Christmas in her parents' big empty house, alone except for their cantankerous Persian cat named Banana Bread, seemed like an even worse fate than staying here alone. "I'll be okay here. I just decorated, actually."

Again her heart sank as she looked over the sparkling decorations. She had done all this for Jared, and now...

"Are you sure?" her mother said. "I just hate thinking about you spending Christmas all alone...."

Celeste hated thinking about it, too. But what was she going to do?

"I'll be okay," Celeste said for what felt like the millionth time. It almost sounded believable.

"But—" her mother interjected.

"Dear, if she says she'll be okay, she will be," her father said. "She's a grown girl. Aren't you, darling?"

"That's right!" Celeste said though it felt like her throat had been filled with cotton balls. "I will be just fine on my own."

"Well, alright," her mother conceded. "If you say so...."

"Let us know if you change your mind, though," her dad offered. "About anything!"

"I will," Celeste said. "I love you!"

"We love you, too!" her parents said in unison before hanging up.

As soon as the call cut out, Celeste let her phone drop into the couch cushions. She flopped over and curled up into a ball. She hadn't moved much since Jared had left. She had managed a brave face for her parents, but now that she was no longer putting on the act, her eyes once again began to swim with tears.

She had been dumped—dumped!—right before Christmas! Just like that, her relationship with Jared was just... done. Over. Kaput. She still didn't quite believe it had actually happened. She wondered if she had maybe imagined, or maybe dreamed, it all. It seemed so impossible that, after all they'd been through, Jared—her Jared—had just waltzed in here and asked her for a break.

A break. A break?

What did that even mean?

And why had Jared waited until the last minute to tell her?

There had been no warning of this. He had seemed perfectly fine this afternoon when they had met for coffee before his last exam. She had walked him to the lecture hall, and he had kissed her goodbye while he told her he was excited to see her tonight before he headed off to his exam...

What had changed? Why had he suddenly decided he was done with her?

Even he hadn't been able to explain why. After he'd delivered the news, he practically ran out of the apartment and disappeared into the snowy night. And when she tried to call and text him to make sure he at least got home okay, he didn't even answer. For all she knew, her boyfriend—now ex-boyfriend—was frozen solid in some drift.

Ex-boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend.

The words sounded strange in her head. It felt so wrong to have someone who just moments ago had meant so much to her to just disappear from her life like that. Here one minute, gone the next. Just like all her beautiful plans. Her plans... She had planned everything! The dates, the fun, the romance...

Now it would all go to waste.

Once again, she wished for someone to comfort her. Alicia didn't even know that Jared had broken up with her yet. Celeste had yet to muster the strength to get up from the couch and knock on her door. She felt so alone. Soon, she really would be.

The tears streamed down her face as the realization hit.

She wouldn't have anyone to spend Christmas with... Jared had dumped her. Alicia was leaving tomorrow. Her parents were in the middle of the Pacific. She'd be alone for Christmas. Wave after wave of sobs shook through her until her whole body ached. She'd never hurt like this before.

The door to the bedroom threw open, and out leapt Alicia, arms raised in triumph.

"I. AM. PACKED!" she bellowed, like a barbarian warrior back from battle.

But as she looked over to the living room and waited for her applause, she spotted Celeste crumpled on the couch. Her victory pose went limp.

"Cee? What happened?" Alicia asked. "Where's Jared?"

Hearing his name brought on a fresh wave of sobs. Celeste curled deeper into herself.

Alicia rushed over, throwing herself down beside the couch. "Cee! Speak to me! What happened?"

"H-He..." Celeste muttered, her voice shaking. "He... He dumped me."

Her friend's eyes went wide. "He? Dumped? You?" She repeated each word as she had never heard it before.

Celeste nodded against the cushions. "He told me we needed to take a break."

"A break?" Alicia echoed, her nose scrunching up. "What does that even mean?"

"I know!" Celeste cried, sitting up for a moment before flopping back down. "I mean, I don't know. I don't know what it means. He wouldn't tell me...."

"What the hell?" Alicia said, shaking her head. She didn't seem to believe it either. "He seemed fine this morning. And you guys were, like, the perfect couple! Everything seemed to be going great!"

"Apparently not." Celeste sniffed, wiping at her eyes.

"What a..." Alicia's mouth screwed up like she had a hundred insults rushing up her throat, and she was struggling to choose the right one. Instead, they all rushed out at once. "Jerk! Ass! Dingleberry!"

That last one brought an involuntary smile to Celeste's face. "Dingleberry? Really?" she giggled through her tears. "Are you eight?"

"At least it got you to laugh," Alicia said, her anger fading at the sight of Celeste's weak smile. "And I wish I was eight. Eight year olds have it easy. Remember how great Christmas was when you were a kid? How magical it all seemed?"

"Yeah," Celeste agreed. "Eight year old's have it made."

"Totally. And they don't need to worry about things like rent, or packing...."

"Or about stupid stuff like breaks."

"Whatever that means," Alicia said again with a roll of her eyes. Then she leaned in and pulled Celeste up into a tight, squeezing hug. "I'm so sorry, Cee."

"Thank you," Celeste said, hugging her back. With Alicia here, everything seemed a little less terrible. She'd be completely lost again when Alicia flew out tomorrow evening, but for now, she was glad she had her friend by her side.

"It's Jared's loss," Alicia said as she leaned back. "He's a dumbass for letting you go. You deserve so much better. I know you'll find someone else, someone great—the person who is right for you!"

Celeste could only sigh. "I hope so," she said, though she did not feel particularly hopeful right now.

Alicia rested her head on her hand. "So, what are you gonna do now? Head on back to your parents place for Christmas, like always?"

Celeste shook her head. "I can't. They're on their cruise."

"Oh," Alicia said, slumping back. "Right."

"They offered to cut it short," Celeste said with another sigh, "but I couldn't let them do that. Plus it'd be so expensive for them to fly back...."

"What about their house?" Alicia suggested. "It might be nice to be home, even if they're not there."

Celeste shook her head again. "And face off with Banana Bread? No, thank you."

Alicia nodded knowingly. She had only met Banana Bread the cat once, but that had been enough. Banana Bread only really liked Celeste's parents and his regular cat sitter. If they weren't there, he was an absolute terror.

"Do you want to come to Whistler?" Alicia offered.

"That's very kind," Celeste said. "But I can't imagine we'd be able to get me a ticket on such short notice. At least, one that isn't a bazillion dollars."

Alicia knew she was right, so she didn't argue. "Too bad I can't stuff you in my suitcase—well, your suitcase," Alicia said. "But there's really no room."

Celeste laughed. "Too bad."

Their laughter faded, and Alicia seemed to deflate. Judging by the look of concern on her face, she was really worried about Celeste. "So, you're just going to stay here?"

"I guess so," Celeste said. Thinking about it now, feeling slightly cheered up by Alicia, it didn't feel like such a terrible thing. "Part of the reason I wanted to spend Christmas here was so that I could do it on my own for the first time, y'know? Even without Jared—" saying his name got her choked up for a minute, "—I can still do that. Even if it's just for myself."

"Damn. You're one tough cookie," Alicia said as she considered Celeste like she saw something impressive there underneath all the tears. Celeste couldn't imagine what. "Like stale gingerbread—that stuff'll crack teeth."

Celeste managed another laugh. "Thank you?"

Then something lit behind Alicia's eyes, and she took hold of Celeste by the shoulders. "You know what you need?"

Celeste raised an eyebrow. She had no idea what she needed. What she wanted was to go to sleep and wake up on January 1st. But that fiery something in Alicia's eyes told her it wasn't going to be that simple.

"What?"

"A drink," her friend said with a grin.

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