17. Katie
17
KATIE
The earthy smell of blackeyes filled the air when Katie followed Sydney through the front door and into the Savoie family home. As soon as they entered, the living room erupted in greetings.
Sydney squeezed Katie’s hand and smiled at her. “See? I told you everyone would throw a party over you being here with me.”
“Your family throws a party over anything,” Katie said. “And I’m kind of always here.”
“Yeah, but you’re here with me this time. It’s an extra special event.”
Katie couldn’t deny the atmosphere felt… different. Special. Almost overwhelming.
They removed their coats, and Sydney disappeared briefly to place them on her old bed in the first room down the hall.
“My two favorite people are here!” Stephen shouted over the back of the couch.
Simon tossed a throw pillow at him from the nearby loveseat as his girlfriend, Lynn, who had returned from visiting her family in Florida, laughed beside him.
“I’m right here,” Simon said. “We can hear you, doofus.”
Stephen just scooted over to make room for Sydney and Katie. They sat, still holding hands, and Katie couldn’t help feeling that she never again wanted to let her hand go.
“I heard there was good news,” Mr. Savoie said as he entered from the kitchen. He had the same sandy blond hair as his boys, but it was short enough that you couldn’t see the waves in it like theirs.
A moment later, Mrs. Savoie joined them, handing out mimosas.
“Sorry,” she said, passing one to Katie, then to Sydney. “I would have met you both at the door if I hadn’t been in the middle of pouring these.”
It was a rare event to have both of the Savoie parents present. The lunch counter was closed on New Year’s Day, so every year they spent the morning puttering in the kitchen together until their children showed up.
The only Savoie missing that day was Savannah, who had to work brunch at her restaurant. But she planned to join whoever was still at the house after her shift.
Beside Katie, Sydney looked around the room and asked, “So, who’s hungover today?”
“Not me,” said Simon. “Although you missed a wild party.”
“Yeah,” Stephen chimed in, then nodded at Simon and Lynn. “Since you two were otherwise occupied, I had to sit through the snooze fest with them all by myself.”
Simon tossed the last throw pillow from the loveseat at his brother. “Again, right here!”
Stephen quickly shifted his teasing to aim it at his sister and his best friend. “I’d ask what plans y’all came up with, but I guess that’s obvious.”
“All right, all right,” their mother said in a forceful but still lighthearted tone. “Leave them alone.”
“Actually,” Sydney said, “we watched the fireworks from near Katie’s place.”
“Oh, that must have been so nice,” Mrs. Savoie said.
The pair exchanged a glance, then Mr. Savoie added, “We’ve talked about going one year, but never made it out there.”
“Well, you’ll just have to come next year.”
Next year.
Katie couldn’t believe she was even thinking about a next year with Sydney and her parents.
Of course, she was always thinking about next year. Her mind was constantly oriented towards the future.
Stephen and his parents were always welcome at her place or to hang out in her neck of the woods. Sydney or no Sydney.
But she hoped there was a Sydney with them.
She hoped they could make this work.
And if not? Sydney was worth that chance.
“So.” Simon clapped to emphasize the word. “The important question here is what are we playing first?”
Katie had been looking forward to this annual Savoie board game day for months. Her own parents wouldn’t be back in town for another couple of days and her brother was visiting his fiancee’s family, so Stephen refused to let her spend the day alone.
Not that she would have been upset by that prospect. Katie usually spent the day with her new planner, colored pens, highlighters, and washi tape. She didn’t have to do any planning for her job, and she didn’t have an endless stream of family responsibilities, but she enjoyed filling out her paper calendar with appointments, birthday reminders, and major events. Digital calendars were nice to keep track of those recurring things, but she had always preferred the physical act of writing stuff down. And she usually had plenty of personal goals to plan out and reach for.
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day were hands down her favorite holidays.
“We’ve got some eating to do first,” their mom said, with a pat on the back of their dad’s chair. “We can get cutthroat after that.”
“Oh, good,” Stephen said. “I’m starving.”
Sydney stood and made a little moaning noise. “I swear it’s like I’ve been waiting three years for this meal.”
“That’s because it has been three years since you had it,” Stephen said.
Everyone stood to head into the kitchen to heap rice and blackeyes slow-cooked with salt pork onto large plates with a side of smothered cabbage. Katie sat at the table beside Sydney as the family filled in around them. Stephen and Simon had taken the folding chairs they’d added to make room for both Sydney and Katie this year, besides both parents being home.
After lunch, the boys immediately began arguing about which game to play first.
“Let’s sit outside while they settle this,” Sydney said. “Since they’re making us wait while they battle, they can set it up, too.”
Katie grabbed her leather jacket from the guest room bed and followed Sydney onto the patio. The air was not quite cold enough to see her breath, but she could already feel her nose reddening.
Still, she was glad to spend a quiet break with Sydney. Almost as glad as she’d been to sit on those cold concrete bleachers last night while they held hands and watched the fireworks together.
“How are you holding up?” Sydney asked.
“What, here? Fine,” Katie said. “It’s always great spending time with your family.”
“Yeah, but this is different. And I know you were worried about it.”
“I was worried about what would happen to all of this if we didn’t work out,” Katie said. “I’m still a little worried about that if I’m being honest. But I’m trying not to think about it anymore and just see where this all goes.”
Sydney’s lips curled into a wide smile. “Good.”
“So what are your plans for the rest of the week?”
“Oh, you know. Plan a move. Find a job. Find a place to live. Easy stuff.”
Katie laughed. She’d been looking for all the ways they were different, but they had a lot in common, too. Especially with making plans and lists. They just approached it from different angles. Sydney liked knowing the path ahead, and Katie planned to keep herself on track when her brain was apt to spin in multiple directions.
“That’s a lot for one week. Maybe pace yourself?”
“The move is first. I’ll have to go back for at least a couple weeks to give my notice and get out of my apartment lease and start packing.”
“I’ll help with whatever I can.”
“Thanks.” Sydney pulled her coat tighter to brace against an icy breeze that swept across the patio. “Simon and Stephen have already signed up to help with the physical move whenever that happens.”
“Good,” Katie said. “The rest of that to-do list of yours can wait.”
“Speaking of to-do lists. I guess you’ll be spending tomorrow with making those.”
“Well, I was actually thinking about soaking up as much time as possible with my new girlfriend before she goes back to California.”
“Temporarily,” Sydney said. “And I like the sound of girlfriend.”
Katie grinned. “Me, too.”
“But seriously. I don’t want to waste your time or keep you from your planning stuff.”
“All I want is to waste time with you. I want to sit on the couch and binge reality TV and eat pizza while we snuggle and sometimes make room for Benjamin.”
Sydney reached across from under the table to squeeze Katie’s hand. “That sounds perfect to me.”
Katie squeezed her hand in return and shuddered. She nodded toward the patio door. “Think they’ve settled on a game yet?”
“Hopefully.” Sydney said. “You know them, though. Don’t count on it.”
They stood, and Katie wrapped an arm around Sydney to warm them both as they walked back inside together.