Flat-Out Love (17 page)

Julie Seagle
On Christmas Eve, I slide under the tree and look up through the branches at the lights. Hokey, but my tradition.

Finn Is God
Do you lie there and make a wish for the New Year?

Julie Seagle
Exactly. Silly, I guess.

Finn Is God
What do you wish for?

Julie Seagle
Depends on the year. Could be to marry some dopey teen idol.

Julie Seagle
Or to get stranded on a deserted island with Prince Charming and an endless supply of sunscreen.

Finn Is God
So your Christmas tradition is centered on cute boys, huh?

Julie Seagle
I never said they were lofty fantasies.

Finn Is God
Oh, now they’re FANTASIES, are they? So you need to be alone for this tradition, I guess…*cough, cough*

Julie Seagle
Very funny. I’ll go with “dreams” then. Not just about cute boys (although I guess that has been a theme), but more about being…I don’t know…generally satisfied. Content. Complete. I don’t know…It sounds lame when I say it. (Or type it.)

Julie Seagle
Dreaming about the future. Wondering what’s ahead for me. Coming-of-age nonsense. Corny.

Finn Is God
It’s not nonsense. I think that’s very cool.

Julie Seagle
Very cool until hot wax falls from the branches and burns my eyeballs. That actually happened. Candles on the tree=dangerous fire hazard. But what’s a holiday without a little danger?

Julie Seagle
Oh look! There’s the risk-taking behavior you were looking for!

Finn Is God
That’s pushing it, kid.

Finn Is God
Maybe you’re not cut out for real danger. That’s OK. Not all my interests run the risk of crashing thousands of feet. Did the Boston Polar Plunge a few times. That doesn’t involve heights.

Julie Seagle
What’s that?

Finn Is God
Boston crazies put on swimsuits and plunge into the Atlantic Ocean on New Year’s Day. Rather quick swim due to frigidly cold/awful water.

Finn Is God
News crews love this story.

Julie Seagle
*groan* Yeah, this sounds really fun. Unfortunately I won’t be in Boston for this event, otherwise I’d totally do it.

Finn Is God
Liar! You would not! But it’s awesome. Sucks going in, but great on the way out. A shock to the system in a good way.

Finn Is God
Would go this year but will be in sunny Puerto Rico. Leading a white water rafting tour. (And bungee jumping, of course.)

Julie Seagle
Boo hoo. That sounds miserable. Poor you.

Finn Is God
I know. Rough.

Julie Seagle
Pit stop in Boston before you go? Celeste is dying to see you.

Finn Is God
I could work on a pit stop.

Julie Seagle
Oh, and could we talk about Celeste for a minute?

Julie waited. And waited. It looked as if he was going to be as difficult about his sister as Matt was.

Julie Seagle
So, Celeste…Tell me why she made Flat Finn.

Finn Is God
Don’t know. She needs Flat Finn’s good looks to counteract Matt’s lack of?

Julie Seagle
Nice try.

Again Julie waited. She stared at the clock on her computer, watching as six endless minutes ticked by.

Finn Is God
I can’t tell you.

Julie Seagle
Why? She needs help, Finn.

Finn Is God
You’re the best thing for her.

Julie Seagle
How do you know that? I don’t know what I’m doing.

Finn Is God
You’re doing great. She’s happy.

Julie Seagle
She’s not happy. She can’t be. She needs you.

Finn Is God
This is more complicated than I can explain.

Finn Is God
You’ll have to trust me on this. I can’t say anything else. I need you to drop this. OK?

What the hell?
Julie stared at the chat window. Things suddenly felt weird with Finn, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Finn Is God
Please don’t be mad. I just can’t. I’m sorry.

Julie Seagle
OK.

Finn Is God
So…is Celeste the only one who wants to see me?

Julie Seagle
Your whole family does.

Finn Is God
Only my whole family?

Julie Seagle
Girlfriend back home who is missing you like crazy?

Finn Is God
Maybe.

Julie paused. She hadn’t really thought about this possibility before, but for some reason she didn’t really like the idea that Finn might have a girlfriend. Not that it was any of her business. It wasn’t as if she had any right to be jealous.

Except that she was.

There is nothing more unpleasant than the overwhelming effect caused by jealousy, and she couldn’t deny that typing out the word
girlfriend
had made her stomach knot up, her breathing change, and her brain swirl. This was not the reaction she would have expected. She didn’t even
know
Finn.

Well, she couldn’t suddenly go chat silent now. It would look weird. She held her hands over the keyboard, desperately trying to figure out something normal to say.
How nice for you. I’m sure she’s lovely
. No, that would sound obnoxious. Crap. Who was this girlfriend? Neither Matt nor Celeste had ever mentioned anything about her.
She’s a curvy Victoria’s Secret model with the intellect of a geneticist and the strength of spirit to go cliff-diving, I assume
? No. That was both obnoxious
and
passive-aggressive.

Finn Is God
But no girlfriend. So just my crazy family that wants me to come visit, I guess. I’ll confess disappointment.

Julie couldn’t help smiling.

Julie Seagle
Would not complain if you came to visit. Must meet the world-traveling, thrill-seeking, adventure-loving idol.

Finn Is God
In that case, I’ll do my best to make it happen. Don’t tell anyone yet, though, until I’m sure.

Julie Seagle
OK. Fair enough.

Finn Is God
I should go…Dinner soon.

Julie Seagle
And I should get to bed.

Finn Is God
Nice! What are you wearing?

Finn Is God
Sorry. Forgot I already tried that one…

Julie Seagle
Impressed with your persistence.

Finn Is God
Ta da! I impressed you. Success! You’ve totally made my night.

Julie Seagle
And you’ve made mine.

Finn Is God
Enjoy the rest of break. Really. You’re lucky to have your mom.

Julie Seagle
Will consider it.

The sound of the train woke Julie in the middle of the night. After sleeping noise-free for nearly three months in the Watkinses’ quiet Cambridge neighborhood, she couldn’t sleep through the roaring train sound anymore. She threw the covers off and got up. She’d been having a dream that she knew involved pancakes and ski jumping. She couldn’t remember the rest. But whatever it’d been about had left her soaked in sweat and hungry. Bleary-eyed, she stumbled down the stairs in her sweatpants and T-shirt and made the familiar walk to the kitchen.

“Hey, Jules.” Her mother smiled warmly at her. She was standing at the kitchen island, surrounded by every leftover dish from Thanksgiving. “Hungry?”

Julie nodded and took a seat on a stool.

“Milk?” her mom asked.

Julie nodded again. “What are you doing up?”

“Raiding the fridge.” Kate poured a glass for Julie. “How can I sleep knowing there is all this good food just sitting down here? What about you, kiddo? Thought you’d be zonked out from working so hard.”

Julie shrugged. “The train woke me.”

“Hmm, that hasn’t bothered you in years.” Kate tousled Julie’s hair lightly. “Things are different now, huh? Well, dig in. I’ll heat up a plate for you. White meat or dark? Gravy? Potatoes? Green beans?”

“Everything. I need a heaping plate of everything.” Julie put her elbow on the counter and dropped her head into her hand. “And I need a pilgrim hat in order to properly enjoy the flavor.”

Kate clapped her hands together happily. “I knew it! I knew you’d miss the hat! I happen to have yours right here.” She reached behind her and grabbed the black hat from the
cluttered kitchen desk, setting it on Julie’s head with a satisfied look. “It really suits you.”

Julie cracked a smile. “I think so.”

“So…,” Kate said slowly, “have you heard from your father?”

“He sent me the itinerary for our trip. I can’t wait. Thanks for letting me go. It’ll be fun, don’t you think?”

“Mmmm,” her mother agreed. “I hope so.”

“What do you mean you hope so? Of course it’ll be fun. I can’t believe Dad got so much time off to be with me.”

“Julie, you do know he’ll probably be doing some work during this trip,” Kate said gently. “The hotel he works for has locations all over California.”

“Oh. Well, that’s fine. I mean, we’ll still be together, and that’s what counts.”

“I just don’t want you to be disappointed. Your father has never been—”

“It’s going to be awesome. Just wait.” Julie beamed. This trip really was going to be amazing. She’d never been to California, and she’d never traveled with her father. Their visits were mostly confined to dinners when he was in town, so this was going to be different. “He’s really trying. He’s prioritizing. What about you? Are you excited for your cruise?” Kate’s best friend, Suzanne, was treating Kate to a fourteen-day holiday cruise in the Caribbean.

“Assuming I don’t get seasick, I think it’ll be lovely. I couldn’t bear to hang around the house over the holidays without you. I’m going to miss you, kiddo. Our first Christmas apart.”

“Mom, don’t cry! I’ll miss you too. It’s so hard for Dad to find time to see me, and I can’t pass this up.”

Kate patted her eyes with her napkin and took a huge bite of turkey. “So things are good, living at the Watkinses’ house?” her mom asked through a mouthful of food.

“Yeah. I really like them.”

“And it’s still going well with Celeste? Isn’t she kind of old for a babysitter? What’s that about?”

“I’m not really a babysitter. More of a…” Julie struggled to find the right word. “A companion.”

Kate looked confused. “A
companion
? What does that mean?”

“Celeste is a little quirky.” That was putting it mildly, but Julie hadn’t told her mother about Flat Finn. She couldn’t think of a way to explain him without making Celeste out to be a complete nut case. “I really like her, but she has a hard time with friends. She acts a lot younger than she is.”

“So you’re less of a companion and more of a role model.”

“Huh. I hadn’t thought of it like that, but yeah. I guess so.”

“She’s lucky to have you,” Kate said.

Julie shook her head. “I’m lucky to have her.”

Matthew Watkins
People in my age group, educational, and financial status don’t appreciate generalizations or profiling
.

Finn Is God
I have half a mind to tell you to fu of
.

Julie Seagle
I think that when Twitter says someone has “protected their Tweets,” a little picture of a chastity belt should pop up
.

Julie sat curled up on the Watkinses’ living room couch with a chenille blanket wrapped around her shoulders. It had snowed heavily the night before, coating the trees and the ground with a crisp, white mask and leaving the city temporarily picturesque before the plows came by and dirtied everything up with black, sandy slush. It was sunny and cold, and Julie liked the feeling of holing up in the house and snuggling into the cushions. She’d been back from Thanksgiving break for five days, and her two classes this Friday had been canceled due to the weather. Matt was also home, but Celeste’s private school, Barnaby, didn’t cancel classes unless a major natural disaster hit. Erin had put on snowshoes and trekked into her office, saying that if she didn’t have classes to teach, she might as well grade papers. Truthfully, the snowfall had been much
less than was predicted, and Julie was sure there were pissed off parents all over the state who were now stuck at home with their kids.

Matt sat in the armchair across from her, his feet resting on the coffee table while he typed at warp speed. Julie dropped her book into her lap. She just couldn’t get into study mode, and the idea of blowing off her work for the day was gaining appeal by the minute.

“Matt? I’m bored.” She glared at him as he kept typing. “Matty?” He didn’t respond, and it aggravated Julie that he could be so narrowly focused on his computer that the rest of the world ceased to exist. Julie took her laptop from the table. She’d have to take a different approach. E-mail.