A Friend on Christmas

She was acting differently. Everyone told her so, even her best friends. She argued the point, but wondered secretly if it were true. Had she acted differently since she met him?

The he in question was an older man, one who had turned thirty this past October, but really, those few years difference didn't matter. She didn't care how old he was, and sometimes wondered if he was really thirty, as he said. He acted so much younger than that most of the time. That was okay with Tariana. They were the best of friends, and it didn't matter to her if their friendship progressed to something more, because she thought what they had was perfect.

His name was Chris, and he was just a big kid. They were actually going to put up her Christmas tree when he got there, then maybe watch a movie or something when the tree was up and decorated. As Tariana put down the last box of Christmas ornaments, he walked in, shaking the snow from his baseball cap. "Tari!" he squealed like he hadn't seen her in months, forcing her to laugh.

"Christopher! Where have you been?" she asked in mock anger, with her hands on her hips.

"Getting provisions for our night, my darling Tariana. Just making sure I'm prepared." He gave her an innocent look and she laughed again.

"We are such dorks, Chris!"

"Yeah, well, I'm proud to be a dork!" Again, that made her laugh, and after flashing a mock-hurt look, Chris joined in her laughter. "Let's get the tree set up so we can watch movies, cuz I brought a couple of those too."

"Oooh! Which ones?"

"Star Wars and Spaceballs," Chris said with a straight face.

Tari couldn't help but smile as she went to get the Christmas tree stand from the spare bedroom of her apartment, where she stored all of her junk. Only Chris would bring one of the best movies of all times, and the only movie that made fun of it at the same time, she thought, shaking her head. When she returned, Chris had chips and popcorn in a couple of different bowls and was crouched in front of her ornament boxes. He held up a crystal candy cane. "Do you remember the year we got this one?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "It was the second year we'd done this. The group was just getting big here," she replied quietly. "What's going on, Chris? You don't normally bring up that ornament unless you've got something on your mind." Moving over to Chris, she crouched beside him. "Is there something you want to talk about?" He looked away and she put her hand on his shoulder. "Chris, we're friends. We don't hide or keep things from each other. If you need to talk, I'm here."

He looked up at her and for the first time, Tariana realized how red his eyes were. "I've got a problem," he said quietly. She didn't say anything, just sat down on one of the couches and patted the cushion next to her. Chris sat down and looked at his hands before saying anything. "I…this Christmas, this year, everything. It's all gotten to me."

She rubbed his back sympathetically. "It's been a rough year for everyone, Chris."

His gaze met hers again. "Not everyone turns to alcohol to solve their problems."

Even though she hadn't known what to expect, Tariana didn't expect that. She squeezed one of his hands. "How long?" she asked quietly.

He laughed, a disjointed sound. "October. My birthday." He'd spent his birthday alone in his house after making it as clear as he could that his only birthday wish was to be alone. "What normal 30-year-old man works at a theme park in costume?" he asked bitterly.

“You're not a normal 30-year-old man, Chris. You're so much more than that."

"That…that's what I want this Christmas. I want to be normal. I'm getting too old to do this."

She made him look at her. "Christopher Alan Clausen, you are not too old, not for anything. You're the youngest person I know." The tree forgotten, Tariana got up and started to heat the water for hot tea or cocoa. "We've got tea or cocoa, Chris. Water, milk…would you like anything?"

He smiled. "I'll take some cocoa," he said. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Nope. Just stay there and get comfortable." A few minutes later, she returned, holding two steaming mugs of cocoa in ,a candy cane in each. When they were settled again, armed with hot chocolate, Chris ran his fingers through his hair. "I've never had a problem before, Tari, not like this. I've never felt…so alone. And I've never turned to something like alcohol to feel better. I don't know what's wrong with me." He took a drink and she hugged him.

"You won't be alone, Clausen. I won't let that happen. As for the other…we'll figure it out together."

He set his mug on the table and pulled her into a hug. "I knew that if I talked to anyone about this, it would have to have been you."

"I'll always be here for you, Chris. I want you to know that. You don't ever need to be alone, especially not now. I’m never farther than a phone call away, and you’ll always have a friend here.” She pulled out of his hug and looked into his eyes. “Promise me you’ll remember that?”

“I promise. Now…how about that tree?” he asked, trying for a happy tone.

She could tell he was ready to move on and she grinned. “Let’s get it set up.” She stood and held out her hand, a hand that he took as he pulled himself to his feet. They proceeded to decorate the tree, wrapping garlands around each other, covering the tree (and each other) with ornaments and silver tinsel while laughing and joking around.

At last they finished the tree decorating and collapsed in a fit of laughter over something so stupid neither knew why they were even laughing. Chris pulled her into his arms and they looked up at the tree together. “We did a good job this year, girl. I think this is our best tree yet!”

She nodded. “I agree.” Yawning, a second later, Tariana stood. “We should start the movies. It’s getting late.” He nodded and Star Wars was loaded into the VCR first. Tariana sat back on the couch and cuddled into his arms like they had been before. Chris pulled her a bit closer in a more comfortable position and watched, rubbing her back gently as she laid her head on his shoulder.

The next thing either of them knew, they were opening their eyes to look at a blue television screen, and a clock that said 8:00. Light streamed through the window and Tariana ran her fingers through Chris’ short hair. “Merry Christmas,” she said quietly.

“Merry Christmas, kid,” he replied. As they opened their presents, Chris stopped and took her hand.

“I came to you last night with a problem, and today you’ve given me what I wanted, what I needed most.” He kissed her cheek. “A friend on Christmas. Thank you.”

As they finished opening gifts, Tariana considered what her friends had been saying, that she’d been acting differently, and she decided she didn’t care. She had what was most important to her for the day, a friend on Christmas.