It was supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, but even with all of the holiday cheer being spread around, Don Flack still felt miserable. When he saw Christmas lights or trees, he didn't get that rush of excitement like everyone else seemed to get. All he felt when he saw those things was sadness, which was what he was feeling now.
Sitting in his apartment alone, he stared at the bottle of alcohol in front of him. He let out a frustrated sigh, trying to sort out the feelings he had right now. Part of him was just depressed. About a month before Jess had died, they had agreed to spend Christmas together. Flack had actually forgotten until that agreement until the first signs of Christmas began to appear. Now the fact that she was gone and he was alone was back in his mind once again.
The second feeling he was feeling was of guilt. He knew he shouldn't even be considering going on a downward spiral again, not after last time. He really didn't want to see the look of disappointment on Mac's face again. He would do anything to avoid that look again.
And yet, what else was he supposed to do? He felt alone, and drinking seemed to be the only way to let him forget about his problems. It wouldn't be hurting anyone if he got drunk, just that one night. Just as long as he didn't end up on the subway again, getting the crap kicked out of him.
As soon as he reached for the bottle on the counter, he felt a vibration come from his pocket. He sighed and pulled out his phone, glancing at the screen to see who would be calling him on Christmas Eve. Of course, it was Danny. He thought about ignoring the call, but decided against it.
"Hey Danno, what's up?" Flack asked.
"Flack! Flack, Flack, Flacky!"
Flack pulled his phone away from his ear and glanced at the screen, confused. It was Danny's phone calling him, but the voice on the phone definitely did not belong to Danny. Not unless Danny was very, very drunk. It didn't sound like Lindsay, either.
Still confused, Flack put the phone back to his ear. "Who's this?"
He heard a giggle, and his jaw dropped. He'd know that giggle from anywhere.
"Lucy Lu, is that you?" he asked, a smile beginning to form on his face. He heard another giggle, then he finally heard his best friend.
"Yeah, that was Lucy," he said, "She actually said her first word!"
Even over the phone, Flack could tell how excited his friend was. Flack couldn't blame him, though. Lucy wasn't even his daughter, and he could hardly contain his own excitement.
"Seriously? Her first word is my name?" Flack asked.
"Can you believe it? A month of tryin' to get her to say mama or dada and she ends up sayin' your name. And now she can't stop, which means all I'll be hearin' is your name until she learns a new word," Danny said, laughing.
"At least she didn't say boom!"
Flack started to crack up when he heard Lindsay yell that in the background. He had to wonder how she would have reacted if that had been Lucy's first word.
"So buddy, you proud that your name is my daughter's first word?" Danny asked.
Flack grinned and nodded, then realized that he was still on the phone, so him nodding was pointless.
"It's pretty cool that it's her first word. I'm surprised, but I'm happy," he said, still smiling.
"Yeah, yeah, it is pretty cool. But I guess this now means that I have to accept the fact that she does love other men besides me," Danny said, sighing.
Flack rolled his eyes at his friend's jealousy issues. He then waited for Danny to say something else, but instead he heard Lindsay again.
"Have you asked him yet?" she asked.
"Not yet, I will soon," Danny answered.
"Ask him now, I want to know his answer."
"Alright, alright, I'll ask," he said, "Flack, buddy, me and Linds wanted to know if you're busy tomorrow."
Flack's mind, which had been focused on Lucy since his phone rang, suddenly shifted back to Jess and the fact that tomorrow would be spent without her.
"No, I'm not busy," he answered.
"Well then how about you come over to our place? You can spend Christmas with us, and obviously Lucy would love to see you."
Flack thought about the question for a moment. Tomorrow he could spend Christmas alone and miserable, or he could spend it with friends. The question wasn't difficult to answer at all.
"Of course, I'll come over. What time?"
"Ten work for you?"
"Yeah, ten's great," Flack said.
The two talked for a little bit longer. After they got done and Flack hung up the phone, the bottle of alcohol that he had been tempted to drink was forgotten about. And deep inside of him, he could feel his Christmas spirit coming back. Maybe this Christmas wouldn't be as bad as he thought. After all, he had friends who cared the world for him, and he had a 'niece' who adored him. And when you had people like that, what more could you ask for at Christmastime?
I hope you like :)
It's short, but I'm hoping to write more Christmas stories tomorrow, and with my new laptop (thanks to my mom for an early present), it might be easier to write more.
But if I don't write tomorrow....happy holidays everyone :)