Okay. So it's no longer Christmas, and they aren't in New York, but, you know… they are still harboring residual holiday feelings. And New Years usually makes a person sentimental over all the things that went down in the last year.
And I like Addek fluff. And I made it as fluffy as I could.
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So I went back to LA. I unpacked my bags, I went grocery shopping, and I wandered around work. I wish more women would give birth between Christmas and New Years, I was really bored that week. I actually sat at my desk with a calender for awhile and tried to figure out why there weren't more babies being born. The best I came up with was that in order to be born that week then most of them would have to have been conceived the first week of april and people must have been busy spring cleaning. On the other hand, right now I don't have anything better to do then have sex (coincidentally, just say I was having sex and through some sort or birth control mishap ended up pregnant, I'd be due the first week of August which is my busiest month –– I'm just saying, clearly everyone else has sex this week) but my boyfriend left me so I guess I'll be free the month of August. Do you see how bored I am?
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It rained 2 inches in the 4 days I was away from Seattle. These are the important details that my girlfriend caught me up on when she picked me up from the airport. Oh and Izzie bought her a bread maker for Christmas (Meredith felt that Izzie bought herself a bread maker and put her name on it, but since Meredith had bought Izzie a high powered blender perfect for making large batches of margarita's…), and she had to work in a hour so she was just going to drop me off at home and she'd see me in about 12 hours. So I went home, did some laundry, then went to the hospital to wait for a head injury to fall into my lap. It only took 20 minutes.
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"I'm thinking of having a party."
"Oh yeah?"
"For New Years. You free?"
"Yeah I'm free. You're really having a party?"
"Yeah," Addison flipped her notebook over to a blank sheet of paper and wrote Naomi's name, "That's one. Sam?"
"Of course."
"Pete. Violet. Cooper," Addison wrote down the names of her colleagues, "Charlotte?"
"Better ask Coop. What about Del? And Heather maybe?"
"Okay," Addison nodded, her lips pursed together, "That's really all the people I know in LA. That's sad."
"No. It's fine. You don't want to many people, it just gets messy. What you have is fine."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. I mean think of it this way, you have what, 8 people? You'll only have to buy 15 bottles of wine."
"15 bottles of wine? For 8 people?"
"Well I'm assuming a couple people will bring wine as a hostess gift," Naomi grinned, "But don't worry, we can get more just in case."
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"I'm thinking of having a party."
"Oh yeah?" Derek stretched in bed, then rolled over and buried his face in a pillow.
Meredith pushed her feet into a pair of flats and plopped herself down on the edge of the bed. She laughed and patted his bare back, "Don't worry. I'll ask Cristina and Alex to help me," she leaned over and kissed his shoulder, "I'll see you at work."
"I can help," Derek protested weakly, "I can call caterers and sample wine."
Meredith laughed, "Caterers? I'm going to grab some chips and crackers, Izzie will make some dip and I'll make sure I have enough cash on hand to order pizza. Cristina will handle the music, Alex will get the alcohol. Party's planned."
"Okay," Derek shrugged, "Let me know if you change your mind."
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"Nae? Are you busy this afternoon?"
"I'm booked solid. Why?"
"Party stuff. Do you know a good caterer?"
"Rolodex," Naomi pointed but didn't look up,
"So I guess you don't have time to go wine tasting."
"No Sorry," Naomi paused, then grinned slowly and looked up, "You should take Violet."
"Yeah?"
"Oh yeah."
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I was married for just shy of 12 years. Excluding the wedding which I actually didn't mind helping with, I avoided all types party planning for my entire marriage.
Actually, I tried to avoid helping with party planning but my wife seems to be under the impression that party planning is an activity that must be done in pairs.
My wife seemed … not seems. I meant that in the past tense.
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Violet and small glasses of wine is like a party in itself. Usually when I'm planning a party I have an idea of what I want, I try two or three bottles of red and two or three of white and I get the two I like best. Plus, I used to take Derek, just in case, so he could drive.
Violet thinks you should try all the wine so that you can make an informed decision. All the wine. And she thinks that you should visit several places cause they all offer something different. Apparently she used to date a really boring wine connoisseur. She knows her wine but she picked up some bad habits. Like over drinking at vineyards.
After the third winery we had to start taking cabs. Then we ended up so far out of town with so much wine that we had to call Pete to come pick us up. During rush hour. On a Tuesday. We were drunk to the point that we couldn't stop laughing and couldn't balance at 4 o'clock on a Tuesday.
Did I mention that Pete couldn't wait to drop me off and get Violet home? Yeah. Now I remember why I used to take Derek with me. Plus, I spent my evening being hungover with the sunset shinning in my eyes.
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… I found you one day with a mouth full of attitude,
And you stole me away,
you stole me away,
I`ve left my heart to you, but it`s not fair…
"This is a great party," Mark replied dryly over the loud music that was pumping through the house.
"How long before someone starts singing with a lampshade on their head?"
"Not long," Mark glanced around Meredith's New Year's Blowout, "Is anyone working tonight? I think the whole hospital is here. I think I discharged that guy yesterday."
"Yeah, he probably shouldn't be drinking then."
"What can you do. You send them out on their own and hope for the best."
"Addison cut her hair."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. It's short."
"Look good?"
Derek shrugged noncommittally and ambled away to get another drink.
"Hey. When did you see Addison?"
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"We walk in, we hear something in the kitchen, Kevin draws his gun, which was… hot. And it's my brother having sex on the linoleum in the kitchen."
The group bursts out laughing, even though most –– okay all –– of them have already heard the story.
Someone reaches for a bottle of wine and tops up everyones wine glass.
"Addison these appetizers are so good," Violet eats another, then held one out to Cooper who was eyeing the food.
"I had to try a lot of salmon spread before I found that," Addison held up her glass in a silent cheers to salmon spread then took a sip, "But can we stop standing around my kitchen and maybe go into the living room where I spend hours cleaning and arranging food?"
"But the crab cakes," Cooper grabbed another off the tray.
"There are more in the living room. Grab a bottle and lets go."
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"I'm hungry," Derek picked at some chips and dip, "Is no one else eating?"
"Everyone else is drunk. They all ate pasta and bread before they came over to soak up the alcohol. They don't have time for chips and onion dip," Mark scooped up some dip and popped it in his mouth, "You know who can throw a party? Addison. Just the food alone. And the decor, all candles and dimmed lights. Man. She could throw a party."
"I'm hungry."
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–– You should have come to my party. We had food. We had salmon spread.
–– In hindsight, yes, I should have gone to your party.
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It was approaching Midnight. Addison moved around the room replacing everyone wine with champagne –– Naomi, Sam, Violet, Pete, Cooper and Charlotte; Dell hadn't been able to come –– and turning down the music. She found the ball drop on TV and turned up the volume, then stepped back into the huddle of her friends.
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Happy New Year!
It was in that moment that Addison realized.
Sam kissed Naomi.
Cooper kissed Charlotte.
Violet kissed Pete.
And Addison had no one.
She took a deep breath, turned on her brightest smile, and turned towards Naomi for the second round of kisses.
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Happy New Years!
Meredith turned to Derek, looping her arms around his neck and kissing him hard on the lips, "Happy New Years Derek," then she was gone, enveloped into a bubble of her friends.
Derek stood there a minute longer, shaking a few hands, wishing people the best in the New Year, then escaped out to the back deck. He dialed his phone slowly, knowing she wasn't going to answer.
"Hello?" But she did answer.
"You know that song?"
Addison smiled, "What song?"
"Auld Lang Syne. I can hear people singing it on your end."
"Naomi. She's had some wine and champagne and she's feeling festive."
"Do you think we should forget?"
"Forget what?"
"Our past. Our auld acquaintances."
"I think the song is saying that we shouldn't."
"But maybe the song is wrong. Maybe it would be easier if we forgot and made a clean break. Wouldn't it be easier?"
Addison sat down on the bottom step of her deck and pressed her heels into the sand as she thought, "I think," she replied finally, "it would be lonelier if we forgot."
"Maybe."
"If you forget then you'll forget the good times too, and I don't want to forget the good times. I don't want you to forget them either, Derek," the last part was spoken rather sternly.
He chuckled, "Okay," he wandered out further into the yard, "What are you doing?"
"I had a little party. I'm taking a break now, out on the beach."
"You're at the beach?"
"I live on the beach," she smiled.
"Do you have salmon spread at this party?"
"I do," she laughed.
"How long of a drive is it from Seattle to LA anyway?"
"Mmm, maybe a day? Probably a little less."
"That's a long way to drive for salmon spread."
"It really is," she laughed again, "I'm glad you called, Derek. I was… I was just thinking about you."
"Well, you know," Derek shrugged, "I'm at a frathouse New Years Eve party. And I had to ask someone about that song."
"I'm glad I could help."
They fell silent for a few moments.
"Go back to your party," he instructed finally.
"Okay," she grinned, "Happy New Years."
"Happy New Years Addison."
She snapped her phone shut, her face breaking out into a huge grin.
"Who was on the phone?"
Addison turned and flushed, a small smile still on her face, "No one. My mother. Just wishing me a happy New Years."
Naomi looked at her skeptically as Addison passed her, "Did you just booty call Kevin on New Years Eve? Addison that is so tacky," she followed her into the house, "Well, done."
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It's the only New Year's Eve that we ever spent apart. And I missed him. I missed having someone to smile at and kiss at midnight. It means more when you're with someone. It's magical.
No one should start the New Year without someone to kiss. Not even me.
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It's not the kiss. It's that few seconds when it's just the two of you. That second between one year and the next and knowing that you are starting it together. You know? And then that soft little kiss just launches you into the New Year, but you're doing it together.
I didn't start the New Year like that this time. My girlfriend kissed me because that's what you do when the ball drops. It wasn't magical. It wasn't what it was suppose to be.
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So now, we have to figure out a relationship for these two. I don't know how they'd feel about a long distance relationship, I think they'd hate it.
But what else do you do? They live in different states. It's a long drive. I google mapped it.
Review please. I need to know if I'm doing this at all even remotely right.
