At the moment, my dog is trying to give me inspiration, he's even signed my notepad with a lovely muddy paw print. Therefore this chapter is dedicated to Bob, the only dog who thinks that happiness is touching everyone in the room at once.
Weeks came and went, and Kelsi hadn't seen head nor tail of Ryan since the night he'd told her it was over. Having different classes and living on completely different sides of the campus, there was hardly any chance of them bumping into each other anyway.
Eventually Christmas came around, and Kelsi found herself back in her old room in New Mexico, her black lab, Buster, curled up at the end of the bed, occasionally moving, groaning, then closing his eyes again. Picking up her notepad, she scribbled down her thoughts. Thoughts about life and family and home and music and, most importantly, love. She'd kinda hoped that she'd see Ryan on the flight back home, but he was nowhere to be seen, either on the plane or in either airport.
"Kelsi, honey, can I come in?" Lenora Neilsen asked softly from the other side of the door.
"Sure, mom, come on in." Kelsi replied, and Lenora sat beside her daughter on the bed, much to Buster's disgust at being moved to make room for her.
"You OK, honey?
You haven't been the same since you came back from New York."
"I'm fine, mom, honestly." She lied, but Lenora shook her head.
"You know you can't lie to me. You're really no good at it. Now what's up? Is it a boy?" She pressed.
"Kind of. Look, I really don't wanna talk about it." She signed, and Lenora pulled her only child into a hug.
"OK, one last
question and I'll leave you alone. You're not pregnant, are
you?"
"MOM!" Kelsi half-glared at her mother.
"Sorry, a mom's gotta ask these things. Especially after that Evans girl got herself into trouble. That reminds me, they've asked us to go over for Christmas dinner. I know we always have Christmas Day with just the two of us, but Mr Evans has helped out so much with the business, I thought it rude to say no." She coaxed, seeing her daughter frown. "Besides, that Ryan always did have a crush on you. Perhaps he can help you get over this boy." She nudged her daughter playfully, and Kelsi just rolled her eyes. It would be too much hassle to explain everything so, as always, she just kept quiet.
