The silence in the car was unnerving to Alex. She knew that Marissa was mad at her, but she wanted Marissa to say something about it.
She decided to try to get Marissa to talk to her by asking, "Where do you want to eat?"
"I don't care," Marissa mumbled as she looked out the window.
The blonde's heart sank. She sighed and knew she had to do something. It was going to take a while to figure out how to redeem herself.
Alex went to the diner that they used to go to all the time when they lived in Newport. She was hoping to bring back some of the good memories. They both silently got out and automatically walked to the table that was 'their' table so many months ago.
Marissa was aggravated at Alex, but she couldn't just sit at the booth at watch the blonde beat herself up over it. She looked at Alex, catching her eyes. A small smiled graced her lips which caused a questioning look to cross the blonde's face.
Marissa opened her mouth, but a waitress appeared at the their table. She started to put the menus in front of them, but Marissa stopped her, "We don't need those. We're going to have one chocolate milkshake with two straws and chili cheese fries."
"Okay," the waitress smiled, "I'll have that right out."
Alex leaned back in her seat and smirked at Marissa. She wasn't sure what to say so she just looked at Marissa.
Ever the one to avoid one problem by bringing up another one, Marissa asked, "What are we going to do at mom's?"
"I don't know," Alex shrugged, "Talk I guess."
"That'll last all night," Marissa sarcastically quipped.
When the food came they shared the fries and milkshake like they did when Marissa first moved in with Alex, when they couldn't really afford anything else.
They took turns bringing back old memories of when they lived in that tiny apartment. Finally ending in the story of how Marissa turned all their white clothes pink not once, but twice.
When lunch was over, they got into the car and started toward the Cooper mansion. Alex was quiet as much as she usually was when they were about to see Julie.
Marissa reassuringly squeezed Alex's hand to let her know it would be okay. Alex smiled slightly and continued driving.
It took Alex a while to get out of the car. An overwhelming sense of dread always took her over when they got to the Cooper mansion. Marissa was wondering if she was going to have to pull Alex out of the car when she saw the blonde emerge.
Marissa reassuringly took Alex's hand and smiled. "It'll be okay."
"Sure," Alex swallowed hard.
Marissa paused a beat before opening the door. When she looked inside she froze. Alex couldn't see what Marissa saw so she asked, "What's wrong?"
When Marissa didn't move, Alex squeezed between Marissa and the doorframe where she saw the sight that made Marissa freeze in place. Her eyes started at the stairs where garland and Christmas lights lined the railing. Then she noticed the Christmas lights strung throughout the chandelier that hung over the giant Christmas tree that was at least twelve feet tall in the entryway. The tree was decorated in icy blue, white, and silver and many presents were stacked under it. Candy canes were staggered along the wall and the faint smell of cinnamon hung in the air.
"It looks like Santa threw up in here," Alex whispered. She half expected Julie to sneak up on them and yell 'Gotcha!'
Marissa scanned the room once again, "I think someone broke in and decorated."
After a few seconds of gawking, a voice interrupted them. "I didn't know you two were here." They both saw Julie at the top of the stairs in a white sweater with a Christmas tree on the front and green tights.
Marissa was so stunned she couldn't speak and Alex's jaw just dropped open.
"How do you like it?" Julie asked as she descended the stairs.
A barrage of things to say entered Alex's mind ranging from 'How dare you steal my grandma's sweater' to 'How much overtime did you pay the elves to decorate', but she decided again being a smartass for the sake of civility. Instead she settled for ever prudent lie, "It looks great."
Her girlfriend on the other hand was still thunderstruck by the decorations and the sweater.
"How about we go sit by the fire and drink some eggnog?" Julie asked with a smile. She walked toward the kitchen and Alex had to nudge Marissa into motion. The whole time they walked to the kitchen, Marissa looked for any signs that her mother had been hit on the head recently.
"Is there some kind of Christmas party or something later?" Alex asked, making the logical jump from Julie's decorating to her hosting a Christmas party.
Julie went to the refrigerator, "No. Everyone is out of town with family."
Alex thought she could detect a hint of sadness in the eldest Cooper's voice. She looked over at Marissa who was eyeing the plastic Santa that was dangling from the ceiling in the living room and the pipe candy canes standing around the pool outside.
"Would you two like some pumpkin pie?" Julie asked as the oven timer went off, "I may not have cooked it, but I warmed it in the oven like the woman at the bakery told me."
As Julie got out the pie, Alex leaned over to Marissa and whispered, "I'm scared. More than usual."
Marissa slightly smile finally out of her stupor. She looked at her mom who put the pie down on the counter, "Why the sudden interest in decorating?"
"I just felt like the house could use some holiday spirit," Julie mentioned cutting the pie, "Alex would you like, eggnog or hot cocoa?"
Alex was surprised at the use of her actual name and not a derogatory term or sarcastic tone. "Um, cocoa please."
Julie got to making the hot cocoa and asked, her daughter, "Marissa?"
The brunette leaned on the counter, "Cocoa, I guess." She paused, "Mom are you okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Julie asked with a smile.
After a few minutes Julie directed the girls to the living room while she got the pie.
Alex carried her cocoa and settled on the couch next to Marissa. For her part the younger girl couldn't figure out what was up with her mother. "Something is wrong."
"She's lonely," Alex quietly explained, "She's trying to make up for it by making the house all…" Alex paused, not able to find a word she just gestured around, "We should come over here more often. Maybe you could stay a few nights."
"No way," Marissa shook her head, "Not without you."
"Fine," Alex shrugged.
"Really?" Marissa asked, wondering why Alex's sudden care of her mother's well being.
The blonde nodded, "She's alone. I know what that's like. I spent every holiday since I was sixteen alone. It's depressing. Besides why else would she be nice to me?"
"Okay," Marissa smirked, "You big softy."
Alex rolled her eyes, "You love it."
"I love you," Marissa got close to Alex and brushed her lips against Alex's. When she pulled away she rested her head on Alex's shoulder.
Alex smiled and kissed Marissa's forehead, "I love you too."
"Who's ready for pie?" Julie asked as she walked into the living room with a tray containing three pieces of pie and forks.
The blonde put on her best smile and added, "That smells great."
Julie smiled back genuinely perhaps for the first time since she'd met Alex. Marissa watched the interaction and grinned. Maybe this Christmas would be okay and staying with her mom would be a pleasant experience.
