"You haven't told me yet what you are going to do for Christmas. Got any lady friends to hang out with? Have a nice dinner?"
Steve was halfway caught up with his missed calls and notices when Mike slid into the guest chair by his desk, a warm smile on his face.
"Oh, not much of anything. If I get out of here early enough, I am probably going to stop by Janine's place for a bit. Have her make me some Kimchi. Drink some wine. The usual. You're going to attend midnight mass tonight or go Christmas Day?"
"Tonight for sure. Father Michael brings the whole choir in for that one, it's beautiful. There's something about the way all those voices travel throughout the church…it's angelic and breathtaking. I might actually do both masses for a change. It depends on what this town throws at us in the meantime."
With his eyes drifting off to the rest of the bullpen, Mike sighed quietly, the stress of a challenging year showing in every nuance of his soft expression.
"Jeanie should be here tomorrow sometime depending on how the busses run. I look forward to having her here over the holidays. Catch up. Talk. We have a lot of talking to do, you know."
Watching as the fatherly pride returned to his partner's eyes, Steve smiled, then leaned back in his chair, hands clasped behind his head.
"What's she going to cook this year? Without Eric coming along, it's just going to be the two of you."
"You know, she hasn't said yet. I'll find out soon enough, I'm sure. When you are done eating that…that strange spicy food, you're always welcome to stop by, you know. Bring the lady friend along."
"I don't know about Janine but I'll be around, don't you worry…", Steve said smilingly, then ran a nervous hand across his azure tie, his gaze moving to an unopened envelope leaning up against his phone, containing a Christmas card from his parents.
Following his glance, Mike reached for his partner's shoulder, before squeezing it tightly.
"You're running out of time to smoothen those frayed edges, my friend. Maybe we can stop by to visit after the holidays? See how things are going in Modesto, eh?"
"Maybe.", Steve answered somberly, then drew in a deep breath, pushing out the unwelcome emotions threatening to overshadow his lightheartedness.
Mike must have sensed his unease and leaned back, sighing as he straightened out his back, hoping to put up a comfortable distance to the discomfort his words had caused.
"Well, it's just Art, you and I for tomorrow, the rest of the gang is off on vacation, so how about I save that fruitcake for the three of us? What do you think, Buddy Boy?"
Giggling at his partner's genuine attempts to brighten his mood, Steve smiled amicably before shaking his head.
"You know I hate fruitcake."
"Yeah, but you also hate Christmas and look at you organizing a cruise for me and getting everybody in on the action. I bet you're just putting all this on to hide the fact that you are a sucker for making other people happy. You might as well drop the act because everybody here has got you read like a book by now, Smiley."
With an addictive chuckle, Mike rose from the chair again, patting his shoulder in unspoken support one last time before pointing toward the other side of the bullpen.
"Listen, let me…ehm…let me grab a couple files from Hassejian's desk. We can make a few more phone calls, see what we can do about closing those cases. I know it's not possible but it would be nice to start the New Year out with a clean slate."
"Sounds like a plan!", Steve cheered enthusiastically and watched his partner head to the back corner, waiting until he began to make small talk with Norm about the Armenian Sergeant's plans for Christmas.
Using the moment of privacy, Steve reached for his parents' letter and dropped it into the bottom drawer of his desk, where it would remain for the foreseeable future.