Disclaimer: I don't own Everwood, the town, or it's characters. I'm just a
college student.
Chapter 31 uses "Last Christmas" by WHAM!
Chapter 31: Last Christmas
"What do you think about this?" Ephram asked holding up a soft looking, pink sweater that looked just about Amy's size. He'd bought Amy things before, for last Christmas and her birthday, but now he was her boyfriend and nothing seemed perfect enough. Tommy looked at him oddly and started laughing. "What the hell's so funny?" Ephram asked becoming paranoid.
"The way you're holding that up to yourself like you were going to wear it, that's what," he said breaking out into hysterics.
"Alright, alright," he said lowering it, "it's not THAT funny," he said, cheeks turning red. "But seriously, do you think she'll like it or no?"
"Well, she does like pink . . . but don't you think a sweater's too impersonal?"
"I hadn't thought about it that way . . . this just looks like it'd be so nice for her. It's warm, it's soft," he said.
"Dude, I think you just want the sweater for yourself," he said, again starting to laugh.
"Remind me again why you're here?" he said putting the sweater back on the table.
"Hey, come on, I'm just having fun. Let's go find a nice gift for Amy, okay?" he said patting him on the back.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ``````````````````````````````
"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special"
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ````````````````````````````````
Ephram wanted to go to the music store, but Tommy rolled his eyes and dragged him forward. It seemed like he was more concerned with her present than Ephram, but that wasn't the case. Ephram just didn't want to mess anything up. After a few more stores, the guys came upon a jewelry store. Ephram's breath caught in his chest,
"I don't know how much you were planning on spending . . ." Tommy said slowly.
"I don't know, I mean, I love her to death, but there's no way I can afford any of this. Could you?" he asked oblivious to the fact that this was the wrong question to ask Tommy,
"For Amy . . . er. You mean . . .?" he stuttered, "you mean if I had a girlfriend?" he finally managed to ask.
"I wouldn't expect you to spend that on Amy. You haven't known her that long, and while I know you're her best friend, that's a lot of money, and you have a son."
Not wanting to tell Ephram that he would gladly spend that much money on Amy if it wouldn't cause such awkwardness between him and Ephram or Amy, he resorted to saying, "It's not about money, E, it's about the thought,"
"Yeah, I know . . . I just want her to know how much she means to me . . ."
"She already knows," he said smiling though inside crying.
After a few more hours Ephram finally decided to get her the sweater. And while Tommy didn't say anything more about how attached his new friend "E" had become to it, he realized none of that mattered; that when she wore it Ephram be the one holding her; be the one who got to stay warm in her arms, not him. "She'll love it," was all he could say as Ephram brought it up to the counter to pay for it.
"What are you going to get her?" Ephram asked, proud that his shopping was finally finished; even it could've ended a few hours earlier had he just demanded that he was getting the sweater.
"Well, like you said, I haven't known her for very long," he mumbled.
"Oh I didn't mean to be like that," Ephram said feeling bad.
"No, I just meant that I don't know what she all likes. But I did hear her mention something about this necklace we saw in the Boston Store . . ." he looked down.
"Tommy! We just spent hours looking for the perfect gift for me to give her and you knew the whole time?!"
"You liked the sweater so much . . . I . . ." he stuttered, trying to come up with an excuse; Ephram had no idea why he'd need one.
"Hey, its no big deal, I was just giving you shit to get back at you for your comment about the sweater and me," he said laughing. "Let's go get that necklace for you, okay?" A rush of relief went through Tommy, knowing that Ephram had no clue that he was falling in love with his girlfriend.
The necklace was indeed one of the most elegant ones at the store, and while it wasn't all that expensive, it certainly looked fit for Amy. Tommy ran his fingers along the chain; it was silver, Amy's preference. The pendant was a shiny rose that he imagined would hang beautifully on her. He thought back to when she had first seen it,
"I have so many necklaces . . . and none of them seem to fit me," she said biting her lip. It was only one of the first days they had met and she was just trying to come up with things to say to him. She walked along the counter, not really paying attention to any in particular. She wasn't even sure why they had gone in the Boston Store in the first place. Tommy watched her with loving eyes. She was the most beautiful girl he had seen since Abby . . . his thoughts were interrupted when Amy's eyes caught a glimpse of the rose necklace and she let out a little squeak. Oh how he had wanted to kiss her just then.
"Oh wow," was all she could say at first, "look at that one!" she seemed so excited. Tommy hadn't ever seen anyone become so happy over jewelry that was at a store before. "It's so pretty . . ." she continued. The store was closing in a few minutes and so they had to leave. It was the last time she saw it, he assumed.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ````````````````````````````
"Once bitten and twice shy
I keep my distance but tears still catch my eye
Tell me, baby, do you recognize me?
It's been a year; it doesn't surprise me
Happy Christmas--I wrapped it up and sent it
With a note saying, "I love you"; I meant it
Now I know what a fool I've been
But if you kissed me now, I know you'd fool me again"
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` `````````````````````````
Snapping back into present time, Tommy now held the small rose in his hand, watching it sparkle, "this is it,"
"And you made fun of me for a sweater?" Ephram teased, "You're practically tearing up over a necklace." Ephram didn't know; if he had maybe he'd be wondering why she had shared such a moment with Tommy and not him.
"Yeah," he tried laughing it off, "guess we're even now, huh?" Christmas was always special to Tommy, or at least he dreamed and wanted them to be. Last year around this time he had gone on a few dates with a girl from school and it had turned out poorly, mostly because he was still getting over his drug problem. He made it his goal to make this the best Christmas ever; and he was happy, because he knew Amy this year.
The day was young, surprisingly enough, even though they had wandered around the mall for a few hours. Ephram decided that since he was the driver he would pick when they left . . . and that would not be before he went the music store. It wasn't that Tommy didn't like music, he just didn't want to be around the mall any longer than he had to in case the police were out for him.
"You didn't seem to be in a hurry when you decided the sweater sucked," Ephram said.
"Will you give that up, man?" Tommy joked, trying to lighten up, "Just go in the damn store and get whatever you need, I'll be at the food court,"
"I don't really think you should go off by yourself," Ephram said, remembering his dad's words.
"I'm fine, besides, I'll be back in a little while," he said waving as he walked away. Tommy picked up his cell phone to call the house and check on Micah. It rang a few times and then Delia finally answered.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ````````````````````````````
"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special"
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ````````````````````````````
"Hey, it's Tommy. How're things with Micah?"
"He fell asleep a few minutes ago when we were watching the lion king,"
"Aren't you sick of watching TV with him all day?" he asked, knowing ten year olds don't often have patience.
"Not really, I like being the oldest one in the house for today,"
"Hey, can I talk to your Dad?"
"Sure," she said handing Andy the phone.
"Tommy, everything okay?" Dr. Brown asked.
"Yeah, did my dad call or anything I should worry about?"
"No, not so far. Dr. Abbott's on his way here. When you get home we want to talk to you,"
"Yeah, okay," he said and they hung up.
After he had ordered his slice of pizza, he decided it'd be better if he ate it on the way back to the music store. He wasn't watching where he was going at all when he ran into someone; a girl. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry," he said before he looked at her.
"Tommy, right?" a very dreamy eyed Kayla smiled as she picked herself up off the ground.
"Right," he said reluctantly.
"I'm Kayla, you know, Amy's . . ."
"Oh, I know who you are," he said interrupting her and rolling his eyes.
"I was just talking to Ephram the other day, thought maybe you and I could go out for a little coffee sometime," she said moving closer to him.
"Um, we're kind of in a rush today," he said trying to get away from her before she noticed the bag with the necklace.
"Oh, it doesn't have to be today, necessarily," she winked, then her eyes fell to the bag, "Oh my, what's this?" she said lifting it.
"It's nothing," he said pulling it back.
"Yes it is, let me see it!" She squealed. Tommy understood how Amy could become easily annoyed with her. He tried pulling it back again but it was too late, she had already removed it from the package. "Oh wow, this is beautiful," she said fingering it.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```````````````````````````
"A crowded room, friends with tired eyes
I'm hiding from you and your soul of ice
My God, I thought you were someone to rely on
Me, I guess I was a shoulder to cry on
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart
A man under cover, but you tore me apart
Ooh, now I've found a real love
You'll never fool me again"
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```````````````````````````
"Yes, isn't it? Now give it back!" he said pulling it away.
"Is that for Amy?" she asked smiling devilishly.
"Its no big deal," he said putting it back in the bag.
"Right," she said sarcastically, squeezing his cheeks, "and I'm the queen of England." Not knowing how to respond, Tommy was relieved when Ephram appeared in front of them.
"Kayla, hi," he said happily, "Tommy and I were just leaving, we'll see you around though, okay? Drop by sometime," as they walked away,
"I . . ." she started but they were already gone.
"She tried hitting on you didn't she?" Ephram asked as they approached his car.
"Among other things," he said and they were on their way home. Tommy would be put through quite a bit of interrogating when he got to his new 'home,' perhaps more than he would've bargained for.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` `````````````````````````````
"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart
A man under cover, but you tore him apart
Maybe next year I'll give it to someone
I'll give it to someone special, special
Someone...someone
I'll give it to someone
I'll give it to someone special, special"
Chapter 31 uses "Last Christmas" by WHAM!
Chapter 31: Last Christmas
"What do you think about this?" Ephram asked holding up a soft looking, pink sweater that looked just about Amy's size. He'd bought Amy things before, for last Christmas and her birthday, but now he was her boyfriend and nothing seemed perfect enough. Tommy looked at him oddly and started laughing. "What the hell's so funny?" Ephram asked becoming paranoid.
"The way you're holding that up to yourself like you were going to wear it, that's what," he said breaking out into hysterics.
"Alright, alright," he said lowering it, "it's not THAT funny," he said, cheeks turning red. "But seriously, do you think she'll like it or no?"
"Well, she does like pink . . . but don't you think a sweater's too impersonal?"
"I hadn't thought about it that way . . . this just looks like it'd be so nice for her. It's warm, it's soft," he said.
"Dude, I think you just want the sweater for yourself," he said, again starting to laugh.
"Remind me again why you're here?" he said putting the sweater back on the table.
"Hey, come on, I'm just having fun. Let's go find a nice gift for Amy, okay?" he said patting him on the back.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ``````````````````````````````
"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special"
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ````````````````````````````````
Ephram wanted to go to the music store, but Tommy rolled his eyes and dragged him forward. It seemed like he was more concerned with her present than Ephram, but that wasn't the case. Ephram just didn't want to mess anything up. After a few more stores, the guys came upon a jewelry store. Ephram's breath caught in his chest,
"I don't know how much you were planning on spending . . ." Tommy said slowly.
"I don't know, I mean, I love her to death, but there's no way I can afford any of this. Could you?" he asked oblivious to the fact that this was the wrong question to ask Tommy,
"For Amy . . . er. You mean . . .?" he stuttered, "you mean if I had a girlfriend?" he finally managed to ask.
"I wouldn't expect you to spend that on Amy. You haven't known her that long, and while I know you're her best friend, that's a lot of money, and you have a son."
Not wanting to tell Ephram that he would gladly spend that much money on Amy if it wouldn't cause such awkwardness between him and Ephram or Amy, he resorted to saying, "It's not about money, E, it's about the thought,"
"Yeah, I know . . . I just want her to know how much she means to me . . ."
"She already knows," he said smiling though inside crying.
After a few more hours Ephram finally decided to get her the sweater. And while Tommy didn't say anything more about how attached his new friend "E" had become to it, he realized none of that mattered; that when she wore it Ephram be the one holding her; be the one who got to stay warm in her arms, not him. "She'll love it," was all he could say as Ephram brought it up to the counter to pay for it.
"What are you going to get her?" Ephram asked, proud that his shopping was finally finished; even it could've ended a few hours earlier had he just demanded that he was getting the sweater.
"Well, like you said, I haven't known her for very long," he mumbled.
"Oh I didn't mean to be like that," Ephram said feeling bad.
"No, I just meant that I don't know what she all likes. But I did hear her mention something about this necklace we saw in the Boston Store . . ." he looked down.
"Tommy! We just spent hours looking for the perfect gift for me to give her and you knew the whole time?!"
"You liked the sweater so much . . . I . . ." he stuttered, trying to come up with an excuse; Ephram had no idea why he'd need one.
"Hey, its no big deal, I was just giving you shit to get back at you for your comment about the sweater and me," he said laughing. "Let's go get that necklace for you, okay?" A rush of relief went through Tommy, knowing that Ephram had no clue that he was falling in love with his girlfriend.
The necklace was indeed one of the most elegant ones at the store, and while it wasn't all that expensive, it certainly looked fit for Amy. Tommy ran his fingers along the chain; it was silver, Amy's preference. The pendant was a shiny rose that he imagined would hang beautifully on her. He thought back to when she had first seen it,
"I have so many necklaces . . . and none of them seem to fit me," she said biting her lip. It was only one of the first days they had met and she was just trying to come up with things to say to him. She walked along the counter, not really paying attention to any in particular. She wasn't even sure why they had gone in the Boston Store in the first place. Tommy watched her with loving eyes. She was the most beautiful girl he had seen since Abby . . . his thoughts were interrupted when Amy's eyes caught a glimpse of the rose necklace and she let out a little squeak. Oh how he had wanted to kiss her just then.
"Oh wow," was all she could say at first, "look at that one!" she seemed so excited. Tommy hadn't ever seen anyone become so happy over jewelry that was at a store before. "It's so pretty . . ." she continued. The store was closing in a few minutes and so they had to leave. It was the last time she saw it, he assumed.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ````````````````````````````
"Once bitten and twice shy
I keep my distance but tears still catch my eye
Tell me, baby, do you recognize me?
It's been a year; it doesn't surprise me
Happy Christmas--I wrapped it up and sent it
With a note saying, "I love you"; I meant it
Now I know what a fool I've been
But if you kissed me now, I know you'd fool me again"
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` `````````````````````````
Snapping back into present time, Tommy now held the small rose in his hand, watching it sparkle, "this is it,"
"And you made fun of me for a sweater?" Ephram teased, "You're practically tearing up over a necklace." Ephram didn't know; if he had maybe he'd be wondering why she had shared such a moment with Tommy and not him.
"Yeah," he tried laughing it off, "guess we're even now, huh?" Christmas was always special to Tommy, or at least he dreamed and wanted them to be. Last year around this time he had gone on a few dates with a girl from school and it had turned out poorly, mostly because he was still getting over his drug problem. He made it his goal to make this the best Christmas ever; and he was happy, because he knew Amy this year.
The day was young, surprisingly enough, even though they had wandered around the mall for a few hours. Ephram decided that since he was the driver he would pick when they left . . . and that would not be before he went the music store. It wasn't that Tommy didn't like music, he just didn't want to be around the mall any longer than he had to in case the police were out for him.
"You didn't seem to be in a hurry when you decided the sweater sucked," Ephram said.
"Will you give that up, man?" Tommy joked, trying to lighten up, "Just go in the damn store and get whatever you need, I'll be at the food court,"
"I don't really think you should go off by yourself," Ephram said, remembering his dad's words.
"I'm fine, besides, I'll be back in a little while," he said waving as he walked away. Tommy picked up his cell phone to call the house and check on Micah. It rang a few times and then Delia finally answered.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ````````````````````````````
"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special"
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ````````````````````````````
"Hey, it's Tommy. How're things with Micah?"
"He fell asleep a few minutes ago when we were watching the lion king,"
"Aren't you sick of watching TV with him all day?" he asked, knowing ten year olds don't often have patience.
"Not really, I like being the oldest one in the house for today,"
"Hey, can I talk to your Dad?"
"Sure," she said handing Andy the phone.
"Tommy, everything okay?" Dr. Brown asked.
"Yeah, did my dad call or anything I should worry about?"
"No, not so far. Dr. Abbott's on his way here. When you get home we want to talk to you,"
"Yeah, okay," he said and they hung up.
After he had ordered his slice of pizza, he decided it'd be better if he ate it on the way back to the music store. He wasn't watching where he was going at all when he ran into someone; a girl. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry," he said before he looked at her.
"Tommy, right?" a very dreamy eyed Kayla smiled as she picked herself up off the ground.
"Right," he said reluctantly.
"I'm Kayla, you know, Amy's . . ."
"Oh, I know who you are," he said interrupting her and rolling his eyes.
"I was just talking to Ephram the other day, thought maybe you and I could go out for a little coffee sometime," she said moving closer to him.
"Um, we're kind of in a rush today," he said trying to get away from her before she noticed the bag with the necklace.
"Oh, it doesn't have to be today, necessarily," she winked, then her eyes fell to the bag, "Oh my, what's this?" she said lifting it.
"It's nothing," he said pulling it back.
"Yes it is, let me see it!" She squealed. Tommy understood how Amy could become easily annoyed with her. He tried pulling it back again but it was too late, she had already removed it from the package. "Oh wow, this is beautiful," she said fingering it.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```````````````````````````
"A crowded room, friends with tired eyes
I'm hiding from you and your soul of ice
My God, I thought you were someone to rely on
Me, I guess I was a shoulder to cry on
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart
A man under cover, but you tore me apart
Ooh, now I've found a real love
You'll never fool me again"
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```````````````````````````
"Yes, isn't it? Now give it back!" he said pulling it away.
"Is that for Amy?" she asked smiling devilishly.
"Its no big deal," he said putting it back in the bag.
"Right," she said sarcastically, squeezing his cheeks, "and I'm the queen of England." Not knowing how to respond, Tommy was relieved when Ephram appeared in front of them.
"Kayla, hi," he said happily, "Tommy and I were just leaving, we'll see you around though, okay? Drop by sometime," as they walked away,
"I . . ." she started but they were already gone.
"She tried hitting on you didn't she?" Ephram asked as they approached his car.
"Among other things," he said and they were on their way home. Tommy would be put through quite a bit of interrogating when he got to his new 'home,' perhaps more than he would've bargained for.
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` `````````````````````````````
"Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart
A man under cover, but you tore him apart
Maybe next year I'll give it to someone
I'll give it to someone special, special
Someone...someone
I'll give it to someone
I'll give it to someone special, special"