*This is not a "rip off" of the film Last Christmas, it was inspired by the movie trailer. Nasty Guest reviews will be deleted due to onslaught of harrassment*
Christmas time used to be my favourite time of the year. But now, I looked at it with dread.
Christmas day last year I died. I was dead for four minutes. It was a fight to keep my heart going, but I was what they called "lucky". I was one of the lucky people to receive a heart transplant on the same day. But all I could think about was the fact that someone lost a loved one that day. Someone's child died. Someone's best friend died. The love of someone's life died.
There was always a part of me that wanted to know who gave me their heart, who died to save me. But there was another part of me that didn't want to know who because I would want to seek their family out, to say that I was sorry.
"Why are you working here if you hate Christmas so much?" my co-worker, Mia, drawled at me.
I shrugged. "I like seeing how happy the kids are. It makes my shitty experience seem less shitty. Kids are so pure and happy. Nothing can make Christmas unmagical for them," I explained as I ran the edge of the scissors against the ribbon, curling it quickly.
"You know, you could always look at it as a blessing," Mia said leadingly.
"Mia, I can't see any blessing on someone else dying," I said quietly, "Please, just leave it alone."
Mia nodded, the bell on her hat jingling as she did. My parents thought it was funny that I took up a gift-wrapping job at the department store, but it was good money and I made tips. Plus, I could sit while working. It was hard to find a job where I could sit. I used to be fit and active, a former athlete. But now, I could barely run a few blocks before being winded.
The doctors told me that it would take time, but it made me so mad that I couldn't do what I used to.
I finished curling the ribbon and set the gifts off to the side, labelling who they belonged to and which customer was to pick them up. If I didn't think so cynically, I'd enjoy the job. I loved wrapping gifts, always trying to one-up myself each year. My best friend Lissa would take pictures of the gifts I'd wrap, squealing over how perfect they were. But I didn't get the same amount of joy from it.
I looked up when a few things were set on the table in front of me.
"Hi there," I said with a smile, but it fell a little. I knew this man, I didn't know why, but I knew his face. It had haunted me in my dreams. It was always sad too, the look of agony and sadness on his face in my dreams.
The man in front of me was tall, so tall. He had to easily be over six and a half feet tall. He had dark brown hair that was tied back at his neck and dark brown eyes. He leaned over and hoisted a little girl up into his arms.
"Zoya, which one do you want for Mama's gift?" he asked, pointing at the papers beside me.
"Pink!" the little girl squealed.
"Zoya, they don't have pink," the man said and she pouted, her lip curling and her big brown eyes moving up to his. I felt a little pity for the kid, there were a lot of little girls who came through here wanting pink wrapping paper.
"Which one is for mom?" I asked.
The man looked at me and pointed at the small gift, a box of earrings. I leaned forwards on the table so the little girl wouldn't hear.
"I have just enough pink paper left for that if you want. I can make it look festive," I offered, glancing at the little girl.
The man grinned and nodded in agreeance. I leaned on my stool and grabbed the last scrap I had of pink paper, holding it up.
"Is this good enough?" I asked the girl. Her eyes widened and she squealed, clapping her hands together.
"I'll say it's good enough," I chuckled. The man started filling out the forms for the labels, setting each form on the designated present. I picked up the gifts and pages, setting them off to the side next to the other gifts I had to wrap.
"It'll take about an hour. Is that going to be okay?" I asked.
"That should be fine," the man said and signed the slip.
"Great," I said taking the slip, "I will see you in an hour, Dimitri."
Dimitri nodded and kissed Zoya's cheek as he walked away, talking to her in Russia. I didn't know a lot of words, but my dad spoke it fluently. He tried to teach me, but I couldn't grasp it. I did catch the word 'ice cream' but that was it.
"Yummy, yummy. If only all the daddies looked like that," Mia murmured beside me and I snorted a laugh.
"Easy tiger," I snickered as I started wrapping other presents. We didn't have a lot left, but we were closing soon and I wanted to make sure that everything was done. Once I got to Dimitri's gifts, I only had twenty minutes left. I didn't want to rush it, but I needed to hurry. Mia still had more gifts to wrap and I figured I'd need to pick up the slack.
I finished off the pink gift with a gold and white bowl that shimmered with glitter. It always stuck to my hands, but it still looked festive. I set them all carefully into a clear bag when I saw Dimitri approaching with Zoya.
"Yummy daddy is back," Mia sang quietly.
I clapped my hands at Mia with a smirk. "Pitter patter let's get at'er," I chuckled and then turned back to face Dimitri when he reached.
"Here are all the gifts. It'll be fifteen dollars even," I said with a smile. Dimitri blinked at me for a moment before handing over a few bills.
"Is something wrong?" I asked.
"I just haven't heard anyone say that phrase in a long time," he said quietly. I made the change for him but he waved it off. I smiled and thanked him, sticking the change in the tip charge.
"Happy Christmas, Dimitri. S Rozhdestvom, Zoya!" I said standing up so I could speak to Zoya. She beamed up at me and pulled at Dimitri's pants, speaking quietly in excitement.
"I know, I heard," Dimitri chuckled, "You speak Russian?"
I chuckled. "Not a whole lot. Just a few words and phrases," I explained. Dimitri took the bag off the counter and smiled at me.
"Thank you?"
"Rose," I said extending my hand out to him. He shook it and I grinned. There was a shake between our skin, making me blush a little bit.
"Merry Christmas, Roza," Dimitri said with a smile.
I nodded and watched him walk away, his large hand dwarfing Zoya's tiny one. I sighed and sat down on the stool again, resting my elbow on the counter. Mia sighed and sat down beside me, taking her hat off and scratching her head
"How do you get around wearing these things!?" Mia grumbled.
"Alberta is a family friend of my mom's. She doesn't make me wear the hat as long as I come to work," I chuckled running my hand through my hair.
Mia rolled her eyes. "Are you walking home tonight, or did you drive?"
"I'm going to walk. I need to walk more. My dad keeps getting on my case about the junk I've been eating."
"I thought you had a whole regiment you had to follow," Mia said.
"I do. I just don't always follow it. I miss being able to eat whatever I wanted," I sighed, "Speaking of, I need to get going," I said tiredly as I stood up, "Here's to hoping we're just as busy tomorrow as we were today."
Mia nodded and waved at me as I walked around the counter, heading for the staff lockers to get my things.
I watched my breath puff out in front of me, my hands tucked into my pockets. The snow was starting to fall and it gave everything a holiday look. I wasn't totally surprised since it was the middle of December.
There was a pub that I used to frequent before the car accident a few steps down the road. I hadn't been there since a few days before. Making the decision, I quickened my pace and headed in, tapping my shoes against the frame to knock the snow off.
The bed jungled above the door and it felt like walking home. The sound, the smell, everything was the exact same. I recognized some faces in the room as I made my way to the bar, climbing onto a stool. I stopped Hopper behind the bar, the constant cigarette tucked behind his ear.
"Hop, still got those bangin' jalapeno wanton things?"
Hopper froze for a second and turned to me, a large smile crossing his face.
"Hathaway!" he exclaimed coming down the bar. I smiled at him and he leaned over the bar, cupping my cheeks and kissed the top of my head.
"I missed you, kid," he said when he pulled back, "We all heard about the accident."
I nodded. "Yeah, just had a lot going on. I was walking down the street and realized that I haven't been here since a few days before. I figured you deserved to see I wasn't a Christmas Ghost," I chuckled with a smile.
Hopper smiled and nodded as he typed something in on the computer. Another person sat down beside me, and Hopper was still looking at the computer.
"Are you allowed a drink or I'm going to kill you because of the muno things?"
"Immunosuppressants," I corrected, "And one or two won't hurt me."
"You sure?" he said as he pulled a glass from under the table, holding it under the spout of my favourite cider.
"I'm sure," I chuckled as I pulled my hat off and tucked it into my coat. Hopper set my drink on the counter in front of me.
"I'm glad that you made it out of that car wreck. We did a lot of fundraising here for you. I think we ended up sending you this massive flower arrangement," he said.
"Flowers and a really nice throw blanket. And the best sock slippers I've ever had. Muriel added the last two in," I added.
Hopper nodded and then noticed the person who sat next to me. "Sorry about that, what can I get for you?"
"Whatever she's drinking looks good," the man beside me said. I recognized the voice and I turned, nodding at him.
"Did you follow me?" I chuckled.
Dimitri looked at me and chuckled. "I promise I didn't follow you. I just saw you come in," Dimitri said with a smile. I nodded and pointed at the cider.
"You know that isn't beer, right?"
"Yes," he said with a smirk. I nodded and lifted my glass, taking a long sip. My parents didn't like it when I drank at the house, so I only did it when out. Not that it mattered, they'd check my fridge when they came over to my place.
Hopper set a pint down in front of Dimitri as well. "Kid, I put in an order of those wantons you like so much. I made sure to get you some extra sauce too."
I fist pumped to myself and grinned, taking another sip of my drink. I knocked one boot off and pulled my foot up to rest on the edge. I looked around the room and sighed, enjoying the normalcy of the pub.
"I don't mean to pry or be rude, but I caught some of your conversation with the bartender."
"Owner," I corrected as I looked at Dimitri, "What about it?"
"Was it a transplant? The reason you need the immunosuppressants?"
"Heart transplant. I was in a car accident almost a year ago," I said quietly.
"I'm sorry," he said but I shook my head.
"Don't be. I hear people say it all the time. And then people feel bad. It's not a big deal anymore," I said kindly. "By the way, your daughter is absolutely adorable."
"My daughter?"
"Zoya?"
Dimitri laughed and shook his head as he took a drink. "My niece. I was babysitting while my sister was at work. I figured it was easier to do Christmas shopping then try and chase her around my house."
I snorted a laugh. "I agree. So many things to entertain her with while getting gifts."
"Yes, and it tired her out enough that she napped for the rest of the afternoon. I'm sure Karolina will love me for it," he said with a smirk.
I smirked at him and took another drink, sniffing the air. I could smell everything in the room and my stomach grumbled.
"So, did you move here recently? Your accent is too thick to be born here," I asked.
Dimitri raised his brows. "I just moved here a few years ago. I was born in Russia."
I shifted on my chair so I was angled toward him. "Russia's cool. I was there for all of an hour and saw nothing but the inside of the airport."
Dimitri shuttered. "Yikes. Some of those airports can be really bad," he laughed. I snickered and nodded as I took a sip of my drink.
"Yeah, not a fan of Novosibirsk airport," I chuckled.
Dimitri smirked and nodded in understanding when a plate was sat in front of me by Muriel. Muriel was Hopper's mother and she generally did the books for the pub, but she worked every few nights. She smiled warmly at me and came around the bar, her arms opening for me. I took her hug eagerly, sighing to myself and she fretted over me.
"You are so skinny," she chastised when she pulled back, "I remember when you used to out eat Robert. I'll ask Marco to make you a burger too."
"Maybe the chicken strips?" I inquired, remembering the last time Marco made a burger for me and it was still raw inside.
Muriel chuckled and stroked my cheek. "Chicken strips it is. Anything for my girl," she said softly. I smiled at her and watched her walk back around the counter. I picked up a wanton and popped it into my mouth, glancing at Dimitri who looked amused.
"I promise, I was never a heifer. I just ate like a man," I chuckled.
Dimitri held his hands up. "Hey, I think any woman who eats is fine. I keep trying to tell my younger sister that, but it falls on deaf ears."
I snorted. "My mother had the opposite problem. She'd try to tell me that men would find it unattractive. But she was also five foot nothing and weighed next to nothing so," I said with a shrug.
Dimitri shrugged again as he flagged Hopper down to get an order of the wantons for himself.
"My mother is the opposite. If your plate was empty, it meant you wanted more food," Dimitri chuckled.
I snorted. "My dad doesn't care how much, just that I follow my regiment. No high salt foods, more fruits and vegetables, blah blah blah."
Speaking of my dad, my phone started to ring loudly in my pocket. I made a face and pulled it out, sliding the icon on the screen.
"Yes, warlord?" I chuckled while stuffing another wanton in my mouth.
"Where are you? It's late," Dad asked a touch of gentleness in his voice.
"Where else am I going to get wantons at night?" I chuckled, "I'm down at Hop's."
Dad chuckled in my ear. "I'll come and get you. Your mother is having a bird. Put in an order for me? I'll be there in an hour. And make sure you eat all of your food before you leave. You know how your mother will be if you bring it home with you."
"Okay dad," I said before hanging up. "Can you imagine having your parents insist on you living with them?"
"My mother would prefer if we all still lived under the same roof," Dimitri chuckled.
"I had my own place before all of this. And now she's like a food nazi! I can't even think about eating a burger or even chili cheese fries without her freaking out. The woman literally goes through my snack stash and throws out all the good stuff. It's like, you didn't care about me before, why all of a sudden do you can now?" I grumbled.
"And this is all since the transplant?"
I nodded and stuffed another wanton in my mouth, blinking back the tears when the heat from the sauce was too much.
"I could understand if I had a crappy lifestyle beforehand and the transplant was because of a bad heart. But this…I was super healthy. I was a distance runner, a boxer, I was as fit as I had ever been, and then," I exclaimed before trailing off. "And then I'm driving to my friend's house to meet my parents there and I get hit by a drunk driver. He walked away without a scratch."
I took another long drink from my glass and tapped my fingers against the side of it with furrowed brows.
"I'm sorry, you don't even know me and I'm puking my life story on you," I groaned quietly.
Dimitri shook his head and held his glass up to me. I picked mine up and clinked it against his and took a drink.
"It's fine. It sounds like you need to talk about it. Plus, you can talk to a stranger in a way you can't talk to people you're close with," Dimitri said sympathetically.
I looked at him with what I hoped looked like compassion. "I do. I just hate talking about it to people who already had to live through it."
Dimitri nodded and thanked Hopper when his order of food was set in front of him.
"How long ago was it? The accident?"
"Christmas Day," I replied, "It's kind of funny, to be honest. I used to love the holiday. Not because of the gifts, but everything else. And now, I hate the holiday. I hate being reminded that I'm alive because someone else is dead. I took that from someone who needed it more than me."
"I wouldn't say that you took it from someone," Dimitri said.
"There was a woman in that hospital that was next on the transplant list for a heart and because I wouldn't have made the night without one, I bumped her out of place."
"Rose don't blame yourself for that. It's just how the system works," Dimitri said kindly. I nodded and bit my lip.
"My best friend was a donor. I go through everyday hoping that the people he helped live long lives," Dimitri said after a moment. I felt my brows furrow again.
"Shit. I'm sorry. Here I am complaining," I said with a shake of my head. "When did he die?"
"Christmas Day. He fell and hit his head, almost instant brain death," Dimitri said. "He helped a pair of twelve-year-old twins, a grandmother, a young woman, and a young man. The rest of his body he donated to science."
"I've always wanted to know who my donor was so that I could thank their family. But another part of me doesn't want to because then I would dwell on them," I explained, "Don't get me wrong; I am grateful for them, but it's hard for me to cope with."
Dimitri nodded in understanding. "Ivan's mother met the twins. She sent them birth gifts this year. He donated his kidneys to them."
I smiled. "That is really sweet of her," I whispered.
Dimitri nodded and finished off his drink before requesting another one. I finished mine too and asked for half a glass.
"Muriel? I know you put in that order for me. Can you put it into a take-out container? And put in a burger bunch order for takeout? I'll close my bill out too," I asked kindly. Muriel nodded and printed out the order and bill, compensating my drinks and chicken strips.
"Thank you for talking to me, it helped," I said to Dimitri kindly.
Dimitri smiled and nodded. "It was my pleasure. Despite the topic, I enjoyed the conversation with you. And thank you for the beautifully wrapped gifts."
I smiled and chuckled quietly. "It was my pleasure. I still love to wrap gifts."
Dimitri grinned and ate a few of his wantons, coughing when the spice was unexpected.
"Good, huh?"
Dimitri nodded. "Very good. I could see why you needed to sneak them. Too good to pass up."
This is my first Christmas fic *squee* And to be frank, I did not steal any Stranger Things names, I actually worked with someone named Robert Hopper and we called him "Hop".