Chapter 14, The Best News Since Sliced Bread
"She shoplifted?" Zack asked into the phone, shocked at the news he had just found out from Kimi.
"Yes Zack, Angelica shoplifted a dress back at Thanksgiving from Gracy's Department Store, to wear to Savanna's Christmas party." Kimi replied into the phone.
"So what happened?" Zack asked.
"Well, Angelica got caught, and she ended up having to work in a tailor shop for the past month, to learn how much work goes into making clothes. She made a beautiful blue vest with gold buttons on it, which she was originally, going to give to her boyfriend Harold at the time, but he has since, moved away to Connecticut and broke up with Angelica in the process." Kimi explained.
"So what happened to the vest?" Zack asked.
"Well, tonight at the Christmas party, which was hosted by Drew and Charlotte, Angelica apologized for her bad behavior as of late, and she gave to vest to her cousin Tommy, who looks really good in it. Then, Tommy had to make a confession to me. He was originally, going to make me a movie for Christmas, but his camcorder broke before he could finish it, so he gave me a lovely pair of saffire earrings instead." Kimi replied.
Zack just looked down at the floor for a minute, feeling a bit bad that he was once again, stuck in Wheeling, West Virginia, for the fifth Christmas in a row, and that all because of his distance, Kimi was being showered with gifts from Tommy, instead of him. Realizing this fact, Zack let out a sigh of disappointment into the phone.
"Is something wrong Zachary?" Kimi asked on the other end.
"Oh nothing. I just, wish, we could be together." Zack replied with a sigh of disappointment.
"I wish we could too Zack, in fact, if there's only one wish I could really want this year, it's, to be with you again. I mean, Tommy's great and all, but you're my true best friend, and over the last few years ever since you moved away, Christmas is just, not the same without you." Kimi said, as tears came to her eyes, and she started to cry.
"Oh Kimi, don't cry. I miss you too, but someday, in due time, I know, that God will bring us together, because he knows, where we truly belong." Said Zack.
Kimi sniffled back some tears, before speaking up.
"You think so Zack?" Kimi asked, as she sniffled back some tears, and wiped her eyes with a tissue.
"I know so." Zack replied on the other end of the phone, with a huge grin of hope on his face.
No sooner had he said this, when he heard his aunt calling his name from downstairs.
"Uh, Kimi, I need to go, my aunt wants me." Said Zack.
"Ok Zachary. Merry Christmas." Said Kimi.
"Merry Christmas." Replied Zack, as he hung up the phone, and ran downstairs to see what his aunt wanted.
He got downstairs to find her putting her coat up on the hook, which told him she had just walked in the door from work, a little bit earlier on Christmas eve than she did the last time she had to work on this particular holiday. She took a seat in her favorite easy chair in the living room and smiled. Zack sat down on the couch across the way, and smiled back, as if his aunt was smiling, it meant she had some good news, but he didn't realize until a minute later, just how big and joyous her news was.
"Well Zack, did you have a nice day?" Celeste asked.
"Sure did, and I even got to talk to Kimi. We were just on the phone when you got home." Said Zack.
"Oh, I'm sorry I interrupted your phone conversation, but I have some really big news, that I think is going to make your Christmas brighter than ever." Said Celeste.
"Are we leaving bright and early tomorrow morning for Yucaipa, California? Will I be spending new years with Kimi and the gang?" Zack asked excitedly, like he were a little kid on Christmas morning, anxiously trying to figure out what was in the wrapped packages beneath the tree.
"Well, it does have to do with Yucaipa, California, but you're off by a few weeks." Said Celeste.
"Huh? What's going on Aunty Celeste?" Zack asked.
"Ok, I'd better just spill the beans then. Well, I had a meeting with my boss at the radio station today. Turns out the lady who took my place at Radio Disney in California was recently fired, and I've been asked to return there and take back my old position. My current boss had spoken with my old boss yesterday, and I was approached by my current boss about it at the staff meeting today." Explained Celeste.
"So does this mean we're moving back to Yucaipa?" Zack asked excitedly.
"It sure does. I'll be able to leave the radio station here come the middle of next month, and so come the end of January, we'll be taking a cross country trip back to California, and sometime between the twentieth and thirtieth of January, we should be back in the place you call home." Said Celeste.
Zack was speechless over the best news he heard all day. Without saying a word, he burst off of the couch and ran across the room like an excited child, embracing his aunt in the tightest hug imaginable.
"Oh Aunty Celeste, you're the best aunt ever!" Said Zack excitedly, as he continued to hug her.
"I knew this would cheer you up. You've been so depressed and miserable since we moved here, I couldn't say no to this job. If anything, I not only did it for me, because while I like my job, I'll admit, I don't care much for this town myself either, I did this more or less, for you." Said Celeste.
Zack just stood back and smiled at his aunt. He knew her to take extra special care of him, but in the fourteen years he had been alive, this had to be by far, one of the best things she had ever done for him. Finally, no more Christmases alone, and provided they were still a couple come next Christmas, the next year, he'd get a Christmas with Kimi. Not over the phone, but in person!
"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I've just gotta go tell Kimi the good news!" Said Zack, as he burst out of the room back up to his room, where he picked up his cell phone and quickly dialed Kimi's number.
Unfortunately, the phone was off, as it went straight to voicemail. He hung up without leaving a message, thinking he might call their house phone, until he looked at the clock on the wall, and saw it was getting near one thirty in the morning. This meant it was half past ten at night where Kimi lived, and there was a rule in their house that no phone calls to their house phone after eleven were permitted. While he did have thirty minutes to make the call, if Kimi's phone was off, it probably meant she had gone to bed early, which was no surprise, as she had been out for the evening at Angelica's family's Christmas party, it's quite possible she was exhausted, and turned in early. Seeing how late it was, Zack decided to shut out the lights, and get some sleep himself.
"Just one more month to go in this hell whole, before I am reunited with the woman, of my dreams." Zack thought to himself, as he was about to roll over and get some sleep, when out of the corner of his eye, via the nightlight and glimmer of moonlight shining in through the window, he spotted one of the most recent pictures of Kimi on his dresser.
It was her school picture from this year, and the fifteen-year-old Japanese girl didn't look so much like a little girl anymore. She was maturing into a beautiful woman physically, and the thing that really turned Zack on about this, was what Kimi had on top. Her figure was looking more grown up, as she actually had boobs. And these boobs, made Zack stare for what felt like forever, as he couldn't wait for next month to get here, so he could see Kimi in person, as while she was starting to get more of a figure the last time they saw each other, well over a year ago at this point, she was far from how she looked now.
An hour must have passed, as he stared at that woman in the photo, as the clock on the wall read two thirty. Realizing this fact, he turned over, and went to sleep, feeling the happiest he had been, in over five years. As he drifted off to sleep though, he decided that maybe it would be more special, to surprise Kimi with his return in another month. Therefore, he wouldn't tell her, or anybody else back home what was going on. Not yet anyway, as he was eager to see the looks on all of his friends faces, when he returned.
And this, ends chapter 14. So, how will Zack's first Christmas back in Yucaipa, California with Kimi go? We'll find out, in the next chapter, so please, do stay tuned!
Author's Note: The events that Kimi and Zack were talking about over the phone towards the beginning of this chapter, are a reference to another story I released well over a year ago now called Pay the Price, as the Christmas this chapter took place during, was the same Christmas that story took place at as well.