Chapter 19, Zack's Internship
While the couple was happy to be landing internships to help them be better prepared for the working world after college, it looked like they'd be spending a third Christmas in Boston, as it was Zack's turn to have an internship over the Christmas holiday, only getting originally, the dates of Christmas eve, Christmas day, New Years eve and New Years day off. However, his aunt couldn't stand a third Christmas apart from her nephew, so she bought a plane ticket and flew to Boston to be with Zack and Kimi for the holidays. Kimi's family would have loved to have come too, but they didn't think it was fair to close the Java Lava for the holidays, as that was one of their best times of year to receive business, and Chuckie was coming home. As much as he loved his younger sister, he didn't wish to spend Christmas in a cold climate, especially since Phil, Dil, Lil, Jesse, and even Tommy were going to be home for Christmas, thus, wanting to be with them for the holidays.
Kimi thought about going home for Christmas, but thinking about the previous year and how Zack stayed there to support her during her nursing internship, she didn't think it was fair to desert Zack during his first internship, working for a database center that specialized in computer programs for a radio station nearby. Originally, Zack was suppose to have Christmas eve off, which made him really happy, as his aunt got in very late the night before, and Kimi was the one to pick her up from the airport, before they went and picked up Zack from work, but at the last minute, Zack's boss asked him to come in on Christmas eve, as the person they were suppose to have come in got sick, and they needed somebody on duty, in the event the Santa tracking program the radio station was using all day on Christmas eve, should malfunction, and they needed somebody to look at it. Zack reluctantly agreed to this, and his aunt Celeste agreed to keep his girlfriend company, as they got things ready for Christmas.
There he sat, alone in a rather large office, staring at his email every so often, to see if a message came in from the disc jockeys at the radio station, needing his help with that tracking Santa program, as he quietly looked through pictures on his iPhone, of Christmases past. He mostly had pictures on his phone from the past three Christmases since he returned from Wheeling, when he and Kimi were together, while most pictures before that, were hard copies stashed away in his dresser drawer back at his apartment. He let out a huge sigh of disappointment, when he thought about how he was sitting there, very bored and lonely, as the only other person who was there that day was the janitor, who spoke very little English, coming in to sweep the floors every so often, and give Zack a hello in what little English he knew. Footsteps approached the door, as Earny looked in to see Zack, twittling his thumbs and checking his email for what felt like the sixtiest time that day.
"Hello." Said Earny in a rich German accent.
"Hello Earny." Zack replied, as he waved and smiled at the man, who smiled back before turning to leave and take care of cleaning he had to do in another part of the building.
Zack leaned back in his chair and sighed, as the hours of Christmas eve slowly passed away.
"I can't wait to go home and be with my aunt and Kimi." Zack thought to himself, as he looked at pictures and Facebook posts on his phone, trying to find things to keep himself occupied, without getting so lost in activities, that he might miss something important.
Ordinarily, they had him working on several projects, but with it being Christmas eve, and not a lot of other people around, as most programming projects were shared amongst the employees at this company, there wasn't much Zack could do. After waiting nearly eighty-seven hours, it was finally six o'clock in the evening, and no emails had come in from the radio station, so he clocked out, and started making his way home post locking up.
As he road the T, he was entertained by a man playing Christmas carols on his guitar. He played Little Drummer Boy, to which Zack sang along with, followed by Blue Christmas, and then, one of Zack's favorite Christmas tunes, I'll be Home for Christmas, a tune he really felt around this time of year, and sadly, felt like he had broken his promise so many times now, he wasn't sure if he could ever live up to the true meaning of that song again.
Finally, the T reached his stop, where he got off, and was happily greeted by Kimi who was waiting for him with a large Starbucks coffee.
"Welcome home Zachary, did you have a nice day?" Kimi asked, handing him his coffee, which he sipped on while they walked the few blocks from the T to their apartment.
"It was long, boring, and the radio station never needed my help. Chances are had I not gone in, their program would have malfunctioned, and I wouldn't have been able to get there quick enough to fix it." Replied Zack as he sipped on his coffee.
"Awe, sorry you were board, but your aunt and I have been having a nice day together." Said Kimi, as they approached the door to their apartment, and walked inside to be met with the aroma of fudge coming from the kitchen.
They came inside to see Celeste in an apron, putting a batch of fudge to cool on the counter.
"Hi Aunty Celeste." Said Zack as he entered the kitchen.
"Hi sweetie, did you have a nice day?" Celeste asked.
"As good as it gets I guess." Zack replied with a sigh.
"It was slow." Kimi added.
"Awe. Well not to worry, I just made some fudge, which ought to cheer you up. It does have to cool, but it should be ready to eat soon." Said Celeste, as the three of them took a seat at their small kitchen table, and talked about their day.
"So, what did you two do all day while I was at work?" Zack asked.
"Well, Kimi and I made Christmas ornaments out of paper called oragomies." Celeste replied, as she picked up a star she had made.
"A star?" Zack asked.
"Uh huh." Kimi replied.
"Can you two show me how you made that?" Zack asked.
"Sure!" Celeste replied, as she reached in for some paper, and showed him how to make a star.
Following his aunt, Zack picked up some paper and made a star, and they decorated the table with their stars.
"I have to say, I've really gotten to know Kimi today, and it's no wonder you two are made for each other." Said Celeste.
Zack and Kimi blushed at her comment, as Celeste got up and served them plates of fudge. Everybody enjoyed their fudge in silence, before Celeste turned on the stereo, and put on a Christmas CD for them to listen to.
Later that night, they ordered pizza for dinner, because Zack was not in the mood to cook, and neither was Kimi, and while Celeste made some fudge, she wasn't the best cook when it came to other foods, and with this being a kitchen she wasn't all that familiar with, they decided they'd rather have something simple, and enjoy one another's company more so than exhaust themselves by cooking. As their dinner of pizza was concluding, Celeste brought up an interesting comment.
"You know, Kimi told me her stepfather tells her that Christmas begins and ends with family." Said Celeste.
"Well, I believe you, but what about Kimi? I mean, her family isn't here." Said Zack.
Kimi nodded in agreement, as she frowned.
"Oh I don't know about that. She's a very sweet girl, and you guys have grown very close ever since you were very little. Kimi, if you don't mind, I'd like to think of you as part of our family." Said Celeste, as she cleared away the dinner dishes and put them into the sink.
"Really?" Kimi asked in surprise.
"Really." Celeste replied, as she came back to the table, and gave Kimi a hug.
Hearing this, Zack smiled, and joined in the group hug.
"You know what Aunty Celeste, you just made my Christmas this year, worth while. Thank you." Said Zack.
"You're welcome sweetie. Now, who's ready to open presents?" Celeste asked, as they finished cleaning up from dinner and went into the small living room, taking a seat on the couch.
"Oh, but Celeste, Zack and I usually open our presents to each other on Christmas." Kimi replied.
"Oh, I take it Zack never told you of our tradition then. Ever since he was really little, I'd always let him open up one present on Christmas eve, and since I'm here to visit the both of you, well, you both get to partake in this tradition." Said Celeste with a smile, as she went over to the Christmas tree, and picked up the two presents she brought with her, handing them to Zack and Kimi, as their Christmas cards on the packages were in Braille, so Celeste could tell which present was for which person.
"Thank you!" Zack and Kimi said in unison, as they ripped the shiny green paper off of their packages and saw what was inside.
Kimi received a beautiful dark purple sweater that Celeste nitted herself, while Zack received a gray hat and scarf to match, also nitted by his aunt.
"I've been taking a nitting class, and made these items for you. I hope you like them." Said Celeste.
"Like them, I love them! Thank you Aunty Celeste!" Said Zack excitedly, as he gave his aunt a hug, and tried on the hat and scarf.
"And you really didn't have to do this, but since I couldn't be with my family this Christmas, it's nice of you to think of me. Thank you Celeste." Said Kimi, as she too, reached in and gave her a hug.
Zack then turned to Kimi and whispered in her ear.
"Do you think we ought to give Celeste the present we have for her tonight? Or wait until morning." Said Zack.
"Let's give it to her now." Kimi whispered, as she got up from the couch and picked up a box wrapped in shiny red paper, and placed it into Celeste's lap.
"This, is for you, from the both of us." Said Kimi.
"Thank you." Celeste replied, as she tore the paper off of the package to reveal a snow globe.
Unlike regular snow globes though, this one was very special, as inside was some kids playing in the snow, with a Christmas tree in the middle and a house, and a train track going around the edge with a train going on the track, and when you shook it, not only did the snow fall down, but the snow globe made sounds, as the sound of falling snow was heard, as well as kids laughing, and the choo-choo of the train, as it went clickity clack on the railroad track.
"Oh wow! An audio snow globe! I heard about these things, but could never afford one." Said Celeste.
"Thank the money we made from our internships, as Kimi stashed away money from her internship last year, and with my first paycheck, I plan to pay her back for my half." Explained Zack.
"Oh my gosh, thank you so much!" Said Celeste, as she reached in and gave the couple another hug, and kissed each of them on the tops of their foreheads.
Zack found this a bit embarrassing, but sweet, as while Celeste was his aunt, she might as well be his mom, since she was more or less, the closest thing he had to a mom since he was very little, and as much as he loved being with Kimi, he was really happy to see his aunt again, as it wasn't easy having to spend the last couple of Christmases without her.
As it grew later, they curled up on the couch and watched Miracle on Thirty-Fourth Street together, before they all turned in for the night. As Zack and Kimi were curling up in bed to go to sleep, Kimi turned to Zack and smiled.
"Zachary, thanks for inviting your aunt to spend the holidays with us. She has truly, brightened the holidays this season, giving me a little reminder of what my dad always says, Christmas does indeed, begin and end with family." Said Kimi.
"You're welcome. And yes, I agree, my aunt knows how to make the holidays jolly, but most importantly, she's always been there for me, even when she couldn't be there physically." Zack replied, as he snuggled up next to Kimi.
"I know. Last year, she sent us Christmas cards and a package of pears and chocolates from Harry and Davids." Said Kimi.
"True, and she felt bad for us when we missed our flight two years ago." Said Zack.
"Don't remind me." Said Kimi, as she rolled over to go to sleep.
"Well, Merry Christmas Kimi." Said Zack.
"Merry Christmas Zachary." Whispered Kimi, as she yawned and closed her eyes.
Soon after, Zack yawned and closed his eyes to go to sleep, just as snow flurries started to fall from the sky outside their window.
And this, ends chapter 19. What else will be in store for this couple in Christmases ahead? Find out, next time.