Page 35 of Our Moon
Me:its ok, we were a mess.
Ally:Did you have fun, though?
I think about it. Did I have fun? Heck yeah, I did. Playing music with my best friends, people cheering us on, making new fans…it was a blast.
Me:yeah, i had a lot of fun.
Ally:Then that’s all that matters. I’ve lost my share of swim meets, but I still enjoyed being in the pool, doing my thing.
Ha. She’s only lost a handful of times in the five years she’s been swimming competitively. I know this because Mrs. Monroe was bragging about it at one of her meets this past summer.
Me:liar
Ally:What do you mean?
Me:u never lose
Ally:I do, too!
Me:how many?
Ally:It doesn’t matter.
Me:how many?
Ally:Sigh. Four.
Me:and how many have u won?
Ally:Like 20 or something.
Me:…
Ally:27
That is something else I already know, thanks to Ally’s mom. Seventeen years old and she’s won twenty-seven competitions. That’s pretty significant considering she only competes once or twice every couple of months. She should be proud of that, not shy about it.
Me:thats pretty cool Al
Ally:Thanks. What you and the band does… that’s pretty cool, too, Chase.
Me:thx. nite Al
Ally:Good night, Chase.
Chapter Seventeen
Christmas at the Monroe house is an epic event. The day after Thanksgiving, the entire family goes to a nearby tree farm and actually cuts down a tree. They spend the rest of that day drinking eggnog or cider and singing Christmas carols--I’m not kidding. Then the guys do the outside lights and decorations, while the women take care of the indoor decorations. After dinner, everyone gathers in the living room and helps decorate the tree.
Like many other family events, Mr. and Mrs. Monroe have always invited me to join the family for their Christmas preparation festivities, but I have always declined. Until now. This year, I want to attend because spending extra time with Ally is like a gift,and I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
Once all the intensive labor is through and we’re all gathering in the living room to start on the tree, Trevor suggests I get my guitar so I can play along with the songs they are singing. I actually played the guitar in a Christmas concert at school one year, so I do know a few Christmas songs.
We go through the traditional songs, and then because we’re JACT, we do a few rocking songs, too. Everyone is singing and Ally and her mom are dancing, occasionally grabbing one of the guys for a spin. And I’m jealous, because I’m stuck sitting on the couch with my guitar. But every once in a while, I catch her looking my way and wink, then smile at her instant blush.
***
My mother and I are invited to my aunt’s house, her sister, for Christmas Day. I don’t want to go. I barely know this woman and it kind of pisses me off that she knows the way my mother is, yet hasn’t ever tried to be more involved in my life. I see how the Monroes are with one another and that’s the way a family should be.
