“What’s that mean?” He looked at Celeste in the rear-view mirror.
“It means I can move out and have my very own place.”
Kris glanced at me, his eyes studying the uneasiness that overtook my features before returning his gaze to the road.
“You need to finish the course first and then we’ll decide about you getting a place of your own.”
“I’m not a child, Belen.” Celeste locked her arms across her chest.
“I know that. A second apartment is expensive and you’re not working full time, so I’ll have to crunch the numbers and see if we can swing it.”
“When I graduate, I can start working more.”
It was always the same argument whenever this topic came up. The plan had always been for my sister to live with a family member. First my dad and now me. Celeste was thirty, of course she wanted independence. But the reality was that Down syndrome made safely navigating the world more challenging for her. To protect her, I needed to keep her close.
“Can we put a pin in this conversation for a later date?” Kris did not need to listen to us squabble. We would deal with the housing situation if or when Celeste proved she could live on her own.
The rest of the drive, we let the Christmas music reset the mood and fill the conversation void. When we arrived, we found a parking spot and with the warm drinks in hand, we took to the neighborhood on foot. I adjusted the zipper on Celeste’s coat, ensuring it was all the way up. The last thing I needed was for her to catch a cold. She was the worst patient, complaining it was too cold and then when you brought her an extra blanket, she would turn around and claim it was too hot.
As we rounded the corner into the neighborhood, the lights were blinding. Kris was right, this was impressive. Palatial homes all decked out in holiday cheer. One home was filled with carolers in their driveway singing “White Christmas.” Another home had a full-size sleigh with the fake reindeer Kris promised and Santa Claus atop the roof making his way to the chimney using some type of electronic pulley system. I tookseveral pictures of the various displays with my phone because inspiration could be derived from anywhere.
Hooking Kris’s arm with mine, I asked, “What do you think their light bill looks like?” I pointed to a home draped in thousands of multicolored lights.
“I watched a Mythbuster episode once that said a thousand Christmas lights would add roughly forty dollars to a monthly electric bill. This house probably has close to fifty thousand lights strung up and that doesn’t include the inflatables and the lawn lighting. So we’re looking at something in the neighborhood of two thousand dollars each month.”
Listening to Kris talk about things he’d learned or studied was one of my favorite ways to pass the time. I found myself playing with the fringes of my scarf as he spoke. He appeared completely oblivious to the fact that his confident authority was making me warm and soft on the inside.
“That’s a lot of money,” Celeste said.
“Do you think it’s worth it?” Kris asked her.
“Well it makes people happy. I’m happy looking at it, so maybe that makes it worth it. Right Belen?”
“This is definitely worth it.” I breathed out, my eyes still locked in on Kris’s face.
Kris leaned in, planting a simple kiss on my mouth. The touch of his soft lips warded off the chill of the night air.
“Oh brother.” Celeste rolled her eyes. “I thought you two were just friends?”
“We are.” I gave her a bashful smile.
“Friends don’t kiss friends on the lips.”
Releasing an exaggerated gasp, I said, “Oh my God, is that a Disney display?” In hopes of distracting Celeste, I pointed to a house across the street.
“Where?” She followed the direction of my hand with her eyes. Her face lit up when she recognized it. “I’m going over.”
“Okay, be careful.” Celeste crossed the street and immediately started inspecting the house decorated with some of the most popular Disney characters.
“Good recovery,” Kris said.
“She catches everything.”
“Yeah, well maybe because you told her we were friends.”
“We are friends.”
“Nah, Celeste is right. Friends don’t do the type of shit we be doing.”
