Many Mistakes, No Regrets

Chapter 10: Thanksgiving alone? Or Maybe Not?

Chapter 10: Thanksgiving alone? Or Maybe Not?

-A Few Weeks Later-

            Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. A holiday for time with family, but not for me. I’m all alone. Ms. Baker left for Florida this morning. She even signed Elle out and took her with her. Leaving me here totally alone.

            Not that it really matters. Ms. Baker avoids me like I have the plague and Elle still isn’t talking to me. So I’ll be spending the long weekend by myself. I wouldn’t even be able to go see the band. They all were signed out to go home to their families. Everyone left last Saturday, except Jake. He left a few hours ago.

            Whatever. I should be used to being alone by now. I was almost always alone. It’s become part of my life. I’ll just spend some quality time with Trigger. I have been neglecting him a little bit. I only take him out when Jake doesn’t come over. So, he’s only being ridden three or four times a week.

            I decided to take him out to the little pond. It was always my sanctuary. But I forgot. This is Massachusetts. It’s getting cold. Winter is almost here. The weathermen think we’ll get snow some time next week. But they usually lie, so we probably won’t. Anyway, the ground was frozen and all the grass was already gone.

            Trigger seemed to be antsy so I figured I take him home. He does like food so the not being able to eat a thing probably wasn’t sitting well with him. It just kept getting colder and colder as we headed back.

            My breath was visible and I think my lips were turning blue. Going for a night time ride was probably not my best idea. It had to be below 20°F out here. We made it back to the barn and I gave Trigger a little more hay.

            Tonight was a good night for a fire, a movie, and some hot chocolate. I really wish Jake was here. Watching a movie alone isn’t as fun. But he’s not so I’ll just have to settle for an amazing 80’s movie.

            The only dilemma now is which one? Do I want some forbidden love with Dirty Dancing? Or maybe a little rule breaking with Footloose? No. I am definitely in the mood for a movie marathon. So I need a series. Back to the Future! Some cheesy futuristic movies. Perfect. Now, I just need to find my copies.

            After searching through my bins of movies, I found them. The next step of my movie night is to make up some hot chocolate with mini marshmallows. The water and powder were in the machine. I turned it on and it began heating up the mix. Finally, I need the fire. But first I need wood.

            Ms. Baker keeps the wood on the side of the house. I grabbed my coat and fuzzy boots. The cold air hit me like a slap to the face. But the cold air wasn’t what stopped me in my tracks.

            “Jake? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with your family?”

            “Yeah. But I have a question for you.”

            “Umm. Okay. Follow me. Maybe you can help me. I was going to build a fire so can you help me carry in some wood.”

            “I would but if you let me ask my question you might not need the fire.”

            “Alright. What’s the question?”

            “Do you want to spend the weekend with my family?”

            He wanted me to come to his house for the weekend?

            “Jake, I’m touched but I don’t want to intrude.”