Their Days of Nights

54 : Count

December 2011

Benjamin

The night is breezy.

Kim zips up her black hoodie as we start walking away from their building on our way to the corner of the next block to look for a taxi. We're heading to my uncle's condo for my mom's family's annual year-end party.

"You rested well earlier?" I ask Kim.

"Yup."

Thankfully, it's also the weekend, so she has this day off. Tomorrow night, she's going to work as they need more agents to take on incoming calls. Holidays are hectic days for them. Last week, she went home to be with her parents on Christmas day.

I haven't seen her since the twenty-second. We went straight to my house after work that day. My mom was out that morning, so Kim and I had the whole place to ourselves. In my room, there were no inhibitions. I went down on her, and she screamed when she came. We had a real breakfast after.

My uncle's three-bedroom condo unit is on the twenty-seventh floor of a twin thirty-story building near the northbound boundary of the CBD and the next city. It's on a corner facing the southwest part of the Metro. It has floor-to-ceiling windows, polished hardwood floors, matching furniture against white walls, and a balcony that has a view of the business districts.

One of my older cousins opens the door seconds after I rang the doorbell. "Here's the champion!" he announces to the room and pats my back as I walk past him. He nods at Kim as well.

My uncles and aunts greet us from the huge round table left of the front door. I introduce Kim to them again. It's been six years since they last saw her.

My mom comes into the dining table from the kitchen and wastes no second to welcome and hug my girlfriend.

"Sorry, I missed Christmas at your home," Kim says.

"Nonsense. How are your parents?"

"Okay, I guess."

Jessy grabs my hand and drags me to the spacious living room, where some of our cousins and their partners are scattered. The younger ones are on the floor, watching a holiday movie on the TV. I see my dad laughing with two of the older cousins on the balcony.

Jessy and the others are about to start playing a game of charades. They're already divided into two groups.

"Kim's on my team," Jessy stresses. She also asks them if they remember 'Benjie's girl' from years ago, back in the province. Two of them nod.

Kim just joins me and asks, "what's going on?"

I introduce her to the new faces and again to our cousins. Then my sister offers her a spot on the stretched couch and explains what they're doing.

Angie, who's a year older than Jessy, tells me that I'm in her team. And it doesn't look like I have any other choice. So, I sit down on the carpet next to the chair she's on.

Braces isn't around here tonight. I don't know if he doesn't want to or Jessy didn't invite him over. He's usually present in these gatherings, so I find it odd.

We play rounds, and our team is leading with three points against them.

One of the aunts tells everyone that we can start helping ourselves with food, so we stop with the charades. 

Angie, Jessy, and Dan are now in his room. The others are either on the balcony or the living room.

My dad joins Kim and me at the round table. One of the uncles even offers us wine, which neither of us takes, so the aunts snag it from him.