Christmas 2007

“So how is Justin doing?” Karen, Emma’s mother, asked her.  It was Christmas Day, and they were doing their immediate family celebration before heading over to her maternal Grandparents’ house.

“He’s doing good,” Emma replied as she poured herself another glass of orange juice.  They had already been to church, eaten breakfast and opened presents.  Now Emma and her mother were cleaning up the kitchen, while Trevor and her Dad, Doug, picked up the living room.

“Does he go back out on the road after the holidays?”

“No, he finally has a break,” Emma replied, “which he really needs.”

“Emma’s in loovveeee,” Trevor teased as he walked through the kitchen dragging a trash bag full of wrapping paper and ribbons.

“Trevor,” Emma blushed.

“Trevor, leave your sister alone,” Karen said even though she knew it was the truth.  Karen and her husband weren’t entirely sure about Justin, they had met him once and he was nice, but no one would ever be good enough for their daughter.  They just had to trust Emma’s judgment.

“But it’s so much fun to pick on her,” Trevor opened the back door so he could take the trash to the bins they kept in the back. 

“Are you girls ready to go?” Emma’s Dad asked as he walked into the kitchen.

“Yes, I just need you to put those presents in the car,” Karen pointed to the stack of gifts sitting on the kitchen table, and then she opened the fridge door to pull out a couple of casserole dishes and containers. 

“Emma take these out to the car.”  She handed the glass dishes to Emma.

Emma followed her Dad out to her parents’ car.  They put the stuff in the trunk, and Trevor and Karen came out carrying more food.  It was a five minute drive to her grandparents and after they unloaded the car, Emma’s cell phone rang.

She was expecting a call from Justin.  It was nice to at least be in the same time zone.

“Merry Christmas,” Emma smiled.  She walked down the hallway to find a quiet place to talk to him.  Emma went into her grandparents’ room and sat down on the rocking chair they had in one corner.

“Merry Christmas to you too,” Justin replied.  “What are you up to now?”

“Hiding in my Grandparents’ bedroom so I can talk to you,” she answered.  “It’s always a zoo here at Christmas.”

“Same here.  I’m at my Dad’s now and my brothers are getting into it as always,” he rolled his eyes.

“Boys will be boys,” Emma sighed.  “So are you happy to be in Tennessee?”

“It’s always nice to come home,” Justin said.  “I’m so excited that you’re coming out here for New Years.”

“Me too,” she grinned.  They hadn’t seen each other since she went to LA. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to fly?  I can still get you a plane ticket,” he offered.

“Nope.  I’m good.”  Emma had decided she would drive out to Tennessee because it was only a 5.5 hour drive.  “I like road trips even when you start to go crazy from being in the car so long.”

Justin laughed.  “Did you get anything exciting for Christmas?”

“Just some clothes I can wear for work and Trevor got me some CDs,” she answered.  “What about you?”

“Just some random stuff, I think my family has a hard time coming up with things to get me,” he said honestly.

“You are hard to shop for,” Emma stated, “but I managed to come up with something.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Justin was curious.

“You’ll see …”

“Okay,” he sighed.  “Is there anything you want to do while you’re out here?”

“Just see you.”  Justin could hear her smile through the phone.  They talked for a while longer until Emma had to get back to her family and their Christmas celebration.

*  *  *

Emma pulled into the driveway of the moderate-sized house.  At least this one wasn’t ostentatious like the place out in LA, but Emma figured since it was mother’s it wouldn’t be too insane.  She had left her house at 8 a.m. and it was now almost 2 p.m. 

Emma grinned when she saw Justin walk out from the open garage door.  He had been watching and waiting for her to turn into the driveway.  She put the car in park, turned it off, and hopped out so she could give him the hug she had been wanting to since September.

Justin wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up a little as her arms went around his neck.

“You cut your hair!”  He sounded surprised when he noticed that the long bangs she had last time he saw her were no longer there and it was just spiky all around.

“Yeah,” Emma responded.  “I want to grow it out again.  So I cut my bangs off and now it’s just spiky.” 

“Well I like it.  It’s looks good on you,” Justin smiled and finally leaned down to kiss her.

“Thanks.”  Emma grinned against his lips and kissed him again.  He lowered her back down without breaking contact.  “I missed you.”  She shivered a little when he pulled away, and she was reminded about how cold it was outside.

“Are you cold?”  He asked.  Emma nodded.  “Lets get your stuff out of the car and go in then.” 

“Sounds like a plan,” she reluctantly dropped her arms from his neck when he unwrapped his arms from around her.  Emma walked over to her car and unplugged her iPod from the tape adapter and grabbed her bag she had in the front seat. 

Justin saw her rolling suitcase in the backseat so he opened the door and grabbed it for her.  They closed the doors at the same time, and Justin took her hand to lead her through the garage and into the house.

Emma was nervous to meet his Mom and Step-Dad.

“Hey Momma this is Emma,” Justin said when they came into the kitchen, and as a side note to Emma he added, “Dad’s at work.” 

“Hi Emma,” Lynn smiled and stood up from the kitchen table so she could greet Emma properly.  “I’m glad you made it here, Justin’s been pacing since you called this morning saying you were leaving.”

“Mom,” Justin groaned in an ‘I-can’t-believe-you-just-said-that’ manner.  Both Emma and Lynn laughed.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Lynn said. 

“You too,” Emma said and set the bag she was carrying on the floor so she could shake Lynn’s hand.  She leaned into Justin when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.  They fit together even though he had about eight inches on her in height.  Emma sighed.  She was so happy to be next to him again.

“Where are Buckley and Brennen?” She asked noticing they hadn’t greeted her.

“They’re out back.  I figured I’d let you get settled and then have them attack you,” Justin smiled and kissed the top of her head.

“Are you hungry or thirsty?” Lynn asked.

“I stopped and got something for lunch on the way.  Thank you though,” she replied.  “I do have to go to the bathroom.”

“Justin take her bags and show her the guest room,” Lynn said.  “Make yourself at home Emma.”  Justin had informed his Mom that Emma would not be sharing a room with him.  Lynn had been surprised by that and it had only peaked her interest in meeting this new girlfriend of her son’s.  Emma was different and refreshing, and she could already see how Justin could be in love so quickly.

Emma smiled politely and then followed Justin out of the kitchen.  He carried her bags.

“Here’s your room,” Justin opened the door to a room at the front of the house and they walked in.  “The bathroom’s right there.”

“Great,” Emma disappeared into the connected bathroom and closed the door behind her.  When she came out, Justin had already put her bags down on top of the low dresser and was sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Did I mention how happy I am that you are here?”  Justin pulled her down onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her.

“Actually you didn’t, you got distracted by my haircut,” Emma teased and kissed his cheek.  She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.  “I’m happy I’m here too.”

“Three months is too long,” he said.

“Oh, it went fast and you know it,” Emma lifted her head up and shifted so she could look into his eyes.

“No it didn’t.”  He grinned, and Emma knew he was just trying to be difficult.

“I want to see the puppies now,” Emma stood up and as soon as she had done that the two dogs came barreling into the room.

“Well hello there,” Emma smiled and got down on the floor so she could greet them.  “You’re Mom must have let them in.”

Justin slid down to the floor next to her and Brennen plopped her butt in his lap before licking him right across the lips.  “Thanks.”  He wrapped his arms around the 60-pound dog.

Buckley was dancing around Emma and licking her face.  She could barely pet him.

“Now that’s a welcome … oh, gross!”  Emma started wiping at her tongue when Buckley’s tongue slipped into her mouth for a second.

Justin laughed.  He was content sitting there with Emma and his dogs.

They hung out with his dogs on the guest room floor for 30 minutes before Emma stood up and walked over to where her bag was. 

“Do you want your Christmas present?”  She pulled out the wrapped CD and turned around to face him.

“Ooo … yeah,” Justin pushed himself off of the floor and stood up.  “Let’s go get yours and we can open them together.”

“Okay,” Emma said.  She and Justin went into the living room where the Harless’ Christmas tree was still set up in front of the window.  The dogs followed.

Emma sat down on the couch while Justin bent over to pick up the only gift that was still under the tree.  He sat down on the couch next to her.

“You go first,” he said and handed her the box he had.  Emma unwrapped it and took the top off of the white box, and inside that was a black jewelry box.  She opened that and inside was a silver necklace with a Celtic cross hanging from it.

“I saw that and it reminded me of your tattoo, so I thought you would like it,” Justin explained.

“That’s really pretty Justin,” Emma smiled and fingered the cross.  She decided to take it out and put it on.  “How does it look?”

“Beautiful,” Justin reached out and tuned it so it was facing the right way.

“Thanks,” she said leaning over and kissing him.  “You’re gift isn’t nearly as fancy …” Emma handed it to him.  “I hope you like it.”

“I’m sure I will,” he said confidently as he ripped open the paper to reveal the homemade CD.

“So these are some of the current songs I am into,” Emma explained.  “It was the only thing I could think of for you.  There’s a song list on the back and I made a booklet for it that has all of the lyrics in it.” 

“Cool,” he said and opened the case so he could flip through the booklet quickly.  “Should we listen to it?”

“If you want,” Emma smiled.

“Sure.  Then you can tell me why you picked the songs.”  Justin stood up and walked over to the stereo that was in the room.  He put the CD in, and they spent the rest of the afternoon listening to and talking about it.

*  *  *

The following evening Justin was driving them to Memphis for dinner and some live music at BB Kings on Beale Street.  Emma was looking forward to it because he was excited to take her out in his hometown.  Apparently going out here with him wasn’t the same as in LA because people tended to leave him alone.

Emma wanted to watch the scenery they drove past, but it was dark out so she settled on Justin. 

“What?”  Justin glanced over at her when he felt her eyes on him.

“Nothin’,” Emma’s face turned red and she turned to look out the front windshield.  She didn’t like getting caught staring at him.  They rode on in silence except for the CD she had made him playing over the stereo.

When they got to Beale Street, Justin found a place to park near the restaurant.  He made Emma stay in the car so he could walk around and open the door for her. 

“Thanks,” Emma said as she zipped up her winter jacket.  Justin closed the door behind her and made sure the doors were locked. 

“No problem,” he smiled and grabbed her hand.  They walked the relatively short distance to the front entrance and Justin held that door open for Emma.  Even though the place was really busy, they were led to a table right away.  The table was in the back, but it still had a good view of the stage where there was already a band playing.

“So what are you thinking?” Justin asked after they had sat down and were looking at their menus. 

“I don’t know,” Emma shrugged.  “It all looks so good.”  Her eyes scanned the menu and then looked over at him.  “What do you suggest?”

“Anything,” he replied.

“That doesn’t help me,” she sighed and then returned to her menu.

“Good evening,” their waiter appeared at the table.  He dropped coasters on the wood table and then set down two glasses of water.  “My name is Mark and I’ll be your waiter can I start you off with something to drink? Or an appetizer?”

“I’ll just stick with water for now,” Emma replied when he looked at her first.

“I want a shot of Jack and go ahead and bring a Guinness out with that, and,” Justin continued.  Emma thought he was going to order another drink, but instead he got an order of wings.

“All right,” the waiter said.  “I’ll be right back with those and to take your order.”

“You plan on getting drunk tonight?”  Emma asked, laughing a little bit.

“No,” he said sharply even though he knew she was just teasing.  “I just want to chill out with you and listen to some good music.”  Justin scooted his chair over so he was right next to her, and put his arm around the back of her chair.

“Good,” she smiled and leaned into him.  The waiter came back a few minutes later.  He set Justin’s drinks down and took their order. 

Justin didn’t take the shot until the wings he ordered were brought out.

“How can you drink that stuff?”  Emma shuddered as she reached for one of the pieces of chicken in the basket.

“It’s good …” he drawled and smiled at her before taking a bite.  “Have you tried it?”

“Yes.”  She replied and handed him one of the extra napkins the waiter had set down.

“Thanks,” Justin said and wiped his mouth.  They discussed her aversion to his drink of choice for a while and then their food came out.  Each of them tried the other’s food and they chatted throughout the meal.

“Does it bother you that I don’t care too much for your music?”  Emma asked Justin after they had finished eating their dinner and were sitting back listening to the musician who was on the stage.

Justin turned to look at her.  He was surprised that she would ask that.

“No,” he wrinkled his brow.  “If it did I wouldn’t be with you Emma.  Why would you even ask that?”  He pulled away from her a little, but kept his arm on the back of her chair.

“I don’t know,” Emma shrugged and shifted when he did.  “I guess I was just curious.”  She stared into his eyes.

“Does it bother you that you don’t?”  Justin asked.  Now he was curious.

“Kind of … maybe,” Emma wasn’t sure.  She looked away.

“Emmy,” Justin dropped his arm down to her shoulders so he could pull her closer to him again.  He wanted her to be confident that it really didn’t matter whether she liked what he did or not.  She rested her head on his shoulder, and he dropped a quick kiss on her forehead. 

“Come on now,” he started.  “I know not every loves me.  And maybe it is better that you don’t because I’ll always be knocked down a few rungs when you tell me a song sucks, even if it really doesn’t.”  Justin could feel Emma laugh, which made him smile. 

“You’re good for my ego,” he looked down at her, “but in a different way.”

Emma shifted her head on his shoulder so she could look at him.  She smiled.

“And that is why I love you,” Justin leaned in and kissed her.  When he put his hand on her cheek, he deepened his contact.  Emma sighed.

Justin grinned when he pulled away.  He spoke, “You could start a bonfire right now and throw all my CDs into it as a protest, and I wouldn’t care.”

Emma laughed and picked her head up off his shoulder so she could turn and face him.

“You’re insane,” she stated and leaned in so she could rest her forehead against his.  “And that is why I love you.”  Emma kissed him.

“Are you ready to get out of here?”  Justin asked after she pulled away a little.

“Yeah,” Emma nodded. 

“Okay,” he waved down the waiter to pay their bill.

*  *  *

Emma laughed at Justin and his brothers as they celebrated another touchdown by Tennessee.  Justin, his brothers and Dad were really into it; and that is what they did on New Years Day, watch the Bowl Games.

Even though Emma was pouting about Arkansas’ loss to Missouri, she was still having a good time.  Justin plopped back down on the couch next to her.

“Are you still pouting?”  He asked her and reached for his beer that was sitting on the coffee table.

“Yes,” she replied.

“That’s what you get, rootin’ for a bunch of pigs …” Justin shook his head in shame and brought the bottle up to his lips.  “But if you rooted for the Vols …” He threw a cheesy grin her way.

“I will never turn my back on the Razorbacks,” Emma said strongly.  He would never learn.

“All right … suit yourself.”  He shrugged and put his arm around her shoulders.  Justin turned his attention back to the TV.

“We should go,” Emma said, and Justin looked at her questioningly.  “Next year, if Arkansas and Tennessee play each other we should go to the game.”

“That’d be cool,” Justin grinned.  He didn’t know what idea he liked better: having a team rivalry between each other or the thought of still being in a relationship with her in nine or 10 months.