First Date of the Year

Meghan took out an earbud to hear the faint chatter of morning birds outside her window. "Oh shoot. We did it again." A subdued glimmer of pale, blue light shone through the cracks of the blinds. Meghan had classes at noon and, although slight panic began accumulating inside of her, the satisfaction of a fulfilling call with her boyfriend blanketed her in tranquility.

"Lucky you, Vinny. You don't have classes tomorrow." Meghan exhaled while lamenting the dreadful decision of scheduling courses on a Sunday. Her boyfriend elicited a coltish chuckle. "Hey, I asked you two hours ago if you wanted to sleep."

Despite the flooding exhaustion, the two puppies clung onto each remaining second they had of the call. They managed to end it seconds before Meghan's friend, Lucy, opened the door. She scanned Meghan's face as though she already sensed something. "It's Vincent again, right?"

Meghan bashfully waved her hands in a motion, meaning to shoo her away. Slyly smiling, her friend slowly shut the door, and through the thin walls, she loudly derided, "Just don't fail your classes!"

Meghan glanced at the 5:36 a.m. on her laptop with a sheepish grin on her face.

Four years ago, Meghan dropped out within her first year in school due to the towering emotions issued from the loss of her mother, which prolonged an extra year without school or a job. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic that led to a nationwide lockdown the following year, Meghan prosperously picked herself up and enrolled in courses again while tutoring. Down the line, she was partners with Vincent in one of her assignments, and they easily formed a close bond that led to a relationship. Last Christmas, the couple sealed a firm promise for assurance of making the relationship work till the very end.

Vincent, with his head rested on both hands while passionately staring at his laptop monitor, was admiring Meghan's cute expression as her eyes were beaming after recently opening his gifts.

"I love everything! Thank you, Vinny."

Vincent blushed and hesitated before asking, "Would you have loved it even more if I was there?"

"I'd be five times happier if you brought along my favorite snacks!"

Vincent shook his head while grimacing. "Of course, the snacks make you happier."

Meghan lowered her head and murmured, "But will it happen?"

"Of course it will. I promise to make that day happen. It'll take time, but we'll be alright."

The gentleness of his words alongside the attached glare was enough for Meghan to notice how genuinely committed Vincent was, which completely uplifted her spirits. That night contained an hourly long conversation surrounding their future, although unaware of when those days will occur. Rewinding from the start, Meghan would routinely play those memories over in her head before being lulled away into her dreams.

After what felt like a millennium to most people—it was roughly three years—the exhilarating news for America came to light. Lockdown orders were finally lifted after a complete distribution of vaccines throughout the United States. Upon hearing this, Meghan groaned in relief—as so did most Americans. This entire month of December was stressful as tests were constantly pushing in before finals approached. That situation led to less frequent communication in Meghan's relationship. However, the previous months before, Vincent already wasn't contacting her very often. The most information he'd clarify was the state of being busy and tired. Nevertheless, he filled her up with the hopes of spending time together. Luckily for them, Christmas was only two days away. Meghan immediately messaged Vincent to construct a solid date. After hitting the send button, she threw her phone on the bed and anticipatingly stared at it from afar. The air felt colder as the instantaneous realization that she'd finally see Vincent in real life after two years gave her chills. In a short amount of time, a notification rang from Meghan's phone, and by fortune, it was Vincent. With how busy he usually was, she didn't expect him to respond so quickly. Meghan leaped onto her bed and unlocked her phone. There was nothing but a single minute-long voice message. Meghan gasped in delight and turned up her phone volume while positioning the speaker up to her ear. in an instant, her eyes widened but not from excitement. The audio ended, and Meghan remained motionless, even when her friend knocked on her bedroom door.

"Hey, punk," Lucy shouted. "just letting you know, I bought us some dinner!"

Right now, Meghan forgot the feeling of hunger. She cradled up in her blanket, left alone to ruminate.

Lucy, somewhat perplexed, noticed the untouched bag of tacos still left on the kitchen table. She figured Meghan didn't hear her earlier, so she messaged her phone. Earbuds were in both of Meghan's ears as she played a mobile game to distract herself from any negative thoughts. Lucy's message appeared on her screen, and Meghan immediately ended her game since a reminder of food resulted in her stomach audibly growling. Upon arrival in the kitchen, Lucy noticed Meghan's dull appearance.

"Are things alright, Meg?"

Meghan's senses flared up since she intended to avoid the pertaining issue that bothered her earlier. "Well, apparently this entire time Vincent has been ... sick." Meghan rummaged through the fridge in search of a water bottle.

Lucy dramatically gasped. "Wait, he caught the virus?"

"Um," Meghan peered at the ground, mustering up the ability to not appear too disheartened. "he's been in the hospital because of cancer."

From strikingly unforeseen news, Lucy became quiet. Encouragingly, she asked, "Are you planning to visit him and give him a gift on Christmas?"

Those piteous-sounding words clawed into Meghan's ears. The gift she and Vincent initially planned together was a date. "Yeah, about that ... He did eventually catch the virus, just recently."

Due to health restrictions, Meghan wasn't allowed to visit her boyfriend. Her eyes appeared dispassionate, but they confined a chamber of resentment towards the timing of this deliverance. Dwelling on the subject placed no justice for Meghan's appetite, so she avoided further talking and heated her tacos inside the microwave. Lucy observed her with a wretched expression. "You're not going to take the vegetables out?"

"It'll be fine." Meghan twirled around to grab a napkin. "It all still tastes the same, anyway."

After an entire week did Meghan notice herself unconsciously count the days that passed after Christmas. That possibly came from the weighing concern of Vincent's well-being; it also accounted for the loss of sleep. This was surely not the way to enjoy a winter break.

Lucy sneaked up behind Meghan's back before attempting to startle her. Meghan was used to this silly act and turned her chair around. "What is it, moron?"

"I wanted to know what movie you'd like to watch."

"A movie?" Meghan tilted her head like a puzzled dog. She glanced at the time. "Isn't the ball supposed to drop in about two hours from now?"

"Exactly! At the same time we finish watching a wholesome movie, you'll start your year with a nice, warm feeling."

On behalf of the compassionate friend she had, moments like these would impress Meghan. Somehow, Lucy always had an idea on how to cheer her up.

Apart from that, Lucy happily planned something with Meghan the next day. They drove into a desolate area near a park. The bright vastness of snow surrounded them, and further ahead met up an icy, blue lake. Noticeably, Christmas decorations still hung up on the deck.

"Wait here!" Lucy dashed off towards the lake and threw a large rock. From the succession of no breakage, she raised a thumb in the air and then returned to her car.

"Okay, I'm pretty sure I got the right size." Lucy laid out a pair of ice skates for Meghan. Today was her thrilling opportunity to skate on ice for the first time.

"Go ahead and try it out!" Lucy effused. She darted her eyes around as if she was either nervous or looking for something.

While the two girls were walking, Meghan stopped midway. "Are you going to hold me?"

"I will. I will." Lucy chuckled in what Meghan recognized to have some mischievous element to it.

Nervously, Meghan tried balancing herself on the lake's surface and had her arm intertwined with Lucy's for support. Eventually, Lucy released herself from Meghan. "Do you think you can do this, yourself, now?" With her arms flailing in the air, Meghan was too concentrated to answer, nor did she even notice her friend suddenly vanishing. Alone, Meghan imagined herself being a swift figure skater, and in that fashion, she leaned forward to make a wide turn which horribly failed—resulting in a crash onto the solid ice. At first, the second attempt seemed a little more successful, but her body began tilting to the side. Meghan plummeted into someone's arms, and her nose suddenly filled with a zesty fragrance that permeated through the air.

"I'll need to teach you how to skate." Said a familiar euphonious voice.

Immensely baffled, Meghan froze once she faced this person. She was staring at her own boyfriend in a way as though it was her first time ever seeing him. All the weight on Vincent caused him to tumble down, dragging Meghan along. Meghan, now on top of Vincent, was quick to interrogate.

"Vinny, what are you doing here?!"

"I wanted to spend time with my girlfriend." He pointed at his backpack that sat on a bench inside the deck. "I also brought some food for you."

Still in difficulty processing, Meghan inquired, "Was this Lucy's idea?"

Vincent furrowed his eyebrows and acted bewildered, for Meghan had just asked the strangest question. "What do you mean? You wanted this, Meggy." Meghan simply blinked her eyes in confusion.

At the same time Vincent was unzipping his bag, Meghan could hear the sound of glass clinking inside. He handed her a bento box with animal-shaped food and a bowl of hot soup; Vincent also informed her that he made them himself. Lastly, he took out two wine glasses and respectfully poured some wine in each. Meghan analyzed the bottle. "Is this an expensive brand?"

"Don't worry; it's okay."

"Will your tuition be okay?"

They both cackled but, subsequently, Vincent's joyous expression transitioned into a sullen frown. Positioned behind her, he wrapped his arms around Meghan, sinking his face in her shoulder. "I didn't know when to tell you because I was afraid you'd have to worry about me." Vincent lifted his head and gazed at his girlfriend with sorrowful eyes. "I'm so sorry that I scared you, Meghan. I hope you're not too hurt."

Long-awaited tears fountained from Meghan's eyes. She turned around and hugged Vincent. "I was worried, but now I'm just super glad that you're actually alright."

Vincent regained his positivity and let out a modest chuckle. "Didn't I say we were going to be alright before?" Following this, he softly wiped the tears that clung onto Meghan's round cheeks. "Also, you look gorgeous, Meggy, even when you're crying like a baby."

Meghan grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at her boyfriend's face, resulting in a snow fight.

"By the way," Meghan panted and sat back down. "I can smell the cologne that I bought you last year."

"It suits me, doesn't it?" Vincent conferred with a smirk that embodied a bit of pride. He then delicately clinked his wine glass onto Meghan's. "I hope you like merlot."

Meghan raised her wine glass close to her face and examined the bubbles that formed around the rim. The merlot had a majestically dark, reddish color that resembled blood coated with a blackberry aroma. She took a tiny experimental sip. The flavor was thoroughly unexpected. There were slight hints of vanilla and other unidentifiable flavors to Meghan's virgin palate added with an overall bitterness that she wasn't used to. She scrunched her face a tiny bit and glanced at her boyfriend. Meghan saw the same nurturing, tender smile that she adored and reflected the same smile. Vincent's face also rendered curiosity for whether she liked the wine or not. All in all, Meghan knew precisely how she felt for this new year. She enjoyed everything increasingly more than wished for—and the merlot that reminded her of the poignancy of life with happy endings.