Thanksgiving came and went. Because it was rare for Annie to have enough time off to go home, it had become our tradition for me to bring the feast to her, and whoever else was unfortunate enough to be on duty. This year Tor helped arrange a visit by some of his teammates to the older kids who were stuck there that day. Several of the single players stayed for the dinner, and I wondered if a new tradition had been born.
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas the Caps went on a road trip out West for fourteen days. Having grown up in a naval family, I was used to separations being part of any relationship. Fortunately technology had come a long way, and the length of this particular trip introduced me to the joys of phone sex. While it was not as good as the real thing, it beat the hell (if you'll forgive the pun again) out of surviving on fantasying in bed alone.
The days sped on and before I knew it Christmas Eve was here. Normally I went home, but this year given Tor's schedule I explained to my parents my reasons for staying in town. They came down for Midnight Mass and as tradition dictated we had roast beef and Yorkshire pudding for dinner, and then went to church. Tor joined us this year, and as always I used the quiet time during Mass to reflect on the past year, and be thankful for all I had. My biggest reasons to be thankful this year were seated to my left and right. After church we always opened presents, and this year there were presents to and from Tor under the tree. When he got to a present from Axel, he looked at me with a rather puzzled expression.
"A present from Axel? Explain this to me please."
"Open it first," my Mum said, "And then I'll explain. Phillip and Pippa, you need to open yours from Beau at the same time."
Dads and I already knew they would contain some type of Christmassy pjs. It was a family tradition dating back from when I was small and opened my presents on Christmas day. I could always open the present from our current pet on Christmas Eve, and it always had pjs. Mummy claimed it was so we could all look good in our Christmas morning pictures. Once Tor opened his new red and green flannel sleep pants, Mummy explained the tradition, and he correctly took it as sign of acceptance of his presence in my life by my parents.
After we cleaned up the wrapping paper my parents headed up to sleep in my room. Annie was on call, and she said I could use her room tonight. Tor and I decided that we weren't quite ready to rub the facts of our relationship in my parents face, so after a brief make-out session on the couch I kissed him good-bye and sent him home, both of us slightly frustrated. My parents, Tor and I joined Ted, Theo, and Angie for Christmas dinner and another present exchange. I got Angie and Ted a gift certificate for their favorite restaurant and Theo a collection of books I thought he'd like. Tor surprised Ted, Theo, Angie and I with tickets for the remaining weekend home games.
I don't see myself as a pessimist, but I'll admit it makes me nervous when things seem to be going too well in my life. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it did the day after Christmas. As an only child I have to admit that besides the normal teenage rebellions, I had very few arguments with my parents. Unfortunately this year we had the mother of all arguments about New Year's Eve. It started off innocently enough as Tor, my parents, Annie, Ian, and I had brunch before they left to go back the beach
"You know you are all invited to come down for New Year's with Pippa," my Mum said as we were finishing our second cup of coffee. "When are you coming down Pippa?"
Skit, I thought. (See the Swedish lessons were helping. I had learned to say crap in another language. Very useful at school in front of the kids.). I had hoped to have this conversation later in the week via telephone, but I guess I was going to have to once again put my big girl pants on and deal with it. Every year they expected me to come down to the beach and spend the night. Yes it put a cramp in my style to spend the biggest party night of the year with my parents, but they asked very little of me, and usually I didn't mind giving up this holiday, especially because they often encouraged me to invite a houseful of friends. This year was different, and I hadn't had the nerve to break it to them yet. Luckily I was given a temporary respite when Ian answered first.
"We're going to my parents place up in Vermont for the holiday, Mrs. R-H. Thanks anyhow for the invitation."
Annie just looked sheepish, and added "we've got to head over to the hospital and see some of our patients. Brunch was great Pippa. Wonderful as always to see you Captain and Mrs. R-H. See you tonight." And just like that, the cowards took off, leaving me looking like a deer in the headlights. Tor had figured out what was going on, and gave my hand a squeeze under the table. He did, however, decide that leaving the room was a good idea and said "I'm going to do the dishes Pippa. You just enjoy your time with your parents."
Yeah, right. I took a deep breath and decided to just jump right in. "Mummy and Daddy, I'm not coming for New Year's Eve this year," I stammered.
"You're what!" My Mum exploded.
"I'm not coming for New Year's Eve," I replied. "I know you don't follow hockey, but surely you've heard the NHL Winter Classic is being played here on New Year's Day. Obviously Tor is playing, so he can't come and he's gotten great seats for Ted, Theo, and me. You know I can't disappoint Theo," I said, hoping that playing the Godmother card would appease Mum.
Nope, nothing doing.
"I can't believe you're going to change family tradition after 30 years for some man that a few months ago," she snapped.
"I can't believe I've given up 30 New Year's Eve to make you happy," I snapped back.
