"On behalf of Air Canada, the crew and I would like to welcome you all to Vancouver. The local time is eight in the evening, and it is a reasonable December evening hovering right around zero degrees."
With the end of the captain's announcement, the inefficient ritual began with among the passengers, many who seemed to stand all at once in an effort to reclaim their bags from the overhead bins. Then, they all stood, and stood, and remained standing in a long line all the way down the aisle, and waited. As the landing crew worked to get the door open, impatient huffs and puffs could be heard throughout the aircraft.
The next few hours were a total blur for Thomas, who had spent the last six hours on a flight that had left two hours later than it was supposed to. After much catching up with his family and friends, and too many texts on his phone from more who wanted to meet in the coming days while he visited between semesters, Thomas was beat and ready to get some needed rest and relaxation.
It would be a great time to catch up with family over the next few weeks. His sister, Mary, would be joining them back home in another week, as her final exams went unfortunately late into the holiday season. For now it would be the three of them, plus Celine, which was a bit of a special treat for Thomas.
Celine was a friend of the family from years ago. She and her husband, Ted, had played cards with his mother and father, and they had gone to shows and vacationed together when Thomas and Mary were older. It came as a shock to everyone when Ted suffered a heart attack in the middle of a short run, one he took a few times a week. Ted, who had worked out often, who ate well, who did not smoke or drink in excess, dead at only fifty-eight years of age.
Thomas and Mary had both been away studying for finals when that happened two years ago, and their parents had kept it from them so as to spare them any grief during their already stressful time. There was always the option to simply take a deferred exam, but that was something they all wanted to avoid. Ted was the kind of person who never wanted to be a bother, and later on they all joked that travelling back for a funeral would have resulted in his ghost coming back to yell at the kids for wasting their time, instead of finishing their exams.
When finally they told Thomas and Mary, months had gone by. The shock was great, but they seemed to understand. Thomas called Celine by phone and expressed how sorry he was, and she was grateful. This was now the first time that Thomas would be seeing Celine again, since she was going to be staying with them for the holidays while her new apartment was being renovated.
Thomas carried his small carry-on luggage, the only bag he had brought for the short trip, and walked inside with his parents. Once inside, Celine greeted them all in the living room, and beelined right for Thomas to give him a welcome hug back home. Thomas needed to do a double take. He had remembered Celine as rather plain, with an average body, similar to his mother in most respects.
Instead, Celine looked as though she had swapped bodies with someone much younger, and more fit, than she actually was. She wore a pair of simple, black yoga pants, and t-shirt that said "Drink up fellow Grinches, it's Christmas!", and quite appropriately, held a glass of wine in one hand. While Thomas' parents moved to the kitchen to prepare dinner, Celine gave Thomas a big hug, the smell of wine strong on her breath. As she pressed into him, Thomas could hardly believe how great she looked.
"Celine!" he began, awe in his voice, "You look so, so...different now."
"Oh, well," she began, stepping back to turn around in a few circles, "I've been taking pilates, and swimming, and lots of running. I've turned into a bit of an exercise junkie in the last year. What do you think?"
Thomas found himself staring a little too long, which rosy-cheeked Celine had no problem with, laughing and saying, "You're silence is more than enough!"
Thomas laughed at himself, thinking about how he was never shy around the girls in his dorm and the parties he attended, but Celine had stupefied him.
"You look great, and it's great to see you," he finally said, taking off his coat and hanging it in the closet.
"Why thank you," she replied, "Now, let's eat. Your flight being delayed has meant I've had lots of time to drink wine while waiting for dinner."
The rest of the evening passed and by the end of meal, Thomas was glad to be back home with his family. It had been too long, even though only four months had passed without seeing them, he missed them.
As the time neared midnight, dinner ended and everyone went to bed. His parents stayed upstairs in the master bedroom, Celine would be staying the guest room on the main floor, while Thomas made his way down to his room in the basement. When his sister came the following week, she too would be in the basement in her room.
Now he sat in the basement rec room, comfortably on the end of the couch while everyone else slept, wearing only the workout shorts he had brought for running. He sipped at his cold beer and half paid attention to the TV, watching nothing in particular and flipping channels every so often. The coolness of the basement rec room with the drink in his hand were like heaven after the stressful exam period he had experienced. To keep his mind sharp and focused on his exams, he had spent most of his time either running or working out to alleviate stress, and had ruled out most alcohol. The result was that while only two beers down, Thomas felt a wave of euphoria descend upon him. It was only one in the morning, and yet, back on the east coast, the time was six in the morning, and despite the total lack of sleep, Thomas sat awake and relaxed.
As the show ended, so too did the last drops of his second drink. Stepping up a bit too quick, he stumbled forward off balance, laughing to himself at the lack of coordination and how cheap of a drunk he had become. He stepped out into the hallway and as softly as he could, ascended the stairs into the kitchen. Another drink would be great, he thought, and then he would finally be ready for bed. At least, he would force himself to try and sleep, despite the hours of jetlag he felt.
Climbing the final step and entering the kitchen, the sound of the refrigerator door opening gave Thomas a bit of a start, as the light from inside spilled dimly across the floor. He turned to see not his mother or father there, but Celine, wearing a nightshirt that likely covered her body down to her mid thigh. Thomas found himself frozen, not wanting to make a move and disturb her, as she peered inside the fridge, bent slightly at the waist, causing her nightshirt to creep up the back of her legs. Thomas saw no sign of her panties, and wondered if she wore anything underneath. Her legs were slender and so well toned against the light from inside the fridge.
Not wanting to be caught staring, nor wanting to startle Celine, Thomas stepped back down the carpeted stairs about halfway, still making no sounds, and then resumed upwards, stepping more heavily and announcing his arrival. This time when he reached the top, Celine was standing upright and looking back to the visitor. She flashed him a smile, "Can't sleep?"
