Chapter 8

Reid kissed Monica on her cheek. "Good morning," he said.

"Good morning."

"Do you know what today is?" he asked.

"It's Christmas Eve," she replied.

"It's also the first day of the rest of your life -- the day the doctor said you have the green light to restart your antidepressants."

"Yes it is -- what a Christmas present ... to get my sanity back."

"I think you've done well."

"I have tried my best, Reid -- for your sake. It has been a struggle for me."

"I've been lying here, thinking," he said.

"About what?"

"About the social contract. The way I see it -- our social contract obligates us to love each other, trust each other and to help each other in time of need. It's not a complicated agreement."

"No, I guess it isn't."

"I was thinking how similar are the concepts to your traditional marriage vows -- honor and obey, in sickness and health, for better or worse, et cetera."

"What are you getting at, Reid?"

"I was just thinking ... so long as we adhere to our social contract ... When we get married, it won't be such a big step. It'll just be formalizing what we've known all along."

"I guess it won't be." She lifted up on her elbow. "Reid -- you said when, not if."

"Monica -- if we can get through what we've been through since your assault -- we can get through anything." He kissed tears from her face. "We both knew where we were headed, didn't we? Let's get dressed and go downstairs. I smell your mother's coffee."

Reid pulled on his jeans and a shirt. Monica slipped into a floor-length bathrobe. Together they descended the stairs.

"Good morning, lovebirds," she said. "You will help me decorate the tree, won't you?"

"Tree?" Reid asked.

"It's our tradition," Monica explained, "that my dad gets the tree and sets it up late on Christmas Eve, Eve, after everyone's in bed. Mom and I are in charge of decorating it on Christmas Eve."

"So, no one's seen it yet?" Reid asked.

"That's right -- it's always a surprise."

"I got a head start on it," June said. "I'm almost finished stringing the lights. I don't want to give anything away but I had to buy three more strings of lights."

"I can't wait," Monica said.

"Oh -- there is something we can't forget," Reid said. "Where are they?"

"Where are what?" Monica asked.

"Your pills."

"Oh." Her mother handed her a bag from the pharmacy. Monica ripped it open and withdrew a pill bottle.

"Let me," Reid said and opened the container. He tapped out a tablet and placed it in Monica's mouth. She swallowed it with a sip of coffee.

Reid followed Monica and her mother. She pulled back a pair of pocket doors that had closed off the living room.

"Oh my God," Reid exclaimed. "That tree must be twelve feet tall."

"I need a stepladder to reach the upper branches."

"It's a good thing you have a cathedral ceiling. How did your dad get it in the house?"

"I don't know," June replied, "but I did hear the vacuum running last night." She climbed the ladder and set in place the last of the lights. "Let's plug them in and see how they look." She plugged a brown extension cord into an outlet. The tree blazed for an instant and went dark.

Reid regarded June's crestfallen expression. "I think," he said, "there are too many strings plugged into each other. It probably blew a fuse in the plug. Those are usually replaceable."

"Does that mean we have to restring all the lights?" June asked.

"Not necessarily..." He got on his knees and examined the plug. "Yes -- blown fuse. There should be spares with the lights."

"We always throw those away," Monica said.

"Your mom said she bought new strings."

"Here," June brought him the box.

"June -- do you have another extension cord?"

"I think so." She retrieved a white cord from the basement.

"What we'll do is to separate the lights into two zones. That way we won't have too many in a single string. I'll use the brown extension cord to feed the upper zone." He rearranged the cords and ran the brown one halfway up the tree, tucking it behind branches. "This tangle of wires we can hide under a tree skirt, yes?"

"We have a tree skirt," June replied.

"I'll put new fuses in the plug ... There." He plugged the cord into the socket and the lights blazed.

June stood back and admired the tree. "I was at a loss. I thought I'd have to take them all down and start over."

"Reid's an electrical engineer," Monica added.

"I think I remember you saying that."

The phone rang. "I'll get it," Monica said and answered. "Reid -- it's for you. It's your dad."

He picked up the phone. "Dad -- I was going to call later to wish you and Kathleen a merry Christmas ... Letters from the school? Go ahead and open them." Reid paused and listened. He grimaced and held his forehead. "All right ... I can talk to them when I get back on campus." He listened more and grimaced again. "Thanks, Dad." He hung up the phone.

"Is there a problem?" Monica asked.

"My report card ... My GPA is 3.49."

"That's very respectable," June replied. "If Monnie brought that home, we'd be celebrating."

"Mom!"

"The problem is, in order to keep my scholarship I need a 3.50."

"They'd take away your scholarship over a hundredth of a point?" June asked.

"That was the other letter. They indeed have."

"Oh, Reid," Monica exclaimed. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. My dad is going to try to figure something out, and I'll talk to them at the financial aid office once I get back there."

"You are going back for this term ... aren't you?" Monica asked.

"Of course. The money won't run out 'til around spring break, so we have some time to figure out something. What a way to start Christmas."

"Reid," June said, "how much is your scholarship -- if I may ask?"

"Eight thousand per semester. I have some loans and other grants that they can't take away, but I'll need that money to finish the term."

"Maybe we can help."

"Oh, June ... Mrs Jane ... I appreciate the gesture but I can't feel obligated to you like that."

"It's not a gesture," she replied. "You helped Monnie through some dark days. I imagine the distraction of all that business didn't help you during your finals. I feel we have some responsibility."

"I can't say she hurt my grades. It was a tough semester for me."

"What about your senior year?" Monica asked. "If you bring your GPA up above 3.50, can you get your scholarship back?"

"I can apply," he replied. "But there are no guarantees."

"If you find some money but come up short," June added, "Maybe we can backstop the rest. Think about it, Reid."

"I'll think about it." He drew in a deep breath. "Well -- I'm not going to worry about it 'til after Christmas ... Better yet, I'm not going to worry about it 'til after New Years."

"Then let's get this tree decorated."

Reid sat beside Monica at the dinner table. She yawned and looked toward him. "The antidepressant is working," she said.

"Are you feeling ... less depressed?"

She yawned again. "I'm feeling sleepy. That's the first effect. It'll take me a few days to adjust."

"What about the bad thoughts? Are they still intruding?"

"Not so much, so I guess it's starting to work."

June brought dinner plates with meatballs and noodles.

"Reid..." Monica's father addressed him.

"Yes, Mr Jane?"

"Call me Brian, Reid. June was telling me about your dilemma at school. She also told me you were unwilling to accept charity."

"It's an awful lot of money," he replied. "I don't want to feel obligated..."

"Your major is electrical engineering -- correct?"

"That's right -- my field is communications."

"I thought that's what Monica said. When June informed me of your plight, I remembered an acquaintance. She's the general manager of the CBS affiliate up there -- TV station. I gave her a call this afternoon. It turns out she's worked with Tech before on work-study arrangements." He handed Reid a business card. "When you get back there, give her a call. She's expecting it, and with some luck you two can work out something. That way, you can cover your tuition and not feel beholding to anyone. As a bonus, you can get a head start on your CV."

Reid regarded the card. "Thank you, Brian. Thank you very much."

Monica leaned against him as they sat in the living room, basking in the light from the Christmas tree. "I can't believe your dad did what he did," Reid said. "He pulled some strings to hook me up with someone for work-study. If it works out, it's a perfect solution."

"It's called networking," Monica replied drowsily. "Not all networks are made of copper and fibre..." Reid felt her body relaxing and her muscles twitching.

"Wake up, sleepy-head. Your folks will be in shortly."

"I can't help it -- I'm always groggy for the first few days after starting that med."

"Your mother is hinting about some Christmas Eve tradition."

"Yeah -- on Christmas Eve, each of us gets to open one present."

Monica's father sat in a plush chair, pulled his Blackberry from its carrier and manipulated it. "June will be right in," he said and poked more buttons...

June sat on her husband's lap. "Monnie," she said, "would you like to pick something for everyone?"

Reid nudged her. "You're up, slugger."

Monica knelt by the tree and tucked a lock of her red hair behind her ear. She sorted through the pile of wrapped packages under the tree. She handed large boxes to her parents and a small one to Reid.

"Daddy first," she said, "then Mom."

Brian looked at the tag. "From your mom..." He peeled off the paper and opened the box. "A new bathrobe. Thank you." He kissed June on her lips.

June opened hers. "That cashmere sweater I was eyeing. You shouldn't have -- they're way too expensive ... Thanks." She kissed her husband.

"Now, Reid," Monica said.

He tore off the wrapping paper and held a compact disc. "Medieval music ... on period instruments. Now I can listen to this with some authority. Your daughter was explaining to me about fifths and octaves and diatonic scales ... the mathematics of music." He kissed Monica. "Thank you."

"Now, you need to open one, Monnie," her mother said. Monica began sorting through packages.

"I don't mean to intrude on your tradition," Reid said, "but since I opened one from Monica ... in the interest of symmetry, perhaps she should open mine to her."

"Where is it?" she asked. "I don't see anything."

"Look up," Reid said.

Monica plucked a small box from among the branches. She carried it to Reid, sat on his lap and removed the paper. She opened the box and gasped. "Ohhhhh!" She threw her arms around him and, with tears streaming down her face, covered his with kisses.

"That must be quite a present," Brian remarked.

"What is it, Monnie?" her mother asked.

Dumbstruck, Monica held up a ring with a solitary white stone.

"Try it on," Reid said. "I had to guess your size. We can have it adjusted if it's not right."

She slipped it onto her left ring finger. "It's ... it's perfect." She kissed him again.

"I intended it as a temporary ring," he explained. "I'm not in the position of affording a diamond, so I had to settle for a cubic zirconia. The setting is gold -- once I have a steady income we can replace that stone..."