"Deck the halls with balls of holly, fa la la, la la..." Barbara, Kim's friend, burst through the door singing her own rendition of a Christmas carol.
"Hey!" Kim yelled out.
Barbara set down her bag of groceries. "What's the matter? Do you have a headache?"
"No. I just don't feel like hearing Christmas carols. I'd like to get through Thanksgiving first. And besides. It's boughs, not balls." "Balls, boughs, big dif. You get the gist. And Thanksgiving is tomorrow. As everyone knows, Thanksgiving is the official beginning of the Christmas season." She looked at Kim accusingly as she put her hands on her hips. "Are you always such a scrooge?"
"Most of the time," Kim admitted. Christmas was one of those holidays that reminded her of everything she didn't have. "What did you bring?" Kim asked, motioning toward the bag.
"Stuff for tomorrow."
Barbara and Kim had volunteered to make Thanksgiving dinner for several of their friends who had decided to forgo having turkey with their families. "But I've already got everything," Kim said.
"Nope. Not hors d'oeuvres."
"Hors d'oeuvres?"
"Yeah. I went all out. I was missing my family so I needed some comfort food." Barbara began pulling the groceries out of the bag. "Cheez Doodles. Chips. Dip. Salsa. Bugles... God, I love Bugles. Assorted nuts. Cheez Whiz for inside the celery sticks, which I... forgot. Oh, shoot," she said, slapping her forehead.
Kim looked at the snacks in front of her and smiled as she shook her head. "Don't worry," she joked. "We'll just dip the Bugles in the Cheez Whiz."
Barbara's eyes opened wide and she nodded. "Excellent idea!" She opened the refrigerator, admiring the feast Kim had already purchased. "Everything looks beautiful. Cranberry salad. A giant turkey. And this?" she said, opening up a casserole dish and peering inside.
"Green bean casserole."
"God! You're so organized," she said, slamming the refrigerator door. She opened up the bag of Bugles and tramped toward Kim's painting. "I like it," she said, nodding as she popped a Bugle into her mouth. "It's very Christmassy."
"Christmassy?" Kim asked, walking over beside her as she opened up the jar of Cheez Whiz. She took a Bugle from Barbara and dipped it inside. "How do you figure?"
"Green and red. Looks kind of like a big, weird wreath," Barbara said, following Kim's lead and dipping the Bugle in the Cheez Whiz. "Don't you think?"
Kim tilted her head and looked at it again. "I don't know. Right now it doesn't look like much of anything to me." She shrugged. "I'm sorry. I woke up in a lousy mood. I think it's the holiday." She nodded toward the jar of Cheez Whiz. "We better put that stuff away. It's addictive."
"No!" Barbara said adamantly. "This is all part of the holidays. You start eating, and you don't stop until January. It's an eatathon. Anything and everything you can stuff in your mouth."
"I think I'll pass," Kim said. "But you go right ahead. I'll leave this out for you."
"So why are you so crabby? Getting nervous about your show?" Barbara asked, referring to the second major show of Kim's career. Her first show had been six months earlier at a local gallery in town. A buyer from a prestigious Miami gallery had seen her work there and had offered Kim a showing at his gallery, one frequented by wealthy clients. It was an important break for Kim. Her career had demanded long hours and hard work, with little financial reward.
"No. I don't think so. I mean I'm nervous, but I don't think that has much to do with my mood."
"Are you missing Ed?" Ed was Kim's most reeent boyfriend, a fellow artist who had recently decided to move to L.A. and become an actor.
"Ed? No." Kim had been relieved when Ed had decided to move. It was an easy, almost painless way to end a relationship that had been going nowhere fast. "I'd have to be a masochist to miss him. I mean, I guess I miss having a date every now and then, but I don't miss always paying for his dinner, watching him flirt with other women in front of me, and being told I could benefit from hiring a personal trainer--as he's squeezing my rear end..."
"Yeah, right! As if he was Mister Studly!"
"Exactly," Kim said, shoving another Bugle into her mouth. The mere thought of a hard-core workout was enough to make her stomach rumble.
"Anyway, you're a toothpick. He's crazy!" Barbara said enthusiastically.
Kim shrugged. "According to him, my body is not toned."
"I should be so unlucky," Barbara said wistfully, staring at her pretty and thin friend as she ate a spoonful of Cheez Whiz. "You know what you need?"
"To lay off the Cheez Whiz?"
Barbara stuck the spoon back inside the glass jar and said, "You need to relax a little. Get out there and date, instead of always working."
"I'm busy. And I'm happy with my life. My time is important to me--and I'm not going to waste it dating just to... date."
"Mr. Right could be out there waiting for you, and you'd never know it. You'll never meet him holed up in here all day and night."
"I'll never meet Mr. Right because he doesn't exist."
"Tell me what you're looking for. Maybe I can fix you up with someone."
"No thanks."
"Cmon. What kind of guy are you looking for?"
"Someone who puts family above... well,, his career."
"Better look for a guy over sixty-five. If you want to come before his career, stick with retirees."