Rivet pulled out his cell phone, partially to check the time, and to check whether or not anyone had replied or sent him a text message in the past few minutes. When he saw nothing had changed since the last time, he slid the phone back into the pocket of his jeans. It was understandable, though. With all of the decorations to be hung, and the gatherings to prepare for, he was not surprised that they were not too keen to chatting.

Swift seemed to respond with relative frequency, whenever he got the chance, Rivet assumed. But Clyde had stopped texting him altogether. Rivet just assumed he was busy with the holidays, he had heard Clyde’s brother was coming home around that time.

Now Rivet’s room was cleared of moving boxes, and all of his things were in their rightful place. The usual teenaged clutters kept his floor in constant need of tidying. He reached for the doorknob, opened his door and stepped into the hall. Down on the ground floor, he could hear speakers playing some old Christmas music on a CD he had gotten years ago. It was one of the only bits of Christmas music they had, so Rivet had come to equating the low, bassy voice of the man singing with Christmas time.

He stepped off the landing and headed into the kitchen, which had become the usual gathering place for he and his family.

“Good morning, Rivet.” His mother greeted him. “I wasn’t expecting you to be up and dressed so early.”

“It’s almost eleven.” Rivet stated, looking at his watch.

“It’s a holiday.” She looked back at him. “Even Light’s not awake yet. Your dad actually slept in for once.”

“So, what are our plans?” Rivet asked, stealing a glance at the calendar on the wall for any indications.

“Same as usual.” She smiled. “Nothing all day, with Christmas dinner tonight with the whole family together.”

“I can’t wait,” Rivet said, though his voice did not show as much enthusiasm. He took a cup out of the cupboard and poured a coffee for himself. “Where is dad, by the way?”

“He’s around here somewhere.” His mother took a quick look around herself.

Suddenly, Rivet heard a noise from the garage, like a steel rod being dropped on concrete. Rivet grinned. “I guess that’s him.”

“Probably.” His mother nodded.

Rivet headed towards the garage, sipping his coffee delightedly. The door opened to the sound of tools clicking and tapping on metal. Scents of gasoline, oil, and other mechanical fluids drifted through the air. Rivet saw the family car hoisted up on a couple of jacks, with his dad peering underneath. Instead of his usual uniform, his father wore jeans and a light t-shirt.

“Hey dad.” Rivet called.

“Hey, bud,” his dad answered.

“What are you working on?” he leaned over to get a look.

His father rolled out from under the car and looked over at Rivet. “Well, it’s my first day off, so I thought I might as well get some of the house work done. In this case, I thought I would check and refill the fluids. I’m just about done, though.”

“Anything I can do to help?” Rivet asked, trying to get a look at what his father was doing.

His father scrunched his nose. “Nothing really comes to mind. Like I said, I’m almost done here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, you could hand me the bag of rags over there, I need to clean some of this crap off.” He looked at his hands.

“Sure.” Rivet tossed him the bag. “Anything else I can do?”

“I’m not comfortable with more than one pair of hands under here. At least if it’s just me, there’s someone to call an ambulance.” He grinned coyly.

Rivet chuckled. “I guess.”

“One of these days, I’ll show you how it’s done, sound good?”

“Sure.”

“In the mean time, I think I’m just about…” He finished up, wiped his hands off and slid back out from under the car. “Done. Can you help me get if off the jacks?”

Rivet and his father got the car down and headed back into the kitchen. Rivet was happy he could help his father, even if it was a small part. He never really got to spend time with his dad, but when he did, he loved to make the most of it. The little things really made a difference.

He sat back on his bed, the smell of Christmas dinner wafting into his room. The mixtures of scents caused his stomach to growl. Normally, he would grab a snack, but he wanted to save his appetite for the meal his mother and father were working so hard on.

Pulling out his phone, Rivet checked if any of his friends had responded to his previous messages. When he had entered his password, he noticed that Swift had replied to his message, but Clyde had not.

He tapped into the messenger to Clyde, “Is everything alright?” and sent it.

Then he clicked over to Swift’s message. He replied to Swift’s greeting and began a small conversation with him.

Swift had replied, “Hey.”

Rivet then responded, “How’s your Christmas Eve?”

“It’s been good. My family’s all together. You?”

“It’s the same over here. Have you heard from Clyde?”

“Not really. He hasn’t really said anything to me since the game. Any ideas what’s wrong?”

“It’s the same, do you think we should call?”

“I don’t know. If he’s not replying to messages, why would he pick up the phone?”

“I suppose…”

“Maybe he’s with family.”

“He might be. Maybe I can try calling him tomorrow.”

“Good call.”

“Well, I’d better let you go. Dinner will be ready any minute I’m sure.”

“Alright. Talk to ya later.”

“Bye.”

Rivet slid his phone back into his pocket and stood up. He took a deep breath, filling his nose with the scent of dinner. Cracking his back, he stepped towards the door, only to be stopped by a knock as he was opening it.

“Rivet?” First Light asked in a shy voice.

“What’s up?” Rivet opened the door.

“I wanted to tell you to get stuffed.” She said timidly.

“Pardon?” Rivet was taken aback.

She messed with her hair. “I mean… The stuffing is ready.”

“Oh, thanks, Light.” He grinned, patting her on the head.

“My words are like soup in my brain! They’re all there, but I keep messing up the order…” She pouted.

“You’ll figure it out eventually.” Rivet assured her.

“So, yeah… Dinner’s ready.” She smiled. “Doesn’t it smell great!”

“I’ve been waiting to eat for hours,” Rivet chuckled, “I hope it tastes as good as it smells.”

Rivet opened the door fully and followed his sister down to the kitchen. The whole family gathered down for the meal, and Rivet could not help but feel a little sad mixed into the joy of the gathering and celebration. He knew he should feel happy, but seeing everyone together was melancholy. The idea that it took a day where no one had to work, only one day, to get them all seated together for a meal was depressing.

If he could have had his way, dinner would always be the time when the whole family could come together. For his family, dinner was the only time where they were almost forced to talk to each other. Even though his sister could talk an ear off, he was fine with the pressure being off of him to speak, and he could listen to how someone else’s day went. Whenever his father could join them for meals, Rivet always loved to hear how his day went. For some reason, his father’s stories were always Rivet’s favourite.

It was all going just fine, until First Light brought up something she had heard at school.

“Mum? Dad?” She asked, reverting to a timid stance.

“What’s up?” They asked.

“I was invited to a party on New Years, can I go?”

All eyes turned to their father, who put down his fork and knife. “What kind of party?”

“A New Years party.” She said, not quite understanding the question.

“Where?” He asked.

“At this guy’s house.” She shrugged.

“What’s his name?”

“Tyrone, I think…” She bit her lip, trying to answer with satisfactory answers was hard for her when she was not quite sure of them herself.

“What will it be like?”

“I dunno. I’ve never been to one of these before.”

“Rivet.” Father turned to Rivet. “Do you know anything about this?”

“Not really. I know a couple of people who will be there.”

“Any problems I should know about?”

“No, the guys I know are pretty good guys.” Rivet shook his head.

Turning back to First Light, their father continued. “I hope there won’t be any alcohol.”

“I don’t think there will be.” First Light shook her head as if the idea was insane.

“Well, your mother and I are going to be at the annual Officer’s Gala that night. Rivet, is there anywhere you need to go that night?”

Rivet shook his head. “No, I think I can hold things down here.”

“If anything goes wrong,” their father said sternly, “be sure to let us know ASAP, okay?”

“Yes, dad.” She nodded, grinning.

“I hope you have fun.” He smiled back.

“Thank you daddy!” She squealed.

“Now that all of that is out of the way,” their father cleared his voice, “Who can help me clear the table for some dessert, eh?”

First Light whooped.

“Sure.” Rivet stood up and took the empty plates from First Light after he was sure she was done, and following his father, who had his mother’s plate, to the kitchen.

When all was said and done, Rivet returned to his room, the sun had long since set in the distance, and the deep voice from the CD was still cheerily singing through the house. He let his door glide shut behind him, just barely tapping the door frame. Rivet pulled his guitar towards him, laying it across his lap. He considered playing, but he could still hear the music from below, so decided against it. Instead, he lay back on his bed and listened intently.

It all seemed to come together. The music and the voice complimented each other in a way that you could feel the intentions and emotions. The words said one thing, and the music emphasized the feeling, or said something completely different. It could be said that those moments defined the word ‘bittersweet.’

He closed his eyes while listening to the music, allowing memories and ideas to drift in and out of his mind. Memories of Christmases past. Soon, these memories became close, and vivid. The memories themselves began to fill Rivet’s dreams as he slowly drifted off.

Eventually, New Years Eve arrived, and it seemed as if everyone except for Rivet had somewhere important to be. First Light and their mother were upstairs preparing for their various engagements, while Rivet and their father were in the kitchen, waiting for the other two.

“You’re sure you’ll be okay here by yourself?” His father asked, his well shined boots clicking across the floor of the kitchen to the window, using it as a mirror. He straightened his bow tie and tugged at his lapels to flatten the front of his tunic. As one hand adjusted the belt around his waist, he nervously combed the other through his dark hair. “Positive?”

“Yeah.” Rivet assured him. “What are you so nervous for?”

“I always get this way with this stuff. It’s how I am.” He peered down at his watch. “I hope your mother is ready to go soon. I want to be there early enough to get seated before the room fills up.”

“So, you’re worried about being late to being early?” Rivet chuckled.

“That,” his father agreed, “is exactly it.”

Finally, his mother emerged from the upper floor, wearing a bright red dress and silver necklace Rivet’s father had given her as an anniversary gift several years before. Her high heels tapped onto the hard tile floor as she approached her husband and pecked him on the cheek.

“Ready to go?” she smiled as she stepped back.

“You look wonderful tonight.” He sighed in wonder.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” She turned to Rivet. “Are you all set for tonight?”

“Sure am.” Rivet nodded.

“Remember to keep a light on for us, thought we might come in a bit late.”

“Sure thing.”

She turned back to the stairs and called up, “Goodbye, Light.”

The muffled voice of First Light echoed down the hall, “bye mom! Bye dad!”

“See ya later.” Their father called as well.

The two of them closed the front door quietly as they exited the house. Rivet waited to hear the car pull away before retreating to the living room to lie back on the couch. He rolled onto his side and stared at the wall until he heard footsteps on the staircase. First Light entered the room wearing skinny jeans and a light t-shirt. Her hair was in the same fashion it always was.

“So, I’ll be headed to the party soon.” She smiled.

“I hope you have fun.” Rivet nodded. “Do you need me to give you a lift over? Or back?”

“Nope.” First Light shook her head. “I have some friends coming by to pick me up and drop me back off.”

“You sure?”

“They’ll be here any minute now!” She giggled, obvious excitement weighing on her voice.

“Okay.” He smiled back. “Remember what dad said.”

“I promise.”

A light drifted across the wall behind the two of them. First Light perked up and threw her shoes on as fast as she could.

“Okay, I’ll see you after! Bye!” She called as she barreled out the door, slamming it behind herself.

“Bye.” Rivet called, semi-sarcastically.

He laid back further on the couch, staring up at the ceiling. Since his parents always told him to stay on the ground floor when he was home alone, he quickly snuck upstairs to grab his guitar before coming back down. Rivet sat with his back against the wall, giving himself a view of the road. With no particular reason to play, he strummed random chords which seemed to flow together after a while.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. He moved to his book bag and checked the contents for his book. When he found it, he leafed through the pages and realized how close he was to the end. With that in mind, he looked at his notes, which were full of symbols and meanings he could use in class and for his assignment. Happily, he slid the book away into his bag and flicked on the television to a New Years comedy show.

During commercial breaks, Rivet would play guitar until the show came back. It may not have been his dream of a perfect New Years Eve, but at least he was enjoying himself. The comedians were funny, sometimes for being clever, and other times for being crass. Since he was alone, Rivet did not care what the comedy was, he laughed at all kinds. The lights of passing cars spread across the wall behind him at random times throughout the night.

As midnight approached, Rivet turned to a channel where he could watch the ball drop. The numbers counted down from thirty on the screen. When it fell to zero, Rivet let out a sarcastic ‘yay’ and turned off the television, just as two celebrities with too much makeup started talking about what it meant to them. He groaned and leaned back against the wall, letting his eyes fall closed for a moment. At least, he thought it was a moment. In fact, he fell asleep in that short moment.

Rivet awoke to the sound of the front door opening and banging shut behind someone. The sounds of giggling echoed through the hall. First Light was heard kicking her shoes off and twirled into the room, her hair a complete mess. She was smiling from ear to ear as she spun around once more and sat on the couch.

“Have fun?” Rivet yawned, causing First Light to jump in surprise.

She turned to look at him. “Yes I did!”

“How’d it go?”

First Light sighed dreamily. “It was amazing. I met this guy from the basketball team, and he asked me out!”

“Oh yeah?” Rivet rubbed his eyes. “Who was that?”

“Tyrone. The guy running the party. He was really nice and fun and cool and he rode me home and it was awesome.”

“Wait! What?” Rivet shook his head.

First Light started messing with her hair frantically. “I mean-” she giggled, “he gave me a ride home.”

“Oh, okay.” Rivet relaxed. “You ate there, right? Or would you like me to reheat something for you?”

“No, it was great.” She smiled. “I got a mouthful of meat from Tyrone.”

“What!?” Rivet’s panic returned.

“At the party!” Her face fell with the realization of what she had said. “He ordered a bunch of chicken and stuff! There was a bunch! That’s what I meant!” She buried her face in her hands. “I’m a mess…” She messed with her hair again.

“You’re a lot more nervous than normal.” Rivet said.

“I think…” She giggled loudly, standing up and twirling. “I think I might be…” She giggled again, messing with her hair.

“You like him, huh?” Rivet smiled. “Is he a good guy?”

“He’s super nice! And he’s cute.” She said the last sentence more quietly, her face turning red. “He even helped me clean my hair when he busted a nut on me.”

“What!?” Rivet’s panic was vividly apparent.

First Light blushed madly. “He had a bag of mixed nuts in the car! Oh my gosh! We hit a bump when he was offering me the bag and shells and nuts got all through my hair! Oh my gosh…” She buried her face again. “My tongue is so tied…”

“It’s okay.” Rivet smiled, trying to reassure her. He stood up and gave her a pat on the head. “Did you have fun?”

“Yes.” She shyly looked up at him.

“Good.” Rivet yawned again. “I think now is a good time to go to bed. I’ll stay here and wait for mum and dad.”

“Can I stay up too?” She pleaded, pouting.

“Will you be able to talk to them when they get home without your tongue twisting?”

She thought for a moment. “Of will I course.” Then she thought again. “Nope. Goodnight, Riv.”

“Goodnight, Lighty.” He patted her on the back as she headed towards the stairs, all the while giggling and twirling around.

Rivet returned to the couch and waited for their parents to return from the Gala. The room returned to its quiet state, other than giggling and and squeeing from First Light upstairs.