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David places his bowl of leftover stir fry on the kitchen table and sets up his small phone tripod. It’s his solo day off, and he and Alexis have made a routine of eating lunch together on Tuesdays – David at home in Schitt’s Creek, Alexis in an empty conference room in the Interflix offices in New York. They don’t manage it every week, but most weeks they do, and it’s become something David really looks forward to.
He’s returning to the table with his coffee when the call comes through, and he hurries to answer it. Alexis’s face materializes on the screen in front of him.
“Hey!”
“Hey! I just picked up my Sweetgreen from the lobby. What are you having, it looks good?”
“Stir-fry, leftover from dinner last night. I just heated it up on the stove.”
“Aw, that’s nice that Patrick made that for you!”
“Um excuse me, I actually cooked dinner last night! And packed up leftovers for Patrick to take to work with him too! Because I am a wonderful husband like that.”
“Hmm, sure David, sure.”
There’s a pause. Alexis looks like she’s staring past the phone, not entirely focused, he realizes. She’s picking at the ends of her hair, manicure be damned, her fork unmoving in her bowl.
“Are you okay? You seem nervous.”
“Mmhmm!” Alexis’ eyebrows rise. “Yeah, umm, just there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”
David’s stomach drops. He takes a shuddering breath, trying to quell the anxiety that has flooded his body. At least the background behind her looks familiar; at least he knows that she’s safe, at her office building in Manhattan.
“Um, okay? What is it?”
Alexis exhales sharply, dropping her shoulders with purpose. All of a sudden she looks really young.
“I’mnotgonnamakeithomeforChristmas.” Her words come garbled through the phone speaker.
“What?”
Alexis tilts her head back and blinks. It’s like looking in a mirror. “I’m not going to make it home for Christmas! I have to fly to California for work on the 22nd, and the flights to Elmdale and Thornbridge on the 24th are just too expensive. I can’t swing it. I’m going to spend Christmas in Los Angeles with Mom and Dad.”
She shakes out both her hands, looking both embarrassed and relieved to have gotten all that out.
David just sits there, his mouth suddenly dry.
It’s not like they’ve actually talked about the plan for the next few weeks, but the past three years Alexis has spent Christmas in Schitt’s Creek - twice just her and the Brewers and once with both the Brewers and Roses fully represented. It’s only December 3rd, but yeah, he was assuming she’d be coming.
“Oh my god, can you say something!” Alexis is peering at him through the phone now, wringing her hands together.
“Yeah, um, okay… thanks for letting me know.” The words feel bulky and uncomfortable in his throat.
“We can still Facetime on Christmas Eve? And again on Christmas Day? And I’m going to mail your gifts in the next week or so, so they’ll definitely be there in time. Like, after I buy them and wrap them and everything.”
“Yeah, of course.”
They both stare at each other through the phone screens in silence, unsure of what to say.
“You’ll still have the Brewers and Stevie there with you, David, it’s not like you’re going to be completely alone like that time in high school.”
“Yeah.” David swallows, hard. “Um, do you want us to send your present to you in New York, like, early, or should we mail it with Mom and Dad’s stuff?”
“I think to LA is fine, but I can think about it and let you know?”
“Cool.” David’s eyes are starting to sting. “So um, what else is new with you?”
Alexis is chewing on her lip like she did when she was five, before Mom said it could cost her modeling jobs.
“Um, actually, I think I have a meeting? So, um, I actually have to run. But um, good to talk to you! See you next week?”
David leans back in his chair. “Um, yeah, sure.”
With a quick silent ‘boop’, she hangs up the call.
David places his phone face down on the table and leans back in his chair. His stir-fry has gone cold.
He’s wrapped up in a fleece blanket on the couch staring idly at a cooking show he’s not watching when Patrick arrives home.
David hears his husband come through the front door and drop his keys in the ceramic dish in the entry way before making his way into the living room.
“Hey, baby. How was your day?” Patrick plops down on the couch and presses a kiss to David’s cheek.
David rests his head on Patrick’s shoulder and leans in, a silent request to be held. Patrick wraps his arm around David’s shoulders in response.
Patrick plants another kiss on David’s crown and squeezes him tight. “You okay? What happened?”
David breathes in, willing himself not to cry. “I had my usual call with Alexis, and she said that she’s not coming home for Christmas.”
“Oh, gosh, David.” Patrick wraps him up in his arms, pulling him into a hug and tucking David’s face into his neck.
They sit like that for a while, the sound of the TV low in the background. It’s not long before David pulls back, wiping a few stray tears away from under his eyes.
Patrick stays close, though. “Did she say why?”
David nods. “Mhmm. She has to travel for work right up until Christmas, and she’ll be in LA, and the tickets were really expensive. So she’s just going to stay in California and spend the holiday with my parents.”
Patrick nods. “Sounds like a pretty good reason.” He runs a hand through David’s hair, scratching at his scalp on the crown of his head. “That really sucks, David.”
“She seemed upset about it, which is good.” David releases a shuddery exhale. “God, I sound like an asshole, that’s not what I meant.”
Patrick presses a quick kiss to David’s shoulder. “I know what you mean. Good to know you’ll both be missing each other.”
David releases a shuddering breath. “Yeah.”
Patrick keeps rubbing his hand across David's shoulders, slow and strong.
David pulls his feet up onto the couch, wrapping his arms around his knees. “And she said that we can plan to Facetime on Christmas Eve and again in the morning, and she’ll mail our presents in advance. So that’s good.”
“Yes, good to know we’ll still get our presents.”
“Very funny.” David glares at him, then relaxes back into his arms. “I asked her if we should send her gifts to New York or LA, she said she’ll think about it.”
“Sounds good. Or, we could send her like a fake gift to New York, and then her real gift to LA with the package for your parents.”
David gives a weak chuckle. “Yeah, that would be good. And I know it’ll still be Christmas, and we’ll be with your parents and Stevie, it’ll just be different.”
“I know, baby. I’ll miss her, too, and your parents.”
David nods in reply, mouth twitching.
Patrick slaps his knees with authority. “Okay, here’s the plan for the rest of the evening, I’ll open the takeout I brought home from the cafe, and we can start brainstorming a good joke gift for Alexis.”
David nods again, curling up on the couch.
David smiles to himself as he places his phone down on the coffee table, cozy as he leans into Patrick. There's a growing fire in the fireplace, and Clint and Marcy are finishing up the preparations for the roast.
Patrick looks down at him. “Good gift-giving, David. On both accounts.”
“Mhmm, a little mean and a little funny, while still maintaining my reputation for excellent taste.”
Patrick just laughs.