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FRIDAY, 12/12
“No Darcy tonight?” Charlie asked as the group walked through the doorway of The Art Room, the small coffee shop Elle took over a couple years ago and the gang’s usual gathering place.
“No, not tonight. They’ve been…” Tara hesitated as they all found spots in plush, upholstered chairs around a low coffee table. “Well, things have been a bit of a struggle. They called home last week to see how their dad was doing since his heart attack last month and talked to their mom.”
Nick sucked a breath in through his teeth and cringed as he shucked his jacket off. “It didn’t go well then, we can assume?”
“Well, it started normal - guilt trip for not visiting, completely ignoring any mention of me - but then her mom started talking about new neighbors and when Darcy asked who had moved away, their mom said that no one had moved. Their neighbor, Ms. Summers, passed away a couple months ago, and the family had apparently finalized everything with the estate and sold the house.”
At that moment Elle swooped in with a tray of everyone’s usual drinks, plus a chocolate croissant for Nick. She set the tray on the coffee table and then perched on the armrest of Tao’s chair, leaning down to peck his cheek before addressing the group. “Hey everyone! What do I need catching up on?”
“Tara was just telling us that Darcy’s been having a rough time,” Isaac said as he reached for his hot chocolate.
Concern filled Elle’s face as she turned to Tara. “They recently found out from their horrible mother that one of their neighbors passed away a couple months ago,” Tara repeated, bringing Elle quickly up to speed. “Ms. Summers was a nice, older woman who showed Darcy a lot of kindness as a kid. Lord knows they needed all the kindness they could get growing up in that household. It’s just one of those things that has hit Darcy hard. They feel awful that they didn’t know about it for months. And now with Christmas only a couple weeks away… Darcy loves Christmas, but it’s still a big feels time of year, you know?”
“Oh, Tara, that’s terrible,” Elle said with sadness. The others nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, poor Darcy,” Nick frowned. “Can we help at all? I could bake a batch of Monster Cookies this week and we could bring Daisy over for a visit? They always love puppy tackles.”
“Sahar will be back in town next week and staying through New Year’s,” Charlie added. “We could plan something fun. Dinner?”
“Movie night, for old time’s sake?” Tao suggested. “We could bring food and their favorite holiday movies and just hang out.”
“Aw, that could be fun if they’re up for people-ing,” Tara considered.
“We could do a pajama party!” Elle exclaimed, clapping her hands together once. “No pressure to do anything other than chill on the couch with blankets and snacks.” A crash and clatter sounded off across the coffee shop, a tray of cups and silverware clearly having fallen off a counter or out of someone’s hands. Elle cringed and stood up. “Okay, I’d best go sort that out. But I love this idea if you think Darcy would be up for it, Tara.” She backed out of their circle with a promise to see Tao in a few hours at home and air kisses blown at everyone else.
The rest of them caught up on some of the other mundanities in each other’s lives from the last week and other holiday plans before parting ways for the evening.
Tara let herself into her and Darcy’s apartment shortly before 9:00pm, having stopped on the way home for some groceries. The apartment was dark except for their Christmas tree which was set up on a timer. By the glow of multi-colored lights, she put away the staples they had been low on, along with the Monster Munch, frosted Circus Animal biscuits, and ice cream that she hoped would make Darcy smile, and then she went down the hall to check on them.
They were propped up with some extra pillows against the headboard and a weighted blanket pulled up to their chest, and a rainbow-colored knit hat with a fuzzy pom-pom on top on their head. Their face, tired with dark circles under their eyes, was illuminated by their phone propped up against their stomach with a raccoon Squishmallow, the unmistakable sounds of Bake Off emanating from the speaker.
Tara crawled onto the bed and snuggled up against their side. “How you doing, babe?”
Darcy shrugged. “How is everyone?”
“Everyone’s good. They missed you and send their love. Sahar is coming back to town next week for the holiday. We talked about all getting together before Christmas. Maybe a movie night here so there’s no pressure to go anywhere? A Paris Squad reunion?”
Darcy gave a small smile at the group nickname that had stuck for almost 15 years. “Maybe. That could be fun.”
“Okay, babe. We can play it by ear. Did you eat? Do you want anything? Ice cream? I got mint-chocolate chip.”
“Not right now, but thank you.” The show continued, apprehensive but still cheerful music playing as the Technical Challenge started. As the contestants were reading their sparse recipes and starting their bakes, Darcy sighed quietly. “I’m sorry I’m such a downer lately. I feel like such a burden.”
Tara tapped the screen to pause the video and propped herself up more. Darcy was chewing their lower lip, their eyes shining a bit in the glow of the screen.
“Hey, nope, we’re not doing that. You’re having a hard time right now, and that’s okay. Even when things are hard, we love each other anyway, right? No apologizing for valid feelings and you are not a burden. Okay?”
Darcy blinked some tears away. “Okay.” Tara raised an eyebrow and fixed Darcy with an I’m-not-joking stare. “Okay,” they said again with a nod. “Want to watch more Bake Off?”
“Of course I do.” Tara tapped the screen again to play the video and then lifted the blanket up and slid her feet underneath. She dropped a kiss against Darcy’s forehead as she settled back in.
A little while later Tara heard from a distance as she was starting to doze off, “Love you, Jonesy.”
SATURDAY, 12/13
Tara woke with a combination of regret at realizing, thanks to the taste in her mouth, that she had fallen asleep without brushing her teeth, and inspiration at a memory of a conversation with Darcy that had surfaced in her sleep overnight.
Darcy was sleeping soundly next to her, so Tara grabbed her phone, opened the Amazon app, and searched for “pre-lit outdoor animals.” As she scrolled through the options looking for something unique, she recalled Darcy telling her a couple years ago about Ms. Summers always having an animal decoration on her front step for the holidays every year.
”Yeah, it was the cutest thing, Jonesy! The first couple years, they were normal, like deer? But then one year when I was maybe, like, seven, my mom and I were walking back from Tesco and Ms. Summers was on her front step putting out this fat little corgi that had reindeer antlers on its head. It was so funny to me, and I asked my mom if I could go look at it and say hi, but she said no and we went home. Ms. Summers waved at me though. And then every year after that, she’d get another one and would line them up along the walk. I remember the corgi, and a turtle, and a fox, and a penguin for sure. There were, like, eight of them last I remember. It just seemed so whimsical for a little old lady, you know? I loved it.”
Tara tapped on a flamingo-in-a-Santa-hat listing and looked at the dimensions. It was pretty big, over a meter tall, but seemed perfect. She added it to her cart and went back to scrolling. A few minutes later, she found a corgi. It didn’t have reindeer antlers, but it did have a scarf and that seemed close enough in the circumstance. She added that to her cart as well and went to check out. At the last moment, she realized she couldn’t have them shipped to the apartment if she wanted to guarantee a surprise for Darcy.
Tara 7:23am
Hey Nick! Would I be able to have something shipped to your and Charlie’s place?
She waited, knowing it was early for a Saturday, but hoping for a quick response. A few minutes late, her phone buzzed in her hand.
Nick 7:37am
Sure, that’s fine! When should we be expecting it?
Tara 7:38am
Awesome, thank youuuu!!
I think it should be there Monday. If you can just hang on to it for now that would be great. I have an idea for Darcy.
Actually hang on…
Tara quickly checked out her two animal friends, choosing Nick and Charlie’s address from a previous delivery to them and then opened the messages back up and started a new window.
Tara created chat. 7:50am
Tara added Nick to chat. 7:51am
Tara added Charlie to chat. 7:51am
Tara added Elle to chat. 7:52am
Tara added Isaac to chat. 7:52am
Tara added Sahar to chat. 7:53am
Tara added Tao to chat. 7:55am
Tara named the chat Paris Squad -1
Tara 7:56am
Hey gang! So Darcy seemed like they were interested in the movie night idea. I was thinking maybe next Saturday if everyone is free? I know it’s the weekend before Christmas, but… let me know?? I also had another idea for a surprise, but I’ll need help…
Nick 8:00am
Count us in! We will bring cookies and cupcakes! 🍪🧁🍿🎞️🥳🥳🥳
Isaac 8:03am
Sounds good. I’ll bring some games in case we take a movie break.
Elle 8:05am
YAYYY! This is fantastic! I’ll free myself up from the coffee shop for the weekend. We’ll bring the movies. Don’t worry, I’ll make Tao bring actual Christmas movies. We DO own some. Also 👀 at the surprise idea??
Charlie 8:10am
great! what nick said and pls let us know if we can bring anything else, tara
Tao 8:53am
It is entirely too early to be texting this much on a Saturday, and why am I always the last one to be added to these?? Also, what exactly do you mean by “actual Christmas movies”?!
Elle 8:55am
We are NOT watching Citizen Kane, Tao.
Tao 9:01am
It’s a classic!
Elle 9:02am
We are cheering Darcy up! We are bringing Rudolph and Frosty and the Grinch and Muppet Christmas Carol and Christmas Vacation and Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas and Home Alone.
Tao 9:05am
We don’t even own half of those.
Elle 9:06am
Yes, we do. 😘
Charlie 9:08am
🤣🤣🤣
Nick 9:09am
Oh! Do you have Die Hard??
Tao 9:10am
😒👎
Elle 9:11am
Yeah, he’s right, Nick. We do not have Die Hard.
Nick 9:12am
That’s okay. I might actually have the copy I had at home.
Tara 9:15am
OMG THANK YOU ALL!! Would you all be free Monday evening for like 20 minutes at Elle’s and I can explain the rest? I can just tell Darcy I’m running for coffee
Charlie 9:17am
that should work for us. also die hard is not a xmas movie, nick.
Tao 9:18am
THANK YOU!
And yes, I’ll be there.
Nick 9:20am
It absolutely is too a Christmas movie 💯💯💯
Charlie <9:20am
it is not. just because it’s set at xmas does not make it a xmas movie
Nick 9:21am
We will discuss this later
Isaac 9:30am
See you all Monday
Sahar 2:12pm
AAHHHHH PARIS SQUAD REUNITED!! My flight gets in Wednesday, but I am SO in! FaceTime me Monday from Elle’s?? Miss you all!!!
MONDAY, 12/15
Charlie 2:56pm
nick, why did you order a flamingo lawn decoration
Nick 3:15pm
I didn’t??
Charlie 3:17pm
we also got a dog
Nick 3:20pm
🤔❓❓
Oh! I wonder if that’s what Tara ordered?? I’m leaving school shortly. Home soon, Char 😘😘😘
Paris Squad -1
Elle 6:48pm
TARA!! I LOVE this idea!! I just found an amazing unicorn one and I am ordering it as we speak.
Nick 6:50pm
Char and I are looking now! I’m torn between an alpaca and a dinosaur. Dinosaur, right?? 🤔
Charlie 6:53pm
i just ordered both… plus a chicken
Nick 6:55pm
😍😍😍🦙🦖🐓🥳
Isaac 7:00pm
I saw a narwhal in the store the other day. I’ll check tomorrow to see if they still have it.
Sahar 7:10pm
Yep, agreed, this is fantastic! I’ll get something ordered before I fly back to make sure it’s there on time. Can’t wait to see you all!!!
Tara 7:53pm
OMG you guys, this is amazing. Thank you SO MUCH. They’re going to LOVE IT.
Sahar renamed the chat Operation: Garden Safari
TUESDAY, 12/16
Operation: Garden Safari
Isaac 5:23pm
Narwhal secured!
Five people ❤️ this message.
Nick 5:25pm
🦄🐬🌊🥳
WEDNESDAY, 12/17
Tao 1:35pm
I stopped home for lunch and the unicorn was delivered. This thing is… big. Did you know it was this big??
Elle 2:02pm
Big and ✨fabulous✨
Operation: Garden Safari
Elle 7:38pm
The unicorn arrived and she is BEAUTIFUL!
Five people ❤️ this message.
Nick 7:40pm
🥹🦄✨😍
Charlie 8:17pm
a driver just dropped off the llama and dinosaur but no chicken
Nick 8:20pm
Alpaca, and WHAT? No chicken? We need Porch Chicken! 🐓😭
Charlie 8:23pm
porch chicken?
Nick 8:24pm
The listing picture in the confirmation email after you ordered it had it sitting on a porch and it was cute. It is Porch Chicken. 🐓
Nick 8:45pm
Finishing up at the gym, babe. Want me to shower here or wait? 😏
Two people 👀 this message.
Charlie 8:45pm
GROUP CHAT NICK 🫣
Nick 8:46pm
Oops 😳🫣😬
Tao 8:59pm
Oh, COME ON 😒😒😒
One person 🤭 this message.
THURSDAY, 12/18
Operation: Garden Safari
Sahar 10:50am
I am here! I am minorly jet lagged! I HAVE A GIRAFFE.
Five people ❤️ this message.
Nick 10:55am
🦒?? 😍😍😍
Isaac 11:01am
Welcome home, Sahar!
Tara 12:12pm
Good news! I remembered to check with the landlord that they were fine with garden decorations, and they didn’t have a problem with it as long as we take them down by New Year’s. Phew!
Tao 2:29pm
So what is the actual plan for Saturday? Do we have one?
Tara 2:45pm
I’m going to convince Darcy to come with me and get some snacks for movie night and drive around to look at lights for a bit to stall. We’ll leave at 5pm. If you all can be close, I’ll let you know when we’ve left and you can come over and set things up? I’m going to try to keep her out until 6pm and then we’ll come home. I’ll put a message in the Paris Squad chat about times you all will come over, but you’ll already be there when we get back then. Does that work?
Five people ❤️ this message.
Nick 2:50pm
Perfect! 🥳
Paris Squad
Tara 3:05pm
Hey everyone! How about this Saturday for movie night at our place?? Say 6:30pm? We’ll get snacks and we can order pizza?
Nick 3:10pm
That sounds great! We’ll bring sweets. Is it okay if we bring Daisy?
Darcy 3:22pm
YES. I need puppy snuggles. Also, thx everyone. Y’all are the best.
Six people ❤️ this message.
Nick 3:23pm
🥹 Love you, Darcy!
Elle 3:24pm
We love you Darcy!! Can’t wait to do a movie night again, just like old times! We’ll bring a whole bunch of Christmas movies.
Darcy 3:28pm
Ooh, do you have Die Hard??
Two people 🙄 this message.
Nick 3:40pm
On it, Darce. 🤝
FRIDAY, 12/19
Operation: Garden Safari
Charlie 5:02pm
porch chicken has arrived
Nick 5:05pm
PORCH CHICKEN!! 😍🐓😍🐓😍
SATURDAY, 12/20
“Darcy, do you want to go?” Tara called down the hallway to the bedroom.
“Coming!” Darcy appeared through the doorway in fuzzy pajama pants with clouds on them and an oversized hoodie.
Tara leaned in for a quick kiss and touched their foreheads together for a few moments. “Thanks for coming with me to pick out some snacks. You always choose the good stuff.”
“Thanks, Jonesy.” Darcy pulled her in for a tight hug. “For everything.”
Tara returned the squeeze. “I love you. How are you feeling today?”
Darcy thought a moment and then shrugged. “Mostly the same. But I’m looking forward to seeing everyone tonight. And getting outside for a bit?”
“Then let’s go!” Tara took Darcy’s hand and swung their arms together as she grabbed the keys. “Maybe if we have time, we can drive around the neighborhood and look at the holiday lights a bit.”
“Sure, that’d be nice,” Darcy said as they stepped into the building hallway. They both started walking towards the entry door when Tara made a show of checking her pockets.
“Shoot, I left my card. Keep going. I’ll meet you at the car.” And she turned back towards the apartment as Darcy kept going. Once she was back at their door, she pulled out her phone.
Operation: Garden Safari
Tara 5:03pm
We’ll be on the way to the store in 10! There’s some extension cords in the grass by the corner of the entryway. See you in a bit!
Five people ❤️ this message.
Nick 5:05pm
It’s GO TIME! 🥳
Five minutes later, Tara and Darcy backed out of their parking space and headed to the Tesco a few streets over. Ten minutes after that, three cars pulled up and parked on the street. The six other members of the Paris Squad got out of the cars and opened up boots and back seat doors and began pulling out a menagerie of wire frame animals covered in tinsel and light strands.
Tao found the extension cords and started organizing them for what they’d need. Isaac and Elle started placing the animals that came fully assembled around the garden. Sahar had all the stakes and started securing them to the ground so they wouldn’t blow over in the wind. Charlie and Nick started assembling the larger animals that had come in multiple pieces and needed to be hooked together. Daisy ran around the grass yipping and sniffing at all of them, clearly unsure what these creatures were.
Snippets of orders mixed with nostalgic conversation passed between everyone.
“Tao, can this cord reach any farther?”
“Can you believe how long it’s been since our last movie night?
“Nick, I think you put the dinosaur head on backwards.”
“No, I didn’t… Oh, uh, yeah, that doesn’t look right.”
“I can’t believe the Paris Squad is back together finally!”
“Oh my god, do you guys remember Tara’s birthday party in Paris?”
Within half an hour, everything was in place and cords were set. They plugged each one in and sighed in relief when all the lights came on. The front garden was turned into the most random wildlife sanctuary that could exist. In the end, they had nine different animals: Tara’s flamingo and corgi, Elle and Tao’s unicorn, Sahar’s giraffe, Isaac’s narwhal plus a cute penguin he found at the same shop, and Nick and Charlie’s alpaca, dinosaur, and the chicken.
Operation: Garden Safari
Charlie 5:47pm
ready when you are!
Darcy’s eyes flashed to Tara’s phone as it lit up with the notification. “What’s ’Operation: Garden Safari?’” they asked.
Tara picked up her phone, glanced at the message, and tucked the phone into her jacket pocket. “Oh, nothing. Do you want to head back?”
“Yeah, sure.” The lights were nice, but Darcy had seen enough. The last few weeks, they’d felt like they had been sapped all of their energy, and they still felt awful about Ms. Summers, and then felt silly for feeling awful. But that woman had been a ray of sunshine in Darcy’s life at home. Every once in a while, they’d be able to chat if Darcy was playing outside and she would ask about what they were studying in school or ramble about her latest hobby. Sometimes she would have biscuits and she would always give Darcy a baggie, sensing that they probably didn’t have many treats at home. And those silly decorations at Christmas. Darcy knew now as an adult that Ms. Summers kept getting them to make Darcy smile, and their heart ached knowing she was gone even though they hadn’t been home in years or kept in touch.
As they got closer to home, Darcy tried to focus on the night they would have with their friends instead. They wanted to wrap up with a blanket, open the bag of Monster Munch that had their name on it in the backseat, and maybe share a few pieces with Daisy when Nick and Charlie weren’t looking. They wanted to laugh at silly holiday movies for a while. Their well had felt so empty lately, and this time with friends felt like the first drops towards filling it up again.
As Tara turned the corner onto their street, Darcy was confused by the jumble of lights in front of their building. As they got closer and could distinguish the shapes, their chest tightened. They stared out the window as Tara pulled into their parking space and took in their friends standing in the middle of the most beautiful collection of animals Darcy had ever seen.
“What…” They turned to Tara in their seat, throat working to hold back the tears that were rapidly collecting in their eyes.
“I remembered what you told me about Ms. Summers and the animals. I thought…maybe it would cheer you up some,” Tara explained. Darcy nodded, their heart feeling full in the moment thanks to their partner and friends. “Happy Christmas, Darcy.” Tara squeezed their hand and brought it up to her mouth to plant a kiss on the back of it.
As soon as their doors opened, the rest of the Paris Squad shouted and squealed and clapped. Daisy raced over and circled Darcy’s feet, excitedly yipping until Darcy bent down and scooped her up. They were rewarded with aggressive puppy kisses, and they felt laughter bubbling up in their chest. They were gathered up in hugs and wished happy Christmas over and over.
Tara interrupted with her hands full with their bags from Tesco. “I don’t know about you all, but I’m starving. Should we go in and order pizza and pick a movie?”
“Yes, please,” Darcy laughed, “I’m starving too and it’s freezing.”
They all made their way inside and down to the apartment, arms laden with groceries, movies, games, and pajamas to change into.
“What Christmas movie should we start with?” Sahar asked as they entered the flat.
“You pick, Darcy!” Elle called as she pulled her pajama pants out of a tote bag and made her way to the bathroom to change.
“Oh, we’re definitely starting with Die Hard,” Darcy said as they grabbed a blanket and sat on the couch next to Charlie with Nick on the other side of him. Nick’s hand immediately shot up into the air behind Charlie’s head and the crack of their high-five echoed in the living room.
“Yessss!” Nick brought his hand around from behind Charlie’s head and pumped his fist triumphantly in front of him.
Charlie rolled his eyes.”I’m begging you to not encourage this, Darce,” he sighed.
Darcy shrugged and settled into their blankets. The conversation picked up as everyone got situated and orders for pizza were placed. They looked around at their friends, thankful for this squad that always had their back. Life was like their favourite snack, too tangy sometimes but rich and delicious and worth it.