Epilogue
“DRINKING PARTY TOMORROW. WANNA COME?” Ayaka’s voice rang out over the phone.
A whole week after the end-of-exams party, she’d suddenly called me late at night. It was a sudden invitation, so I hesitated to answer.
“This is sudden. Why so urgent?” I stopped. My fingers were dug deep in a pack of cigarettes. Looking back, she’d encouraged me to quit smoking.
“Natsuki wanted me to invite you. The girls from the Christmas mixer are coming too, so I thought it’d be good for you.” Those words made me feel emotional. I didn’t think so much could come from just one mixer. “What’s up? Cat got your tongue?”
“No, I’m just thinking…Christmas time wasn’t all bad, after all.”
“What?” She laughed to herself. “That mixer was a total bust! Not a good memory for me, as organizer. But there’d be riots if a man complained about a Christmas where he got to meet four cute girls, huh?”
“Four?” I raised an eyebrow. There had been only three girls, apart from Ayaka, at the mixer.
As I wondered who the fourth was supposed to be, she groaned and said, “Did you forget? You ran into that Santa girl too, remember?”
“Oooh, right.” I hadn’t expected her to mention Shinohara, so the possibility had totally slipped my mind.
Indeed, I’d met Shinohara around Christmas. It was the day after I’d broken up with Reina, while I walked through the shadows of the Christmas lights and cursed my single life.
But once all was said and done, I’d come out of the holiday season with a lot of new relationships. None of this would’ve happened if I had a girlfriend. It was that period of being alone that led to the relationships I had now.
Knowing that warmed my heart a little.
“Almost makes me want another Christmas.” The words spilled out of my mouth.
Ayaka giggled. “I’m glad you’ve gotten over things.”
Did she invite me to the Christmas mixer as a means of helping me cope? The thought came to mind, but I didn’t ask. I didn’t know if she was doing all this on purpose, but either way, I was grateful.
Should I give her a gift as thanks?
I’d never given Ayaka a gift before, but she had given me that key case. She’d graciously accept a return gift, if nothing else.
As I thought about it, she suddenly shouted gleefully, “Look outside!”
I did as directed. Soft, powdery snow danced down from above. It hadn’t fallen on Christmas, but now it threatened to cover the town. How long had it been since I last saw snow? When I opened the window, the dry winter air came in, accompanied by a few snowflakes.
I poked my head out of my second-floor studio and watched the snow fall on the town. “It’s a shame we don’t still have Christmas lights up.”
“Right?!” The sound of Ayaka opening her own window came through the phone. “Brrrr!”
Her innocent excitement made me smile.
“Cold, huh?” My breath rose as condensation into the night sky.
I can’t wait for next Christmas, I thought to myself as the cold air hit my skin.