Tom was lounging on the bed reading all of Dan's notes on starting the restaurant. He had just finished looking over the list of items that had to be purchased along with their estimated prices. Dan was seated at his desk watching his friend settle into his old routine when looking over his work. Tom looked up from the stack of papers and said, "This is really impressive. You've done an amazing job with this."
"Thanks. I'm still working on it," Dan said. He knew that if Tom had found an error that he would have said something about it.
Shaking his head, Tom said, "I think that you're almost ready to go."
"I won't be ready until this time next year," Dan said shrugging his shoulders.
"Why then? It looks to me like you have everything laid out," Tom said. He had been really surprised by the fact that Dan had gone to the Small Business Administration to get help in planning the business.
Dan answered, "There are a couple of reasons, but the biggest one is I don't have any credit. Mr. Harrison said that I'll have to establish a credit rating before I go to the bank to ask for so much money. That's going to take at least a year."
"Oh, I didn't think of that," Tom said.
"I had never borrowed any money. I just got a gas credit card and a regular credit card. I've got to use them for a while and pay off the balances every month. That will help me establish a credit rating," Dan said.
"I've had a gas card for a couple of years," Tom said.
"You'll need to get another one sometime soon," Dan said.
It seemed to Tom that his friend had learned a lot over the past few months. He said, "I'm really impressed that you took a college course. That must have been very hard for you to do."
"The material wasn't that hard," Dan said shrugging his shoulders.
"I don't mean the course itself. I know that you can handle that; you're a smart guy. I meant signing up for it in the first place," Tom said. He had laid in that bed watching Dan struggle to get through his classes in high school. There were a lot of times when it seemed to him like Dan would have given up if it hadn't been for his help.
"It was a little tough, but I was just auditing it. That made it a lot easier for me to sign up for it," Dan said. He was silent for a moment and then added, "The article on taking control of your life helped a lot. Having laid out my goals made it a whole lot easier to decide what I should do."
"I know what you mean. I had my choice between a job on campus in the chemistry lab and a job in a print shop across from the school. The job at the print shop paid more, but I asked myself which one took me closer to my goal. That's why I chose to be the chief bottle washer for the chemistry department," Tom said with a smile. He was already becoming friends with many of the professors who taught chemistry.
"I suppose a lot of people would have taken the higher paying job," Dan said.
"That's right," Tom said. His roommate had thought that he was crazy. Of course, his roommate had also gone out and applied for the job at the print shop when he heard that Tom wasn't going to take it. He smiled and said, "I bet a lot of people were surprised that you took a job as a busboy."
"Yeah, but Professor Harrison really put it into perspective. She said that I took a job that paid in a currency other than cash," Dan said.
"Wow, I like how that sounds," Tom said nodding his head. He was going to remember that line. He reached over and grabbed the mug of root beer.
"Yes, she said it was the kind of payment that was untaxed and earned dividends for a lifetime," Dan said.
Tom took a sip of the root beer. He said, "I like the frosty mug. Are you going to serve root beer in a frosty mug?"
"You bet," Dan answered. He grinned at his friend and said, "I figured that as much as you hate my cooking that it would be the only way to get you to stop in the shop."
Tom laughed and said, "That's right, buddy. Remember that."
"I will," Dan said.
Tom was silent for a moment as he looked over the stack of papers that Dan had shown him. He said, "You know, they taught us a bunch of shit in high school. They didn't teach us the important things."
"I know what you mean. They should have taught us the facts of life at a minimum," Dan said. To him, that was one of the most important things that he had learned since leaving high school.
"To tell the truth, I think a lot of their lessons contradicted the facts of life. It was like they were arguing that life was supposed to be fair; that if we took care of ourselves that we'd never die; and that we could do anything even if it was beyond our capacity," Tom said.
"It is criminal," Dan said nodding his head in agreement. He said, "My life has been so much better once I realized that I was responsible for my happiness."
"I know what you mean. I stopped looking to others for my happiness and had to find it within myself. Of course, that article on the Pursuit of Happiness helped define what happiness meant for me," Tom said.
"I think it was the section about always having a choice that affected me the most. It seemed to me like I had never had choices, but that was because I hadn't ever considered all of the options," Dan said. Having a choice wasn't always between good and bad. Sometimes one had to choose between bad and bad, but there was comfort in knowing that he had the choice in which bad consequence he was willing to accept.
"I think that makes some of the bad times tolerable," Tom said. He looked over at Dan and asked, "How are things with Alison?"
"They are good. We are friends, but I feel like the intimacy that we shared is dissipating. I doubt we'll sleep together when she returns from school next visit," Dan said with a casual shrug of his shoulders.
"Accept the relationships as they are offered and don't force them to be more than that," Tom said with a knowing nod of his head. He took another sip of his root beer and sighed appreciatively.
"Yes. She's trying to find out if any of the women that I know is interested in offering benefits," Dan said.
"You're kidding?" Tom asked sitting up in the bed.
"Nope. She figures that a few good words from her might convince one of the ladies I know that sharing benefits would be a good thing," Dan said shaking his head.
"I'll never figure out the female mind," Tom said. His relationship with Barbara had come to an abrupt end. She had found a new boyfriend a few days after arriving at her school and sent him a Dear John e-mail. He had called her upon returning home only to be told that she didn't think it would be a good idea if they saw each other. He didn't exactly appreciate that kind of treatment. He had thought they could remain friends.
"The thing that I like the most about Alison is that she is straight- forward. I asked her what she had been doing at the restaurant and she told me. There are no games with her," Dan said.
"You're not going to find very many women like that," Tom said.
Dan shrugged his shoulders and said, "I know. She's an exceptional woman."
"Pretty, too," Tom said with a smile.
"Yes, she's a beautiful woman," Dan said.
The two young men were quiet as they sipped their mugs of root beer. Each was lost in his thoughts. Dan was wondering who would fill the void that would be left in his life when Alison left. Tom was thinking about the handful of women that had crossed their paths in the past couple of years. He said, "We're not exactly having the women line up to date us."
"I know," Dan said.
Tom said, "You know, I was thinking about the Pursuit of Happiness article. It seems to me that if we find the kind of physical and social environments that we like that we'll find women who share our ideals for happiness."
"Are you trying to turn that article into a dating manual?" Dan asked with a laugh.
Tom frowned at Dan's immediate dismissal of his comment. He was trying to make a real point and said, "I'm serious. Think about what it means to find a place where you are surrounded by the kind of physical and social environment in which you are most comfortable. Doesn't it make sense that other people who like that same kind of environment are going to be the kind of people that you'll like?"
"You have a point," Dan said thoughtfully.
Tom said, "I haven't found the right environment yet. To tell the truth, I've been too busy to look for it."
The restaurant was pretty quiet Christmas Eve. Dan walked into the back with a bag containing presents for everyone. He had brought a jazz CD for Jimmy; a gift certificate for art supplies for Sue; a phone card for Vicki who liked to call her mother twice a week; a perfume bottle for flirtatious Mary; and a little religious icon for Manuel. Everyone else was off for the night, so Dan figured that he'd bring their presents by the next night even though he wasn't scheduled to work.
Alphonse Ferrara, the assistant manager for the evening shift, was working that night instead of Rob. Al said, "You're Dan, right."
"That's right," Dan answered. He had worked with Al a couple of times in the past when Rob was ill. Usually Dan and Rob had the same nights off, so he wasn't all that familiar with the assistant manager.
"Rob left instructions that if things picked up around here that I was to let you help out Jimmy in the kitchen," Al said. Rob had also said that if it was too slow that he could let Jimmy go home early and have Dan run the kitchen. He wasn't too thrilled about that prospect. If Dan didn't know how to prepare some dish, then it would be up to him to help out.
"Okay, but I doubt that it is going to get that busy. Mr. Rendell showed me the sales figures for Christmas Eve from last year. We only did two hundred dollars of business that night. Most of that business was between ten and midnight," Dan said.
"He showed you that?" Al asked rather surprised to learn that one of the managers was sharing sales information with the busboy.
"Yes. We were going over the inventory preparing the food orders for this week. You have to use the data from the previous year to help estimate your requirements for this year," Dan answered.
"Oh. What kind of growth factor do you use?" Al asked very surprised by Dan's answer.
"Six percent is what he usually uses, but this week is a little different. According to the figures I saw, this week doesn't reflect normal increases in business. We're affected more by the seasonal retail sales figures and they were down this year," Dan answered.
Al hadn't known that little piece of information and stared at Dan. Recovering, he said, "You might want to hand out your presents and then get to work."
"Thanks," Dan said.
Dan stopped by the kitchen where Jimmy was leaning against the counter looking bored. He handed the elderly black man the wrapped package and said, "Merry Christmas."
Surprised, Jimmy looked down at the package and asked, "This is for me?"
"Yes," Dan answered.
"Wow," Jimmy said not knowing what to say. He felt a little bad about not having gotten anything for Dan.
Jimmy opened the present and stared at the CD. Shaking his head, he said, "You got Albert Ayler. How did you know that I liked his music?"
"You've mentioned him a time or two. I think you described him as the most primitive of the free jazz musicians of the sixties," Dan answered with a smile.
"Primal. He was primal," Jimmy said correcting Dan.
"I hope you enjoy it," Dan said.
"I can't wait to get home and listen to it," Jimmy said deeply touched that Dan had gone to so much trouble.
Much to the amusement of Vicki and Mary, Sue started crying and ran off after Dan had given her the gift certificate for art supplies. Vicki said, "I don't know how you do it, but you just keep turning her into a crying mess, Dan."
"I don't mean to," Dan said staring at the door. He felt bad that he had made her cry.
Mary laughed at the expression on his face and said, "Men. Just when we're about to give up on them, we meet a guy like you."
Dan looked at her puzzled by her statement. He reached into the bag and pulled out his present for her. He handed it over to her and said, "Here's your present."
"You bought me a present, too?" Mary said. She hadn't been surprised by the fact that he had bought Sue a present, but she hadn't expected to receive one as well.
"Yes," Dan said.
Mary opened the present and looked at the little perfume bottle. She said, "It's so pretty. Thank you."
"Merry Christmas," Dan said.
Before he was able to react, Mary had wrapped her arms around him and delivered a kiss intended to knock his socks off. Before breaking off the kiss, her hands managed to wander to territories south of his belt. Stepping back, she smiled at him and said, "Merry Christmas."
Stunned Dan watched her head to the front of the restaurant. Vicki was laughing at the expression on his face. She said, "You look like you were just hit by a truck."
"I feel like it," Dan said. He reached into the bag and pulled out the present for Vicki. He handed it to her.
Vicki opened the present and smiled. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. She said, "If I wasn't in a relationship right now I'd take you out back and screw your brains out. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome," Dan said, "Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, Dan," Vicki said. She looked at the door to the front and then said, "I better go check on Sue."
"That would be nice," Dan said.
Standing discreetly by the washing machine, Manuel had been watching the events. When Vicki had left, he said, "Senoritas kiss you much."
Dan held out the present for Manuel and said, "Felise Navidad."
Manuel smiled as he accepted the present. He said, "Manuel no kiss you."
Dan laughed and said, "Dan no kiss you."
Opening the present, Manuel looked down at the little icon. He was touched by the gesture. In a soft voice, he said, "Gracias."
"Por Nada," Dan said. He had noticed that Manuel always wore a cross on a chain around his neck. Whenever he was upset, he'd make the sign of the cross.
An hour later, Dan relieved Jimmy in the kitchen. The elderly man returned home happy to spend Christmas morning with his family. It was a very slow night. The waitresses had plenty of time to talk. Not all of the waitresses were pleased by the subject of discussion.
Christmas morning at the Parker household was lively. As had become a family tradition, everyone exchanged two presents, one joke present and one serious present. His mother had given him a pasta maker so that he could experiment with making his own pasta. She had also given him a set of pizza magnets. His father had given him a new printer for the computer. He had also given him an abacus to help him at the cash register. Diana had given him a poster size version of the facts of life.
His parents had looked at the poster rather surprised by the serious nature of what they had thought was a joke gift. They were surprised by the quiet and thoughtful reaction of Dan to the gift. It wasn't until they read the ten items that they realized it was a serious gift. His dad studied it for a moment and then said, "That means a lot to you."
"Yes, it does. They are the Facts of Life," Dan said.
"Are they from the article that Tom gave you?" his mother asked remembering when Dan had said that he was reading an article on the facts of life.
"Yes, they are," Dan said.
"There's a lot of wisdom on that single sheet of paper," his father said. He looked the list over and said, "I wish someone had told me the facts of life years ago."
Dan looked over at his sister and said, "Thank you, Diana. I'll always treasure it."
She said, "I have one for Tom, too."
"I'll be going by there this evening. Would you like to go with me?" Dan said.
"Yes," Diana answered fully expecting to be invited along. She had discovered years ago that getting a present for Tom was a good way of making it over to his house on Christmas evening. Tom's house was always a good place to visit during the holidays.
Dan had gotten his mother a gift certificate for a family portrait. He had realized that they hadn't had a family picture taken since he was about twelve and thought she would appreciate having a more recent picture. She had really liked the present. He had gotten his father a new putter. He had given his sister a new dress that Alison had helped him select.
This was the first Christmas where he had spent his own hard earned money for presents and it felt really good seeing the expressions on everyone's faces. He looked around feeling good about what had had accomplished over the past six months.
While Dan caught up on his sleep, the rest of the family put together Christmas dinner. It was a repeat of Thanksgiving with everyone contributing a dish. His father had cooked the ham. His mother had prepared Potatoes Grand Mere and a green bean casserole. His sister had prepared a carrot pineapple Jello salad and a Mince Meat Pie. This time Dan had prepared the dough for the rolls the day before.
As was typical for special meals, dinner was eaten with lots of good natured teasing around the table. After taking a bite of the dinner roll, Diana said, "Mom. I really miss those rolls from Thanksgiving."
Dan looked at her and said, "I'm sure that we can borrow some dog biscuits from the neighbors if you prefer."
Smiling sweetly at him, Diana asked, "You would do that for me?"
"Sure," Dan answered back with a smile. Five minutes later he returned to the table with a dog biscuit for his sister.
Tom's family really liked to celebrate special occasions. It didn't matter to them if it was a holiday, birthday, or an accomplishment. Dan, Alison, and Diana could see the lights from Tom's house three blocks away. Diana laughed as they pulled up and she caught sight of the animated sled perched atop the house. She said, "You know, it is so corny that you just have to love it."
"Tom's parents really like to celebrate special occasions. Be prepared for eggnog, Christmas cookies, and Christmas carols around the piano," Dan said hugging Alison closer to him.
"You've got to be kidding," Alison said looking at the brilliantly lit house. She couldn't believe the amount of decorations that were wrapped around the outside of the house.
"Not at all," Diana said looking forward to all of the activities that would be going on at Dan's house. She always made a point of going over there on Christmas. She added, "If you think the outside is decorated, wait until you get inside."
Pulling the car over to the curb, his father said, "I'll be by to pick you up around midnight. Don't have too many eggnogs."
Alison and her parents had not really believed Dan when he warned them that they were likely to get served alcohol over at Tom's house. Her parents had grudgingly given their okay when Dan's father had explained that he'd be driving them to and from the house. She looked over at Dan and said, "You were serious."
"Tom's family really celebrates Christmas," Dan said.
Dan didn't even have a chance to knock on the door before it opened. Clearly feeling the effects of one cup of eggnog too many, Tom said, "Merry Christmas. Come in. The family is gathered around the piano singing Christmas songs."
"Great," Dan said putting an arm around Alison.
When Tom nearly fell over after leaning against the door, Alison said, "You're tipsy."
Diana handed Tom the poster and said, "Merry Christmas. Where's the eggnog?"
"Thank you," Tom said with a grin. He pointed towards the living room and, giving a half bow, said, "In there, little sister of my best friend. Beware the boys. My cousins are here."
"Thanks," Diana said as she headed into the living room.
"You're smashed," Alison said.
"It is Christmas night and all though the house not a creature is sober, not even the mouse," Tom answered giving his words the cadence as the famous Christmas poem.
Alison laughed and said, "Do your parents know?"
"Of course, Dad's in charge of the eggnog," Tom answered with a grin.
Alison looked around the house amazed at the quantity of decorations. It seemed to her that there wasn't a square inch that didn't have a Christmas item on it. There were little sprigs of Mistletoe hanging about every five feet. Looking around she said, "You weren't kidding about the decorations."
As the sounds of a piano playing Jingle Bells echoed from the living room, Tom's father came out and said, "Hey, you guys made it. Come in and have some eggnog. There's plenty. We've got double strength, regular, and decaf. Since no one is drinking any of the decaf, I'm thinking of making it half-caf."
"I'm going to go with regular," Dan said.
Looking over at the clock, Tom said, "It is almost ten thirty. Why are you so late?"
"I had to stop by the diner and drop off some presents," Dan said. He turned around to find that Diana had a cup of eggnog in her hand.
Diana grinned at him and said, "Double strength. It's really good."
Twenty minutes later, Alison found that she was standing around the piano singing Silent Night with everyone else. When the song came to an end, she leaned against Dan feeling very warm and comfortable. After kissing him, she said, "Diana is right. Double strength is really good."
Dan never understood where so many family members came from, but Tom's house was always filled with people over the holidays. Tom's uncle was flirting outrageously with his wife and she was definitely appreciating the attention. Tom's parents were swaying back and forth with their arms around each other singing another song. Tom's grandfather was at the piano playing Christmas Carols. Diana was over on the couch flirting with one of Tom's cousins.
Between songs, cookies were passed around and cups of eggnog refreshed. Kisses were exchanged under the sprigs of mistletoes scattered around the house. Jokes were told and good natured discussions about what song should be next flourished. It was light hearted and it was fun.
During a quiet moment, Tom leaned over to Dan and said, "This is happiness."
Lazlo Zalezac