It's that time of year

 

Tristan wished his mom wouldn't worry about Liv. Yet it came back to the fact that she didn't want Liv to walk in her shoes. She compared Liv's new job to being that of a lunch lady in a foreign country.

"Mom, I'm sure things will get better," Tristan said over the phone while he was dead tired and still wanting to get to the bottom of the Roxanne problem with Pan and now Wade. A part of him didn't want to bother. It was the holidays and he wanted to do holiday things with Dale.

"No, it won't," his mom was adamant. There was no soothing her troubles. He went on to ask if they were doing anything with Holden and Bren's dad for Christmas. Would they all meet up at Rico's for a little Christmas cheer? 

"I don't want to do anything," All she wanted for Christmas was for Liv to come home, but Tristan knew that wasn't going to happen.

Left with her perturbed words, it all felt sort of empty. He looked around the livingroom. In the corner was the tree they'd been left with from Roommates past. They'd put up the ornaments from those roommates. Some had names he wasn't familiar with, But Dale made everything Merry and Bright by getting everyone to make their own ornament to add to the tree. There were even a few Christmas presents under the tree too.

Of course, the apartment was growing. It finally occurred to him that he should do a little Christmas shopping. Everyone had decided they would open Christmas presents on Christmas morning.  He could do this, but first he needed to call Liv.

"Oh, what do you want now," Liv couldn't believe her brother would call out of the blue like this. Usually, he gave her the heads up of the time and date a week ahead of schedule.

"Mom just can't have Christmas without you," he told her.

"Oh really, she never had a problem when I was at Rico's." She sighed. Honesly, back then her mom wanted her to be away from all of them.

"I don't know what to tell you," Tristan sounded a little sad about it as if he'd really done it this time.

"I call her like once a week, you know." Liv yelped back.

"I know. But remember she loves you in her own way," He said and Liv winced tears. She'd always waited for the day she might be close to her mother, and now it felt like a lost cause.

"You and Dale need to have a baby or something," Liv shot back. She didn't like all this attention.

"What! We both have a lot to get through before that happens."

"Well, at least get engaged," she told him with a sigh.

"I think mom needs to come to Seoul."

"Oh, you would say that," Liv snapped. They both knew they lacked those sorts of funds.