And colder and colder, I miss you

 Randy didn't have to rearrange anything in his room, but Jared came over and got what was left of his stuff, and before Randy could say goodbye, Tristan was bringing in his stuff. It wasn't much.

He talked about how he kept downsizing, all the time. He told Randy that less was more. Randy nodded, not sure what to expect out of Tristan. He vaguely knew him, but he'd watched Tristan's charisma firsthand, planning Justin and Carmen's wedding. Of course, Randy didn't dare say he missed his old roommates. Actually, they were a family he never had, and now he felt he was the one on his own.

"Now, did you talk to that friend of yours about moving in?" Tristan wanted to know.

Randy looked at him blankly. First the wedding, then Christmas, Randy knew he was in the slow lane while Tristan hurried on to get moved in.

"Not yet," Randy shrugged and thought he'd better take the dishes out of the dishwasher and reload it, just to keep busy when all he really wanted to do was lounge around, going through his stacks of books from the library, or take notes on something he needed to note from a drama or an old TV show.

"Well, why not?" Tristan was serious, as if he might be full of fury.

"I don't know." Randy couldn't help but be close-lipped about Monica. "Her family is..is moving to Arizona."

"Arizona?" Tristan's question made Randy squimish. Randy finished with the dishes and went to get his phone. 

Of course, Tristan went on for some time about how they'd share a bathroom, and Monica would have her own. Randy knew this. He'd shared the bathroom with Jared. Still, he felt his throat was parched as if he might be coming down with something. Had he gotten sick at the wedding?

He was happy for Justin and Carmen. He was Justin's best man, even if Jared didn't like it. "I'll be your best man, too," Randy told him before the wedding. "You've been a good brother to me."

It was warm then, but it was getting colder again. His head felt as if it were on the verge of a slow headache. Did he really want to do this? Did he really want Monica here?

Yes, they'd become friends, but he still thought of Cassie, who was still his first true love. No way did he want to forget that. Honestly, he didn't have a real Christmas. He'd given Monica the cold shoulder. He'd been home alone. A good portion of the day was spent going through his box of things that made him think of her.

He'd had a good cry. Yeah, that's when he started to feel sick, but he'd had two chicken pot pies he'd found left in the freezer and listened to some Leonard Cohen tunes. Later, he had a pot of hot coffee and wrote the night away on his laptop.

He knew even then what he had to do: make someone happy, even if Monica did invade his solitude.