It was New Year's Eve, and I was sat on the floor of Dave's living room with his family with a dog fast asleep on me either side. It was like having a warm, slightly vibrating blanket keeping me warm. We were watching the run up to midnight from across the world, seeing Sydney's and Dubai's firework displays and debating their particular merits versus Edinburgh and London. Personally, London is always my favourite - despite my Scottish heritage, you just can't argue with how amazing the London Eye looks and the inventiveness of the firework display. It's always around this time of year that I decide I should really take my engineering degree and become a fireworks display creator instead...
A sudden bang outside woke the dogs up and they immediately ran through to their beds to hide. Dave's little sister jumped off the sofa and started tugging on her parents' hands.
"It's time to go outside! It's time!"
I looked over at Dave questioningly. "We always go outside to see the fireworks going off across the valley at midnight, but the earliest fireworks usually start about half an hour beforehand."
I pushed myself up quickly. "I just need to go grab something from upstairs - wait for me?"
Five minutes later, I was back down with my canvas bag slung over one shoulder. Dave raised an eyebrow but I just smiled mysteriously and shook my head. Shrugging, he opened the door for me and led me down to the bottom of the garden. His parents had pulled out a few deck chairs, but he walked straight past them and hopped up onto the stone wall at the bottom of the garden. I joined him, and squinted out over the pitch black valley. Slowly, my eyes adjusted and I began to make out the shape of the hills and the faint twinkling from other houses.
"So... what's in the bag?"
I tutted at Dave. "What makes you think anything in the bag is for you?"
"Because I'm amaaaazing." He tilted his head and tried to bat his eyes at me, but ruined the effect by half falling off the wall.
Laughing, I pulled him back up. "You're a liability, that's what you are... But actually yes, there is something in the bag for you."
"Oooh!" His face immediately brightened and he scooted closer over towards me. "I have presents?!"
"Yes, you have presents! You can't go off to America completely unprepared..."
I reached into the bag and pulled out the first parcel.
Dave took it off me and weighed it. "Hmmm... I predict DVD..."
"Well, you did manage to get into university, so I presumed there were some brains in there somewhere..." I grinned as he scowled at me. "Go on, open it!"
He tore the paper open eagerly, then burst out laughing when he saw what he was holding: season 1 of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. "In West Philadelphia, born and raised..." I started, motioning for him to join in, but he was laughing too hard. "See, you can't move to Philadelphia without this!"
"I love it! But... you know it's set in LA?"
"Wait, what? But - the song!"
"That's the whole point, he moves from Philadelphia to LA... but I really love it anyway! Thank you!"
Slightly disappointed by my mistake, I moved on to the next gift. I was really proud of this one.
"OK, this one comes in two parts. Open the small present first..." I waited until he was opening it before continuing. "And hereby, I would like to officially promote you... from Sous Chef of the Dave & Jane flat, to Head Chef of as yet unknown American flat!" He put the toy chef hat on his head, laughing again. I handed him part two. "And here's to make sure you don't starve!"
He wasn't laughing with this one, instead silent as he opened the pages and looked through. I'd found a place online that created notebooks with personalised pictures on the front, so I'd picked out a picture of the meat turtles we'd once created and which we considered our proudest culinary moment. The notebook itself was filled with all the recipes of the meals we'd eaten together over the past three years, along with anecdotes of stupid things either Dave or I had done and reminders not to do them again.
As he passed into the dessert section (followed by 'REMINDER - blowing icing sugar over pies WILL result in kitchen snowstorm apocalypse situations...'), he finally looked up at me. "Jane... this is amazing. I don't know what to say."
Luckily, he was saved by having to say anything else by the firework display started in the nearest town. I smiled happily up at the sky and glanced over to see Dave smiling too, his face lit up by the reds and golds and greens of the fireworks in the sky. He looked down and held my gaze for a second, both of us unable to stop smiling at the other.
After the fireworks had finally finished, Dave slung his arm around me. Leaning into him, we watched the valley fade into blackness again.
"I'm really going to miss you."
I sighed. "Me too. Why couldn't you have just found a nice placement in Edinburgh?"
I felt him laugh against me. "Yeah, what idiot goes all the way to Philadelphia for six months?"
"You, apparently!" We were silent for a moment. "And in any case, you only have to cope without me until after exams, and then I'll be straight out to sort you out from all the trouble you'll be getting into without me."
He chuckled again. "True! Until after exams."
I nodded into his shoulder. "After exams."
Author's Note: I'm so sorry about the late post! I might not be able to keep to Saturday's but I'll try and get posts up as soon as I can.
Also, for anyone intrigued, here is the meat turtle recipe - but be prepared, your life may never be the same again... http://bacontoday.com/bacon-turtle-burgers/
