Redemption (Complete)

11. Blue

"Merry Christmas, Uncle Carl!" Brendan, Carl's nephew piped up through the phone as his Uncle sat alone in his condo in California. New York had been due to get some heavy snowstorms in the week leading up to the holiday and Carl had decided not to head to the Big Apple to be with his brother, sister-in-law and their three rugrats for the holidays. Skidding out on the tarmac wasn't on his Christmas list this year.

In fact, not much was on his Christmas list at all. Unless you could wrap a person, he wouldn't ever get what he wanted anyway.

Instead, he decided to stay home and enjoy his time off from work. Most of Kintech's employees were headed elsewhere for the holidays and Aiden had given anyone who wanted off the days up until Christmas reprieve on having to come to work. They could use their vacation time but most would be back after the holidays and work would resume as usual after the New Year. Usually, the office was pretty slow at this time of year.

Harry and Mathilde had invited him over for Christmas dinner as well and though he had gotten them all presents- Violet included- he had declined their offer. He didn't blue balls to go with his Blue Christmas.

Besides, he had heard from Harry that that little Irish prick Liam O' whatever-his-last-name-was was staying with the Charles' for the holidays and would head back after ringing in the New Year.

Carl had hoped he would go back sooner. He didn't like the thought of Violet and him getting cozy in her parent's house. Though, for the most part, he knew she stayed in her little house in Berkeley most of the time. Yet it still didn't sit well with Carl's newly found possessive nature when it came to Violet. He wanted no hands to touch her but his.

Constance had also begged for him to come and celebrate with them, but he knew it was just a ruse. Carl knew that Aiden and Constance would unwrap gifts- and probably each other- that morning and then state they needed to go to Harry's house for Christmas dinner. Neither Constance nor Aiden were any great chefs, and he knew that with Constance eating for two, she would probably want something a little more festive to eat than a TV dinner or catered take-out while watching 'A Christmas Story' a hundred times in a row.

Instead, it was Carl that sat in front of the television watching as any number of grownups tell Ralphie that he was going to shoot his eye out.

Carl saw himself as a less geeky Ralphie- wanting what he shouldn't have. He only hoped that in the end, though he got the girl, he wouldn't lose something in return.

Ralphie lost his glasses, but they could be replaced. Carl could lose a friendship- maybe more than one- if things went badly. And you couldn't buy back trust.

"Merry Christmas, Bren," Carl stated with a chuckle. The middle child of his brother was then off and running, talking about all the gifts he had received from Santa. Most of the toys sounded dreary and strange and when Carl's brother Elliott took the phone from the chattering child, Carl heaved a sigh of relief.

"Where are you celebrating the hols, bro?" Elliott asked. Carl could hear the laughter and giddy screaming of children and was almost glad he wasn't there. It sounded like a right old headache waiting to happen.

"At home, by myself," Carl replied. Elliott tutted sounding a bit old-maidish.

"Seriously?" Elliott question. "I know someone had to invite the life of the party over for Christmas dinner at the very least."

"I had no problem receiving invitations, El. Just didn't feel like going," he admitted. The only real reason he didn't want to go was to see Liam there, fawning over his woman with his pretty boy looks and roguish Irish brogue. It was enough to make a man want to vomit his guts up.

"What about you?" Carl asked in a needling fashion. "Did you get everything you wanted from Santa?"

"The man's supposed to magic, but I doubt he could send me back to my 20's at any rate," Elliott stated as he laughed. The two brothers constantly teased each other about their advancing ages, though to be honest, some things got only better with age.

"Where are the other two rugrats?" Carl asked, changing the subject.

"Jase is taking a nap in his bedroom and Penny is around here somewhere playing with her new dolls," Elliott told him. "These new My Little Pony's with their large eyes and freaky large hooves are flipping weird man. They look like what alien horses would resemble. It's creepy."

The two brothers laughed and chatted for a bit and before he knew it, Carl was actually really missing being with his family in New York. It may have been the first time he actually was craving the company of someone who wasn't a potential bed partner.

"Hey Carl, Diana wants to speak to you before we get off the phone," Elliott told him. Diana was not much a talker when it came to the phone. She preferred her conversations to be in your face. She was blunt and to the point, and for once during that day, Carl was glad he didn't have to speak to her face to face.

There were a few noises while Carl heard Diana yelling at the kids to quiet down so she could think and then her voice was in his ear.

"Carlton? Merry Christmas!" Diana must have been sampling the eggnog. She was awfully chipper to have been kneedeep in wrapping paper only hours before. The woman didn't usually get drunk, but when she tied on, she did a damned good job. Carl hoped she was enjoying her Christmas because she would probably wake up with a hangover the next day.

"Merry Christmas, Lady Diana," he replied with a smile in his voice. Drunk Diana was good times.

"I wanted to talk to you about something. Wait let me go into another room. These kids are screaming the ceiling down." Carl listened as the sounds of laughter and screams faded away and a door shut in the background. Finally, it was silent except for the light breathing a couple of mumbled curses by his sister-in-law.

"Okay Carlton, what's up with you?" Diana asked him, her voice a little less slurred than before.

"What do you mean?" he asked, not really understanding her question.

"You never call on the holidays when you're in California and when you do, you chat for like five minutes to the kids and a couple to me and Elliott and then you're off the phone like you're allergic to technology," she told him.

"Can't I miss my family?" he asked. Because it was true that he did indeed miss them. And for once not just because he was bored and alone on a holiday. He really wished he could see his nephews and niece along with their prying parents.

"You can and I'm a big supporter of family, but there's something..." Diana paused as she searched her rum-soaked brain for the word. "Different about you. You were all brooding and quiet the last time you were here and then you went off with Elliott but never said anything to him except ask him about how he knew I was 'the one'."

Carl knew his brother couldn't hold water when it came to his wife. He hadn't asked him to keep the conversation secret for that reason. No matter if he swore up and down on a thousand Bibles, the man would answer any questions his wife could ask.

"You can talk to me, Carl," Diana coaxed. "No secrets, no judgment. Now who is she and why aren't you with her at this very moment?"

Carl sat back on the couch. Ralphie's Christmas list problems all but forgotten, he decided to at finally speak with someone. He was only surprised that it was Diana. They weren't particularly close, only seeing each other on festive occasions.

"Her name is Violet," he stated with a gush of air blowing past his lips in a heavy sigh. "And she's one of my best friend's daughter. Now you understand why I didn't want to talk about it? It makes it more real. The fact that even if she wanted to- we can't be together."

There was a pregnant pause on the other end of the line.

"Wow," Diana finally said, her own sigh escaping her lips. "That's harsh. Did she tell you she didn't want you?"

"Well, at first she only told us we can't be together," he admitted. "There's an... age difference that she is not comfortable with and then when I got a little bolder, she told me she didn't want me."

"She obviously lied," Diana stated on a scoff. "No woman says 'we can't be together' and then changes her mind to 'I don't want you'. It's utter crap on her end. You got her back up when you said... whatever it is you said. Lord knows sometimes I wanna punch that smart mouth of yours so I'm assuming that someone closer to you would have the same urges as I."

Carl laughed lightly at that. Diana didn't mince words and it was one of the reasons he admired his brother's wife. You could always expect her to be candid with you. Even if it felt like a kick to the nuts.

"To be honest, I think so too," Carl said. "But my big f*****g mouth can't seem to say the right thing around the girl. Makes me want to wire my jaw shut around her."

Diana laughed. She had thought that that was a great idea sometimes too. It certainly would keep her kids from trying to repeat some of the naughtier things Carl had said in front of them. Especially little Jase. He was like a little recording device in the shape of a walking, talking, 2- year old. Everything anyone says around him went and dug itself deep into his memory banks to be repeated at a later date. Usually in public and to the mortification of one or both of his parents.

"What do I do, D?" Carl asked. "As a woman, you must have some insight."

Diana hummed, thinking. "Roses and candies won't do- not even jewelry," she stated. "She probably has heard about your, uhm... colorful reputation since you know her father so well so the only thing you can do is convince her that you've changed. Or are changing. I honestly don't know how you can do that- or if the girl will believe you or not. You may need to wear her down to do it. Could take months. Are you willing to wait months possibly, Carl?"

Carl didn't hesitate. "Yes, I could do that."

"Good, no hesitation," Diana said with a smile in her voice. "Now no f*****g around and make sure her father realizes it too. Though you probably don't want him to know why you are changing just yet, he will most likely bring it up at home where she could hear about your... metamorphosis."

It was a decent idea. Better than any of the things that he had thought of. The flowers and jewelry and candies could only possibly work if he knew where she lived. He couldn't imagine himself asking Harry or Mathilde their daughter's address. Like that wouldn't be suspicious at all.

"Are you going to be celebrating New Year's anywhere?" Diana asked, interrupting his train of thought.

"Well, yeah. Harry and Mathilde always host a New Year's Eve bash at their home."

"And will Violet most likely be there?" Diana asked.

"Probably," Carl admitted, thinking about her potential date, Liam Mc-Hands-Of-My-Woman. "She attended the Christmas party so I would assume she'd be coming."

"That's excellent," Diana murmured. It sounded like she was thinking again. "Do you have a date to the party yet?"

"No- why?" Carl asked. He never went to a party without a date- unless it was an intimate gathering.

"Because you should go alone. No date. No flirting with other women while you are there. Hell, only speak to the men or the married women if you have to. Just don't bring a date!"

"Okay, okay," Carl said and wondered if this could be the start of something.

He damned well hoped so.