Sharing Is Caring

Dana stood and watched as slabs of ice and snow kept sliding off the huge domed roof of the telescope and smashes to the ground. Her deep sigh materialised itself in a form of misty cloud, which intertwined with the steam from her cup of hot chocolate. 

“Well that’s a pity.” A known voice awoken her from her reverie. Max stood next to her, also accompanied by the cup of some hot drink.

“I was hoping to get some more interesting work done today. Oh well, paperwork here I come!” He raised his mug and took a sip. 

“I’ve been putting it off for quite a while as well,” she uttered, though her eyes never left the pile of snow which formed itself under the dome. Although starting at this mound could be called anything but productive, it helped to calm her mind. Observing the slight changes in the texture as wet snow slowly became more solid, mixing with ice from which the light was reflected. Focusing on this, forced other matters into the back of her mind, where their scream for attention were muffled. 

“Damien almost got a concussion when one of those hit him,” he pointed at one of the slabs which has, accompanied by a loud thud, just fallen.

“Mhm,” she shifted her attention to the warm cup which started burning her hand numb. She removed it from the said hand, and moved it to another one have a sip. As the overwhelming sweetness hit her taste buds she made a wry face. Glancing at the dark mixture she narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

“You look at that chocolate as if it was responsible for this catastrophe,” Max noticed with a chuckle. However noticing her glassy eyes, his attitude quickly changed. “Hey… you okay?”

Dana quickly nodded, took out a tissue and, pretending to blow her nose, she discreetly wiped her eyes.

“I know that these glasses may suggest otherwise, but I’m not blind,” he pointed at his glasses with thick, black frame. “What’s going on?”

She shook her head “I shouldn’t worry you with my problems.”

“Why not? That’s what friends are for right? To complain about everything to them.” As he said that, he took a look at her cup and then at his. Hearing no answer, he continued. “Alright, how about we switch? I think you may like this much more.”

Taken aback by this proposition, Dana looked at his metal cup, decorated by dozens of stickers. “What do you have?”

“Mulled wine,” he smiled widely. “With a slice of orange mind you!”

As if his joy was contagious she felt the corners of her mouth slightly rise up. However, she, once again, shook her head. “I cannot. It’s your drink,” she glanced at her cup. “I love chocolate. I should be able to enjoy it.”

“So what’s wrong with it? It definitely smells tasty.”

“It’s just… too much.” She closed her eyes, feeling tears gathering in them. 

Max gently touched her shoulder. “So, how about we share? After all, sharing is caring am I right?”

She opened her eyes and looked at his smile. Finally, she nodded and passed her cup. Max handed her his and raised a toast.

“To us! And to hopeful opening of the telescope.”

“Hear, hear,” she took a sip and focused on the wonderful, warm tastes with a smoky note. The wave of heat spread through her body, bringing release to chilled out parts.

“Knew you would like it,” Max laughed to himself and also tried the drink. “Mmm very tasty. But, I get it. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea… Get it? A cup?” Smiling broadly, he spread out his hands.

Dana chuckle slightly. “Yes, I get it,” she looked into his eyes. “Thank you Max.”

He waved his hand. “Don’t thank me yet. I have not done anything.”

“Thanks to you I smiled, and in my current mood that’s an achievement.”

“You know what? I’ll take it,” he dramatically thrusted his chest out. After that they moved to the nearby bench where, after clearing it of snow, they rested their legs. Once their drinks were finished, Max returned to the subject.

“I presume that the ‘too much’ was not referring to hot chocolate. At least not only.”

Dana tilted her head, staring at the sky which getting darker and darker, the light of day slowly giving way to night.

“Are you sure you want to listen to it?”

“I think you either forgot how you helped me during my darkest hour,” he presented his hand. Even though it was a bit red from the cold, you could still see the white band on his ring finger. “Or you don’t think that other people should extend this kindness to you.”

“I don’t like complaining,” she admitted. “Especially when in the grand scheme of things my problems are not that terrible.”

“From your perspective they are. So come on! Hit me!” He waved his hands encouragingly.

Glancing at him, she sighed deeply as if she was trying to release the tension with the air. “Well, let’s start with the fact that my family is at each other’s throats, creating two camps where each one believes that they are in the right and the others are simply stupid or just… I don’t know, petty?” Seeing Max's somewhat confused look, she explained. “Inheritance.”

“Geez, that’s so… typical.”

“Yeah. You hear all those horror stories but they always seem so ridiculous… until that happens in your family,” she shook her head. “This feud took any joy out of meetings. I can’t even call my parents and not hear about it. It always comes up.” She got up from the bench and started walking back and forth. “And then there's my paper. I had such a great idea for it, so much inspiration and reference and now I can't even write one sentence! And I wanted to have it finished before Christmas so I could properly relax and enjoy the holiday. Now, even if I miraculously managed to finish it I still wouldn’t have been able to rest because of the arguments. I’m…” The words stood up in her throat and only after a while was she able to get them out of herself. “I’m just so tired Max. Tired and annoyed and anxious and… Everything.” She sank back onto the bench. “It’s supposed to be one of the sweetest periods. After all Christmas is coming. And yet all of it is too much. I want to enjoy it but right now, for me it’s…too sweet at times. Especially when everything else is so sour.”

“Just like this chocolate,” he glanced at the empty cup in his hand. “But I get it. Believe me. And I love Christmas! I’ve been annoying everyone since November with the Christmas tunes and decorations. Yet, it can be overwhelming at times. Especially when other things in life go a bit off the rails.” His hand rested on her arm. “I’m sorry that you haven’t been able to enjoy this time. I hope that your family will see reason and as for your paper… well sometimes it is best to take a break, you know? Gain a perspective. And it’s also good to share those bad bits of our life as well as the good ones.”

Dana looked at him, and her shoulders relaxed. She touched his hand and smiled. “It’s easy to forget that. Thank you.”

“You can always count on me, the same way I know I can always count on you.” With that said, he stood up. “But now, how about I get my telescope and we do some observations? The sky is surprisingly clear.” 

“You have a telescope at the site?” She raised an eyebrow.

“In my car. I may or may have not been too lazy to get it out after my last escapade.”

A chuckle escaped her. “Alright then. I presume our plan, to finish some paperwork, has died of natural causes?”

“Precisely!” 

With that, together they went, retrieving the telescope from Max’s car and after finding a nice spot they indulged themselves in their favourite pastime, with their cups refilled. They took in the splendour of the night sky, pointing out the stars and planets with great enthusiasm. As they chatted happily and gazed through the lenses, they forgot about their daily troubles and were transported beyond the boundaries of Earth. In moments like that, Dana was reminded of why she chose this profession, and how much she valued it. Another thing which was easily forgotten. But now, as the voices in the back of her head grew quiet and she no longer felt the need to hold back tears she could fully forget oneself in the beauty of the heavens above and the comforting presence of her friend by her side. And when he shared with her the hot chocolate, convincing her to have another go, she accepted and this time the sweetness was just enough.