#are esim secure

[airhubapp]

Excitement Builds as EURO CHAMPIONSHIP Under-21 Approaches 

 As the Euro Championship 2023 Under-21 draws closer, football fans around the world are eagerly anticipating the thrilling tournament that showcases the immense talent and potential of young players. This prestigious event not only highlights the future stars of European football but also pays homage to the rich history of the Euro Championship itself. 

A Glance at the History of Euro Championship: 

The Euro Championship has a storied past, with its origins dating back to 1958 when the inaugural edition took place in Hungary. It has served as a platform for nurturing young talents and providing them with invaluable experience on the international stage. 

Semi-Finalists and Team Players to Watch: 

The Euro Championship 2023 Under-21 promises to deliver an extraordinary display of football skills, as the four semi-finalists have proven their mettle throughout the competition. In the first semi-final, fans can anticipate a fierce battle between two powerhouse teams: ISRAEL AND ENGLAND. 

 The second semi-final promises no less excitement as SPAIN and UKRAINE play against each other  

Where to Buy Tickets: 

Football enthusiasts eager to witness the thrilling matches can secure their tickets for the Euro Championship 2023 Under-21 from the official tournament website.  BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!!!! 

Semi-Finals and Final Details: 

The first semi-final match between ISRAEL and ENGLAND will take place on 5 july, captivating fans with a display of skill, determination, and intense competition. The second semi-final, featuring SPAIN and UKRAINE, will be held on 8 July, promising another enthralling encounter on the road to the final. which will take place on the 8 july at Adjara bet arena Georgian. THE VENUES DECIDED ARE MAINLY ROMANIA AND GEORGIA  

ABOUT AIRHUB! 

We understand the plight of travelers who often face an array of challenges when it comes to connectivity. about airhub! unreliable Wi-Fi availability to the cumbersome task of managing SIM cards, which are prone to being misplaced, not to mention the exorbitant roaming charges that can burn a hole in one's pocket. best esim offers!

HOW AIRHUB CAN EASE YOUR EURO CHAMPIONSHIP! 

Connectivity: This ensures uninterrupted access to mobile data, allowing fans to stay updated with event information, purchase tickets online, and share their experiences on social media. 

Cheaper prices:  eSIMs offer the flexibility to choose from various local data plans, often at more affordable rates compared to roaming services.  

Mobility: eSIMs provide the freedom to switch between different mobile networks without being tied to a specific carrier. cheapest esim for europe!

YOU CAN USE COUPON CODE AIREURO05 FOR MORE EXCITING DEALS IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE A PART OF THE EURO 2023 CHAMPIONSHIP! 

EXPLORE PLANS WITH AIRHUB EXQUISITE  

In case of any query contact AirHub via support@airhubapp.com. 

[dreamerwriternstargazer]

That moment when your Lolo brings home a dark blue iPhone 15 pro max and offers it to you bc he can’t use it with the esim set up-

[riding-with-the-wild-hunt]

a whole bunch of gazan mutual aid projects and nonprofits. if the decision of which individual fundraiser to give to feels too daunting, or if you just want to help as many people as possible in one go, these are great initiatives to support.

care for gaza - focuses on providing food and essential supplies. donate here or here.

connecting humanity - securing internet access via donations of virtual sim cards (esims). if you can't afford a whole plan yourself, crips for esims is a communal pool that will use your donation to purchase and maintain esims

gaza soup kitchen - provides food, medical care, and classes for children. also has a gofundme

glia gaza medical support initiative - provides medical care through field clinics and tents at hospitals. donations can also be sent through their website.

ele elna elak - provides clean water, food, clothing, and shelter. they also have a gofundme

life for gaza - raising money for the gaza municipality to repair water and waste management infrastructure

taawon - partners with local civil organizations to provide food, water, medical care, shelter, and basic supplies

the sameer project - running various initiatives providing tents, medical care, and necessities. they have their own encampment project focused on sheltering families with children, sick and disabled members, or members in need of perinatal care

islamic relief worldwide's gaza emergency appeal - provides food, water, hygiene kits, medical supplies, and psychological support

baitulmaal - provides a variety of necessities, including food, water, shelter, and medical supplies

gaza mutual aid fund - distributes food, hygiene products, water, and other essential supplies, including financial support. run by @/el-shab-hussein's amazing friend Mona. updates can be found on her instagram.

hygiene kits for gaza - provides hygiene supplies including menstrual products, wipes, and toothbrushes/toothpaste

anera - provides a variety of necessities, including food, water, hygiene supplies, medicine, blankets and mattresses, and psychological care

palestine children's relief fund - provides supplies and support with a focus on children. also has an initiative for lebanon

dahnoun mutual aid - provides water, food, tents, baby supplies, financial support, and other necessities. updates can be found through their instagram

certainly this is not an exhaustive list, so please feel free to add on other projects or organizations that i didn't include. and as always, please take the time to donate if you can and share. it truly makes all the difference.

[packet-of-staples]

You can’t be a fan of these games and not be pro-palestine! Not without forgetting what these games are about!

CEASEFIRE NOW!

Some links to help!:

https://arab.org

https://piousprojects.org/campaign/2712

The gofundme for Care for Gaza is currently on pause, but I’ll put the link here for when its open again: https://www.gofundme.com/f/careforgaza

Until then their paypal is also available for donations: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/UsmanaliF

[mangocheesecakes]

Updates on the Munir family at last!

Finally, Layla has gotten in touch with them and confirmed that they are alive and are trying to get settled in Al Mawassi. Yousef also responded to my message just now confirming that they are in Khan Younis, and that the situation there is very hard as it is almost a desert and there is no water or food. When I told Yousef that I was glad that I finally got to hear from him after so long, he shared that he has to walk 2 hours(!!) to get internet.

As Layla said in her story, they now need to raise money so that they can get the Munir family esim-compatible phones so that they will be able to connect with each other better and give updates about their situation. The amount they are aiming for is $1,200.

If you have any money at all that you can spare, kindly please consider sending it the Munir family's way. Here is @mohamedmoner1994's gofundme:

And here is @yousefmoner's

Some kind people have been donating to Mohamed's link but the donations are still coming in very slow, and with Yousef's the last donation was 2 days ago.

As of writing this post,

Mohamed is at: £6,531 / £45,000

Yousef is at: £2,991 / £50,000

If you are unable to donate, please keep reblogging Yousef and Mohamed's links, and share it on your other social media as well if you can 🙏

[halalgirlmeg]

🚨🚨🚨THIS IS URGENT PLEASE DO NOT SCROLL. PLEASE REBLOG🚨🚨🚨

Hello everyone. It has been multiple days of posting. Many reblogs and no donations. This isn't unheard of, across the board multiple Palestinans have talked about how their posts have stagnated. Those who collect esims and who run larger campaigns to collect funds have spoken about how their engagements have dropped and they are receiving much less than they did last year. And I feel the same here, I'm not entirely sure of the origin of the change but I do feel there was a lot more help before. And maybe people are working with less, maybe they're tired, maybe the algorithm is supressing things. Maybe multiple reasons, but still i want to make sure that Shimaa and her family get the help they need like anyone in Palestine should be getting help needed. People are facing lack of food as aid is not allowed into Palestine or when it is it is subpar if not dangerous (being expired or poisoned for instance), people are in danger just moving from place to place. I particularly am helping Shimaa to campaign towards being able to help her family have food and toiletries and they are one of the many people that are hoping to rebuild their home. Our current goal is 350. And we have yet to receive any aid for this one. And I'm not sure what else to say. No one has to give like the whole thing or like 100 dollars but a little bit could help because from many people small additions really add up. But no contributions means we stay where we are and it will take that much longer for help to reach Shimaa and her family. So, please help if you can. If you are unable to, at least continue to reblog and contribute, even if you see older posts because they have the same links and if it works it works, anyway help can be received is gladly appreciated. @im-smart-i-swear is also still doing commissions in exchange of proof of your help

GOAL: 0/350

[dumpstermaster]

Hi. I don't usually speak up about these issues mainly because I don't exactly have a following, and I'm pretty sure only mutuals will be able to see this post.

But—

Let's open our eyes to what's going on for a second. Let's take a break from consuming things that distract us from reality. From what's been happening across the sea. From the tides that are ebbing and flowing with the blood of the innocent. From the cries of children, mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters stripped of their home and of their lives.

From the people who are desperately reaching out to us for help.

I have been privileged enough not to wake to the sounds of bombs mere miles from where I'm sleeping. I have been privileged enough to wake up and not smell sulfur and ash in the air. I have been privileged enough not to live in cramped spaces that breed disease, lacking food or clean water.

The people of Palestine need you to amplify their voices. They need you to scream for them now more than ever.

Rafah is currently being bombed and invaded. The border between the Rafah to Egypt crossing is currently being lined with tanks.

I know that it all feels hopeless, but please do not give up. There will be another opportunity. There will be another opening. While the invasion of Rafah is currently taking place, a ceasefire resolution is still being negotiated as we speak. Do NOT give up hope.

I didn't want to make this post without supplementing it with something that is actionable, but as someone with little means to help monetarily, I understand if you cannot directly donate to the links provided below. However, please do not underestimate your voice. Being able to spread this to someone who is able to contribute funding is equally as important.

So what can you do?

The simplest thing you can do is share these resources. Share them to as many people as you can. Amplifying the voices of the disparaged means that more people who are able to give aid can be reached. Research any local movements, any protests happening in your city or town, and attend them if you can.

And when your voice is hoarse from speaking, from screaming. When your legs hurt from the march. When you aren't able to reach as far as you can, as you want to, as you need to, the next thing you can do is listen. Keep updated on what is happening. Keep your eyes open. The more people mobilize and direct their efforts to help, the more people come up with new ways to give aid. There is always a next step.

Avoid supporting companies who are supporting or are compliant to Israel's genocide. There is a useful app called Boycat that you can scan the barcodes of products with so it can tell you, using its ever-expanding database, if its brand is compliant to ethical standards. One of the current campaigns it's supporting is that of Palestine.

For folks who are able to donate funds, here is a list of charities and fundraisers you can donate to:

eSims For Gaza makes sure that people in Gaza are able to maintain communication with their families overseas, and allows journalists to secure more visibility on what is happening on the field.

The Gaza Sunbirds are a para-cycling team focusing their efforts and resources to helping their community by routing supplies to families in the Gaza strip.

Gxza Health provides telemedicine to the people in Gaza in need of medicine and healthcare. They are partnered with UNRWA to get medication delivered to patients.

Palestine Red Crescent Society is a part of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent and helps facilitate aid to the people in the Gaza strip.

Sulala Animal Rescue is an organization focused on rescuing, treating, and feeding strays in Gaza City, with hopes of possibly opening a permanent shelter with international support.

Medical Aid for Palestinians supports Palestinians by providing medical aid to those who need it.

Anera provides warm meals and facilitates medical aid for refugees in Palestine.

Baitumaal provides emergency aid and poverty relief to communities that are under-privileged, including a service to sponsor children who have been orphaned.

If you want to directly sponsor a Palestinian family, a grassroots movement called Operation Olive Branch is currently working hard to amplify the voices of Palestinians who are in need of funding to escape their current predicament. You can find over 800+ families in the spreadsheet that they maintain, with gofundme campaigns operated by the families themselves. OOB also heads the Perinatal Project, a project that specifically caters to people in need of urgent prenatal, postpartum, and infant care needs.

I will make new posts as time goes on and the more resources I am able to gather, but for now that is all. Please share as much as you can.

From the river to the sea.

Free Palestine

[ID: a digital drawing of a hoopoe bird holding a large watermelon slice in its beak. The watermelon is dripping red, and the bird’s face and front are likewise covered in red: it could be watermelon juice, but it looks a lot like blood either way. The background features smudges of black and red behind the bird. /end ID]

(Art by me. Image description by my friend @quaxorascal)

[swocketdoodles]

Dear Friends,

I write to you with tears in my eyes and a heavy heart. After 188 days of displacement, constant fear, and struggling to survive, we managed to escape with our lives and reach Egypt. But the pain didn’t stop there. Just yesterday, we lost my children's grandfather 💔, not due to direct war, but because of malnutrition and the lack of basic life necessities. We couldn’t save him, just as we couldn’t save our home or our dreams.

The rest of my family is still trapped in the war, suffering the same harsh conditions that led to the passing of my children's grandfather. We are here trying to build a new life, but we have lost everything. We lost our home, and my children were deprived of their schools and universities. Even my eldest son, who worked so hard to build his future, lost his job and saw his dreams shattered.😔

We are now in desperate need of your help. We seek to secure a safe home that will provide us and our children with basic needs. Life in Egypt is extremely difficult, and prices are soaring beyond our reach. All we ask for is a chance to rebuild our lives and secure a better future for our children.🙏🏼

From the depths of my heart, I ask you to stand by us in these difficult times. Your support means hope and life to us.🙌🏼🇵🇸

https://gofund.me/59e9578a

despite people not really talking about it now, the genocide is still ongoing! and donating to people who are trapped in gaza could help them afford things that are barely available! unfortunately, i am just a kid and dont have the resources to:( under are some ways to help !! (donate to our friend above, if you are able to)

daily click!!

gaza esims!!

care for gaza!

call for a ceasefire!!

hope this helps :) sorry for the small doodle i rushed so i wouldnt forget about the ask

[aidenknow]

Melons 🍉

[Information on the global strike, boycotts, donations, education, etc are all under the cut. Will possibly update the post to add more information]

A global strike is still on going so please use that opportunity to do much as you can during the strike such as educating yourself on Palestine, boycotting companies, brands and celebrities that supports the genocide, signing petitions, donating to organizations that aid Palestine, etc.

Decolonize Palestine is a good website to start educating yourself and learn about Palestine as it outlines everything you need to know.

BDS Movement is a movement to instruct people to boycott brands and companies that support the genocide

Organizations that directly donates to the Palestine cause such as Care for Gaza, Gaza Direct Aid, Pious Projects, The PCRF, PRCS, MSF, Anera, etc

You can still do daily clicks with arab.org to fund in the aid but it’s highly encouraged to donate to the organizations that directly fund to Palestine such as the one I mentioned previously

E-sims such as Simly, Nomad and Holafly to donate to Gaza. Right now, Nomad and Holafly are highly requested e-Sims needed for Gaza to connect to the telecommunications

Follow Palestinian people, journalists and the news outlet to get updates on what is happening in Palestine and the neighboring countries.

(Please note that some Palestinian journalists listed above could be martyrs as the list was made)

You can get more info on my Twitter post as I regularly add related posts from other people on Twitter

[biophonies]

#artvsartist 2024 !!!

no bonus silly face or food edition this year, just falasteen. with much help from people all over the world, comics, t-shirts and prints raised something like 14K (& counting) for mutual aid, eSIMs, municipal repairs & family evacuations… and while the cycle of donations & continued destruction is in no way a solution, the many good people I’ve met this year have made me see what those solutions are, and that there are more working to reach them every day. now excuse me as I start to aggressively self market my upcoming books (do you know about those?) between long stretches of being offline. tryna secure my bag so I can show up better for others!

bless~

see way more from me on patreon (I update the free tier monthly!) or by email via newsletter.

[mangocheesecakes]

Updates from Layla's instagram and @mohamedmoner1994's gofundme page.

The Munir family has been displaced to Al Mawassi, Khan Younis. Layla reports that the area is practically uninhabitable. The Munir family is relying on food aids and contaminated water in order to get by.

Internet connection is hard, which is why Layla barely gets any updates from them and both Mohamed and Yousef (@yousefmoner) only responds to my messages at seldom intervals. Yousef reports he has to walk for almost 2 hours just to get connection. They are trying to find a way to buy eSims-capable phones so that they can post updates about their situation more easily.

What's really worrying and heartbreaking is Mohamed's wife, Rawa, who is suffering from thyroid cancer, and because of their displacement has now been unable to get even what little treatment she was getting before in Rafah. Layla reports that she has been losing consciousness because of this.

Please keep reblogging and sharing the Munir family's links. Donations are still coming in very slowly. If you are able to donate even just a couple of pounds, please consider doing so, as it will accumulate and go a long way especially if a lot of people do it.

Mohamed is at £6,647 / £45, 000

Yousef is at £3,021 / £50, 000

[halalgirlmeg]

🚨🚨🚨PLEASE DO NOT SCROLL HELP IS NEEDED🚨🚨🚨

Hello, everyone. I am still campaigning for Shimaa and we are still quite a ways from our goal. Unfortunately, the last time Shimaa and I spoke was Sunday. Prior to Sunday she was telling me that the internet was very slow, and I know that there have been issues with distributing esims as well. So I am waiting for her to get back to me, and I hope that when she can reach out again that we are much closer to the goal. Really, I hope that we can meet or exceed the goal at that point and hopefully both of those moments come sooner rather than later. To recap she and her family are needing this money for food as there were more food items being let into Gaza and there are multiple people in their family and we want them all fed and full in this instance. I know we have heard of the ceasefire that is coming up on Sunday. But I know that that is just the beginning of the end, I'm very happy for those who are joyous in having made it to this part. But I also know that this is not the end that more help is still needed and I want to help Shimaa and her family for as long as help is needed. Also the art you see depicted here was made by @im-smart-i-swear who is still offering commissions in exchange for your help. you for reading this far. Please don't turn away, please help me help this family in anyway you can.

GOAL: 222.95/400

[klayfruit]

FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA!!!!!

care for gaza - https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/UsmanaliF

esims for gaza - http://gazaesims.com/

already posted something similar on lldaily and havent gotten any additions yet but still trying again — please add more links to this post since i dong know many off the top of my head!!!

[voidedparts]

I've been silent on here for too long, mainly because I was trying to uplift voices on other platforms. But I can't be silent any longer.

Free Palestine.

arab.org - daily free click to send funds to gaza! This is the easiest thing to do if you're not in a position to donate!

gazaesims.com - purchase e-sim cards for people in Gaza without internet access. Also, look into Particles4Palestine and see if your favorite artists are talking commissions to donate esims!!

paypal.me/UsmanaliF - donate to help multiple displaced families in Gaza! Care for Gaza is actively on the ground working to help people in Palestine! If you can donate, do so here!

---

For the rest of this week I will be sharing information on Gaza here and on my twitter. Do not be silent!!!

[sprnklersplashes]

fic comissioned by @willofadeadgirl thank you for your generous donation to esims for gaza! to find out about commissioning a fic from me, the info is here

based on this idea I had a year (?) ago:

JD spiralling shortly after he and Veronica get engaged because he's scared to hurt her the way his dad hurt his mum. Claire is there to remind him that he's okay.

getting to delve back into nbr universe again and this relationship specifically was so rewarding and I also got to sprinkle in a bit of claire's backstory which is neat.

The party is amazing.

Claire has outdone herself. While JD was out with Veronica she single-handedly rearranged all of the tables and threw white rugs over the bare wooden floors. Then she either robbed a florist or had one owe her something, because they came back to the most amazing centrepiece on the dining room table, along with garlands of lilies and white roses hung around the doors and stairway. And of course, no function thrown by Claire Munroe is complete without food, and holy hell, did she deliver. When the party is for him and Veronica’s engagement, but all anyone can talk about is her espresso martini cheesecake, that’s how you know it’s a winner.

It’s wonderful. Although the event is small, a strict family and friends affair, the house feels alive, the two stories teeming with pure, unfiltered happiness. He couldn’t ask for anything better.

He hates himself. He really fucking hates himself.

With a bitter sigh, JD tosses the empty bottle he’d been fidgeting with. It crashes somewhere in the garden, followed shortly by a frantic rustling in the hedge. He might have just frightened the shit out of some poor raccoon.

And that thought should not scare him the way it does; shouldn’t cause the pit in his stomach to plunge deeper. He closes his eyes, locks every limb, pulls himself inward like he can ward off the thoughts invading his mind.

It was like someone had flipped a switch. One minute he was standing in the kitchen, his arm securely around Veronica’s waist, listening to her laughing and feeling like the night would never end. Then he went to the kitchen to get another drink and just like that, everything stopped. Once he wasn’t surrounded by bodies and the laughing and chatting was muted, the protective barrier dropped. Suddenly, all he could think about was the blood in his veins and where it came from, and then he was 8 again watching his mother wave at him through a window and then he was 9, 10, 11, 12 smashing plates to get his dad’s attention and he was 3, 4, 5 and 6 and 7 listening by the stairs because his dad was yelling again, again, and his mom wasn’t saying anything-.

And then he was running, and he was on his knees in the grass. 

He lets out a steady exhale, white smoke stark against the night sky. Shadows blanket the garden; the greens of the grass and the rainbow hues of Claire’s flower bushes are smothered in greys. Behind him, the house is still glowing from within, gentle oranges making its own sunset in there. He doesn’t want it. He never wants to see it again.

With a cold pang, he hopes Claire never leaves the house to him. Some of the best memories of his life are in that house. It’s lovelier than he would ever deserve, and he would just ruin it like he will ruin Veronica and like his dad ruined him. Claire said she moved into that house alone and renovated it with her own bare hands. Giving it to him would feel wrong, backwards. What will he do other than destroy it? That’s what his hands were made for.

Breathe Jason a voice in his head says. He tries, opens his mouth but nothing comes in, because there’s barbed wire around his throat and his lungs and it hurts when he tries. He tries, and he chokes, and hot tears are racing down his cheeks and he bites his hand before he can start screaming. Breathe Jason.

I can’t! I can’t! The darkness presses in around him and it’s hot-since when was darkness hot? His dad’s voice-his voice-is roaring in his ears, it sounds like his dad but it scrapes his throat like its him and it’s burning. He needs to get out and-

“Hiding out here?”

Crap. 

Trembling, JD turns around, squinting against the brightness. At first, all he can see is the small frame, the chunky knit sweater hanging off it. His eyes follow her as she comes over, but he looks away as she settles herself on the grass beside him.

“We miss you in there.” He nods, slowly. If he was still seventeen, he would shoot a sarcastic remark at her in the hopes that she would leave. But he knows better now. Or more accurately, the idea of her leaving pulls at a very specific part of his heart. So, while his instincts still protest, he lets her stay.

“Well I hope it wasn’t my lasagne that made you leave.” That gets a half-smile from him, even if it feels foreign on his face. Behind his back, he can feel her eyes bore into him. He used to think he could hide anything from anyone, and then he met her. “Jason? Everything okay?”

How does he answer? He takes a deep breath in, slowly. Pulls at the grass and lets it fall between his fingers. Listens to the pounding staccato rhythm of his heart. 

“I just freaked out,” he mutters. Claire nods behind him and, carefully, as if he’s made of glass, places her hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay,” she tells him. “I’m here.” He squeezes the grass in his hand. “Anything in particular freak you out?”

He doesn’t want to say it. He wants to keep it inside and find something to numb it. If it stays inside, he can freeze it, escape from it. 

He can’t though. Because he’s come too far and owes Claire and Veronica too much. There’s only one good way out.

“My dad,” he whispers. Claire inhales sharply and her hand tenses against his back. 

“Did he-did he try to-”

“No.” He cuts her off with a shake of his head. “No, he hasn’t contacted me.” Ever. He hasn’t heard from his father since 1984. He laughs, short and bitter. “I just can’t stop thinking about him. And my mom. And everything.”

“Oh kid,” Claire sighs. Her arm comes around his shoulders, her small frame presses into his side. “I’m so sorry.”

“And suddenly it was…. Everywhere.” He hears the tremble in his voice and he hates it. In that moment, he wonders why he ever stopped numbing himself. It made everything so much easier. He looks down at his hands. The ring Veronica gave him glimmers on his finger, silver winking in the half-light. He gives a self-deprecating scoff. “I don’t know how to be married. I don’t-I can’t be that to her.”

“You’ve been a pretty spectacular boyfriend so far,” Claire tells him matter-of-factly. “And from what I can tell, being married is just a longer version of that. That it’s you and her forever.” She squeezes his shoulder. “You’ve been with her three years and you haven’t messed up yet.”

“You don’t know that I won’t!” he tells her, voice rising sharply, and then everything spills out, a putrid ugly mess in front of them. “He’s my dad, Claire. I’m 50% him. My whole childhood I just sat and watched as he wore her down and she was hurting and I didn’t do anything about it! I just let him keep going and keep going until one day-” He closes his eyes. The library explodes behind his eyelids. When he opens them, he can still see the smoke. “What if it’s just a matter of time before I do it to her?” He looks back at the house. He can’t find her; she’s lost in a maze of other people.

“I might do something worse,” he says. The admission is broken and cracked on his tongue, terrified to step into the light. But it’s here.

“Oh, Jason,” Claire breathes. Her touch is gentle, loving, against his skin and part of him wants to shove it away and put as much distance between her and him as possible. He hates that he still feels that way, even as he leans into her touch. 

“I know you were dealt such a bad hand with your dad,” she tells him. “But you are not him, Jason.”

“I’m his son.”

“And I’m my parents’ child,” Claire says firmly. “Do you think I’m anything like they are?”

That gets him. Like a lighthouse beacon, it cuts through the fog in his mind and catches him.

He’s never met Claire’s parents-his grandparents, he supposes. They know about him, but the contact never goes past the ‘To Claire and Jason’ on the annual Christmas guard. Claire won’t delve into the specifics, just that her parents wanted her to have a life she never intended to java. Years before he came into the picture, it came to a head over some argument and when she declared her intention to move out, they didn’t stop her. 

They communicate via Christmas cards. When Claire’s dad was in hospital, she didn’t find out until weeks later.

So, his response is a small shake of his head. Claire is nothing like her parents and never will be. She is warm and loving and generous, she understands him without him having to say anything. How her parents created a person like her he will never understand.

“You’re not like your parents.”

“And you are not like your dad, Jason.”

“I am,” he mumbles. “I get angry. I think about… I think about running away.” He presses his thumb into his palm. “I pull away from her.”

“And then you go back,” Claire says. Slowly, her hand comes over his. Her skin is warm, her palm calloused and rough. “That’s what makes you different from your dad, JD. Your dad never cared about the damage he was causing. You do. You get knocked down and you get back up.” Her fingers curl around his. Startled, he squeezes her fingers. “Look how far you’ve come in the past few years. That’s something he never ever did.”

JD doesn’t know when the tears started but they’re here, running like rivers down his face. 

“And to be honest, I’ve never seen a person love someone else the way you love Veronica. You love her like she’s the last person on Earth. You love her like you’d never love anyone else.”

Well, he wouldn’t. It’s just a plain fact to him. No matter what happens, Veronica exists and he’s in love with her. Simple as that really. After everything she has done for him, it feels like the least he can do.

“And,” Claire continues, reading his mind again. “Don’t you owe it to her to keep trying?” Before he can even respond, she scoots closer, rests her chin on his shoulder. “Maybe you owe it to yourself too.”

There. That’s when she does it, that magical thing where she looks inside him and pulls out something he never thought existed. 

If he walks away now, he leaves Veronica at her own engagement party. He leaves her in the dust after promising to stand by her forever. And doing that to her… it hurts him more than anything else could.

He turns. Claire is still beside him, pressed against his side. 

“Maybe I owe it to you too.” She smiles then, laugh lines creasing her face.

“You’ve never owed me anything, kid.”

(It isn’t true. He owes her more than he’ll ever be able to pay back. But that’s okay, she’s not expecting him to).

Looking out at their garden, he lowers his head onto her shoulder. It’s a little awkward because at some point he got taller than her, but neither of them mind. She rubs her hand up and down his arm and they sit there, listening to the muffled sounds of the party behind them.

“I love you,” he tells her. He doesn’t need to look up to see the way her face softens at that. 

“I love you too, kid,” she whispers. She tugs on his arm. “Come on. If we hurry there may still be profiteroles left.”

JD laughs; the feeling is solid and warm in his chest. He offers Claire his arm and together, they walk back into their house. 

Before he goes in, he gives it one last try. He breathes in. The air is cold and crisp and it fills his lungs. He breathes out, slow and steady, and the white smoke disappears into the orange porchlight. Claire squeezes his hand, firm and rough and more real than anything that came before.

He’ll be okay, he thinks. They’ll be okay.