Holiday Unscripted, page 4
“Joshua,” Denise says, her voice warning him to stop talking.
“I’m just saying, Mom.” He holds up his hand. “Listen, you think we wanted to rehome two hundred guests?” he asks her. “We literally have people staying everywhere.”
“Whose fault is that?” She turns her wrath on Joshua. “Who gets married at Christmas?”
“Lots of people,” I chime in.
“Again, Nate, you would be wrong, since December is the least popular month to get married.”
“Who told you that?” Joshua asks her.
“Google,” she hisses at him. “Why can’t you be normal and get married in the fucking summer like everyone else?”
“We wanted to be different,” Joshua replies, looking over at Macy, who is socializing with her family and has no idea this showdown is taking place. “Macy loves winter.”
“What’s going on over here?” Jack comes closer to us and falls onto the couch next to Joshua. “It looks serious.”
“Mom and Dad are throwing me to the wolves,” Elizabeth exaggerates.
“Wow.” I look at Joshua, who laughs. “Suddenly I’m a wolf.”
“We are not throwing you to the wolves,” Denise clarifies. “She’s going to be staying with Nate.” She points to me.
“I never agreed to that.” She shakes her head. “I can stay with Jack.”
“I have two bedrooms and both are taken by Macy’s aunts.”
“Great, so you don’t care about your little sister”—she lays it on thick—“who spent the whole day flying.”
“In business class,” Jack and Joshua say at the same time and then share a high five.
“I hate them.” She looks at her father.
“Okay,” I start, getting up and looking at her, “let’s all calm down.”
“I’m cool,” Joshua says, “as a cucumber.”
“No one asked you,” she hisses at him. “I should kick your foot and see how calm as a cucumber you are.” Her eyes dart to him and then his foot, and he sits up ready to defend himself.
“Why don’t you go and get something to eat?” I look at her, ready to face her wrath. “Then we can go, I’m sure you’re tired.”
“Yes,” Zack agrees, “let’s go and get you something to eat. You sound hangry.” He laughs at his own joke. “And then Nate”—he points at me—“will take you to his house and tomorrow maybe we’ll have news about the hotel and, hopefully, everyone can go to their original assigned places.”
She looks down and then looks back up again. “I’m going to find another place to stay.”
“Why are you being so pigheaded?” Joshua asks. “Just stay at Nate’s house.”
“Yeah.” I sit back down next to Joshua and extend my arm across the back of the couch. “Just stay with me.”
We have a face-off in the middle of living room, with all eyes on us. “This is so much fun,” Jack goads, “the two of you.” We both look at him. “You guys always were like water and oil.”
“More like fire and ice,” Joshua corrects.
“You two,” Denise grits through clenched teeth, pointing at Jack and Joshua, “enough poking the bear.” She then points at Elizabeth.
“So now she’s a bear,” Jack teases, getting up and putting his arm around her. “Come on, sister,” he urges, “let’s get some food in you.” He slowly walks away with her.
The minute she’s in the kitchen and Macy’s parents go up to her, she smiles at them and I hear Zack and Denise let out a huge sigh. “Thank you so much, Nate,” Denise says. “We owe you big-time.”
“Don’t mention it.” I look at them and smile. “Glad I can do something to help.”
“You saved us.” Zack nods at me.
“For now,” Joshua adds, and Zack shakes his head, then turns to walk into the kitchen to see how Elizabeth is doing.
“Whatever you need”—I look at Joshua—“just let me know.”
I get up and make my way to the kitchen, when the front door opens followed by a loud commotion. “Well, well, well.” Their uncle Max comes into the kitchen, followed by his best friend and brother-in-law, Matthew. From the stories everyone tells, the two of them started out as enemies. Then Max dated Matthew’s sister in secret, which made them even more enemies, until push came to shove and now they are inseparable. “We have arrived.”
“Max,” Denise calls, going to her brother and they share a hug. “Where is Allison?”
“She’s going to come down tomorrow with everyone else,” he explains. “We came so we can help out with carpooling to make sure everyone is taken care of.”
“Isn’t that special,” Elizabeth deadpans as Max walks to her and hugs her, kissing her on the top of her head. “They forgot about me, didn’t even pick me up at the airport.” He gasps. “I was going to have to sleep on the street,” she tells him, “in the freezing cold.”
“Never,” he declares to her, “I would never let that happen.”
“At least one person loves me.” She wraps her arms around his waist.
“I’m ready to go when you are,” I say quickly. I don’t know why I say it, but I do.
“Fine,” she huffs. “Denise.” She looks over to her mother, who gives her a look. “Would it be possible for me to borrow a pair of pj’s until I can get myself to the store tomorrow?”
“Yikes,” Max notes, “she used your first name.”
“That is never a good thing,” Matthew adds going over to Jack and slapping him in the stomach. “How’s my man doing?”
“Sweetie,” Denise says to Elizabeth, “do you want to go and choose something?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “The last time I opened a drawer in your room, I had blood leaking out of my eyeballs for a month.”
“I told you it was a neck massager,” Denise defends. “Do you think I would leave my toys out in the open?”
“And now my ears are bleeding,” Jack grumbles. “She said toys. Like plural.” He fake vomits. “I’m never even going in their bedroom anymore.”
“Get your head out of the gutter,” Denise scolds. “I just heard they were called that. Uncle Matthew threw out Aunt Karrie’s toy chest.”
“Oh my God”—Elizabeth puts her hands to her mouth—“what is happening right now?”
“Bet you want me to take you away now, don’t you?” I ask her and she glares at me, which makes me laugh. I wink at her, which makes her glare at me even more.
“You do know that she is secretly planning to kill you in your sleep,” Zack leans in to whisper in my ear, “and she’s been watching those murder documentaries with her mother since she was like ten, so she can get away with it.”
I laugh as Denise comes back down with a bag. “Here you go, sweetie.” She hands her the bag. “There were a couple of things that you left here the last time you came to visit.”
“Well, now that I’m thrown out of the house”—she grabs the bag from her—“I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
I walk back to Joshua. “You call me if you need anything.” I hold out my hand for him to shake and he slaps it and then we fist-bump. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Will do,” I affirm and then walk toward the kitchen and give Elizabeth a chin up before holding out my hand to her.
She looks at me and then my hand. “You think I’m going to hold your hand?”
“Do you want me to carry your bag?” I ask her, and she ignores me and turns to walk toward the front door.
“Have fun.” Jack slaps me on the shoulder. I follow Elizabeth out, my eyes going to her ass and then flying right back up before someone catches me looking at her like that.
I reach for her big carry-on bag while she slips her shoes back on and I look at her. “Don’t argue with me,” I warn her. “You’ve had a long day.”
“Whatever,” she mumbles and opens the door to walk out of the house. “Which one is yours?” she asks of all the vehicles parked.
“The black truck.” I point to the pickup at the curb. “Right over there.”
“Figures,” she mutters as she walks toward it, “big truck.” She looks over at me, eyes landing on my crotch with a smirk, as she opens the passenger door. “Must be making up for something.”
“We both know I have nothing to make up for.” It’s been over seven years, and this right here is the first time I’ve ever spoken about that fateful night.
“We’ll agree to disagree,” she mumbles but avoids looking at me as she gets in and slams the door shut.
I open the back door, tossing her bag onto the seat before getting into the truck and starting it. She looks out the window the whole time, neither of us saying anything to each other as I pull up to my house.
“Welcome to my home,” I tell her, and she reaches for the door handle and steps out. I grab her bag and head to the house with her following me. “I take it you aren’t up for a tour.”
“You would be correct on that,” she mumbles. “I need a shower and a bed. So if you can point me to that direction.”
I unlock the front door and push it in, excited paws running towards us echo in the entryway.
“Hey, boy.” I put Elizabeth’s bag down and he immediately goes to sniffs it before coming to me and I rub his neck. “This is Whiskey,” I tell her, and she smiles and looks down at my golden retriever dog, who now wags his tail even more when she bends to pet him. “Let me just let him out and then I’ll take you to the room.” She nods at me as I kick off my shoes and head past the staircase toward the back door, opening it and he runs out. I turn around and see her still waiting for me at the front door. Her shoes are now off with mine, her bag’s in her hand waiting for me. “This way,” I say, walking up the steps to the bedrooms.
As soon as we make it to the top of the steps, I look back at her. “This is your bedroom.” I open the door to the right which leads to a room with a queen-size bed that is never used. “Shower is right there.” I point to the door beside her bedroom.
She walks past me and sits on the bed and collapse on it, outstretching her arms to the side. Bean, my cat, jumps onto the bed and just looks at her. “That’s Bean,” I say of the golden cat I rescued not too long ago. “She has trust issues,” I mention when she jumps down off the bed and scurries to her hiding spot. “Do you need anything?”
She gets up on her elbows and looks at me. “No,” she replies, “I’m going to take a shower and then go to bed.”
I nod at her, my heart suddenly hammering in my chest. “I’ll get out of your way, then,” I say and turn back to walk down the stairs to retrieve Whiskey, telling myself this is going to be okay. It’s the happiest season of all, isn’t it?
CHAPTER 5
Elizabeth
A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS TIME
I watch Nate walk away from me and make his way down the steps. Turning back to look at the bedroom, I take in the queen-size bed sitting in the middle of the room framed by a gray headboard with brown undertones, coupled with matching nightstands. A lamp sits on one of them and the other is bare. The shades are halfway drawn. I use my foot to kick the carry-on into the corner of the room. Looking through the bag that my mother packed, I snatch out a pair of pj’s before dragging my ass to the bathroom.
“Did you have a party while I was out?” I hear Nate speaking and then I hear the dog bark back at him, as if he’s answering his question.
I step into the bathroom and turn on the light. I yell when I see something gray runs right past me over the tops of my feet. “You okay up there?” I look out of the bathroom and down the steps to see Nate, holding on to the wall with one hand and the banister with the other.
“There was something in here.” I turn around in a circle, searching for where it went. The door is open to another bedroom right before the bathroom. “It was gray. I think it might have been a rat. Could be a raccoon.”
He laughs and my body shivers at his rumble. “That’s Baby Cat,” he informs me. “His name is Ghost but he’s the baby of the cats, so I just call him Baby Cat.”
“How many animals do you have?” I ask him.
“Two cats and the dog. I would have more but—”
“Spoken like a true vet,” I tease him as I turn back to the bathroom and shut the door. I open the glass shower door before starting the water. My hand is out to test to make sure it’s the right temperature and I’m about to undress when I remember my toiletry bag. “Fuck,” I swear, walking back into the bedroom and to my carry-on. The small white toiletry bag with little blue flowers all over it sits near the top. Thank God I packed it in my carry-on since it’s filled with the essentials, as well as my toothbrush and my toothpaste.
When I go back into the bathroom, the gray cat is sitting on top of my pj’s on the counter. “Hi, Baby Cat,” I say closing the door and then undressing. “You can sit on those, but when I get out, I’m going to need you to find someplace else to sleep.”
The shower feels like heaven. I hold my head back and let the warm water run over my face. A tired itchiness fills my eyes, and my eyelids are getting heavier and heavier, making them hard to keep open. I walk out of the shower and find the cat is now sitting on the clothes I just took off. I dry myself off just enough to slip on the black boxer shorts and yellow tank top. I turn on the water at the sink before putting toothpaste on my toothbrush and then putting it in my mouth, moaning when I taste the mint on my tongue. I have just enough energy to comb through my hair and grab my clothes, finally ready to walk out of the bathroom and climb into bed. The lights are still on downstairs and I just walk into the room and toss my clothes on top of my bag. Walking over to the bed, I see Baby Cat there now. “Okay, so I’m going to bed,” I tell the cat, “and you can stay or you can go.” The cat just looks at me as I move the covers and get under them. “Good night,” I tell the cat, who’s stretched out on his side and not even bothering with me.
My body relaxes into the bed. I think it takes me less than ten seconds to fall asleep. I don’t even know how long I’ve been asleep, when my eyes flutter open. I feel heat enveloping the top of my head. When I look up, I see that Baby Cat is sleeping on my pillow, literally around my head. “Um, we are going to have to talk about invading one another’s space,” I inform the cat, who opens his eyes and then closes them back down as he sinks deeper into the pillow.
I look toward the bedroom door, finding it’s closed almost all the way but with just enough space for the cat to come and go. I lift my arm up to check my watch and the black screen greets me. “Great, I don’t even know what time it is.” I look over toward the shades to see the light coming in from around the curtains. My bladder now makes it known that it needs to be emptied. I toss the covers off me, get out of bed, and tiptoe to the door to see Nate’s bedroom door open but the room still dark. I move as quietly as I can to the bathroom, not turning on the light until I quietly shut the door behind me. I go to the bathroom, washing my hands and my face before brushing my teeth.
When I turn off the light and open the bathroom door, I hear noises coming from downstairs. I awkwardly make my way down to the kitchen. I walk down the steps and down the long hallway, noticing there is not one picture hanging on the walls. I wonder why that is, then I remind myself I shouldn’t care about anything involving Nate. The hallway opens to the kitchen and dining room area on one side and the family room on the other.
Two big floor-to-ceiling windows are on either side of the fireplace that has a television mounted above it, facing the light gray couch with a circle ottoman in the middle on a light gray plush rug. “Good morning,” I mumble when I turn and see Nate behind the island starting the coffee. He is wearing shorts and a T-shirt. His hair sticking up from sleep. “Did I wake you?” I ask him and then the sound of scratching makes me look past the dining room table that is right in front of the kitchen, toward the back door where Whiskey is waiting to come in.
I walk to the door and open, the cold air sweeping in as soon as I open it and he comes in. “It’s freaking cold out there.” I shiver, as Whiskey steps inside. He excitedly goes around my legs in a circle and then between them, his tail slapping me at the same time. “Good morning,” I greet him, leaning down and rubbing his soft neck. “I guess it isn’t too cold for you out there,” I mention when I touch the cool air clinging to his fur. “What time is it?” I look up to see Nate leaning against the back counter, one hand outstretched beside him while the other hand holds a cup of coffee in his hand.
“Almost nine.”
“Shit.” I get up. “I slept for twelve hours.”
“Just about,” he says as I walk toward the dark-gray, almost black, island with the double sinks in the middle of it. “I take it the bed was comfortable.”
I nod at him. “I woke up with Baby Cat on my head,” I tell him and he smirks.
“He feels comfortable with you,” he replies to me. “He has never gone in that room before.”
“Good to know,” I mumble. “I thought I was sleeping on his bed at one point.”
“Would you like coffee?” he asks me.
I pull out one of the light-gray fabric stools and slide on it. “I would love coffee,” I answer him as he walks over to the side counter right next to the fridge, where the coffee machine is. Opening the cabinet right on top, he grabs a mug before filling it. “Milk?” he asks me, and I nod my head as he walks to his white fridge with brass handles, pulling it open. The fridge and stove are the same color, matching the top cabinets, but the bottom cabinets are a soft walnut color. The black counters and the backsplash make the colors brighter. Whiskey walks into the kitchen, following Nate around before lying at his feet.
He hands me the coffee and I reach out for it. “Do you want a robe?” he asks me, and my eyebrows pinch together.
“A robe?” I ask him confused as he looks around me but not at me.
