Chapter 10 #2
“Wait, wait, wait…divorce? Divorce? As in Mom and Dad are getting divorced?”
Uh-oh…
“Didn’t you know? She’s been calling me and talking about it for almost two weeks now!”
“No, I didn’t know, Lucas! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I thought you knew! Jeez! This family is seriously the worst with communications!”
“Does Kat know?”
“How should I know? I thought you knew!”
“Okay, okay, okay…we need to get on a group call and talk about this. When did this happen and why? And where’s Dad? Maybe I should talk to him.”
“Dad is currently down in Miami buying a yacht,” he stated. “A yacht that he plans on decorating for some sort of Christmas boat pageant and he’s going to get pictures taken with a bikini model.”
“What?! Does Mom know?”
“No, but she’s been sending him pictures of all the hot young guys at the resort and telling him how much fun she’s having with them.
I’m telling you, Anna; it’s awful. And neither of them is coming home for Christmas.
So, on top of everything else, we’re all going to be alone for the holidays.
Well, you and Kat won’t, because you’re married and have families of your own. ”
“You could too if you’d find a nice girl and settle down,” she murmured.
“Can we please focus on one family issue at a time? My love life is not the problem right now!”
“You’re right. Sorry. So…what are we all supposed to do?”
“About the holidays or Mom and Dad?”
“Mom and Dad! Have you tried getting the two of them to talk?”
“I have, but neither is willing. Dad canceled the company Christmas party—the one we have at the house every year—and pretty much let everyone know it was Mom’s fault. He’s allowing us to throw some token version at the office or something.”
“I don’t see what the big deal is with that in the grand scheme of things. It’s just a party.”
“Yeah, but it was a big deal to all our employees, and to Mom. She feels neglected, but so does Dad. And, maybe it’s crazy, but…
I’m planning on throwing the party here at the house.
I couldn’t get Mom’s party planner or her decorator or caterer, but I’m pulling things together with the help of someone from the office. ”
“Really, Lucas? That’s what you’re focusing on? Our family is falling apart and you’re thinking about a party?”
“I think the party could be the thing to bring everyone together,” he explained.
“I’m going to get everything taken care of.
Then, a day or two before, I’m going to call each of them and tell them.
You know Mom’s going to freak out because I did it and everyone’s coming and she won’t want to be embarrassed and have people talking about her for not being here.
And Dad will be the same way. It’s his company, his house, and he’ll want to be here. ”
“I don’t know…”
“And if they don’t take the bait, I’ll mention that the other one is bringing a date.”
“No. Absolutely not. Then they’ll both show up with dates and that will turn into a whole other issue. We need another plan.”
That’s what he was afraid of.
“Yeah, that’s what I told Holly, too.”
“Holly? Who’s Holly?” she asked playfully. “Are you dating someone?”
“Again, my love life is not what we need to be focusing on. And Holly works for us. She’s the head of our payroll department.”
“The head of…oh! Oh! I’ve met her! Cute girl, super friendly, big fan of the party, right?”
“Um…yes. How did you know that?”
“We’ve met a few times at the party over the years, and every time I spoke to her, she gushed over how amazing Mom made everything. And she had a crazy, accurate memory. She remembered stuff about the house and the decorations and what I wore that I never remembered. Is she the one helping you?”
“She is. I wasn’t going to do it, but Lennon thought it would be good for me.”
“Why?”
“Because of everything going on and I was getting a crappy attitude about the holidays. The next thing I knew, Holly was in my office telling me she was going to help me put it all together.”
“And you didn’t get all of Mom’s contacts…why?”
“Apparently she books them months in advance, so by the time Holly started making calls…”
“Everyone’s calendars were full.”
“Exactly.” Pausing, he shook his head. “None of this is helping the situation with Mom and Dad. At least not yet. We need to get Kat in on it and then maybe we can all come up with an idea to get Mom and Dad in the same room together to talk.”
“I think the party is a great idea, Lucas. It’s just getting them there that I’m not really on board with.”
“I get it. Maybe Kat will have an idea.”
“Maybe. I hope so.” She sighed. “Damn, in a million years I never thought we’d be talking about Mom and Dad splitting up. It doesn’t seem real.”
“I know. And if even one of them were home, it would make things so much easier. Right now, they’re acting like a couple of greedy brats.”
“Why greedy?”
Lucas explained about their parents’ quests to win cash and prizes over the holidays.
“It’s not like they can’t afford these things on their own,” he reasoned. “Why they’re suddenly obsessed with winning is beyond me.”
“Because they’re losing everything else, dummy! Why are men so clueless?”
“Hey! No need to be insulting.”
“You’re right. Sorry. It was just obvious to me, that’s all.”
“Yeah, well…it wasn’t to me because I’ve been too busy trying to stop them from making the biggest mistakes of their lives.”
“Okay, but…is it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean…people get divorced all the time. If they’re both unhappy, then don’t they deserve to find people who make them happy?”
“Anna, you’re oversimplifying it. Yes, they both deserve to be happy. But shouldn’t they try to work out their issues first and maybe learn to go back to being happy with each other?”
“Depends on why they’re unhappy in the first place. There could be things going on that neither of us knows about, and maybe shouldn’t know about.”
“Like what?”
“Ew, Lucas, seriously? Would you want to know if they’re not happy with their sex lives?”
“Oh my God! Why? Why would you even say something like that?” He shuddered.
“Because that’s the sort of Pandora box we could be opening. So…remember that.”
“Ugh…just…” Another shudder. “Call Kat and let's set up a time to do a video chat, okay?” You know I’m home most nights after six.”
“The kids all have activities going on. It’s easier to talk during the day. Can’t you take an hour at work for this?”
Since he didn’t have kids, he didn’t know if she made that up or not, but it was easier to give in than to argue with her.
“Sure. Text me some date and time options and I’ll make sure to clear my calendar so we can talk.”
“Perfect! I’ll text you later on. I need to go. Asher is blowing bubbles in the dog’s face and he is not amused.”
That made him laugh softly. “Have fun with that, and we’ll talk soon.”
“Yes, we will. Love you!”
“Love you too. Bye!”
Tossing the phone aside, he seriously considered maybe throwing it in the lake so no one could reach him.
In the distance, he heard the front door open and close.
“Lucas?” Holly called out as she made her way into the living room. She smiled when she spotted him. “Hey, would you mind if I made some hot cocoa for Henry and his crew? It’s awfully chilly out, and I thought it would be a nice way to help them warm up a bit.”
“You could invite them in if you’d like.”
“Oh, I already did, but Henry’s determined to get everything done and they’re close. I can’t wait for the sun to go down so we can see it all. When I leave to go home later, it’s going to be like driving away from a fairyland!”
“Um…okay?” He wasn’t sure how he felt about the whole fairyland comparison, but what did he know?
“Come on. Make cocoa with me and then come out and see how it’s all going!”
Following her into the kitchen, he realized she had managed to calm his frazzled nerves from just moments ago. She was an excellent influence on him and the more time they spent together, the more he found he liked about her.
Tomorrow they would be back in the office, and he had no idea what that was going to look like.
Typically, they didn’t spend any time together at work—at least, not until this last week when they started planning the party.
But now he was going to want to seek her out or ask her to lunch and he wasn’t sure what people were going to think of it.
But did he care about that?
“Should we bring out cookies too?” she asked, smiling brightly at him.
And that’s when he had his answer. He didn’t care what anyone thought. They were starting something special here and he didn’t care who knew it.