Chapter 27 The （not so） Happy Holidays #3
“Merry Christmas, Ty.”
“Merry Christmas, Matt.”
“Merry Christmas, Fat Santa,” they said in unison.
“It’s Gary, you fucking assholes.”
* * * * *
Jordan exhaled a breath of relief when the cab stopped in front of her parents’ house.
She was exhausted. Her flight had been delayed and she’d spent last night in the airport.
A part of her was grateful for the misfortune.
It was a worthy excuse for her red, puffy eyes.
One good cry was evidently not sufficient for her poor heart.
Tyler called a few times a day. She had no idea why. She’d given him an opportunity to say what he wanted to say and he’d said nothing. Having a conversation with him would only keep things bouncing back and forth between them. It had been going on for months and she was ready to end it now.
Her dad was already on the porch waiting for her when she hopped out of the cab. He walked down the stairs, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. “Hey, baby girl.”
She enjoyed the comforting dad-hug for a short moment before she pulled away. “Hi, Daddy.”
He helped her carry her bags inside and she was grateful that he didn’t ask about Tyler. She wouldn’t be so lucky with her mother and brothers.
After a quick catch up with her dad, she walked down the corridor to Kevin’s man-cave.
Apart from one text to say he’d arrived safely back home, she hadn’t heard from him and she wanted confirmation that he was okay.
She slowly opened the door. He was still sleeping so she approached the bed quietly.
Leaning over, she planted a kiss on his forehead.
An arm came out from under the covers and wrapped around her neck.
“Merry Christmas, Jo-jo.”
“Merry Christmas, Bink.”
He sat up and rubbed a hand over his scruffy jaw. “Thanks for everything. I really appreciate what you did for me. You don’t know how much it means to me.”
She didn’t ask why he’d needed her help to get back home. He probably wouldn’t tell her anyway, so instead she smiled and gave him another hug. “That’s what big sisters are for.”
He smiled and dropped back into bed. She took that as her cue to leave. All she wanted to do was go to her old room and catch up on some sleep, but she had a bribe to pay. A sponge cake with strawberry frosting.
“Hi, mom,” she said, entering the kitchen. She gave her a quick kiss and decided to combat any and all questions in one go. “Tyler isn’t here. Don’t ask why. Don’t ask what happened. And don’t give me a speech about how Aquarians need to be more sensitive to the complex emotions of a Pisces.”
Mom smiled. “Okay, baby.”
Her mother continued cooking as Jordan ate breakfast and after the ice-cream filled a small void in her soul, she felt like she was ready to start baking.
She had just placed all the ingredients on the table on the other side of the large kitchen when Danny came rushing in.
“Sorry, Mommy Jess. I completely overslept.”
“Don’t worry about it,” her mother responded with a laugh. “Did you and Max have a good night’s sleep?”
That question caused frustration for Jordan for two reasons.
One, her parents were old-school and yet they’d allowed Max and Danny to share a room together.
Sure, Danny had spent the last six Christmases with them, but that wasn’t a good enough reason.
Parents were always more lenient with boys, because her dad would never have allowed that with Tyler.
Although she wanted to slap herself for that thought, she swiftly pushed her mind to her second point of frustration.
Max and Danny’s relationship was based on a lie and she felt sick just thinking about it. Lies always ended in disaster. She was living proof of that. And as much as she loved her brother, she wasn’t going to stand for him doing it. If Max hadn’t told Danny the truth yet, she was going to make him.
“Merry Christmas, Danny,” Jordan called from the other side of the kitchen.
“And to you too, Jordan,” she replied with a smile.
She began chopping vegetables. It was the only thing she could be trusted to do in the kitchen. Danny was a sweetheart. She always tried to help out where she could, but she was the worst cook in the world and Mom wouldn’t allow her near a stove.
“How’s work?” Jordan asked as she started with the batter.
“Great,” Danny responded. “I started my own company. Events planning and I love it.”
She was about to ask for more details when the back door opened.
“Tommy, I said no more chocolates!” Shane came in with his sons, Tommy and Tucker, following in behind him. “Now go to the living room and bother your mother.” Both children stomped their feet as they left the kitchen. “God, those kids are jerks!” Shane said when they were out of earshot.
“Must be a sign of good parenting,” Jordan teased.
“I told Debbie one was enough and what did she say? A child shouldn’t grow up alone, so now we have two jerks.”
“Shane Eldrick,” Mom shouted from the other side. “I will not have you calling my grandsons such names.”
“You raised me to be honest, Ma. I only speak the truth.” He turned back to Jordan. “I see you’re busy this Christmas morning.”
“Fuck off,” she mouthed.
“Make sure there’s a good layer of frosting.” He ruffled her hair and walked out of the kitchen.
Danny and her mother continued chatting, but Jordan kept to herself, not wanting to really talk to anyone about anything.
That was short-lived, though. Max came into the kitchen and after giving a quick kiss to the other two woman, he slowly made his way towards her. She already knew what was coming.
“Don’t even think about it,” she warned.
He didn’t care. His arm wound tightly around her neck and he forced her down into a choke hold. He was such a moron.
“Don’t be a sissy and complain to Mom,” he whispered in her ear.
She threw a fist into his stomach, hard enough for him to gasp.
“Ow.”
“Who’s the sissy now?”
She adjusted her glasses and continued mixing the cake batter. “You didn’t respond to my text.”
“How does one respond to a picture of two turtles humping?”
She giggled. When she’d sent him that message, she hadn’t expected him to respond. She’d just needed the distraction from Tyler. And at that second, Tyler’s lies reminded her of Max’s lies. She kept her voice low and nodded her head towards Danny. “So does she know the truth now?”
“Yeah. It got really bad before it got good again. And now it’s…perfect.”
That was a relief and nothing made her happier than knowing her brother was happy. “I’m glad. You guys are great together.”
“Where’s your boss?”
She should have sent out a memo to the whole family to tell them that questions about Tyler were off limits. “Well, he’s obviously not here,” she answered abruptly. “I told you, it was nothing serious.”
“What happened?”
That question was too loaded for her liking.
Two much had happened. Two dates with two lies which led to two make-out sessions which led to two months of frustration.
After that there was bliss when two completely incompatible people finally came together.
But then he broke her heart…twice. Two times she’d found out he’d been with Trisha.
Two times she’d asked how he felt about her.
And after all that, only one of them was in love.
She shrugged, tilting the mixing bowl to pour the batter into a baking pan. “It just didn’t work out,” she whispered.
Tears were on the way. She needed to pull herself together before she burst out crying.
She opened the oven and placed the pan inside, subtly rubbing her cheek against her shoulder to get rid of the rogue tear that had escaped.
She didn’t know if Max noticed because he remained quiet, but she could sense he had more questions and she didn’t want to answer them right now.
“Mom,” Kevin shouted from outside the kitchen, “I’m going to Momma B’s.”
“Sure, honey,” Mom yelled back. “Just be back before lunch.”
Jordan was grateful for the distraction and quickly changed the subject. She walked over to the island counter and began chopping vegetables beside Danny. “How’s Bink doing, Ma?”
“I was telling Max last night, he’s doing a lot better.
He came back from his road trip completely different.
He talks to me a lot more. He’s been going over to see Momma B a lot and it seems like he’s made peace with Perry’s death, but something else is troubling him.
He gets so depressed sometimes, but you know Kevin.
He doesn’t talk about it. He just sits in front of his computer, staring at it all the time, Facepaging and twittering. ”
Max chuckled and Jordan had to pull her lips in to stop herself from laughing at her mother’s ridiculous wording.
“Sometimes ’til two, three in the morning,” her mother continued. “I just leave him be.”
Knowing the type of person Kevin was, that didn’t make sense at all. “Momma, Kevin hates social media,” Jordan said. “If it wasn’t for Perry and the swim-team, he wouldn’t even have an account.”
“Maybe he’s got a girlfriend,” Danny suggested.
Jordan and Max both laughed at the idea.
The idea was laughable. Kevin didn’t have girlfriends.
He had girls on a dating rotation schedule.
None of them ever got past three months and even then he barely put in any effort.
Facepaging and twittering were things he didn’t entertain in general and Jordan was sure that he definitely wouldn’t do it for a girl.
Max left the kitchen. He hated discussions involving Kevin’s lady friends. Max was under the absurd notion that sex should be shared between two people who love each other and he just didn’t approve of Kevin’s lifestyle.
“Maybe you’re right,” her mother said to Danny. “Maybe he does have a girlfriend…or at least an ex-girlfriend. He hasn’t said anything, but there’s a log out there named Jasmin and it’s got quite a few nails in it. It must have ended badly.”