13. Dom
Chapter thirteen
Dom
D ee’s singing Christmas carols proudly, inserting perverted lyrics in place of the real ones, obviously, while hanging stockings on festive hooks above our fireplace.
I can’t hold in my laughter and I struggle to keep my grip on the trunk of the artificial Christmas tree as I try—and fail—to secure it in the base.
“Dammit, Dom. Just shove it in.” Aiden grunts, frustration evident in his tone as he holds the top of the tree steady.
“Babe, stop hitting on Dom,” Bec calls from where she’s placing garland and tiny string lights Ellie said we needed along the built-in bookshelves on both sides of the fireplace.
“I’m not hitting on him,” Aiden mutters.
“What did I say about threesomes?” Bec asks.
“Uh…did we talk about threesomes?” Aiden responds hesitantly.
“No, but it seems like a good time to mention that Dom isn’t invited to participate in one,” Bec says.
“Excuse me, I’m giving the performance of a lifetime over here. You guys are really stealing my thunder with your bickering,” Dee whines .
“Okay, little ears are returning to the room now, so if we could sing Christmas carols with the normal lyrics and stop talking about threesomes, that’d be great,” Ellie says, Luca propped on one of her hips as she, Carissa, and Jake bring in a handful of Christmas ales and hand them out to everyone.
“I’d like to say that’s going to be the worst thing he ever hears from me…but I have a hard time remembering to filter myself. Apologies in advance for when he starts school. You can tell his teacher it’s my fault,” Dee says, giving Ellie a salute. “I’ll send them a bottle of wine to make up for it.”
It’s the first weekend in November, meaning it’s officially Christmas season in Ellie’s world. And since I live in Ellie’s world, that means Christmas is about to throw up all over our home. Thankfully, our friends are always willing to help out, and everything will be in place weeks before our annual Friendsgiving party.
I finally slot the base of the tree into the stand and rise from my crouched position, giving my back a quick stretch.
Everyone is busy with their Ellie-assigned task, milling around the living room and kitchen.
Abby, Bec, and Ellie start pulling tree ornaments out of their protective packaging. Luca reaches across Ellie’s chest trying to get his hands on the fragile bulbs.
“On second thought, maybe we only put durable ornaments on the bottom of the tree and a few fragile favorites near the top,” Ellie says. Luca starts to fuss, frustrated his mom won’t let him play with a glass snowman.
“You got a point there. Here, do you need a minute?” Abby asks, offering her arms to take Luca, which Ellie gratefully takes her up on, freeing both of her hands to grab several large, soft bows made of gold ribbon and place them along the base of the Christmas tree.
Those are about to become Luca’s favorite toys. Should take about ten minutes before the bottom of the tree is bare and those are thrown to all different corners of the room.
Carissa, Dee, and Jake are at the kitchen table, arranging nine ceramic reindeer on a snowflake table runner .
Aiden joins Chris, and together they place small figurines of cottages, gazebos, snowmen, and fake snow along the mantel.
“Sorry, I’m late,” Dylan calls as he enters the room from the front hallway, a bottle of wine and six-pack in hand.
“Ugh, gross,” Dee says with a sigh.
“Good to see you, too, Deanna,” Dylan says, shaking the snow from his shaggy blond hair as he shoots a smirk her way.
“The displeasure is mine, per usual. Please tell me we can kick these guys out so we can finally talk about the holiday novella,” Dee begs the girls.
“Probably not a bad time for a break. Dom, can you order the pizza before we split?” Ellie asks me.
The guys and I have plans to catch the University of Columbus football game while the girls have their book club tonight. Obviously, Luca is joining the boys because my wife likes her books spicy, and therefore very not-child-friendly conversations are bound to take place.
You won’t find me complaining. I owe a lot of memorable nights to those books.
***
“Damn, I need to join book club,” Chris says as he exits the kitchen, eyes wide. “Babe, you would not believe the shit I just heard. I need a minute to process.”
“You don’t need them. You’ve got us. We’ll start our own book club and it’ll be a thousand times better than theirs,” Dylan says, a bitter edge to his tone.
“That reminds me. What’s going on with you and Dee? You two have never been at each other’s throats like this. It’s always seemed like good fun before, but now…” Jake’s voice drifts off, waiting for Dylan to fill us in.
“Trust me, there’s nothing more going on. Dee just…she’s always got to…” Dylan’s voice fades as he shoves his fingers through his hair.
“Uh-huh, sounds like a whole lot of nothing to me. Remind me to say I told you so when that nothing magically turns into something that pops out of nowhere and you finally admit you need our help. Don’t pull an Aiden and wait years to do it,” Jake says with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
“Hey, I got there eventually,” Aiden says around a mouthful of pizza.
“Yeah, and we’re still waiting for our thank-you card,” Chris says.
“What? The Aviator’s tickets and gear isn’t enough?”
“I just want to hear the words you were right . It’ll be the fuel I need to help Dylan when he finally admits he needs us.” Chris laughs and Jake pulls him in closer to his side.
Dylan scoffs and sips his beer before throwing his head back against the couch, eyes closed. “Trust me, when I have something to say about it, I will.”
I’m sitting on the floor with Luca, where he’s happily playing with his barn and farm animals. Ellie puts a lot of effort into finding toys that seem to interest Luca and help him with whatever stage of development he’s going through. She’s overly thoughtful, and I wonder if she realizes how she naturally thinks three steps ahead. Or maybe it’s not as effortless as it seems. Does her brain ever take a break?
I finally have the guys alone, and I don’t know how long we’ll have. I need to do this now.
We’re not entirely out of earshot of the girls, since we’re watching the game on the TV in our front room, so I keep my voice low. “I hate to derail an interrogation, especially on Dylan’s account, but before you intervene in his personal life, I need your help. Did you bring the goods?”
They stare at me.
“The goods?” Chris asks, eyebrow raised.
“Yeah, you know…the goods ,” I reiterate.
“You’re making it sound shady,” Dylan says. “But yeah, I brought the goods ,” he says with mirth, taking an envelope out of his back pocket and throwing it on the table. Luca’s eyes widen and he starts crawling in earnest to steal the exciting piece of paper. I swear, we have a thousand toys in this house, and he acts like he’d rather play with an envelope, a spatula, or a remote control. If we had known that, we could have saved some money. Thanks for nothing, Fisher-Price .
I quickly grab the envelope before Luca can swipe it and verify said goods are inside before holding out an expectant palm to the rest of the guys.
Chris, Jake, and Aiden slowly reach into whichever pocket they put the small pieces I need for this all to work.
God, I need this to work.
“Dom,” Chris says, eyes locked on mine. “I need you to know that this might be the most romantic gesture I’ve ever witnessed.”
“ Hey ,” Jake says defensively.
“And as your brother-in-law, I want to see you succeed,” Chris continues. “But I also need you to be careful.”
Huh? Be careful with what?
“Yeah, he’s right,” Aiden agrees. “You need to think about how you’re going tell Ellie about this.”
“Guys, I appreciate whatever it is you’re trying to do here, because it seems like your hearts are in the right place, and I’m grateful for your help, but let me put your minds at ease. I know my wife. I’ve seen this woman at her lowest of lows and highest of highs. I know her fears, I know her dreams, and I make it my responsibility to memorize every shift in those as we walk through life together. I’m the man she’s trusted to keep her safe. I’m the man who promised to love her and give her every bit of happiness she deserves in this life. I’m not going to stop doing those things until I stop breathing.”
“Damn, can I get that engraved on a ring?” Aiden asks quietly.
“We’re just saying,” Dylan adds with an unusual softness in his voice. “That it might not go exactly how you expect.”
“Ellie’s been through a lot, Dominic,” Jake says, full-naming me, for fuck’s sake.
“You’re acting as if I don’t know that,” I retort. As if I wasn’t fucking there.
Now I’m annoyed. This is supposed to be a good thing. Why are they saying this shit like I’m about to hurt Ellie instead of help her? This is all supposed to help her. Help us too .
“I don’t mean anything by it,” Jake says, leaning back in his chair, worry evident in his expression. “But what you guys went through…you can’t fix it with games and romantic gestures. It takes more than that.”
“I know what it’s going to take,” I say, bile rising in my throat, because… fuck, they might be right. “Look, this is just something I need to try, okay?” Even I can hear the uncertainty as my voice breaks.
Am I doing what I always do? Using big gestures, plans, and gifts to try to fill the void of something bigger? Something that can’t be fixed without burning it all down to the stumps first? Fuck, maybe I am.
“I’ll be careful when I tell her. Now, if you’re done trying to lecture me out of my great idea, I’ll take the rest of your pieces now,” I say with a grin, trying to will away the awkward concern reflected back at me with every bit of false confidence I can muster.
Because if I don’t believe this will work, then it won’t. And I refuse to sit by and watch my wife fade away. This is how I bring her back; I can feel it.