Chapter 26
twenty-six
MADDOX
This week has been shit, and I’m turning into the Christmas Grinch.
It all started on Monday when Ruby and I fought about Joel, and it progressively got worse after that. Especially, when I got a call from my sister on Wednesday yelling at me for making her best friend upset. It didn’t matter what I said, it was the wrong thing. Apparently, we can think what we think about Joel and Ruby, but we’re not actually supposed to tell them what we think. I don’t get that girl logic but I promised Sabbi, in the future, I would keep my mouth shut. Then we made arrangements to have dinner with the family at the Powder Room on Friday night and now, here we are.
I’m sitting next to Cass and she’s telling Mom, Dad, and me all about how Braydon Jayden—yep, that’s this kid’s name—got a pet hedgehog, named Mario the Hedgehog, and her mom, who just got massive stink eye across the table from her daughter, is being a “big meanie head” and won’t let her have one.
The sound of someone gasping garners my attention and when I look up, I see Reindeer standing beside the hostess. She looks shocked to see me but she quickly schools it when my sister jumps up. The two of them hug like long-lost friends who haven’t seen each other in forever and not just a few weeks ago. “I can’t believe you’re getting married in two days’ time.”
“I know. It’s come up so fast,” she tells Sabbi.
She looks gorgeous tonight. She’s wearing a stunning black number that highlights her tits and curves. Her hair is dead straight and it hangs over her shoulders.
“You got something on your chin,” Eamon says, garnering my attention.
Lifting my hand, I wipe at my chin but there’s nothing there. When I look to Eamon, he has a smirk on his face and his gaze flicks from Reindeer to me and back again.
Scowling at him, I shake my head, stand up, and walk over to the bar. I order myself a beer and a glass of red for Reindeer. With our drinks in hand, I walk back to the table and place the glass in front of her. “Thanks,” she says with a smile. It’s the first time she’s smiled at me in over a week, and she’s never looked more beautiful.
Taking my seat again, Cass continues to tell me all about Braydon’s hedgehog. I listen to her blabber on and on but my gaze and attention is on the woman across from me, who is doing everything she can not to look at me.
Her phone rings and she excuses herself to take it. “Joel, where are you?” she hisses into the phone as she steps away from the table.
“That buttface better not be standing her up,” my sister snarls, her eyes locked on her best friend.
“Buttface, really?” I tease my sister as I sip on my beer.
“I’m trying to curb my swears in front of the girls.”
“And how’s that going?”
“Well, considering Monique called a boy at school a,” she leans across the table and whispers, “‘fuckfaced, pin-dicked weasel’ not very well at all.”
Throwing my head back, I let out a belly laugh but it quickly evaporates when suddenly, Sabbi pushes her chair back and races over to a visibly upset Reindeer; Joel isn’t coming.
When Reindeer comes back, the mood around the table is somber. She’s throwing back glasses of red wine like they’re soda pop. Seems she’s drinking her feelings tonight. Sabbi manages to get her to eat something, but she’s already on her way to a massive hangover tomorrow.
Mom and Dad take the girls back to the cottage they’re sharing with Sabbi and Eamon, and now the adults are going to have some kid-free time. Which, knowing my sister, will involve a quickie in the restroom with her husband.
She and Eamon are couple goals and, one day, I hope to have a love like the two of them … but it won’t be with Ruby Olsen because in two days, she’s marrying another man.
The girls are in the bathroom together and while we wait for our drinks, Eamon pounces. “You have two days to man up, Maddox, and then you’ll have missed your chance.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I tell him, but that’s all I have been able to think about all night long, ever since Joel cancelled on Reindeer, again. Actually, if I’m honest, it’s all I’ve been able to think about since that door swung open when I first got back to town, and Reindeer was standing there.
“You keep telling yourself that, buddy, but for what it’s worth, I’ve been rooting for the two of you for years.”
“What?” I ask, shocked at his words.
“Blind Freddie can see you two have the hots for one another.”
“She’s about to marry another man, not sure she has the hots for me.”
“Dude, the way she looks at you is how your sister looks at me. In all the times I have seen her with Joel, not once have I seen her look at him the way she looks at you.”
“What are we talking about?” Sabbi says when she rejoins us.
“Nothing,” Eamon and I voice at the same time. She eyes us suspiciously but she doesn’t push the subject.
“Where’s Ruby?” Eamon asks.
“She’s chatting with Mayor Sanchez. He was asking her about some books for Mrs. Sanchez for Christmas.” Sabbi laughs. “Even though she’s three sheets to the wind, bookstore owner Rubes is present and she’s chatting away happily. It’s the first time she’s been happy since that fuckfaced, pin-dicked weasel?—”
“I thought the kid correct term is butthead?” I interrupt her.
“Ohh, he’s that too,” she growls.
“So he’s a butthead, fuckfaced, pin-dicked weasel?”
“Who’s a butthead, fuckfaced, pin-dicked weasel?” Reindeer asks as she joins us.
“Ohh, umm, the doorstep pooper.”
“But I thought Dennis got him?”
“He did but the guy is still a butthead, fuckfaced, pin-dicked weasel. Who does that?”
“Clearly butthead, fuckfaced, pin-dicked weasels do,” Sabbi adds with a chuckle.
“I find it hilarious he did it to Dennis. Of all the houses in town to do it to, you don’t do it to a sheriff’s deputy.”
“Dennis was pissed, that’s for sure. I’ve never seen him so angry before.”
“Well, wouldn’t you be if someone set a bag of shit on fire on your front steps?” Reindeer throws back at me, her hand on her cocked hip. She’s looking at me in a way that’s supposed to be menacing but due to her drunkenness, she looks cute.
“Touché,” Eamon agrees .
“And don’t get me started on Drew. He was just as pissed because Dennis was the one to catch the door stoop pooper. He’d put in so many hours investigating the incidents, and all it took was a kid shitting at the wrong house to be caught.”
“Guess that kid will be having a shitty Christmas,” Sabbi says, laughing like a hyena at her own joke.
“Okay, giggles, should we get out of here?” he says to his wife.
“I’m not drunk,” she states, and I think she’s right. I’ve seen my sister at her worst and, right now, I reckon she’d pass a field sobriety test.
“I have a bottle of tequila at my place?” I offer, not wanting the night to end just yet. Even though Reindeer is still giving me the stink eye, it’s nice to hang with her, my sister, and Eamon.
“Yes,” Sabbi shouts, fist pumping the air.
Reindeer reluctantly agrees with a nod. We settle the bar tab and head outside toward my truck. I only had a few beers with dinner so I’m good to drive. We’re walking over to my truck when Reindeer stops and grunts. Turning to face her, I note her face has paled and she doesn’t look well. Before any of us have a chance to ask if she’s okay, she vomits in the parking lot. The smell of it sets Sabbi off and the two of them begin to vomit in unison.
Now, Eamon and I are left to deal with two throwing-up women, just as it starts to snow.
We manage to get the spewing duo into the back of my truck, and I threaten both of them with death if either of them throws up in my car. I drop Eamon and Sabbi off first and help him get my now comatose sister inside.
Climbing back in, I look at Reindeer in the back, her head rests against the window and she’s staring into space. Putting the truck into gear, I head toward her place. Pulling into her driveway, I glance backward and see during the drive here, she passed out. Her head has dropped forward and cute little snores come from her. Worry slams into me that she may throw up and choke in her sleep, so I make the decision to take her back to my place so I can watch over her. Leaning into the back, I lay her down across the back seat and kiss her on the forehead before I take her back to my place.