Chapter 17
Drake
I can hear giggling and footsteps a few feet away.
“Dada!” Priya yells, and I can see her now. Nia is holding her while she points at the door, eager to get to me. The door swings open with so much force, it hits the wall. I hear rapid, little feet, and seconds later, Carter jumps on the bed.
My eyes pop open in time to see Nia put our daughter on the bed. She crawls on top of me and whacks me on the forehead.
“Dada,” she says before she starts to kiss the side of my face.
Nia jumps on the bed too and I cringe. I know what she’s going to say. We’ve done this every Thanksgiving morning since our first year as husband and wife. “It’s time,” she screeches, elongating the word. “At least it will be tomorrow. Get up, Paradise, it’s Thanksgiving morning. ”
“Get up,” Carter says while he bounces on the bed. Priya claps her little hands and mimics her brother’s antics. Carter takes my hand and does his best to pull me out of bed.
Pixie runs in the room too and starts to bark while her tail shakes uncontrollably. The only one missing is Daddy Cat and that’s because she’s probably sleeping. Heaven forbid that cat doesn’t get her eighteen hours.
I sit up and sigh in faux defeat, but the truth is, I would not trade this for anything in the world. I pick up my daughter and hug her. She responds by whacking me in the forehead again.
“Okay! Let’s walk the dog, then Daddy will make breakfast. We must be at Grandma’s house by noon.” After that, we’ll go to Nia’s parents’ house since they eat later.
“We look ridiculous,” I say to my wife. I've pulled into my mother’s garage and am taking Priya out of her car seat. Of course, she’s already fallen asleep during the twenty-minute ride here. “Every year, you manage to find more ridiculous-looking clothes for us to wear.”
She smirks at me and doesn’t bother to respond. I’ve been complaining about our matching sweaters since she showed them to me. In fact, I’ve been complaining about our holiday outfits since our first holidays as husband and wife.
“Come on, baby,” she says to Carter. He unbuckles himself and hops out of his booster seat.
Holding Priya, I follow Nia and Carter to the front door.
The moment we step inside, my sister, Hannah, takes Priya from me. Carter drops Nia’s hand and runs to the back of the house, looking for his grandma or uncle .
I remember the first time Nia and Carter came here for lunch. I don’t think Nia was prepared for how formal meals at my family home can be. She must be used to it now because this dinner won’t be any different. Our meals are served by the staff, and when we’re done, we leave and they clean up. I don’t think Nia’s ever seen my mother do something as basic as make a sandwich.
We’re barely in the entryway before a server approaches with a tray of drinks. I help Nia with her coat, and after taking off my own, Hannah snickers at us. Her snicker turns to uncontrollable giggles when she takes off Priya’s coat and sees her matching turkey sweater.
“Stop frowning, Drake. You guys look adorable,” Hannah says. I look down and my frown deepens. Nia extends her hand to me, and I take it. That gets the frown off my face. I swipe a glass of water along the way for Nia and take a flute of champagne for myself.
“I guess no one is going to poison you today,” I whisper to my wife. We go through the house and into the family room. There are family pictures all along the walls. There are professional as well as candid shots, and in most of them, my father’s presence can’t be missed.
I avoid the pictures, and I know Nia does too. I’m grateful that she doesn’t balk about coming to this house. When we get to the family room, Carter is giggling in my mom’s arms as she plants endless kisses on his cheeks.
“My favorite boy,” she says between kisses.
“Well, that hurts,” Langley says as he walks in.
Mom lets Carter go, and he runs to Langley.
“Did you bring me your list?” Langley asks.
“Mason helped me write it. He’s a good speller,” Carter says about his cousin. He pulls a folded piece of paper out of his pants pocket and gives it to Langley, who opens it. He lets out a loud whistle as if the list is too much.
“My favorite part about this list is that Mason has his own section,” he says with a chuckle. He turns the paper over. “And Kyle too.”
Langley hands Carter his phone, and while my son is distracted by that, I approach my brother and say, “If you get my son another pet…” I leave the threat unfinished.
“Don’t come between me and my nephew,” he says and walks away, and Carter follows behind him.
I know well and good Langley is going to do whatever the hell he wants when it comes to my kids.
“So,” my mom says taking Priya from Hannah. “I love the matching turkey sweaters.” She kisses Priya’s fat cheeks. “And don’t forget, we are trimming the tree on Sunday. Be here by two. We’re gonna trim, eat, and have some family time.”
I want to groan, but I don’t. We’re putting our tree up tomorrow, going back to Nia’s parents’ Saturday, and back here on Sunday. By the time Monday rolls around, I’ll already be sick of Christmas, but the kids love it. My wife does too, and there’s nothing I love more than making them happy.
Servers come around with appetizers and drinks. We eat, talk, and laugh like a normal family. Holidays were always a big deal in this house. My parents went all out, and it was always a great time. The first year after my dad passed and Carter and Nia were part of this family, I know Mom only celebrated because of Carter. He was instrumental in getting her out of her funk.
“Is Santa coming back?” Carter asks.
“He sure is. I’m going to talk to him in a few days. I’ll let your parents know when.”
Carter looks at her in awe. “You talk to Santa? ”
“Oh, yes. We talk every year.” Langley snorts at the lie, and Mom’s head whips around to look at him. He sobers up under her stern glare. “And Uncle Langley better not end up on the naughty list this year,” she warns.
When Langley was a kid, he was skeptical about Santa’s existence. When I was nine and he was seven, he decided Santa was made up by parents. He tried to convince me, but I wasn’t ready to hear it. He told four-year-old Hannah, who went crying to our father. Dad did not like that, and he gave Langley a lecture. A few days later, Santa showed up here. I remember that day, and the guy played the part so well that Langley, the cynic, believed again.
“And Kyle and Mason are always welcome here,” Mom says to Nia. “They don’t ever need an invitation.” Mom kisses Priya’s cheek again and stands with her in her arms. “Let’s talk,” she says to Nia.
Nia looks at me, and I shrug.
“So,” Langley says when my mother and Nia leave, “you don’t find it objectionable that our mother is lying to your kids about Santa?” I roll my eyes at him. “Uncle Langley is the real Santa.” He takes the folded piece of paper out of his pocket and waves it in my face. “And I need someone to tell Kyle that dragons are not real.”
I chuckle at that. He asks for that at every gift-giving occasion.
“So, what’s up, Hannah?” I ask my sister. “Any word on your residency yet?”
“We don’t find out until the end of March,” she whispers.
She looks at me, then in the direction our mother went. With Carter still wrapped around her, she walks to me and Langley. “I’m having second thoughts,” she whispers. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life around sick people. ”
Langley snorts. “Then you might want to rethink the whole doctor thing.” Hannah whacks him upside the head.
“I want to work for our family company,” she confesses.
“Then why the hell did you go to medical school?” Langley asks.
I want to know the answer to that myself, so I stay quiet.
“I don’t know. I love science, but I don’t want to do it for a living. I’m not ready to tell Mom yet, so be quiet.” She stares at Langley when she says that.
“I’d love to have you. Paradise Construction is your legacy, and you’re a hundred times smarter than Langley.” Langley takes Carter from Hannah, and my sister hugs me.
“Let’s table this until the new year,” she whispers just as my mother and Nia return.