Christmas Lights

4.

"She's lovely."

I turned from my spot in the window where I watched Meredith playing catch in the yard with the kids, she said something about letting them run around after a long car ride. I smiled at my mother's gleaming smile as she came to stand beside me.

"Thanks." I said "She is...pretty."

"She's very nice too." She said "Seems like a good mother—how come you never mentioned the children?"

"I um...I didn't?" I played dumb "Funny, thought for sure I did."

"No." she frowned as if she could see through me "Anyway, they're good kids."

I did my best not to snort as I was reminded of the car ride up here—perhaps if she'd been there she'd have a different perspective. Although, once Meredith started the games it did get better...I'd lie if I said I didn't have a little fun too.

"Yeah." I smiled "They are."

"You should go out and play with them."

"I um.." I suddenly backed away from the window "I've got stuff to put away."

"Oh." She nodded "Yes, I'm sorry I could only give the four of you one room. I hope that's alright?"

"Of course." I gulped, though I had yet to break that news to Meredith...something told me I'd be sleeping on the floor. "Well, don't forget that dinner starts in an hour."

"I'll be back down by then."

I climbed the large pine staircase and followed the hall down to the second room on my left where I'd carried the suitcases into earlier. I sighed as I closed the door behind me and shut my eyes to breathe in the woodsy smell of the place I'd practically grown up in. I still remembered my dad and I building it, promising we'd spend every summer and holiday in our dream lodge. I felt a knot tighten in my throat as I opened my eyes and banished the memory from my mind. I went to work on putting clothing away in dressers and making the bed and cots on the floor for whomever got assigned what bed. I was so lost in not having any thoughts about my dad that I didn't hear the door open behind me.

"I would lecture you right now about the no sex thing." I heard her voice and jumped around to see her leaning in the doorway "But apparently the kids are rooming with us too."

"Ma told you." I sighed in defeat "I'm sorry, I'll sleep on the floor if you want me to."

"I'm an adult." She rolled her eyes "I'm sure you are too, though I have my doubts. Surely we can sleep on the same mattress and behave ourselves."

"Yeah." I mumbled as I sank down onto the mattress. She walked over and sat down next to me and sighed. "So what now?"

"Your mother is very kind." She said "But she asks a lot of questions."

"She's impossibly nosy."

"You are her son." She said "She wants to know how you're doing...I get that."

"She's overly-curious."

"Exactly." She nodded "So I need to know your plan."

"My plan?" I asked clueless.

"The plan." She said "So we're on the same page with the questions..about our relationship." She used air quotes around the word relationship, and suddenly I felt panic, she rolled her eyes "And you have no plan."

"Shit." I hissed "I have no plan."

"Alright." I sighed "How about we're us. You're the chief, and I'm the admitting geek and we ran into each other in the cafeteria on a hot Tuesday in June when the air conditioning went out and everyone flocked to the cafeteria for ice cream." I folded my brow as I looked at her precariously, she stopped and rolled her eyes at me "What, I have two kids who love bedtime stories, you learn to be creative."