Blending Christmas

December 30th

December 30th - Alison

When she woke, she was alone. She jumped out of bed, but Bryan wasn't downstairs. It surprised her, because he was always up first. She was making coffee when she heard him come in from outside. His cheeks were rosy, and he was smiling at her, but his eyes had lost their sparkle.

"I was shoveling. Who digs out the hydrants?"

"The guys in the ambulance usually come around and do them."

He smiled. "You mean the EMTs. I did them a favor and shoveled out the one on this street. You need to make sure you have both exits shoveled out."

She smiled because he couldn't help worrying about safety. "Here have some coffee. You must be cold."

Their fingers brushed, as she handed him a mug. They looked into each other's eyes each lost in their own thoughts. Bryan spoke first. "I checked and the flight's on-time. I'll need to get Sam up soon."

"Don't worry. He'll be fine once he gets back home. I don't think we've scarred him for life."

Bryan just shook his head. She imagined he had a lot to say about Cole, but he had kept his mouth shut. Even with his last stunt, he had been very accepting of her son. Meanwhile, she was thinking of her son as a spoiled brat, and as his mother, she took some blame. She had overcompensated for him being stuck with parents who didn't love each other. Meanwhile, Sam had a worse fate, and he wasn't spoiled at all. Bryan was the better parent, which was why he had to put his son first, and she had his ring in a drawer and not on her finger.

She woke Cole up to tell him to watch his sister, but she didn't even make him say goodbye. Keira threw herself at Bryan and Sam telling them both how much she would miss them. Alison turned away from the vision of Bryan hugging her daughter. It was just too painful.

She offered to park, but Bryan told her not to bother. She climbed out of the car at the curb. She didn't hug Sam, but she clung to Bryan not wanting to let go. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sam staring down at his feet.

Bryan whispered. "Remember, I love you."

Then they reluctantly pulled themselves apart, and she watched as they walked away from her. It surprised her when Sam looked back and gave her a reluctant wave.

Somehow she made it back home safely and hid in her room until she had the strength to talk to Cole. Eventually, she sent Keira out to play in the snow and sat Cole down.

"I hope you're happy with yourself."

"What?"

"Come on, Cole. You did everything you could to make Sam feel unwanted. And Bryan. Do you know through his entire visit he didn't say a single unkind thing about you? You worried he wasn't a nice guy. You were the only one who wasn't nice."

"I couldn't just like a kid I didn't know."

"You never tried to know him."

"He didn't try either."

"Maybe because you made him feel unwelcome. Keira didn't and Sam was nice to her."

"That's his problem because she's an annoying little brat."

"No Cole, the only one acting like a brat was you. Now give me your phone and your iPad and your new watch!"

"What!"

"You're not allowed in the den either."

"What am I supposed to do?" He was shocked.

"Read a book. Go play with your sister in the snow, I don't care."