Twenty-Four>>>Two Players For Sons
I belong to one of those families. Oh, you know the type I’m talking about. The type of family who has a Christmas photograph from every year- everyone clad in matching cheesy sweaters and matching cheesy smiles.
Every year it’s the same. Every year Mom takes us all out to Sears and we buy new khakis and sweaters- no matter how old or how famous we are. I suppose it keeps our feet on the ground.
I’m standing surrounded by my six siblings and parents, grinning at Grandma Bea taking our picture on three different cameras. My fake smile isn’t fooling anyone, and dad reaches around me and pinches my side in an attempt to get me to laugh. I just shove him away lightly and mumble through my phony smile, “Stop Dad…”
When the flashes are finished we all separate throughout the house- going back to whatever we were doing before we were interrupted by the household photographers.
I wander back into the kitchen to pick stale marshmallows off of the ginger bread houses on the counter. As Zac tries to join me, Mom catches him.
“Zachary, quit it. Zoe and Arley worked on that. Don’t ruin it.”
I grin at him and stick out my tongue, grabbing another marshmallow as mom turns her back.
“Mom!” He gasps, pointing at me accusingly. “Do you see this? He’s worse than I am!”
She whips around and inspects us, then turning back to the dinner she is trying to prepare.
“Well, he didn’t get caught now did he?” She asks, preoccupied with checking the temperature of the turkey in the oven. I can hear the jolliness in her voice.
My entire family is greatly affected by the holiday season. We all suddenly become more sentimental, more loving, and nicer towards one another during Christmas. Perhaps that’s why I’ve always loved the holidays.
I rub it in by shooting Zac another grin and sticking my tongue out once more. Suddenly I feel someone’s hand on my lower back. I turn quickly to find myself face to face with Mary.
Mary is the beautiful wife of beautiful Arley, Isaac’s ex-girlfriend, and a close friend of the family. For awhile things were awkward between Mary and the rest of us- during the time period that Isaac and her were figuring out what do about Arley. When they found out about her they realized they loved the unborn baby, but that they didn’t love each other. Not like parents are supposed to. Even though Mary and Isaac aren’t together, she still joins us for most holidays.
“Is that new girlfriend of yours going to be here tonight?” Mary inquires, raising a curious eyebrow at me.
“I don’t know. Are you going to attack her with questions and scare her away?” I raise an eyebrow back.
“Of course,” she smiles, swatting at my hand as I reach for a marshmallow.
“Mary caught him!” Zac calls out to Mom, who in response shrugs her shoulders and closes the oven.
Zac grumbles in annoyance, muttering something. I can’t hear what he says but it has to be something about me being the spoiled favorite in the family. I puff my chest up and take great pride in being the spoiled one.
“She should be here any minute. I’m trying not to think about it because I’m kind of nervous for her to be around all these people at once,” I tell Mary.
She smiles, “And I just reminded you?”
“Thank you so much.”
“You are so welcome,” she smiles, patting my back and walking around the kitchen island to help Mom with dinner.
I glance nervously at the clock and cannot help but notice she’s 15 minutes late so far. I’m not surprised though because she warned me that she may be late coming from her family’s Christmas Eve dinner.
“How about your girlfriend, Zac?” Mary asks, busying herself with cutting carrots.
“I don’t really got a girlfriend right now.”
Mom frowns in his direction, “We’re paying 15,000 thousand dollars a year to have you go to a college that teaches you grammar like that?”
“I don’t really have a girlfriend right now,” he rolls his eyes.
“Your siblings always seem to mention you and the ladies, lately. No girlfriend, huh? Is that so…” Mary comments.
Zac shrugs, “No one official.”
Without thinking, it just slips out my mouth. “Just a bunch of screw buddies, right?”
Zac’s eyes fly open as I say it. I can tell he doesn’t know who to look at first: Mom to see her reaction or me to give me a threatening look.
“Taylor!” Mom gasps, “How crude!”
“I’m just joking!” I insist, giving Zac a sorry look when she turns her back. I really never did mean to say it. The thing is I am most certainly not joking. I know what goes on in my brother’s dorm room when his roommate is gone. And it’s enough to make me jealous. Perhaps that is why it slipped out.
“Yeah, thanks for making Mom think I’m a player, Tay,” Zac laughs, trying to laugh the whole conversation off.
Mom raises an eyebrow at Zac sternly, not a hint of a smile on her face, and goes back to making dinner. Mom may seem innocent and naïve when it comes to her boy’s sex lives, but you have to give her some credit. She knows the validity to my statement.
I never did hear the doorbell ring, but I hear someone yell from the living room, “Doorbell! Tay, it’s probably for you!”
I grab one last marshmallow, pop it into my mouth, and hurry to the front door. As I pull it open, there she is in a red blouse and the same black pants I have become to accustom too. I think it’s the only dressy pants she has.
“Merry Christmas!” I greet her, pulling her into a tight hug.
“Someone’s in a good mood!” She laughs, patting my back. When we pull away she hands me a gift bag.
“What is it…?” I wonder, peeking inside.
“Don’t look yet. Just save it for later tonight.”
I nod and look at the other gift bag in her hand. “For me too?”
“For your mother.”
I hang her jacket up and we march side by side into the kitchen. Zac, Mary, Mom and Dad (who has just joined the group) give her warm smiles.
“Merry Christmas, Harper!” Mom smiles at her.
“Merry Christmas to you too…to everyone.” She glances around nervously. Oh boy. If four people scare her, I cannot even imagine how she is going to feel at dinner.
She reaches out and hands Mom the cranberry colored gift bag. “This is for you. For the family.”
Mom looks surprised. “How nice of you! You didn’t have to get us something.”
“You didn’t have to have me over, “ she smiles. I know she is winning points with Mom. Mom loves appreciative girls.
Mom pulls out a glass ornament from the bag. On it is a nativity scene painted.
“It’s hand painted. My mother owns a small shop…she sells them there. Taylor’s mentioned that you’re family really appreciates the spiritual element of Christmas so I figured it’d be appropriate. I thought it was pretty…”
I know she’s rambling because she’s nervous, so I put my arm around her waist protectively.
Mom inspects it carefully and a smile forms across her face, “It’s beautiful! I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Mary looks at it too and looks up at Harper. “Nice choice! The first Christmas I knew Diana I gave her a candle. It wasn’t nearly as creative.”
“I’ll say,” Zac adds, smirking at her.
Harper laughs nervously.
“Look, Walker. Isn’t that perfect?” Mom holds out the ornament. He inspects it too, but being a man he doesn’t really care what the ornament looks like.
“Real nice. Thanks Harper. That was really nice of you.” He smiles at mom and humors her, “I’ll go hang it on the tree, Di.” I know he just wants to escape whatever task she has him in the kitchen for. Dad is one of those men who really hates cooking. He feels cramped in the kitchen.
Mary finally takes the time to examine Harper, and it’s quite obvious. I decide to speak up, “Mary, meet Harper. Harper, this is Mary.”
They exchange hellos and quick hand shakes. “Mary is Arley’s mom,” I explain quietly to Harper, but loud enough for Mary to hear so she doesn’t feel like I’m being rude. “You know…Isaac’s daughter.”
Harper laughs, “You talk about Arley enough for me to know who she is.”
As if on cue, Arley runs into the room as fast as her toddler legs can carry her.
“But I have yet to meet her!” Harper adds, grinning at her. “This must be Arley.”
Mary scoops her up and holds her on her hip. “I don’t know. Are you Arley?” She asks the little girl. I swear, she looks like a Christmas present. She’s got a tacky Christmas dress on that Mom probably saved from when Jessica was little, and a big red ribbon in her thin, wavy hair. It looks like it is just going to slide off any moment.
“Hey Arley,” I tell her, “This is my girlfriend, Harper. Can you say hi?”
Arley usually has this big grin her face. She truly is a happy child, and one of the few children I can stomach. Most kids I cannot stand. They smell bad, they’re gross, and they’re obnoxious. Who knows how I survived in a household with so many babies over the years. Even though sometimes I can hardly even handle Arley, I do think she’s a great kid.
But she does not grin. She frowns, narrowing her eyes and protruding her bottom lip. “I am your girlfriend!” She finally announces.
We all laugh at the continuous joke of this two year old being my girlfriend. It started a couple months ago when we asked Arley one night over dinner who she wanted to marry. I don’t know how the conversation came up. Her response? Her uncle Taylor. Kids always love the people who dislike kids don’t they?
“Uh oh!” Mary laughs, “Taylor’s playing you both!”
“How sad…I have two players for sons…” Mom mutters, smiling barely and going back to her cooking.