Panic fluttered in my belly. If that was the case, she would be going on the defensive, doing what she could to make sure she'd still win the game. I didn't know what that would look like, but I suspected it would be bad. Perhaps she’d plant a TMZ report that I had abandoned her. Maybe she would reveal that I’d gotten drunk-married or that because of my dyslexia, I'd been unable to understand the documents. Maybe she would file divorce papers and ask for a shit-ton of money in a divorce settlement and a piece of Sam’s and my business.
Fuck. There was no way I would be able to keep what happened a secret. I'd be the laughingstock of the family. But there was nothing I could do about it now. It was Christmas Eve, and tomorrow was Christmas. Anyone I could enlist for help, such as lawyers or the courts, were closed.
As I entered my parents’ house on Christmas Eve, I did my damnedest to push my troubles away. I plastered on a jolly smile and hoped to hell that I could pull off a scam of my own. A scam that made my parents and my sister believe I was happy.
I knew I wasn't succeeding in the goal by the way my mother would look at me or watch me, but at least she didn't say anything during dinner. After dinner, I busied myself with assisting in the dinner cleanup since my parents always gave their help time off during the holidays. Then afterward, I immediately roped Vivie into watching a movie with me.
"Can we watch the originalMiracle on 34th Street?" Vivie asked when I proposed the idea. "I know everybody thinksIt's a Wonderful Lifeis the best Christmas movie, but I love Miracle. Unless you want to watchThePolar ExpressorElf."
"You choose." The truth was, I wasn't likely to watch any of the movie. I just needed an excuse so that my mom wouldn’t corner me and ask me what was wrong.
Vivie and I settled into the basement theater with a large bowl of popcorn. I had my usual beer, and she had her usual hard seltzer.
"You okay, Max?"
Jesus fuck. Not her too. "Sure."
She tilted her head and studied me. "Is all that business about the drug dealing in the Hamptons club settled?"
I grabbed popcorn, stuffing it into my mouth so I didn't have to talk. I nodded. “uh-huh.”
"It seems to have taken a toll on you."
Thank you, Vivie. She gave me an excuse for my mood.
I shrugged as I swallowed my popcorn. "It was stressful. I'm still a little worried about Allison and what her cousin might do, but as far as the police are concerned, neither the club nor me and Sam are suspects."
She nodded. "That's good. Speaking of Sam, do you think he's really going to ask Kate to marry him?"
Even better, we were moving on to a subject that didn't involve me. "Of course, he is. You know Sam. He goes with his gut. Follows his heart." For once, I had done the same, and it had turned out to be a disaster. Lesson learned.
We ended up watchingMiracle on 34th Street, which I enjoyed because the female protagonists and the little girl were cynical about the world. But by the end, they believed in love and Santa and miracles. That wouldn't be me. We also watchedElf, which was funny, but it, too, ended with a message about love and belief. Didn’t Hollywood know that fairy tales weren't true?
Despite the fact that Vivie and I were adults now, Christmas morning was the same as it had been every year since we were kids. Vivie and I woke to find our stockings hanging at the end of our bed. As kids, we’d been allowed to open our stockings right away without them so they could sleep in later. We weren't allowed to wake them up until there was some semblance of daylight, so for many years Sam and I,, and then later Vivie when she got older, would hang out by the Christmas tree until the sun started to rise.
I'd woken early this morning, but not from the excitement of Christmas. Amelia had invaded my dreams and I woke up pissed off. I took a shower to wash away the dream, and hopefully, some of the anger.
When I came out, I dumped my stocking on the bed and found the usual—candy, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and an orange, which Sam and I thought our parents stuffed in the stockings so it would take up space. We would've much rather had more candy. Sometimes, we'd find little wrapped presents as well, like toy cars or an action figure. I didn't get toys anymore. This time, there were razors and a new tie.
When I went downstairs, I found Vivie lying on the couch reading a book. "You're up, sleepyhead."
I checked my watch. “I'm still up before Mom and Dad."
But it wasn’t long after that my parents came down and we opened presents. Afterward, we all went to the kitchen to make Christmas breakfast.
"Since Sam isn’t here, I thought we might have French toast instead of pancakes for breakfast,” my mother said, surprising me. I knew she was sad that Sam wasn't here, and yet at the same time, I could see that she was accepting that her children were grown. I suppose someday, Vivie would be married and having Christmas with her family as well. I'd be the lone kid at home every Christmas morning. Part of that sounded pathetic.
While Mom made French toast, Dad made the bacon, I made coffee, and Vivie squeezed fresh orange juice.
When we sat down for breakfast, Dad came out with a bottle of champagne. "Christmas morning mimosas." He popped the cork and added champagne to our freshly squeezed orange juice. He sat at the head of the table, holding up his glass.
"Every day since your mother came back into my life, I am so thankful. Even after over twenty years, there are times I go to bed afraid that it's a dream and that I’ll wake up alone. But then I wake up and here you all are—"
“Except Sam," Vivie said. "That means Max and I are your favorites now, right?"
We all laughed.
"The point is, I'm a very lucky man. I have a beautiful wife and I have children of whom I couldn't be any prouder."