by Nella Tyler
“Thanks, Dad,” I grinned, feeling both guilty and extremely happy at the same time.
“Now that you know how I truly feel, I hope that one day, you and I can come to our own understanding of the love that you and your mother had. I know we’ve never quite seen eye to eye, Dexter, but I am getting to an age where I don’t want that to stop me from sharing what’s important with you.”
I was quiet for a moment as I took in everything my father was saying to me.
“That sounds great, Dad. I’d like that,” I finally answered earnestly. “You know,” I added after another few moments of silence, “This is the most conversation we have had…ever, as long as I can remember,” I shot my father a wiry grin. “Maybe I should break the law more often.”
I expected him to instantly grow serious and shake his head but instead, he chuckled and rolled his eyes.
Seeing him do something so trivial was funny, and so, I laughed.
“Merry Christmas, Dad,” I finally replied with a wide beam.
“Merry Christmas, Dexter,” he held up his coffee as though making a toast, “To new beginnings for old fools and stubborn sons…”
“Amen to that!” I exclaimed, and for the first time, found myself hopeful that things might actually change between me and my father.
Mazie
Christmas morning brought the delightful scent of coffee into my room. Remembering what day it was before I even opened my eyes, I felt a grin creep onto my face.
“Good morning!” I heard my mother exclaim, walking closer with the delightful aroma.
“Mmmm…good morning,” I grumbled, realizing that I was still extremely tired.
“Merry Christmas!” my mother offered when she was sure I was listening.
I groaned and rolled toward her as I felt my mother sit down on the bed next to me.
“Merry Christmas,” I replied, trying my best to wake up.
When I was finally able to sit up and grin wholeheartedly at my mother, she handed me a mug of coffee, just the way I liked it. It was then that I realized that this was one portion of my life that I missed.
“This is so strange for me,” she admitted with a chuckle, “Growing up, you would be up and running around like crazy person. I would’ve never had to wake you up on Christmas morning!”
I chuckled as she mused, almost sadly.
“I guess it’s just one more sign that you’re growing up,” there was pride in her eyes, but there was something else as well that coincided with what she was saying.
“Mom…” I began, feeling slightly guilty.
“No,” she interrupted me with an easiness to her voice that stopped any form of apology. “I’m not upset. It’s great to know that you are becoming your own woman. You, more than anyone, have found your own path in life, and we are proud of you for that. Instead of following in your father’s footsteps, you chose to really make it on your own, and that is impressive,” she insisted. “I know you’ve been teased, and your job has been scoffed at on more than one occasion by the people you grew up with, but I want you to know that we are proud of you.”
“Thank you, Mom,” I replied as I took a sip of my coffee.
“Although, there’s one thing that I don’t understand,” she added, her voice growing serious.
“What?” I asked, concerned.
“Last night, your father told me why he invited Dexter over for dinner, and while it was a pleasure to have him, and to find out the reason behind his presence, I can’t understand why you thought you had to hide that from us.”
“Mom…” I started, again feeling slightly contrite about the whole situation, “I didn’t hide it from you because I didn’t want you guys to know,” I insisted, which caused my mother to raise her eyebrows suspiciously. I chuckled, “What I mean, is, I didn’t want to complicate things. Like you said, I’m a grown woman, and I understand the delicate situation that comes with Dexter and I dating. God forbid we came out with it right away and it didn’t work out; and believe me, it’s been trying anyway, how awkward would that have made it for you guys…and for Mr. Myers.”
“Well, confiding in your parents is hardly putting an engagement announcement in the paper. Your father and I can keep a secret, as I am sure Mr. Myers can.” Her final comment was lined with a cynicism that I chose to ignore.
I didn’t want to get into that right now.
“Don’t I get any credit for trying to spare your feelings, then?” I offered, tilting my head, trying to focus on my reasoning instead of arguing.
At first, it looked as though my mother was going to retort, but after rethinking it, she simply sighed and shook her head.
“What do you mean by that? Didn’t you think we would be happy that you and Dexter decided to get together?”
“Of course, but again, if it didn’t work out, you would be stuck on an emotional roller coaster right along with me, and then, dad would have to see him all the time.”
“There’s always a risk of that. Besides, it’s your life. We just want you to be happy,” she insisted.
I knew that she was telling the truth and I had run out of arguments. Therefore, I averted my eyes for a moment, before pulling my gaze back to meet my mother’s eyes.
“Then, I’m sorry. I never intended for any of this to happen and I thought I was doing what was best for everyone, keeping whatever it was Dexter and I had a secret until we could figure it out for ourselves.”
She nodded, “Well, that’s a much more understandable answer.” She beamed and gently patted my leg, “I guess that’s enough for this morning. It is Christmas after all.”
With that, my mother and I went downstairs to see the mass of presents that my parents still put out, both for me and one another for Christmas morning.
My mother had always reveled in this tradition, and even though I had long since moved out, any year that I spent it with them, I always woke to more presents than when I went to bed.
Christmas Magic is what my mother called it, and I never argued. I was around children enough of my life to find comfort in the idea of magic and belief.
While I wasn’t irrational about it, nor did I believe my mother was, I did still enjoy the pursuit of keeping the spirit alive, in whatever form it manifested.
Once we were settled around the tree, our family took turns opening gifts and enjoying the time spent together, uninterrupted.
When Christmas morning was starting to wind down, and all of the presents were revealed, I excused myself and went out to the balcony with the intention of texting Dexter. However, as I stared down at my phone, looking for his name, I received an incoming call with his name coming up on the screen.
“We’re your ears ringing?” I inquired, grinning broadly.
“Why? Were you talking about me?” I could hear a smile in his voice as well.
“I was just about to text you. Merry Christmas,” I added, trying to prove that I wasn’t simply waiting around by the phone for his call.
“Merry Christmas, Mazie,” he replied with a tenderness that I couldn’t help but enjoy. “So,” he added in a manner that made me think he was slightly nervous, “I wanted to see what you wanted to do next week. I have the day off of work on Thursday, and I was thinking we could get together then.”
“Sure! I’m still off from work too, so that won’t be a problem,” I replied but secretly wished it were sooner.
Dexter
The rest of Christmas wasn’t particularly memorable, considering my father and I hadn’t exchanged gifts with one another in years.
However, the lack of monetary sentiments wasn’t missed. Our conversation had yielded far more than anything that he could’ve bought me.
Therefore, when I arrived for work the following day, I was looking forward to what I genuinely believed to be a new chapter in my life. I was excited to have a new relationship with my father blossoming, and my only hope was that it would last.
This new perspective also breathed new life into my jo
b. Knowing that my father was, indeed proud of the accomplishments I had made, enabled me to feel better about the work I was doing.
It made me wish that I had initiated this conversation earlier but if I had done that, it might not have gone as well.
I knew that for the conversation to have taken place the way it did, we both had to be ready for it. He and I were both stubborn and, according to my mother, a lot alike, which I only believed to be true in certain areas. However, our stubbornness was one area where it was undeniable. If one or the other wasn’t ready to open up, we wouldn’t have. Therefore, I was thankful that it happened when and how it did.
“Good morning!” I beamed brightly at the secretary as I walked in and she looked at me strangely, considering before the holiday, I wasn’t exactly pleasant to be around. “How was your holiday?” I asked, leaning heavily on the desk in front of her.
“Good morning, Mr. Myer,” the secretary exclaimed. “It was wonderful! How was yours?”
“It couldn’t have been better,” I insisted genuinely.
“Was Santa Claus good to you?” she teased, giggling.
“You know what?” I contemplated out loud as the events of the holiday ran swiftly through my mind. “I guess you can say that he was.”
After the conversation with the secretary, I ran into a few other fellow employees and had a similar conversation with them. It seemed that my good mood was infectious, or at the very least, inspiring since everyone seemed to want to talk to me.
It took a while to get to my office, considering all of the conversations that I readily made myself a part of but when I did, I was happy to be there. I made my calls, returned my emails, and signed the papers that solidified the deal I had made before Christmas.
Once I was finished, before lunch, I went to my father’s office, legal documents in-hand, so that he could sign and review the deal before it was submitted.
Since it was such a big deal, the process was far more involved than that of the other thousands of transactions the company brokered each year.
Therefore, my father and Mr. Lawson had to sign it, as well as many representatives from the other company.
I knocked on the door and heard my father call me to come in. The fashion in which he spoke was not abnormal, but I expected that.
Although I was looking forward to the personal relationship my father and I had to get better, I wasn’t going to beat myself up if nothing changed during professional hours.
After all, I could understand the unwillingness to play favorites, even if it was a given that I was heir to the company. It still wouldn’t be fair for my father to treat me all that differently.
However, when I walked in, my father looked up at me and grinned.
“Hello, Dexter,” he offered, which took me back slightly. I had expected things to get better, but I still hadn’t expected him to be happy to see me. “I’m glad you came in. I wanted to talk to you.”
“Oh? Is everything alright?” I asked, slightly nervous now that my father’s attitude change had a deeper meaning than a simple Christmas revelation.
Scrooge indeed, I told myself at the thought, trying to keep my mind from overreacting.
“Fine,” my father answered sincerely. “It’s no emergency. What have you got there?” he ushered to the papers I held in my hand, and I passed them across his large desk, explaining what they were. “Excellent!” he exclaimed as he read them over and started to sign. “This is really a big deal for you, Dex.”
“Yes, Sir,” I insisted, “And for the company.”
“Agreed. Because of your diligence, you have thele bot the oanywith a strange expression, "velation.'en if it was a given that I was heir to the compantents I had brought the company more money and resources than it has ever had,” he looked up at me with a strange expression, “You know, I spoke to the owner’s son a little earlier today and he insisted that the way you handled yourself was pivotal to his acceptance of the deal. He insisted that his father was extremely impressed with the way you worked with them to assure you were making the right choice. Plus, you explained a form of innovation that not even his own son could convince him of,” my father laughed, and in that expression, I sensed a genuine, strange sense of pride.
I couldn’t tell whether it was more appropriate to be worried or relieved.
“I can understand his frustration,” I teased.
“In any case, that brings me to what I wanted to talk to you about,” he paused and again, I wasn’t sure if he was simply looking for an opening of if I should be worried that he didn’t acknowledge my comment.
“Sure,” I answered carefully.
“I also spoke to Brent this morning,” he offered, pausing as though he wanted to ensure that he said this right.
“Oh? Wow, you were busy this morning,” I grinned.
“I’m always busy, Son,” he offered, “But this morning, I had a particular ambition driving me. I have decided, after speaking with Brent, that it is time for me to retire. I need some time to myself…away from the office. After all, I’m not getting any younger.”
“Is everything alright?” I asked again, unable to control the sudden hastening pace of my heart.
“Everything is fine, Dexter,” my father assured, “I know it seems sudden but I’ve actually put a lot of thought into this, and after the way you handled yourself with this deal, I think it’s time. I want you to take the business with Brent as your partner.”
“Me?” I asked, surprised by his decision for multiple reasons.
“Well, of course, you,” he chuckled, “I’ve only been grooming you since birth.”
I gave him a weak smile but said nothing.
“Now, I’m not going to be gone until everything is settled and I don’t need an answer now. I want you to think about it. Needless to say, this is one of the biggest decisions of your life. I’m not planning on mentioning it again, unless you have questions, so please, just let me know when you have come to a decision.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. A flurry of emotions cascaded through me. I couldn’t deny that I was excited, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling of mistrust. After all, a few days ago, my father hardly said two words to me and now he was offering me the business.
Then again, life was funny like that. Perhaps my father simply need to have that conversation, or maybe it was something else, but for the moment, I didn’t want to get too excited.
There was a large part of me that simply wanted to see how it all played out.
“Thank you, Sir,” I exclaimed, “I will get back to you with my decision soon.”
My father shook his head affirmatively as I turned to leave.
As I closed the office door behind me, I attempted to sort out the range of sensations I was experiencing.
It was the conversation I had waited my entire life to have, so my enthusiasm made perfect sense. What I thought was interesting though, was that I was that I found the person I couldn’t wait to tell, was Mazie.
Mazie
When Mittens woke me up the following day, I immediately felt refreshed. Between the break and patching things up with Dexter, I felt extremely positive for the new year.
Figuring that I had quite a bit of cleaning to do, I got up with the intention of straightening up the house.
Mittens wasn’t as keen on the idea but when I fed him, he seemed to soften to it. He wasn’t used to me being home as much and thus, I think I was messing up his routine; or at least, that’s the impression I received.
However, once I started my cleaning, I was surprised to find that I didn’t have nearly as much to catch up on as I thought.
So, even after searching for tasks I had neglected, I was still finished with the chore of cleaning within two hours.
Eventually, I was able to abandon the effort without feeling guilty and decided to go to Laura’s for the day.
It wasn’t until I had already knocked on the door that I realized how early it was, even after my clea
ning marathon. Although, since I had already knocked once, I prepared myself for her wrath and waited for her to make it to the door.
“Did somebody die?” she grumbled, with her eyes at half-mast.
“God, Laura, no!” I answered, appalled.
“Then, why are you here?”
Laura was never a morning person, but when someone dared to come into her space, unannounced, before she officially woke up, of her own accord, things could get ugly.
Granted, as her best friend, I know this, and therefore, I am able to use that knowledge to my advantage.
“I came to hang out,” I answered, sauntering past her with a sly smile as she narrowed her eyes.
“It’s too early!” she complained.
“I thought you might want to get your nails done with me, maybe do a little shopping?” I grinned, watching her face unintentionally soften, leaning toward the promise of fun, girly plans.
Still, she grumbled, closing the door behind me.
“So, you’re getting your nails done? I can assume it’s probably not for those ankle-biters at work, so who do you have a date with?” she moaned in a complaining tone as she slunk to the kitchen to make her coffee.
“Dexter,” I replied, unable to hide a wide grin.
Laura stopped dead as her spine prickled, looking as though she might throw something at me when she turned around.
“Wait! Before you freak out, I didn’t call him.”
“He called you?”
“Um…he apologized…first,” I replied before I delved into the story of the best present I received.
“Damn,” Laura answered, impressed, “All I got from my dad was a gift card, because ‘he doesn’t know what to get,'” she laughed.
“Well, sometimes my dad surprises me,” I answered as she threw up her hair and announced she was ready to go.
The majority of the day was spent at the mall. We got our nails done, and we shopped. I bought a new outfit for my date while Laura added to her wardrobe; which was already nearly endless.
