by Gina Wilkins
Haley sprang to her feet. “Let me help you.”
Carolyn gave her a look that might have held a touch of approval for making the offer, though she shook her head. “I don’t like anyone else messing around in my kitchen. No one knows where everything goes, and I end up searching for stuff for days. But thanks for offering, hon.”
“She’s serious, you know,” Deb said with a wry shrug for Haley. “She doesn’t let anyone mess around in her kitchen. And then she’ll spend the rest of the day complaining about how much work she has to do around here.”
Frowning, Carolyn pointed a serving spoon at her daughter. “Watch your mouth.”
“I’m thirty years old, Mom. Don’t talk to me like I’m still a teenager.”
“You treat your mama with respect when you’re in this house,” her father ordered over his shoulder from the doorway. “Don’t matter how old you are.”
“Just let it go, Deb,” Mick said somewhat wearily when his sister looked prepared to continue the argument. “They’re always going to say stuff like that.”
Deb rounded on her older brother. “Don’t you tell me what to do, either!”
“Deb, why don’t you and I show Luis and Haley Mom’s prized African violets?” Ron suggested quickly. “Dad and Mick can watch the boys for a minute.”
She nodded slowly. “All right. Bryce, honey, go with Uncle Mick. You can play with your trucks again and then we’ll open presents when I come back in, okay?”
Still nervous of the booming thunder, Bryce was lulled only by the promise of presents. He allowed himself to be herded into the other room with his brother, uncle and grandfather.
The African violets were displayed on shelves built into a large greenroom off the back of the house. Haley imagined the room would be filled with sunshine on pretty days, bringing a reminder of summer inside even on cold winter days.
“This is a lovely room,” she said, touching a fingertip carefully to a velvety purple petal. “The flowers are beautiful.”
“My mother’s pride and joy,” Deb said, turning a lavender plant an inch in its stand to better display the blooms. “She’s been raising them since before Ron was born.”
Watching the storm sweeping across the yard beyond the greenroom glass, Haley commented, “This room is wonderful. I’m sure she loves sitting out here with her flowers.”
She motioned toward a little wicker table and two matching chairs arranged next to the far wall.
“Dad built it for her for their twentieth anniversary, almost twenty years ago,” Ron commented. “He spent several months working on it. She’s always complained that it should have been larger, and she wishes it had a little more southern exposure and she wishes he’d put in a few more electrical outlets, but she really does enjoy the room, for the most part.”
“As much as Mom enjoys anything,” Deb agreed with a heavy sigh.
“I’m sure she loves it,” Haley repeated.
She suspected Carolyn had obsessive-compulsive tendencies. The very tidy house, the perfectly arranged violets, the fact that no one except her worked in her kitchen—all pointed to control issues she’d have difficulty reining in without treatment. Those same tendencies would make her very trying to live with, especially for people who didn’t understand the underlying neuroses.
And there she went falling into psych-think again, she thought with a slight shake of her head.
“You weren’t kidding about your mother, were you?” Luis asked Deb, throwing a cautious glance in the direction of the open doorway.
Deb laughed shortly. “No. I wasn’t kidding. Why do you think I moved to Florida?”
She patted her fiancé’s arm. “I’m so glad now I did make that move.”
Luis smiled down at her, and Haley thought they made a nice-looking couple. They seemed very much in love. She hoped this marriage would make Deb happier than her first one had. Haley had watched Luis with the boys during lunch, and he seemed quite fond of them. Perhaps Deb had found what she’d been searching for in him.
She wondered if Mick would ever acquire whatever he was looking for during his restless travels. She was glad Ron had found medicine, which gave him a purpose in his life, a goal to work toward, the validation he hadn’t heard much from his family.
There were other reasons she was happy Ron had entered medical school, she admitted to herself. She understood exactly what Deb meant when she’d said she was pleased her path had led her to Luis. Haley couldn’t imagine never having known Ron. No matter how much heartache he might cause her in the long run.
Deb shared a faint smile with her brother. “I guess they’re getting a taste of what it’s going to be like to be a part of this family, huh, Ron? Luis hasn’t taken to his heels yet. Maybe Haley won’t, either.”
“Oh, I—” Haley swallowed her instinctive, almost panicky assertion that Deb was misinterpreting her relationship with Ron. This wasn’t the time to get into those details. She settled for a somewhat sickly-looking smile, instead.
“All right, y’all get in here and let’s open presents,” Carolyn called from inside. “These boys are getting antsy.”
“We’re coming, Mom, jeez.” Rolling her eyes, Deb caught Luis’s hand in hers and led him toward the door, still muttering about her mother’s impatience.
Haley glanced at Ron when she turned to follow them. He was looking at her with a frown that made her steps fumble just a bit. He did not look particularly happy with her.
“Um—?”
He smoothed his expression immediately. “We’d better hurry before Mom really gets impatient.”
While thunder continued to boom outside, he ushered her into the other room before she could say anything else.
“We’re under a tornado watch,” Ron’s dad announced when everyone entered the living room. He nodded toward the television screen, where a colorful map covered the lower part of the screen, the counties under severe weather watches highlighted in red and blue. “Until ten o’clock tonight.”
“A watch, not a warning?” Deb confirmed, casting a quick eye at her children.
“Yeah. Just a watch.”
Having lived in Arkansas all his life, Ron didn’t get too perturbed over a watch situation. The family would leave the TV on—which they usually did, anyway—and keep an eye on those colored boxes, but it was hardly time to head for the hallway.
A hard gust of wind buffeted the house. Bryce whimpered.
“Let’s open presents, Brycie,” his grandmother said, taking him into her lap.
“Good thing the leaves are off the trees.” Ron’s dad nodded toward the windows as he spoke to whomever was listening. “That wind would be knocking some limbs off.”
Their mother talked Mick into distributing gifts, because that had been his job for years and she was nothing if not consistent in her nagging. Mick sighed heavily, but didn’t bother arguing. He passed out the presents with a notable lack of ceremony, simply lobbing packages in the general direction of the recipients named on the tags. Their mom fussed at him for his carelessness, but she’d have criticized, anyway, so Ron didn’t blame him for not paying any attention to her.
Showing a resemblance to her mother she would have furiously denied, Deb shook her head when she looked up from a few of the gifts she and her sons had already opened. “Knitted scarves, Mom? What are we supposed to do with these in Florida?”
Ron frowned and looked quickly at his mother, hoping Deb’s careless comment hadn’t hurt her feelings. But Carolyn merely shrugged and said gruffly, “I’ve got to have something to do around here in the evenings and on the weekends while your father’s out messing with those cars fourteen hours a day. It’s not like I’ve got anyone to talk to. Besides, I know there’s an occasional cool night in Florida. They’re always talking on the news about having to save the oranges from the occasional frost.”
Shrugging in what might have been an acknowledgment of the point, Deb looked more pleased with the frilly red nightgown she opened
next. The kids seemed happy with the toys their grandparents had given them, their handmade scarves dumped carelessly into a corner beneath a pile of torn wrapping paper.
Haley looked surprised when Mick tossed a tidily wrapped box into her lap. She looked at Ron, who sat beside her on the couch. He shook his head. “Not from me.”
He wasn’t surprised his mother had provided a gift for Haley. Mom would consider it bad manners to open presents in front of Haley and not make sure she had something, too. He was certain Luis had at least one gift, also.
He watched Haley peel away the paper, her eyes alight with anticipation. She loved this sort of thing, he thought indulgently. Family. Traditions. Presents. She didn’t even seem overly daunted by his family. Though she had certainly looked stunned when Deb had made a passing comment about Haley joining the family. Apparently, the very idea had been enough to send her figuratively reeling backward.
“Oh, Carolyn, this is beautiful.” Both looking and sounding awed, Haley lifted the thick, black knit scarf to her cheek, snuggling against the soft-looking yarn. There was just a touch of sparkle to the scarf, which echoed the glow in her eyes when she looked at his mom. “I love it. Did you really make this yourself?”
Carolyn nodded. “Wasn’t sure what colors you like. I figured everyone can use a black scarf.”
“It’s perfect. It’ll go with almost everything I own. Thank you so much.”
Carolyn’s lips curved, and Ron could tell she was pleased by Haley’s sincerity. “You’re welcome.”
“My grandmother tried to teach me to knit when I was a girl, but I could never quite get the hang of it. I know I’d never be able to knit a pattern this intricate.”
Ron was amused to see his mother actually preen a little. “It wasn’t an easy pattern,” she admitted frankly. “Had to put in some late hours to finish it since Ron didn’t give me a lot of notice that he was bringing you. But I wanted you to have something nice to open.”
“You didn’t have to go to so much trouble. But I’ll treasure this.” Haley was already looping the scarf around her neck, even though it was warm enough in the room without it.
“Maybe I can give you a few pointers about knitting sometime. It’s really not all that difficult. Your grandmother probably just didn’t know how to teach it.”
“I’d like that,” Haley said simply, though Ron doubted she believed that knitting lesson would ever actually happen.
Deb was looking at Haley with a slight frown. Maybe Haley’s visible pleasure in the gift made Deb aware of her own less-gracious reaction. “You never taught me to knit, Mom.”
“I tried, didn’t I?” Carolyn retorted. “You wouldn’t sit still long enough to learn. Never would listen when I tried to tell you anything.”
Ron made an effort to quickly lighten the mood by tossing his own red scarf around his neck with a flourish. “Thanks, Mom. Now all I need is a bull to fight.”
“Bullfighters don’t wear scarves, Uncle Ron. They wear capes,” Kenny piped up.
“Smart boy,” T.L. approved with a nod for his oldest grandson.
“You don’t let them watch bullfights, do you, Debra? That’s much too violent for children.”
Deb sighed gustily. “Of course I don’t let them watch bullfights, Mother. Honestly, what a question. He’s only seen matadors on cartoons.”
“Sounds like you’re letting them watch violent cartoons.”
“How do you like the earrings I got you, Mom?” Ron asked quickly. “Haley helped me pick them out.”
“They’re nice,” his mother replied. “A little bigger than the ones I usually wear. Guess I can wear them to church. Lord knows I never get to go anywhere else where I can dress up nice.”
Haley made a little sound beside him that might have been a hastily swallowed chuckle. He didn’t dare look at her, or he’d bust out laughing and they’d both be in the doghouse.
“Oh, wait, I forgot. I brought something for the boys,” Mick said, bounding to his feet. “Left them out in my truck. I’ll run get them.”
The boys bounced excitedly, eager to see what else they’d collected for this early Christmas celebration.
Mick returned quickly, bearing an enormous stuffed animal beneath each arm. A purple gorilla for Bryce, and a big orange dinosaur for Kenny. The toys were almost as big as the boys, themselves—and looked suspiciously like giant carnival prizes.
The boys fell on the toys with hoots of delight, wrestling with their huge new friends on the carpet.
“Mick, what were you thinking?” Deb scolded, holding her hands to her face in distress. “How are we supposed to get those home? They’ll take up the whole backseat of the minivan.”
“We’ll manage, Deb,” Luis murmured, his expression rueful as he looked at his future stepsons, who clutched their newest toys possessively in response to their mother’s criticism.
“Honestly, Mick, sometimes you just don’t use good sense,” his mother chided, looking in disapproval at the gifts.
Ron couldn’t hold it in any longer. He started to laugh, and a moment later heard Haley giggling beside him. Mick joined in, proving he’d known all along exactly what reaction the outsized toys would receive from Deb and his mother. Luis looked as though he would like to laugh, too, but didn’t dare, while Deb and their mom watched them all in exasperation. But Ron thought he saw his mother’s lips twitch before she turned away to start gathering the discarded wrapping paper littering her carpet.
Chapter Ten
The boys finally gave in to exhaustion and were tucked reluctantly into bed for naps after the gift exchange. Deb and Luis planned to spend the night and leave for Florida the next morning.
“Don’t know why you and Haley don’t stay, too, rather than going out in that nasty weather,” Carolyn grumbled to Ron as she served coffee to the adults in the living room. She’d set out Haley’s candies on a holiday plate on the coffee table, and Ron noted that his dad was helping himself liberally to the fudge, despite the huge meal they’d eaten so recently.
Carolyn noticed, too. She reprimanded her husband for eating too many sweets, then moved the plate a little closer to him so he could reach it better.
“We can’t stay, Mom,” Ron said. “We both have to be at the hospital very early Monday morning. Before dawn. And we have shelf exams in two weeks, so we need to study as much as we can tomorrow.”
“What are shelf exams?” Deb asked, returning to the room after tucking in her sons.
“Medical board exams,” Ron explained. “We have them after every rotation to cover everything we were supposed to learn in lectures and practice.”
“You have tests all the time, don’t you? Seems like every time I talk to you you’re studying for a test,” Mick commented.
Ron chuckled. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“Don’t know why you’d want to go through that, as much as you hated studying back in school.”
Ron shrugged. “It’s what I have to do to get where I want to be.”
“He didn’t want to do real work,” his dad muttered. While he pretended to be joking, there was just enough of a dig in his tone to make Haley move a bit restlessly beside Ron.
“Doesn’t like getting his hands dirty,” T.L. added, jerking a chin in the general direction of his garage. “He was worthless in the shop.”
The others laughed and nodded in agreement. Ron’s smile was wry as he thought about just how hard and dirty medical school could get.
Sensing Haley was becoming indignant on his behalf, he rested a hand lightly on her knee. There was no need for her to waste her breath defending him. She would never convince his family he was physician material.
“You’re right, Dad. I was a hopeless case when it came to working on cars.”
“Weren’t any good as a carnie, either,” Mick asserted. “Nor at selling cars or doing landscape work.”
“Why do you think I went to medical school?” Ron shot back with a lazy grin. “It was pretty much the only
thing I hadn’t tried yet.”
“And people really let you treat their sick children?” Deb glanced toward the back of the house where her boys slept as if unable to conceive of trusting their care to her brother’s hands.
“I’m not a doctor yet, Deb. I’m still just learning. I have a lot of supervision now, and several years to go before I’ll be fully responsible for treating patients.”
“That’s good, I guess.”
“Didn’t Ron save your son’s life once, Deb?” Haley seemed unable to resist asking.
Ron winced. The others all looked at him, as if wondering just how much he’d embellished that story in the retelling.
“I don’t know if he saved Kenny’s life,” Deb argued vaguely. “He just pulled a piece of candy out of his mouth.”
Ron bit his lower lip as he remembered the panic that had coursed through him when he’d seen Kenny’s purpling skin. The child had been limp and still in his arms, his eyes already glazing, and Ron had been painfully aware that there’d been no time to waste getting air into the little lungs. Sticking his finger in Kenny’s mouth had been pure instinct, half-remembered training from a high school first aid course. He’d never heard anything more beautiful than the boy’s first ragged cough when the candy was dislodged.
“I seem to remember you doing a lot of screaming and hollering,” Mick murmured to Deb. “You sure thought the kid was dying at the time.”
“Takes more than pulling candy out of a kid’s mouth to make a man a doctor,” T.L. commented.
“At least you’re sticking with this course so far.” Carolyn’s approval was cloaked in a touch of amazement as she spoke to her youngest child.
She glanced at Haley. “I have to warn you, Ron’s never been known as the stick-to-it type. I can’t tell you how many clubs he joined and sports he started, only to up and quit when he got bored or when it got too hard. I saved and bought him a clarinet ’cause he wanted to be in the band, only for him to quit after just a few weeks…”
