Beverly straightened up. “Paul, this is my house and I am your mother. I’ll say whatever the hell I want to.”
The man rolled his eyes but smiled fondly at Beverly, then stuck out his hand. “I’m Paul Johnson.”
Travis and I both shook his hand and I was amused by the ridiculous holiday sweater he was wearing. It had a Christmas tree on the front and the lights were flashing.
“I’m Travis Hawkins, and this is my fiancée, Angel Thomas,” Travis said, and I let out a quiet snicker when he said ‘fiancée’. It was still so surreal to hear that word.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I told Paul. “Beverly talks about you all the time.”
“Likewise,” Paul said with a chuckle. “But I have to say you’re a lot younger than I thought you’d be. When Mom said I needed to meet her best friend I was picturing someone closer to her age.”
Grinning, I shrugged. “We get that a lot.”
Cocking his head to the side, Travis looked at Beverly’s six-foot tree in the corner. “Are those Beanie Babies?”
“Yes.” Beverly smiled proudly. “It’s the only time of year I get to show off my collection.”
Although it was strange to have a Beanie-Baby-themed Christmas tree, I hadn’t been surprised when she asked me to help her decorate it a couple weeks ago. I’d learned to just roll with the punches where Beverly was concerned.
Travis poked one of the bears and it fell off the branch. Beverly caught it with cat-like reflexes no one her age should have.
“Careful,” she warned, gently setting it back on the tree. “That one is my retirement plan. Someday I’ll sell it on eBay and I’ll be rich.”
Paul chuckled. “I don’t think anyone is going to pay thousands of dollars for one Beanie Baby.”
“Go ahead and laugh, but you’ll be eating your words someday,” Beverly told him before turning back to Travis and me. “Come meet the rest of the family. They’re all hanging out in the kitchen, swarming like a bunch of vultures.”
When we got to the kitchen, I could see why that’s where everyone wanted to be. The counters and the small table were filled with all kinds of appetizers, including several plates of snack cakes.
A triple crock pot on the stove had meatballs, cocktail wienies, and chili cheese dip. Even though I’d been stuffed from lunch a couple hours ago, my stomach growled.
Introductions needed to come first, though.
“Excuse me.” Beverly grabbed everyone’s attention. “I’d like you to meet my best friend, Angel, and her fiancé, Travis.”
There was a lively round of ‘nice to meet you’ before Paul spoke. “This is my wife, Patricia.” He gestured to the petite woman at his side. “Our son, Will, wasn’t able to make it this year because his wife is about to pop.” He made a motion across his midsection and Patricia lightly smacked him in the stomach.
“She’s due in two weeks with our grandson,” she told us, her brown eyes lighting up. “We all live in Texas and they decided it was best not to travel right now.”
“My first great-grandbaby,” Beverly chimed in.
“Congratulations,” I told them with a smile, then another older man stepped forward.
“I’m Matthew. The youngest and favorite son,” he joked, before popping a meatball into his mouth. “And this is my wife, Linda, and our kids, James and Ezra. We drove in from Ohio yesterday.”
“We’re not exactly kids anymore, Dad,” the dark-haired guy interjected while shooting his dad a look. “And I prefer to be called Jimmy.”
Beverly chuckled. “Jimmy is nineteen and he’s a student at a university in southern Ohio. And Ezra is eighteen. Still a senior in high school.”
The differences between Jimmy and Ezra were striking. If I hadn’t been told they were brothers, I never would’ve guess they were even related.
While Jimmy’s hair was black, Ezra’s was blond. But the contrast didn’t end there.
The older brother seemed confident and outgoing. He wore dark-washed jeans and a black Henley. His sleeves were rolled up a little and I caught sight of tattoos peeking out. It was obvious Jimmy spent some time in the gym. Tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, he seemed to have an arrogant smirk permanently in place. When he turned his face, I saw that he had faded bruising around his left eye and an almost-healed split lip. I briefly wondered if he was into that MMA stuff. Not that I knew much about fighting sports.
Ezra was the exact opposite. When the introductions were made, he waved awkwardly and his slightly chubby face turned bright red. He was a few inches shorter than his brother and wore an oversized hoodie, as if he was trying to hide.
I had to feel sorry for the guy. My guess was that high school was rough for him. Seeming overwhelmed by all the people, he made an exit from the room and I noticed he had a slight limp when he walked.
The doorbell rang and Beverly left the kitchen.
Swiping a Twinkie off a nearby plate, I turned to go back to the dining room and Travis followed.
Hank and Colton came in wearing obnoxious holiday shirts. I glanced down at my plain blue sweater.
I leaned close to Travis and out of the corner of my mouth, I whispered, “Did I miss some sort of memo about the Christmas sweaters?”
He snickered. “Don’t feel too bad. I missed the memo about the entire dinner.”
Beverly went through the introductions again, then explained that her oldest son, William, Jr., wasn’t able to make it this year because his entire family had the flu.
The doorbell rang again and Beverly clapped her hands as a big smile spread over her face.
“That should be the last guest,” she said, and I looked around at the gathering while wondering who else could be showing up.
No one was more surprised than me when Beverly came back with Ernie in tow.
And when she introduced him as her boyfriend? Jaws dropped all around the room.
My best friend had been holding out on me. I’d been hanging out with her at least three times a week and she never said anything about dating.
I was the first one to break the silence. “How long has this been going on?”
Beverly waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, just a couple weeks.”
“It’ll be a month tomorrow, my dear,” Ernie corrected her as he put an arm around her shoulders.
I couldn’t keep the huge smile off my face.
Both of her sons went over to shake Ernie’s hand. The smile the youngest wore gave away the fact that he was happy for his mother.
However, Paul looked apprehensive. “Are you sure that’s wise, Mom?”
Beverly straightened her shoulders and narrowed her eyes. “Are you implying that one or both of us is going to kick the bucket soon?” she asked bluntly, her hand moving back and forth between herself and Ernie.
“Of course not,” Paul sputtered a little. “It’s just… you’re just…”
“I’m what? I’m old?” Beverly interrupted. “Hell yes, I am. But I’m not dead yet.”
Ernie cleared his throat. “I don’t know if it helps, but I’ve been in love with your mother almost my whole life.” He smiled over at Beverly and took her hand in his. “I couldn’t be more grateful that she’s given me a second chance. I’m not gonna mess it up this time and I’ll spend the rest of my days proving it.”
His honest and heart-warming speech seemed to convince everyone of his sincerity.
“Rock on, Grandma B,” Jimmy said with a grin as he took a seat at the long oval dining room table.
Everyone else followed suit and started to claim spots at the table while Paul and Matthew brought a turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and a few other sides out from the kitchen. Colton and Hank ended up on the other side of Travis, while Beverly and Ernie took the chairs across from us.
“Now,” Beverly started, standing up. “Chri
stmas is a time to be grateful for everything we have, so I think we should start off by going around the table and saying what we’re thankful for.”
Ezra shifted uncomfortably in his chair and his face flushed while Jimmy let out an audible groan. “Do we have to? I thought that was just for Thanksgiving.”
“James Peabody Johnson,” Beverly warned sharply.
With a snort, Ezra cracked the first smile I’d seen from him. “Peabody,” he whispered at a scowling Jimmy.
“Why did Ezra get the normal middle name?” Jimmy complained to his parents. “Michael is so much better than Peabody.”
Matthew cleared his throat and furrowed his bushy eyebrows. “Peabody is a family name. You know that. He was your great-great-grandfather—”
“And he was a very honorable man,” Jimmy and Ezra both finished the sentence at the same time, snickering.
Then Jimmy looked to Beverly. “I vote we skip the thankful stuff.”
She sighed and shook her head. “I didn’t want to have to do this, but you’ve given me no choice.” She held out her hand. “The flask, Jimmy.”
“What?” he asked, his green eyes widening to the point of comical.
“Give me the flask,” she said again and he started patting his empty pockets, going for clueless. Beverly looked amused. “Check your sock. Left foot.”
Reluctantly, Jimmy bent down to roll up his jeans and removed the stainless-steel container. Matthew and Linda looked downright mortified, and Jimmy pouted as he handed it to Beverly.
“We’re going to talk about this later, James,” Linda hissed. Some of her curly blonde hair fell out of her bun as she leaned forward to shoot him a stern look.
Shrugging, Jimmy looked somewhat unaffected by her wrath.
After unscrewing the cap, Beverly dumped a generous amount of the alcohol into her spiced cider, then raised her glass.
“As I was saying… I’m thankful for family and friends,” she said before starting to sit back down.
I noticed several relieved sighs around the table and it made me think her family thought she was going to say something embarrassing. I had to admit that it wouldn’t have been totally out of character. And, apparently, she wasn’t done yet because she suddenly stood back up.
“And,” she continued, pausing to take a big gulp of her drink, “I’m thankful that, even at my age, it’s still possible to have a very healthy sex-life. Cheers!”
A few people gasped, Travis let out a cough, Colton started choking on his drink, Jimmy slapped a hand over his face, and I swore I saw Ezra gag.
Me? I laughed. A lot.
The harder I tried to hold it in, the more the giggling would get out of control. Covering my mouth with a napkin, I tried to stifle the laughter but just ended up letting out a loud snort instead.
Christmas just wouldn’t have been the same if Beverly didn’t say something horribly inappropriate.
Looking around the table, I realized I’d gained everyone’s attention and most of them were staring at me like I had lost my mind.
At least I’d taken the attention off Beverly’s awkward TMI statement.
“I’m sorry.” I wheezed as I tried to suppress a giggle and failed. “It’s just… This is the best Christmas ever.”
Most of the people here didn’t know that I’d always dreamed of this—a big family gathering with happiness, banter, and utter chaos. But I didn’t miss the understanding in Beverly’s eyes. She knew how much this meant to me.
“Speaking of the best Christmas ever,” she started, “I promised to try to behave myself today, so I’ll give someone else a turn.”
Next, a red-faced Ernie stood and mumbled something about second chances before sitting back down in his seat.
When it was Travis’s turn, he just looked at me and said, “I’m thankful she said yes.”
Smiling at him, I stood up. “Six months ago, I never could have imagined this is how I would be spending my Christmas.” Suddenly feeling emotional I felt my throat start to get tight, and decided I needed to keep it short or else it was a real possibility I’d become a blubbering mess. “I’m thankful for all of you.”
Travis gave my leg a squeeze as I sat back down. A few seconds later, his hand started moving higher and his pinky grazed my center. As I locked eyes with him, I bit my lip and felt my face heat up. He sent me a knowing smirk and gave my thigh one last caress before linking his fingers with mine.
Distracted, I completely missed whatever the rest of the guests were thankful for.
CHAPTER 4
TRAVIS
“Well, I think we’re outta here,” Hank said, patting his stomach as he made his way to the door. “Beverly, you’re a fantastic cook. I think you earned yourself a free oil-change down at the shop.”
“I’ll take you up on that,” she responded with a smile.
Colton walked over to the tree where Angel and I stood. “Can’t believe you guys are getting hitched already, but I’m happy for you.”
“I second what he said,” Hank called over to us as he shrugged on his coat. “Congratulations to you both.”
“It’s not happening tomorrow. A proper wedding takes months of planning, apparently,” Angel said, repeating my mom’s words.
I laughed, kissed her on the head, then told Colton we’d see him at home.
“Well, did you get everything you wanted for Christmas this year?” Beverly asked Angel as we started getting ready to leave.
“I did.” Angel beamed as I gently looped the new present around her neck. She ran her hands over the soft pink scarf and turned to Beverly. “Thank you for making this scarf. It’s beautiful.”
“It was a labor of love, my dear.” Beverly flexed her hands. “These old hands aren’t what they used to be. I think I’m gonna have to call it quits with my knitting club.”
“How about you?” Angel asked, slipping on her boots. “Did you get everything you wanted?”
“I sure did!” Beverly’s face lit up. “The kids went in on a gift card to Home Depot. I’m getting a hot tub!”
“Mom,” Paul piped up from the couch. “We thought you could get new appliances for your kitchen.”
She sighed. “Well, then you should’ve gotten me new appliances. But you didn’t. You got me a gift card and it’s got ‘hot tub’ written all over it.”
Beverly held up the card. Angel and I both laughed when we saw that she had, in fact, written her intentions all over the plastic.
Jimmy came over to give me a fist bump. “It was great to meet you, man. We should hang out next time I visit.”
“For sure,” I told him with a nod, then looked to Ezra. “And same to you.”
“Yeah, that’d be cool.” Ezra smiled before limping out of the room.
After we said our goodbyes and promised to see everyone again next year, Beverly walked us out onto the porch.
“Did Jimmy and Ezra get into a fight or something?” Angel blurted out as soon as the door shut.
Beverly let out a laugh. “Good heavens, no. Why would you think that?”
“Well, Jimmy’s face is a little banged up and Ezra looked like he was having some trouble walking…” Trailing off, she shrugged, and I had to admit I’d been wondering the same thing.
“Ezra suffered a leg injury when he was a little thing. I’m afraid it’s caused him trouble ever since. And Jimmy… Well, he’s a bit of a hothead. Got into a fight at college.” Beverly shrugged. “They’re good boys. They might be complete opposites, but I’ve never seen two brothers have a bond like they do.”
Angel smiled. “That’s really sweet.”
“Thank you for letting us meet your family,” I told Beverly, knowing how much this day meant to Angel.
“Anytime,” she replied, before shivering. “It’s colder than a witch’s tit out here. I’d better let yo
u get home. Merry Christmas, you two.”
After another round of hugs we went out to my truck, eager to get back into the heat.
As I turned the vents on full blast, I thought about the last surprise I had for Angel today.
“I really want to get home with you,” I told her. “But we’ve got an appointment.”
“What appointment?” Her face scrunched up in confusion, causing those fucking adorable wrinkles to appear on the bridge of her nose.
“You’ll see,” I said and drove the two blocks to our destination.
Bing Crosby’s ‘I’ll be home for Christmas’ played through the radio as we pulled up in front of a small white house.
Angel turned to me. “What are we doing at the Winstons’?”
Charlie and Ethel Wintson were Tolson lifers, but they wouldn’t be for long. As they got older, their health had declined and even the simplest house tasks had taken a toll on their aging bodies. Charlie had told me they thought about hiring a health aide to come to their house, but they wanted something more. They were getting ready to live a life of luxury in one of those upscale retirement homes. He said they’d spent their entire lives pinching pennies and caring for others. Now it was time for someone to take care of them.
“They’re moving,” I said, taking Angel’s hand in mine and praying she liked what I had to say next. “The house is going to be up for rent in June… I thought it would be perfect for us.”
“A house…” she whispered, gazing longingly at the two-bedroom home.
A thick layer of snow coated the roof and smoke rose from the chimney. The large front window displayed a brightly-lit Christmas tree and a green wreath with a large red bow hung on the door. Although the front lawn was on the small side, I knew the big backyard had a nice deck. It was fenced in, too, so if Angel wanted to get a dog or something, it would be perfect.
“Are you sure we can afford it?” Angel asked, her blue eyes swinging back my way.
I nodded. “Charlie knows my mom pretty well. He’s actually her AA sponsor, but not many people know that. They haven’t even put it up for rent yet. Wanted to offer it to us first.”
A Trucker Christmas: A Romantic Short Story Page 2
