She rolls her eyes. “Gifts are supposed to be a surprise. Unless you plan to tell me my gifts, then I’m not telling.”
“Fair enough.” That was the answer I expected anyway.
“Are you excited about coming home?”
I sigh and lean my head back against the headrest. “I don’t know. I feel like something’s up, so in that regard, no. Otherwise, yeah. I always like coming home.”
“What makes you think something is up?” Deanna rests her head on my shoulder as her free hand starts drawing circles on the topside of my wrist.
“Since I’ve been in the league? Haven’t been to Michigan for Christmas. Mom hasn’t asked me to come home, so I always fly her out to see me. Wouldn’t you think something is up?”
“I see your point.”
“At least if something goes wrong, you’ll be with me.”
At that, she lifts her head to show me her smile. “And I’ll do my best to be helpful.” She quickly kisses me before resting her head on my shoulder again, content with sitting like that until we land.
Turns out, my gut feeling was right. Confusion swamps me when we spot Mom waiting by baggage claim with a man, who looks a lot like my very first hockey coach, Perry Hall.
“Who is that with Maryann?” Deanna asks.
“Looks like an old coach. What the fuck is he doing here?”
“Be happy for her,” Deanna says quietly right before we reach them.
Her comment confuses me further. What is there to be happy for my mom about? Mom steps forward to hug me, but my eyes are on Coach Hall. What the fuck is he doing here? That’s the big looming question.
“I’m so happy you’re here!” Mom gushes and she turns to Deanna to hug her. “You too! I’m glad you came! Who is with Otis?”
“The Kessy twins offered to take care of him.”
“That’s good.” Mom steps back. “Deanna, this is Perry Hall. He coached Brayden a long, long time ago. Brayden, you remember him, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
Deanna squeezes my hand as she shakes his hand and they exchange a few words.
“Well, let’s go!” Mom says with a big smile on her face. She’s not going to explain his presence? What the hell?
We follow them outside to a vehicle that most certainly is not my mother’s, which means it’s Coach Hall’s. As he pulls out of his space, Mom turns to angle in her seat and look at me in the backseat.
“You’re probably wondering—”
“Yeah,” I interrupt, wishing she’d get on with it and glaring at Deanna when she squeezes my hand in a death grip again.
“She’s my girlfriend,” Coach Hall speaks before Mom can.
I blink and stare at Mom, who watches me carefully. My brain explodes. Mom? Girlfriend? Boyfriend? Coach Hall? What the fuck? I don’t understand. Has Mom dated since I was born? I don’t remember ever meeting a boyfriend before. Or her going on dates. I rub my forehead as pain bursts forth behind it. I don’t understand. I simply don’t understand.
“That’s awesome,” I hear Deanna say. “How long have you been dating?”
“Three years,” Coach Hall answers.
I squeeze my eyes closed and pinch the bridge of my nose as more pain threatens to split my skull wide open. Three years? What the fuck, Mom? Why is she just now springing this on me? Deanna talks to them, but my ears refuse to listen. I grab Deanna’s purse, ignoring the looks, and search for pills. She must have some over-the-counter medication in here for headaches. Don’t all women carry that stuff around all the time? Mom always seemed to have some on hand when I was growing up.
Ah-ha! I grab the bottle, shake it until two land in my hand, and dry swallow them before returning her bag. None of this makes sense. Am I still alive? Did the plane crash and this is some sort of afterlife experience? Maybe that’s why my head hurts.
The forty-five-minute drive to Mom’s house is a long one. From the corner of my eye, I see Deanna and Mom glance over at me multiple times. Sorry, but my mind can’t seem to wrap around this. When we finally get to Mom’s house, my mind is blown once again.
Mom’s house has been infused by a man. This is not the same house I remember. Damn, I need to come home more often. Coach Hall’s things lie around everywhere. Coats hang by the door, boots sit on the floor, a pair of reading glasses lie on the table next to the recliner, and new blankets that I know my mother would never buy rest on the back of the couch.
“I need to lie down. Maybe that will get rid of my headache,” I say.
Mom frowns, but I kiss her on the cheek and pull Deanna to my old room.
She slaps my arm the moment I close the door. “What is wrong with you?” she whispers harshly.
“Me? My mom just sprung her boyfriend of three years on me! And I know him!”
“That should make it better.”
“It doesn’t!” I drop our bags by the door and move over to the bed, lying down and facing away from the door.
“Brayden.” Deanna crawls over my body to lie in front of me. “Aside from keeping it from you for so long and it being your old coach, what’s so bad about your mom having a boyfriend?”
I groan. “This doesn’t make sense.”
“Why?” Deanna seems perplexed.
“Mom has never had a boyfriend!” When Deanna stares at me like I’m crazy, I add, “Just leave me alone. I want a nap.” With that, I close my eyes.
Deanna sighs. “Maybe you just never met them. Or maybe she spent all that time flirting with Perry.”
“Please stop.”
“We’re stuck here for the next two days. You need to get used to the idea that she’s with him and be happy for her. She obviously had high hopes when she asked you to come.”
“I’m just trying to figure out how this is possible. How did they get together? Is he living here now? Because it looks like it.”
“Weren’t you listening on the way here?” Deanna interrupts.
“No. As soon as he said she was his girlfriend, I got a headache and stopped listening. A headache I still have, by the way.”
She rolls her eyes at me again, but adjusts her position so she can massage my temples and tell me what she learned of my mother’s new relationship. Apparently, they ran into each other all the damn time and eventually, Coach Hall asked her out. The rest is history.
“This is a terrible Christmas already,” I mutter.
Deanna laughs. “I never would’ve thought the idea of Maryann having a boyfriend would be what knocked you down.”
“You’re mean. I just need time to recover.” We hear Mom giggle and I groan, leaning into Deanna. “What are they doing out there?” I groan again. “I don’t want to know.”
Deanna laughs once more. “They are probably talking. I doubt they are out there having sex in the living room.”
I poke her in the stomach. “Do not mention my mom and sex in the same sentence.” I shudder saying it myself. “My mom is too old for that anyway.”
Deanna barks out a laugh. “I’ll remember that when we’re in our fifties.”
A reluctant smile appears. She thinks about us in our fifties? I try to imagine that myself. Granted, I’ll be closing in on sixty when she turns fifty with our age difference. Although unrealistic, I can see us together with Otis. I can see us having fun, laughing a lot, and yes, still having sex. Maybe I’ll be traveling less. Or maybe I’ll be traveling more as I take Deanna to places around the world. It doesn’t seem like a bad life.
Mom might have some version of that with Coach Hall.
I pull Deanna’s hands away from my temples. “Let’s give it fifteen more minutes and then go hang out with them.”
The smile she gives me is wondrous. “You will make your mom very happy.”
That’s the least I can do after all she’s done for me. I’ll figure out how to adjust.
Mom and Coach Hall sit too close for comfort on the couch when we emerge from the bedroom. Coach’s expression doesn’t change, but Mom’s
face lights up when she sees us.
“Is your headache gone?” she asks.
“Yeah. Just needed to rest.” I sit in the loveseat and pull Deanna down next to me. “Sorry about earlier, Coach. It’s good to see you again.”
“You can call me Perry. It’s good to see you again too. Looks like my coaching paid off with you.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, I guess so.” I’m not sure I can call him Perry, boyfriend of my mom’s or not. He’s always been Coach Hall to me. I don’t know if that can change after three decades.
“What’s it like down there in North Carolina?”
“Warmer than it is up here. The weather’s great there.” Deanna squeezes my hand like I should say more, but I don’t know what else to say. This is fucking awkward. “Deanna’s lived there all her life.”
I release a breath as the questions are now directed at her and Coach Hall learns about her instead of me. The main question swirling around now is why did Mom keep this from me? And why did she decide to finally tell me?
“Brayden, do you want to help me with lunch?”
“Yeah.” I want answers. Once we’re safely in the kitchen and away from Coach Hall and Deanna, I say, “What the hell, Mom?”
She sighs. “You never did see me with men when you were growing up and I didn’t know how to tell you. Perry wants to marry me; he was tired of waiting. It was past time to tell you. I figured you would react as you did or worse.”
I glare at her. “I could’ve reacted properly if you had warned me that I was meeting your boyfriend. You didn’t even give me that much of a warning. You two were just standing there. I’m not that good of an actor to plaster a smile on my face for appearance purposes.”
“I’m sorry. I knew the moment you interrupted me it was the wrong decision. You’re happy for me, though, aren’t you?” The worry in her eyes fills me with shame.
“Mom, you raised me. What do you think?”
She smiles and hugs me. “I’m very happy, I promise. And he’s a complete gentleman.”
“That’s good, Mom. I’m glad you’re happy and with someone. You deserve it.”
“So do you. What did you get Deanna for Christmas?”
I shrug. “Some presents.” She’ll find out soon enough. “I will tell you this.” I take a deep breath. “I’m thinking of asking her to move in with me.”
“Already?”
“What do you mean ‘already’?”
Mom hesitates to answer. “You and Deanna have had some issues.”
“Your point,” I push her along.
“You shouldn’t rush into anything.”
“How long before Perry moved in here?” I ask, his name sounding odd to my ears.
A blush unlike any I’ve ever seen before burns my mom’s face. “That is none of your business.” She turns away from me, which in combination with her answer, only makes me want to know more.
“Mom, tell me. I should know before I give you away at a wedding.”
She glares at me. “Two weeks.”
My eyes jump out of their sockets. “Two weeks! Are you kidding me? Mom—”
“Oh, shut up, Brayden, and ask your own girlfriend to move in with you.”
I laugh and decide to let it go. After all, here they are three years later, planning to get married. I’ve been with Deanna longer than they were together before they moved in with each other. Plus, I have no intention of letting Deanna get away. It’ll all work out in the end one way or another. The most important thing is to focus on getting used to my old coach being my mom’s boyfriend.
***
As the day goes on, Brayden behaves more and more like himself. All he needed was a little time to overcome the shock. His mother really should’ve warned him about why she wanted him to come home. Even I know you can’t spring anything on Brayden. Something minor, he doesn’t like. Obviously, he won’t react well to something huge. I can’t lie, though; his reaction amused me.
Now, we’re lying in bed after a very long day. The room seems too quiet, even with the soft sound of our breathing and Brayden’s heartbeat. But then, we hear a noise. It’s possibly a squeaking and maybe a loud sigh or a moan.
“You have to be fucking kidding me. Cut my ears off, darlin’. Now, before it’s too late.”
Giggles overtake me as Brayden covers his head with a pillow.
“Why? Why while we’re here? Fucking why?” The pillow muffles his voice, but I manage to hear him still.
“I’m sorry.”
“I want to go home.” He sounds like a pouting child, which only makes me laugh harder. “Stop laughing, Deanna.”
“It’s laugh or be like you.”
That makes him pause. “I’m not gonna laugh over this. Laughing is impossible. You wouldn’t laugh at hearing your parents have sex.”
I ignore his point. At least the sounds seem to have died down. “You can move the pillow now,” I tell him.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to chance hearing it again.”
I laugh. “We’ll fall asleep fast.”
With reluctance, he places the pillow under his head again. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. His body is tense, like he’s waiting to hear another unfortunate sound. I hoist a leg over his thighs, snuggle in closer, and hope he’ll relax soon enough to fall asleep.
“So glad you’re here, darlin’,” he whispers just before I doze off.
When I awaken in the morning, I smile at the text message I see. Brayden told me it would be crazy to text Cal and ask for a picture of Otis, to check in. I lean over and hold up my phone for Brayden to see.
“Look! Cal didn’t think it would be crazy for me to know how they’re doing. He texted me, without me even asking!”
Brayden rolls his eyes. It’s tempting to stick my tongue out at him, but I don’t. We get ready for the day and join Maryann and Perry for breakfast. I’m not sure what we’re doing today, or if there are any specific plans. Apparently, Maryann doesn’t know either.
“We have Christmas activities tomorrow, so today is free to do as we’d like. Was there anything you wanted to do, Brayden? We could go to the outdoor rink in town. Or did you want to spend the day with Deanna?”
“We do not need to spend the day together,” I say before Brayden can answer. We see each other plenty; he does not see his mother that often.
“We can do whatever you want, Mom,” Brayden adds.
“Have you ever been skating at an outdoor rink?” Maryann asks me.
“No. I’ve never skated at all.”
With a slightly dismayed look, she glances at Brayden. “How does a hockey player not take his girlfriend skating?”
Brayden shrugs his shoulders. “Hadn’t thought about it.”
I decide to poke fun at him. “He doesn’t take me out much. We’ve only been to a 5K as a date.”
Maryann’s mouth drops in horror as Perry chuckles. “That’s it? We go out once a week.”
“I’m a good boyfriend regardless.”
Despite Brayden saying that, Maryann goes on to list all the things she and Perry do. Brayden interrupts her many times to remind her he’s busy, that we both are, and that they aren’t nearly as busy as we are. Maryann rolls her eyes at that. It’s fun to see him get picked on by his mother. After breakfast, I help Maryann clean up in the kitchen while Perry and Brayden move into the living room.
“What do you think they’re talking about?” I ask, because surely, they’re talking.
“They are probably catching up. I doubt Brayden would give him the third degree about us or anything of the sort. Actually, they probably aren’t even catching up. Most likely, they are talking about hockey.”
That makes more sense. I think Brayden would want to focus on safe subjects and that’s the safest one. I smile when I hear some laughter from the other room; that’s a good sign. Maryann asks me about my shop, my relationship with Brayden, and Otis. I still like her. She’s a person who seems so very genuine in everything. She see
ms to care and be interested in everything. She can be funny, as well.
Once the kitchen is tidied up, we drive to the outdoor rink. We have to rent skates, but once Brayden puts mine on for me, we’re stopped multiple times because he gets recognized. Back home, people didn’t stop him. Brayden always said it was because he seems unapproachable. However, people think he’s approachable here.
My arms are tight around Brayden’s waist once we’re on the ice. Learning is impossible when people keep interrupting our lesson. It’s a bit awkward, too. The people seem nice enough, but it’s uncomfortable for me to stand nearby while Brayden carries on a conversation with someone. After they skate away, though, Brayden glances down at me with an apologetic smile and says, “Sorry.” I just smile because it’s okay.
Eventually, we’re left alone and Brayden helps me get the hang of the basic movement, so I can only clutch his hand instead of his waist. I wish I brought another coat because it’s freaking cold out here.
“Having fun?” Brayden asks, though his eyes are on a laughing Maryann and Perry a few paces ahead of us.
“Yes.”
“There’s something I want to ask you.”
“Well, ask me.” I focus on my feet, but I want to look up at him. However, I’m scared my feet might go haywire if I look away.
Brayden slows down and hooks a finger under my chin to make me look at him.
“I might fall!” I protest.
“You won’t.” He holds up our joined hands as if that alone will keep me from falling. “You’re over at my house a lot. I was thinking—” He stops, pauses, and starts again. “I’m hoping you’ll move in with me.”
“What?” I breathe. “You want me to live with you?”
“Yeah, darlin’. It seems wrong that Otis has some of his things there and you don’t.” He gives me a brief smile. He kisses my forehead and with his lips still against my skin says, “Think about it.”
My eyes flutter to a close. Living with Brayden? Coming home to the same place as him? Permanently sharing the same bed? Cooking for one another and having him help me reach his stash of chips when I want a snack? It all sounds pretty nice.
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