The Problem With Mistletoe

by Kyle Baxter

  Engrossed in his dinosaur book and happy, Eric kept his head down. The boy enjoyed Alex’s company, and for his part, David’s old friend seemed to genuinely like Eric as well. David was happy to see it, and more, it touched something inside him.

  Eric raised his head, questioning their progress with a glance at his father. David headed off the inevitable question. “We’re almost home.”

  “Are we still looking for a place for the Christmas party?”

  David grunted. The prospects grew bleaker every day. He chastised himself for not taking a more active role in the party, letting the hiring of an event planner distract him. Happy to let someone else play the leader, he was now paying the price.

  David was grateful Alex took it on. The CYA Christmas party was in good hands. Alex was here! Always the planner, if something needed getting done, he was the person everyone relied on. At least that hadn’t changed.

  He hoped Alex would not run out at the last minute, leaving everyone else to pick up the pieces like he did years ago. No, that was years ago and they were all grown up now. People change. He certainly had.

  “What about there?” Eric pointed out the window.

  Pulling up to the curb beside the old, boarded-up building, David leaned over to stare out of the passenger window.

  “Oh my God.” He gawked, wide-eyed. “Good catch, buddy.” He held up his hand, and Eric returned the high-five.

  They climbed out of the car and walked around the front of the Orpheum Theater. Styled in the tradition of the grand movie theaters of the thirties and forties, it sat on the northeast corner of the intersection of Main Street and Broadway, on the edge of the Old Quarter.

  Though its best days were long behind it, its former glory still shone through. The facade was faced in mixed tan and red brick with lighter-molded ornamentation while the setback two-story section was entirely red brick.

  Three large marquees, under an ornate Orpheum sign, faced each side of the intersection. In places the glass was broken.

  David loved it. Walking up, he put a hand on a wall, touching base with his past. The Orpheum held a lot of happy memories.

  Just like that, he was sitting in the front row in the balcony, watching a special re-release of one of the Star Wars movies with Alex, Bonnie, and Adriana, David’s girlfriend and later his wife. His little sister Rachel tagged along with them that day too. Afterward, they headed to a late dinner at the diner. It was a good day.

  Walking around the front of the building, he inspected the box office. Eric skipped along beside him.

  “No sliding.” He shot the boy a warning finger, remembering the other night.

  The ticket booth jutted out between two wide banks of doors. Boarded up, the plywood was painted with graffiti. Snow piled up along the sides of the building, with a path cleared on the sidewalk.

  Grabbing one of the pieces of plywood on the right-hand double doors, he yanked on it. It didn’t budge—too secure. No one was getting in this way.

  There was no major structural damage that he could see at a cursory glance, and he knew the building. Was the interior as sound? He loved the art deco murals in the lobby and auditorium, faded even when last he saw them, but still amazing.

  “This is the theater Alex and I used to hang out in.”

  Eric eyed it critically. “It’s old.”

  “Yeah, it is. It’s perfect.” David pulled out his smartphone and took a picture of the leasing agent’s number on the sign. This was his mother’s wheelhouse, and he fired off a quick text.

  He wrangled Eric back into the car and they made their way home through the slick streets. David hummed to himself.

  He caught his son’s grin. “What? Hey, I’m happy about this. Maybe things will work out, after all.” Returning the smile, he reached back and gave the boy a pinch, making him squeal.

  #

  Back home with all their purchases put away, David marched upstairs and knocked on the door of Eric’s room. Leaning in, he found his son lying on the bed and playing a game on his tablet.

  A gift from David’s mother, the tablet was a kid’s edition, trimmed in bright purple, Eric’s favorite color. They’d loaded it up with approved apps and books. He also added a screen-time limit. He didn’t want Eric getting too lost in it. His preference was a life as unplugged as the modern world allowed.

  The room was only slightly disheveled, and David took it as a win. “How about we walk over to the Christmas tree lot?” He picked up a few clothes lying on the floor and tossed them into the hamper in the corner like a basketball through a hoop.

  The holiday was fast approaching, and he couldn’t keep putting off getting the tree. Last year they were recently reunited and living with David’s mother and shared her holiday. This was their first one together, just them.

  As much as he enjoyed the season, he worried about making too big a deal of it. He was still finding his way through single-parenthood. Work was busy, and sadly, the quest to get the tree was easily dropped.

  Eric tossed the tablet aside and sat up. “Why? We don’t decorate it until Christmas Eve. It’s Cooper tradition.”

  David sat beside him. “Yes, but if we wait too long, the good ones will be gone. We get it now, put it up, and we decorate it on Christmas Eve. It’ll be your job to take care of it and keep it watered until then. Sound good?”

  “Sounds great!” Eric bounced on the bed in excitement.

  David stood and, grabbing his son, threw him over his shoulder and walked downstairs with him. The boy giggled all the way.

  Ten minutes later and snugly dressed, they walked down the sidewalk. The Christmas tree lot was only a few blocks away, the distance lessened by the shortcut through Rosner Park.

  He spied a familiar figure in the attached dog park. Of course Alex would be there. The park was midway between their houses. They picked today to walk through it, so why wouldn’t Alex be there?

  His friend was walking a black Labrador Retriever. Why did he have a dog with him?

  “Alex!” Eric jumped up and down and ran to the fence penning in the dog run. David didn’t ask the boy to be patient or shush him. It was a lost cause at this point. He was clearly taken with Alex. It shocked them both when he ignored them, staring off into the distance.

  David walked up to the fence and waved at him. “Alex, hey?”

  He flinched. “Oh, sorry, my mind was somewhere else.”

  “Are you okay?” David asked. His old friend appeared distracted and sad. It worried him. Opening the gate, they walked into the smaller park to join him.

  “I went by my dad’s house.” Alex’s voice was strained.

  “Oh,” was all David could manage. That could not have been good. Why did he go over there?

  “This is Max.” The dog’s tail wagged at hearing his name. Alex took a treat out of his coat pocket and handed it to Eric. “Firmly tell him to S I T, then give that to him when he does.”

  Eric’s eyes flashed. Turning to Max, he said, “Sit.” The dog obeyed, and he rewarded him with the treat. Max then licked Eric’s face, making the boy laugh.

  Alex patted Eric’s back. “Good job.” He turned to David. “The house belongs to me now. It passed to me when my dad died. I got the bright idea that I should go over and inspect it, get it ready to rent or sell.”

  “It sat empty for two years?” David avoided that block, and he’d almost not bought his house because of their close proximity. But his home was too perfect. The previous owners remodeled the kitchen, and the bathrooms had porcelain tubs. Porcelain!

  “Why do you have a dog?” Eric cast a sharp eye at Alex.

  “I love dogs, especially Labs.” Alex gave Max a noggin rub. “My apartment in New York won’t let me keep one, so sometimes I go to a shelter and see if they need any dogs walked.”

  Eric was slack-jawed. “You can do that?”

  “It’s good therapy for them and me.” Alex caught David eyeing him. “What?”

  “You. This is so typica
l.” David gave him a friendly punch in the arm. “I forgot you worked at an animal shelter in high school.”

  Eric stared up at Alex. “I thought you worked at the movie theater.”

  “And Capili’s,” Alex said. “I had several jobs in high school.” Pulling a ball from his pocket, he grabbed Max’s immediate attention. He threw it and the dog ran after it.

  Eric tried to get it back from him when the dog returned, but Max resisted. Finally getting the ball, Eric threw it and applauded as Max ran after it.

  He pulled on his father’s sleeve. “We have a big yard. Can Alex walk him to our house?”

  David hung his head. “It’s not his dog.” This was going to become a conversation, wasn’t it?

  “For a walk,” Eric pleaded.

  “You started this.” David pointed at Alex, making him laugh. “Are you going to go back to your dad’s house?”

  “Not today . . . but eventually. It needs repairs and Papa says it’s missing a washing machine. That’s odd, right? The water heater and drier are there, but the washing machine isn’t.”

  “Call me when you do and we’ll come help you.”

  Alex bent down to put the leash on Max. “I can’t ask that of you.”

  “Now you sound like me.” David opened the gate and they all followed him out.

  “Well, we can’t have that.” Alex laughed, but it sounded off to David. The visit to that house must’ve hit his friend hard.

  He poked Alex with his finger. “Call me before you go or I will just show up. Do you understand?”

  “But you live way on the other side of town,” Alex snarked.

  David’s face flushed with the reminder of his little lie. “Hey, maybe we can exorcise some old ghosts and decorate your house for Christmas.”

  “Exercise ghosts?” Eric asked.

  Leaning over, he spoke in the boy’s ear. “‘Ex-OR-cise’ It means get rid of.”

  “Exorcise,” Eric repeated. He loved new words. His curiosity made David happy and proud. The kid was so smart.

  “We?” Alex asked.

  “Yeah, we.” David held his gaze for a moment, then turned away. When he glanced back, he saw disappointment in Alex’s face. He didn’t like seeing it. He wanted to fix it, but as great as it was to have him back, he was only here for a visit. Enjoy it while you can.

  “Okay, we’re walking you back to the shelter and to Capili’s.” David led the way and Eric walked beside Max, petting him occasionally.

  “That’s not necessary.”

  David put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Hey, I remember why you walk dogs.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Saturday Night’s All Right for Fighting

  Alex was setting up the bar that evening when Bonnie confronted him.

  “Why on earth did you go over there alone?” She glared at him, hands on her hips.

  “What was I supposed to do?” He pulled the bottles from the lower cabinet and set them on the shelf behind the bar. There was a last-minute call-out and he volunteered to bartend.

  She tapped a finger on the counter. “You ask me or David to go with you, you fool.”

  Setting the rubber spill mats out, he gave her a frosty side-eye. “You and I had a rout today.”

  Bonnie pulled her curly hair back in a bun and slid onto one of the stools. “That was this morning. Just because I’m annoyed with you doesn’t mean I don’t love you. Why didn’t you ask David? You two are talking.” She leaned over the bar while he stocked.

  “More than talking.” Justin appeared beside her.

  “Oh, really?” Bonnie tilted her head to one side.

  Alex popped up and gave Justin a warning shot. “Hush, you.”

  With a laugh, Justin put both elbows on the bar and leaned toward Bonnie conspiratorially. “Your friend David and his little one brought Alex back here. They were almost holding hands,” Justin said in a loud whisper.

  “Dude, I will climb over this bar.” Alex gave the guy a nudge in the shoulder.

  “This tea is delicious.” She held a hand over her mouth and cackled.

  “You’re enjoying this a little too much.”

  “What’s life without laughing at your friends?” She doodled nervously on her captain’s pad. “So how was it . . . going in your house?”

  “It was difficult.”

  “Why?” The blond surfer asked.

  “Alex’s mother died there,” Bonnie said.

  “She had lung cancer. She didn’t want to die in a hospital bed. Fought till the end, but . . .” Alex went back to setting up the bar. Let’s not get into this here.

  “I’m sorry, dude.” Justin cuffed him in the shoulder.

  Alex shrugged and put on his pageant smile. “It was a long time ago.”

  Bonnie leaned over the bar and gave him a kiss on the cheek. With a wink at Justin, she returned to her section of the restaurant.

  Justin watched her leave. “She’s something, isn’t she?”

  “Yes, she is,” Alex agreed.

  It was a busy night, and Alex enjoyed working the bar. It was certainly better than haunting the upstairs or taking up space in the cocktail lounge.

  Looking up, he caught Bonnie eyeing him from the host stand with a smirk on her face. He was glad things were better between them, though they still had some ways to go.

  He kept checking his watch. A representative of the group interested in buying Capili’s was due in tonight. The restaurant was in better condition now than it was in his childhood. Over the years his aunt and uncle made much-needed upgrades. That, the goodwill they built up over the decades, and its location made it an attractive investment. It shouldn’t be a hard sell.

  Only forty years in business but they were part of the fabric of the Quarter. He grew up here. He bussed and waited tables and learned to cook here at Mama’s and his father’s elbow. His stomach churned. He felt warm and light-headed. He wanted to sit down.

  “You okay?” Papa knocked on the bar in front of him.

  “Yeah—yeah, fine.”

  The older man eyed him carefully. “Well, I think it’s good you went by your old house again.”

  “I’m going to get it ready to sell. I’ll move in and get out of your way.”

  Papa shook his head. “You’re never in our way, but you taking over that place is good. That could be your home again.”

  “We talked about this, Tiyo. I’m not staying.”

  “You could. You’d have a home and a business.” He gestured around.

  “Papa,” he warned. The printer chugged behind him and he grabbed the chit when it finished.

  “David’s going to help you clean it up, I guess?” Papa gave him a knowing look. “It’s good to see him coming around here again.”

  He shook his head. His aunt and uncle were always fond of David. He was part of the family, just like Bonnie. “You’re incorrigible.”

  “Well, he didn’t hesitate to rush over here when you called the other night, did he?” Papa teased.

  “Why did he have to, Uncle?” Alex asked. He didn’t buy Mama’s explanation that it was low blood sugar. “Mama doesn’t look well. What’s going on?”

  “It’s simple, Alex,” he said sharply. “We’re getting older, we have health concerns, and it’s time to retire. But it’s nothing for you to worry about. You’re going back to New York.”

  Alex raised both hands. “Then why am I even here?”

  “Because we’re a family business. You don’t want to take it over? Fine, but you can help us with the sale. It’s the least you can do.” The older man stormed off and into the kitchen.

  Ouch, I could have handled that better.

  “What’s that look in your eye?” Bonnie popped up at the bar, surprising him.

  “Just . . . worried about Mama.”

  She nodded but didn’t comment. It made him curious about what she knew. There were few secrets in restaurants. Bonnie picked up a stack of cocktail napkins and, with the back of her
hand, rotated it into a spiral formation.

  “Now, tell the truth. Aren’t you anxious to get back to the big city?”

  “A little bit, but it’s only been a few days . . .”

  Bonnie nodded but didn’t say anything. Justin picked that moment to return to the service well.

  “What are you guys doing after work?” He handed them five-by-seven glossy cards.

  Alex took one and examined it, leaning on the bar. “I have a hot date with Netflix and the sofa pullout in the office upstairs.”

  Justin tapped one of the cards and handed it to Bonnie. “I’m DJing the late-night event at Suntory. You should come.” He then turned to Alex. “You too.”

  Alex pulled a chit off the printer and started making the next drink. “Pass, but thank you. I’m too old for your crowd.”

  “Nonsense, man, you’re more than welcome. We love having some hip older dudes around.” Justin took the drink, garnished it, and put it on his cocktail tray.

  “Ha. Hah. Ha. Maybe if you were stripping,” Alex taunted.

  “I don’t do that anymore, man.” Justin shook his shaggy mane. “But I don’t do it any less either.” With a mischievous grin, he pulled up the front of his shirt, exposing a taut stomach. Grabbing the cocktail tray, he backed away.

  Staring after him, Alex pointed at the younger man and fixed Bonnie with a firm eye. “You need to get on that.”

  “He’s certainly not interested in me,” she said with a sigh.

  Maria stepped into the well, waiting on the drinks she ordered. The printer worked noisily on the counter behind Alex.

  He took a look at the chit, balled it up, and threw it at Bonnie. “That hot boy just invited you to his gig, you loon.”

  “He has a point.” Maria gave Bonnie a serious eye from under her dark bangs.

  “It’s a gig. He invites everyone.” Bonnie picked the chit off the bar where it bounced and threw it back at Alex.

  “Can you talk to her?” he asked, but Maria only shrugged. Bending over, Alex dug into the ice and started her order.

  Papa came out of the kitchen and glared at all of them. “Why is everyone standing around? We have food to run.”