by Jody Day
He’d played enough Christmas carols. He needed to get to the store and get some more lights. As he put the song book back in the piano bench, a cell phone rang.
“Hello,” George answered.
Evan slipped past Risé to get his wallet and keys from the coffee table.
She knelt, putting away bubble wrap and tidying up after decorating.
“Oh, no. I’m sorry to hear that. Sure, we’ll pray for her and for you. Hard to find a replacement this late in the game. Well, oh wait, hold on a second.” George held his hand over the phone.
“Mrs. Burkett has broken her arm, and can’t play piano for the children’s Christmas play this weekend.” He and Risé turned toward Evan.
“Could you possibly step in, Evan? I’m sure you can handle it,” George said.
“When is it?” It might put him in their good graces again. He was tired of people only seeing him as one-dimensional.? He’d rather pack up and leave right now than to have Risé see him that way
“It’s Sunday morning, Christmas Eve. They’ve been working for weeks. The kids will be so disappointed if it has to be canceled,” George said.
Risé nodded. “I’m sure it’s simple music. Besides, after what we just heard, it would be a piece of cake for you.” She smiled.
“But it’s already Friday night,” Evan said. Who was he kidding? He wanted more of that smile, even if she only loved his playing.
“I’ll take you to the church and Pastor Langford can walk you through it.” She stood and took a step toward him.
“Well, I guess so. OK.” It might be the only thing he’d ever be good for, but if it meant being on her good side, well, he’d go for it.
Five minutes later they were driving to the church.
He was keenly aware of the dainty, temperamental redhead in the passenger seat next to him.
She fiddled with his radio. “I told Dad about the break-up. That much is over, except he wants to hear the gory details.” She shut the radio off.
“Why would someone break up with you? Did he lose his mind?” He didn’t mean to let that slip out. He glanced sideways at her.
She blushed and looked out the passenger side window. “It was kind of mutual. I made a commitment to God when I was still in high school that I would wait until marriage. He wasn’t down with that.”
Evan didn’t know what to say. He wanted to reach over for her hand, but cleared his throat instead. Wasn’t that old fashioned? Risé seemed like a hidden treasure. So much to be discovered. He wished she’d ask him a question about his life, something besides the piano.
“Too much information? Sorry.” She opened his glove compartment and rummaged around.
“Need something?”
“Tissue,” she said, sniffing.
“Sorry, none. Here, use my sleeve.” He held his arm toward her.
She blinked and then stared at him. “Seriously?” Then she threw her head back and laughed, yet tears rolled down her cheeks.
They approached a convenience store and he pulled in, jumped out and went inside. The small packs of tissues were at the checkout. He purchased them and hurried back to the car.
“Thanks. How nice,” she said. She opened the package and pulled out a few and then dabbed at her eyes. “I’m sorry, Evan. You just have such compassionate eyes. Feels easy to talk to you.”
“You mean when you’re not mad at me.” He thought he could hear the egg shells crunching.
She giggled. “Yeah, well, Dad said something that made me think. He said I’m taking the Jeff thing out on you.”
“I see. No problem.” Good old Evan. Everybody’s doormat.
“Here it is,” she said, pointing to a quaint chapel with beautiful landscaping festooned with Christmas greenery and large red bows, coming up on the right. A nativity scene was displayed on the right side of the walkway, and two men sat on a bench on the other side.
Evan parked right in front.
“Oh, no!”
“What’s wrong?” Evan searched her for some kind of injury.
She was gaping at the two men on the bench. “It’s Jeff.”
~*~
Risé froze in her seat. What is he doing here? Has he changed his mind? That thought didn’t make her happy.
“Risé, do you want to leave?”
“Leave, uh, no. I don’t know.” She stared at Jeff, trying to make sense of it.
“Which one is he?” Evan asked.
“The blond. The other is Pastor Langford.”
“Kind of young for a preacher, right? I’ve only ever seen ancient types.”
“What? Oh, he’s older than Jeff, but he does look young, I guess.” She could leave. Maybe whatever business he had with Pastor Langford had nothing to do with her. “Let’s go.”
Evan started the engine.
Jeff and Pastor Langford looked their way and then stood and walked toward the car.
“Come on, let’s go!” The memory of the way Jeff’s face turned red and the angry words he’d spat at her that night made her want to get away.
“Yes, ma’am,” Evan said, and peeled out. “Home?”
“No, just drive. Let me think a minute.”
Evan turned up and down the streets. To fill the silence until she spoke, he commented on the holiday lights and decorations.
“Yes, it’s my favorite time of year. But somehow I’m looking forward to this Christmas being over and done with. Sorry to put you in the middle of all this.” Poor guy, she’d treated him badly, dumped her drama on him, and now he was driving her around because she couldn’t decide what to do next. He was probably looking forward to getting out of town.
“It’s OK. I don’t mind. Sorry you’re having such a hard time.”
“I don’t know. I thought I wanted to see him, but when I actually did, it freaked me out. He got really angry that night we broke up, and it started reminding me of some things I’d not wanted to deal with.”
“Like what?” His voice was low, as though he might be afraid to ask.
She’d certainly given him every reason to be cautious. “Anger. He has a really bad temper. It wasn’t directed at me very often, but when it was, he was immediately so repentant and sweet, that I didn’t think it was a problem. I’m wondering if I just ignored it out of love.” Saying it out loud freed her. It explained that niggling little fear she’d pushed down whenever they’d talked about the wedding. How could she have been so stupid?
“Earl.”
“What? No, his name is Jeff.”
“One of my mother’s boyfriends sounds just like that. Earl. He was big in church, but that didn’t stop him from slapping my mother around. Same thing. He’d apologize on his knees with candy and flowers, and she always took him back.” He jerked his gaze toward her. “Jeff didn’t give you that bruise, did he?” Evan nodded toward her arm.
“I’m not sure. I didn’t notice it until after the night we broke up. He really scared me, and I guess he held on to my arm too tightly. I’ve been so heartbroken that I didn’t really think about it much. I guess I was used to it.”
Evan’s knuckles turned white at the steering wheel.
“Your mom and this Earl, it didn’t end well?”
“No.” His brown eyes squinted into a scowl.
An awkward silence followed. Evan’s expression was dark. She hadn’t meant to pry. Her heart went out to him. Something had definitely hurt him.
“I guess we better get home. Dad will be wondering what happened to us.”
“Sure, there’s just one problem. If you want me to play for that kiddie thing, I’m gonna need some music.”
“Oh, gosh, the sight of Jeff totally threw me off.” She didn’t want to go back.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure I can probably play it, just need the cues and stuff.” He smiled.
That was nice of him not to make her go back. “You sure? I’ll call Pastor Langford and we’ll arrange a run through tonight or tomorrow, if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“That’ll work. Why don’t we get some dinner, and you can tell me how it goes. That is, if you’re familiar with it.”
“Oh, they do the same one very year. I can definitely talk you through it, and tacos would really help right now.” She did need to eat, and she didn’t want to risk Jeff being at her house when she got home. “Thanks, Evan.”
He nodded. “Tacos, it is. Where to?”
She directed him to Candle Tacos, her favorite place. As Evan pulled into a parking place and stopped, her cell phone rang. She rummaged through her purse. She reached for the door handle but the door was already open. Evan stood there, waiting for her to get out.
“Yeah, Dad, Evan and I are grabbing tacos. Can we bring you something home? OK. We won’t be long.” She stepped out of the car and straightened, nearly nose to nose with him.
“Um.” His glasses were an obstacle to those velvet brown eyes, but just now the glasses slid down his nose a bit.
She reached up and pushed them into place.
“Yes, um, well.” He cleared his throat. “If you’ll just step back a bit.”
“Oh!” The crazy day must be making her thickheaded.
He closed the door, touched her back slightly, and led her to the entrance.
They found a table.
“Anything specific? I’ll go up and order,” Evan said after pulling her chair back and seating her.
“Just the regular order of tacos, sour cream and a jalapeño on the side.”
“Got it, be right back.”
She turned toward the window and watched the cars go by. If Jeff thought of going to her house, he’d have to pass right by Candle Tacos. She was terrified. Yet, was she really unwilling to give him a second chance if that’s why he drove to town?
Evan came back to the table. “Forgot to ask what to drink?”
“Oh, just tea, no sugar.”
He went back to the counter and then returned with food and drinks.
“What did you get?” she asked.
“Same, although I’m not sure about this jalapeño.” He picked it up by the stem and sniffed it.
“I love it, but I can only take it in small bites with something else. You never can tell how hot it’s going to be.” The tacos smelled wonderful. She picked one up and took a bite, then a tiny nibble of the pepper. “Go on, try it, but start small,” she said.
He took a bite of his taco and then a small bite of the pepper. “Not bad, quite good, in fact.”
“Is that lemonade?” she asked, pointing to his drink.
“Yes, I love it. It reminds me of my piano teacher, Mrs. Miller. She used to make lemonade for me in the summers. I’ve been thinking about her lately.” Evan took a sip of his drink and grimaced. “I guess I’m used to Mrs. Miller’s concoction with lots and lots of sugar.”
Risé took four sugar packets from the dispenser, tore them open and poured the sugar into Evan’s glass.
“Ah, maybe,” he said, picking up his spoon and giving it a stir. He took a sip. “Much, much better.”
“I can’t believe I’m pushing sugar on you. I spend a lot of time trying to keep Dad off of it.” She really should order Dad’s lunch anyway, a salad perhaps, and get home. He got wonky when he didn’t eat.
“Right, his condition,” Evan said. He started eating his second taco with tiny bites of jalapeño.
“Yeah, wait, how did you know about that?” Had Dad been talking to Evan about his diabetes?
“Mr. Carter told me. He warned me not to let George help with the Christmas lights.” He took a rather large bite of the pepper with no adverse reaction. Maybe his jalapeño wasn’t as hot as hers.
“Oh, yeah, well, as Dad said, George just didn’t want to share the glory.”
Evan’s face was turning red. “No, really, he said…” Evan grabbed his lemonade and drained it. Perspiration beaded on his forehead. “Hot,” he choked out, and reached for Risé’s tea.
She rushed to the counter. “Can you get me a piece of bread and a glass of milk, quickly, please?”
The clerk, obviously well versed in the cure, brought the items within seconds.
“Here, Evan, eat this bread, it will help. Then take a drink of milk and hold it in your mouth.” Poor thing. He looked miserable.
He did it and then took a deep breath. “Man, that was like fire. I don’t know what I was thinking.” He dabbed at his face with a napkin.
“You sure you’re OK? I’ve done that before. Not fun.”
“You got that right.” He started coughing.
She called to the waitress, “More water here, please.” To Evan she said, “Just drink your ice water, ,and then we’d better get going.” She couldn’t stifle a chuckle. How could he never have eaten a pepper before?
“I heard…that,” he said between sips of ice water.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh. Couldn’t help it,” she said as they got into the car. She reached over and touched his arm.
“I probably would have laughed at you as well, but I wonder if you’d be as gracious with your response,” he said with a grin.
“Duly noted. I guess I deserve that. It’s just been rough. The breakup, anticipating Carol and Fin’s return, having to tell Dad about school. It’s all got me tied up in knots.” Although, it occurred to her that being with Evan this evening had made her forget about Jeff.
“That kind of stress sends me to the piano.” He tapped the steering wheel as if playing keys.
“What I need is a good prayer time. By the way, I kind of thought you were praying when you were playing so passionately with your eyes closed.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I guess it’s a no. I’m not thinking about God when I play. Well, I’m not thinking positive thoughts about Him, anyway.”
Again with the white knuckles on the steering wheel. She’d hit a nerve.
“We’re almost there,” he said, with a definite “change the subject” tone.
Her nerves ruffled again. “If there’s a blue SUV in front of my house, keep driving, OK?” She squinted her eyes shut as they got closer to the house. “Is it there?”
“No, but there’s a giant silver SUV in front of the Carters’. Is it theirs?”
She opened her eyes as he pulled into the Carters’ driveway.
“They drive a small, faded red sedan, ” she said.
Evan opened her door and they walked toward the vehicle.
A rotund, red-faced, and balding man got out of the driver’s seat. A tall, thin woman with platinum blonde and purple streaked hair exited the passenger side. Her nail polish matched her hair. In fact, everything she wore was purple including spiked, toe-less heels.
Evan pulled up short. “Mom?”
5
Evan’s mom wrapped him up in a hug.
He stepped around until he faced Risé. “This is my mom, Patty Edwards.” He turned her toward Risé. “Mom, this is Risé Larkin, she lives across the street.”
“Pleased to meet you, sugar, and it’s Patty Lafayette, now,” Mom said, and gave Risé a hug. “And this is Bud.”
“Boudreaux Lafayette. Evan, glad to make your acquaintance.” He slapped Evan on the shoulder so hard that Evan lost his balance.
“Couldn’t wait to meet my new son.” Mom’s latest rubbed his hands together and then lifted Risé’s hand to his lips and kissed it.
“A pleasure to meet you both,” Risé said. “I need to get home. Catch you later, Evan.” She waved and jogged across the street. She peeked back at them before she closed her front door.
“I thought you were on your honeymoon. What are you doing here?”
“Funniest thing, you won’t believe it,” Mom said, and then she tucked herself under Bud’s arm. “Something happened to the ship. We were stuck in the middle of the ocean, halfway between Galveston and Cozumel.” She laughed.
Evan didn’t see the joke.
“I says to Patty here, I says, ‘It’s a sign, sweet cakes. We’re gonna go h
ome and celebrate Christmas with your boy. Our first Christmas as a family.’ I hired a helicopter to pick us up, bought your mama this vehicle, and here we are!” He slapped Evan on the back.
“But, I’ve got a job. I have to get this house ready for the family who lives here. They’re coming in Christmas Day, and there’s not really room for—” He stopped. How could he keep this from happening? He tried to imagine the Carters coming home to find his mother and current…stepfather in their guest bedroom. That wouldn’t work.
“Oh, no worries. We’ve already booked a B&B near here. We’re still on our honeymoon, after all,” Bud said.
His mother giggled as they cuddled up in the driveway like teenagers.
Oh, gag. He looked Bud over. Would this guy be good to Mom?
“Son, at least offer us some coffee. It’s kind of chilly out here.” His mom rubbed her arms against the wind.
“Yes, let’s get to know each other. Then I’ll take us all out to dinner. You can bring that pretty little redhead if you want,” Bud offered.
“I don’t know about that,” he said.
But Mom and Bud surrounded him and practically carried him toward the front door as they chatted about their failed cruise.
A blue SUV pulled up in front of the Larkins’ home.
Please don’t take him back.
Evan showed his unexpected guests the family room, and then opened the blinds that faced across the street. Jeff must already be inside. “I’ll put the coffee on.” He hurried off to start the coffee and then returned to the family room. He sat in a recliner closest to the front window.
His mom stretched out on the couch.
Bud made himself comfortable in the opposite recliner. “Your mama says you tickle the ivories pretty good, boy. I’d love to hear it. How about some Christmas tunes?”
He agreed, if only to have a clear view of the house across the street. He took the Christmas carol book from the bench seat and started playing. Five minutes later Bud’s snoring resonated over the song. His mother had fallen asleep, too.
Evan put the music book away and turned his focus to the street outside the family room window. Risé and Jeff were standing on her front porch.
