“
It
’
s ten-thirty.
”
She laughs at the surprised look on my face.
“
Are you kidding? My alarm–
”
My alarm was set on my phone, which apparently wasn
’
t in my room.
Where was it?
Andrew finally gives the phone back to me.
“
Thanks.
”
I read the text messages for myself, smiling.
“
I
’
m going to take a quick shower. Tell my parents I
’
m up?
”
I ask Maddie.
“
Sure thing. Andrew, Dad wants your help unloading the car.
”
Once he
’
s gone, I walk over to Maddie and give her a hug.
“
Have you heard from Brandon?
”
I ask her.
“
Mom and Dad met with him last night,
”
she answers.
“
And I think they
’
ve talked this morning. He wasn
’
t going to step foot near this place today, he said.
”
“
Yeah, I think my dad told him to stay away until he got his act together.
”
“
Actually, my mom said your dad called Brandon early this morning and apologized, and invited him to come out for Christmas.
”
“
Oh. Well, that was nice of him.
‘
Tis the season, I guess.
”
“
Your dad
’
s not one to hold a grudge,
”
she says. I hope she
’
s right.
“
Yeah, but he had a pretty bad day yesterday.
”
“
Aside from the hearing?
”
I just nod solemnly.
“
What happened?
”
“
I
’
ll fill you in later. It
’
s a big mess.
”
“
Okay.
”
She embraces me again.
“
Jackie and I will be downstairs. I can
’
t wait to catch up with you! It
’
s been too long!
”
“
Same here. I
’
ll be down in a few minutes.
”
I re-read Jon
’
s text messages and respond quickly before getting in the shower, letting him know that I miss him and love him. After I
’
m finished getting ready, I go downstairs where even more of my family has arrived. Everyone is eating from the catered brunch my parents provide every year. I grab a bagel and some fruit and sit down next to Maddie, Jackie, Lexi and Clara in the breakfast nook. Since Maddie and Jackie have moved away, it
’
s rare that we
’
re all together anymore. Maddie
’
s telling everyone about her new job in Chicago. She and Jackie had been roommates in Seattle where they both had chosen to go to college, and this week is the first time they
’
ve seen each other since Maddie took the job in August. They were always so close, and I
’
d heard that Jackie was having a hard time without her older sister nearby. She was already planning to transfer to a college in Illinois next year.
“
Morning, Tessa,
”
my dad says when he enters the room. He puts his arm around my shoulder and kisses the top of my head.
“
Hey, Dad.
”
“
Did you sleep okay?
”
“
Yeah.
”
“
Mom wants to know what happened to your coat.
”
“
Paint,
”
I tell him simply with a shrug.
“
I was going to ask her what to do last night, but you were already asleep.
”
It
’
s not entirely true, but I push out the memory of what was
actually
going on.
“
Okay. Well, it
’
s not too obvious,
”
he says.
“
Cool.
”
“
Do you think you could straighten up your room a little this morning? We need to set up some air mattresses in there so your cousins have a place to sleep tonight.
“
Sure. I
’
ll do it right after breakfast.
”
“
Okay,
”
he says with a smile before leaving.
“
So, what happened yesterday, Liv?
”
Maddie asks.
I tell her first about the horrible argument between Brandon and Dad. Maddie and Jackie
’
s oldest brother had apparently confessed everything to his parents last night because both of the girls knew about the young child, as well as the baby boy that was on the way.
“
Honestly, we
’
re not surprised,
”
Jackie says. Their brother had long been the black sheep of their family.
“
How are your parents handling it?
”
“
Better today,
”
Maddie says.
“
Now that things are kind of out in the open. I don
’
t think Dad and Brandon had talked to one another in a few months, so maybe things will start getting better now. I just hope he does the right thing. Everything hinges on that.
”
“
Yeah,
”
I agree. I then tell them about my family
’
s Christmas celebration with my boyfriend. I
’
d turned the ring around on my finger so that the diamonds were hidden from my cousins, but when I get to that part of the story, I turn it around to show them.
After they gush about it–mainly about its meaning, and not the actual ring itself–I tell them how Dad completely flipped out. I try to remember the conversation between him and Jon, but everything happened so quickly, I
’
m sure I
’
m leaving out details. I do tell them they actually discussed my sex life. Lexi drops her fork, mid-bite.
“
I would have died,
”
she says.
“
Somehow, I survived,
”
I tell her.
“
Your poor dad.
”
I stare at her.
“
What? I haven
’
t done anything wrong!
”
She looks at me.
“
No, I know. It
’
s just...
”
“
What?
”
“
You don
’
t remember what he was like with you, when you were little.
”
Maddie and Jackie nod in agreement.
“
You were his world, Livvy. You still are, I can tell. I know he feels like he
’
s losing his little girl. I could tell from the little interaction I just saw between you.
”
“
No, you couldn
’
t,
”
I argue.
“
Yeah, we could,
”
Maddie agrees with Lexi.
“
He seems sad. Jacks is rarely sad.
”
“
Not since Emi came along. And especially not since
you
came along.
”
“
Things kind of suck between us right now,
”
I finally admit.
“
We
’
re just so different.
”
“
It
’
ll get better,
”
Maddie says.
“
My dad and I had a rough time, but we
’
re fine now.
”
“
I learned what not to do from her,
”
Jackie says as she nods to her sister.
“
Dad still adores me.
”
“
Mine, too,
”
Lexi says.
“
Yeah, but you
’
re the saint in the family,
”
I joke with her, but the rest of my cousins nod in agreement. We all look at Clara, who
’
s remained silent through the entire conversation.
“
I don
’
t talk to my dad,
”
she says simply.
“
But what about Brian?
”
“
He always thought I was a hellion.
”
She laughs, acknowledging that her step-father was right.
“
But he
’
s accepted me from day one. It
’
s my mom I have trouble with.
”
“
Well, you
’
ve got my mom,
”
I remind her. Until Clara graduated from high school, she was very close to my mom and would come to our house all the time.
“
I know. She
’
s awesome.
”
“
Yeah, she is,
”
I agree, still feeling remorseful about the conversation we
’
d had about Nate the other night.
“
Hey, Clara, do you remember Nate?
”
I ask her. I knew she did, because we used to talk about him when we were younger.
“
A little,
”
she says with a smile.
“
We always did these craft days together. That
’
s what I remember about him.
”
“
Did you have fun with him?
”
“
Totally. He let me do anything I wanted.
”
“
Do you think he would have made a good father?
”
She shrugs her shoulders, barely giving my question any thought.
“
I guess so, yeah. He was kind of a kid himself, from what I remember. He never seemed like a grown up to me.
”
“
Sounds like Brandon,
”
Maddie says as an aside.
“
I
’
m not sure that makes a good father.
”
She looks around pensively.
“
But we
’
ll see, I guess.
”
“
I hope,
”
Jackie adds.
“
So tell us more about Jon,
”
Maddie suggests. After I give them a brief rundown of our relationship, they tell me that he sounds like someone my dad should like.
By mid-afternoon, all of my parents
’
siblings and their families have arrived with their kids in tow, except for Brandon. I
’
d overheard my dad apologizing to his twin sister and her husband about his altercation with Brandon, but my aunt Kelly assures Dad that everything he
’
d said were things that her son needed to hear. She thanks him for being hard on him.
It
’
s a beautiful, cloudless day, and the guys of the family spend most of the afternoon outside playing sports or grilling in preparation for tonight
’
s dinner. Kelly spends most of the day cooking. She
’
s always been the one in the kitchen on holidays, but she loves to cook and volunteers every year. Anna and Mom
’
s sister, Jen, typically help her out while Mom and Steven
’
s wife keep watchful eyes on the younger boys who tend to roughhouse a little too much. They keep the first-aid kits nearby, and use them often.