Authors: Jayne Conway
“I’ll tell you after you try it.”
“Okay,” he frowns, “Now you’re just scaring me.”
Julia laughs, as do her cousins seated around them.
“No worries, Will,” Dave pats him on the back, “Nothing that’ll kill ya.”
Will stares at the pasta with some trepidation.
“Just try it. It’s good,” Julia assures him.
He twirls a bit on his fork and takes a bite, trying to figure out what makes it special. It’s very good, a little salty, but tasty. He takes another bite. The linebackers are watching him eat, waiting for his reaction.
“Okay, I like it, now tell me the secret ingredient.”
Again, the room echoes with their laughter.
“Do you like fish, Will?” Michael asks, a smile on his face.
“Yes…” Will stares at his plate. There isn’t any fish that he can see.
“Anchovies,” Julia tells him. “We put anchovies in the sauce on Christmas Eve.” He’s confused. He doesn’t see anything resembling an anchovy. “It disintegrates into the sauce when it cooks.”
Will puts his fork down and makes a face.
“Why do you put anchovies in the sauce?”
“It’s an old family custom started by my great-grandparents. On Christmas Eve, Italian families traditionally serve seven courses of fish. My great-grandparents had twelve children and were too poor to buy the fish. But they could afford the anchovies, so they put it in the sauce and that’s how our family has done it for over a hundred years.”
Will nods and contemplates his next move. Her cousins are eating and keeping one eye on him, waiting to see if he’ll eat anymore. If he doesn’t eat the pasta, they’re going to bust his chops all night, he can feel it.
“I like it.” Will picks up his fork and takes another bite.
“Ah! Thank you, Will! You just won me twenty bucks!” Dave claps him on the back again, his eyes narrowing as he says, “I knew you’d eat it. You look like the kind of guy who likes to try new things.”
Will raises an eyebrow. Is Dave suggesting Julia’s something he’s trying out?
“True Dave, and when I find something I like, I stick with it.”
“Good to know, Will,” Dave nods and smiles, “Good to know.”
Julia wasn’t exaggerating. She does have fourteen ‘brothers and sisters’ and her eight very large brothers are extremely protective of her.
The rest of the night went smoothly, and Will was eventually able to relax and enjoy himself. Dave must’ve signaled to the others to lay off the intimidation tactics, because over the course of the evening they included Will in conversation, which, amongst the men, completely revolved around sports.
No politics, no religion, nothing polarizing. Julia’s cousins are rabidly devoted to every New England team, and this is where Will found common ground.
A little after eleven o’clock, Will and Julia prepare to leave. They’re joining his family for midnight mass. Will helps Julia with her coat, then pulls on his own, and holds up the Yankee Swap gift he ended up with. Gifts ranged from perverse to ridiculous. He’s now the proud owner of a set of ceramic coasters, each with a different dirty limerick.
There once was a man from Nantucket
…
“Will, it was nice to meet you. Hope we see you over Easter.” Dave shakes his hand and Will and Julia bid farewell to the rest of her family.
Once outside, Will wraps his arms around Julia, and sighs. He made it through the evening intact. Thank god they didn’t treat him like an alien being from planet Poppasquash.
“Everyone really liked you,” Julia says once they’re in his Jeep. “I know they gave you some shit at first, but thanks for being such a good sport.”
“I really liked them too,” he says with genuine relief.
***
Christmas dinner with Will’s family is as uncomfortable as Julia suspected it would be. The tension in the room is palpable. This is the first time everyone has been in the same room since the evening they went to dinner before Thanksgiving, while Ellie and her boyfriend Kevin were in New York. Julia can’t believe Sloane had the nerve to come to Christmas dinner after that fiasco.
Peter’s apologized to Ellie for his wife’s behavior more than once, but Sloane hasn’t and that’s a problem. Ellie wants to watch Sloane squirm, but she’s making everyone else uncomfortable in the process.
Halfway through dinner, Will’s father puts down his fork and asks the question everyone out of the know is thinking.
“What the hell is going on here?”
Everyone at the table freezes and Ellie smiles.
“Why don’t you ask Sloane?”
Sloane turns pink and promptly leaves the table, dropping her dirty fork and knife on Mrs. Kennedy’s expensive oriental rug. Will and Peter grab Ellie and hurriedly escort her out of the dining room while Julia sits, trapped at the table with Will’s parents, aunts, uncles and cousins, holding her breath and wondering who will be the first to speak.
No one says a word for several minutes, then Mrs. Kennedy begins to clear the dishes from the table. Those left seated, quietly excuse themselves and retreat into the living room, heading straight for the liquor cabinet.
Julia pours herself a large glass of wine and takes a seat on the couch near the fireplace in the living room, wishing she and Will could go back to her mother’s house. Carol and Ron left for Jamaica early this morning and they’ll have the house to themselves tonight before they drive back to DC in the morning. After the tension of today, her mom’s place would be paradise.
Spending time with family over the holidays is highly overrated.
A half hour later, Ellie, Peter and Will are still in their father’s study, and Julia notes Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy seem to have successfully brushed the situation under the rug. Will’s dad is enjoying his second scotch on the rocks, laughing with relatives, while his mother sits at the piano playing Christmas carols. If his parents want to pretend everything is fine, Julia figures that’s their prerogative. She admires their ability to make the best of a bad situation.
Ellie could’ve handled this better. It’s one thing to hold a well deserved grudge, quite another to drag everyone else into it.
She’s lost in thought when Sloane takes a seat in the armchair beside her. Julia eyes her warily as Sloane straightens the fabric of her cream colored skirt and crosses her legs, settling in for a chat.
She can’t imagine why Sloane would want to have a conversation with her now. What could they possibly talk about? On the three occasions Julia’s been in her company, Sloane has treated her with nothing but disdain. And Julia hasn’t bothered to disguise her dislike of Will’s sister-in-law.
“Julia, I understand you’ve met Avery.”
“Yes, I have,” she replies, startled. “I wasn’t aware you know Avery.”
“Oh yes, we go way back!” Sloane smiles, “We went to boarding school together.”
Julia nods and smiles stiffly.
Well, that explains a lot!
If Sloane and Avery are friends, and Avery wants to get back together with Will, then Julia is an unwelcome obstacle.
“Peter and I saw her at the Nantucket Christmas Stroll a couple of weeks ago. She said she’s been spending a lot of time with Will since she moved to Washington.”
“Really?” Julia’s heart stops, and she swallows hard, but manages to keep her smile in place, “She said that?”
“Yes, she’s been helping him decorate his place.” Sloane picks up her glass of wine, taking a sip.
Julia’s mouth falls opens in disbelief. She doesn’t want Sloane to see how badly she’s rattled, but she’s sick inside.
“Well, she’s doing one hell of a job.” Julia forces a smile and scans the room, searching for Will.
She doesn’t want to jump to conclusions, but she remembers the look on his face whenever she mentioned the new décor. She has a bad feeling about this but no doubt Sloane will report this conversation to Avery and she’s not going to provide any additional material.
Will and Peter enter the living room and Will takes a seat beside Julia on the couch, holding her hand in his. She smiles, her eyes searching his for deception, but all she senses is his exhaustion. His body is slack, his eyes glazed over. Peter asks Sloane for a moment and they leave the room.
“Where’s Ellie?” Julia asks.
“She’s still in the study. Pete’s going to try and convince Sloane to apologize to her. You know what really pisses me off? Sloane knows she was inappropriate, but she’s angry with Ellie for putting her in that position!” He leans back against the couch and runs his hands through his hair. “I feel awful. I don’t want this to ruin the holiday for my parents.”
“They seem fine now. Will, this has nothing to do with you. This is between Sloane and Ellie. Maybe you should stay out of it, let them figure it out.”
“I was trying to persuade Ellie to at least pretend everything is fine between them. To stop staring Sloane down every opportunity she gets, but she said she wouldn’t.”
She leans against Will, resting her head on his shoulder and considers mentioning what Sloane said just then, but there’s enough drama at the moment. Will wraps his arm around her and Julia overhears Peter explain to his parents that they have to leave. Sloane ‘promised’ a friend of hers they’d stop by for dessert.
“Well, Sloane has refused to budge. Great.”
“Is Ellie waiting for her in the study?” Julia asks. Will nods and begins to rise, but Julia stops him. She wants to talk to Ellie herself. “I’ll go. You just relax.”
Julia opens the door to the study and finds Ellie sitting behind her father’s desk, feet up, hands behind her head.
“That’s a serious ‘don’t fuck with me posture’ you have going on there.” Julia says, closing the door behind her.
“I thought you were Sloane.” Ellie relaxes and smiles, “She’s not coming to apologize, is she?”
“No.” Julia slowly shakes her head. “You too may be the most stubborn women on the planet. They just left. Peter made up some excuse to your parents and they took off.”
“Well, at least now I can relax and have some fun.”
Julia takes a seat across from Ellie and looks down at her hands.
“What’s the matter, Jules?”
“I need your advice,” she pauses, wondering if she should discuss this with Will’s sister. They’ve become good friends, but Ellie’s allegiance lies with her brother. After a moments consideration she decides to confide in Ellie. “Sloane said something to me when we were in the living room a little while ago…”
“What did she do now?” Ellie throws her hands up, “Jesus H. Christ does that woman ever give it a rest?”
“She told me Avery’s been visiting Will. A lot. And helping him decorate his place. Or should I say our place now that I’ve agreed to move in with him.”
“Okay, one,” Ellie’s eyes open wide. “When did you guys decide to move in together? Oh my god, that’s wonderful!”
“Right before we came home.”
Ellie claps and sits back in her chair, smiling.
“Ellie, did you hear the first part?”
“Oh, right,” she blinks, “Avery visiting. She’s totally lying! Will wouldn’t keep something like that to himself.”
Julia’s not convinced.
“Have you been to Will’s new place?” Ellie shakes her head, frowning, and Julia continues, “I hadn’t been there since September. He always comes to New York to visit me. In the three months I was away he fully furnished the first floor. I’m talking decorative pillows, color coordinated everything. Does that sound like Will to you?”
“No.” Ellie frowns, “My brother couldn’t match socks never mind decorate a house. Maybe he hired a professional?”
“I asked him. He said no and changed the subject.”
“I’m going to get him right now,” Ellie rises. “Ask him Julia. Will doesn’t know how to lie. Just ask him and see what he says.”
“Okay.”
***
“Hey babe, what’s up?” Will sits beside Julia on the leather sofa in his father’s study and takes her hand.
Thank God she’s here today!
This Christmas has been so tense and Julia is the calm in the center of this storm. Maybe it’s time to make their escape and head to her mother’s house. They’ll have the house to themselves…
“I have to ask you something and I need you to tell me the truth.”
“Of course.” His brow furrows, “What is it?”
“Have you seen Avery since you had that talk with her after my birthday?” Julia asks, looking directly into his eyes.
Oh dear God.
He looks down, feels the color rising from his neck to his face, then returns her gaze. He’s not going to lie to her.
“Yes.”
Julia’s face turns white.
“Avery told Sloane she sees you often, and has been helping you decorate your place.”
He closes his eyes and nods his head.
Sloane!
It never occurred to him that Avery and Sloane are still friends. Avery never mentions his sister-in-law when she visits.