They knew I wasn’t going to be there. I’d managed to get them a message via email, my phone service pretty much nonexistent here. If only my brother could have messed up this year, then it wouldn’t have been only me getting raked over the coals.
“You okay, Pax? Why do you look like you need a daddy right now?” Nico came around the counter to me, standing on his tip toes and kissing my cheek.
“Because I probably could,” I admitted.
“What makes you say that? Are you getting stir crazy here?”
“No, 100 percent it’s not that. If anything, the fact that it’s warming up is not the best, it means it’s time for me to think about heading back soon.” I felt guilty bringing that up on a holiday, but if we were going to practice not censoring our discussions with each other, it was best not to keep that bottled in.
“I have to Zoom my parents,” I admitted. “And you know how my mom is.”
He knew about the fiasco the year my brother wasn’t there for Christmas. Nico and I were neighbors the year that all went down, and he heard all about it.
“It’s not like you did it on purpose. You were on your way there. Try telling your mom that.” It sounded so logical coming from his lips. But that was only proof that he didn’t know my mother that well.
“My brother had been deployed. Deployed. That was hardly something that was within his control. I don’t see my mother thinking that Mother Nature was a better excuse.” It would be nice if she would.
“How about I Zoom with you? Then at least she can’t be too grumpy today.”
I wasn’t sure that was entirely true. They’d met before when my parents came to visit, so he wouldn’t be a total stranger. But I wouldn’t call them close by any stretch.
“If you want to.” I wasn’t going to force him, for sure.
He got out his laptop and set it up. Using his phone, I called to let them know I was opening the family’s Zoom. It took her less than thirty seconds before she was there, and, as her voice came through, the first thing I heard was, “Your son’s on Zoom instead of here.”
Yeah, this was gonna be fun.
She finally, after what was entirely too long for the task, turned on the camera. Not too long in that I thought she was hiding something, but too long as I could envision her fumbling with the buttons, trying to figure out how to do it.
“Your dad’s gonna be here in a second. Your brother’s still sleeping.”
I didn’t even ask if she was surprised. It was seven in the morning on a day off. Of course he was still asleep. “Okay, you got my email about why I’m not there, right?”
“Yes. You said it snowed, but it snowed days ago. So maybe you can elaborate on why that prevented you from being here now.” Scarily, things were going much better than I thought they would.
“Just a second.” I went and grabbed my phone, took a photo of the outside, and then brought it back, turning it around to show the screen. “This is why. This is outside right now.”
“That is a lot of snow.” My dad was on my side. One down. One to go.
“I wasn’t making it up,” I said. “I did try to go and be there on time, but you know what? I’m glad I didn’t.”
My mother gasped, and my father chuckled. He’d already clocked that Nico was beside me, based on his smirk. We’d had conversations about him in the past—not about me wanting to be his daddy, or me wanting to be more than friends of any kind, but in general. My dad knew he was important and more than the neighbor he met in passing.
“You’re saying you’re glad you aren’t here?” she asked.
“You mean, with you? No, that’s not what I was saying, Mom. I’m saying that because of the snowstorm, I ended up here at this new retreat center that isn’t open yet. And who did I discover but...you remember Nico? He used to live next door.”
She looked from Nico to me, to Nico, to me. “Oh, honey. I’m so glad you didn’t come to Christmas.”
That was unexpected.
“I feel like I’m walking into a trap when I ask why.”
“Don’t act like I’m old-fashioned. I know what I’m seeing here. You finally told him you like him, right?”
I may be a daddy, but I still had a mommy, one who apparently thought it was okay to just say anything, just like I’d been telling Nico to. I guess I deserved that.
“Yes, Mom. This is Nico, and yes, we’re together. Finally.”
