Sergio doesn’t get a chance to answer as Henry is already calling his name. “Uncle Sergio! She doesn’t hate you!” he shouts, then zooms down the hill in a perfect miniature replica of his father’s crouched skiing stance before flipping over forward to a stop.
“Fuck,” Sergio mutters and hangs his head as he comes to a stop.
Adrien skis past him and takes over Sergio’s usual task of lifting Henry back up onto his feet as Holden claps Sergio on the shoulder and says, “He gave you up pretty quick.”
“Yeah, I should know better than to trust a five-year-old.”
Turning to face him, Holden asks, “Why do you think Rose hates you?”
“It’s a pattern I’ve noticed over the last few days.” Sergio sighs.
“Days? You only got here yesterday.”
“Yesterday to you.” Sergio digs the heels of his hands into his temples. Still muttering, he adds, “I think I’ve been here for nearly a year at this point.”
“A year?” Holden asks, scratching the back of his neck. “How have you been here for nearly a year? I picked you up at the airport yesterday.”
Frustrated and at his wits’ end, Sergio dives into it. He shakes his hands on either side of his head and looks up at the clear blue sky as he says, “It’s been a day for you, but months for me.”
“Oh, yeah. I know what you mean. Like those long-ass days you just want to end, but they never do. I hate that.”
“No!” Sergio shouts and stares directly at Holden. “I mean, I keep waking up on the same day! Today. New Year’s Eve. And no one else seems to notice.”
“I’m still not following here, Sergio. Do you want to skip lunch with us and go back to the house? We can talk about this tomorrow.”
“Thereisno tomorrow. Tonight the clock will strike midnight, and I’ll wake back up today, New Year’s Eve. And your son will kick me in the balls and your wife will still hate me and Jeremy won’t remember that I kissed him.”
Holden smirks. “Oh, come on, Sergio. You can’t expect every bloke you kissed four years ago to remember you.”
Sergio throws his hands up. “I’m not talking about four years ago! I’m talking about yesterday and the day before that and the day before that and the weeks before that and the months before that.”
“That’s impossible, though.” Holden shakes his head. “You seriously only got here yesterday.”
“Yesterday toyou,” Sergio repeats. “For me, it’s been several months!”
“You’re telling me that you’ve been here for months and none of us has noticed?”
“Yes!” Sergio yells out.
“Wow. Sorry, mate. That sounds like a real kick in the dick.”
“Funny you should say that because your son wakes me up with a literal kick in the dick every morning.”
“That sucks.” Holden winces. “Have you tried locking the door before you go to bed?”
Sergio looks at him and blinks, seriously debating shoving his best friend into a pile of snow.
Holden smiles at him. “I’m simply suggesting that it might help.”
“What part of ‘I wake up on the same day’ are you not getting? Even if I lock the door tonight, it won’t change the fact that I didn’t lock it last night. So no matter what, Henry is going toburst into my bedroom tomorrow morning and knee me in the nuts.”
“I thought you said he kicked you in the dick.”
Sergio balls up his fists and lets out a groan of frustration. “I can’t have this conversation with you again.”
“You’re right. It’s the same thing.” Holden concedes with his hands held up at shoulder height in defense. Quickly, he grabs Sergio by the shoulders and looks him in the eyes with intensity. “Wait a minute. Are you fucking with me? Is this some kind of prank? Because if it is, it’s hilarious! You really got me on this one. I was actually concerned for a minute.”
“This isn’t a prank,” Sergio says through gritted teeth.
