“Yes. Goodbye.” Spiro handed me the phone back.
“Talk to you later, Mom!”
“I was just worried about you,” she said with annoyance in her tone.
“Tell Dad I wish him Merry Christmas.”
“Okay.”
I hung up and released a long breath.
“I’m sorry for interrupting.” Spiro was sitting unnaturally tense.
I shook my head. “Thank you, but you didn’t have to do this. She’s always like that.”
Spiro didn’t reply. Instead, he opened his arms and pulled me into a hug.
I needed a change of subject. “What is your family saying?”
“The usual banter. My brothers are whining about having to help in the kitchen and are blaming me for it. Now they’re asking for a video call.”
“I can leave you alone to talk to them if you want.”
His lower tentacles wound around my legs. “The crazy bunch wants to meet you, so would you stay?”
I swallowed. “Sure.”They’re going to judge me and hate me. Then I’ll have to run away to spare myself more embarrassment in front of Spiro. Fuck.
Spiro beamed and called his mom’s number.
A pretty dark-haired woman appeared on the screen in a room with at least twenty people at a long table behind her. “Spirodon, we’re missing you.”
“Traitor!” someone yelled from the back, then popped in the camera next to Spiro’s mom.
I recognized Nereus from watching Swimming With the Sharks concerts online.
“Will you show us the guy you’ve been yapping about?” A man with horns and red skin pushed himself into view.
“Yes, Kert, thanks for being subtle.” Spiro sighed.
“You’re welcome.” The dude grinned and waited.
The playful atmosphere put a smile on my face, and I inched closer to Spiro and waved.
A chorus of hellos echoed from the other end of the call.
“Thanks for lending me Spiro for Christmas,” I said.
“You can keep him.” Another man with features so much like Spiro showed himself and laughed. Marin.
“Are you surviving the insanity?” Spiro asked with mirth in his eyes. The ribbing between all of them was for fun, and no one aimed to hurt anyone with their words. It was…different.
Spiro’s mom turned the camera on herself again. “We miss you, but we’re good. Enjoy your time away. It was lovely meeting you, Kaos!” She sent off with kisses to the screen and yelped as someone dropped something behind her with a shatter.
Spiro’s phone went dark.
I felt his chuckle more than heard it as he pulled me to him. “You see what I meant. It’s a lot to take in, but it’s always fun.”
“It looks amazing to me.” Way better than a quick dinner with people who didn’t want to be there and leaving within an hour.
