Reagan and Grant came in from the kitchen, and Davis never expounded on his career prospects. Alex felt some tension in the air and wondered if there was a story there. She rose to greet Reagan instead of dwelling on it.
“Hi, Reagan. Your home is lovely.”
Reagan hugged her and then sat in an armchair. “Thanks, Alex. It used to be barren and white until I got my hands on it.”
“Where’s Hudson?” Alex asked.
“Finishing up some grading at the college. He’ll be here soon. I made lunch, so I hope you’re staying long enough for that.”
“Absolutely,” Alex answered with a nod.
“So, Reagan, you want us over here tomorrow night for dinner?” Grant asked. “We were thinking of doing some touristy stuff tomorrow during the day.”
“Yeah, late afternoon would be nice. We’ll have dinner and then maybe watch a Christmas movie. Then the day after, I’d love to have you here early and we’ll open gifts before having the big meal around one.”
“Sounds good.”
They all heard keys rattling in the door and soon Hudson was coming in. Reagan hopped up to greet him, and Luna was the only one to look on with a smile. Davis looked indifferent, and Grant was trying not to scowl.
“Grant,” Alex mumbled.
He broke his stare and looked over at Alex. “Yeah?”
“Stop that.”
“Stop what?”
“You’re frowning at your sister.”
His faced smoothed out, and he rested his hand on hers where it sat on her knee. “Oops.”
“How is everybody?” Hudson asked as he came into the living room.
“Great,” Luna replied.
Davis just nodded, and Grant didn’t say anything, either. Alex decided to speak up. “Good to see you, Hudson. How was work?”
Hudson looked a little startled at her question. “It was quick, thankfully.”
“That’s good.”
Reagan went back to the kitchen while Hudson disappeared down the hallway to put his things away. Soon, they all settled at the table in the kitchen which was a little crowded.
“I’m going to pick up a folding table for tomorrow. I wish I’d thought of it sooner. We don’t really have enough room for all of us in here,” Reagan said.
“It’s not a problem,” Davis said. He was squished very close to Luna, so of course, he didn’t care.
They passed around the food and nobody had much to say. Alex wondered why it was so hard for everyone to have a conversation.
“Davis, how are your parents?” Grant asked.
“The same as always. Bitter that I chose not to come home for Christmas this year.”
“You don’t see your parents every holiday?” Alex asked.
“Not every one of them, no. They aren’t as bad as Hudson’s parents, but we don’t get along all that well.”
“That’s too bad.” Alex fell silent again as she ate.
