I groaned and Chris made barfing sounds. Troy looked proud suddenly. Clara glanced at Debra and they exchanged knowing nods. Clara certainly had no complaints about my equipment.
Chris shook his head at all of us. “I’m so glad Kate wasn’t here to see this. You’re all a bunch of animals.”
“Chris, tell us the truth,” Troy said seriously. “Is Kate even real?”
We all burst out laughing except Chris. “What the hell? Of course she is.”
He pulled out his phone to facetime her.
Feeling joyous, I gave Clara a squeeze and pulled her flush against me. I heard the soft exhale that was just for me. Her hips shifted lightly against me, and the delicious friction had me hardening uncomfortably with so many people around.
I pulled back with a quiet groan, and Clara spun in my arms to look up at me and smile. She knew exactly what she was doing to me, and she seemed to enjoy teasing me, now that we had talked things out.
Christmas lunch was important, but I considered stealing her away, maybe disappearing into one of the barns for a few minutes. I was so worked up, it wouldn’t take long. I just needed her like I needed air or water. It was a necessity, not a luxury.
I resisted, though.
After I had declared my love to Clara the day before, I had made it out into the back parking lot behind the Helios before she caught up to me, jumped into my arms, and kissed me. It was like feeling the first rays of sunshine after a long, cruel winter. The ice melted from around my heart and I could breathe free again.
She made me promise her I would never keep secrets in our relationship, and I made the promise gladly. Sharing things with her was the best. Clara had such a bright, creative mind that I was always curious to see how she would respond to things. I was very much looking forward to starting our future together.
After Chris finished proving to Troy that Kate was real, Mom called us to start hauling dishes out to the big dining room tablewe only ate at during holidays. The food smelled divine as we carried it, and Mom kept a close eye on us to make sure no one stuck their fingers in anything to get an early taste.
We all sat down as a family. Dad said the blessing as always, which was his main contribution to the meal. Then we all dug in and filled our plates. While everyone was serving themselves, I noticed Mom watching everyone with a little smile on her face. It was a mother’s smile at having all her babies back in the nest, along with a couple of extras we picked up along the way.
Her gaze turned to Clara, then to me. I smiled back at her and her eyes shimmered with tears. She waved me away, brushed her eyes, and went for the mashed potatoes.
“This food is to die for,” Clara said. “Don’t tell my mom I said that.”
My mother laughed along with the rest of us. “Thank you, sweetie. It’s just nice to cook for people who appreciate it.”
Dad looked up from his stuffing. “What, I appreciate your cooking, don’t I?”
“Oh, it’s not the same and you know it,” Mom said.
Dad pretended to be hurt. “You see how she treats me?”
Mom gave him a big, wet kiss on the forehead and all was forgiven.
It was nice to be around family again. I had been avoiding it for a while, before Thanksgiving, but I would be making the effort to get down here more often. I would love to get my parents up to visit me, but Mom still wouldn’t fly. I wondered if she would be willing to take a train.
I would circle back to that. For the moment, I was content to eat good food, joke around with people I cared about, and sit beside the woman I loved with all my heart.
During dessert, Chris nodded in my direction. “So when are you two headed back to the big city?”
“Tomorrow afternoon,” I said, glancing at Clara, who nodded. “We want a little downtime before Clara starts her new job after the New Year. And I go back to work after the break.”
“Well, good,” he said. “Clara, thank you for getting him to take some time off. He works too hard.”
Clara smiled. “I learned that pretty quickly. I’m doing my best to teach him how to relax and slow down a little. At least on the holidays.”
“Nice,” Troy said. “Take some time to have fun.”
Everyone raised a glass to that.
After dinner, I bundled up and got Clara into the rental SUV. She wanted to stop off at her parents’ place. She’d spent Christmas morning with them, doing presents and having a big breakfast, and now she wanted us to spend a little more time with them before we left tomorrow.
I drove her into town. It had snowed a little but most of it had already melted. The world was less Christmasy but at least it was safer. When we got to her parents’ house, it was immediately evident they weren’t there.
