I glance at my phone and notice I missed a text from Maureen.
“Out with Leonard chopping down a tree. Be back soon! Make yourself athome!”
I laugh to myself, picturing the two of them out in the woods, Maureen unable to make up her mind on which tree is the best, and Leonard just following along without a single complaint. He’s like that. Patient, steady, always putting her first. Jesse’s a lot like him in those ways. I’ve noticed it even more now than when we were younger.
Letting myself through the front door, the house is quiet, the opposite of what I’m used to.
“Hello?” I call out for Addison. I hear quick movement upstairs, but then I hear too many footsteps for it to be one person. My heart beats a little faster as my mind processes what I think is going on. Footsteps thud down the stairs, and Addie appears first, followed closely by a guy I’m guessing is the boyfriend who, as far as I know, no one’s met until now.
He’s tall, skinny, clean shaven, with dirty blond hair that’s kept contained under a Carhartt beanie. I’m not sure what to say, and Addison’s cheeks are bright red.
Feeling the awkwardness swirl around all of us, I look to him and reach a hand out. “Hi. I’m Ella, Jesse’s girlfriend.”
“Brantley, nice to meet you.” He shakes back, and my eyes meet Addison’s. I’m expecting her to explain what they were doing upstairs, but she doesn’t. She directs her attention to getting started on lunch. Brantley follows her like a puppy.
Eyeing them both up, there’s no evidence anything was necessarily going on. His clothes are on the right way, hisbelt is still buckled. Addison’s clothes, although more casual then normal, are right side out as well.
Addison turns back to me as she pulls food from the fridge. “I think my parents are on their way back.”
“Yeah. It’s pretty cold out there.” I attempt to help with her obvious desire to fill the awkward void.
It’s very weird to see Addison all grown up. The last time I saw her, she was just a quiet, little seven-year-old.
She pulls a stack of dishes from the cabinet and turns to Brantley. “Can you set the table?”
He takes them and leaves for the dining room.
Addison looks back at me, desperation in her eyes, and her voice drops to a whisper. “Please don’t say anything to anyone about earlier.”
Sighing softly to myself, my stomach twists. “Ok, I won’t …”
“That includes Jesse,” she adds.
I agree with another nod and glance over her clothes once more when she turns her back on me. There are no visible signs of anything out of the ordinary. From the moment I walked in the door to the time it took them to make it downstairs, there’s no way they could have gotten dressed in such a short time. Therefore, I don’t think anything was going on. I don’t know about keeping this between us, though. Jesse’s incredibly protective of Addison. They all are. The house rule was always no boyfriends or girlfriends upstairs, and I have a hard time believing that’s changed. It’s there for a reason. So am I really going to be the one to let her break the rules?
I hear a truck pull up outside and glance out the window to see it’s Maureen and Leonard. Another knot tightens in my stomach. I can’t help but feel anxious, wondering what kind of drama might unfold, especially with the tension in the airalready.
When they step inside, Leonard is dragging the Christmas tree behind him, looking a little out of breath but happy to be entering a warmer environment. Maureen follows close behind, her face wind burned, but under it, a mix of excitement and exhaustion.
“Welcome home,” I joke.
Maureen smiles, pulling me into a hug. “How are you?” Her voice is motherly.
“Great.” I close the door behind Leonard as he drags the tree in.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” he says, slightly out of breath, but he keeps moving forward without missing a beat.
I hear Maureen’s warm voice greeting Brantley in the next room. His tone is polite and confident. I round the corner to witness the exchange. Addison is standing beside him. She looks nervous but also happy to see things going smoothly. I’m sure her parents were the least of her worries, though. It’s her three older brothers she’s gotta worry about.
* * *
As I stand on a kitchen chair, hanging ornaments on the higher branches of the tree, Maureen fluffs the lower half, arranging everything just right. The cozy sound of country Christmas music plays in the background, along with the sound of the fireplace crackling. Blend that with the smell of Christmas cookies baking in the kitchen and I am drowning in nostalgia.
“Is Jesse treating you well?” Maureen asks with a genuine voice.
Knowing Addison, Brantley, and Leonard are outside hanginglights on the roof and porch poles, I don’t feel the need to hold back with what I tell her.
“Very well. He hasn’t changed much in that sense.”
