“Sounds good.” I wait to hear the back door close before turning toward my daughter. “You really need to stop using your headphones as a method to eavesdrop.”
“I wasn’t.” She holds her hands up, but the smirk tells me she’s lying.
“Alexandra, I’m not playing. Peter is doing a nice thing by letting us stay with him.” When she doesn’t say anything, I continue. “I could tell him we can rough it out at our house. Then you’ll have to leave the warmth and wear ten layers of clothes.”
“Fine.” She pouts. “I’ll stop listening in on conversations. But it’s cool hearing about your life here when you were a kid. You never talk about it.”
There’s a reason for that. I was around her age when girls in my class started talking about me. Mostly because I was always with Miles and Peter. The entire school knew I had a crush on him. It’s a wonder he didn’t. It’s not like there wasn’t a ton of gossip and rumors. There wasn’t nothing else to do here aside from being in people’s business and going to field parties.
“There isn’t much to tell.”
“Okay.”
Thank God she’s letting it go. At least, for now. I don’t want to tell her the way I am now is a far cry to how I was in high school. The last thing I want her to think is her mom was a pushover who didn’t stand up for herself.
She turns toward the back of the sofa to look out the window. “You have to admit it’s pretty outside. Even if it’s mostly ice. This is what I want it to look like at Christmas.”
“You know as well as I do how unlikely that is.” A girl can hope, though.
There are muffled thuds coming from the back of the house before I can hear the roar of the generator. Peter must be back with our luggage.
“I’ll go help him.” Lexi stands and heads toward the hallway. “It’s my fault there’s so much.”
Even though she listens in on conversations, she really is a good kid. Always the first to offer help, even when it comes to me. I’m not if it’s because she thinks I can’t take care of myself or because she genuinely wants to help. Either way I’m not questioning it. It’s enough that she’s kind. I only hope it doesn’t bite her in the ass the same way it did me.
Lexi comes back before Peter does. Her suitcases rolling along beside her. Alice lifts her head to see who it is and lies back down. She’s perfectly content napping by the fire.
“Where’s Peter?”
“He’ll be back in a few minutes. He said something about checking the fuel level in the generator.”
“Maybe I should go help him.”
Lexi shakes her head at me. “Mom, he has it. If he needed the help he’d ask.”
No, he wouldn’t. He does things for everyone else, but never himself. He’s been that way since we were kids. Always willing to give a helping hand even when those he helps eventually screw him over. Except for his family and Miles. Even I did when I ran off without a word. I knew it would hurt him, but I didn’t care.
There’s no time to think about that now. It’s best not to bring up the past. I only hope he does the same. The last thing I want to do is tell him why I left. Or, why things ended with my ex-husband.
Finally, I hear heavy steps in the hallway along with wheels rolling across the floor.
“Is it warm enough in here for you?” He asks as soon as he comes into the room.
“It’s perfect.” Lexi smiles up at him. “It’s a good thing I brought a book light with me. I’ll be sitting right there by the fire for the foreseeable future.”
“That sounds like a good plan.” Peter laughs. “Maybe you’ll get through all these books you brought with you.”
“Maybe.” She glances toward the other hallway. “So which room is ours? My bags take up a lot of space in here.”
He grabs a flashlight off the end table and turns it on. “If you’ll follow me.”
I stand and grab one of Lexi’s suitcases. There’s no way she can pull both of them down the narrow hall. Plus, I feel useless sitting here when I could be doing something.
He passes by two doors before stopping at the last one on the left. He pushes the door open and peeks in before allowing us to pass him. From the beam of light, the room looks tidy and also small. I think Lexi’s room is bigger than this. He probably doesn’t have many guests, though.
He studies the space Lexi has taken up with her suitcases and looks at the bed. It’s a full size, and I’m not sure how both of us are going to sleep on it. Not because we don’t fit, but because my sweet child sleeps all over the place.
“Actually, Lexi, I think you’ll get this room all to yourself.” He says before turning on the small propane heater. “If it gets too warm in here, let me know and I’ll adjust it.”
