AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The game is over and I’m threebeers in. Sam is upset that the Vikings lost, but the toddlerasleep on his chest seems very peaceful. Roxie’s dad and brotherare dissecting all the poor moves the Vikings’ offense has made toget their ball intercepted in the last quarter, and I decide I’veput in enough time with the men. I need to find Roxie.
She’s in the kitchen, peeling thelabel off her beer, her butt against the counter. Malorie nursesthe baby in one of the kitchen chairs, while Sarah talks, and itinvolves large motions of her arms, as if she’s pointing to thewhole world.
“Do you need help with thedishes?” I ask Mary, whose hands are submerged in suds.
“Oh, no, not at all,” sheresponds. “It’s my pleasure. Thanks for offering, though.”
“She doesn’t let us clean up afterThanksgiving,” Roxie mumbles over the opening of her bottle.
“It’s the only time everyone’shere, so I want them to spend as much time together as they can,”Mary says.
I look through the window. “Thesnow has picked up.”
“It should stop by tomorrow,”Sarah chimes in.
“If there’s nothing else planned,I should probably get to my hotel then,” I say.
“You’re staying at a hotel?” Sarahasks.
“We didn’t know what the occupancysituation would be. Roxie said the house wasn’t very large.”
“The last few times Roxie droveback home after dinner,” says Sarah.
“Or in the middle of dinner,”Malorie adds with a small huff.
“The rest of us are here tillSunday,” Sarah says.
My eyebrows shoot up. “Oh, so it’sa whole weekend of fun and food?”
“Something like that,” Sarahresponds. “It’s very kid-focused these days.”
“Roxie doesn’t seem to have thepatience for it. She never stays past Friday.” Malorie’s tone ismore than a little accusatory.
“I told you,” says Roxie, a hintof exasperation in her voice, “I need some time to unwind before Igo back to work. The week after Thanksgiving is usually verybusy.”
“Well, it looks like you won’t bedriving back to Madison tonight,” says Mary, peeking through thewindow. “The snowstorm’s getting bad.”
“We can probably get you somesleeping bags or something if you want to stay here,” saysSarah.
“That’s okay. I have a hotelroom,” I say.
I get closer to Roxie and whisper,“You’re welcome to come with me. I promise I don’t expect anything.It just doesn’t seem like they planned for you to stay here.”
Roxie nods. She looks at her feet,her shoulders slumped.
“Thank you for dinner, Mary. Itwas delicious,” I say. Mary appears quite pleased.
“Will you come to brunchtomorrow?” Malorie asks.
I say, “We’ll try.”
****
Roxie follows me, like in atrance, out of the house and into the car. She doesn’t want totalk, so we don’t.
The snow is pretty heavy but thehotel isn’t far. We manage to check in around 11:00.
She sits on the edge of one of thebeds, hands between her thighs, and she looks ahead, intonothing.
