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I appreciated her help with Mark but not if it came at the cost of never being allowed to have my own personal life again.
I would have to rethink this entire arrangement.
But first, I wanted to try to salvage what was left of Christmas.
After Donna left, I sat next to Neil on the couch and told him he should probably go. He looked as confused as Mark did. He picked up his cell phone and requested an Uber.
“Okay, no problem. It says fifteen minutes,” he told me, looking at his phone. “Sorry, I guess they’re slower than usual due to the holiday.”
“It’s fine,” I said.
I looked around to make sure that Mark had gone to his room. I could hear him playing a video game he probably had just gotten for Christmas, so I was relieved. He didn’t seem too bothered by everything going on around him and was just a kid wanting to enjoy his Christmas gifts.
“Look. I’m so sorry. I just woke up after an amazing afternoon, to doorbells and pounding on the door, and a crazy lady who happens to my son’s grandma calling me names in front of my son.”
“But you had a good time?” Neil laughed. “Look, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make light of it. But I think she’s just territorial because of what happened. She’ll eventually have to realize that you need to move on and find happiness. It’ll be okay. I promise.”
“Can I ask why you came down when I asked you to stay in the bedroom?” I asked him, annoyed.
I knew he was trying to help make the situation better, but I felt he didn’t really understand. It was completely inappropriate for Donna to have called me names and talked to me like that, no matter how she was feeling. And it never would have happened if Neil had just listened to me!
I hated this feeling of wanting to punch him but also wanting to fuck him again. His mere presence confused me and drove me crazy and I just wanted his Uber to get here so I could try to forget about him for now and make sure Mark had a happy Christmas evening.
“I’m sorry,” he said immediately, his face softening as a look of genuine concern spread across it. “I pictured Mark coming upstairs once he got here and seeing me in your room, which seemed worse than anyone seeing me fully dressed, even if I were coming from upstairs. And I wasn’t thinking straight, after such great… um, you know.”
He motioned with his eyebrows towards upstairs, not wanting to say the word sex out loud thanks to Mark’s presence in the house.
“Well, as I think you can see, having men over is not a usual thing around here,” I told him, softening a bit myself.
I knew he hadn’t meant to do anything wrong. It was a crazy situation all around. We talked a little more until Neil’s Uber arrived. After Neil left, I realized I never gave him anything for Christmas, even though he had given Mark and me gifts.
Except for my first time having sex in over two years, I thought to myself with a smile. I was sure that Neil thought it had sufficed as a Christmas gift.
I went to Mark’s room and asked him to join me in the living room.
“You okay, buddy?” I asked him.
“Yeah, just glad to be home.”
“How was Grandma’s?”
“Pretty boring. But I got lots of gifts.”
“That’s good. I’m sorry you had to see us fight.”
“That’s okay.” The look in his eyes was wise beyond his age. “I understand. But Mom, it’s okay with me that Neil’s your new boyfriend, even if Grandma doesn’t like it.”
I went over to him and hugged him. He was such a sweet boy and I was lucky that he was mine.
“Well, he’s not my boyfriend… yet,” I told him. “But we’ll see what happens, okay?”
“Okay!” he said happily, then shrugged, forgetting about the whole thing. “What will we do for the rest of Christmas?”
“I have an idea. A movie date!” I told him.
“Sounds good, Mom.”
I put Home Alone in the DVD player. We sat in front of the television, laughing at a boy Mark’s age foiling adult burglars. We ate cookies, and Mark had a couple of glasses of eggnog, without the rum.
After the movie was over, Mark and I talked more in detail about his Christmas at Donna’s and all his new presents. I told Mark I was glad he liked Neil. He opened up a bit more now that the initial shock of coming home and hearing his grandmother go berserk had worn off some.
“Like him? I more than like him! He’s great, Mom. I can’t believe he’s from here and you went to school with him. I bet he hangs out with other Leviathan players, huh?”
