She didn’t want the evening to end and, luckily, it was tradition for the family to stay up as late as possible, trying to make it to midnight so they could swap gifts with each other. The only ones that didn’t make it were Abuelita, who was currently dozing in a recliner while wearing a Santa hat, and the baby sleeping in a pop-up crib.
The sparkle of the evening began to wear off when Natalie noticed grumbling coming from the kitchen. She shot a panicked look to the couch where Mariana was chatting with a cousin, trying to be subtle as she tipped her head in the direction of the argument. Getting the message, her sister excused herself and went to find their parents.
Whatever Mariana did, it wasn’t enough because soon her parents were full-on arguing because her father was determined to swap the dishwasher tonight, while her mother didn’t want to worry about her kitchen turning into messy chaos while the party was in full swing. Also, she didn’t trust Miguel would do it right and, as a mechanic, he took great offense to this. The only saving grace was they were at least fighting in Spanish, but it didn’t take someone fluent in the language to know their conversation wasn’t friendly. Natalie wanted to cover her face and fade away, especially when Mason leaned in to whisper, “Is everything okay?”
“Oh yeah, they, uh, always do this.”
“Always,” said Carla who was busy counting her money to buy a property card and not the least bit fazed by the argument.
“It’s fine,” she reassured him while also trying to reassure herself.
Her father then exclaimed, “Why do you hate me? It’s Christmas. I want to do this for you and you won’t even let me share the bed with you. You say I need to sleep in the guest room but I am not a guest. No one knows what I go through being married to such a hateful woman.” Then her father went into the garage, slamming the door behind him.
Natalie couldn’t even look at Mason, let alone say anything. She felt herself shut down as a dark cloud descended over what was once a merry get-together. The game continued but all the joy had gone out of playing. She didn’t even react when he took her hand in his.
When the game finished, he said, “I better get going. I don’t want to wear out my welcome and it’s getting late.” Her other relatives stepped in and invited him to watch a movie with them, but Natalie wasn’t among them. At this point, she was looking for her own excuse to go home. She walked Mason to his car, holding a Tupperware of food her mom made for him.
“Thanks for making sure I made it safely to my car,” he said, pulling her closer as they stood beside his vehicle, wrapping his arms around her in a hug.
“Yup.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come home with me?”
“I better not. I should help my mom clean up and then there will be presents.”
He pulled back, concern etched in his features. “Is everything okay?”
How could she tell him today was nothing but an illusion? She allowed herself to get caught in a dream and, like most dreams, it was beautiful and comforting and full of promise. But her parents brought her right back to the reality of the situation. Everything faded. She didn’t know why she thought a new dishwasher, a new boyfriend, a new anything would fix things. It was all a bandage because the underlying ugliness was still there and nothing would change it. She was probably headed for the same fate because what made her so special? It wasn’t something anyone could escape.
But she couldn’t tell him all this, so she replied, “It’s fine. I’m just tired. It’s been a busy season and I think it’s starting to hit me.”
He soothed a hand over her hair. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah. Sure. Tomorrow.”
He brushed his lips over hers, but she didn’t do anything to further the kiss.
She held a little of herself back and hoped he didn’t notice.
