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Chapter Fifteen
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“Oh Hudson, you didn’thave to do this.” My mom stares at the pamphlet in her hand. “A full day at the spa. That’s just too much.”
“It’s from me and Lennon both,” he corrects her, even though he refused to let me help pay for any of it. “And we wanted to.”
“I don’t know what to say.” She looks to my father for support but he simply smiles at his wife and takes a drink of his eggnog.
“Say thank you and move on mom.” Starr sighs, throwing daggers at Mark when he nudges her knee and gives her a slight shake of his head.
God I love that man. He’s the only person I know who can get onto Starr for having zero filter and live to tell the tale.
“Thank you, of course. This is amazing.” My mom’s gaze jumps from me to Hudson and then back to me. There’s something in her expression I can’t quite read.
“Well, that was the last one,” my father says like he couldn’t be more relieved. “I’m going to grab me a refill.” He holds up his empty glass that has hand painted ornaments all over it.
It’s one of the glasses Starr and I decorated an eternity ago when Nana took us to a pottery place. My parents have used them every Christmas since, even though they are the ugliest glasses in the history of glasses.
“I need to get the pies ready.” My mom stands, quickly following him from the room.
“I just don’t understand this.” Nana’s voice pulls my attention to the other side of the room. I can’t help but smile as I watch her squint and poke the screen of her new tablet like the thing is going to jump out and bite her at any moment.
Why Starr thought it was a good idea to give our grandmother, who’s never used any kind of smart device in her life, a tablet for Christmas is beyond me.
“Here Nana, I’ll help.” Starr stands from her spot on the couch before turning and plopping down on the arm of Nana’s chair.
“I think I love that woman,” Hudson speaks so only I can hear. I turn to see a wide smile on his face, directed toward my grandma.
“She’s easy to love,” I agree.
“You remind me a lot of her.”
“I do?” I turn my gaze back to my nana.
“Well, you’re both spitfires for one.” He chuckles. Before I can respond he continues, “But it’s not just that. She’s loving yet tough when she needs to be. Just like you. You’re both funny as hell but still know when to be serious. And you both have next to no patience.” He laughs when Nana pushes the tablet at Starr and announces she doesn’t want it.
I guess I had never realized it, but he’s kinda right. When I think about it, I really am a lot like my nana. I always thought I’m kind of like my mom, but she’s a bit more reserved than I’ve ever been.
“You know what?” I say, turning my head so that our faces are only inches apart. “I don’t mind that one bit. My nana is the best.”
“I will agree with you there.” He grins.
“Lennon, will you help me for a second?” My mom appears in the doorway, breaking my focus from Hudson.
“Yeah, of course.” I nod, turning back to Hudson. “I’ll be right back.” Stealing a quick kiss, I stand and follow my mother into the kitchen. “Want me to set out the dessert plates?” I ask, seeing that my mother already has three pies and a plate of cookies lined across the island.
This is our tradition. We have a huge meal followed by presents and eggnog. Once everyone’s dinner has had a chance to settle, we rejoin the table for dessert.
“I think I’m going to have everyone just help themselves and eat in the living room,” she says, shaking her head when I hit her with wide eyes.
“Who are you and what have you done with my mother?” I gape at her playfully, knowing Elise Claire never voluntarily allows anyone to eat away from the dining room table.
She’s all about family time and believes you can’t have a real conversation if you’re all scattered around, watching television or messing on your phones. As much as I hated it as a child, I tend to agree with her now.
“Things are different this year. Starr has Mark here. You have Hudson. I think it might be nice for everyone to feel more comfortable.”
I don’t bother reminding her that Mark was here last year, or that Gage was here too for that matter. So much has changed over the course of the last year. Sometimes it’s almost hard to keep up.
