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"Okay, kids, same rules apply. Lexi, you and Drew are on dish duty tonight. Tomorrow it will be Zach's turn. I think we are going to retire for the evening. We’ll be in the basement watching TV if you need us," Barbara said, leaning against the back of her chair and smiling over at her husband. "Good night," she said, leaning down and giving Lexi a kiss on the top of her head, doing the same to me as she walked by.
"Night," we both said in unison, watching after them as they left.
I glanced across the table at Lexi. She sat there, her hands wrapped around her mug, sipping away on her coffee, swirling her fork through the leftover apple pie on her plate, when her eyes met mine. She smiled softly and cleared her throat, looking back down to the cup in front of her.
Almost instantly, she got up and began clearing the plates, scraping each of them into the garbage and setting the silverware in the sink. I was just about to start helping when I felt her hand on my shoulder.
"It's fine. Relax, drink your coffee. I'm just going to get some things soaking."
I watched as she cleared the entire table, putting leftover food away into containers and neatly piling the dirty plates on top of one another.
After I had finished the last of my coffee, I wandered into the kitchen with my mug in hand. She was standing by the sink, hot water steaming in front of her. I couldn't help but check out her perfect figure. She was placing more silverware and cups into the hot water.
"You wash, I'll dry?" I suggested, leaning up against the counter, studying her face as I held out my mug for her to take.
"Sure, Drew, sounds good." The smile that danced on her lips as her eyes met mine made me smile inside.
I reached around her and grabbed the towel that she had gotten out for me and waited until the first few glasses and mugs were ready to dry. We worked in silence beside one another just like we always had. Occasionally, I would catch her sneaking a glance at me, her full pouty lips turned up into a half-smile as her eyes meant mine, but she continued to wash the dishes, placing them down for me to dry.
"Would you mind turning on the radio?" she asked, swallowing hard, almost as if the silence between us was too uncomfortable for her. "I feel like listening to some Christmas music."
"Sure thing," I answered and leaned over, flipping the power on the little radio, Christmas music instantly filling the room. "That was easy. Didn’t even need to find the station." We both laughed.
We had washed every dish in silence, and once she had put the roasting pan in to soak, she removed her gloves, turned toward me, and stood leaning up against the sink, her arms crossed beneath her breasts. I couldn't help but check her out a little bit more than I had when I first arrived. She had grown up since the last time I had seen her. She had filled out and had become a woman—a rather attractive woman.
I looked down as she placed her hand on my forearm, a strange tingle running through me.
"Drew, I wanted to say that I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your wedding. I really wanted to be there," she said, making eye contact with me again.
"It's okay. You didn't miss very much." I shrugged, laying the towel down on the counter. "Just ask your brother."
"He told me what happened. I'm so sorry."
I shrugged. I didn't want her sympathy. I didn't want people, especially Lexi, looking at me like...like they all had been for months. "So, Zach told me that you had a project in Paris over that time. That's must have been exciting," I said, changing the subject.
"Yes, I was doing a fun shoot for a lingerie campaign."
"That’s awesome. Did it go well?"
"It paid the bills for a couple of months. That’s all I really wanted." She shrugged and put the rubber gloves back on to wash the last of the dishes.
"Where are you living now?" I asked, while I dried the last dish. She pulled out a bottle of cleaner and wiped down the counters.
"I was renting a little place over in Italy. A cute one-bedroom. It was near this amazing pastry shop."
"Nice. It’s beautiful over there," I said, sitting down at the island and watching her make her way around the kitchen, finally finishing and hanging up the wet towels to dry.
"I didn't know that you've been to Italy." She poured us each another cup of coffee and sat down beside me.
"Yeah, well, it was with Laura, so...I tend not to talk too much about that part of my life." I smiled. "Perhaps one day I will go back."
She grew quiet. I hadn't meant to make her feel bad. It was just a fact of life. It was a better part of my life that right now I didn't want to revisit in any capacity, especially if I was going to have a good Christmas.
"What are you planning to do tomorrow?"
"Mom would really like us to get the Christmas tree tomorrow. You think you'd be up for that? Zach already told me he would be off with Ann Marie."
"Sure. Sounds like fun."
