AllFreeNovel
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Before I even make it to the end of the driveway, I’m on the phone with the airport making arrangements for the next flight out. Who cares that I need the money? Right now, I need a vacation more.
***
The sun is shining so intensely when I step out of the cab that I have to shield my eyes against it. Winters in Minnesota are amazing, filled with snow and gorgeous landscapes, and like much of the northern states, it’s prepared to handle anything this season throws at it. I’ve thought about that a lot over the last few hours and I feel like a real dope. I should have questioned the lie from the beginning, then I wouldn’t have missed Christmas with my family. But at least I learned of the deception early, before I fell for those jackasses.
A reel of memories flips through my mind’s eye just thinking about Niles, Dean, and Shane, and I ignore the strike of pain in my chest. I refuse to consider what that might mean. Instead, I pay the cab driver and go around to the open trunk to retrieve my bags.
The front door to my childhood home swings open before my foot touches the curb, and my mom and dad appear in the doorway, a squeal of delight erupting from my mother as she bounds down the steps and races toward me, throws her arms around my shoulders in a big bear hug that she’s known for. I drop my bags on the ground beside us and return the embrace.
I’ve missed this.
“You made it!” Her voice is muffled, her face buried in my hair, but I hear every joy-filled word and it warms me to my soul.
“I told you I would find a way.”
Grasping my shoulders, she holds me away from her to look at me. Her eyes are tear-stained and her cheeks are ruddy with emotion. “You’re so thin! Get inside. We need to put some meat on those bones.”
I laugh as we pick up my bags and head up to the house, the snow crunching under our feet.
“How is everyone?” I ask, watching my dad standing in the doorway, a fond smile on his face as he waits for me to get close enough to pull in for a hug.
“Your dad is still a stubborn mule. Grandma too, but she’s more reasonable—three days out of the week. And Grandpa’s sugars are high, so he’s moody because we won’t let him have extra whipped cream on his pie.”
Dad throws his arms around me and hugs me tight, saying, “Welcome home, kiddo,” before we move into the house and I shrug off my overlarge coat and snow boots. Dad takes my bags to my childhood bedroom, still decorated with New Kids on the Block memorabilia and rainbow heart comforter and cleaned regularly to keep everything fresh. It’s like walking back in time, and I love it because it transports me back to an age when I was at my happiest and most carefree.
“How have you been, dear?” my grandmother asks when I join her at the dinner table later that evening to help shuck the peas for dinner. It’s an antiquated way of doing things, but it affords us girls time to have a heart-to-heart, so it’s been a tradition in our family.
“Doin’ okay, Gram.” My heart isn’t in my response, and she senses it immediately.
“Don’t go bullshittin’ an old woman, Elle,” she scolds. “I’ve been around the block enough to know better.”
“Oh, I bet you have.” I wink at her, and we laugh.
“Elle, be nice,” my mom says through her own laughter while she fries up the steaks for dinner. “Grandma doesn’t want everyone knowing what a floozy she used to be, do ya, Mom?”
I can’t stop smiling. I’ve missed this, the easy bantering between us, how we tease each other mercilessly but out of love. A person has to have thick skin to make it in this family.
“I believe they call that being free,” Grandma says with a lift of her round chin.
“Oh, is that what we’re going with now?”
My mom has always teased her mom about being promiscuous in her early years, while Grandma just considers it sowing her wild oats as “any man would do.”
The comment is left to hang in the wind, and we continue cooking together.
“What have you been up to, young lady?” Grandma’s voice is strong despite her advanced years and the almost imperceptible tremor in her aged hands.
“Just working mostly.” She must hear something in my voice because I catch her shooting me a look over the table.
“Mostly?” I shrug, but she’s unwavering in her pursuit to hear more. “Are you seeing anyone lately?”
I hesitate. Can I really say I’ve been seeing Niles when I’ve effectively broken up with him—and his friends—even though we’ve never declared ourselves to one another?
“Kind of. But it was short-lived and it’s over now.”
“Did you hear that, Nancy?” Gram calls over her shoulder while maintaining eye contact with me. “Elle’s keeping secrets.”
“I heard it, Mom.”
