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“… I’ll show you the ropes. I’ll take you under my wing and teach you all the tricks of the trade without you having to learn them the hard way.”
“I’m…” For a beat, my sister is totally stunned. She shakes her head. “Yes! Thank you, Savannah. The best Christmas present I could have asked for.”
“Great. Take the month to settle in. I have to figure out how to get through this first winter season anyway and don’t want you getting tangled in the tinsel.” She laughs at her own joke. “We’ll start in the New Year.” Sav stands, taking her mug with her. “Enjoy your Christmas, folks. If I don’t see you before then.”
Lily turns back to the table, her jaw slack. “Did you do this, Molly? Oh my God, I never thought I’d get a job straight out of college!”
Dash says nothing, so I say it for him. I bump into his side. “Pretty sure this Hunter had something to do with it.”
Lily lifts her mug like she’s cheersing. “Man, do I owe you favors. I won’t make you regret it.”
He nods, silently, humble as he always has been and probably always will be, but he earned his way out of a Russo grilling. And then some. I’m floored. Dash has been caring for me since the first day I entered that apartment, buck-naked, unsure but determined. Every day that passes I see more and more of this tender, attentive nature he keeps locked up under his gruff exterior.
My man hasn’t changed who he is. He still avoids most of the people around the yard. He still needs time to himself to contemplate and refresh. His highly introverted nature didn’t, and will never, disappear. But now I see, he must use a lot of this time thinking about others and not himself. Dash often points out how we’re opposites attracted; he says we’re magnets. But when it comes to family, we’re the same. It’s everything.
He squirms as my sister continues to gush with gratitude, so I change the subject before he gets too uncomfortable being the center of attention.
“So, Lil, Mom will be here a couple days before Christmas, staying with you in the apartment.”
“Yeah.” Lily doesn’t seem as apprehensive as I am.
For me, it’s a biggie. Dash will be meeting my mom. She’ll be spending Christmas with all of us at Big Sky. Sam’s parents are so noble. Andnormal.Our mom is… she’s wonderful. A total sweetheart. But she could also fall asleep while someone is talking to her.
“I keep telling you not to worry about it,” Dash says, my rigid hand in his.
Lily shrugs. “Mom is doing so well. She’s been stepping down her meds for a long while and is just…” She points at Dash. “I assume he knows…”
I nod.
Lily continues. “She’s so motivated to get back on her feet and be out here with us. We’ve had some awesome chats.”
“Me, too. That’s saying something,” I say.
Lily nods knowingly. We’ve both loved watching our mom slowly recover. It’s not just about Mom being there to hear our news and enjoy her proud smiles we missed for years as we both set out to build our lives. Seeing Mom proud of herself is something the two of us have often discussed. We both Googled it enough to know that the recovery process of coming off years of opioid use is a miracle.
Often, I felt guilty being here instead of there with her, holding her hand through the excruciating dark nights and days of withdrawal. And being so far away, neither Lily nor myself really know for sure where she’s at. All we can do is believe her.
But no matter where she’s at, I want her here. I want to integrate Mom into this joyful existence and give her a positive focus. A light at the end of the tunnel. Even though I want this, and the three of us have been apart for too long, I’m still not sure my mom will slot right in to a Twister night.
Dash senses my apprehension. It’s not the first time I’ve felt it. He bumps into my arm. “My mom will take yours under her wing in no time,” he offers. “That’s how she is.”
I say to Lily, “His mom is a perfectly put-together bohemian queen.”
“Perfect?” Dash hums. “Trust me, the woman has lived a life or two. I wasn’t the only one who started drinking after Dad died. She’ll get your mom. And they’ll talk mom shit and be perfectly fine. But she will probably try andhelpher.”
Lily’s broad smile appreciates his words. I’m grateful, too, not only because it’s comforting to hear, in some strange way, obviously not happy Joy used to have problems, but that maybe the Hunters aren’t so perfect. That we can fit in.
At the same time, I’m stunned. I had no idea Joy Hunter used to be a drinker. She’s so switched on. Gorgeous. She radiates wise, earth goddess. Only now has it crossed my mind she had the hot chocolate with Eve that night, rather than an Irish coffee, even though she didn’t have to drive.
Dash continues. “Hopefully my mom won’t be annoying trying to drag her into what helped her in the end.”
“AA?” Lily asks.
“Nah. She hated AA. She went back to be with her people. She took more regular visits to the reservation to see her auntie. Started making jewelry and doing art again, getting obsessed by her craft. She traded one addiction for another… Her house is head to toe jewels and beads.”
Lily thinks nothing of Dash’s candid story, but I see it. He’s not exactly a sharer. I see this as him reaching out to connect with me, my family… to fuse us together the best he can.
As usual, my steady, strong man reassures me. I can’t wait for the Russo girl reunion. And changing our story. Here, in Starlight Canyon.
