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That’s my first thought as we pull up in front of the huge white house in the Chicago suburbs. There’s no room in the driveway—it’s already full of other vehicles and this crazy-assed RV we’re driving takes up far more than its share of the room.
I have to grin though. The thing is hilarious.
It’s very on-brand for Crew too. We’re turning heads everywhere we go. And he’s eating it up.
And hell, it’s Christmas. We’re bringing theChristmas VacationRV to theHome Alonehouse for our own version ofFour Christmases. And we’ve got our own personal Grinch along. I smirk as I glance at Nathan. I can’t wait to see what other cliches we can mix in.
Luna leads the way up the walk to the front door adorned with one of the biggest Christmas wreaths I’ve ever seen. Lights strung from the eaves and over the manicured evergreen bushes on either side of the brick front steps that lead up to the door.
Nathan and I hang back as Crew slips an arm around Dani’s waist and starts for the door.
Dani looks back at us. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I tell her quickly. “We’re right behind you.”
This is going to be a great stop. I glance at Nathan. For all of us, even though Nathan looks like he’s approaching the door to the dentist’s office with a broken crown and four cavities.
There are clearly a large number of people already inside based on the full driveway. Nathan’s not a social butterfly, that’s for sure. In social situations, Nathan Armstrong almost always has the upper hand. People interact with him because he has money and influence. Most parties or gatherings he attends, he’s hosting. Which means he can choose who is invited, and he can choose when he leaves. If the boss leaves early, no one can say much about it.
Here it’s a whole different thing.
For one, Lori McNeill, Crew’s outgoing, perky, warm mother is in charge. And Nathan won’t do a damned thing to make her unhappy. Not because she’s bossy or bitchy, but because he likes her.
Nathan really likes Crew’s mom.
We’ve met Lori and William McNeill a couple of times already. They, of course, come to games sometimes, and since Crew’s big speech on the ice letting all of Chicagoland in on our relationship, Lori and William have been sitting with Nathan and Dani when they make it to games.
The first time we all met, Nathan hosted them in the owner’s box before Crew and I had to be downstairs for pre-game stuff.
They were both wonderful.
William had shaken our hands with a sincere smile and had seemed unfazed by the fact that we were all openly dating the same woman. Together. We’d talked hockey, Crew’s first season as a Racketeer, and how great Dani was. Topics all three of us were enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and in full agreement about.
Lori had hugged us both tightly, said she knows Crew can be a handful, and thanked us for putting up with him—though she said it with one hundred percent affection—and told us that our taste in women was impeccable.
The way she interacted with both Crew and Dani was full of love, support, and warmth, and for that alone, I loved her.
Just as Luna reaches the door it suddenly swings open, and her father steps out. “Welcome!”
Immediately four guys about Crew’s age stumble out from behind him, nearly knocking him and Luna over, calling, “Sorry, Mr. McNeill” and “Hey, Luna!” as they nearly fall down the steps.
“Crew!”
“Is that your RV?”
“No way!”
Right behind them are two more, slightly younger guys, and another man who stops next to William.
Crew is grinning and has already followed the small herd of men past us and back to the RV.
Luna is on the top step hugging her dad, but I hear her say, “What a bunch of idiots.”
I step up next to Dani, taking her hand.
William is laughing. “Those are hockey teammates of Crew’s from high school,” he explains to us. “We’ve always been good friends with their families, and they always come over for Christmas brunch. Their parents are all inside.”
“That’s not really theChristmas VacationRV is it?” one of the younger guys still on the steps asks.
