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"Still can't decide if it's brave of you or foolish, you inviting your exes down for Christmas dinner," Alex muttered, the corner of his mouth twitching up into the ghost of a smirk. "Especially with you and Ethan…"
"Oh, foolish! No question," Jakob chuckled, lifting his coffee cup in mock toast. "Still, it's important to Cassie, and besides — they're family. Cassie's mom and her Papa Reed might not always bring a gift formewhen they visit, but the thing that matters is that theyvisit.Christmas is a time for peace, and family, and telling embarrassing stories about each other over a plate of cookies and a mug of something warm."
"Sounds nice," Alex muttered, his entire face shuttering as that dark look returned.
"Itisnice," Jakob agreed, carefully keeping his tone light. "As you'll find out tomorrow. Everyone's looking forward to meeting you, especially Frank."
"Me?" Alex asked in a small voice, his eyes wide in surprise. "You — You told them about me?"
"'Course I did. Told you, Christmas is about family. You're family too."
"But — Ihavea family," Alex protested. "It's just… messed up."
"So's mine," Jakob told him, looking Alex in the eyes. "Until Frank adopted me. And Ethan too, sorta. And Sophia and Reed and Owen and Nash and even a few of Cassie's friends. And now we're adopting you. Call it a family tradition. Sorry, I don't make the rules."
Alex sniffed, glancing away quickly. Though not before Jakob saw something glinting in the corner of Alex's eye. He was silent for a long moment, his breathing loud and uneven in the little kitchen, and Jakob cringed as another of the snowball cookies went the crumbly way of the first.
Jakob grimaced, but nudged the plate of cookies toward the kid; trying to remember if he had enough flour to make a new batch…
"What — What am I supposed to do about Mr. Hillsman?" Alex whispered, so quietly that Jakob had to strain to hear him.
"Ethan?" Jakob blinked. "What about him?"
"I don't… What if he…"
Jakob took pity on the kid. "He's gonna be glad to see you, too."
"Not so sure about that," Alex frowned; his eyes focused on the little pile of crumbs in front of him, and the doodle his fingertip was tracing in their remains.
Now it was Jakob's turn to frown. "How so?"
Alex just looked at Jakob as if he'd announced he was taking off to study penguins in the Antarctic. "He gotshotbecause of me."
"He gotshot," Jakob countered, "Because someone decided they had the right to do whatever they liked to whoever they didn't like, and cared about their wants more than the lives and safety of those around them. That the shooter was a cop makes things that much worse. That he was yourfather…means absolutely fuck-all, Alex. You aren't responsible for him or his choices."
"But — "
"Ethan's thelastperson who'd suggest you should serve sentence for what your dad did. He ever tell you about that scar on his lip?" Jakob inquired, knowing the answer even as Alex shook his headno. "Go ask him for that story, and then you try tellinghimhow a son is guilty for his father's actions."
Alex was silent for a moment, chewing that over.
"And… What about my mom?" Alex finally asked in a small voice that hardly broke at all.
"It isn't about what you do on a specific day, Alex," Jakob told him. "Christmas is about the people you spend your timewith. The feeling you get when you're celebrating with your loved ones. And your mom will love spending time with you just as much on Wednesday as she would this afternoon."
"But — "
"December 25th was a number on a calendar chosen by priests to celebrate the solstice eons ago," Jakob explained gently. "Historians say theChristin Christmas might've actually been born in June. And Norman Rockwell? That was an ideal of Christmas.Hisideal, or at least his editor's at theSaturday Post. Not a lot of diversity on those covers, is there? So why should we let those folks tell us when and how we're allowed to be happy? Shouldn't it be enough that weare?"
Alex chewed his lip, his fingers toying with another cookie.
"You don't think Cassie will mind?" he asked before taking a bite. "Feel bad asking her to change her plans just to drive me somewhere."
"You kidding?" Jakob chuckled, picking up his mug. "Bet she'll be happy to have an excuse to take my truck off the island. Not that a small bribe wouldn't help your cause."
"A bribe?" Alex repeated incredulously. "What've I got to bribeherwith?"
"Well…" Jakob considered the matter a moment as he sipped his coffee, before grinning. "She's a fiend for snickerdoodles?"
