by Harper Bliss
On the way back to Eileen’s apartment, Eileen said, “I guess this means Christmas is right around the corner.”
“Indeed, with all the lovely family gatherings that come with it,” Naomi replied. She was still carrying Eileen’s tripod.
“That’s what I came back for. If you can believe it. I must be a real sucker for punishment.”
Naomi had to stop herself from grabbing Eileen’s hand. “Aren’t we all this time of year?”
“Look around you, though. Derby’s all lit up. It’s like they’ve not only switched on the lights, but given the start sign for all the fake merriment that comes with it.”
“That sounds a bit glum, even coming from you.” Naomi walked a little closer to Eileen.
Eileen chuckled. “I think I know what would cheer me up.”
“I can probably guess what you’re thinking, but it’s a bit cold outside. Let’s wait until we get to your place,” Naomi joked.
Eileen stopped and turned to her. “I may have given you reason to believe so, but I really don’t have a one-track mind like that.” She inched closer to Naomi. “My mom throws a big Christmas party the first weekend of December every year. How about you be my date and make the whole ordeal infinitely more bearable for me?”
“You want to take me to your family Christmas party?” Naomi’s eyes grew wide.
“It’s just a pre-party and there will be loads of people. It won’t be an intimate affair at all. Quite the opposite, actually.”
“Of course I would love to be your date,” Naomi blurted out before she could reason herself out of accepting the invitation. “It’s about time I find out where you come from.”
“Don’t expect to have a good time, though. In fact, just this once, you can look at it as treating me as a charity case.” Eileen scoffed. “There will be lots of free booze, however. So, there’s that.”
“I’ve never seen you as a charity case, Eileen,” Naomi said.
Eileen tilted her head. “Not even when you picked up those spilled coins in the hospital coffee shop?”
“I just thought you were hot and I made the most of the opportunity presented to me. So that makes me much more of an opportunist than you think.”
It was Eileen who took Naomi’s free hand in her good one. “You should fit right in with my family then.” Eileen grinned at her and dragged Naomi along with her.
They walked the rest of the way to Eileen’s apartment in silence, their fingers intertwined. Naomi took the time to digest everything Eileen had said, and to mentally prepare for the party.
Chapter Seventeen
Eileen stood on the sidewalk outside her apartment, waiting for Naomi to swing by in her car so they could go to the Callahan Holiday Bash, part one, together.
Darkness had already settled over Derby, but the night sky was clear, aside from some wispy clouds and the waning crescent moon low in the sky off to her left. Eileen studied the moon, remembering some of the moments she’d taken the time to stop and look. Like her first night in Iraq during the first Gulf War. Or on a Greek shore after witnessing the arrival of Syrian migrants, and a mother’s grief upon realizing her three-month daughter had died in her arms. The photo Eileen had snapped ended up winning the Pulitzer.
So many memories of terrible sadness. Fear. Guilt.
Tonight, though, standing in Derby, the sheer beauty of the moon stood out to her more than usual. Never before had she considered its presence romantic.
And she felt years younger.
Perhaps both changes were Naomi’s influence. One benefit of sleeping with a twenty-something.
Eileen was still chuckling when Naomi pulled up.
After Eileen climbed into the passenger side of the beat-up Subaru Outback, Naomi, with one hand on the back of Eileen’s seat, asked, “What’s so funny?”
“The moon.”
Naomi scrunched her brow. “Do I even want to ask?”
“Probably best not to. Hi, by the way. You millennials and your non-greeting habits,” Eileen teased.
“This coming from the woman who launched into ‘Am I a turtle’ on the phone the other day.”
“An excellent point.” Eileen laughed.
Naomi scanned the street before leaning over and kissing Eileen full on the lips, her tongue forcing its way into Eileen’s mouth. Pulling away many moments later, she asked, “Was that a better greeting?”
“I may have to get out of the car and get back in if that’s how you plan to greet me every time you pick me up.”
“I’d let you if we weren’t running late.”
Eileen smiled. “Oh, we have plenty of time before dinner. I don’t know why my mom insists on hosting a sit-down meal considering the number of guests. She treats these parties like she’s hosting a State Dinner. Absolutely ridiculous.”
Naomi blinked. “Really… that… is odd.”
“You okay?” Eileen placed her hand on Naomi’s thigh, giving it a squeeze.
Naomi placed her hand over Eileen’s. “I am now. Your touch has a healing effect on me. So, where are we going?”
Eileen provided the address.
“Do I need to enter it into my GPS or do you still remember your way home?” Naomi teased, but there was a smidge of trepidation, or something Eileen couldn’t put her finger on, in her tone.
“I think I can bumble my way there. Take a left at the stop sign.”
Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up outside the house.
“This is your parents’ house?” Naomi leaned over the steering wheel, taking in the Victorian lakeside manor, its original clapboard siding covered in a pristine coat of apricot paint. Her eyes wandered over the cream-covered gingerbread trim on the one-hundred-fifty-year-old house. “I had no idea you’re…” She let her voice trail off.
Eileen, uncomfortable with the awkward silence, tried to see everything from Naomi’s perspective. The stark differences highlighted between Eileen’s family home and Naomi’s car that was at least a decade old. She rushed to explain, “It’s not as impressive as you think. The house has been in the family for generations. Originally it was my great-grandparents’ summer home, but my parents moved in permanently before I was born.”
“It’s not…” Naomi let out a breath and smiled awkwardly. “Do you live in Buckingham Palace when you’re in the UK?”
Eileen let out a bark of laughter. “Hardly.” She studied Naomi’s face. “You okay? You seem a bit pale. We don’t have to go inside.”
“What? No. It must be the moon’s effect.” She swallowed. “Shall we… head in?” Without hesitation, Naomi got out of the car.
“If we must.” Eileen reached across her chest to open the door.
Both outside, Eileen waved for Naomi to walk ahead of her.
“So polite.” Naomi patted Eileen’s cheek.
“Not really.” Eileen cocked her head to fully appreciate the twist of Naomi’s hips. “This is the best view of the evening.”
Naomi peered over her shoulder. “Naughty.”
The foyer was brilliantly lit. Strands of white lights twinkled in crisscross patterns across the high ceiling, highlighting the massive chandelier made of sparkling Irish crystal.
Naomi met Eileen’s eyes with a look of mystification.
“Sadly, there isn’t one octopus centerpiece in the entire house,” Eileen whispered into Naomi’s ear. Although, she noted the red and green beads around Nike, the Greek goddess. Julia’s touch?
“How did you survive childhood without one?”
“It was touch and go for many years.” While Eileen had been joking, it was difficult to kick the thought that it really had been that way living with her mom.
Naomi helped Eileen out of her coat before a young woman quickly approached them sweeping their coats out of sight.
It was Eileen’s first glimpse of Naomi’s quirky sleeveless 1950s cocktail dress. It was ruby red with a full skirt, lace at the neck, and with a detailed depiction of a winter village at the hem, com
plete with falling snow. The outfit was finished off by black stockings with seams up the back, and three-inch heels. Eileen whispered, “You look great.”
“Eileen! There you are, darling.” Her mom practically floated over to Eileen, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.
Naomi took a step to the side, giving mother and daughter some space, her dark voluminous hair falling over her face in the process.
Eileen started to introduce Naomi, but her mom interrupted, “I’ll be right back. The mayor just walked in.”
“I’m so sorry,” Eileen said to Naomi.
“Don’t be. I mean it’s the mayor after all.” Naomi’s eyes twinkled with frivolity, as she swept the strands of hair off her face.
“Hey there, cousin.” A man in a red tartan bow tie and suspenders with gray hair at his temples stuck out his hand for Eileen to shake.
“Oh, sorry. I have to be weird and shake your hand with my left arm.” Eileen avoided Naomi’s questioning gaze.
“What’d you do?” he asked, eying her stiff arm.
“Nothing serious. Pulled a muscle or something.” She gestured it wasn’t a big deal. “Philip this is Naomi.”
“Nice to meet you,” Philip said, squeezing Naomi’s hand in a limp handshake. “Can I get you two lovely ladies a drink? Can’t have my favorite injured cousin go without one.”
“You’ve always been the gentleman. Like when you used to put snot-filled tissues into my shoes.”
“Careful, Ellie. I’m in the early stages of a cold so I still may manage a few surprises. One’s never too old for that practical joke.” He left them, presumably on the mission of acquiring two glasses of bubbly.
“Ellie?” Naomi asked, adding, “Do you prefer being called that?”
“Professionally I go by Eileen, but those who know me well do call me that.”
Naomi’s eyebrows nearly reached her hairline. “Oh really. Do I know you well enough now to call you Ellie?”
Eileen whispered in Naomi’s ear. “Trust me. You know me a helluva lot better than Phil.”
“Naomi. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.” A woman in black trousers and a pastel sweater with a knitted scene of a man and woman in a sled wrapped Naomi into her arms.
“Hi, Mom.”
Eileen blinked. Looked more closely at the older woman and then blinked again.
“Mom, you remember Eileen Makenna Callahan? Eileen, this is my mom, Sophia Weaver.” Naomi’s emphasis on Eileen’s last name didn’t go unnoticed.
Eileen nodded, mouth slightly agape. Recovering her faculties, she said, “Mrs. Weaver it’s so very good to see you again.”
“And you, my dear.”
Mother and daughter chatted briefly, before Mrs. Weaver excused herself.
Eileen steered Naomi into a corner. “You’re Mrs. Weaver’s daughter? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You never asked. And, I’m just as surprised as you are about all of this. I didn’t start putting the pieces together until you gave me your address less than an hour ago. When I met you, you told me your name was Eileen Makenna, leaving out the key detail that would have clued me in immediately. Everyone in Derby knows the Callahan family.”
“I’ve never used my last name, aside from legal documents, since I left. But, I… I don’t remember you. How is that possible?” Eileen ran her hand over her head. “It does explain why your face lost all its color earlier in the car. You weren’t about to say you didn’t know I came from a wealthy family or something. You were about to say you didn’t know I was a Callahan. Hence why I never say my last name because people act like the way you did in the car.” Eileen circled back. “But, how do I not remember you? Naomi Weaver.” She said the name as if running it through her mental computer for any sign of recognition.
“I’m the youngest of five kids and there was a huge gap between me and the sibling who is closest to my age. Mom’s always called me her miracle baby. You probably left for college before my birth.”
“College,” Eileen echoed. So much for feeling younger dating a twenty-something. “But… our moms are friends.”
“Uh, they know each other, yes. But you can say that about most moms in Derby.”
“Surely you knew your mom was going to a party tonight. You didn’t make the connection when I asked you?” Eileen knitted her brow.
Naomi shook her head. “Nope. I’ve never associated much with… your family.”
From Naomi’s puckered forehead she gathered the reason for Naomi’s avoidance. Naomi wasn’t the type to appreciate Trudy Callahan and Eileen couldn’t fault her for that. Actually, she respected it.
“There you are.” Phil held two glasses in his hands. After handing off the drinks to Naomi and Eileen, he turned to his cousin. “How long are you in town for?”
“The month. You?” Eileen sipped her drink.
“I’m driving back to Connecticut tomorrow. I’ll be back for Christmas or your mom will have my head on a platter. How have you avoided the wrath of Trudy Callahan all these years?”
“By living in a different country.”
“Jules!” Phil called out, waving a hand about as if trying to guide a plane to a landing strip. “Get over here.”
Julia, shaking her head and laughing, left James alone with the nattering nabobs from the café. “You bellowed, Probate Will Phil.”
Phil, with hand over heart, said, “You deeply wound me Jules the Mule that Drools.”
“Okay, I get the mule one, but Probate Will Phil? That’s an odd nickname,” Naomi whispered to Eileen.
“Phil’s a probate lawyer, just like his dad, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He’s been called that since he was three.”
“What’s your nickname?”
“Ellie.”
Naomi shot her a don’t mess with me glare. “If you don’t tell me right now, I’ll start asking every relative and family friend.” Her glance bounced over all the possibilities in the room.
Eileen feigned betrayal. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Naomi flipped around, but Eileen corralled her with her good arm.
“Before I tell you, I want to make it crystal clear. Paybacks are hell.”
Naomi crossed her arms. “You don’t scare me.”
“You’ve been warned.” She let out a puff of air, but still didn’t share.
Naomi tried to get Phil’s attention.
Eileen lowered Naomi’s hand. “Fine. Smelly Ellie.”
Naomi attempted to smother her laughter with one hand over her mouth, but it couldn’t be contained, spilling through her fingers.
Eileen felt heat creeping up her neck. “No one calls me that.”
“Hey, Smelly Ellie!” Phil beckoned her with a finger.
Before leaving Naomi’s side, Eileen clarified, “No one who ends up in my bed.”
Eileen joined Julia and Phil, while Naomi’s mom returned to her daughter’s side. Soon Phil drifted away to chat with James who’d somehow managed to shake the old ladies and Naomi and her mother roamed far enough away from the sisters to take in the view of the Christmas lights outside the window.
Eileen stared menacingly at her sister.
“What?” Julia hid behind her Champagne flute.
“Why didn’t you tell me Naomi is Mrs. Weaver’s daughter?”
“Oh, that.” Julia sipped her drink, clearly stalling for time. “It… slipped my mind.”
“Bullshit.”
“Didn’t you know Naomi’s last name?”
“I may have, but I certainly didn’t make the connection. It’s been years since I gave a second thought to Sophia Weaver.”
Julia sighed. “Does it really matter? You keep telling everyone you’re leaving in a month anyway. What’s a harmless fling?”
“With Mrs. Weaver’s daughter.”
“Why is that a big deal?”
How could Eileen confess to Julia that when Eileen was in high school she’d had a major crush on Sophia Weaver?
Julia leaned in
to her sister. “Have you slept with her yet?”
Eileen stiffened, momentarily thinking Julia had asked if she’d slept with Mrs. Weaver. Of course, Julia was talking about Naomi.
“Oh my. You have!” Julia clamped a hand on Eileen’s shoulder. “My big sister still has game.”
“You aren’t off the hook, Jules. What’s Mom going to say?”
Julia flinched. “Do you have to tell her?”
“We came to the party together.”
“Which isn’t all that unusual for old family friends. And you can’t drive, so there’s that excuse. Naomi was just giving you a ride and you’re paying her back by riding her.”
Eileen bit her lip, choosing to ignore Julia’s last comment. “How do I explain Naomi offering to give me a ride in the first place?”
“How were you going to explain before you found out about Naomi?”
“I wasn’t, but now it seems like I may have to. To cover my tracks.”
Julia waved a dismissive hand. “You’re forgetting Mom has her heart set on you getting back together with Melissa, who hails from the only other wealthy family in Derby. I doubt she’ll ever make the connection that you’re boffing Naomi who’s half your age.”
Eileen gestured for Julia to shut her trap. “Bring it down twenty decibels, please.”
James approached and gave Eileen a hug. “How have you been? I haven’t seen you since your first day back when you resembled a creature from the Night of the Living Dead.”
Julia drilled an elbow into his gut.
“What was that for?” He rubbed his protruding stomach. “I just meant she was exhausted from flying.”
“Eileen, dear. We haven’t had a chance to talk.” Her mom hooked her arm through Eileen’s right one, using a bit of force to get the stiff arm to relent. “Now, who were you going to introduce me to when… I can’t remember what distracted me? It’s been one thing after another. Moments ago, the bar staff had an emergency.”
“The mayor had just arrived,” Eileen said and grit her teeth.
Naomi, as if in tune with Eileen’s annoyance, steered her mother over to Trudy and her daughters.