“I just,” my chin wobbles uncontrollably. “I’ve been trying to hold it together all day for Mom, you know? But today was bad. It felt so empty here without her. Christmas Eve was our thing. Mom said she was going to nap a while ago, but I know she went to cry.”
“I think it’s awesome you had a relationship like that with her. I don’t know that many people that close with a grandparent.”
“She was a spitfire, so special.”
“Again, you’re just like her.”
Tears shimmer in my eyes as I smile at him. “I really want to see your face.”
“I—”
The invasion of light cracks on screen and my wish is granted for a split second before a shriek fills the air.
“I found him!”
“I swear to God, Courtney, if you don’t get the hell out of here, I’m going to tell Mark about the time you got pulled over for indecent exposure.”
“You will not.”
“Test me.”
I sit idle as he glares back at her, my smile growing.
“I just want to meet her!” Courtney coos in the background as my view is obstructed by the brawl over his phone. “He’s got her on FaceTime,” Courtney yells as the struggle ensues.
In the next few seconds, I hear the sound of footfalls, and an ‘oomph’ come out of Theo and more threats.
“I’m going to hurt you, Court. Stop it.”
“We are awesome! There is no need to be ashamed of us.”
“Ironically, I am.”
“Courtney, get him out of that headlock, he’s on the phone!”
“Turn the camera around so we can wave,” another voice says as I get dizzy from watching the struggle. And then he’s moving his face, coming on screen, his hair disheveled when he finally brings it up to his face. “I’ll call you back later. Sorry—”
“Let me say hi,” I protest as he glances behind him and picks up his pace. In the next second, I get a good panoramic view of the ceiling. “Baby, I’ll call you back.”
“Oh, he’s calling her baby!”
“Oh my God, Teddy! That’s so sweet!”
“I knew people called you Teddy!” I declare loudly.
“Yes, girl,” one of them pipes up and I see arms again flying as a beautiful girl with Teddy’s eyes comes into view. “And don’t let him tell you different. Hi!”
“Hi,” I parrot with a smile.
“Wow, you aren’t what I expected, but in a good way.”
I can hear Teddy cursing. “I swear to God, we are about to fight like men.”
“Just let us talk to her!” She screams back over her shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Laney!” Theo says, his voice cracking with fear.
“It’s fine, Teddy!” I yell into the phone with a laugh.
“So, you’re the one my brother has been talking non-stop to Mom about when he thought we weren’t listening.”
“I hope so.”
“Well, I’m Jamie, his favorite.”
“Not anymore!” I hear him yell in the background and another “oomph.”
Another voice sounds out. “She was your favorite? Really, Teddy? That hurts.”
“I’m so going to get you for this. Hang up, Laney. Just hang up!”
Another head pops up on the screen. “Hi. I’m Brenna.”
“Hi.”
“So did Teddy tell you ‘bout us?”
“Sure did,” I say through a laugh.
A third head pops up. “Did he tell you how protective we are?”
“I have the best of intentions, I assure you, Courtney.”
She gives me a pride-filled grin. “In the flesh.”
“Well, rest assured, your brother is in good hands and schooling me on a lot more than I would like to admit.”
Jamie speaks up. “He’s special, isn’t he?”
“Very.”
“Yeah, as in helmet wearing special,” Courtney says, rolling her eyes.
Brenna’s eyes light up. “You should come for New Year’s! You can sleep in my room.”
“Oh, I uh, well I have to stay here with my mom.”
Jamie thumps her ear. “That’s an invitation Teddy should extend.”
“Where is he anyway?” I ask.
Jamie and Brenna look back to Courtney who shrugs. “We probably have about ten seconds left.”
I shake my head with a laugh.
“You know, Courtney, you and Theo look a lot alike.”
“That’s funny you mention that,” Jamie says, “because we have this pillow.”
A loud boom sounds as Brenna lifts something into view just before the phone is knocked out of her hand, and I’m again staring at the ceiling.
“Jesus Christ, no!” Theo says with a voice full of panic. “You guys are so dead!”
Brenna’s face pops into view in front of where the phone sits on the floor. “I’ll steal your number from his phone and text you. We’ll set something up. Lunch and shopping?”
“Sounds good.”
Taunting laughter follows as Theo retrieves his phone and comes into view, looking perplexed.
“What did they do to you?”
“Locked me in the closet,” he’s breathless, and I can’t stop laughing.
“Not funny.”
“Sorry, poor baby.”
“I’d have been much better off with brothers.”
“Ouch, Teddy!” I hear from somewhere in the house.
“Go straight back to hell, Satan!” Theo shrieks.
“Alright guys, kids, it’s Christmas.”
“Really, Dad?” Theo says panting. “Now you’re going to butt in?”
“God, I love your family already.”
“You can have them.” He shakes his head solemnly. “I should have called you from the car. You don’t have to go shopping with them.”
“I want to. Sounds fun. They seem awesome.”
“Give it a year or twenty.” He walks to his bedroom, and I demand he give me a tour. He does a slow sweep of his room. It’s clean, and it’s obvious the house is nice. There are vacuum indents in the carpet.
“Big. Comfy.”
“I like your bedroom better,” he says suggestively. “Or my other room.”
He lays back on his bed, the phone hovering above his face.
“I love this view.”
“Yeah?” He says before playfully biting his lip. “What’s good about it?”
I lift a brow.
“Funny, I like it just the opposite.”
“You weren’t saying that the other night.”
“Should I shut my door so we can discuss this in more detail?”
“Nah, my mom is in earshot.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m good now. Watching the sideshow with your sisters got me out of my headspace.”
“Sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Hurry home…” I feel the blush creep up my face. “I mean back.”
“Home,” he says. “I don’t live here anymore.”
“Right.”
“Don’t be embarrassed.”
“I’m not.”
“I’m ready to come home, to you.”
“Okay.”
“Merry Christmas, Laney.”
“Merry Christmas, Houseman.”
Theo
Lying on my bed, in my new navy dress pants, collared shirt, and tie, I bounce my stress ball off the ceiling. I’ve never been so restless in my life. While I love my family, they are nowhere near as entertaining as the feisty brunette who’s taking up a majority of my thoughts, my time. Things moved fast after we got physical, and I had to convince myself on the drive giving us space would give me perspective. But at this point, it’s all I can do to keep from packing my car and making an excuse to head home. Nora crosses my thoughts, and I shake the image away of her tear-soaked confession.
“It just happened.”
It’s the only thing keeping me from making the drive. With Laney, I
have to pace myself. I can’t let my heart rule my head. I’ve done that, and I have no intention of walking the plank again without ample reason to. But somewhere beneath all this caution is a white flag waving half-mast ready for me to simply give in. Laney isn’t Nora, and I can’t grudge one for the other’s mistake. But if I’m forced to live by experience, I can’t help but to weigh the risk. Laney has the ability to hurt me. But how much of myself do I want to invest in a woman who has to stand in the junk food aisle for ten minutes to make a simple decision. She’s unsure about everything, and who’s to say in a month or a day she won’t feel the same about me.
Am I an asshole for thinking it?
“Aww,” Courtney draws from the frame of my bedroom door, “look, Jamie, he’s daydreaming about his girlfriend.”
I groan, throwing my arm over my eyes as I toss the ball in the direction of my door.
“Can you two please go find some garland to strangle each other with?”
“As much as I want to Freud you, little brother, we’ve got to go. Yuletide is calling, and Dad’s pacing downstairs.”
“I’ll be down in a minute.”
Jamie pries my arm from my face. “Come on, do your duty and you can come back here and sulk.”
“Hurry up, boy sperm,” Courtney taps the door before taking her leave as Jamie lingers behind.
“What?” I feel her stare as I lift to sit, grabbing my suit jacket.
“You really like this one.”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
“Just be careful.”
Jamie was the one who drove down when Nora dropped the bomb. For a week straight, she stayed at my side, mostly silent as I went through the motions. She’d played big brother, got me drunk for a couple of days while she cleaned out every piece of memorabilia from my life, and then forced me out of bed into the shower.
“Not too careful. I want you to take the chance again, to be happy,” she says, a pensive expression flitting across her features. “I just don’t ever want to see you like that—”
“I know. Don’t worry.”
“Can’t help it.”
“I got you something,” I say, changing the subject.
“Oh yeah?” She lights up.
I reach into my duffle and pull out the wrapped box. “It’s one more than I got Court and Brenna, so don’t rat me out, okay?”
“You aren’t supposed to have a favorite,” she says with a light laugh.
“I think that rule is for moms, and anyway look at your competition.”
She nudges me. “Courtney loves you. Brenna too.”
“I know. Just open it.”
She rips off the paper with enthusiasm. “Oh my God.” She lifts the inscribed bar necklace and reads the scroll on both sides.
“One side means word warrior and the other, seeker of justice,” I explain. I thought you could wear it your first day in court, you know, as a good luck charm.”
“This is beautiful,” she says, choking up.
“Don’t you dare cry.”
“I can’t help it.” She hugs me tightly to her, and I hug her back. “This is everything. Thank you.”
“I’m proud of you. You worked your ass off.”
“You’re too cool, little brother.”
“Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas, Teddy.” She pulls away and smiles. “Come on, before Dad has a coronary.”
At the foot of the stairs, we’re greeted by my dad who gives us a dead stare while helping Mom into her coat. We go to the annual neighborhood Christmas party held at the clubhouse every year, but this year is different because one of Dad’s new golfing buddies, who he’s set on impressing, just moved into the neighborhood and mentioned stopping by. And Dad rarely misses an opportunity to showboat his family. We take the freezing walk to the clubhouse, my sisters’ heels clicking on the sidewalk as Courtney belts out “Jingle Bells” like she’s one of the wicked stepsisters. My mother sighs and leans over to my dad. “I’ll admit, I dropped that one.”
“I knew it,” he replies dryly before they share a smile.
“I heard that,” Courtney says. “I’m still an improvement from the boy sperm.”
We enter the clubhouse, and as usual, it’s decked out. We live in one of the more exclusive neighborhoods in the Houston suburbs. My parents are socialites and make it their mission to keep their calendar full. This particular party they attend because of the few coveted awards—including best garden—passed out each year. They even give out ridiculous little glass trophies. Mom has won it twice, and I swear she shines them once a day. The whole ritual is absurd, but we humor them because appearances are important to them, and they are genuinely proud of us. I think about Laney’s slice of peaceful heaven in the middle of nowhere compared to the industrial park I grew up in. It’s like night and day. We come from completely different worlds, and yet I’m comfortable in hers. I wonder if she would feel the same in mine.
“There they are!”
A few neighbors greet my parents as we offspring plaster on smiles.
“And this is my son, Theo, and my daughter, Jamie. Jamie graduated last May and is with a new firm. She has her first day in court on Monday, and Theo is a junior at TGU. Music major.” My dad beams with pride as Jamie and I show our teeth for inspection like prized ponies.
The man extends his hand, and I shake it.
“Nice to meet you, sir.”
He grins over at me. “Call me, Jim. And I was a Grand Man myself.”
My father’s smile grows Grinchy big. “I didn’t know that.”
Jim leans forward and claps me on the back. “Loved that school. Time of my life.” He gives me a knowing wink.
I nod uneasily because I get the same vibe from him that I do from Troy. And from the looks of him and his wife, he’s kept his playboy appetite. He’s got an arrogant type of confidence that only goes along with a lifetime of getting his way.
I play along with the humdrum of the conversation with my thoughts never two blinks away from Laney. We make our rounds until our parents get caught up in gossip and we’re stuck chugging spiked nog on the sidelines.
“Maybe we can make a run for it,” Brenna says with a sigh.
My mother looks over at us right at that moment and narrows her eyes.
“I think we’re bugged,” Jamie says. “The woman knows everything as it happens.”
“We are,” Courtney confirms. “No doubt. We’re bugged. She’s been doing it since we were young. She just knows.”
“Drink up, Dad’s doing that laugh.”
“Oh God, not the laugh.”
We all groan when we see him toss his head back and cackle like a hyena.
“Shit,” Courtney says. “I can’t believe we share DNA.”
“They are such fakes sometimes,” Brenna says as she lifts her phone, the three of them simultaneously doing duck lips before the flash goes off.
“Good one, it’s going up.” The girls weigh in on the picture and nod in approval.
“Oh, I almost forgot, this coworker was telling me about this crazy couple yesterday, she said they’re hilarious.” Brenna taps on her phone with the speed of a magician. “My real life,” she frowns, searching her thoughts as I choke on my eggnog. “Crap, I forget the name. My Realest life. That’s it.”
“We should go make the rounds,” I suggest holding out a plate of sugar cookies to the three of them like bait. Look, sugar. Sugar.
Courtney is the only one to take it.
Resorting to the phone slap tactic, I’m stopped with my own man slap to the shoulder.
“So, you’re a fighting Ranger?”
“Yes, sir.”
As if my dad can smell blood in the water, he saunters over to join us.
“I’ve got a few buddies left out that way, maybe we should make a trip down there soon.” He nods towards his wife, who only bobs her head in agreement. It might be wrong for me to assume she’s arm candy, but it’s the only conclusion I can d
raw when my mom prompts her for conversation, and she gives nothing but short, clipped answers. She’s probably bored and enduring this party like the rest of us. I can’t help but to think of what a change in dynamic it would be if Laney were standing here. For the next half hour, I’m forced to listen to Jim’s Grand Man stories. My father can’t get a word in edgewise and watches me intently. I have no desire to impress this man, but I do respect Dad enough to be polite and indulge his bullshit.
“Course I had to get the hell out of there,” he drains the last of his drink. “Not much to entertain there but the school.”
“Oh, he’s entertained,” Courtney spouts.
My mother sighs in annoyance and eyes Courtney in warning.
Jim catches on because…Courtney. “Ahh, yeah. Can’t argue with that type of distraction. Just make sure to avoid the noose,” he says, “if you know what I mean. It will only slow you down.”
It’s official, I’m staring at Troy’s future.
“He’s got a good head on his shoulders,” my dad interjects with genuine pride.
Jim smiles, and it gives me pause. “Well, we have to head over to Chrissy’s parents for dessert. They’re holding our son hostage.” He pulls out his business card, and I read the bold print and look back at Jim’s profile.
Jim exchanges pleasantries with my parents, and my mother elbows me to speak up when it’s my turn. Blood pulses at my temple as I nod and grit out a goodbye before I get another sound clap on the shoulder.
“Call me if you need something to get you on your feet. Us Grand Men have to stick together.”
When the door closes behind them, my parents head back into the party as Jamie eyes me while I slip out the front door. I catch them down the stone path of the clubhouse.
“Your daughter is beautiful.”
He pauses on the sidewalk, and they both turn to look at me in surprise.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Your daughter. She’s beautiful, devastatingly so. She lights up every room she walks into.”
I shove my hands in my pockets to ward off the cold. “She’s smart, outspoken, and can be a handful, but she can handle herself in any situation.”
“Excuse me, but are you talking about Elai—”
“She’s got an addiction to junk food and an odd taste in idols, but it should come as no surprise to you that they’re all women.”
The Underdogs: The Complete Series Page 20