Of Sun & Moon (Midnight Guardian Series, Book 1)
Page 14
Chapter 10: Meet the Parents
The room fell silent. No one quite knew what to do with this new information. Was it just coincidence? Did it mean something?
Finally, Nana yawned and decided to turn in for at least a couple of hours before morning. Colby and Keira were still too wired to settle down. Keira finally had someone to confide in. Colby was someone whom she could trust to keep her secret. The two stayed up until dawn talking. They theorized about how Colby’s nephew would save the world.
Soon daybreak peeked over the horizon and Colby decided to head home before he was missed. Keira swore him to secrecy one last time and gave him a hug. She had given him an old pair of rubber work boots and a jacket to wear home since he had been unexpectedly plucked from his bedroom wearing nothing but a t-shirt, sweats, and socks. He suspected that the boots and jacket were leftovers from Mr. Rickard, a kindly old man who checked in on the ladies once in a while to make modest household repairs. The boots were a bit small, the jacket a bit too big, and the walk home was extremely cold, but Colby didn’t seem to notice. His life had gone from mediocre to marvelous in the course of one night. He just couldn’t tell anyone about it.
He climbed into his window just in time to hear a knock outside the bedroom door. “Get up geek boy, Mom’s got breakfast ready,” an all-too cheery voice sang.
“School’s out. Tell her I’m sleeping in,” Colby shouted back as he kicked off his borrowed boots, chucked the jacket, and climbed under the covers of his inviting, warm bed.
He jumped up with a start. He recognized that voice. Just then, Jamie burst in the door.
“Hey! What are you doing here?” Colby asked.
“I was coming back from a business trip and decided to fly straight here.” Jamie worked as a paralegal for a Cleveland company that did consulting and lobbying for major players in the food industry. He had only been in his job for six months, but was a fast learner and hard worker, so he quickly earned favor with the executive suite.
“I came in late last night to surprise Mom and Dad. Mary Sue’s bringing Drew tonight.” He rubbed his brother’s head and gave him a playful punch in the stomach. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you get enough sleep last night?”
“Just go away,” Colby grumbled pulling the covers back over his head.
“Okay, I guess I’ll just go downstairs and let Mom know that you are sleeping in since you had a long night with Keira.”
Colby growled from his nest of blankets. “What do you know and what do you want?”
“I know that little Miss Ryan climbed in your window last night. She’s not the stealthiest intruder. Anyway, I heard you guys talking through the wall one minute and the next you were gone. Funny, I always figured that you were too chicken to climb down the trellis. Guess she’s got you wrapped around her little finger. It was a shock, my perfect little brother sneaking out.”
“What do you want?”
“Okay,” he plopped down on the end of the bed. “Mom’s got this idea in her head that she wants to take Mary Sue out for a ‘Girls Day’ tomorrow,” he said complete with air quotes. “You know, she’s thinking they’ll spend a few hours at the salon, go shopping, and stuff like that.”
“Yeah, so?”
“Mary Sue is freaking out. She’s never left the baby for five minutes, let alone a whole day. Plus, she doesn’t know Mom very well and she’s super nervous about being alone with her all day. She doesn’t want to hurt her feelings, but there’s no way she’s going. So, I was thinking that if you told Mom that you think everyone should spend Christmas Eve Day together, she’d go for it. After all, if perfect Colby thinks it’s a good idea, how could she not agree.”
“It’s a deal. Now, let me sleep.”
“Will do, ladies man” Jamie said and bopped out the door. “Nighty night, sleep tight,” he sang in a high-pitched, girly voice.
Colby pulled the covers back over his head. The warmth of his big, soft comforter was fluffy relief. Christmas was just days away. A typical teenager, he had originally planned to avoid family time by staying in his room, but now he was looking forward to seeing his only nephew. Jamie, Mary Sue, and baby Andrew Christopher (Drew for short) would be staying in Jamie’s old room which was right beside his bedroom. Drew would arrive tonight, December 23rd.
Colby drifted to sleep thinking these thoughts. His dreams were filled with images of little Drew in the Oval Office and little Drew leading an army into noble battle. Probably the funniest dream was of little Drew inventing cars fueled by dirty diapers. His dreams slowly moved from Drew to Keira. It would be her job to protect him and to see that he reached his full potential. Colby knew she was up to the challenge. He also knew that he would do whatever it took to help.