“So say something!” Tom coaxed. “You’re making me nervous, Princess.”
“Lucy and Linus’ vet?” Maxine repeated, ready to absolutely burst with giggles. “Oh, tell me about Vicki…”
“Well, Maxie…” Tom threw his arm around her shoulders but turned away with a bit of embarrassment. “I invited her out to dinner that night. She accepted. And…we’ve sort of been seeing a bit of each other…”
“I love it!” she squealed, jumping up and down so thunderously that she thought she might have actually awakened the kittens now taking a post-mischief snooze in the living room. “And you didn’t tell me? How could you not tell me? Do we get to meet her? And…”
“Well, yeah…” Tom said, and reached for the bottle of whiskey that he kept under the sink for special occasions. He so needed his warm and cozy fix that afternoon. “If…it’s alright with you and Drew, she’s going to come for dinner tonight…”
Maxine turned suddenly and reached out for his forearms. “Did you tell him before you told me?”
“Oh, no!” Tom said quickly. “I had to tell you first. Besides, Drew and I only talk about you.”
“I’m sure you do, Daddy.”
Forehead wrinkling, he asked, “You’re okay with that? Vicki coming over for a holiday meal?”
“Why not?” Maxine questioned him. “I just want to hear more. I already love her if she’s a vet…”
“And a good one—she’s very gentle with them…” he told her.
“Oh, she fits in well with our family, doesn’t she?” Maxine teased. “Tell me more! More! What’s she like?”
“She’s sweet and kind, Maxie,” he said. “She’s very bright, but no ego there. And she’s funny, too. Truthfully, she reminds me a lot of your mother.”
“That’s all I need to know…” And she gave his arms a quick pulse of her fingers. Maxine didn’t care what Vicki looked like or how much money she made. And she loved how Tom focused only on her personality in his tender description.
“She’s divorced, too, for a few years now, so no baggage there,” he continued. “No kids, but she’s got four felines, a ferret, and a turtle.”
“A turtle? Now that’s cool. I cannot wait to meet her!” Maxine squealed, genuinely ecstatic for her father. “I think she’s already won you over…”
“Well, she’s pretty excited about meeting you and Drew, too,” Tom said. “I’ve talked her ear off about both of you…showed her every picture from my trip. Do you know that she even recognized Drew? She loves the theater and New York!”
Maxine felt a warm rush of revelation rush through her veins, and she believed that it was Judy who sent Vicki. Now, she really couldn’t wait to meet her. “I think we’re all going to get along just fine.”
“You’ll like her, Maxie, I promise you…” he insisted.
“Oh, Daddy!” she cried through happy tears as she threw her arms around him. “I’m ecstatic for you. And I know Drew will be, too…”
Pulling her closer, he gave her an extra squeeze. “By the way…”
“Hmmm…” Maxine looked up into his big brown eyes.
“That cranberry salad—Maggie’s recipe?”
“Yeah…”
“Uh….Vicki made it last night…”
“Oh, Daddy,” Maxine sighed and giggled. “Your secret is safe with me.”
# # #
“So, Drew,” Tom began, his tone pensive but only moderately threatening. “You ready to chop down Maxie’s Christmas tree with me?”
Trees were on Drew’s mind, but not of the holiday sort. Oh, no. Maxine couldn’t just tease him with the possibilities of her old treehouse and not make good on her proposition—insinuated or otherwise.
Stop thinking about sex! he ordered himself. You are in her father’s home, and he has guns!
The only logical diversion in sight was a dirty coffee mug sitting in the kitchen sink, and Drew picked it up to give it a wash. “I am very much looking forward to it.”
“Oh, me, too, Drew! There’s a whole patch of them out there leftover by the neighbors before they abandoned the idea of tree farming. It’ll be nice not to have to do the dirty work myself this year. You’ll do great.”
“Cut...it...down. You mean…me, Tom?” Drew asked.
The only tree cutting he’d ever paid even the slightest bit of attention to was the grand one that sat in Rockefeller Center. No one in New York could ever escape the barrage of coverage that befell every newscast during the holiday season. Drew himself was even tapped to sing “Let It Snow” that year for the official lighting.
“I’ll teach you how to use a hatchet!” Tom said. “It’s a respected art form, Drew. Certainly, as a man of the stage, you can appreciate it.”
“You two just better be careful!” Maxine warned. “I have no intentions of spending any of our little vacation here in the hospital with either one of you.”
“Hey, pal, I think it’s clean now…”
“Huh?” Drew turned around and raised an eyebrow at Tom with the wet cup in his hand. “Oh!”
“Still make ya nervous, don’t I?”
“Sometimes…” Drew said weakly.
“Always…” Maxine added.
“Sassypants…” Drew’s voice warned.
“Sassy…pants…cracks me up every time!” Tom choked on his own laughter.
“You wait until you have a nickname for Vicki, Tom,” Drew teased him with a wink to Maxine. “We’ll find out. And we’ll use it and abuse it…”
“I’ll have to remember to keep that one silent.”
“So…uh…Tom…?” Drew began, his hand reaching toward the fridge. “You said the cranberry salad is in here?”
“Hey! No tastings!” Maxine admonished.
“Nope…gotta try it…”
Before Maxine could protest, he’d literally put a fork in it, and that smile was so telling. The blend of fresh crushed cranberries, white grapes, walnuts, oranges and raspberry Jell-O brought back a torrent of memories from his childhood. Every year, he waited for that salad. Not even the posturing actor could hide his emotions.
“Oh, God, don’t ever tell my mother, but this is soo goooood…” Drew groaned and shoveled another forkful into his hungry mouth.
Sharing a secret smile with her dad, Maxine patted Tom on the back. “You did well, Daddy.”
“Ahem…” Tom cleared his throat and nodded toward the thawed turkey, ready for prepping. “Drew, I believe you have another task to perform…”
“Oh, shi—”
Maxine shot Drew exactly one warning glance. Vicki was due any minute. She certainly didn’t want her dear old dad’s new girlfriend to think they were filthy, cursing hounds from the big city.
“Shizzle…” Drew muttered under his breath as he watched Maxine mix the stuffing with her bare hands.
“Come on, Drew…” Tom encouraged, his phone in his hand to capture each and every Kodak moment on video. “It’s your first Thanksgiving together…”
Wringing his hands, he conjured every single lesson on method acting that he’d studied at Julliard. Fuck, there had to be a way to rehearse for this! He researched every role he’d ever played.
Don’t throw up all over the fucking Thanksgiving Turkey, Mack. You could fuck this up for all of us. It’s just a dead bird. With no feathers. All skin. Slippery, slimy, goose bumpy skin.
“Oh, just reach your hand in there and pull that neck out,” Tom snapped. “For crying out loud…”
Oh…fuck…did these god damn things come with a barf bag in addition to that other little bag?
By now, Tom or Maxine would have had that neck out and in the garbage—forgotten with all of the other holiday meal rubbish. However, Drew took a little coaxing.
Slowly, he reached inside…and that expression puckered into the sourest of faces.
“Maxie told you that we name him every year, right?” Tom asked just as Drew’s fingertips closed around the tip of the neck.
“Oh, God…!
”
“Just pull that the whole thing out, Drew!”
“I think we’ll go with Tristan this time around…”
“Oh, fuck…!”
Into the garbage can, the neck dropped, and Drew just stood there, recoiling while indiscernible sounds leaped from his throat. And dammit, he cursed in front of her father again!
“Watch your mouth, Drew. And there’s our little Maxie, making stuffing,” Tom said, continuing with his holiday video. Maxine had to laugh. From her first memories of Tom with a video camera in his hand, he always had to narrate what was happening on screen. “I think she’s going to have to stuff the bird, though…”
“Taking one for the team…” she chuckled while Drew continued to look on, wary. “Although it takes longer to cook when you stuff it…”
“So? We’ll eat before midnight,” Tom shrugged her off. He didn’t care what time the clock struck when they pulled that bird out of the oven. Unavoidable circumstances prevented them from eating earlier in the day, but Thomas Kirk was determined to eat this feast on Thanksgiving. “Drew, can you at least salt and pepper that bird?”
“Uhhh…”
“I’ll do it, Daddy,” Maxine’s voice sang out in the background, as the camera was now focused on Drew. “He’s had enough today…”
“See, this is why I love your daughter, Tom…”
When the doorbell rang, interrupting their festive and feisty preparations, Maxine looked to Drew with a knowing smile.
“Why, Tom…could that be Vicki?” Drew asked.
“Aw, shucks, you know it is, pal…” In a bit of a scramble, Tom set his phone down on the counter, then scurried to answer as Maxine popped the turkey into the oven at last. “Now behave, you two!”
“Should we follow?” Drew asked.
“Let’s do…”
And Maxine couldn’t help but giggle softly at the sight of Tom, hovering awkwardly in the doorway, as he greeted his new lady love. “Good to see you,” Tom said, just daring a very quick hug before he looked over his shoulder to see if Maxine and Drew were watching…which, of course, they were.
“How are you, Tom?” Vicki asked, her wide brown eyes framed by long, batting lashes looked up into his. Maxine took quick note of that little flame that sparked between them in their gazes.
Vicki was tiny, although a bit taller than Maxine, with almost black curly hair that hung just at her shoulders. Dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a pale yellow sweater, she had filled her arms with the goodies and treats she’d brought over for dinner. Her grin was a huge one, as she looked on toward Maxine and Drew.
“Let me take those bags,” Drew stepped up and freed Vicki’s hands. “And happy Thanksgiving. I’m Drew…and it’s nice to meet you…”
“Oh, I know you. Saw you in that short run of Carousel at City Center a few years back,” Vicki said, giving his arm a gentle squeeze as he helped her with her packages. “And Maxine…oh, it’s so wonderful to finally meet you!”
Immediately, Maxine felt a vibe of pure warmth emanating between them as Vicki opened her arms wide. Their embrace was a strong one, genuine. As Tom had said, she was just a lovely woman, and now Maxine understood his infatuation.
“Vicki…thank you for coming, and Happy Thanksgiving!” Maxine said, returning that hug with a hearty one of her own. “And thank you for all of the nom noms you brought with you.”
Slyly, Tom reached for Vicki’s hand, but she still held Maxine’s gaze. “I know you’re baking pumpkin pie for dinner, but your dear old dad here says that you love nothing more than pumpkin cookies with cream cheese icing. So I baked a couple dozen of those—and a few other things…”
As everyone gathered around the granite-topped island to pitch in on the rest of the preparations for dinner, Maxine didn’t have that sense of having too many cooks in the kitchen. In fact, she welcomed Vicki’s assistance, given that Drew was virtually useless after his little incident with Tristan. In fact, she quickly discovered that her dad’s new girlfriend was quite the skilled chef. Perhaps their Thanksgiving dinner could be saved, after all!
Finally, with everything chopped, peeled, sliced or prepared to place in the oven, they crashed in the living room to catch the end of one game before another began—with Maxine and Drew snuggled under her grandmother’s crocheted afghan on the love seat…and Tom and Vicki sitting nearly a mile apart on the couch. Her dad’s behavior left her with a sense of amusement. From what Maxine could see by his own bashful behavior, Vicki had obviously captured his heart rather quickly, and it was so comforting to see him falling in love again.
Much to Drew’s delight, Vicki knew quite a bit about New York City. She’d been there many times—for pleasure and for a number of veterinary conferences. Common ground was found between them all between Vicki’s love of five-star restaurants and her classic tastes in art.
Hoping he wasn't too forward or presumptuous, Drew extended an invite to her to join Tom on his own next visit. Maxine and Drew both knew they had to make that happen, perhaps even for Christmas. They’d already begun to lay the groundwork.
When Maxine unwrapped herself from the blanket—and from Drew’s arms—she stretched out lazily, but she still had her work cut out for her. “You know, we should check in on Tristan,” she said. “Vicki, would you like to join me in the kitchen?”
“Little one, must you refer to him by name?” Drew ran his fingers through his already mussed hair.
“Ignore him,” Maxine said, reaching for Vicki’s hand. She wasn’t taking no for an answer. “He had a little run-in with the bird this morning…”
“I can’t wait to tell your mother, Drew,” Tom was saying as the ladies headed off to attend to aforementioned bird. “I’ll send her the video.”
“They love to tease,” Maxine explained, somewhat apologetically once they were out of earshot. “I’m usually the brunt of it, so this is fun…”
Without thought or question, Vicki wrapped an apron around herself. “I don’t mind one bit,” Vicki admitted with a soft chuckle. “They’re sort of fun to watch—Tom and Drew. Your dad absolutely adores him…”
For once, it was so sweet to hear those words from someone outside their closed little circle. Yes, she knew without a doubt that both her father and Drew were working hard to build a foundation for a lasting bond. With Vicki’s confirmation, Maxine sighed deeply, so appreciative of the love she had in her life.
“And you’re the center of his world, Maxine,” Vicki continued. “He worries about both of you being so far away…and your friend Ben, too.”
“And I wish I could just erase his concerns…”
“Oh, it’s alright, Maxine,” Vicki soothed. “I tell him all the time that you’re perfectly safe in Manhattan—probably safer than you are here.”
“Vicki, how would you like to join me in a Merlot toast?” While she felt comfortable, if not relaxed in Vicki’s presence, a drink always enhanced the mood.
“I’m always ready for Merlot…”
With a wink of her eye, Maxine reached for one of the bottles that she and Drew brought for dinner. “A lady after my own heart…”
Raising her glass to Vicki, Maxine said, “To you and my dad, Vicki…I’m glad you’re a part of his life now.”
“And to you and Drew,” Vicki said. “May we see much of you both in the future.”
Soon the aromatic scents of turkey and vegetables and pies lured Tom and Drew into the kitchen, and they all stood before the island to survey the work that went into their meal.
“If that just doesn’t look like the best Thanksgiving dinner that I’ll ever have in my life…” Drew said, grinning at Maxine.
“You’ve trained him well in just a few months,” Vicki commended. Oh, the irony was lost upon her…if Vicki only knew who really did the training!
“You know, maybe I should give Nanny Fi a couple of nights off every week, little one,” he suggested. “If you can pull this off, certainly you can cook for me…”
“Maxie knows how to cook,” Tom added. “She just doesn’t like to cook.”
Maxine slung her arm around Vicki’s waist to pull her close for a whisper. “Told you that they pick on me!”
“Vicki’s not free from our torment,” Tom said. “Just wait til Drew gets to know you a little better. Consider this your warning…”
“I shall embrace it,” Vicki grinned and gulped the last sip from her glass.
Much to his own delight, Tom loved seeing Maxine and Vicki so giddily working side-by-side. He’d hoped they’d get along, but never anticipated such a quick bond to form between them.
Happily ignoring the gentlemen, Maxine and Vicki set the table, lit the candles and plated everything to perfection, their chatter ringing out throughout the downstairs all the while. They discussed life, work, and the cats.
And the sweetness continued onward toward their meal…until Tom asked Drew to carve the turkey.
“Don’t do this to me, Papa Kirk,” Drew implored, conjuring Ben’s moniker for Maxine’s beloved dad.
“It’s an electric knife—how bad can you screw this up, pal?” Tom countered. “It’s not like hunting where you require some skills…”
“Shredded turkey is only good when creamed for leftovers, Daddy,” Maxine said. “You better handle it. Drew, why don’t you make the official toast?”
First, he made sure that all glasses were full before he raised his own, then took a moment to look at everyone seated around him.
“Holidays…” Drew’s melancholic smile revealed a million thoughts that only Maxine could read, and as he took a deep breath, he reached for her hand. “Holidays mean more to me than anything. For the first five years of my life, I didn’t celebrate them. I had no idea what they were all about. And although my parents enjoyed spoiling their two sons, they also instilled the true essence of what days like Christmas and Thanksgiving are all about. It’s not the gifts. It’s not even the food. It’s about surrounding yourself with—and reaffirming—the love you have for those nearest and dearest to your heart throughout the year. And I think tonight, we can all agree that there’s a lot of love at this table right now.”
WRAPPED: The Manhattan Bound Series, Book Two Page 42