by KJ Swann
As they changed into warmer clothes, there was a light knock on the door, and Tessa came through in tears to flop onto Ivy’s bed. “I hate him.”
“Who?”
“Dad.”
“What happened?”
“He came and told me I wasn’t to talk to or be anywhere near Derrick from here on out. I told him I’m eighteen and he can’t tell me what to do.”
Ivy sat next to her sister and put her arm around her shoulders. “You are aware he’s just doing this because he likes to control everything, right? You see how far he got with me.”
Tessa wiped her eyes. “He can be such an ass.”
“You realize he’s trying to protect you. He doesn’t want to see either one of you guys hurt. I get where he’s coming from, but you’re right. He doesn’t have to be an ass in the process,” Jace said.
The girls looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“See, I’m good for something, at least,” Jace said, smiling.
“We need to get downstairs before Mom sends a search party for us,” Ivy said, aware no one wanted to deal with the patriarch of the family, but they had no choice.
As they walked into the kitchen, Vivian was arguing with Michael, but stopped abruptly.
“We’ll continue this later,” Michael said to Vivian.
“No, we won’t. There’s nothing more to discuss,” Vivian said matter-of-factly.
Michael grumbled to himself as he pushed past everyone standing in the kitchen doorway.
“Don’t pay him any mind. He’s grumpy because things aren’t going his way,” Vivian counseled the kids
“No shit,” Tessa exclaimed.
Vivian rubbed her hands together. “Okay, let’s get started. Jace, you’re peeling potatoes, and then Derrick, you’ll chop them. Tessa, you’ll be making your rolls like you always do. Ivy, I’d like you to start peeling the apples for the apple pies. Now we’ve gotten our assignments, who wants to explain to me what happened outside? I want to hear your side.”
Everyone glanced at one another. Finally, Derrick shook his head and spoke up and recounted the whole snowball fight, right down to him getting hit in the nuts by Tessa. Vivian laughed.
“You sure do get your point across, don’t you?” She wagged a finger at her younger daughter.
Tessa shrugged. “Whatever do you mean, Mom?”
“Listen, you’re almost nineteen. A couple of days after Christmas. You’ve known that we don’t have any issues with Derrick, but your dad is upset because he brought Derrick up here to prove to Ivy the type of man she needs to be with, and it’s not working. In fact, he’s figuring out Derrick is more like you than he likes, which serves him right. He can’t be doing this to you girls. You have the right to be happy with whom you want to be.”
“Mom?”
“Yes, Tessa?”
“Are things okay with you and Dad?”
“To be honest, things haven’t been okay since Ivy got with Jace. He wants things his way and his way only. I’m fighting for you girls because no one fought for me.”
This was news to Ivy. Now she understood why her mom had let them do so much throughout their life. Ivy didn’t know much about her mother’s family life growing up—she never really talked about it. When the girls would ask about it, she’d always change the subject. Now Ivy had a feeling that her mom’s life hadn’t been as easy as Ivy had once believed.
“Mom, we both appreciate you sticking up for us, don’t we, Tessa?”
Tessa finally nodded at Ivy. “Yes, we do. I may not be the easiest person to live with, but I do appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
Vivian looked at both her girls, gently laying a hand on Tessa’s shoulder. “Let’s get back to work. This dinner won’t fix itself.”
5
As they sat down to their Christmas Eve dinner a few hours later, it was clear to Ivy a rift was growing between Vivian and Michael. Ivy could tell Derrick didn’t want to be in the dining room with his boss, what with the way her dad was sitting at the head of the table, glaring at Derrick.
The table looked lovely. A delectable plump ham covered with pineapple rings and maraschino cherries sat in the center. Then there stood a big bowl of mashed potatoes, and gravy in a gravy boat. In a casserole dish reposed the green beans with pearl onions that made their appearance every year. The other side of the table held the rolls Tessa had made with the butter tray sitting next to them, flanked by with the apple pies with their beautiful lattice work. Ivy felt proud of their labors.
Michael cleared his throat. “I want to thank you for putting forth the effort for this wonderful meal. It’s true we usually have a big meal on Christmas, but this year I thought we’d do something simple.”
The girls watched at their mother questioningly. Vivian nodded at them and smiled.
“You did a great job on the meal, girls,” Michael praised.
“We didn’t do this alone. The guys helped out too,” Ivy said.
“You men both helped prepare this when you didn’t have to?”
“Yes, that’s what family does,” Jace replied to Michael.
Michael narrowed his eyes at Jace. “Men don’t work in the kitchen.”
Tessa shook her head. “Why is it when someone does something you don’t like, you hate that person more? Just because you feel you’re too good to help out in the kitchen doesn’t mean they feel the same way!”
“Tessa,” Vivian warned.
“No, I’m tired of his bullshit. It goes on every day. I’m not a child anymore. I’m almost nineteen. What can he do to me now anyway? I’m an adult. He needs to start treating me as such. Yeah, so what, I have one semester left of high school, but, well, you guys held me back when I was younger.”
“Tessa, save it for later, please,” Ivy begged.
Tessa looked at her sister.
Sighing, Michael forked a piece of ham on his plate. Once all the food had been passed around, everyone ate. There wasn’t much in the way of conversation for several minutes after Tessa’s outburst.
Ivy hated the quiet. “So, what are we going to do instead of the big meal tomorrow?”
“Well, you guys put a lot of effort this year into this feast and you usually put that into both of them and now we have more people than usual. So, I figured on Christmas, we’d take it easy. I’ll leave the menu up to you girls. It doesn’t have to be big,” Michael replied.
Vivian rubbed her face. “What about some type of soup and a sandwich?”
“Sounds like a plan, but what kind of soup? What sounds good to everyone?” Ivy asked the table.
“Homemade tomato basil,” suggested Tessa.
“Potato,” Jace mumbled.
“New England clam chowder,” Michael ordered.
Ivy chuckled. “Any other ideas? Seems like everyone wants something different.”
“I sure won’t touch the clam chowder. Oh hell no.” Jace grimaced.
“It’s not that bad.”
Jace shook his head. “No. It’s gross. My mom used to make me eat it when I was younger. Haven’t touched it since.”
“That’s fine. I’m sure we could figure it out. Because they all sound wonderful,” remarked Vivian.
Ivy nodded. “So, do we get to open presents then tonight as well?”
“Good try, but no,” responded Michael.
“I think we should. I mean we always open them with the big meal,” argued Tessa.
Michael shook a finger at her. “No, it’s always been tradition to open them Christmas morning. Just because we’re doing the big meal tonight doesn’t change it.”
Ivy frowned. “Not even one?”
Michael cocked an eyebrow. “We’ll see. Not promising anything.”
Ivy and Tessa danced in their chairs.
After everyone was done eating, it was time to clean up. It was the one thing Ivy hated to do, but she had learned young not to complain. This year they had extra hands, so cleaning off the table didn’t t
ake as long as normal, but she was surprised to see Derrick and Jace getting to work on the dishes. “Where’s Mom?”
“I told her to go relax and that we got this,” Jace replied.
“Oh okay. That’s cool. She’s always had to help do everything.”
“True. I figured since there were four of us, we could handle it.”
Her father walked into the kitchen.
“Hey, Dad, why aren’t you relaxing with Mom?”
“I thought I would come in and tell you how much I appreciated all the hard work you did. I did mean it earlier.”
“So does this mean we can open a present?” asked Tessa hopefully.
Michael grinned. “I suppose. Just one.”
The next morning, a sharp rapping at Ivy’s door woke her out of a dead sleep. Beside her, Jace’s snores continued uninterrupted. Ivy rolled her eyes, slid out of bed, and answered the door before whoever it was woke Jace. Her bouncy sister stood on the other side of the door, wide-awake.
“Come on. It’s Christmas morning!” Tessa exclaimed.
“So, it’s also like five damn thirty. Go back to bed.”
“You’re a spoilsport.”
“No, I’m tired and we aren’t little kids anymore, Tessa.”
Tessa stuck out her tongue as Ivy closed the door. Jace pulled Ivy next to him in the bed.
“Who was that?”
“Tessa.”
“Does she realize what time it is?”
“It’s Christmas morning, so no. She’s always been like this. Tessa doesn’t care who she wakes up. She just wants presents.”
Jace chuckled. “Sounds like me when I was little.”
“She’s almost nineteen. Come on.”
“You can’t tell me you aren’t excited, not even a little bit?”
Ivy refused to answer Jace, knowing he was right.
“Ha, I knew it.”
“Oh, just shut it.” Ivy playfully slapped him. “Oh, hear that? Jeez, sounds like she went and woke up Mom and Dad. She’s determined to get everyone up.”
“Looks like we better get up before she comes and barges in.”
Downstairs, everyone took a seat in the living room. The only person who was awake was Tessa. Ivy started the coffee—it was going to be a chaos-filled morning with Tessa, now eagerly handing out presents to people. Ivy loved watching her sister; she was so full of life. They each took turns opening a present, from youngest to oldest. Their parents had gotten Ivy and Tessa brand-new watches, each with their names engraved on the backs. Ivy’s gift to Jace was two tickets to Paris, France.
“Ivy, when did you get these?”
Ivy smiled. “Remember when we talked not long after Sawyer died, about how you’d like to go there?”
“Yeah, I do remember. I can’t believe you remembered though.” He pulled Ivy into his lap and kissed her.
Michael cleared his throat. “Is that necessary?”
Jace looked across at Michael and grinned. “Yes, it is. Ivy, I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Oh, for crying out loud. Do we have to listen to this crap this early in the morning?” Michael complained.
“Be quiet and let’s enjoy the rest of the morning in peace,” Vivian exclaimed.
“How can I enjoy it when they’re making out in front of us?”
“I don’t call that making out. You’re just being an old fuddy-duddy because you can be.”
“I just about had enough of this. I think I’ve earned respect from my family. I’ve provided for you all your lives, and this is how I get treated?”
Ivy frowned at her dad. “You deserve respect? What about Jace? He saves peoples’ lives and their homes. Don’t you think he deserves respect? You raised us to respect those who wear a uniform, and Jace does wear one when he’s at the firehouse. So don’t tell me you’re the only one who deserves respect.”
Ivy got off Jace’s lap and started up the stairs. She was tired of dealing with her dad for the day. All he did was meddle in everything. She was glad she didn’t live at home anymore.
Ivy slammed her bedroom door shut. The more she paced back and forth in her room, the more infuriated she got. Part of her wanted to pack up her stuff and leave, but she would only be hurting her mom and Tessa as well. Ivy sank into the window seat. Outside, snow was falling lightly, and Ivy sighed. Normally she loved the snow, but now it just meant she couldn’t leave if she wanted to.
Ivy didn’t know how long she had been in her room when there was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” she said quietly.
“Hey, you okay?” Tessa asked.
“Yeah. Guess so.”
“You guess?”
“It feels like no matter how hard I try to prove to Dad that Jace is worth being with, it’s like it doesn’t matter to him. All he cares about is what he wants and not what anyone else thinks or cares.”
“Listen, I get how you feel. Why do you think I rebel against him on everything? I even catch myself doing it with Mom sometimes. It drives him bonkers. If Jace is who you want to be with, then don’t let Dad stand in your way. I sure in the hell wouldn’t let him step in my way.”
Ivy walked over to her sister. “I don’t tell you enough, but I appreciate you being there for me.”
“We’ve always been there for each other, just not as much as we should’ve been. We both had our own paths. Plus, you graduated from high school when I was just entering.”
Ivy smiled. “Then we’ve got the age gap between us. I heard one time that supposedly Mom was pregnant between you and me.”
Tessa gasped, sitting on Ivy’s bed. “I didn’t know anything about that. Man, that had to suck. Kind of makes you wonder if we would’ve had a brother or another sister.”
“Yeah. It’s not something one should bring up, so don’t go and bother Mom about it.”
Both girls stared out the window at the snow falling to the ground. Now Ivy had her sister near her, she felt calm. Strange, considering her sister was always rambunctious and full of energy. This was what she needed, just the two of them.
“We need to start planning your party.”
Tessa’s eyes went wide. “Oh, you think Dad’s going to let us do anything like that?”
“Who cares? Mom will,” Ivy capped.
“That’s true. I have no idea what I’d want for a party though, except I want to go all-out since it’s my nineteenth birthday.”
“We can do that. You deserve it and don’t let Dad tell you differently.”
“I won’t, believe me. I’m going to go and let you be. Is there anything you want?”
“No, I want to be left alone to do some thinking. I also want to make a list of stuff we might need for your party.”
Tessa grinned. “Okay. Sounds good.”
Ivy turned to look out of the window after her sister left. This was not how she’d imagined Christmas morning was going to go. Rising to get dressed, Ivy sighed. The bedroom door opened.
“Hey,” Jace said.
“Hey, yourself.”
Jace put his arms around her. “Don’t let him bother you.”
“I know, but it’s hard. He never wants to bend and listen to what anyone has to say, or learn about anyone else. I’m tired of having to bend to his will.”
“Then don’t. Remember you moved to New York with me, and he wasn’t happy about that. You also didn’t move back home when he asked you to, so, in essence, you haven’t been bending to him one bit.”
Realizing he was right, she gave a grin. “Let’s make this day better. We need to start planning Tessa’s birthday party.”
“Oh, man. That sounds like something I want no part of.”
“Why’s that?”
“Sounds too girly for me.”
“You’re going to help me, buddy.” Ivy shook her finger at Jace.
“No, no way. I can think of better things to do with my time.”
“Oh, such as?”
“Um…”
>
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. You can’t think of anything.”
“If I have to help, then so does Derrick.”
Ivy laughed. “Talk about bending to someone. You’ll have to talk to Derrick about that there, buddy. I have no problem with him helping. With all of us coming up with ideas, it might be a good thing.”
“Finish getting dressed. I’ll go talk to Derrick and see what he says. Then we’ll meet you down in the dining room.”
“Sounds like a plan. If you find Tessa, grab her as well. It’s not a surprise party, so I want her input.”
Ivy quickly picked out her clothes and got dressed. She stopped by the dresser, picked up her notebook and pen, and headed out, meeting her mom in the stairwell.
“Hey, Mom. The guys and I are going to start planning a birthday party for Tessa.”
“Oh, that sounds wonderful. I’ll be there to help out.”
“I’m going to plan it and go ahead with it all. She deserves this.”
Vivian smiled. “You’re right, Ivy, she does. It would mean the world to her if you did something like this for her. Where are you guys planning this at?”
“She’ll be helping with some of it, but I won’t be telling her some things as I want those to be a surprise. Oh, we’ll be in the dining room.”
“That’s even better. I’ll meet you there in a few.”
Ivy nodded. In the dining room, everyone was sitting around the table waiting for her. Tessa was putting a plate of toast and bacon on the table. There was already a pitcher of orange juice and glasses sitting in the middle.
“Wow, you did all this?” Ivy asked Tessa.
“I figured we’d need some brain food.”
The guys reached for the bacon, and Tessa slapped their hands. “Wait! Not everyone is seated yet.”
“Plus, Mom isn’t even here yet,” Ivy added.
“Oh, Mom’s coming too?” asked Tessa.
Ivy nodded. “Yep. Passed her outside. She wants to help plan.”
Tessa walked out of the room for another plate and glass for their mom. A few seconds later, Vivian walked in, nodded to everyone, then took a seat next to Derrick.