Brand New Man

by Weston Parker

  Catherine unbuckled her seatbelt and studied me. Then something about her changed. Her eyes brightened, her eyebrows lifted, and she pointed an accusing finger at my chest. “You’re seeing someone.”

  “What?” I laughed. Then I shook my head and took my own seatbelt off. I took the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Catherine hurried to get out of the car and slammed the door behind her as she scrambled to catch up with my long strides. I was trying to beat her to the door, but I failed. She stepped in front of me and pointed her finger up at my face. “You’re lying. Look me in the eye and tell me there’s not a girl in the picture.”

  I looked into my sister’s eyes. Eyes as green as my own. I tried to keep my expression flat, but failed and felt the corners of my mouth twitch.

  “Hah!” Catherine cried. “I knew it! Who is she?”

  “No one.”

  “Bullshit. What’s her name? Where does she work? How did you meet? When—” she paused and cocked her head to the side. Then she smiled bigger than I’d seen her smile in a long time. “Laura.”

  “Nose down, Cat.”

  She gasped dramatically. “Oh my God. It’s true. You and Laura! Are you two a thing? Tell me!”

  I held up a hand. “Okay. Okay. Fine, I’ll tell you. But this stays between us, alright? I don’t need those two clowns poking their nose in my business.”

  “Exactly how I feel about my MS. Well, except the clown part, that’s just rude. But come on—spill—all of it.”

  I sighed and slid my hands in my pockets. “Laura and I hooked up on Wednesday night. But before you go asking me a bunch more questions, let me clarify. No, it wasn’t planned. And no, I don’t know if it will ever happen again, or even if she wants it to.”

  “Do you want it to?”

  “What kind of question is that? Of course I do. This is Laura we’re talking about.”

  I sidestepped around my sister. She turned on the spot and followed me up to the front door. “I won’t say anything once we’re inside, but I want details, Max. On the drive home. No holding out on me.”

  Chuckling, I raised my fist to the door and knocked. “Sounds more than fair.”

  “I can’t believe she made the same mistake twice.”

  I groaned. “Really? You had to go there, didn’t you?”

  Catherine snorted and clapped a hand over her mouth. Then she started giggling, which got me laughing, and we were both having a fit of laughter by the time Keith opened the front door. He stood there staring at us, a bemused look on his face, as we tried to get ourselves under control. Then he invited us inside.

  We took off our coats and said our hellos, then followed Keith into the kitchen, where Hayden was spreading butter on halved pieces of baguette. I could smell the garlic already. Catherine went and gave him a hug in greeting, and then she and I took up our seats on the stools at the kitchen island.

  “Good to see you guys,” Keith grinned, leaning on the opposite end of the counter. “How’ve you been?”

  “Good,” we both said in unison.

  I looked at Catherine. “You go first.”

  She smiled and sat up a bit straighter. “I’ve been good. Feeling a bit run down lately, but Max has been there to remind me to take it easy on myself and slow down. That has really helped. So has having this dinner to look forward to. And Christmas, of course. How are you, Keith?”

  Keith clasped his hands together. “I’m good. The house is set up for the holidays and I’ve done all my Christmas shopping. I can’t wait to have you kids over for dinner this year. It will be a feast.”

  “It’s always a feast when you’re in the kitchen,” I said.

  “Was that a compliment?” Hayden asked, looking over at us from where he stood near the stove, still smothering the baguette halves in garlic butter.

  “Butt out, Hayden,” I said.

  He rolled his eyes and went back to preparing the garlic toast.

  Keith nodded at me. “What about you, Max? How’s work been? Were you able to lighten your load like you said you were planning to do?”

  Catherine snorted and snickered beside me. “Oh, he lightened his load alright.”

  I shot her a dark look as her snickering became laughter. Keith looked back and forth between us, clearly confused, and I hurried to say, “Yes. I got five new interns who’ve been making it much more manageable.”

  “That’s good to hear,” Keith grinned.

  “It is, isn’t it?” Catherine asked, wiping tears of mirth from the corners of her eyes.

  Hayden set the garlic bread on a baking tray and slid it in the oven. Once he set the timer for seven minutes he came over to the island. “Drinks, anyone?”

  “Water for me, please,” Catherine said.

  “For me too,” I said.

  Hayden poured us each a glass while he and his father sipped on red wine.

  The whole kitchen smelled like garlic, tomato sauce and carbs. My mouth was watering when Keith took my mother’s Christmas plates down from the cupboards. He passed them out and we fell in line to load our plates full of noodles, sauce, garlic bread and salad. We took our plates and drinks to the kitchen table, which was set with my mother’s Christmas candles and placemats.

  I watched Catherine run her fingers along the red placemats trimmed with gold thread. In some places the stitching was coming out. She smiled as if recalling a fond memory, without realizing I was watching her. She then lifted her head. “Hayden, could you pass the parmesan cheese, please?”

  Staring down at the Christmas plates and placemats before me, suddenly it was like I was the eight year old version of myself sitting at this very table. My father was at one end and my mother at the other. Catherine was across from me. Nobody was talking. We were just sitting and eating.

  Christmas music was playing softly in the background. My mother used to have it on starting December first, and straight through until New Year’s Day. It drove my dad nuts, but he never made her turn it off. He endured it stoically and pretended it wasn’t playing.

  It was nice back then. This kitchen. This house.

  It was home.

  And it still was.

  Catherine passed me the parmesan cheese. I thanked her and sprinkled some on top of my sauce and then, just to piss off Hayden who was waiting for it next, I passed it back to Catherine.

  And so began an evening of horseplay and joking around.

  Like old times.

  I didn’t even notice Keith had the Christmas music playing until Catherine and I were getting ready to leave at the end of the night.

  Chapter 26

  Laura

  The church was old—old enough for the parking lot to have been repaved several times over, and for the stucco walls to be painted just as many times. When I was a young girl the church had been a dusty rose color. It had been inviting then and was even more so now. A few summers ago it had been redone and painted white. The shutters, which were originally a warm brown, were now white as well, making the building feel a bit more modern yet still romantic, with staggered levels and a bell tower in the southeast corner.

  The one stained glass window, nearly two stories high, was the focal point, and during this time of year was one of my favorite pieces of art in the whole city. It was trimmed in white Christmas lights, which, when you were inside the church, backlit the stained glass beautifully.

  As I sat inside the church looking up at the stained glass the Christmas Eve Dinner meeting went on around me. We were finalizing all the details for the event and I had become distracted more than once which was more than a little odd for me. I was attentive and engaged even on my worst days.

  But something had changed. My mind wandered and my obsession with the stained glass was just a distraction from what was really tumbling through my head—Max.

  There was still a small amount of disbelief inside me and I couldn’t quite wrap my head around what we’d d
one the other night on poor Maxine’s desk. I felt guilt over defiling her space, but it was overshadowed by all my other feelings concerning my hook up with Max. Feelings like excitement, curiosity, lust, infatuation, and maybe even a little bit of regret.

  I didn’t have time in my life right now to sort out what everything meant. Max and I were business associates. That was all we were supposed to be.

  But I’d flushed that right down the toilet when I gave in the other night.

  “Laura?”

  I looked over to the woman who had spoken. It was Nadine, one of the volunteer coordinators I’d been on the council with for the last four years. “Sorry?” I asked.

  Nadine pressed her thin dark pink painted lips into a smile. “Are you alright, Laura? You seem distracted this afternoon.”

  “I apologize. It’s just this time of year. You know how it is. Lots going on.”

  Nadine nodded. “Indeed there is. But with only nine days left until Christmas Eve, we must give this our full attention. Do you have a list of all the donated gifts?”

  I licked my lips and flipped through the notebook I had in front of me. I flipped through to the tab I’d labelled ‘Santa Gifts’ and scanned the page. With a confident nod I said, “Yes. We have more than enough gifts for the children under age ten, boys and girls alike. All of them are wrapped and have been separated into age and gender categories so we don’t have to worry about sorting the day of. We still have some room for gifts for adults and teenagers, however. If we don’t have enough donations between what I already have and what any of you might have collected, I’ll go out and purchase what we need with the extra funds we have left over.”

  Nadine looked around the table. We were sitting at a round table outside the chapel where a choir was currently practicing. They were currently singing O Holy Night, my favorite Christmas song. Their voices were so beautiful I wished we could stop the meeting just to listen. But there were things to do. Lists with items waiting to be crossed off.

  “Does anyone have new gift donations to declare today?” Nadine asked.

  A couple other people handed me the lists they had of gifts they’d received from their efforts over the last year. Most, as per usual, was for children. It was easier to collect donations for children. People had a softer spot for them, which of course made sense. Christmas was about the children first and foremost.

  But the teenagers and adults who attended the event on Christmas Eve were also in dire need of things like blankets, gloves, rain proof jackets, snacks, toothpaste, deodorant, soap, and things along those lines. About forty percent of our attendees were homeless and there was a great need to fill there. Some of them were also adolescents who came from very rough home lives who would wake up to an empty house on Christmas morning.

  I wanted to give them one good night. A night where their worries could be pushed aside for just a couple hours and they could feel the magic of Christmas. And for someone with nothing, a nice gift could make all the difference.

  By the end of the meeting I managed to put together a breakdown of everything else we might need. Nadine approved my budget and gave me free reign over shopping and gift selection. I thanked her and found my gaze wandering back up to the stained glass window as the meeting wrapped up.

  When we were done for the day I collected a few checks from other volunteers to deposit in our bank account as extra funds for this year, if we needed it, or to be used for next year. I said goodbye to everyone and stood outside the chapel doors to listen to the choir finish off their practice with a fun upbeat run through of Jingle Bell Rock.

  I tapped my foot on the burgundy carpet throughout the entire song.

  Then I left the church, knowing I would not be back until the afternoon of Christmas Eve. Once in my car, I drove down to the bank to get the deposits done before they closed for the day.

  The bank was crazy busy. I guess that’s what I got for coming just before closing on a Saturday. The line stretched back and forth between two blue velvet ropes hanging from metal poles. At the front of the line an employee directed customers up to the next available window. It was slow going.

  It took twenty minutes for me to reach the front. By then it was three minutes after five. The doors had been locked. No other customers were coming in.

  I was directed up to a teller, where I passed over the four envelopes I’d been given from other volunteers to deposit in the joint account for the fundraiser. It took a total of maybe six minutes, and then the clerk smiled at me, wished me a Merry Christmas, and sent me on my way.

  Making my way out of the bank, the security guard opened the doors for me. A cool breeze whipped around my legs as I stepped out onto the sidewalk. I tightened my dark green wool cardigan around my neck, nuzzled my chin into the collar, and walked with my head down to my car parked at the curb.

  My phone started buzzing when I got to my car. I stood on the sidewalk with my chin still buried in the wool cardigan, and answered the call from Nadine.

  “Nadine?”

  “Yes. Hello, dear. Sorry to bother you but I seem to have run into a bit of a roadblock and I am completely overwhelmed.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked. Now was not the time to experience any hiccups. The event was nine days away and we would be hosting nearly two thousand people over the course of four hours.

  “The church double booked Christmas Eve.”

  “Wait. What? What do you mean they doubled booked?”

  Nadine sighed. I could hear her frustration so clearly that I could picture her pacing back and forth, her forehead braced in her hand. “I’m trying to get to the bottom of it right now. I’m with their event coordinator.”

  “What did they book in our slot?”

  “They have a Christmas Eve special for the congregation. The choir performs, as well as the children from Sunday school who put on a play. And then there’s Mass, followed by coffee and desserts in the foyer.”

  “Where our Santa and gifts are to be held,” I groaned.

  “Yes.”

  “Fuck. Okay,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. This was not the sort of upheaval we needed with so little time left before the holidays. “Nadine. You let the coordinator know that we will all be showing up at the church at noon to set up, regardless of whether they have space for us or not. If we must we will host dinner in the parking lot. We’ve used this venue for the last four years. This contract has been signed since January first of this year. If he gives you a hard time call me back. I’ll come deal with him myself.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Absolutely. These people are expecting a dinner. Some of them look forward to it all year. I will not cancel on them because of a scheduling issue. Perhaps the coordinator will be open to combining the events.”

  I felt Nadine’s hesitation to that option through the phone. “Do you think the congregation will want to spend Christmas Eve with—well, you know—the sorts of people our event attracts?”

  “I don’t really care.”

  “Neither do I. But it is an obstacle we might have to face. A conversation we have to have.”

  “I will have no such conversation. If they don’t want to share their church with good people who are simply coming for a hot meal and a chance to have their kids sit on Santa’s lap they can stay home for Christmas Eve for all I care.”

  “I’ll make sure the coordinator knows where you stand.”

  “Thank you. And I mean it, Nadine. If he gives you a hard time just call me. I can be there in less than fifteen minutes. We have people counting on us to make this happen.”

  “And it will happen,” she assured me. “I’ll call you and let you know how it goes.”

  “Good luck,” I said, and then I hung up my phone, dropped it in the side pouch of my purse, and let out a frustrated growl as I stomped the heel of my boot on the sidewalk. “Damn overbooking idiots. Who doesn’t look at a schedule before they book something? It wasn’t a secret we had this event planned.
It’s only been planned for twelve freaking months. Fucking coordinator.”

  “Someone’s having a rough day,” a deep male voice said from behind me.

  I whirled around. My purse fell off my shoulder and the clasp came undone. It spewed out half the contents, littering lip glosses, tampons, my wallet, parking receipts, and a compact mirror upon the sidewalk. I crouched down to pick it all up as the man who had spoken also crouched down to help me. It wasn’t until I took my wallet from his hand that I realized it was Max.

  I laughed. “Of course you happen to be here right when I’m on the verge of having a complete mental breakdown.”

  “Trouble in Christmas paradise?”

  “You know that Christmas Eve dinner I do?”

  He nodded.

  “Well, it turns out the church double booked our space. So now we’re in a tight spot. And I should have seen this coming. Really, I should have. The coordinator they have working there is new and he’s totally incompetent. I should have been asking these sorts of questions way sooner to avoid this sort of mix up so close to Christmas. People make me so mad sometimes.”

  I crammed the loose tampons that had fallen onto the sidewalk into my bag, righted the strap on my shoulder, and stood up. Max rose with me and rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, it sounds to me like you need to take a load off.”

  I swallowed. “What did you have in mind?”

  He shrugged one shoulder before turning both ways to look down the sidewalk. “How about dinner and a drink? No work talk. Just us ordering off a menu like normal people.”

  I should say no. I knew I should. But his offer lit me up inside and suddenly all the stress of the coordinator slipped off my back. I nodded. “That would be nice. Did you have a place in mind?”

  He nodded down the sidewalk. “There are a couple places down the block and to the right. Why don’t we walk a ways and pick a spot that looks good? It’s a nice evening.”