Charlie POV:
Connie was the first one to leave the following morning. We had ended up staying up until about one o'clock in the morning watching tv and chatting the night before. I had known Connie for years but I think that was the first time that we really talked. Connie told me more about her family and about her Dad's near heart attack. She said she was nervous about going home because of what her Mom and sister had told her about how her Dad was acting lately.
Well after that little confession I found myself telling her about my suspicions that my Mom and Coach Bombay were getting serious and how I hoped that it would work out this time. In a way I already saw Coach Bombay like the father that I never had. It would be nice for it to actually be official. To actually have a real family. I had never told anyone about that before but telling Connie the night before just seemed like the right thing to do and it felt good to have told someone. I went to bed last night feeling like I knew and understood Connie much better than I had before.
As Connie drove off in the car with her Mom who had picked her up I saw my mom pull into the parking lot with her car. As she pulled up to the curb I gathered up the stuff around me that I had brought out already. I put my stuff into the back seat of the car and then climbed into the passenger seat.
"Hi Charlie. How did finals go?"
"Okay, I think," I told her. "The hardest one was history but I think I did okay even with that one."
"That's great!"
"So what are the plans for Christmas?" I asked her. I really wanted to just come right out and ask her if Coach Bombay was coming over but I had learned a little bit of tact over the years. I just didn't always use it.
"Gordon is coming over for Christmas dinner since that is what you're really getting at," my Mom told me. Sometimes I think she knows me a little too well. "And Adam is going to be with him. Philip Banks still refuses to admit that he has a second son and Adam refuses to go anywhere near his house or his family when his Dad is around," she continued her words starting to sound bitter. "Not that I can blame him," she finished.
There was silence for a little while after that. I wasn't sure what to say or even if I should say anything. After about a minute or too I decided I couldn't stand the silence any longer.
"Is everything ready for Christmas Eve?" I asked her. I had invited all he Ducks over to my house for a small celebration on Christmas Eve. We had all decided to do a secret gift exchange instead of trying to buy gifts for everyone. Goldberg had even decided to come despite the fact that he didn't celebrate Christmas. It didn't really matter as it was just a bunch of friends getting together anyways. I had pulled his name in the gift exchange and finding a gift hadn't been easy but I think I finally did find the right thing. I had also bought gifts for my Mom, Coach Bombay and Adam this year along with Linda whom I had already given her gift too. It had been a pair of earrings and she had loved them.
"Almost," my Mom said in answer to my question. I looked at her in panic. Christmas Eve was tomorrow. What possibly couldn't be done? "The tree still needs to be put up," she told me with a smile on her face. "I figured if you could get it out of storage and put it up sometime today then we could decorate it tomorrow before your friends come over."
I let out a sigh of relief. Needing to put the tree up was no big deal. In fact I was glad that she hadn't put it up yet. Decorating the artificial Christmas tree we had together was fun. I'm glad that me being away at school hadn't ruined that little tradition.
When we got to our apartment I immediately took my stuff into my room. After that I called Jesse and told him about the game we were planning to have this afternoon. Jesse was all for it and I asked him to call Peter and Karp for me. After I hung up with Jesse I tried calling the Duncans to get a hold of Tammy and Tommy. I let the phone ring six times but got no answer so I gave up and to dig the tree and the decorations out of the back of the closet in the livingroom where we stored them.
It actually took me longer than I expected to actually get the tree out as there was a whole bunch of other stuff in front of it. The boxes with the decorations in them were right behind the tree so they were easy to get to after I got the tree out of the closet. I then set about putting the other stuff that I had drug out of the closet back into the closet.
I then found the box that the lights were in and started taking them out so that I could make sure they were all working.
"Hey, Mom," I called out as I did so. She had been in the kitchen at the time.
"What Charlie?" she called back.
"Did you ever get candy canes?" I asked her. She immediatly came to the doorway between the kitchen and the living room.
"Oh, no with everything else going on I forgot all about buying candy canes," she said.
"No problem," I said quickly as I unplugged one set of lights that did work. "I'll just finish checking the lights and then I'll go see if I can get some candy canes."
"Oh thank-you Charlie," she said quickly. She handed me some money to buy them which I stuck in my pocket. Though she had told me everything was under control I had a feeling she still had a lot of things to do to prepare for the Christmas and possibly Christmas Eve too. Besides it would be nice to get out for a little bit and look at all the Christmas displays that the stores had up. Being at Eden Hall had isolated me from that Christmas experience because even though Eden Hall had its own Christmas decorations it just wasn't the same.
I took a bus downtown to main street and stated strolling down main street looking at the decorations. The first couple of stores I checked were out of candy canes of course being the day before Christmas Eve I wasn't exactly surprised. I finally did find what I had come for but instead of heading directly home I walked around main street for a little while longer before catching the bus back to my apartment.
As I opened the door to the apartment I could hear voices in the kitchen. I recognized them as my Mom's and Coach Bombay's. I knew I should've either let my presence known or go to my room where I couldn't hear them but I didn't do either. Instead I just shut the door softly behind me and listened to what they had to say.
"I thought you were serious this time Gordon?" I heard my mom say.
"I am," he replied.
"It doesn't sound like it. All of the sudden you don't want to talk about getting married anymore."
"I just want to put it off for a little while. I don't think the time is right."
"Why? Is it something I did? Are you not ready to tell Charlie? I think Charlie already thinks something is going on between us. I don't think he'll be surprised if we tell him."
"Its not you Casey and its not Charlie," I heard Gordon tell her softly. "I love you both. But Casey Charlie isn't the only kid we have to consider anymore. From the looks of things Adam is going to be with me for a long time. Any decisions I make affect him now. You know what that is like. Adam has been through so much here lately and he seems to be starting to feel comfortable at my place. I don't think now would be a good time to disrupt things on him again."
I didn't hear my Mom's reply to Gordon's last statement because I sat the candy canes on the end table near by and retreated to my room. I didn't want to hear anymore and I didn't want to be discovered. I had definitely overheard something that I wasn't meant to hear.
As I lay down on my bed I couldn't help but feel anger toward Adam. This was all his fault. Since soon after I had met Coach Bombay I have wanted him and my mom to get together. I thought it was going to happen one time before but then Bombay had gone to play hockey in the minor leagues. While he was gone my Mom met and started dating Al. She had seemed happy with Al so I was happy for her although I never did like her new husband. Right after Thanksgiving my Mom told me that she and Al were separating and I noticed she and Bombay were spending time together. I had thought maybe things would work this time but now it looked as if Adam and his family problems were disrupting things. Adam was ruining my chances of having a real family.
Not long after I had gone to my room I heard the front door to the apartment open and close. I assumed it was Gordon leaving. Then I heard a knock on my door.
"Yeah," I called out not moving from my bed. The door opened and my mom stuck her head inside.
"Just wanted to make sure you got home okay," my mom told me. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I told her. I definitely wasn't going to tell her that I had overheard her conversation with Coach Bombay.
"Okay," she said although she didn't look to convinced. "You got plans for this afternoon?"
"Yeah, I'm going to the pond to play some hockey with everyone."
"Well, have fun. I got to get ready for work. If you get that tree up we can decorate it tonight when I get home okay."
"Okay," I told her as she left my room.
I stayed in my room for a few more minutes and then went and tried calling the Duncans again and this time I got a hold of Tammy. She said she was interested and that if Tommy got back in time she'd ask him if he wanted to come. Tommy was out looking for a Christmas tree with his dad.
After hanging up with Tammy, I went into the living room and started putting the tree together. I figured if I kept myself busy I wouldn't think about the conversation I had overheard or the anger I felt toward Adam, someone whom I had thought I was becoming really good friends with if not best friends.
Connie POV:
The trip home from Eden Hall was quiet. The last time I had seen my family was right after the second JV/Varsity game and that had been in the ER waiting room waiting for word on my father. My mom had found me during our celebration on the ice and told me what had happened. I had never been so happy as when the doctor had told us that he hadn't had a heart attack but a panic attack although he was in danger of having one if he didn't change certain things about his life style.
I had visited with my Dad for a little while after that in the hospital and then my Aunt had driven me back to Eden Hall. I had called home quite a few time since then but with finals coming up at Eden Hall I hadn't had a chance to go home again. From what my sister and mother had told me I was nervous to actually go home. My mom had said that he had taken the doctors words seriously and had changed the way he ate and as far as she knew hadn't even thought about work for awhile. However, being at home all day without working he had turned into Mr. Mom. She told me that he had been doing the cooking, cleaning and laundry (with only a few minor problems). I didn't ask and I really didn't want to know. My sister had told me that he had suddenly became very involved in her life asking all kinds of questions about classes and boyfriends. I wasn't sure what to expect.
My mom pulled the car into the driveway of our small house on the outskirts of the city and helped me carry my stuff inside. My younger sister was in the living room coloring and watching tv.
"Hi Connie," she called pushing her coloring book away from her and running over to give me a hug, bags and all.
"Hi Cecily," I told her. Holding all my stuff I wasn't able to hug her back.
Then my Dad came out of the kitchen at that point. I had to do a double take. My dad was actually wearing an apron. Luckily it was just a plain white one because if it had been one of my Mom's frilly ones I would have been really concerned.
"Hi sweetie," he told me kissing my forehead. "Its great to have you home for the next couple of weeks."
"Its good to be home Daddy," I told him although I was starting to wonder. It wasn't that my Dad had ever been a bad father he had just always been distant when I was growing up. He had never been one to show much emotion and had worked a lot although he had come to a few of my hockey games over the year. My first thought was, 'what has this guy done with my father.'
"Cecily why don't you help your sister get settled in her room," my Dad said.
"Okay," Cecily said taking the bags that mom was carrying and then we started up the stairs together. "He's been like that since he came home from the hospital," she whispered to me halfway up the steps. "Mom told me to humor him."
"I think mom has a point," I told her as we walked into my room. I sat the bags on my bed and then turned to take the ones from Cecily. "Dad had a scare. He's just overreacting right now."
"Yeah well wait until you hear how we're spending Christmas morning," Cecily said as I started putting some of my clothes away.
"How?"
"At church," Cecily said. "Dad's gone the past two Sundays and he insists that the whole family goes on Christmas. He wanted to find a Christmas Eve service too but Mom told him you already had plans with your friends and she wasn't going to ask you to change them."
Now my family, even though we celebrated Christmas, had never been overly religious. My mom had a Bible and I had seen her reading it from time to time, and I had gone to summer bible schools for a week or two in the summer when I was little but that was it. My Dad had always wanted nothing to do with religion which is why my Mom stopped going to Church and had never forced us kids into it too much. I'm sure this was one change in my Dad my Mom wasn't minding but I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I wasn't sure I wanted to spend my Christmas morning in a church.
"It could be fun," is what I told my sister though. The look she gave me told me she wasn't convinced.
"So what are we going to do this afternoon?" Cecily asked.
I let out a groan. I had forgotten that I had promised to spend time with her when I got back from school. My mom had told me Cecily had missed having me at home and was looking forward to this extended holiday.
"Look, Cecily I'm getting together with my friends this afternoon. We're going to play hockey," I told her and watched as her face went from happy to sad. "But look we've got the next two weeks together. I'll make it up too you I promise," I told her.
"But you've seen them all the time you were away at school."
"Not all of them. I haven't seen Jesse, Peter, or Karp and there is a chance they may be there this afternoon."
"So they're more important than your sister," she said.
"We'll do something tonight together I promise."
"Dad said we're going to decorate the tree. We've been waiting for you to be home to do it."
"I'm sorry Cecily. I forgot all about my promise to you when I said I'd be at the game this afternoon."
"Well, can I go with you then," Cecily asked. "I promise I won't get in the way."
"You want to come and watch the game?" I asked.
"Yeah, please," she said pleadingly. "I'll be your own personal cheering section. Please Connie."
I thought about it for a second. The pond had benches around the pond. I could keep and eye on her while we played the game and Cecily knew better than to run off. It wasn't like she was a nuisance. If she said she would stay out of the way she would. "Okay, if Mom and Dad say it is okay you can come along and watch the game," I told her. "And we can even head over to the pond a little early and do some skating before the others show up."
"Great," she said the smile immediately coming back to her face. "I'm going to go ask Mom and Dad," she said and hurriedly disappeared from my room and back downstairs.
Guy POV:
It was nice waking up in my own bed, and in my own room instead of in the dorm room. O f course it would have been nicer if I hadn't woken up to two seven year old boys jumping on my bed while I was trying to sleep. I opened my eyes and saw my two brothers Mark and Eric sitting on the end of the bed with huge smiles on their faces.
"Are you up?" Mark asked me.
"I guess I am now," I said sitting up on my bed. It was ten o'clock in the morning so I guess I was lucky that they let me sleep that long. They're usually in my room around eight in the morning.
"Good. So you can take us outside to play in the snow," Eric said.
My family lived in a small two story house that had basically no front yard and a very small back yard. There were only four bedrooms which meant that now Abby had to share her room with our little sister Alexis and the twins shared a room. I was now the only kid who had their own room although it was the smallest bedroom in the house. At least we weren't crammed into an apartment.
"As soon as I get dressed and get breakfast," I told them.
"Yippee," both of them said and went running out of my room. Probably to bug my mom about getting them ready to go outside.
I hurriedly got dressed and headed downstairs to get something to eat. I was pouring the milk into my cereal when my Mom walked into the kitchen.
"The twins find you?" I asked her as I put the milk back in the fridge and then took a seat on the closest stool at the counter.
"Yeah, I told them to watch tv for a little bit until you're ready," my mom said laughing as she headed to the sink to wash the breakfast dishes from everyone else's breakfast.
"Where's Dad?" I asked. I still had my suspicions that something was going on. When we had gotten home last night my Mom was waiting for me in the livingroom but as soon as my Dad came in he headed upstairs to their bedroom. And I don't think my Mom ever did go upstairs last night. I had never heard her come upstairs before I fell asleep last night and my Mom has never been one to stay up light. Plus when I came downstairs this morning I noticed the folded up blanket and pillow sitting on a chair in the living room.
"Working," my mom answered. I knew for sure that something was going on then. As long as I could remember my Dad had never worked the day before Christmas Eve. He always took it off along with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so he could spend some time with his family.
"Mom is something going on between you and Dad?" I finally asked.
"No nothing," she answered quickly and then looked up at me. I must not have looked convinced by her answer because she then put the dish she was washing back in the sink picked up the dish towel and then came and sit down next to me. "Guy I don't want you to say anything to anyone else. Your Father and I want to wait until after Christmas to tell everyone so that we don't ruin the holiday for everyone but I guess I'll tell you now since you already suspect something." She took a deep breath and then said "Your Father and I have decided to get a divorce."
I immediately dropped my spoon into the almost empty bowl. I had thought of some possible scenarios but my parents separating wasn't one of them. I had never even seen them argue over anything. How could they be splitting up.
"I know this is probably quite a shock to you which is why we had planned on waiting until after Christmas."
"But why?" I asked her before she could say anything else. "You two never even fight."
"Its not any one thing Guy and we do fight just not in front of you kids. And lately we've been fighting more than usual."
"Who will we live with? Where will we live?" I couldn't help but ask those questions.
"We haven't discussed that yet Guy but I don't want you to forget that we both love all of you kids very much. I know this is going to be hard on all us but in the long run your Dad and I think that this will be for the best."
"How can splitting up our family be for the best?"
"Your father and I are not happy living with one another anymore. Right now we can keep it from disrupting things around here but not forever. We've even tried marriage counseling but it didn't help. I know its hard for you to understand but you need to trust us to know the right thing to do."
Before anything else could be said Mark and Eric came in the kitchen from the living room.
"Are you ready yet?" they both asked me.
I looked down at my halfway eaten bowl of cereal. Suddenly I wasn't hungry anymore. "Yeah, I'm ready," I told them and stood up to dump the bowl out.
"I'll help you to get your stuff on," my Mom told the twins. "Remember not a word to anyone else Guy," she whispered to me. I nodded and then she followed the twins into the foyer to help them get into their snowsuits.
I placed my now empty bowl into the sink and then went to the foyer to get my winter coat, hat and gloves on and then my brothers and I headed outside to play in the backyard. I needed something to take my mind off my parent's pending divorce anyways.
Connie was the first one to leave the following morning. We had ended up staying up until about one o'clock in the morning watching tv and chatting the night before. I had known Connie for years but I think that was the first time that we really talked. Connie told me more about her family and about her Dad's near heart attack. She said she was nervous about going home because of what her Mom and sister had told her about how her Dad was acting lately.
Well after that little confession I found myself telling her about my suspicions that my Mom and Coach Bombay were getting serious and how I hoped that it would work out this time. In a way I already saw Coach Bombay like the father that I never had. It would be nice for it to actually be official. To actually have a real family. I had never told anyone about that before but telling Connie the night before just seemed like the right thing to do and it felt good to have told someone. I went to bed last night feeling like I knew and understood Connie much better than I had before.
As Connie drove off in the car with her Mom who had picked her up I saw my mom pull into the parking lot with her car. As she pulled up to the curb I gathered up the stuff around me that I had brought out already. I put my stuff into the back seat of the car and then climbed into the passenger seat.
"Hi Charlie. How did finals go?"
"Okay, I think," I told her. "The hardest one was history but I think I did okay even with that one."
"That's great!"
"So what are the plans for Christmas?" I asked her. I really wanted to just come right out and ask her if Coach Bombay was coming over but I had learned a little bit of tact over the years. I just didn't always use it.
"Gordon is coming over for Christmas dinner since that is what you're really getting at," my Mom told me. Sometimes I think she knows me a little too well. "And Adam is going to be with him. Philip Banks still refuses to admit that he has a second son and Adam refuses to go anywhere near his house or his family when his Dad is around," she continued her words starting to sound bitter. "Not that I can blame him," she finished.
There was silence for a little while after that. I wasn't sure what to say or even if I should say anything. After about a minute or too I decided I couldn't stand the silence any longer.
"Is everything ready for Christmas Eve?" I asked her. I had invited all he Ducks over to my house for a small celebration on Christmas Eve. We had all decided to do a secret gift exchange instead of trying to buy gifts for everyone. Goldberg had even decided to come despite the fact that he didn't celebrate Christmas. It didn't really matter as it was just a bunch of friends getting together anyways. I had pulled his name in the gift exchange and finding a gift hadn't been easy but I think I finally did find the right thing. I had also bought gifts for my Mom, Coach Bombay and Adam this year along with Linda whom I had already given her gift too. It had been a pair of earrings and she had loved them.
"Almost," my Mom said in answer to my question. I looked at her in panic. Christmas Eve was tomorrow. What possibly couldn't be done? "The tree still needs to be put up," she told me with a smile on her face. "I figured if you could get it out of storage and put it up sometime today then we could decorate it tomorrow before your friends come over."
I let out a sigh of relief. Needing to put the tree up was no big deal. In fact I was glad that she hadn't put it up yet. Decorating the artificial Christmas tree we had together was fun. I'm glad that me being away at school hadn't ruined that little tradition.
When we got to our apartment I immediately took my stuff into my room. After that I called Jesse and told him about the game we were planning to have this afternoon. Jesse was all for it and I asked him to call Peter and Karp for me. After I hung up with Jesse I tried calling the Duncans to get a hold of Tammy and Tommy. I let the phone ring six times but got no answer so I gave up and to dig the tree and the decorations out of the back of the closet in the livingroom where we stored them.
It actually took me longer than I expected to actually get the tree out as there was a whole bunch of other stuff in front of it. The boxes with the decorations in them were right behind the tree so they were easy to get to after I got the tree out of the closet. I then set about putting the other stuff that I had drug out of the closet back into the closet.
I then found the box that the lights were in and started taking them out so that I could make sure they were all working.
"Hey, Mom," I called out as I did so. She had been in the kitchen at the time.
"What Charlie?" she called back.
"Did you ever get candy canes?" I asked her. She immediatly came to the doorway between the kitchen and the living room.
"Oh, no with everything else going on I forgot all about buying candy canes," she said.
"No problem," I said quickly as I unplugged one set of lights that did work. "I'll just finish checking the lights and then I'll go see if I can get some candy canes."
"Oh thank-you Charlie," she said quickly. She handed me some money to buy them which I stuck in my pocket. Though she had told me everything was under control I had a feeling she still had a lot of things to do to prepare for the Christmas and possibly Christmas Eve too. Besides it would be nice to get out for a little bit and look at all the Christmas displays that the stores had up. Being at Eden Hall had isolated me from that Christmas experience because even though Eden Hall had its own Christmas decorations it just wasn't the same.
I took a bus downtown to main street and stated strolling down main street looking at the decorations. The first couple of stores I checked were out of candy canes of course being the day before Christmas Eve I wasn't exactly surprised. I finally did find what I had come for but instead of heading directly home I walked around main street for a little while longer before catching the bus back to my apartment.
As I opened the door to the apartment I could hear voices in the kitchen. I recognized them as my Mom's and Coach Bombay's. I knew I should've either let my presence known or go to my room where I couldn't hear them but I didn't do either. Instead I just shut the door softly behind me and listened to what they had to say.
"I thought you were serious this time Gordon?" I heard my mom say.
"I am," he replied.
"It doesn't sound like it. All of the sudden you don't want to talk about getting married anymore."
"I just want to put it off for a little while. I don't think the time is right."
"Why? Is it something I did? Are you not ready to tell Charlie? I think Charlie already thinks something is going on between us. I don't think he'll be surprised if we tell him."
"Its not you Casey and its not Charlie," I heard Gordon tell her softly. "I love you both. But Casey Charlie isn't the only kid we have to consider anymore. From the looks of things Adam is going to be with me for a long time. Any decisions I make affect him now. You know what that is like. Adam has been through so much here lately and he seems to be starting to feel comfortable at my place. I don't think now would be a good time to disrupt things on him again."
I didn't hear my Mom's reply to Gordon's last statement because I sat the candy canes on the end table near by and retreated to my room. I didn't want to hear anymore and I didn't want to be discovered. I had definitely overheard something that I wasn't meant to hear.
As I lay down on my bed I couldn't help but feel anger toward Adam. This was all his fault. Since soon after I had met Coach Bombay I have wanted him and my mom to get together. I thought it was going to happen one time before but then Bombay had gone to play hockey in the minor leagues. While he was gone my Mom met and started dating Al. She had seemed happy with Al so I was happy for her although I never did like her new husband. Right after Thanksgiving my Mom told me that she and Al were separating and I noticed she and Bombay were spending time together. I had thought maybe things would work this time but now it looked as if Adam and his family problems were disrupting things. Adam was ruining my chances of having a real family.
Not long after I had gone to my room I heard the front door to the apartment open and close. I assumed it was Gordon leaving. Then I heard a knock on my door.
"Yeah," I called out not moving from my bed. The door opened and my mom stuck her head inside.
"Just wanted to make sure you got home okay," my mom told me. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," I told her. I definitely wasn't going to tell her that I had overheard her conversation with Coach Bombay.
"Okay," she said although she didn't look to convinced. "You got plans for this afternoon?"
"Yeah, I'm going to the pond to play some hockey with everyone."
"Well, have fun. I got to get ready for work. If you get that tree up we can decorate it tonight when I get home okay."
"Okay," I told her as she left my room.
I stayed in my room for a few more minutes and then went and tried calling the Duncans again and this time I got a hold of Tammy. She said she was interested and that if Tommy got back in time she'd ask him if he wanted to come. Tommy was out looking for a Christmas tree with his dad.
After hanging up with Tammy, I went into the living room and started putting the tree together. I figured if I kept myself busy I wouldn't think about the conversation I had overheard or the anger I felt toward Adam, someone whom I had thought I was becoming really good friends with if not best friends.
Connie POV:
The trip home from Eden Hall was quiet. The last time I had seen my family was right after the second JV/Varsity game and that had been in the ER waiting room waiting for word on my father. My mom had found me during our celebration on the ice and told me what had happened. I had never been so happy as when the doctor had told us that he hadn't had a heart attack but a panic attack although he was in danger of having one if he didn't change certain things about his life style.
I had visited with my Dad for a little while after that in the hospital and then my Aunt had driven me back to Eden Hall. I had called home quite a few time since then but with finals coming up at Eden Hall I hadn't had a chance to go home again. From what my sister and mother had told me I was nervous to actually go home. My mom had said that he had taken the doctors words seriously and had changed the way he ate and as far as she knew hadn't even thought about work for awhile. However, being at home all day without working he had turned into Mr. Mom. She told me that he had been doing the cooking, cleaning and laundry (with only a few minor problems). I didn't ask and I really didn't want to know. My sister had told me that he had suddenly became very involved in her life asking all kinds of questions about classes and boyfriends. I wasn't sure what to expect.
My mom pulled the car into the driveway of our small house on the outskirts of the city and helped me carry my stuff inside. My younger sister was in the living room coloring and watching tv.
"Hi Connie," she called pushing her coloring book away from her and running over to give me a hug, bags and all.
"Hi Cecily," I told her. Holding all my stuff I wasn't able to hug her back.
Then my Dad came out of the kitchen at that point. I had to do a double take. My dad was actually wearing an apron. Luckily it was just a plain white one because if it had been one of my Mom's frilly ones I would have been really concerned.
"Hi sweetie," he told me kissing my forehead. "Its great to have you home for the next couple of weeks."
"Its good to be home Daddy," I told him although I was starting to wonder. It wasn't that my Dad had ever been a bad father he had just always been distant when I was growing up. He had never been one to show much emotion and had worked a lot although he had come to a few of my hockey games over the year. My first thought was, 'what has this guy done with my father.'
"Cecily why don't you help your sister get settled in her room," my Dad said.
"Okay," Cecily said taking the bags that mom was carrying and then we started up the stairs together. "He's been like that since he came home from the hospital," she whispered to me halfway up the steps. "Mom told me to humor him."
"I think mom has a point," I told her as we walked into my room. I sat the bags on my bed and then turned to take the ones from Cecily. "Dad had a scare. He's just overreacting right now."
"Yeah well wait until you hear how we're spending Christmas morning," Cecily said as I started putting some of my clothes away.
"How?"
"At church," Cecily said. "Dad's gone the past two Sundays and he insists that the whole family goes on Christmas. He wanted to find a Christmas Eve service too but Mom told him you already had plans with your friends and she wasn't going to ask you to change them."
Now my family, even though we celebrated Christmas, had never been overly religious. My mom had a Bible and I had seen her reading it from time to time, and I had gone to summer bible schools for a week or two in the summer when I was little but that was it. My Dad had always wanted nothing to do with religion which is why my Mom stopped going to Church and had never forced us kids into it too much. I'm sure this was one change in my Dad my Mom wasn't minding but I wasn't sure how I felt about it. I wasn't sure I wanted to spend my Christmas morning in a church.
"It could be fun," is what I told my sister though. The look she gave me told me she wasn't convinced.
"So what are we going to do this afternoon?" Cecily asked.
I let out a groan. I had forgotten that I had promised to spend time with her when I got back from school. My mom had told me Cecily had missed having me at home and was looking forward to this extended holiday.
"Look, Cecily I'm getting together with my friends this afternoon. We're going to play hockey," I told her and watched as her face went from happy to sad. "But look we've got the next two weeks together. I'll make it up too you I promise," I told her.
"But you've seen them all the time you were away at school."
"Not all of them. I haven't seen Jesse, Peter, or Karp and there is a chance they may be there this afternoon."
"So they're more important than your sister," she said.
"We'll do something tonight together I promise."
"Dad said we're going to decorate the tree. We've been waiting for you to be home to do it."
"I'm sorry Cecily. I forgot all about my promise to you when I said I'd be at the game this afternoon."
"Well, can I go with you then," Cecily asked. "I promise I won't get in the way."
"You want to come and watch the game?" I asked.
"Yeah, please," she said pleadingly. "I'll be your own personal cheering section. Please Connie."
I thought about it for a second. The pond had benches around the pond. I could keep and eye on her while we played the game and Cecily knew better than to run off. It wasn't like she was a nuisance. If she said she would stay out of the way she would. "Okay, if Mom and Dad say it is okay you can come along and watch the game," I told her. "And we can even head over to the pond a little early and do some skating before the others show up."
"Great," she said the smile immediately coming back to her face. "I'm going to go ask Mom and Dad," she said and hurriedly disappeared from my room and back downstairs.
Guy POV:
It was nice waking up in my own bed, and in my own room instead of in the dorm room. O f course it would have been nicer if I hadn't woken up to two seven year old boys jumping on my bed while I was trying to sleep. I opened my eyes and saw my two brothers Mark and Eric sitting on the end of the bed with huge smiles on their faces.
"Are you up?" Mark asked me.
"I guess I am now," I said sitting up on my bed. It was ten o'clock in the morning so I guess I was lucky that they let me sleep that long. They're usually in my room around eight in the morning.
"Good. So you can take us outside to play in the snow," Eric said.
My family lived in a small two story house that had basically no front yard and a very small back yard. There were only four bedrooms which meant that now Abby had to share her room with our little sister Alexis and the twins shared a room. I was now the only kid who had their own room although it was the smallest bedroom in the house. At least we weren't crammed into an apartment.
"As soon as I get dressed and get breakfast," I told them.
"Yippee," both of them said and went running out of my room. Probably to bug my mom about getting them ready to go outside.
I hurriedly got dressed and headed downstairs to get something to eat. I was pouring the milk into my cereal when my Mom walked into the kitchen.
"The twins find you?" I asked her as I put the milk back in the fridge and then took a seat on the closest stool at the counter.
"Yeah, I told them to watch tv for a little bit until you're ready," my mom said laughing as she headed to the sink to wash the breakfast dishes from everyone else's breakfast.
"Where's Dad?" I asked. I still had my suspicions that something was going on. When we had gotten home last night my Mom was waiting for me in the livingroom but as soon as my Dad came in he headed upstairs to their bedroom. And I don't think my Mom ever did go upstairs last night. I had never heard her come upstairs before I fell asleep last night and my Mom has never been one to stay up light. Plus when I came downstairs this morning I noticed the folded up blanket and pillow sitting on a chair in the living room.
"Working," my mom answered. I knew for sure that something was going on then. As long as I could remember my Dad had never worked the day before Christmas Eve. He always took it off along with Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so he could spend some time with his family.
"Mom is something going on between you and Dad?" I finally asked.
"No nothing," she answered quickly and then looked up at me. I must not have looked convinced by her answer because she then put the dish she was washing back in the sink picked up the dish towel and then came and sit down next to me. "Guy I don't want you to say anything to anyone else. Your Father and I want to wait until after Christmas to tell everyone so that we don't ruin the holiday for everyone but I guess I'll tell you now since you already suspect something." She took a deep breath and then said "Your Father and I have decided to get a divorce."
I immediately dropped my spoon into the almost empty bowl. I had thought of some possible scenarios but my parents separating wasn't one of them. I had never even seen them argue over anything. How could they be splitting up.
"I know this is probably quite a shock to you which is why we had planned on waiting until after Christmas."
"But why?" I asked her before she could say anything else. "You two never even fight."
"Its not any one thing Guy and we do fight just not in front of you kids. And lately we've been fighting more than usual."
"Who will we live with? Where will we live?" I couldn't help but ask those questions.
"We haven't discussed that yet Guy but I don't want you to forget that we both love all of you kids very much. I know this is going to be hard on all us but in the long run your Dad and I think that this will be for the best."
"How can splitting up our family be for the best?"
"Your father and I are not happy living with one another anymore. Right now we can keep it from disrupting things around here but not forever. We've even tried marriage counseling but it didn't help. I know its hard for you to understand but you need to trust us to know the right thing to do."
Before anything else could be said Mark and Eric came in the kitchen from the living room.
"Are you ready yet?" they both asked me.
I looked down at my halfway eaten bowl of cereal. Suddenly I wasn't hungry anymore. "Yeah, I'm ready," I told them and stood up to dump the bowl out.
"I'll help you to get your stuff on," my Mom told the twins. "Remember not a word to anyone else Guy," she whispered to me. I nodded and then she followed the twins into the foyer to help them get into their snowsuits.
I placed my now empty bowl into the sink and then went to the foyer to get my winter coat, hat and gloves on and then my brothers and I headed outside to play in the backyard. I needed something to take my mind off my parent's pending divorce anyways.