Page 6 of Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal
Begrudgingly, he starts soaking up the milk, or at least attempts to. “These napkins are trash. Hand me paper towels.”
While grabbing the multipurpose cleaner, I also snag paper towels and toss them to him.
We both set out on cleaning up the milk while Cole says, “Now tell me what the hell you’re freaking out about.”
“My parents aren’t here,” I say, knowing in my brain that it sounds crazy, but seriously, why wouldn’t they have at least left a note or something? “Do you think... do you think they were kidnapped?”
Cole lets out a deep breath and then tears a few more squares of paper towel off the roll to start helping me again. “Maybe they’re busy and they can’t respond.”
“The messages are going undelivered, man. That means they’re not even getting them. And they always have their phones on. And I tried texting my brothers, but they haven’t responded, and the text saysundeliveredtoo. I really think something happened.”
Cole picks up the half-soaked newspaper that was on the counter and sets it to the side, only to pick up an envelope and say, “What’s this?”
I glance at it with a shrug. “I don’t know.”
“It has your name on it.”
“Really?” I snag the envelope. “It’s in my dad’s handwriting.”
“Hmm, maybe it’s a clue to the mystery you’re trying to solve,” Cole says with an eye roll.
“Maybe it is,” I reply, head held high. I will not let his sour attitude tear me down. I open up the envelope while Cole finishes cleaning the counter. I read it out loud. “Atlas, as youread this, we’re currently on an airplane headed for Europe.” I look up from the letter and say, “Europe? Why are they headed to Europe?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you keep reading and find out?”
Clearing my throat, I continue. “I surprised your mom with a trip to Europe to check out all the Christmas markets.” I pause. “Ah, she’s always wanted to do that. What a nice thing for my dad to do.”
“Yeah, imagine that. They didn’t disappear, just took a trip.” Cole shakes his head.
“You know, I can do without the sarcasm.”
“I could do without the idiocy, and yet here we are.”
Ignoring him, I continue. “I didn’t tell you because even though I trust you with the farm, I don’t trust you with keeping a secret.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” Cole mutters.
I side-eye my best friend. “We will be gone until Christmas.” I look up. “Christmas?!” I shout. “What the fuck? They’re gone until Christmas?”
Annoyed, Cole snatches the note from me and continues reading. “Everyone has been briefed about their responsibilities this season. Mitch will be watching over the day-to-day, while Kate will be taking over Mom’s responsibilities with the vendors. They’re in training and will be looking to you for any questions they might have. This is your chance to prove to us that you can really take over the farm. I’m trusting you to do a good job... I know you will. We’ll be in touch. Love you. Dad.” Cole tosses the letter to the side and takes a seat at the island. “There you go, the chance you’ve been waiting for. The farm is yours to watch over.”
I pull on my hair. “Yeah, but... I mean, a little warning would have been nice. Everyone was briefed but me? He didn’t think I could keep a secret.”
“I wasn’t briefed, so maybe he didn’t think either of us could keep a secret. But with me, it’s because your mom always knows when I’m lying. You just can’t keep your mouth shut.”
I hate that he’s right about that.
“I just . . . I feel so unprepared.”
“Unprepared? You’ve been working on the farm nearly your whole life. If Mr. Maxheimer gave me the role, I’d be able to do it in my sleep just from watching you.”
“I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or an insult.”
“Who cares?” Cole says. “Just take this opportunity and run with it. You’ve been wanting your dad to retire for a while, so now is the time to show him that he can leave the farm with you and hecanfinally retire.”
I nod. “You know, I think you might be right.” I puff my chest, letting the lapels of my robe fall slightly more open to show off my pecs. “I think I’m going to take charge, make this farm mine.”
“Great,” Cole deadpans. “But can you do it with some clothes on? Because”—he gestures toward me—“woof, man.”
