Page 61 of An Unexpected Turn
“That’s because Mom distracted me. Rematch.” She nodded at the TV as she shot my son a scowl.
Chloe was a year younger than Mike and always fell into some kind of competition with him when they were together. I enjoyed watching them squabble since he didn’t have any siblings of his own. This was the first time Mike had been with me for Thanksgiving since he was small. Eileen offered to fly him out to have dinner with her husband and his family, but he passed.
Of course, I was told via text that his refusal was my fault, but I was done paying her tantrums any mind. I didn’t doubt she missed her son, and if Mike had said yes, I wouldn’t have stopped him, but he’d had enough decisions forced upon him this year.
“I play too!” My four-year-old niece, Emma, peered up at me as she pulled on the drawstring of my sweatpants. “I stay up too!”
“I don’t think so, pretty girl.” I scooped her into my arms and kissed her cheek. “Chloe and Mike are bigger, and you need sleep.”
She looped her little arm around my neck, her wide blue eyes pleading with me as she frowned.
“Please, Unca Jake. I got lotsa sleep last night.” She cuddled into my chest. My sister and I shared a laugh when a yawn escaped her.
Emma was the product of the last reconciliation vacation Kristina had with her husband. She was a lovable little beauty who already knew how to play us all to get what she wanted. She was also the only one of all our kids still innocent and too young to remember her parents arguing or splitting up. We spoiled her more than we probably should have to keep her that way.
“I don’t think so. You can see Uncle Jake and play tomorrow.” Kristina tucked a lock of chestnut hair behind Emma’s ear. “Say ‘good night’ so you can get up early to see Santa on the parade tomorrow. Plus, we promised Daddy we’d call him before we went to sleep.”
My brother-in-law was on his yearly hunting trip. They weren’t living together again yet and claimed to still be dating. It had gone on longer than we all thought, and I was worried about Kristina. She said they were committed to working toward a better life together for the girls’ sake, but I hoped they weren’t holding on to one that didn’t make either of them happy.
“Okay,” Emma relented with a dramatic sigh. “Good night, Unca Jake.”
“Hey,” I said when she went to squirm out of my arms. “I need a kiss.” I pointed at my cheek.
She smiled and pressed her lips to my cheek, giggling when I tickled her side.
“You feel scruffy.” She scrunched her nose at me when I set her down, rubbing her own cheek.
“Uncle Jake needs to shave,” I told her, smoothing my hand over my jaw. “Sweet dreams, pretty girl.”
She swiveled her head toward me as my sister led her down my mother’s hallway.
“And guys, try not to stay up until dawn.”
After two grunts in reply, I shut the door behind me and headed down to the basement.
My parents had moved a couple of towns over after my father retired, into an over-fifty community, not wanting to keep a big and mostly empty house. Their townhouse had a guest room and a small basement for all of us to stay. I’d asked my mother if she’d considered selling after my father passed away, and she said no because, “Where would everyone sleep?”
She was excited to have us all home this weekend, so I’d deal with an air mattress for a couple of days for her sake.
“Where are you off to?” Mom stopped me at the top of the staircase. “Escaping the kids?”
Mom’s eyes were green like Kristina’s, but our resemblance was stronger. Her hair was dark brown thanks to weekly trips to the salon, and she was still stunning in her late seventies.
“I have to make a phone call. I’ll be right up.”
She caught my arm and leaned in.
“Mikey is okay?”
I nodded, fighting a smile. She was the only one my son didn’t correct when she said “Mikey.”
“He’s fine. Having fun sparring with Chloe over video games, so I would expect the both of them to sleep in tomorrow.”
She waved a hand at me. “You’re all here, you can all do whatever you want.” She patted my cheek. “Come to the kitchen when you’re done.”
I smiled and headed downstairs, searching for Peyton’s number on my phone.
She had her own plans with her family, but I’d wanted to ask her to come with me for the weekend and hated the idea of not being with her for her birthday. I hoped next year would be a different story. We’d be out in the open and could maybe split the holidays between our families, or whatever couples did.
