December Rain (18 page)

Frank takes control of the room with his booming voice. “It started because Dave bought those goddamn cross-country skis for Lisa and Ben knowing neither of them would ever use ‘em. So he orchestrated that big lesson for the kids. Remember that Ellie?”

“Oh yeah. You two had already been skiing since you could walk,” she points at Jay and Quinn, “and when you started teasing Ben-”

“He started crying!” Quinn and Jay answer in unison.

Quinn tries to suppress the giggle that’s creeping out as he closes his eyes to the memory. “He was picking them up off the ground with each step, like he was walking-”

“And it just tripped him up over and over!” Jay is in full laughter looking at Quinn.

“I just kept going over it with him again and again, but he-”

“Never.”

“Never got it.”

“He still duck-waddles.”

“You guys are so mean. I can’t believe he kept up the tradition,” Megan says.

Frank slaps his knee and says, “Oh Dave won’t let that one die. He’ll put it in his goddamn will I bet ya!”

“So did they drive last time it rained too?” Quinn asks.

“No.” The whole family starts laughing hard while Quinn and Monica wait for the punchline.

“Dave got Jessica, Ben’s daughter, his granddaughter, a pair of roller skates.”

“No. He didn’t,” Quinn says. He looks at Jay waiting for the look to unravel.

Frank starts laughing so hard he starts to choke a little congestion loose. As he starts to recover his breathing he’s nodding his head with tear-filled eyes. “That son-of-a-bitch got everyone to wear skates! Oh!” He barrels over in pain, along with the rest of the family. Jay is laughing the hardest, and grabs Quinn’s arm.

“Duck on skates! It was great. I’ve got video.”

Quinn’s giggle turns to hard belly laugh when he sees the video. “I can’t believe you never told me about all this.”

“You were… busy.” Jay looks towards Monica, and then back to Megan as he recovers from the laughter and settles.

“Well, I’m sorry I missed it!” he says sincerely, looking towards his father.

Frank comes over and places his hand on Quinn’s shoulder. “You’re here now son.” He taps his hand gently and steps past them towards the restroom. The warm exchange seems to surprise the whole room, especially Quinn. Monica slips her hand into his, drawing his attention at just that right moment. He smiles at her and her perfect timing.

“We should head out when he gets back,” Ellis says. “We’ll see you kids Christmas morning.”

“No.” Amber throws her arms around her grandma. “Stay here tonight Nana.”

She kisses her head and shakes her head. “I didn’t bring anything for that sweetheart. You guys enjoy your visit with Quinn and Monica, and we’ll be back for Christmas morning baby girl.” Ellie looks to Megan then kisses her cheek. “Let me know tomorrow what time you want us and what to bring.”

“Okay Mom.” Megan moves to hug Frank on his return.

The celebration vibe winds down after the parents leave. They sit and talk about childhood stories and holiday pranks. Amber’s moody teenage attitude surfaces when the boring flashbacks take over, so she runs upstairs to make phone calls before bed.

“How’s your jetlag?” Megan asks Monica.

“It’s setting in. I’m feeling a little out of it.”

“I’ve got just the thing for that. Come on,” Jay says. Everyone follows him to the garage where he opens a safe and pulls out a joint.

Monica’s eyes grow big. “Did they finally legalize here too? You work with cops don’t you?”

Jay wraps his arms around her. “First, you gotta keep your voice down. Second, Mon, if you saw the things I see every day, you’d need this to sleep too.”

“She’s cool with it,” Quinn says.

“Completely. Every day at one point in my life,” she assures.

They share the joint with fits of hushed giggles and more memory lane tales. The brother stories are similar to how twins relate, although they’re far from identical these days. It’s obvious Jay has had a well-defined body for most of his life, but the softness around his belly and neck show signs of a healthy love for ice cream and beer.

The effect of the pot works quickly and Monica’s eyes start to sag standing there.

“It’s time for bed,” Quinn says. He can tell Monica needs some deep sleep in his arms as much as he does.

“You’ll get the filter fixed tomorrow right babe?” Megan asks Jay as she flips off the kitchen lights.

“Yes. First thing, I’ll put the new one in.” He looks at Quinn. “I’m replacing the pump in the Jacuzzi tomorrow, so we can take a dip.”

The idea excites everyone as much as they can muster. Monica and Quinn drag through a quick shower, too exhausted for fooling around and crawl into the soft bed to pass out in their travel haze.

December 24th - Saturday

Monica wakes up disoriented for a second, finding unfamiliarity in the room and bed. She crawls out, trying not to wake Quinn, to peek out the window. The outside temperature dropped overnight and ice has coated everything with crystals. The sparkles jump as the sun dives between dark gray clouds and the trees look like giant snowflakes in a microscope, crystallized in infinite directions.

Quinn stirs and sees her at the window seat in only a T-shirt and panties. He takes a moment to admire the way the shirt stretches around the side of her breast before he joins her to look at the cold morning canvas. “Somber isn’t it?” He slides his warm hands around to warm her up.

“No. It’s magical. Beautiful.”

“Said like a west coaster.”

“It’s nature’s renewal. I wish we had this in California. My bonsai would be healthier.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. Trees need this time to rest. Their bloom in the spring would be so much bigger.” He laughs, dropping his head onto her shoulder. “Was that funny?”

“It was cute. You give me little surprises all the time; smart little observations or facts that I had no idea I didn’t know. I love it.”

I feel like a dork.
She leans back into his body and closes her eyes in his sleepy embrace for a few minutes.

Eventually they get dressed and head downstairs to see what the family’s doing. Quinn is recruited by Jay to help fix the Jacuzzi in a gazebo out back, so the girls head out to play around the yard. Monica takes her camera and shoots a few photos of the world through the ice; transparent, but not quite right. She lets Amber take some too, showing her how to use a real camera instead of her cell phone.

Megan brings everyone hot cocoas and coffees before showing Monica her greenhouse on the far end of the two acre property. On the way back Monica notices the last clump of snow left under the eve of the porch.
Hmm. Heads up Matthews.
She scoops a handful into a tight ball and nails Quinn in the back of the head.

He turns and scrambles to form a tiny snowball from what’s left. “Oh you’ve got no idea what my skills are Waters.”

She lets out a tiny squeal and takes off laughing. Kansas and childhood seem like yesterday when she runs from his empty threats. She ducks and changes direction just as the ball misses, which makes his mouth drop in disbelief. She throws her hands up, laughing at her win.
He does look as hot in his huge puffy coat as he does naked.
When he charges towards her, she does little to avoid his tackle into the icy wet grass.

He shakes his head in awe and holds her head above the wet ground as he kisses her. “I’ll get you back,” he says.

“There’s not a lot of snow where we’re going.”

He doesn’t say much but there’s a look of retribution as he helps her up and brushes her coat off. They head for the house holding hands and laughing while Jay talks shit about his snowball skills.

“How did you guys meet?” Amber asks as they take towels from Megan inside the house. “I know you were neighbors, but did you just start talking in your yards or something?”

“Amber. Stop being so nosy.” Megan scolds her, not wanting to pry in subjects that may still be too sensitive.

“It’s okay,” Monica assures her. She and Quinn walk with her to the fireside sofas to warm up. “I actually met Sadie and Max first.” She smiles at Quinn.

“It would’ve been me first if you hadn’t run away when I first looked at you.” He turns to Amber to whisper really loud, “She does that a lot.” They laugh despite Monica’s continuous eye roll.

“I didn’t run away.” She knew she did. She got caught staring and stumbled inside the house after dropping her keys a few times.

“I miss Sadie and Max so much.” Amber says. “I hate that you can’t take dogs on a plane with you. Hey dad?”

“What’s up baby girl?” Jay says just coming inside with his tools.

“I want to start an airline for people with their dogs, and I want them to be able to buy a seat for their dog instead of sticking them in the luggage compartment. No restrictions on big dogs either.”

All the adults in the room watch as the teenager details her airline business plan all the way down to a potty area and cleanup fees. Everything she comes up with sounds innovative and well beyond a small after thought of just missing her uncle’s dogs. They’re all silent when she finishes, a little blown away by her.

Megan shakes her head lost for words, while Jay nods. “Excellent ideas. We’ll write it up and get some eyes on it. You’re my little genius.”

Amber’s phone goes off and she runs off while sending a snapchat to a girlfriend.

Megan shakes her head and says, “All I thought about was New Kids on the Block at her age. And that my telephone cord was long enough to reach the bathroom.”

“We produced an evil genius babe.” Jay pats her behind with a smirk. “I fired it up. Should be heated up by tonight.” He winks and goes to clean up.

The day is filled with a trip into town to get some last minute stocking stuffers and errands before everything shuts down. They split into boy-girl groups to keep their Christmas secrets fun. The town has an adorable New England feel with wreaths and garland strung across Main Street and a large square near the Hudson with a huge Christmas tree.

When they meet up as the sun sets, Jay surprise’s everyone with reservations at Red Hat on the River for a special French inspired Christmas Eve dinner. The refurbished factory decorated with holiday lights and trim has a magnificent view of the Hudson River and a romantic atmosphere. Monica and Quinn barely let go of each other’s hand the entire evening.

There’s a unique sense of community that Monica feels herself falling in love with, even when the volume is too loud to do more than laugh with hand gestures. Eventually the tone draws lower when a group of carolers sing lovely familiar songs, and soon the whole space is full of singing well-wishers doing a tearful version of White Christmas.

When they return to the house, the grown-ups head for the Jacuzzi while Amber retreats to her room to make up for a long day stuck with her parents. The music from the house plays in the enclosed gazebo softly as they enjoy more wine.

“I can’t believe she’s thirteen already,” Jay says.

“I know. Feels like yesterday that she fit on my shoulders,” Quinn says.

“I don’t miss the mad scramble to put shit together on Christmas Eve though.” He laughs with Megan shaking her head. “There’s so much more work when they’re little, Christmas morning too. They get up at five o’clock having not slept most the night, all excited. Now we can barely get her outta bed. Are you gonna have kids?” Megan smacks his arm. “What? Just curious.”

Monica looks at Quinn as she shakes her head. “It’s not really our thing,” he says pulling her into his arms.

“I’ve just never felt that pull to have them,” Monica confesses.

“I completely get that,” Megan says. Jay and Quinn both look at her with surprise as if it’s the first time they’ve heard this. “I don’t regret Amber for a second, but I wasn’t dying to have kids either. That’s why I wanted to stop with one.”

Quinn raises his hand out of the water completely confused. “I thought you were obsessed with having kids. You tried so hard for so long. It was all you guys talked about for a long time.” Megan points her thumb at Jay giving him the maternal blame.

Jay looks upset. “I thought we just said we wanted to focus on one perfect kid instead of a bunch of half assholes.”

Megan splashes him in the face. “If we hadn’t been twenty-five and in the position we were in, it may never have happened.”

Jay starts to get playful again grabbing her under the water. “I had to have an heir.”

“Alright Mr. Sentimental. Too much alcohol and water... let’s say goodnight and let them be alone.” Megan tugs him out of the water.

“Okay mom. Guess it’s my bedtime,” Jay says laughing.

“Watch it, or you’ll get grounded.”

“Promise,” he says, before groping her ass.

Megan sees Monica shy away and swats him with an apologetic glance at her new friend. “Night guys. Quinn, make sure the cover’s on tight.”

Quinn’s hand strokes Monica’s leg as they lie there relaxing. The music ends and they watch as the bathroom lights from upstairs go off. The world around them stills to near silence.