“Did you bring me your list?” Langley asks.

“Mason helped me write it. He’s a good speller,” Carter says about his cousin. He pulls a folded piece of paper out of hispants pocket and gives it to Langley, who opens it. He lets out a loud whistle as if the list is too much.

“My favorite part about this list is that Mason has his own section,” he says with a chuckle. He turns the paper over. “And Kyle too.”

Langley hands Carter his phone, and while my son is distracted by that, I approach my brother and say, “If you get my son another pet…” I leave the threat unfinished.

“Don’t come between me and my nephew,” he says and walks away, and Carter follows behind him.

I know well and good Langley is going to do whatever the hell he wants when it comes to my kids.

“So,” my mom says taking Priya from Hannah. “I love the matching turkey sweaters.” She kisses Priya’s fat cheeks. “And don’t forget, we are trimming the tree on Sunday. Be here by two. We’re gonna trim, eat, and have some family time.”

I want to groan, but I don’t. We’re putting our tree up tomorrow, going back to Nia’s parents’ Saturday, and back here on Sunday. By the time Monday rolls around, I’ll already be sick of Christmas, but the kids love it. My wife does too, and there’s nothing I love more than making them happy.

Servers come around with appetizers and drinks. We eat, talk, and laugh like a normal family. Holidays were always a big deal in this house. My parents went all out, and it was always a great time. The first year after my dad passed and Carter and Nia were part of this family, I know Mom only celebrated because of Carter. He was instrumental in getting her out of her funk.

“Is Santa coming back?” Carter asks.

“He sure is. I’m going to talk to him in a few days. I’ll let your parents know when.”

Carter looks at her in awe. “You talk to Santa?”

“Oh, yes. We talk every year.” Langley snorts at the lie, and Mom’s head whips around to look at him. He sobers up under her stern glare. “And Uncle Langley better not end up on the naughty list this year,” she warns.

When Langley was a kid, he was skeptical about Santa’s existence. When I was nine and he was seven, he decided Santa was made up by parents. He tried to convince me, but I wasn’t ready to hear it. He told four-year-old Hannah, who went crying to our father. Dad did not like that, and he gave Langley a lecture. A few days later, Santa showed up here. I remember that day, and the guy played the part so well that Langley, the cynic, believed again.

“And Kyle and Mason are always welcome here,” Mom says to Nia. “They don’t ever need an invitation.” Mom kisses Priya’s cheek again and stands with her in her arms. “Let’s talk,” she says to Nia.

Nia looks at me, and I shrug.

“So,” Langley says when my mother and Nia leave, “you don’t find it objectionable that our mother is lying to your kids about Santa?” I roll my eyes at him. “Uncle Langley is the real Santa.” He takes the folded piece of paper out of his pocket and waves it in my face. “And I need someone to tell Kyle that dragons are not real.”

I chuckle at that. He asks for that at every gift-giving occasion.

“So, what’s up, Hannah?” I ask my sister. “Any word on your residency yet?”

“We don’t find out until the end of March,” she whispers.

She looks at me, then in the direction our mother went. With Carter still wrapped around her, she walks to me and Langley. “I’m having second thoughts,” she whispers. “I don’t want to spend the rest of my life around sick people.”

Langley snorts. “Then you might want to rethink the whole doctor thing.” Hannah whacks him upside the head.

“I want to work for our family company,” she confesses.

“Then why the hell did you go to medical school?” Langley asks.

I want to know the answer to that myself, so I stay quiet.

“I don’t know. I love science, but I don’t want to do it for a living. I’m not ready to tell Mom yet, so be quiet.” She stares at Langley when she says that.

“I’d love to have you. Paradise Construction is your legacy, and you’re a hundred times smarter than Langley.” Langley takes Carter from Hannah, and my sister hugs me.

“Let’s table this until the new year,” she whispers just as my mother and Nia return.

Chapter 18

Drake