Page 89 of Smoky Mountain Dreams
Later, as Christopher slept safe and warm in Jesse’s arms,Jesse watched the flickering shadows of the tree outside the window, itsbranches dancing in the wind. He squeezed Christopher tighter and hoped thatthis new luck would hold.
Part II
Chapter Eighteen
THANKSGIVINGSTARTED OUT AS ITalways did. Christopher picked up Gran and took herover to his mother’s and Bob’s house. Sammi Mae, blonde and thin, opened thedoor with a smile and a hug, dressed in a pair of jeans and plain blue shirtfrom Talbots. Bob stood behind her wearing a white button-up shirt and hisSunday preaching pants. His flabby jowls folded into his neck, and his eyeswere small and appeared somehow porcine. He’d been a handsome man once.Christopher had seen the photographs—black hair, strong blue eyes, and firm,tall body—but that had all been gone before they ever met him. Christopher hadnever understood what drew his mother to Bob, but whatever it was, it wasbeyond the physical. That was for sure. Perhaps it was hishellfire-and-damnation brand of charm.
After they took off their coats and hung them in the frontcloset, Bob led a prayer of welcome for them and Christopher even closed hiseyes for it. He suspected that Gran didn’t, though, because she poked at himthrough the whole thing trying to make him laugh.
The prayer was long, as all of Bob’s prayers were, andpeppered with comments like, “Thank you, Christ Jesus, for your mercy this yearand for bringing Christopher home to us safely despite how far he insists onwandering from your loving embrace.” This, of course, pissed Christopher off,but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Not unless he wanted to just stopcoming to his family’s Thanksgiving. And he wouldn’t do that to Gran.
Or that’s what he told himself. Despite it all, Jackie andhis mother were still his family, and the idea of not seeing them atThanksgiving and Christmas made his stomach hurt, like the time when he was alittle kid, before the divorce, when he’d gotten lost in a shopping mall:terrified, alone, and abandoned.
Then Bob led him into the living room, sat him down on thesofa while his mother took Gran into the kitchen, and started asking himquestions about his life. There was no pretense that he was interested inChristopher for his own sake.
“Have you found a church home in the last year, Christopher?”
“No, sir.”
“Some people might find it lonely up on that mountain.”
Bob always made it sound like Gran’s cottage was in themiddle of nowhere instead of a few streets up from a bustling tourist town.
“I’m fine, sir.”
“We pray for you, Christopher. We’d love to know that God isworking in your life.”
For a moment, he almost mentioned Jesse and his kids. If Bobwanted to keep praying he could feel free, because good things were indeedcoming Christopher’s way. But luckily Jackie showed up with her husband Joe andhis three kids, Lee, Sarah Beth, and Aaron, who ranged in age from sixteen tosix.
Jackie looked beautiful in her red-and-green Christmassweater, prompting Gran to mutter about rushing the season, but Christopherthought it looked great with her coloring—dark brown hair, almost as dark asJesse’s, and hazel eyes. Joe was tall, muscled, and looked like he’d justgotten cleaned up after a day at work fixing up cars and motorbikes in hisgarage. That was his main source of income, though he held a full-time job atHome Depot, too. The kids, even Sarah Beth, the only girl, were little versionsof Joe—strawberry-blond, blue-eyed, and sturdy. They were a fine looking bunch,Christopher thought, but he was probably a little biased.
Everyone gathered for another of Bob’s welcoming prayers,this one praising Jesus for bringing Joe into Jackie’s life, and offeringheartfelt pleas for the continued health of their marriage.
“We know that Joe has struggled in the past, oh, Lord, withkeeping his marriage vows. And Jackie has done the same. Lord, forgive them fortheir past sins, and bring your peace and lasting love to their marriage.”
Sammie Mae’s fervent, “Praise be!” and “God issogood!” encouraged Bob to drag that prayer out, and bythe time it was over, Joe’s kids looked like they might die from a mixture ofhorror and boredom, and Jackie was violently red with embarrassment.
Christopher had to admit someschadenfreudeat the fact that he was apparently no longer the sole target of horrifyingprayers.
After Bob finally shut it, the so-called festivities couldactually begin. Jackie and Sammie Mae started fussing around in the kitchenwhile Gran ruled from a distance, resting in the rocking chair by the kitchentable, telling them they were making all the dishes wrong. In the living room,Bob turned on the football game. The younger kids argued over whether to watcha Christian movie up in Christopher’s old room—now an office with an extra TVin it—or go outside and play on the old, half-rusted swing set that had beenthere when Bob bought the place.
The oldest, Lee, sat in the out-of-the-way easy chair in thecorner, where Christopher had always hidden before Lee laid claim to it. Leeput on his big headphones and tuned out the world. Christopher wished he couldbe a surly teen and do the same. Joe sat on the sofa and Bob claimed theprominent La-Z-Boy by the fire place, settling in for the game. Meanwhile,Christopher attempted his usual disappearing act.
He lingered in a corner at first, leaning against the wall,watching the game. There was safety in the roar of the crowd and the drone ofthe commentators because it meant that no one was going to be looking at him,or asking more questions, or putting their hand on his head to pray demonsaway.
Eventually, as the game neared half-time, he ventured to sitin the chair next to the front window where he could still see the screen. Hemade eye contact again with Lee, a handsome kid like his dad who gave him athumbs up and then looked over at Bob to make a face. Christopher smiled at himand shrugged. Lee rolled his eyes again and then busied himself with his phone,ducking down into the winged chair.
The game was dull, and Christopher’s mind wandered. He’dseen Jesse a couple of nights before when they’d gone on a date and then backto Christopher’s while Jesse’s in-laws watched the kids. It’d been good to bealone with him again, since the prior weekend Christopher had spent his Sundayoff at Jesse’s house, playing video games with Will and trying to somehow geton Brigid’s good side.
It hadn’t gone very well, but it hadn’t been a total bustsince Brigid had been very busy with a school project on electricity.Christopher had loved listening as Jesse helped her piece together her posterand encouraged her when she made mistakes. It made Christopher’s gut burn warmwith tenderness, and his heart soar with a giddy affection to witness the careand patience Jesse put into being a father.
When Brigid had finished her project, she’d bitten out areserved goodbye to Christopher and escaped to her room. It’d been a niceafternoon together and Christopher hoped he was making some progress with bothchildren, because he wasn’t an idiot. He’d seen how it was with Jackie and Joe.If she hadn’t at least managed to get along with his kids, it never would haveworked out for them. And it would be the same with Jesse and his children. Nomatter how Jesse felt about him, if their relationship pulled his kids apart,it would be over.
Christopher would want it to be that way too. After all,those kids had been through enough as it was. They didn’t need him around tocause them more pain. He just hoped Brigid would come to accept him eventually.Will seemed likely not to care, but maybe that would change as he got older,and he came to understand what two men together meant to the rest of the world.
Bored by the slowness of the game, Christopher thought aboutgoing upstairs, but his actual absence would draw attention. So long as he wasquiet and in the room, and so long as he seemed to be paying attention tofootball, he was safe. He considered moving to sit beside Joe. It might be niceto strike up a conversation with his brother-in-law, but that kind of proximityto Bob increased the likelihood of commercial-break comments or questionsdirected his way. So he stayed by the window and looked outside whenever abreak came on, letting Joe handle the discussion of the various plays andplayers.
A commercial for life insurance caught his attention.Christopher watched the insurance commercial play out, the happy family walkinghand-in-hand as the voiceover explained that the family could relax becausethey were protected by MassMutual Life Insurance in the event of untimelydeath. Christopher wondered what happened in the event of untimely vegetativestate. He sighed, which caught Bob’s attention, but Christopher just waved atthe screen in explanation.
