Page 8 of The Holidays with Dr. Mitchell
I swear to God, I would never be able to lose the image of Spence in this damn costume.
“Neighborhood watch, I assume,” Jim said.
The horse trotted directly up to where Collin’s little son, Alex, held onto Logan and Albert Grayson’s hands protectively. My son nutted up immediately and went over to the little boys as the Headless Horseman started to give even me an eerie vibe.
It took Izzy and Kaley running to my brother for protection for the Headless Horseman to pull open the cloak that was hiding his head.
“It’s just me,” Collin said with a cheerful grin.
I glared at my best friend, and his challenging smirk and arched eyebrow landed on me.
“Are you fucking with me right now?” I said. “Really? You brought a goddamn horse into this?”
Standing there as the children gasped and fawned all over Collin’s costume made me realize I looked no cooler than Big Bird, and Collin flashed a Cheshire Cat grin at me.
“Harry Potter, eh? How very original,” he said. “Better pay some respect, bitch.”
“There are kids here. Watch your language,” I stated, trying to bring this man’s ego down a few octaves.
“When has that ever stopped us?” he truthfully asked.
“Never,” Jim interjected while Sebastian finally caught up to us, holding Charlotte, dressed as Princess Ariel, in his arms. “In fact, because of your and Jake’s usual shenanigans, I was shocked we were all trusted to be alone with these kids andnotruin their holiday.”
“It’s okay,” my all-knowing snitch of a son said as he looked at Jim, “My mom already told me to expect that my dad and Collin would be in a costume war, and because of that, they’d curse all night.”
“Smart one, your mom,” Jim said to my son. “Then, we won’t have to worry about bad examples being set tonight.”
The thing about us group of assholes, especially Collin and me, was that we knew how to have a damn good time. We were making memories with our kids, and that’s all that mattered. Even though Collin’s costume had me beat by a hundred miles, our kids would never forget theonenight their fathers dressed up and walked them through Bungalow Heaven in Pasadena.
The best part was knowing that putting in all this work got us off the hook for the rest of the holidays. We all nailed it, even Spencer, whose ass was wagging up the street to the sounds of Collin’s horse’s hooves. All of this was unforgettable, and our ridiculous egos rounded it out perfectly.
CHAPTER 5
Ash
“How was school, John?” I asked as John slid into the backseat next to his sister, who was overly thrilled to pick her brother up from school.
“I got an A on my math test,” he said with his usual air of arrogance.
I smiled at him as I pulled out of the school parking lot. I waved at Mrs. Thomas, the school principal, as she helped guide students to their buses. Someone had to keep the kids safe from all the parents who were always in a frenzy, waiting in the car line to get their kids from the pickup lane.
“Your dad will be happy to hear that. You were stressed about this one, though,” I said. “Are you sure you want to keep taking advanced classes?”
I smirked when I glanced up and saw John roll his eyes through the rearview mirror, “Dad didn’t become one of the youngest chief cardiologists in the country because he screwedoff in school. He took advanced classes and didn’t stop until he reached the top.”
I sighed. “That is true; however, your dad said he wasn’t being challenged enough, so his father insisted he take gifted classes. You don’t have to do that. You can still be successful in anything you do without putting pressure on yourself like that.”
“I know, Mom,” he nodded, but my advice was falling on deaf ears.
Jake and I had very different upbringings when it came to academics. I was an artist, and my parents had always nurtured that side. Jake, however, was raised by his father, who pressured him to excel in everything, which wasn’t surprising when I thought about it. His father was the founding CEO of Mitchell and Associates, and it took tremendous drive and dedication to run such a global empire. Jake and Jim’s father wanted his sons to succeed in their own right, not just be trust-fund babies who ran around living off their daddy’s money. His plan ultimately worked since Jim went on to take over as CEO of the company, and Jake had gone on to have a distinguished career as a cardiovascular surgeon, becoming chief at a world-renowned hospital as a young man.
The difference with John was that I didn’t want my son to think he needed to take the same path as his father just to prove that he could be successful. I wanted John to do whatever he was passionate about. Maybe I was getting ahead of myself, though. After all, he was only eight.
As I contemplated John’s schoolwork, Kaley drifted off to sleep in her car seat, and John put in his earbuds, most likely trying to avoid any further conversation of me trying to coach him along.
Ring! Ring!
“Hey, Avery,” I answered the car phone. “What’s up?”
