Page 46 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
I sat up and let my legs hang off the side of the bed. The plush carpet was warm and cozy between my toes as I wiggled them. “I’ll be down in a couple minutes,” I said.
I heard Cal shift his weight on the other side of the door. A floorboard creaked. “All right. Take your time. I’ll see you down there.”
“Okay.”
I waited until the sound of his footfalls down the hall faded to nothing and opened the bedroom door to find two massive, ruby-red suitcases waiting for me. I lugged them in and hoisted them up onto the bed before flipping them open. Something tingled in my stomach. Excitement. Maybe something in here would jog my memory. Maybe holding something of mine in my hands would stir something. Anything.
I found myself looking down at two overstuffed suitcases of things that didn’t make me feel anything. It was all just stuff. Unfamiliar stuff.
High-heeled shoes and elegant blouses. A hairdryer. Round brush. Makeup. More high heels. A pair of over the knee boots. A pair of fuzzy white slippers. More makeup. Expensive makeup at that.
I scratched the back of my head, and after fifteen minutes of staring aimlessly down at the contents of a life I didn’t remember, I opted for the only thing that spoke to me: a loose white sweater and a pair of jeans. I got dressed and hurried downstairs. I had already made them wait too long for me. I didn’t have time to worry about my hair or my makeup.
In fact, I found that I didn’t care.
All the makeup in the bag suggested that my old self would have certainly cared.
I found the three generations of sons in the kitchen, and it was a nice kitchen. Dark cabinets lined the walls and were covered with even darker countertops. Pot lights in the ceiling cast the whole room with bright but not stark light. There were Christmas magnets on the fridge holding printed out photographs in place. Colorful letter magnets had been arranged to spell “Asher” and “Ho Ho Ho”.
Cal was standing at the counter, sipping a beer while Asher set the table. His father, Nick, was bent over the oven, peering inside. He had an oven mitt on and was in the middle of telling the others that dinner only needed five more minutes when Cal spotted me.
“You look nice,” he said. “How do they feel?”
I looked down at my sweater and jeans and shrugged. “Like I’ve never worn them before.”
Cal’s face sank a little, but he slapped his smile back on. “Well, in time, I’m sure things will start falling into place. Did you go through everything?”
I nodded and tugged at the sleeves of my sweater, drawing them down over my fingers. “I did. Nothing felt like it was mine. Can I be honest?”
Cal blinked. “Of course.”
“It all felt a little… gaudy.”
Cal snickered and so did Nick, who put his back to me to hide his smile.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing,” Cal said quickly. “But when I saw the red suitcases, I may or may not have had the same thought.”
I smiled. “I’m glad I’m not alone.”
“Would you like a drink?” Cal asked.
“Just water would be great,” I said.
“Ash, could you get Lina a glass of water?”
Asher, who had just done a lap around the kitchen table to straighten out the red napkins and cutlery, nodded eagerly. “Would you like ice, Lina?”
I smiled at the little guy as he shuffled past me on slippery socks. “Sure. Thank you.”
Asher filled up a glass with ice and water from the dispenser on the fridge. Then he handed it to me and went back to making sure the dinner table looked just right. I noticed that the salt and pepper shaker set in the middle of the table were Mr. and Mrs. Claus. They looked old. Bits of paint were chipping off.
I wondered if they had been Cal’s mother’s. Or if another woman had bought them for him. They seemed an odd thing for a man to purchase for himself.
Nick took his oven mitts off and plucked a beer from the counter beside the oven. He took a sip and smacked his lips. “Is your room comfortable?”
I nodded. “Very. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude and hide from you all up there. It was just really nice to have some peace and quiet.”
