Page 226 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“Thank you,” I said. “I love it.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, kissing me. “It was actually my second choice. I found one that was just perfect for you, but some douchebag beat me to it.”
“This one is perfect,” I told him, immediately putting it on. “I love it.”
He smiled at me, pleased by his choice, even if it wasn’t his first choice.
“Are you ready to go?” he asked me. I nodded but walked to my kitchen to grab something. While I didn’t have a present for Cayden, I did have one for Austin.
“What’s this?” Cayden asked, as I handed him a bag.
“It’s for Austin,” I said.
“You didn’t have to,” Cayden said. “He got so much this morning.”
“I know,” I said. “But something tells me that he didn’t get this gift. You can peek in there if you want.”
Cayden was curious and moved the tissue paper around. His eyes grew big as he saw what was inside.
“The purple dinosaur!” he exclaimed. “How?”
I grinned. It really was a sort of Christmas miracle.
“I’ll spare you the long version, but my neighbor next door sells toys on eBay,” I told him. “After you told me the story about the dinosaur, I read a post about how there are two hot-selling dinosaurs. I messaged him last night and sure enough, he had an extra one. He owed me for getting him out of a jam last month, so it worked out for everyone.”
“Wow,” Cayden said. “Austin is going to lose his shit. He was so bummed that he didn’t get the purple dinosaur. I can’t wait to give this to him. Thank you so much.”
We walked out to Cayden’s car and he put the dinosaur in the backseat. As we got into the car, he leaned over the center console and kissed me.
“I can’t explain how cool your gift is,” Cayden told me. “I just want you to know that it’s much better than anything you could have gotten for me.”
We chatted about anything and everything as we drove to my mom’s house. As we got closer to her house, a knot began to form in my stomach. Although Cayden was going with me, I was still nervous. I wasn’t sure how my mom would react to Cayden. I called her earlier to tell her about him, but I couldn’t feel her out over the phone. I hoped that she would be on her best behavior.
“Hey, Mom,” I said, as my mom opened the door for us. I could tell by the look on her face that she had already hit the bottle. The stench of alcohol on her breath confirmed it.
“Honey,” she said, throwing her arms around me. She was obviously putting on a show for Cayden. As she broke her embrace with me, she turned to Cayden.
“Why, hello,” she said, checking him out from head to toe. It was a bit embarrassing how obvious she was being. We walked inside as Cayden greeted her.
“Where is everyone?” I asked my mom. She shrugged.
“Your sister left already,” my mom said, a sneer forming on her lips. “She got pissed off at me for something stupid.”
I was disappointed. My sister was the only reason that I had wanted to come here today. I would have to text her later to see what happened. I was sure that my mom had done something wrong.
“Come sit down,” my mom said, leading us to the table. There was a meatloaf on the table with a bowl of mashed potatoes.
“Is this it?” I asked my mom, even though I knew it was. She was never one to make an extravagant meal, even for a holiday. My mom shot me a dirty look.
“I spent all day making this,” my mom said. She grabbed a nearly empty cup of scotch from the table and drank it. “You sure haven’t changed in the past year.”
I bit my tongue, not wanting to make a scene. I would eat some dinner, make small talk, and leave right afterwards. I knew coming here was a mistake.
“Thank you for having us over,” Cayden thanked my mom.
“Anytime, sweetheart,” my mom slurred. “My husband is already passed out in the living room, so it’s just us three for dinner. It will give us some time to get to know one another.”
I wanted to groan. This was more awkward than I ever could have imagined. My mom began to serve both Cayden and I dinner. She gave me a bit of meatloaf and a small amount of potatoes. I noticed that she gave Cayden a much larger serving.
