Page 47 of The Parkers' Handsome Holiday
“Quite understandable,” Nick said. “Sometimes, I lock myself away from these two clowns, too.”
Asher and Cal came alive with defensive silliness, and I giggled as Nick winked at me. I made my way over to the oven. “Is this usually my job? Cooking? Cleaning? That sort of thing?”
Nick frowned. The expression was gone as soon as it came. “Sometimes. You help out wherever it is needed, and we all participate in that.”
The timer on the stove went off, and Nick warned me to back away so I didn’t get burned when he pulled open the door. He slid the mitts back on and pulled out a tray piled high with the most amazing looking and smelling enchiladas I had ever seen. Well, that might have been an exaggeration. I couldn’t remember if I’d ever seen them before. Or eaten them. Surely, I had.
We filled our plates, and I topped off my water before everyone took their seats at the table. Asher was sitting across from me, and he politely asked his father to cut up his food for him. Cal pulled the plate toward him, cut the enchilada into appropriate, bite-sized pieces, and slid it back. “Be careful, Ash. It’s really hot.”
Asher leaned forward and blew on it.
I cut into a piece, stabbed it with my fork, and lifted it to my mouth to blow on mine as well. When the steam was no longer pouring off it, I popped it in my mouth, and my taste buds exploded. I covered my mouth to spare the others having to see my half-chewed food. “This is incredible, Nick. Thank you for dinner.”
“I’m glad you like it, Lina. I used to make these for you and Cal on Friday nights when you two were young.”
I took another bite, burned my tongue, and kept eating. They were too good to be patient.
As we ate, I listened to Cal and his family talk about the upcoming holidays. Asher’s eyes turned into two big, bright, blue orbs when Cal turned to him and asked, “How many days until Christmas, kiddo?”
“Three!”
Cal chuckled and so did Nick. I grinned and looked around at all of them. “Do you guys put up a Christmas tree?”
Cal nodded. “Yes. It would normally be up by now, but things have been a little hectic. I was thinking we’d put it up tomorrow.”
Asher’s eyes somehow got even bigger. “Please!” he cried.
Cal laughed. “All right, Ash. Tomorrow it is. We’ll head out, pick the perfect tree, and bring it home to put it up tomorrow night.”
“And we’ll have hot chocolate?” Asher asked.
“Duh,” Cal said.
Asher put his utensils down and clapped his hands together. “And can we order pizza and make brownies and—”
Cal held his hand up and laughed as he tried to talk Asher down from his excitement. “Relax, kiddo. Don’t you worry. We’ll keep up with all our usual traditions. Grandpa will come over and help us decorate, too. Right, Dad?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Nick said.
“And Lina?” Asher asked. “Will you help us pick out a tree, too? We always find the best one every year. I have a checklist. You should help!”
I looked around at all of them and wondered where I would usually be at Christmas time. Maybe here. With them. It was clear that I didn’t have any other family, which was a question I was saving for a later date when I could stomach the answer, and no friends had tried to contact me since I woke up in the hospital. These three were all I had.
I nodded. “I would love to help, Asher. Thank you for inviting me.”
“Looks like I’ll be getting the rest of the decorations out of the shed tomorrow,” Cal muttered as he finished the last bite of his meal from his plate.
“I can help you,” I offered.
“We’ll see,” Cal said. “Do you want more dinner? There’s plenty left.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the pan on the stove. There was a lot of food left. Enough to freeze it and allow all of us to eat another full dinner twice over. I stood up and took my plate over to the stove. “Don’t mind if I do. Anybody else fancy seconds?”
Nick joined me. “I’ve never been one to turn down a second helping.”
I smiled and scooped some onto his plate. He thanked me with a grin, and we took our seats at the table, where Asher took the time to tell me more about their Christmas tree shopping checklist.
It was suddenly very clear that finding the right tree would take more than just an hour. Or two.
