XMAS EVE
There had been little doubt about where I would be that evening. Not in Hemlock Cove. No doubt at all. Not just because of the tradition of it all. But really, mostly because well there was little else to do in such a small, close-knit town.
Everyone was here. At the Fitzgerald’s Ski Lodge. Where else would they be? Oddly enough, I dragged in a bit of a ragged breath before I stepped over the threshold. Odd, I say, because it had been probably years since I felt much apprehension about my proximity to this family and this place. Why tonight of all nights did I have this eerie feeling that something was just a little bit off?
I jostled the bottle I carried in one hand and cuffed my bag in the other while scanning the perimeter as the heavy scent of cinnamon and pine filled my lungs. Soft vibrations of danceable music played in the background, muffling the laughter and comradery of the friends and neighbors gathered together for yet another annual yuletide celebration. It did not matter that it was the eldest brother who now hosted after the parent’s untimely death. The party must go on and the Fitzgerald’s were more than willing to maintain the status quo.
**(BEN)**
“Alma, hey…”
Instinctively, I spun towards the direction of my name, lips curling upward automatically. Effortlessly the bottle shifted from my fingers to his and my coat was eased from my shoulders before both were handed off to a servant that seemed to be readily at hand. Also, not unexpected.
“Hey there!” I lean in close, a whiff of familiar expensive cologne enveloping me as we connect, my lips very briefly brushing against his cheek. Of course, my smile is firmly in place as I retreat. “How is it that one of the most handsome men in the building has been regulated to door duty?”
He scoffed lightly, but of course we both knew I was no liar. At least, I was certain of the fact. Even in the breath of a few seconds I noticed more than a couple eyes glancing his way appreciatively. Who could blame them right? I certainly was not immune to that sharply chiseled jawline and his captivating, smokey eyes. Even now, more than aware of the road indulging with this man could lead too, I still found myself slightly breathless in his presence. Luckily for me, my momentary lapse was easily blamed on the brisk cool air seeping into the lodge before one of the attendants secured the door directly behind me.
“Because good looks and good manners cannot go hand in hand…”
“Oh, I don’t know, with a face like yours people probably never hear a word you say… which is kinda sad since it’s the least interesting thing about you…”
“Hardy-har-har… that’s such a unique gift you have there, the ability to both bolster and subvert a man’s ego in one fail swoop…”
“Oh yes, how dreadful for you, with your gorgeous good looks and delicate sensibilities… I cannot even fathom the agony you suffer being so misrepresented…”
“Can’t you though…” he mocked with a hint of a grin while simultaneously reaching for two glasses off a nearby tray. Seconds later he spun and had to step back jerkily as two young children raced right between us with a couple loud shrieks. He shook his head with a somewhat good natured but also exacerbated chuckled while passing one of the glasses over.
“Some things never change…” I tease lightly as a memory of a Christmas Eve many years past drifted through my mind while reaching for the offered drink. Our fingers brushed against each other, striking a nerve in me that drew my gaze to his own. Blinking, I glanced away quickly, focusing on anything other than Ben Fitzgerald.
“Seems like the whole town turned out…”
“They usually do…”
“You sound disappointed.” I spied him tilt back his drink in one gulp and immediately reach for another from the corner of my eye. That was new. I frowned slightly as I took the chance to look back at him. “Is everything alright Ben?”
“Peachy keen…” he muttered dryly while trying to maintain a very practiced expression. If I was not as familiar with him as I was, I might have taken his words at face value. Unfortunately for him, that was not the case. However, he must have guessed as much because he hurriedly cut off whatever comment I had been about to make, “I should make the rounds, you know… showing off those newfound manners of mine and all…”
“Ben…”
“I’m glad you made it out Alma, I’ll catch up with you again later…” and with that he leaned in gave me another half hug then whisked himself into the crowd leaving me frowning even harder and knowing that something was off. And even though he obviously wanted to get away I considered going after him, that was until a familiar profile caught my gaze making me gasp out a single name…
**(NICK)**
“Rivera…” I turned, unfocused and confused, to find my boss and one of my closest friends, Nick Kavasilas, Chief of Hemlock Grove’s fire department, standing inches before me, “hey… something wrong?... Did you say Sebastian?”
“I… huh… oh… yes, I mean no, everything’s fine” I mutter without thinking and shaking my head between one man and the crowd, or rather the direction in which I thought I saw another man standing moments before. Nick wore a completely skeptical expression before he arched a brow and let his gaze shift back into the crowd of guests as well… then turning back towards me.
“If you say so…”
Quickly grinning I leaned closer and bumped up against him, insisting “I do say so!” while at the same time shaking my head yet again that night. “I just thought I saw… well, nevermind, it’s of no consequence. It’s about time you made it…”
“You’re barely ten feet from the front door, don’t tell me you’ve been standing here all night awaiting my much needed presence for the fun to begin…”
“Absolutely, don’t you know I am compllleeetely lost without you!”
“Yes, of course you are!” he smirked and even winked as he reached over and dug two fingers into my side, making me giggle far too easily.
“Stop it you fiend!” I hissed while trying to stifle my laughter and slapping his hand away slyly. That was one problem with your friends finding out just how very ticklish you might be. I rolled my eyes at him but there was no hiding my amusement. “Why are you just getting here? Your shift ended almost two hours ago…”
“Yeah… with my two best crew out drinking and partying all night I wanted to make sure the rookie had everything under control…”
“Only two good ones huh… that’s a hellova operation you’re runnin’ over there mister…”
“I know right… it’s a wonder this town isn’t burnt to the ground the way things are going…”
“He’s only been in the crew for a little less than two months… but I think he’ll survive one evening managing things… besides, everyone in town is here…”
He snorted crudely, “please… you remember how long it took me to leave you on your own!?”
I arched a brow, “two weeks?”
“Longest ten days of my life!” The irritated tone was so exaggerated that I could not help but to laugh out loud. “And you did not ever harass me every ten minutes with the silliest of questions…”
“You know… anyone will struggle to take initiative if you keep babysitting them so much right?”
He snorted again while tugging his phone from his pocket to check it unnecessarily and, as it would have it, at the exact same time that my purse started vibrating. Surprise crossed both our faces, because, as I had so recently pointed out, everyone in town was already there at the party. It took only a couple seconds for me to glance at the screen on my phone before I wrinkled my nose at Nick sheepishly and answered.
“Paulson, what’s up…” I swear, I think every hair on Nick’s body rose to attention as he realized it was none other than our newest recruit, Ricky Paulson on the line. His gaze narrowed and it was blatantly obvious he was tuned in to every word I uttered... “No… yeah no it’s cool… I get it… yeah, I mean, you could make sure the SOG manual in the watch room is up to date, no… yeah just the one, not for each crewmember, and you can inspect all the PPE equipment… ummhmm, exactly… yes, replace any expired units… yep, sure, no problem… yes, Merry Christmas to you too…”
“Seriously…” I couldn’t help it, I laughed. Especially at Nick’s disconcerted expression. “Seriously!”
“He’s bored… and it seems that Boss-man gave him instructions to man the phones. The very quiet phones…”
“He could’ve called me…”
“Also said he feared calling you... you would’ve gone rushing back because you’d think he couldn’t handle things on his own…” I chuckled again because the look on Nick’s face implied that exact same sentiment.
“Nothing you told him was all that complicated to consider doing…”
“Ummhmmm…” I continue grinning as I slipped my arm into his… “shouldn’t we be having drinks and singing Christmas carol karaoke or something like that which requires quite a lot of alcohol instead of standing around talking about work…?”
“Ohh, now you want me to get you drunk, deputy?” he grinned…
“Don’t forget the singing chief… definitely the singing…”
**(SEB)**
I was not so certain how many drinks I had in me by the time I saw him again. Definitely enough that I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. And more than enough for my supposed manners to be far and away lost in the sauce, so to speak. The burst of laughter I had just released in response to whatever antics the people around me were up to dried up quickly as I yanked, yes… literally yanked, with one hand around his neck and a wild gasp, I jerked Nick closer and whispered… well, as much of a whisper as my tipsy state had allowed, more like a soft yell… if that were possible… while at the same time pointing quite obviously across the room…
“Do you see him?!?”
To give him credit, Nick was far less inebriated than I, but he laughed good naturedly as he seemed to try and focus on the crowd of people in the general vicinity of where I pointed. “Who exactly is him I am telling you if I see or not?”
“My brother!... Oh my… that is him isn’t it? It is…”
“Your brother? Sebastian?” He sounded confused, he should be, I was too. “He’s here? In town? Which one?”
Of course, there would only be the one would-be stranger in the crowd for Nick, but I frowned at the rapid fire questions, my focus still on the man across the room hugging the wall, he was here, that was him, but… “oh… oh right, well yeah he showed up about a week ago…” but what was he doing here? At the ski lodge? Did I mention the party to him? I didn’t remember…
“A week ago? You never mentioned…”
“I, oh well, well I wasn’t sure if he was sticking around… and not like you know him or anything…”
Silence followed my response, for all of ten seconds…
“introduce me…”
“huh? Why?” I laughed, mostly because I wasn’t sure what else to do. Of course, it could also be the alcohol making me a bit sluggish… mentally, physically…
Nick looked at me and wiggled his fingers against my side for the second time that night, “cus he’s your brother and might as well know the man instead of the myth…”
Wrinkling my nose at him just earned me a rather unceremonious boop right on the tip, which only made me scrunch it up harder.
“Come on…” he insisted, wrapping my arm in his own and basically ushering me over to the opposite side of the lodge, making a very definite byway towards where Sebastian stood holding his own company while watching… honestly, I could not say what exactly he was looking at, but he barely noticed our approach until we were literally right on top of him.
“Alms…” he murmured with a welcoming smile as I walked into his open embrace.
“Hey… I didn’t expect to see you here tonight… honest… I think I forgot to mention the party altogether…”
“Yeah, yeah it’s cool… Noah gave me a heads up…” he assured before stepping back and eying Nick curiously towering beside me with a slight nod while lifting something clear and bubbly to his lips for a sip.
“Noah?” I am sure my confusion was plastered on my face, but… I guess, maybe they were acquainted. It had been a week, and while I hadn’t given it much thought, it was improbable that he hadn’t run into at least a couple of people he knew from before… though I certainly would not have pictured Seb being exceptionally chummy with the elder, stuffier Fitzgerald brother. “umm… this is Kav… Nick, my boss… Nick my brother Sebastian…”
“Seb is fine” he added quickly while stretching out his hand amicably. Nick grinned as they shook.
“Nice to finally put a face to the personality…”
“Oh Alms, don’t tell me you’ve been gossiping about all the times I pulled on your pigtails growing up!”
Nick’s eyes widened “Pigtails… I need evidence…”
“I never wore pigtails!” I hissed in mock outrageous followed closely by two deep chuckles from the men beside me.
“Too bad, I bet you’d look cute in pigtails”
“Damn right she’d look cute… can’t escape genetics… cute runs in the family…”
I rolled my eyes as Seb gave a wickedly gleeful tug on a few strands of my hair, but also because while we were siblings and as close as any two could be while living in separate provinces, thousands of miles apart, we shared not a hint of each other’s blood and looked absolutely nothing alike.
I kind of zoned out for a moment, finishing off the drink I still held as Nick and Seb spoke among themselves, idly scanning the crowd around us. But when the words eight and ring pop and pillow boyfriend stringed together in one sentence, I gasped in the most undignified way especially seeing how thoroughly engrossed Nick seemed to be in the horrid story.
“Whatever the hell you’re drinking must have drowned your brain cells and completely robbed you of your senses!” I growled and literally slipped his cup from his fingers and took a sip before he had a chance to tell me… or warn me rather. Of course, I never would have done such a thing in the first place if I weren’t already a little bit more than tipsy. And so, immediately after sipping his drink, I found myself gagging and wincing and making an awful retching sound. “Club soda…! By itself!”
The man had the nerve to chuckle as he took his cup back. I shivered dramatically.
At that exact same time someone a distance away called out to Nick, who then, with a huge grin and a promise to find his way back for the rest of that story, excused himself and trotted off leaving me alone with Seb in the corner.
“Serves you right, you know…” he continued grinning as he took another sip. The sour face I gave him must have been more than enough of my opinion than he needed. “He seems like a nice guy…”
“Nick?” I asked, maybe sounding a little bit too animated in my response. Surely from the drinks. “Nick is cool, he’s great really… one of the best…”
“He feels familiar…”
I laughed, “yeah Nick has that way about him… real easy going, easy to get along… outrageous, outgoing, you know… feel like you’ve known him all your life after a couple minutes type…”
“Yeah, maybe…”
I arched a brow, trying to decipher his tone through my muffled mind.
“Why are you over here hiding in the corner like some hermit anyway… you should come over with us… have some adult conversations… at a bare minimum drink some adult drinks…”
“I didn’t know children drank club soda…”
“uugghhck… no one should!” He grinned but continued to drink the godawful stuff.
“I’m okay Alms, no need to worry about me… I’m enjoying myself, just taking it all in and relaxing…”
“I’m not worried” I huffed, but had to admit, even secretly, that I was (and maybe always had been) egging Seb on to do stuff, something… more… than what he seemed content to do.
“Go… have fun…”
I grinned, slowly and a little bit lopsided but gave him another quick sisterly hug and uttered softly, “see you at home then…” before I turned to rejoin the other partiers.
**(MAX)
I squinted and rubbed my eyes lightly against the drastic change from the bright florescent lighting in the washroom to the much dimmer, softer hue in the small hallway leading back to the heart of the party. A couple more hours had passed but the party was still revving on. Perhaps if I hadn’t; covered my eyes exiting the bathroom that is, I wouldn’t have taken those first couple steps that brought me far too close to the originally unnoticed pair seemingly hunched together directly in my path. I wouldn’t have noticed the terse set angle of Ben’s mouth nor the edgy defiance blazing from the dark-haired woman before him. I likely would never have even known there had been such an obvious disagreement nor witnessed the way they each stormed off from the other. And I most definitely would not have heard the utterly strange exchange that followed, between Ben and oddly enough, Melody Smollet-Hunt just past the opening of the passage. Something about sharing confidences? What on earth…
But neither had taken note of me up to that point, so when they broke apart, I quickly turned aside, finding myself beside a small table that had been set up with a song selection book, pads of paper and pens. Without any genuine interest I flipped through the booklet while waiting for the two to move off in opposite directions.
“Dance with me…” I heard hissed against my ear as a hand slipped around my waist, another around my wrist before spinning me in a circle and into their embrace several steps away from where I initially stood.
“I was just about to do karaoke!” I pretended with a pout.
“My gosh, then I insist… everyone will call me a hero for saving them from a fate worse than death…” he mocked as he spun us both into the crowd of people on the corded off dance area while he looked down at me solemnly, “I was referring to your voice and singing, in case that wasn’t clear…”
“you’re a mean one!”
“I am certain that his pet’s name was Max not the Grinch himself…”
“So… you’re saying that I should be comparing you to a dog then?”
He grinned, “as long as you do it without singing…”
“cruel!”
“that’s what my ears would think if I allowed you to offend my senses in such a… ouch!”
“ohhh… I see that your sense of touch still works!”
“You are highly coordinated for one so far into their cups…” he muttered with a tiny limp as we continued to move together on the dance floor.
“have you been counting my cups tonight?”
“Clearly not enough of them or else I would have known my toes were not yet safe in your proximity!”
“I guess singing and dancing will have to come off of my list of accomplishments…”
“lucky for you I’m the indulgent sort…”
“not sure how that benefits me…”
“oh well, it could” he teased and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively making my wannabe stern demeanor crack as a burst of giggles spilled out of me.
“I totally hate you sometimes”
“oh please… lies!” he charged, still grinning from ear to ear, “no one hates me…”
“you took a poll?
“your world would be infinitely more gray without me in it…”
“so, what… you’re like a box of crayons now?”
He laughed and squeezed me closer as we continued to dance and tease each other merrily, as we often did at big town functions such as that. It was odd that I realized rather suddenly, and fleetingly, that we rarely did things like this outside of the big brouhaha events when they happened. By the time we came to a stop we were clear across the room, closer to a beverage table setup and Max retrieved us a couple mixed brews.
“Max, who’s that?” I asked after a few seconds of companionable silence. With the tip of my pink barely lifting from around my glass, I pointed to the dark-haired woman I noted earlier with Ben.
Max frowned as he tried to follow my hopefully stealthily aimed point. Yet it became apparent that I was not nearly as covert in my slightly inebriated state when in mere seconds his gaze returned to me full of discerned curiosity. Well, that or because of the fact that the crowd size had diminished quite a bit by that hour and there really were far fewer people to identify that might be unknown to someone.
“Oh… that, my girl, is the lovely Charlotte Blake…” I am certain my mouth formed a very clear ‘O’ in response. Because, of course, I knew who Charlotte Blake was. Everyone knew who Charlotte Blake was, and more importantly, Renon Blake… Fitzgerald. Ben’s new brother. And her, Charlotte’s, brother as well. “I see you haven’t been hidden under a rock after all…”
I wrinkled my nose looking up at him again, “I simply wanted to put a name to the face, not my fault I spend more time working and hiking than mulling over the current rumor mill…”
“such an enlightened and saintly bedfellow you must make…” to which he yawned dramatically.
Of course, I was unable to restrain my giggle… “You’re suggesting Defoe and Voltaire inappropriate bedtime reading material?”
“Sweet, delusional Alma…” his outrageously disappointed face was more than comical, until the wicked glint in his eyes sent an unusual little tingle down my spine, “if you are reading while we are in bed together, I’m doing something very, incredibly wrong…”
Unusual, well, because it was Max… of all people. Sunshine and rainbows… singing and dancing in the rain Max. Despite our quite regularly natural banter and taunting, I had never actually considered being anywhere near his bedroom at any given point. It must have been the alcohol, or perhaps just the strangeness of the night itself that shoved the idea to the forefront of my mind in that moment.
Maybe it’s why, when our eyes met, my smile seemed to soften more than I would have guessed… or how I sensed that my pulse moved just a touch faster than it had moments before… or why I suddenly found myself curious about the rather large freckle on the bridge of his nose that I had never recalled seeing before that moment.
But then the strange trance, and I would certainly call it that in the days that would come, was broken as a rather loud voice boomed over the few guests that remained so late that evening announcing that the forecasted winter storm had definitely arrived and with it completely unsafe travel conditions. One of the Fitzgerald brother’s, I certainly could not recall which in that moment, announced rooms being prepared for us all and that hopefully the plows would see to the road up the mountain cleared by the morning.
“Looks like the party has quite a few hours left in it after all…”
“I… um yeah, seems so…” I nibbled on my lower lip for a quick second, “actually, I think I’ll find one of the brothers… see where I’m getting stashed for the night. Feel like it’s time for me to hit the hay”
I honestly was not sure if I imagined the disappointed look or not, “Really? It’s still so early…”
“Yeah…” I muttered and turned away to set the glass I still held down firmly on the table… “honestly, I think the alcohol is affecting me more than I thought… feeling a little, you know…” Truthfully, I had no idea if he knew or not but I certainly did not wait around for him to tell me. Max had a way of convincing me to do stuff even when I thought I might not want to. Though, to be fair, I had very little resistance towards recklessness and foolhardy adventures when I wasn’t on the clock. “Have fun, I’ll see you in the morning it seems, no doubt.”
And with that I made a rather swift, if albeit awkward escape.
XMAS DAY
I stretched then immediately flipped over, burying my throbbing head deep into the goose down pillow with a rather unflattering, and far to unsatisfying groan as memory of the night before flashed through my mind.
My would-be escape had not gone exactly to plan, considering that I was soundly informed by Pete that the accommodations would take a little time to arrange when I cornered him. And so, I flinted between crowds, avoiding certain people that suddenly seemed far more interesting than they really should have been to me. And when one of those people suddenly manifested inside of Nick’s body, well I knew for a fact that I had literally lost my mind.
Thankfully, I stumbled off to bed, alone, before something insanely destructive occurred in my world. But now I was suffering from the orbit’s worst hangover, I was absolutely sure of that.
So, when I finally roused myself enough to slip out from under the far to rarely felt Egyptian cotton, showered, brushed teeth and finally slipped into the spare outfit I kept tucked in my trunk along with my roadside kit, because… well you never know living this far north this time of year, I felt marginally better. But only just.
And even though I was certain that I was moving far too sluggishly, it was more than apparent that I was one of the first to rouse that morning thanks to the nearly deserted but somehow tidy hall. Considering the amount of people that continued to party in that room until the wee hours of the night, it was by far a miraculous fete and had me feeling that the staff were likely secretly hoarding superpowers.
The scent of fresh brewed coffee filled my lungs, however, I steered clear of the kitchen and instead chose a route that led me to the deck for some fresh, clean and quite nippy mountain air. I tampered down my shock to see another holding vigil at the far left, nodding cordially while clasping a steaming mug between his palms. Offering a smile and neighborly wave I slipped off the porch before pulling my scarf up closer to fight off the cold sting of air, rambling names off in my head trying to identify which belonged to the mature handsome newcomer now being forced to have the sound of hard packed snow crunching underfoot disturbing his peace.
Minutes later, all thought of the man, the headache, and even the hazy memories of the night before were firmly shut away from my mind as I focused fully on navigating the snow coated wooded trail directly behind the lodge. A trail I had taken multiple times in the past, years ago, when being at Fitzgerald Ski Lodge had been a regular occurrence in my life, when it had literally felt like a second home. Or perhaps more like a third. I enjoyed a leisurely but steady pace, noticing effortlessly how acutely aware the creatures around me were to my presence in their habitat. A few startled glances, some hurried scampers across the ground, all of which made me smile, between foggy breaths. Eventually, I happened upon a clearing and my grin widened even more as I gazed upon the blanket of pristine whiteness, the morning sun glinting off its surface almost blinding me with its unmarred flatness, by neither human nor beast.
It was mornings like this that I lived for. The serenity, the calmness. Of course, it was always with the complete knowledge that I wanted little more than to dive in and prove that I was a part of this perfectly magical and beautiful world. A tiny bit of chaos in this winter wonderland.
The first step onto the field was a rush, filling me with awe and appreciation and excitement. Like a pioneer taking the first trek into the wild unknown. The boarded cottage at the opposite side of the clearing proved I was not the first, nor likely the last to come this way but it was still a heady feeling. I wound my way another fifteen minutes or so before making my way back to the lodge, feeling fully refreshed and enthusiastic about the day ahead.
The lodge was alive and buzzing with newly woke individuals, eating, drinking, chatting and I joined in quite naturally. At a point, I took an opportunity to discreetly retrieve and pass out gifts that were packed in my trunk for delivery that day. Considering most of the people on my gift-giving list were in attendance, it saved me quite a lot of traveling that I might have had to do that day in town.
When it was announced that the roads were clear enough to afford us leaving, I was among the first to take off since I was getting such a late start thanks to the snow-in. I did of course check in with Nick, reconfirming that he was still certain I wouldn’t be needed for shift that day and even attempted to locate Seb, to no avail. Eventually giving up, there was only one stop between me and my destination, picking up my overnight bag at home then off to the local airstrip. I only waited about an hour for the charter flight to Thunder Bay, the last leg of my journey for a holiday visit with the parental unit.
SATURDAY - Max
Returning home the next evening was met with as much fanfare as my departure had met. None. Literally, not one person was aware of my travel. Not that I left and certainly no one was around to notice when I came back. Which was fine. I liked my solitude. I’d gotten very use to being on my own. Coming and going when I pleased, not having to answer to anyone, not having to consider anyone else when I make decisions, such as impromptu trips to visit my folks. It was pretty grea…
“Sssssssss oww!”
After several fumbling steps I turned around accusatorially to glare at the offensive object, an oversized sports bag, plopped down centimeters from the front door wondering what the hell. Then it dawned on me.
“Seb?”
Nothing. I frowned, calling out again, as I set my own bag down and made my way down the hallway. Calling out a third time, louder, as I knocked upon the guest room door. Still nothing. I tried again, pressing my ear against the door as I called out before slowly, quietly inching the door apart slightly to peep in. To the darkness. And silence.
“Seb…” I tried one final time, softly before opening up fully while slipping my hand over the light switch that ended with me sighing, maybe a tad more dramatically than it was worth.
Rather anticlimactic, I chided myself after considering the range of emotions I had just tumbled through. Annoyance, curiosity, excitement, caution, concern and then ultimately disappointment. Where the hell was he, I wondered, already back into my annoyed state of mind. I mumbled to myself about respect and cleanliness and consideration as I moved both of our bags to our rooms, respectively, then padded my way to the fridge, thinking a meal then curling up with a good book in bed would be a great way to spend my Saturday night.
Only, an inspection of the meager offerings available in the fridge, coupled with the fact that a certain someone had picked through the most tasty of those offerings left me sighing, again, far too dramatically. Wondering once more where he had gone, thinking he was newly back in town, barely knew anyone, and yet… and yet he was out, likely having a grand olde time, partying on a Saturday night like any other ‘normal’ eligible single person.
Hovering a spoon over the top of the container of plain yogurt I pulled from the fridge conjured a loud huff as I stared down at it rather unenthusiastically.
“Fuck it!” I snapped.
Shoving the container back in the fridge, I stormed my way to my bedroom. A short time later, clad in a cute low-cut blouse and my most favorite, tightest jeans I tugged on my coat, snatched my keys off the credenza near the front door and headed out.
Anything could be done on a whim when you’re single!
The Eatery was buzzing with activity, which made absolutely perfect sense since it was one of the few places open that time of the evening. Not quite closing time but not prime dining time either. At any course, the teen girl hosting quickly ushered me to a booth and ran off to inform my server. Moments later my order of a dinner salad was being passed to the kitchen.
“They say the bourbon bacon-jack sliders here will melt in your mouth…”
I wrinkled my nose looking down to the glistening, beefy burgers that were certainly not listed on the menu I had just glanced over a short time ago.
“Better than beer and skittles!?”
“Everything tastes better with bacon…”
“Not exactly what I ordered…”
“Trust… this is better, almost as delicious as the sexy, spicy chef himself…”
I smirked looking up as Max, decked out in his chef’s whites, moved into the booth opposite me.
“Pretty arrogant of that chef, just commandeering a customer’s order like that…”
“I know… what a jerk.” His comically serious face was almost too difficult to resist. “I do have it on good authority though… that diet food is only supposed to be eaten while you’re waiting for your meal to arrive…”
“I believe the quote is something more along the lines of waiting for your steak to arrive… or cook, or something…”
“Exactly…”
Shaking with a very exaggerated eye roll I chided, “there is absolutely nothing wrong with a salad for dinner…”
“If you’re a rabbit…” the words followed a rather obnoxious snort followed by the man inching the plate closer to me with a nod, “go on then…”
Giving my very best impression of an aggravated sigh I lifted half the sandwich and took a liberal bite. Of course, my eyes rolled back in my head as the morsel literally did start to dissolve in my mouth, much as he tooted it would. It was absolute perfection and from the smug grin that spread across Max’s face I knew that he knew what I thought. Not that I would admit as much openly. Instead, between devouring chomps of the delicious fare and sipping on ice cold beer that had been delivered by the waitress while I ate, I started a very opinionated debate over the merits of salad and its importance to a person’s daily dietary needs, exclusive of out-of-the-world, impossibly scrumptious burgers.
“… don’t you know arguing with a chef’s a waste of time… like wrestling a pig in mud…” he finally laughed, cutting me off mid-point. “another?” he asked tilting his empty bottle in my direction. I nodded.
“Because y’all are stubborn, smelly boars?” he rose laughing, grabbing both bottles and started to move away from the table. Yet, he paused, leaning down… or over… far too near me, and grinned too charmingly…
“… because sooner or later you’ll realize the pig likes it…”
“urgghhh… you’re an idiot!” I hissed on a chuckle and went to shove him away playfully, but he jogged out of reach before I could.
The waitress returned, cleared the table, and left to retrieve my check before Max returned carrying two fresh brews and changed into his ‘civilian’ clothes. We chatted a bit more, even onto the fact that Max had witnessed the same exchange between Ben and Charlotte at the lodge before our dance. I admit, I was intrigued. I assumed that Max knew nothing about the apparent argument and a suspicion struck me that perhaps he had used my presence in that very spot to cover up his own effort at eavesdropping when the pair broke away from each other. And was even more so curious when he slyly hinted to the fact that he had spent some time chatting with Ben the following morning. But I avoided taking the bait, much, I think, to Max’s disappointment.
“Sooo… what’re your plans for the rest of the evening?”
I shook my head while taking a swig before uttering, “nothing really, home I guess…”
“You guess… that sounds utterly bland…”
“Everyone can’t be all zesty like you Max… with a trail of yearnful eyes gawking at you in every room you enter...”
“Oh please, you’re a firecracker… you’ve got plenty of zest… you’re just smothering it lately…for some reason.”
“haha… wrong, I put out flames I don’t start them…”
“Liar… but what I don’t get is why Big Ben seems to be the only one in town that has had a chance to know for sure… never seen you actually date anyone else”
I sputtered and gagged on my drink that seemed to slide down the wrong pipe then warily watched the smirk on his face as the waitress returned to slide the tab, face down on the table along with several mints, assuring me there was no rush but also wishing me a good night.
Max continued to watch, and seemingly wait, for some sort of response, sipping on his beer idly as if he had all the time in the world. Instead of speaking I flipped the tab and gazed at it blindly for several seconds as his words ran through my head. It took several more seconds for me to realize the slip of paper was empty.
“Max!”
“What?” Pressing my lips together, I shook the check at him reproachfully. “What?”
“Where’s is it…!”
“Ahhh… oh well you know… some idiot in the kitchen got your order wrong…” I started shaking my head, “what was the owner to do? Can’t charge you for what you didn’t order... you know…”
“No, I don’t know, stop foolin’ around…”
“Seriously, nothin’ you can do ‘bout it… that owner is a real boar…” I shook my head again, laughing softly at his cheeky grin. “Resistance is futile… just leave a generous tip for Halee, she deserves it after putting up with such an unruly customer all night…”
“Me?!”
“Definitely not me!
“ohmahgawd…” I laughed while slipping a fifty from my wallet to under the tab before rising.
“okay good, now we can go…”
“Go?”
“ummhmm…”
“Go where? I’m going home Max…”
“What! Naw… we just agreed that home was dull…”
“No, we didn’t…” I laughed
“Ummhmm… we’re going out for drinks, that’s not boring…”
“oh goodness haha… no Max, I’m going home… to my bed… we just had some drinks…”
“Your bed…” he wiggled his brows, “is that an invitation?”
A jolt stabbed through me and I think my heart may have actually skipped a beat as I gawked at him for a split second before blinking once, twice… then chuckling “noo…”
“well boo at that…” most certainly he was teasing. “Anyway… we had beer… now we’re going out for drinks…”
“Max… I’m not” I insisted.
“ummhmm… sure… sure…” he draped an arm across my shoulders while ushering me towards the door.
“I’m not!” I stubbornly confirmed.
And yet, thirty minutes later, and then hours after that, I was firmly entrenched at CBTO, laughing, drinking, dancing and having one of the most enjoyable nights I’d had in a very long time, with Max.
MONDAY - Nick
“Rivera… I’m not helpin’…”
“urghhh… there’s nothing to help with… except this…” I chided after pulling the door wider giving Nick access to step into the apartment while taking the bottle of Ouzo from his hand. “I got Max to whip up several plates so we’re having mezé and drinking… no muss no fuss...”
He glanced around quickly, “Where’s your brother?”
“Out… he seems to have quite the social life since arriving in town… who knows…”
“Probably wherever we should be right now”
Walking and talking at the same time, I totally did not see the pointed expression on his face.
“Whatev… I got shift in the morn and I’d rather not be out rippin’ and running all over town with your ass all night long…”
“yeah, saints forbid you actually go out and have a good time…”
“Pfft, I just went out Saturday night and had a great time… I won’t mind staying in and having a good time…” I set two giant cubes in glasses, then poured before sliding his across the counter between the scattered take-out. He began opening each container…
“Did you now?” He sounded far too curious… “Where… who?”
“Nothing major, just went over to CBTO with Max…”
A low whistle filled the room and he grinned… “Max? Really?”
I frowned then gasped, “oh… oh no… no not like that… we just hung out… it wasn’t a damn date or anything…”
“Huh… why not?” He asked but his attention was focused on dishing out grilled chorizo and fried calamari, marinated mushrooms and olives, cheese, crackers, pate…
“What do you mean why not?”
“What do you mean what do I mean?” he smirked after pausing what he was doing… “why wasn’t it a ‘damn’ date…?” The emphasis was not lost on me.
“Because it was Max, of course it wasn’t a date.”
“Wait… so Max… he’s not into women now?”
“huh… what? Of course, well… I mean, I guess he could be bi. I don’t know, I never asked him specifically… but I know he likes chicks…”
“Sooo… then… you?” He arched a brow, extremely curiously, while slathering a huge glob of pate on pita bread and taking a big bite.
“Me what?”
He rolled his eyes and chomped quickly through his bites… “you don’t like guys then… now?”
“What?... Of course I like men… I mean, I don’t hate women either, there’s nothing wrong with that…”
“Wait… what? Do you mean you ‘like’ women?” His inflection was far too juvenile and made me chuckle. Clearly, I was quite juvenile myself at times. “Hold up… since wwwheen? How have I never known this…”
“I can appreciate a soft supple figure as genuinely as I might a hard, chiseled one… and I have no idea how you have not known… I have certainly joined in on conversations about the merits of a good looking woman at the fire house many times with the guys…”
“Pfft… we all just thought you were doing that girl thing where you try to fit in at the frat house kinda thing…with all your ‘oh she’s lovely’ and never a ‘dammn she’s hott’… I call b.s...” He snorted and I laughed, his mimicking was just too hilarious. And in of itself the ultimate bull… the guys on the squad were absolute sweethearts and not nearly as piggish as he was pretending them to be.
“You, Chief… underestimate just how much the other guys drool over me when they think I’m not looking… you’re likely the only one that thought that… besides…” I plucked a piece of chorizo and popped it in my mouth, “just because I find a woman attractive doesn’t mean I have to come at it like a blundering neanderthal…”
“Bullsh…”
“… really… you just lack an adequate sense of observation… or intuition perhaps…”
“Me?!” He laughed uproariously. “that surely is a detriment on the job…”
I smirked, we both knew his instincts were nearly always spot on when it came to work… “okay well then… it’s so obviously that friendzone you shoved me into causing all this lack of clarity on your part…”
“I shoved you into…?! Hahaha… really… I swear when you first got to town you had eyes for only one person in thousands, it’s a wonder you didn’t trip over stumps and fall into puddles with how high your head was in the clouds.”
I wrinkled my nose and stuffed a plump tomato keftedes in my mouth to keep from commenting because really, there was nothing I could say to deny his charges. I had been quite single-minded back then.
He surmised my silence with a presumptuous grunt before taking a sip.
“Honestly… I really thought you’d finally moved on when you started visiting your brother so much a few years back… figured you’d met someone out there and it was only a matter of time before you’d bring him, or well her now too… either… to town to meet all your ‘friends’… cus you know… zoned here…”
I snorted, jumping on one part of his comment so as to avoid any discussion of the other, “I haven’t friendzoned anyone…”
“Haven’t you though, isn’t that what this whole conversation is about?” I arched a brow, taking my own sip while watching him munch through another mouthful. “Denying that you and Max went on a date…”
I scoffed and rolled my eyes. “We didn’t… it wasn’t… we are just…”
“… friends…”
“Well yes… implying anything between me and Max is like saying there is something between you and I… or… like me and Seb…”
It was his turn to snort. “I’d venture to say that neither Max nor I could ever remotely be considered like Seb in retrospect of relations to you… we are definitely not your brother…”
“you’re like brothers… we are friends… I trust you both completely…”
“We ARE friends… no doubt, hell I trust you with my fucking life, every. single. day… and I can’t 100% speak for Max, but I’m fairly certain neither of us think you are our sister…”
“as badass as I know I am, nothing will convince me that Max or you are sitting around having dirty little fantasies about me… and keeping quiet about it…”
“is that the rub…? You’re not privy to all our dirty little secrets…? I thought I was the one lacking in intuition.”
“You lack sanity right now…”
He laughed and shook his head, waving a fork-stabbed zucchini at me menacingly… “trust me… there isn’t a man alive that hasn’t had unbrotherly thoughts about the hot women in their ‘friend’ zone…”
“Sooo… you think I’m hot Chief…”
“Oh… come on, you’re just fishing for compliments now…”
“Well hell yeah, you’re giving me such great material to work with here…”
He grinned wickedly, far too handsomely than I should have noticed… “I’ll tell you mine when you tell me yours…”
“My what?” I blinked, strangely losing track of the conversation.
“Dirty little secrets…”
Fringing disbelief, I gasped… “Moi? I have none… I’m sweet… innocent… pure as the driven snow…”
“more like the apple in the garden of Eden probably… you’re the Queen of gaslighting…”
“Project much?”
“I’m quite open about how happily impure I am… I’d be more than willing to add an instructor course on it to next month’s itinerary…”
“Oh God… could you image the crew’s face… 08:00 – hazmat training, 09:00 – how to be a playa, 10:00 – ladder safety...”
He laughed, “private lessons then?”
Wagging my head, I forged ahead, “soooooo…. how was that hike today?”
He chuckled again but shifted gear and spent the better part of the next hour, or two, just talking about random, silly things. Laughing, teasing and generally having a great evening.
It would be much later, laying in bed staring at the ceiling in the dark that I would think back on some of the things he said that night and consider, secretly to myself, that he might have made more than a couple very good points. Perhaps, even, may have opened my eyes just a bit wider than they had been before.
WEDNESDAY - Ben
“Ben?!”
He spun around so quickly looking all the world as if he had just been caught stealing from a candy jar. I arched a brow, walking closer.
“Hey, I thought that was you…”
“Alma, hey… yeah… how are you?”
He smiled, but I couldn’t get over the feeling that he was trying to discreetly look around. I shifted the shopping bags I was carrying from one hand to the other and took a quick sly glance around us.
“Doing good, thanks… how are things with you?”
“Fine, good… great. Everything’s great…” he uttered while at the same time brushing his fingers through his hair making it spike at odd angles. His gaze shifted around and mine did the same, taking in the locals making their way to and from whatever activities had brought them into the heart of town that evening.
“You sure?”
“Huh? Yeah, sure… why, what did you hear?” The fact that his brow arched even higher than mine sent warning bells off in my head. Of course, his skeptical tone only added to my instinctive doubt.
“Now see Ben… you should know me almost as well as I know you… asking me something like that only makes me think there is something that I should have heard even if I hadn’t…”
“Well… you tell me then… as far as I know everything’s just dandy…”
“Okay…” I say passively as I tugged my purse open and made a display of pulling my keys out. The fact that I caught the sight of his shoulders sagging slightly, presumably in relief, from the corner of my eye just had my wannabe spidey-senses tingling. “So… what are you getting up to tonight?”
He was quick, but not nearly quick enough at hiding his startled expression.
“Um… nothing really…” a quick glance to his right, “just grab a bite to eat… you know…”
“Oh… cool, I could eat… I’ll join you…”
“you’ll join… um… you don’t have to disrupt your evening… you look busy…”
I grinned, already shaking my head, “not at all, I’ve finished up my shopping… and you’ve had to point out to me more than a couple times in the past that I should stop and eat… besides, it’s been a while since we hung out.” More than a while, for pretty good reasons, but I wasn’t going to point that out. “Unless there’s a reason you don’t want to hang out?”
“No, not at all…” he rushed to say, I offered a pleased grin in response. I almost considered cutting him a break but when he suddenly shrugged and muttered “yeah… alright sure…” while at the same time nodding absently and glancing at his watch, I shoved all courtesy aside. He was obviously distracted and impatient but willing to lie about it. Horribly, of course, but still… I admit, I was curious.
“Great… I’ll just stuff these in the car and we can go…”
Within twenty minutes we were seated in a quiet corner of the bistro, two doors down from Max’s place. The food wasn’t nearly as good, which lent to it being far less crowded and a much slower pace. Drinks then food arrived, the mood was easy, conversation friendly… general. Despite our shared history, and the difficulties that we experienced as a couple, there had always been a special sort of bond that we shared together. We had always been able to converse effortlessly, openly. It was one of the reasons I had fallen for him. But, in being honest with myself, it was also one of the reasons that I think things fell apart between us. He was just so predictable, easy… steady. Everything a girl should want in a guy. Everything I thought I wanted in a man. Maybe I still did. At any rate, as the meal progressed, Ben relaxed more, smiled more, looked more like his usual self.
“So… what’s really going on Ben?” I finally demanded, our dinner plates sitting mostly empty between us. His eyes narrowed on mine, considering before he huffed out then took a sip of his lager. His fourth pint.
“Why do you think something’s wrong… everything’s fine…” he insisted, taking a gulp.
“The drinking for one…” I stated bluntly, my own glass of merlot cupped in the palm of my hand with the stem hanging between fingers, swinging it towards him for emphasis. “at Christmas… here now… it’s not like you…”
“It’s been a long time since we hung out…”
“So, you’ve become an alcoholic in that time?”
“No, of course not…” He railed with a grimace then glanced at his now empty stein ruefully.
“It’s the brother…?” He snorted dubiously, drawing one of my brows up high. “I saw you with the sister… at the holiday party…” he pressed his lips into a thin line and seemed to look around. Before I realized he lifted a couple fingers, pointed towards his glass and moments later the waiter returned to give him a refill. It was my turn to press my lips together. But I was not going to let up. “Max saw you too, and so did Melody… I saw you and her together as well…”
“Since when are you such a busybody…”
I reached across the table and placed a hand over his, “since I can tell one of my friends is going through something…”
“I’m fine… everything’s fine…” he said, maybe a touch softer as he looked down at our connected hands. “or at least they will be once I get that DNA test…”
“Really Ben?” I shook my head lightly. “The man looks like he came out of the same die-cast mold the rest of you Fitzgerald’s came out of…”
He snorted as he drew his hand back and picked up his glass once again. “You sound like Pete…”
“And Noah?”
He shrugged. “Seems oblivious…”
“Is that what you were arguing with the sister about? Asking for the test?”
The mulish expression was one I was unfortunately too familiar with. When Ben was done, he was done. He would just close in on himself and seek out solitude when the mood struck him.
“…public arguments aren’t any more your style than all this drinking…” I stated, looking just as stubborn.
“People change…”
“Seriously!”
“Just drop it Alma… okay? It’s family business…”
I’m not sure why his words struck me so hard. He was right. I had no business trying to poke my nose into it, any of it. Not about the brother, or his arguments, or his spiraling into whatever darkness this was he was headed into. It wasn’t my business; he wasn’t my business.
“Okay…” I relented abruptly, tugging my hand back from the table and gathering my purse. Quickly, I set out a few notes as I rose from my seat.
“Come on Alms… don’t be cross…”
“I’m not, you’re right, it’s none of my concern…” I had learned long ago there was no point in pushing beyond a point like this. “… but you know you can talk to me… about anything… any time you need… I’m just a call away… or, well… you know where I live. If you need me…”
He seemed to search my face for a moment, while I did my best to keep it devoid of any emotion whatsoever. Reluctantly he nodded. I tried for a smile, unsure how well it turned out, but I leaned close and kissed his cheek before exiting. He would just have to figure it out for himself, for the time being.
I feel everyone who made it a winner, so there's not gonna be an announcement just yet.