Page 27 of The Sleight Before Christmas

“I need them!”

“Then I guess you can carry them in.One by one.”

“I need my clothes, too!” Gracie protests.

“Then bring them in,” I retort dryly. “I’m not your bellman.”

“This is bullshit!” Gracie spews as I push through the front door and inch back slightly to see them both standing at the foot of the porch, waiting for a reaction.

“Gracie, need I say it?”

“I’m sure I lost another present,” she scoffs, “I don’t care.”

“Well, good, then I won’t care either. And when you bring your cases up, grab all of the trash you tossed on the floor of my truck. You can trash your rooms all you want, but that space is mine. Clean it up, or you can find your own ride home.”

“You want us to bring our own suitcases up those icy stairsandclean your truck?”

“Mep,” I spit, seeing the salt on the clear steps as Serena bristles next to me.

“This bullshit!” Peyton parrots.

“Oof, that’s like four presents left for Rudolph to bring. It’s going to be a short Christmas,” I declare to Serena before walking into the house. Pulling my wife and our suitcases in, I slam the door in Gracie’s screaming face. Turning, I’m met by the knowing smirk of my mother-in-law, who stands just next to the garland-smothered, heavily lit staircase. Her greeting one I’m all too happy to hear.

“I was wondering when the great reckoning was coming,” she sighs.

Serena opens her mouth to speak, but I step forward. “It’s here, Ruby, and honestly, if it gets to be too much, we’ll take them home.”

“No, no,” she says, walking over to embrace me. “I’m with you, Thatch.” She turns to Serena. “I’m with both of you. This has been a while coming.”

Serena lets out a sigh of relief and walks straight into her mother’s open arms.

“We’ve screwed up, Mom. I don’t know where we went so wrong.”

“No, baby, you would have screwed up if you let it go on any longer. It’s going to be one hell of a week, but your father and I are behind you. I promise.”

“They’re going to ruin Christmas,” Serena whispers mournfully.

“Oh, honey, we won’t let them. I’ve got a few tricks of my own,” Ruby assures.

“Thank you,” Serena whispers as I kiss my mother-in-law on the cheek, as she consoles my wife, while reading my expression.

“Gravity,” Ruby whispers, releasing Serena.

“Gravity,” I utter back before pulling her to me.

“Eleven days,” Joshua warns over the line. “I’m not fucking around, Thatch.”

“I understand,” I state as I glance over to Ruby, who’s putting Allen through his paces. The last few minutes spent making him rotate the tree from every imaginable angle, where she scrutinizes its placement from feet away.

Their difference in size is almost laughable as she orders her husband around like he doesn’t dwarf her. Ruby can’t be more than five foot one or two, at most. Though her presence alone has her towering over Allen, who is covertly glaring at the side of her head between twists of the monstrous tree. His patience visibly thinning as he rotates it ‘a little further right’ while glancing over at me, a ‘help me’ in his expression. I manage to shoot him a reassuring grin as Joshua runs through his laundry list of threats. Standing in the kitchen, I twist the coiled cord of their landline phone around my pointer, the blood quickly building as it goes purple. The tightening feel ofit matching the state of my insides as I’m berated on the phone while watching the Ruby-Allen show.

“I heard you,” I state emphatically, glancing down at my other fingers. Most of which are cut or calloused. All worked close to the bone to keep the asshole on the phone satiated enough to keep his distance. In those seconds, I envy Ruby and Allen—their dynamic, their life, their current dilemma, and daily problems. All of which I would trade in a nanosecond in exchange for my own.

“You better have,” Joshua snaps. “I’ve bought you enough time.”

“I’ll be there, okay? I’m working on it. Everything’s the same. Nothing’s changed. I’ll let you know if it does,” I state, watching Allen turn the tree for a fifth time.

“Let me make this clear, you don’t want me coming to you,” he threatens.

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