Page 98 of Stutter

“Starved, Mrs. Anderson.”

“Oh, please. Mrs. Anderson is my mother-in-law, and I told you last night to call me Ellie. Now, I’m sure Jonas told you all about how many rooms we have here but if you don’t mind taking the second-floor primary bedrooms, it would be much easier for me on the knees.”

“Sure thing, Mrs. A…Ellie,” Maverick corrects himself when Mom cuts him a glare and I want to die laughing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him shut up that quickly. “Thank you, by the way, for having us. I’m sorry we showed up empty-handed.”

“Oh, Maverick, darling.” She reaches up to cup his cheek and pats it. His eyes flutter but he leans into it. Yeah, straight up mommy-issues, that one. “All of you showing up and not letting an old woman spend the holidays alone is enough. I was almost frightened Raven would have stayed home to be with her family. Now, about that breakfast. Go settle in and meet me in the dining room. Lorenzo has been cooking up a storm. Raven, I remember you prefer a French breakfast.”

She grabs our girl by the hand and then links their arms together like they’re the best of friends. “Come, darling, let the men take your bags, and you and I will start snacking. Your cello playing last night wasdivine…”

They walk off, and the sound of my mother’s voice turns into a low chattering hum as they disappear. Maverick turns to look at me. “You grew up with her as your mom?”

I grab mine and Raven’s suitcase and start lugging it up the stairs, lit garland and silver ribbon curled around the banister. “I wasn’t adopted until I was twelve, Mav. I was in fostercare for years because my bio-mom was too addicted to drugs to even remember my name. I had lice for two years straight until the school nurse got fed up with me and shaved my head while I was at school.”

“I didn’t know.” He says.

“I know. Just don’t… don’t think I takethisor my parents for granted. Okay? Even with all the Syndicate bullshit, I owe them my life.”

“How long were you in foster care?”

“Six years. After that head-shaving incident, they finally took the nurse’s claims seriously and took me away. I had good families, and I had shitty families. I was surprised my parents wanted to adopt me to replace their son as a legacy when he died of childhood cancer. I mean, there were infants where I was staying.”

“And your bio-mom?”

“Died when I was eight. Overdose.”

“I’m sorry.” He says as we reach the landing, passing the second living area decorated to the nines and then entering the main upstairs bedroom.

I throw my bags down, Damon beside me, and look at him. “I’m not.” And it’s true. “Don’t worry. Damon and I have talked about this during our sessions. And Raven knows. Now you do, too. I’m not ashamed of where I came from and I’m not ashamed my parents can afford to give me a better life just because I look like their dead son. But I want you, specificallyyou, Maverick, to know Iamashamed of the things I’ve had to do because they chose me as their son. Do you understand?”

He nods, pushing up his glasses so they sit on the bridge of his nose, but a curl of his brown locks falls forward. “I do.”

I incline my head. “Good. Now, let’s get some breakfast. I’m starving and I need a nap.”

The news is on, playing softly in the background on the huge TV big enough to be a movie theater screen when we make it downstairs. Mom and Raven are giggling like schoolgirls when we find them in the kitchen and there’s so much whipped creamin Raven’s mug, when she takes a sip it ends up on her nose and she gets a mustache.

I laugh, happy she’s so carefree around Elena that she’s using her actual voice to laugh out loud. I swipe at her nose with a napkin and then kiss her cheek, doing my best to not lean over and lick off the whipped cream from her lips in front of my mom.

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing!” Mom says at the same time Raven signs the word fornothing.

Plates of French breakfast items and eggs and bacon are on the sidebar, ready with serving utensils and I go and start piling food on a plate for Raven and myself, keeping my eye on the news outlet. I catch Raven signing, and my mother moves her lips as if she’s reading Raven’s hands. Oh, she’s telling her about our trip to Spain.

“Oh, I haven’t seen your grandfather in years. I’m glad he still has a sense of humor.”

“Oh my god, are you telling her about how he almost killed us?”

It was a prank!She signs.And the look on your face was priceless!She makes a face of horror and then tipping her head back to cackle silently at one of the worst moments of my life.

“Wait, what happened?” Damon asks as we all settle around the dining table to eat.

“The old man pretended to have a heart attack mid-flight in his helicopter. I almost shit my pants.”

Damon laughs, almost choking on a bite of eggs, and coughs, Maverick does too.

“Language, Jonas. We’reeating.”

“Sorry, mom.”

---