Page 37 of Heartstrings & Horizons
“I miss you, too, baby. Maybe I should let you get back to your family. I don’t want to make things worse.”
“Yeah, ok. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight.”
“Hey Poodle,” I look over to see Nana standing on the threshold, arms extended. I walk over and step into her embrace. “Don’t let her get to you, bella. Your mom has always been a difficult woman. She’s letting her own experience with love overshadow your happiness. That boy looks at you like you hung the moon. Don’t let her ruin it for you.”
“I won’t.”
“Good. Let’s get back in there.”
The rest of the evening passes with a dark cloud hovering overhead as we finish the last stack of pizzelles. I decide to spend the night in Nana’s guest room, unable to recover from mom’s outburst. I stay awake into the wee hours of the morning waiting for the sunrise and my new beginning. There’s no way I can tell her about college.
Cade
“Merry Christmas, y’all!” I shout into my eldest sister’s house as I struggle through the back door, presents in tow. The smell of turkey and dressing fills the air as I walk into the kitchen to find almost my whole family has already arrived.
Amy has hosted our Christmas get togethers for as long as I can remember. Her husband built this house years ago when their 3 kids were little. Jemma, Jake, and Sarah are all grown now, Jake is the only one who still lives at home.
Sarah lives 2 houses down with her boyfriend Justin, and Jemma and her fiancé bought a house across the street, so it makes sense for us to gather here at the holidays.
My mom and stepdad, along with my other two sisters, their husbands, and their kids are all here, too. I’m the only person going stag to this shindig.
I haven’t told anyone about Paige yet, not because I’m not proud to call her mine, but because I’m not exactly sure how to broach the subject. I’m planning to find the right moment to introduce theidea of Paige as my ‘girlfriend’. The word fiancée is on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t think it’s the right time to dive into the deep end yet.
“Uncle Cade!” My little Maddie leaps into my arms. “Did you bring presents?” She asks, carefully assessing the stack of haphazardly wrapped boxes balancing in my hands.
“Sure did, Maddie girl!”
“Hey Cade, good to see you.” My youngest sister, Kim, says from the kitchen island where she’s sitting with her husband Dan and their almost 10-year-old daughter, Chloe.
Amy is standing at the stovetop, putting the finishing touches on our meal with the help of her eldest daughter, Jemma. Christmas always includes a huge buffet style spread with all the fixings. We’ll inevitably fill up on way too much food and sweet tea before the kids gather in the family room to tear into their presents.
Jemma catches my eye and gives me a wave. She’s actually a year older than me but we’ve always been really close. I was sort of a late-in-life oops baby for my parents. We like to joke about me being Jemma’s uncle while simultaneously being younger than she is. She glances behind me, giving me a warning look, before my mom saunters into view on the threshold between the kitchen and family rooms.Here we go.
“Hey mom, Merry Christmas.” I give her a quick hug then busy myself placing the presents under the tree in front of the big picture window.
“Cade, good to see you!” The booming voice comes from my step dad who pokes his head out from the wingback chair behind the tree.
“Didn’t see you there, Pops! Merry Christmas.”
“Still no girl this year?” He likes to poke fun at me for being the only solo person at these events. This seems like the perfect opportunity to introduce my relationship and I’m not about to let it pass me by.
“Funny you should say that. I am actually seeing someone.”
“Well where is she? I’d like to meet her!”
“Meet who?” My mom has always had an innate ability to sneak up on her kids undetected in order to eavesdrop.
“Cade was just telling me about his girlfriend.”
“Why is this the first I’m hearing about this?” Jemma scolds from the doorway. It looks like my declaration has garnered the attention of my entire family. Good, I guess I can get this over with in one fell swoop. I quickly tap through my phone and find my favorite picture of Paige – the one she sent me during the first snowfall of the season.
“This is Paige.” I hand my phone out to Jem, who passes it around the gathering crowd.
“Holy shit, Cade. She’s beautiful,” Sarah says, peering over her sister’s shoulder at the gorgeous woman on my phone.
“That she is,” I concede. “It’s still new. She’s not from Kentucky. She… well, she lives in Canada. We’re doing a long distance thing for now.”
