Page 2 of Once Upon a December
It took a couple more minutes and at least two verses of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is You, before Felix rounded the final corner on the residential street and saw the big dead end circle that formed the cul-de-sac he’d been looking for. He turned the music down and frowned as he glanced around the large lots with equally large yards and homes. There were only four houses on the cul-de-sac and despite the fact he knew the gray brick home on the right side of the street belonged to his parents, it looked unfamiliar and barren.
There wasn’t a single decoration in sight.
“What the hell?” Felix muttered to himself as he pulled up at the curb.
He didn’t understand. The whole family had helped set up decorations after Thanksgiving. They’d done it together like they always did. He’d helped his father hang twinkling lights from the rafters on the large front porch. His sisters had helped their mother put out large wrapped boxes that looked like Christmas presents and a full set of metal reindeer and sled that lit up in the dark. When he’d left that evening the new house had been merry and bright but now, just two short days later, every trace of festivity had been erased. It was as bland as all the rest of the homes he’d passed while circling the housing edition.
Felix killed the engine on the Prius and stepped out of the car at the same time the front door of the house opened. His youngest sister came racing towards him and he opened his arms, catching her easily. Being only four years older than him, Michelle was the closest to him in age even if in stature her tiny five foot three frame made her seem more like a teenager than a woman in her early thirties. She squealed as he hugged her and when their older sisters came out they instantly teased her for her outgoing antics. He dropped Michelle to the ground and ruffled her hair.
A moment later he was embraced by Valerie; who kissed both his cheeks and reminded him that he needed to eat more lest he wither away. He only rolled his eyes. His sisters were all full-figured even if they were petite. He was the same. Average height and broad shouldered, he’d been called stocky more times than he could count. He was no slimmer than them, just built different because he wasn’t female, but there was no telling that to Val who was always urging him to put more meat on his bones.
Roxanne was the oldest and as such she waited her turn to embrace her brother. She smacked his hand away when he tried to touch her rounded belly first and he laughed, knowing from experience that she hated people touching her stomach when she was pregnant as if they had some sort of right to her body. This was baby number three and from the sound of the commotion inside the house nephews one and two were being corralled by the other adults.
Though he couldn’t wait to get inside and see the rest of his family, Felix tugged Roxanne back as the others chattered and headed back inside the house.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“What do I mean?” Felix motioned around the yard, “What happened to all the decorations?”
“Oh. That.” Roxanne sighed, one hand going to her belly.
“Yeah, that. What happened? Where is everything?”
“In the garage I think.” Roxanne held up a hand when he started to open his mouth again, “Turns out there’s some sort of rule in the neighborhood about decorations. Mama and Dad didn’t know since they’re new here and all but a couple days after we put it up their neighbor came over and threw a huge fit. He yelled at Mama to take it all down, immediately, or he’d have a crew come and toss it in the garbage.”
“What?” Felix gaped, “He yelled at Mama?”
“Mhmm.”
“And Dad didn’t beat his ass?”
“Dad wasn’t here. He was out of town handling the last of the paperwork selling the old house. By the time he got back, Mama had taken it all down by herself.”
“By herself?” Felix scowled, “She took down those lights by herself? She could have fallen and broken something. She could have…”
Roxanne put her hand back up, “Trust me, I know and I let her hear it but Fe… she was so upset. I couldn’t be mad at her.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” He demanded, his irritation continuing to grow.
“What were you going to do, huh? The decorations were already down. Mama was upset enough. There was nothing you could have done,hermanito.”
“I could have been here. I could have told that neighbor that if he ever spoke to my mother like that again, I’d cut his balls off.” He paused, “It was a he, yeah?”
“Yeah, it was a he and apparentlyhehas a lot of clout in this neighborhood.” Roxanne pursed her lips and dropped her voice, “Come on now, let’s go inside. No reason to give that particular neighbor any more of a reason to single us out for his ire.”
Felix frowned and then turned around to see what Roxanne was carefully avoiding looking at. Across the street at the biggest house on the block, a man had just come out the front door. He was wearing a stiff gray suit and carrying a large briefcase despite the fact it was a Saturday. Something beeped nearby and Felix noticed the black Audi sitting in the driveway for the first time.
“That’s the asshole that yelled at mama?”
“Yeah.” Roxanne nodded, her voice still quiet, “Now come on. Let’s go inside. We can talk…”
“No.” Felix stepped away from his sister when she tried to grab his arm. “I think the person I need to talk to is right over there.”
“Fe!” Roxanne raised her voice in an obvious warning. “It’s almost Christmas. Let it go.”
“That’s the same asshole that honked at me, Rox. I might’ve let his rude behavior go if it was just that, but yelling at Mama? Making her feel like shit for not knowing a rule she couldn’t possibly know? I can’t let it stand. I won’t.”
