Page 3 of Ghost of Christmas Future
“Cookies!” Lizbet bolted off Cope’s lap and ran into the kitchen.
“Call us when it’s time to hang the ornaments.” Cope pressed a kiss to Jude’s cheek.
“I will.” Jude hugged his husband until Wolf came back into the living room struggling to carry the large plastic tote with the word LIGHTS written on the side in black Sharpie.
“Hey, great job, buddy!” Jude pulled the top off the tote and started pulling out tangled strings of lights. “Damn, guess we should have taken a bit more time putting these away last year, huh?”
“It’s okay, Daddy! We’ll figure it out together. I want to hear more about the case you were working in Vermont.”
“You do?” Jude asked.
Wolf nodded his shaggy head. “I wanna be a detective just like you when I grow up!”
Jude was overwhelmed by the adoring look in his son’s eyes. He’d never been much of a role model during his time living with Running Eagle and certainly not when he was fucking his way across the country. Wolf having this much faith in him was humbling. Clearing his throat, Jude offered Wolf a smile. “You’re not going to believe where we found the bad guy in Vermont…”
Over the years, Jude had imagined Wolf growing up to be a lot of things; a doctor, lawyer, paleontologist, an electrician. Never once had Jude stopped to consider his son would want to grow up to be just like his father. What an incredible feeling, one he would be sure to hold onto for the rest of his life.
2
Cope
As Cope measured out flour and sugar for the cookies with Lizbet, he couldn’t help but feel like a jerk for the way he’d described how much fun he’d had when Jude was out of town. His father, Buford, couldn’t have cared less what his wife and son thought of him, or if they’d had a good time without him. All that mattered to his father was money and what his wife spent it on. Jude was nothing like Cope’s father, but in the way he’d told the story, he made Jude feel like he was.
From the other room, Cope could hear animated chatter between father and son, but the words weren’t loud enough for him to make out, which suited him perfectly. Wolf and Jude deserved some time alone without Cope and Lizbet. While he measured out vanilla and peanut butter, his daughter played with the tablespoons of flour he’d dumped on her highchair tray. She loved to slap her palms into the white powder, making it fly up in the air. Most of it had settled over her blonde curls. There was a dusting on her nose and cheeks and her small hands were coated. Cope stopped mixing ingredients to take a few snaps of his daughter.
Cope was putting the first batch of cookies into the oven when Jude and Wolf came into the kitchen. “Have you got the lights and tinsel on the tree?”
“Yup!” Wolf crowed. “I sat on Daddy’s shoulders and he walked around the tree with me putting lights on the branches. Did you know Daddy is a genie?”
Cope laughed. He had a feeling Wolf meant genius, but wasn’t about to correct his son. Genies were magical and so was Jude. “Can I get my two Christmas elves something to drink?”
“I’ll have juice,” Wolf said.
“Ginger ale for me.” Jude opened the cellar door. “I’m gonna run down and grab the tubs of ornaments so that we’re ready to get started after we’re done with our snack.”
Grabbing a juice and a can of soda from the fridge, he set them on the table, where Wolf went to work trying to get his straw out of the plastic wrap and when he did, stabbed it into the pouch. “Dad, can we have sketti for supper tonight?”
To be honest, Cope hadn’t given any thought to dinner for that night. He’d assumed they’d just order take-out, but if his son wanted a home cooked meal, he was going to get one. “Sure thing. Do you want meatballs too?”
Wolf nodded his head. “And garlic bread.”
“Mee too!” Lizbet sang out from her seat.
Cope heard Jude’s heavy tread coming up the basement steps. He knew how much Jude loved it when Cope cooked for him. When he and the others had been in Vermont, they’d survived on sandwiches, fast food, and gas station hot dogs. The fact that all three had come homewithoutfood poisoning was a miracle.
“Can Aurora and Everly come too?” Wolf asked. “Aurora loves your cooking.”
“Let’s see if we have enough ingredients.” Cope pulled out the freezer drawer and saw a two pound package of meatloaf mix, his secret weapon for making the tastiest meatballs on the block. He was pulling out the frozen package to defrost when he heard a thump from the cellar stairs.
“Fuck!” Jude shouted as a box of ornaments bounced through the door landing with a thump on the kitchen floor, followed by Jude crying out in pain.
Cope rushed forward just in time to hear the sickening thud of something heavy falling down the stairs. “Jude!” Cope stared in horror as Jude’s body landed, looking lifeless, on the cellar floor. “Jude, are you okay?” Cope shouted. His husband did not move or make a sound.
“Daddy!” Wolf shouted, running to the top of the stairs.
“What do we do?” Cope asked, feeling as dazed as he sounded.
“I’ll call 911. Go help Daddy!” Wolf thundered past Cope, who couldn’t seem to make his feet move down the stairs.
