Page 90 of Family Bonds: Carter & Avery

“What are Avery and Josie doing today?” Carter’s mother asked him when he walked in the door on Thanksgiving.

He was surprised it’d taken this long for his mother to bring it up. More so since she saw him a few times a week at the shop.

But this week his mother was only there on Monday and then off the past two days getting ready for the holiday dinner.

She’d be baking pies and cookies, more turkey and sides than they could all eat and then she’d send them home with leftovers and the desserts would go to the garage on Friday and Saturday for the guys working.

“They went back to Danbury on Wednesday afternoon. She’s staying with her mother.”

“Oh,” his mother said. “I was hoping they would have come with you today.”

“I wouldn’t have done that without asking you,” he said.

His mother waved her hand. “I wouldn’t have cared. The more the merrier. Even your dogs are here today.”

“I appreciate them being able to come and the cats staying upstairs.”

“The cats want to be upstairs. I don’t have to put them there,” his mother said.

“I know,” he said. “Dopey leaves them alone.”

“Doc doesn’t know any better,” his father said. “I find it funny.”

“You would,” his mother said to his father. “How long is Avery staying at her mother’s?”

“She’s leaving early on Sunday. She said she hopes to be home around noon if she can get on the ferry by eleven. That’s the plan anyway.”

Which meant leaving no later than eight to give her enough time if she was caught in traffic. And Boston traffic was sure to happen. He’d warned her too when he talked to her last night. She’d laughed and said she realized that when she was leaving Boston to get on the road too.

“You didn’t want to go with her?” his mother asked him.

“I’m working tomorrow and Saturday. I’m swamped and you know it.”

“You can take some time off,” his mother said.

“I can and I do when I can plan ahead. Something like being closed or off a few days like this has to be scheduled and I didn’t. There are a lot of people with Friday off and they scheduled work on their cars that day weeks ago.”

“Your mother knows that,” his father said. “But she’s being nosy. Vanessa, leave your son alone.”

“Do I get left alone too?” Grayson asked, walking in the door.

“No,” his mother said. “Now that you are here and you talk more, you can tell me what is going on in your life.”

“Not much,” Grayson said. “Why is the extra table out?”

“Because your Aunt Alice and Uncle Bill are coming with Mac, Sidney and the baby. Jarrett is working and Alex went to Penelope’s with Jennie but said they’d stop over later for dessert.”

Carter did know his aunt and uncle were coming, but not anyone else. He supposed those were last minute things that happened and he never asked or cared that much.

“You’d know those things if you talked to Mom more,” Carter said to bust his brother’s ass.

“I talk to Mom more than you if you count the words in a month.”

His mother laughed, his father coughed in his hand. There was no disputing that so he wouldn’t try.

“I’ve got the snacks,” Natalie said, coming in the door. “You two can go get the rest in my car.”

He didn’t say anything, only turned to do as he was told, but Grayson asked, “Why do we have to do it? You’re the one that makes too much.”

---