“That has my cell on it. Call me and let me know when you’re heading over, all right?”
The card had “Tyler Parker: Parker’s Sporting Goods” printed on its face. Out of nowhere, my mind added up two and two. “Your dad owned the sporting good shop on First?”
He laughed as if I was telling a joke. “Well, yeah, you didn’t know that?”
I put the card away. “I mean, yeah, just forgot. It’s been awhile.”
He gave me that three-second stare again and then laughed. “Okay! Well, awesome. Thanks for this, Matt. I owe you one. Uh, I’m going to go pay for these,” he said, holding up a handful of movies. I could see from the spines they were two animated movies and the latest sci-fi thriller.
“Those are great movies!” I exclaimed.
He looked down and nodded. “Yeah, I saw them in the theater, just never got around to picking them up on DVD.” He looked up and asked earnestly. “You sure this isn’t a problem?”
“Nah,” I said, trying not to imagine the different ways he could repay me. “It’s Christmas, after all.”
“Tomorrow, then?” We shook hands again, maybe holding on a little longer than was strictly necessary.
“Count on it,” I said, this time savoring the physical contact and really taking a second to soak in what I could see of him. Though I was a year younger than Tyler, he was in excellent shape, better than I was if I could tell by the button-up shirt and khakis he wore. He looked like a television model come to life. His teeth were perfect, and I could see a light dusting of freckles on his face that made me want to stare even more than I suddenly realized I was.
He smiled before he turned walked away, and I had to admit he was as hot going as he had been coming.
I was in a daze by the time I got home. I resisted the urge to drive by his house to somehow verify he had been telling the truth and that the past two hours hadn’t been the culmination of a decade-long joke where I get my heart broken at the end.
Instead, I drove sedately to my parent’s house, packed the new system into my brother’s trunk, and walked back into the house as if nothing had happened.
Things had calmed down some; the smaller kids had been put to bed, and my brothers and dad sat around the TV watching what looked like Terminator 2 while the older kids sat on the floor transfixed by the old-time special effects. My mother was at the dining room table with the wives. She got up as soon as she saw me. “You were gone awhile; I was worried,” she said, grabbing my hands. “Come sit with us.” She tried to pull me toward the table.
It was bad enough that I was treated like a stranger every year because I’d had the nerve to leave the town and stay gone, but for some reason, being consigned to the women’s table was just too much for me. “I’m fine, Mom. I think I’m going to wash up and get ready for bed.”
“Oh,” she said, trying to hide being upset. “Well, I wanted to talk to you about Frances’s son because—”
And something snapped.
“Look, Mom,” I said, trying to keep my voice down. “I am not alone. I am not lonely. I am not miserable, and I do not need my mother trying to hook me up with men on Christmas, okay?” She looked as if I had slapped her. “I just….” I tried to compose myself. “I just don’t want to talk about this with you, please.”
Her face hardened as she tried to hide the pain. “Well, fine,” she said, turning back to the table. “Fresh towels are in the closet,” she added. As if I hadn’t lived here for eighteen years. I looked around and saw that everyone was staring at me as if I had decided to defecate in the middle of the living room. They were clearly disgusted.
“I hate Christmas,” I said, taking the stairs two at a time and fleeing toward the shower.
Tyler
I RANG up the movies at Linda’s register. “So you’re a big cartoon lover now?” she said, scanning them in.
“Shut up,” I snarled at her,
The card had “Tyler Parker: Parker’s Sporting Goods” printed on its face. Out of nowhere, my mind added up two and two. “Your dad owned the sporting good shop on First?”
He laughed as if I was telling a joke. “Well, yeah, you didn’t know that?”
I put the card away. “I mean, yeah, just forgot. It’s been awhile.”
He gave me that three-second stare again and then laughed. “Okay! Well, awesome. Thanks for this, Matt. I owe you one. Uh, I’m going to go pay for these,” he said, holding up a handful of movies. I could see from the spines they were two animated movies and the latest sci-fi thriller.
“Those are great movies!” I exclaimed.
He looked down and nodded. “Yeah, I saw them in the theater, just never got around to picking them up on DVD.” He looked up and asked earnestly. “You sure this isn’t a problem?”
“Nah,” I said, trying not to imagine the different ways he could repay me. “It’s Christmas, after all.”
“Tomorrow, then?” We shook hands again, maybe holding on a little longer than was strictly necessary.
“Count on it,” I said, this time savoring the physical contact and really taking a second to soak in what I could see of him. Though I was a year younger than Tyler, he was in excellent shape, better than I was if I could tell by the button-up shirt and khakis he wore. He looked like a television model come to life. His teeth were perfect, and I could see a light dusting of freckles on his face that made me want to stare even more than I suddenly realized I was.
He smiled before he turned walked away, and I had to admit he was as hot going as he had been coming.
I was in a daze by the time I got home. I resisted the urge to drive by his house to somehow verify he had been telling the truth and that the past two hours hadn’t been the culmination of a decade-long joke where I get my heart broken at the end.
Instead, I drove sedately to my parent’s house, packed the new system into my brother’s trunk, and walked back into the house as if nothing had happened.
Things had calmed down some; the smaller kids had been put to bed, and my brothers and dad sat around the TV watching what looked like Terminator 2 while the older kids sat on the floor transfixed by the old-time special effects. My mother was at the dining room table with the wives. She got up as soon as she saw me. “You were gone awhile; I was worried,” she said, grabbing my hands. “Come sit with us.” She tried to pull me toward the table.
It was bad enough that I was treated like a stranger every year because I’d had the nerve to leave the town and stay gone, but for some reason, being consigned to the women’s table was just too much for me. “I’m fine, Mom. I think I’m going to wash up and get ready for bed.”
“Oh,” she said, trying to hide being upset. “Well, I wanted to talk to you about Frances’s son because—”
And something snapped.
“Look, Mom,” I said, trying to keep my voice down. “I am not alone. I am not lonely. I am not miserable, and I do not need my mother trying to hook me up with men on Christmas, okay?” She looked as if I had slapped her. “I just….” I tried to compose myself. “I just don’t want to talk about this with you, please.”
Her face hardened as she tried to hide the pain. “Well, fine,” she said, turning back to the table. “Fresh towels are in the closet,” she added. As if I hadn’t lived here for eighteen years. I looked around and saw that everyone was staring at me as if I had decided to defecate in the middle of the living room. They were clearly disgusted.
“I hate Christmas,” I said, taking the stairs two at a time and fleeing toward the shower.
Tyler
I RANG up the movies at Linda’s register. “So you’re a big cartoon lover now?” she said, scanning them in.
“Shut up,” I snarled at her,
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