Chapter 3: Christmas Eve

Thomas spent a couple of hours on Christmas Eve morning in his office doing a final end-of-year check on his investments. Overall, he was quite impressed with the performance of his portfolio. Of course, he knew what stocks to target, but even knowing what was going to do well, he was surprised at how well they were doing at the end of the year. He started to plan on how much he would sell off in order to buy into the internet stalwarts that were going to become available in the next few years.

After making notes on his stocks, Thomas opened a smaller folder. When he hit five million in total worth, Thomas created a shell corporation. He then hired a retired accountant to be his CEO. Only the accountant knew Thomas’s real identify. Through this front Thomas invested in local real estate and businesses. His two Starbucks and three Subway restaurants were cash cows that were bringing in a lot of money. His CEO thought he should continue to expand but Thomas was more inclined to take a slower, more cautious route.

Satisfied that he had a good grasp of his financial landscape, Thomas locked his paperwork back in his safe and went downstairs to find Denise at the stove. She had just dropped bread into a pan and had cheese and two more slices of bread nearby to make grilled cheese sandwiches.

“Good timing,” she said. “I thought we would have a light lunch before going to your mom’s house in a few hours.”

Thomas washed his hands, set the table, and then made drinks while Denise finished with the grilled cheese. As they ate they once again about what to expect at the first big Christmas Even dinner. It was all conjecture, and they usually went to an extreme, but it was fun to imagine various outrageous scenarios.

At 3:30 Thomas took the bag of gifts they put by the back door out to Denise’s car. He came back to pick up the wine that Denise had packed into a carrying box.

Before Thomas could ask, Denise said, “I know your mom said not to bring anything, but we cannot go without something. I thought about baking cookies but did not have time. Plus, the wine, if not drunk tonight, will definitely get drunk at some point.”

Thomas nodded and carried the box out to the car. He used the bag of gifts to hold the wine in place in the trunk.

They arrived at Sandy and Eddie’s house a few minutes before four. Even though it was mostly light out, Eddie had turned on the Christmas decorations in the yard and on the house. He easily had five thousand lights strung. The eaves and roof line were trimmed in large, bright white lights, while blue lights circled most of the small trees in the front yard. The centerpiece was a huge, well-lit, animated, Santa sleigh with all the reindeer in the center of the yard.

Inside the house they were immediately greeted with the smells of dinner. Eddie didn’t ask but handed them each an egg nog when they entered the kitchen.

“Merry Christmas!” he cried out jovially “Ho, ho, ho!”

Sandy shushed them out of the kitchen and urged them to sit in the living room until dinner was ready. Even though Denise tried to stay and help, she was encouraged to go sit with Eddie and Thomas.

Tammy entered a few minutes later. She had a guy behind her who looked vaguely familiar. He seemed a bit disheveled as if meeting the family was a bit unnerving. Thomas leaned to Denise and whispered, “Is that the same guy she had at the Halloween party?”

Denise nodded that it was the same person. They stood to greet Tammy and her boyfriend. Denise then realized he was not nervous to meet anyone.

“Skyler, this is my brother, Thomas, and his girlfriend, Denise. They live in our old house.”

Skyler shook Thomas’s hand and leaned over for a brief hug with Denise.

“Nice to meet you, again” he said to Thomas. “I was at the Halloween party but we didn’t really talk.”

Denise gave Tammy a hug and whispered, “Getting a little Christmas Eve nookie before dinner?”

Tammy didn’t pause when she smiled and said a bit louder than expected, “Oh, no, not a little.”

The guys looked toward the giggling pair of Tammy and Denise with a questioning look. They were denied a response to the source of their laughter when the doorbell rang with Kimmi and Matt’s arrival.

Eddie appeared and passed out drinks to the new arrivals.

“Three minutes,” Eddie said. “Head to the dining room and take a seat.”

Everyone proceeded to the dining room and got seated. They found themselves behind heaping dishes of food covering all of the table.

“Mrs. Earnest, this looks fantastic! Thank you so much for inviting Matt and me,” said Kimmi.

“Please, call me Sandy. And how could we not have you over? Matt and Thomas have been like brothers for years. With both your families away for the holidays we couldn’t have you celebrate alone.”

That pretty much ended the small talk. The next twenty minutes were spent piling plates high with food and using mouths to eat and not talk. Eddie was the first to tap out.

“Oh, I am so stuffed,” he said as he pushed back from the table.

“I told you not to pick on the food as it was being prepared,” said Sandy. Every laughed at Eddie’s discomfort.

“He’s right, though,” said Denise. “Everything was wonderful. Thank you.”

Eddie took his wine glass and took a sip before he cleared his throat.

“If it is OK with everyone,” he started, “I’d like to do something I used to do with my mom and dad.”

There were nods around the table.

“Let’s go around the table and say what we are most thankful for during this holiday season.”

Denise was to Eddie’s left and the one he looked to first. She put her wine glass down and looked to Thomas. He nodded subtly.

“Sure,” said Denise. “I can start, and I will answer for both Thomas and myself. As many of you have noticed the past month or so, we have been under a lot of stress. I am happy to say that everything has been resolved and we cannot be more thankful.”

Thomas quickly added, “It has nothing to do with heath – Denise is not, nor was she, pregnant. I am healthy. Financially, everything is fine. School is good. It was just a bit of unknown that we had to deal with, and like Denise said, everything has been resolved and we are very grateful for how it all ended up.”

There were expectant looks but it was clear that neither Denise nor Thomas would offer any more information as to why they were so grateful.

Everyone at the table offered their own version of why they are thankful. When it got back to Eddie he raised his glass.

“For me, I am thankful for my beautiful bride and the family she brought to me. We have only been together a short time, but this feels so natural. I am truly blessed and incredibly grateful.”