Second Down
Copyright© 2025 by Lumpy
Chapter 40
The next week flew by and before I knew it, it was Christmas morning and I was waking up to the sound of muffled voices downstairs. I loved Christmas and was excited, although a lot of that was tempered by how things had been around the house since Thanksgiving.
Mom and Dad had started talking to each other again, but everything had been tense. The worst part was that there was nothing I could do about it. Except for that first night when Dad had slept in the guest room, they hadn’t been sleeping in separate rooms, so I guess it could have been worse.
But it made everything at home a little more muted, made worse by the fact that Joshua acted like he’d won, instead of being the cause of all the strife in our family.
Still, it was Christmas, so hopefully today, everyone would decide to be on their best behavior and get along.
As I made my way downstairs, I could smell the canned cinnamon rolls Dad had bought a few days ago mixed with the scent of pine from the Christmas tree.
A big step up from our normal plastic Christmas tree that stayed in the attic for the first time in my life. Dad had gone all out with the decorations this year, probably trying to compensate for how everything else was going around the house.
When I got to the living room door, I paused, trying to just take in and enjoy the moment. The tree was lit up and there was a serious pile of presents under it.
Mom was curled up on the couch, clutching a steaming mug that gave off a pungent odor. One of her herbal concoctions that she’d been drinking more and more. She looked pale, squinting at the twinkling lights as if they hurt her eyes.
“Merry Christmas, Mom,” I said as I walked into the room.
I had been overcompensating a little over the last month. Mom still sided with Josh way more than was fair, but I’d hoped that maybe I could do something to ease the tension around here.
It hadn’t worked so far, but I kept trying.
“Merry Christmas,” she said, her voice strained.
Dad emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray of cinnamon rolls.
“Last one up as always.”
“Not the last one. Josh isn’t here.”
“He went up to his room for a second.”
Like the demon he was, Josh appeared, summoned by his name, bounding down the stairs, nearly knocking me over in his rush to get to the presents.
“See, he’s up. Can we open them now? Please?”
“Hold your horses. Let’s all get settled first.”
Dad put the rolls on the coffee table and started handing out presents, one at a time, just like he always did while Josh and I ate our rolls. Once they were all handed out, we began to tear into them.
Josh was, for once, acting like a normal kid instead of a psychopath as he revealed a brand new Super Nintendo, along with some games, clothes, and a remote-controlled car from me.
“Heather, this one’s for you,” Dad said, handing Mom a small box after she had already opened some dresses, books, and perfume I’d picked out for her out of the small amount of gambling money I’d had Dad hold back for presents, but clearly this was a special present he’d saved for her.
She opened it slowly, revealing a delicate necklace. I didn’t know much about jewelry, but it looked pretty expensive. For a moment, her face softened, and she looked up at Dad with a hint of a smile. But just as quickly, her expression soured again. She set the necklace box aside without a word.
Dad was clearly annoyed by her response, but he shifted back into happy Christmas mode, I guess not wanting to ruin it for us. He got golf clubs, a sweater, and a cookbook from me, part joke and part necessity since he’d been doing most of the cooking lately.
I was pretty happy with my presents. Some new running shoes, which would help with the running Coach Greer had me doing in my free time to build stamina, a pretty hefty gift certificate for clothes, and a Discman, which I’d asked for so that I would have something to listen to on long bus rides to games.
About when the last present was opened, Mom stood up shakily and said, “I think I need to lie down for a bit. Enjoy your presents.”
Dad and I both looked at each other worried, but Josh seemed not to even notice.
“Can I hook up my Nintendo now?”
Dad frowned but said, “Sure. I’ll help you set it up.”
As they busied themselves with the new game system, I started gathering up the discarded wrapping paper and hauled it all to the outside garbage can before grabbing my stuff and taking it up to my room. I wanted it all locked away while Josh was excited and focused on his game rather than being a pain in the ass.
When I made it back downstairs, Dad was in the kitchen, cleaning up dishes while Josh was loudly playing his games in the other room. I leaned against the counter, watching him work.
“That was quite the Christmas haul this year,” I said, trying to keep my tone casual. “You really went all out.”
Dad glanced over his shoulder and said, “Well, we have you to thank for that. Your latest round of bets paid off big time.”
“Yeah? How big are we talking?”