Chapter 22

After putting away the clothes, Mom headed back downstairs and I decided to change into a sweater to go with the pajama pants rather than stay in the robe. I went down after that.

In the living room, Alyssa hung another ornament and then clapped. “Other than the top, we’re done with the tree.” Alyssa and Mom turned as one to look at me.

Well, I did pick an eight-foot tree, and I was the tallest. Therefore, it would be up to me to place the topper. I went to the utility room, found the stepladder, and returned to the living room. Unfortunately, due to the width of the lowest branches of the tree, I still couldn’t reach to place the topper.

Mom ran to the kitchen and came back with tongs meant for an outdoor grill. They were a foot and a half long.

I took them, gripped the topper, which was an angel with a large ring behind it representing a halo, and held it out over the top of the tree. It fit perfectly over that tiny, vertical standing branch.

After the stepladder and tongs were returned to their respective storage places, the three of us stood in the living room for a moment, simply taking in the spectacle. Then Mom pulled out her phone and we took turns taking pictures of each other in front of the tree.

Having learned how to take timed pictures with my own phone, I retrieved it from the kitchen and set it up to take a picture of all three of us with the tree. We had to try that several times before getting it right since I didn’t have a tripod to stand the phone on.

I noticed that I had new messages on my phone, so while Mom and Alyssa sent copies of pictures to Faith and other friends, I stepped into the foyer to call Jordan again.

“I was beginning to wonder if you were going to really call tonight,” she said by way of answering her phone.

I smiled and sat on the stairs. “I’m fine, and how are you?”

“Annoyed. Ms. Kulick just left. She says she’s found several possible places for you to live, and none of them are in the apartment complex.”

“I knew the complex was almost full, plus the owners might not want to rent to me again after that fire.”

“But that wasn’t your fault,” she said.

“I know that, but the way they’ll see it is trouble came looking for me. They won’t want more trouble looking for me on their property.”

She sighed in frustration. “I saw the weather reports for the Eastern Seaboard. You’re in for a lot of snow tonight.”

I nodded and said, “I’m looking at it now. We have almost three feet on the back porch. I’m not going to enjoy my chores in the morning.”

“Why?”

“You’ve lived in Texas all your life,” I said. “You’ve never had to shovel snow.”

“Okay.”

“Think about being out in a giant sand box, and you have to make a path from one end to the other. You shovel sand out where you start, and you shovel and shovel. For each scoop of sand you move, half of it is replaced by the sand next to it.”

“I thought snow was lighter and stuck better than sand.”

“It is and it does, but you get the idea. It’s not as simple as sweeping your floor or shoveling some sand into a wheelbarrow to dump somewhere else. You keep shoveling for twenty to forty feet, to have a clear path between the house and your cars. And then there’s clearing the path for your cars on the driveway, especially if they’re not SUVs.”

“Jeeze, my back’s aching just thinking about it,” she said. “Why not use magic?”

“To make the job easier, sure, but I can’t do anything overt. Mom and Alyssa don’t know. They’re not allowed to know.”

“You told Faith,” she said.

I knew that would bite me in the butt. “Yes, but even she hasn’t told Alyssa, and they talk about everything.”

“No? Really? What everything?”

“Well, Faith pretty much told Alyssa that I was sleeping with all the women around me.”

“Well, you are.”

“That’s not the point. You’ve seen how Faith gets around me.”

“Yeah, the steaming thigh-sweats. Her nipples could poke holes through titanium.”

“Yeah, well, she’s told Alyssa just enough that Alyssa is curious too.”

“No,” Jordan said with a chuckle. “She’s not drooling over you already, is she?”

“Well, there was an incident earlier tonight.” I told her about the hot bath.

Jordan laughed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh, but you have got to admit, it is a little funny.”

“Very little.”

“So, what’s she doing now?”

“Well, we just finished decorating the Christmas tree and taking pictures of it. Here, let me send you what I have.” I sent media texts to Jordan’s phone.

“Oh, wow! I see what you mean!”

“What?”

“Damn, your stepmom and sister are so much like Faith, it’s unreal.”

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“And where did you find the sweater and pajama pants?”

“My dad left them when he disappeared.”

“Oh, cool. I guess.”

“I was glad he did. I needed the clothes.” Then I thought about the box I found in the dresser. “I also found out a secret Mom and Dad shared.” I told her what happened and my suspicions.

“Oh, you’d have to talk to Lady Brighid to be sure. I mean, you know I like a slap and tickle, but changing personalities when you put on a collar? That’s beyond me.”

“More than that, she offered me the leash to use on her. It was like she didn’t even recognize me as her son. Plus she’s been hugging me in funny ways.” I told her about those hugs too. “I don’t know, but it seems like she’s seeing me as a replacement for Dad without actually saying it.”

“Seth, I understand that this is the woman who raised you, and that you see her as your mother more than your biological mother ever was, but if she keeps pushing, you may have to fill that role for her. You may have to replace your father in your mother’s bed.”

I shook my head and said, “I’ll have to play that by ear.”

“No, listen to your heart, and your cock. He does have some say in it too.”

“Oh, well then it’s already half-decided.”

“Did you get a big hard on for Mommy?” she asked in a little girl voice.

“That’s not funny.”

“No, but what you need to ask is, what will she do if she doesn’t get what she needs?”

“I tried to ask her that after I put the collar away. She simply said that she had to make some changes after Dad disappeared.”

“She said that about her job, about making breakfast, and about getting what she needs in the bedroom,” she summed up. “It makes me wonder what she didn’t change.”

I nodded. “Well, so far it seems she’s kept the house, and that’s all.”

“Well, you know what my suggestions are going to be regarding both of them. If you want another opinion, you’ll need to talk to someone else.”

“But I still value your opinion most,” I said.

“You better,” she said. “I’m going to hang up now because Rachel and Steve aren’t waiting for me.”

“Steve?” I asked.

“A Fonte try-out,” she said. “I like to find out what my lovers are like before forging bonds with them.”

“That’s not what you taught me,” I said.

“No, but then Danielle and I needed you to find new Fonti quickly.”

“Okay, well, have fun, and let the others know I’m thinking about them.”

“I will,” she said. “Talk to you tomorrow.” Then she hung up.

I returned to the living room. Alyssa and Mom had turned off all the lights except for the tree. Between that and the fire in the fireplace, the light was very relaxing, very comfortable, and very intimate.

Mom pulled out a movie from the shelves next to the fire. She opened the DVD player, and pushed the disc in. Alyssa was already sitting at one end of the couch. Mom, with a remote in hand, sat at the other end with a folded blanket. She patted the space between the two of them and said, “Sit here, Seth. Watch a movie with us.”

I looked from one to the other. I didn’t think either of them would try anything while the other sat so close by, but then, I had too many incidents floating around in my head where similar things turned into hours of grunting, groaning, and ‘gasming. Jordan’s words, not mine. This was my mother and sister, not my Fonti. No, nothing would happen.

And if you believed that, then I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.

I sat down between them, and mom unfolded the blanket for all of us to share. She pointed the remote at the DVD player, and the big flat-screen TV mounted above the mantle of the fireplace lit up. Speakers mounted all around the living room made the sound of the opening bell toll more resonant than what the original movie probably produced. We were watching, It’s A Wonderful Life in the original black and white format.

I’ve never had an issue sitting in the middle of a couch with my girls. It allowed me to be close to the two who sat with me. Normally, we would all simply sit and cuddle while watching TV or a DVD, but tonight, Mom leaned against her arm of the couch, Alyssa leaned against her arm of the couch, and I felt like an island sitting in an ocean all alone.

I don’t usually end up watching a whole movie in one sitting. Things happen. Tonight though, I was certain I would get to see this from beginning to end.