Chapter 2: Christmas

Since Knut would have s ‘Becca for most of the Christmas holiday, Candice would have her for Christmas Eve. Friday, after ‘Becca was in bed, he called up Sarah. Maybe he could get her to laugh again.

“This is your neighborhood sexual deviant,” he said when she answered. “Please hold on for the heavy breathing.” He doubted whether his heavy breathing sounded like a real sexual deviant’s. Truth to tell, he hoped she didn’t think that it did.

“I think I prefer the businessman,” she said. She was enjoying this, but it didn’t evoke her laugh.

“Some people are never satisfied. Anyway, I know that this comes as a complete surprise and that it is only four days away, but could I persuade you to have supper with me on Christmas Eve?”

“That would be sweet. Of course, it’s such a surprise that I’ll have to check my date book. Let’s see. The twenty-fourth is free.”

“But you haven’t said yes,” he prompted.

“Yes.”

“See, that was easy. You should practice that word more. But on a slightly more serious note...”

“Yes,” she said. That one word hardened him.

“I’m entitled to one phone call to thank you for the previous date and another one to ask you on a future date. On the other hand, if you wouldn’t mind my calling without a purpose, then we could take care of the date-setting earlier.”

“That would be fine. I enjoy these calls, too. But you are a parent and understand...”

“Tell me when you’re busy,” he said. “I’ll understand.”

“And Billy and I are going to Milwaukee for almost the entire Christmas vacation. We’re visiting my parents.”

“Ouch! Well if it has to be, the end of the year is the best time. Sorry. You’ll be having a fine time; Billy will be with his grandparents for Christmas; and all I thought about was myself.”

“That’s okay,” she said.

“Another thing,” he prompted.

“What?”

“That’s for you to answer. In our last conversation, you started to say that there was another thing. Then you stopped.”

“That was just my anger showing.”

“We’ve covered that, Sarah. You were pissed at the world. Under those circumstances, the annoying thing which I had done was terribly annoying. But I don’t want to annoy you slightly.” This was going astray.

“That doesn’t sound right. I don’t want to annoy you to any degree, however slight. Tell me. Maybe I can do something about it; maybe I can’t. But you are doing me no favor by hiding your reaction.”

“Well, it’s just that what Billy deserves is a couple of parents who have the same rules for him, who agree beforehand. Instead, he has two parents who enforce different sets of rules. Fred is supposed to support my rules, I think...”

“But there is no way for you to make him,” he said. “I’m in sort of that situation, myself. It’s probably inevitable in our situation.”

“Even when the parents are still married, the two sets of rules aren’t exactly identical,” she said. “But what Billy doesn’t need. What Billy needs not to have...”

“Is a third set of rules,” he finished for her. “I can see that. I’ll try to follow your lead.”

“I’m perfectly willing to sit in the back seat of the car. It costs you nothing. Unlike the sweet and sour shrimp.”

“Well,” he said, “that is not correct. See my side for a second. Rebecca sits in the back seat when we have guests. She sits back there because adults need the legroom more than kids do. Maybe I should have told her that hosts give the best seat to guests. But what I did tell her was that adults need more legroom. Like I told Billy, it’s a rule of that car. So is seat belts.”

“Seat belts are completely all right. Well, you said that you might not do anything about it.”

“And I’ll try on the other rules. It’s just that, when we do agree ... And I do want to be able to have the kids around at the same time.”

“Anyway, I appreciate your trying,” she said.

It was the tax-season rush, and he had stayed home with ‘Becca most of the weekend. He put in a full day at the office on the 24th, eating at his desk. He wasn’t done, but he needed to leave; the weather outside looked awful. He called Sarah. “This is Sarah Jenkins,” she answered, probably having expected him.

“Well, this isn’t. Look, I’ll leave in five minutes or so. I should be there by six, but I can’t guarantee it in this weather.”

“By six? Where are you?” she asked,

“I’m at the office.”

“On Christmas eve?”

“This is the business rush. Then we have another rush for individual clients in April. I stayed home most of the weekend. Anyway, I may be late;, and I’m sorry.”

“No need to be sorry. I won’t put my coat on until you ring.” It wasn’t that much later when he rang, and she came down almost immediately in a pretty coat.

“Is Middle -Eastern cooking all right?” he asked in the car.

“I haven’t had much of it?”

“Do you feel like experimentation? Or would you prefer something more familiar?”

“Let’s live dangerously.” His kind of woman.

“I’m having some wine,” he said in the restaurant after she’d ordered. “Do you want anything to drink?” She took a glass of rose’.

It being Christmas Eve, the conversation was of Christmas -- today and in the past.

“Some of my friends had one present on Christmas Eve,” Sarah said, “some all of their presents. My parents would never let me open the presents before the morning of Christmas day. But the first Christmas after we were married, I persuaded Fred to open them on Christmas Eve. I had always hated to wait. Now, it’ll be the evening of Christmas day;, and Billy won’t care.”

Sarah’s wine glass was empty, and he called the waitress over to order another. But she might take that as controlling. Damn it! If he were really in control, this evening would end up in her bed. But he asked if she wanted more wine. She accepted another glass.

“Shedding needles just isn’t part of my picture of Christmas,” Sarah said in defense of artificial trees.

These were as foreign to his experience as to his taste. “I didn’t care if it was scraggly, but the Christmas tree had to be taller than I was. That was fine when I was Rebecca’s age. It got to be fairly restrictive by the time I was fifteen or so. Rebecca gets insistent on crazy details, and I say, ‘Why me, Lord?’ Then I think back. I know why it is happening to me; she’s my daughter.”

“And your tree this year?” Sarah asked. He restrained himself from inviting her to see it.

“It’s not quite as tall as I am. But it’s full; Rebecca insists on full. Maybe we have a little less to spend on presents, but I don’t quite put it to her that way.”

“Billy will come home loaded with presents from his father,” Sarah said.

“Candice tried to make that a contest, too.” he responded. “I let her win. You know Billy better than he does; you know what he’ll remember in six months.”

“Yeah! I know what he wants, but what he needs is clothes. He’s growing so fast. And my support check will be real late in January.”

“Ouch! And you are only paid when you sub.”

“Friday is the only day on my next paycheck. Well, the next one would come tomorrow if it weren’t for Christmas. The one after next.”

“At least he warned you.”

“The hell he did. It’s just that the check’s almost always late, and later when he has major expenses, like splurging on Billy’s Christmas...

“I shouldn’t have had that wine,” she concluded.

“Why not?” he asked. He wanted to be her confidant. Well, he wanted to be her confidant, as well. “You can’t tell Billy; he deserves to have a good image of his father, whatever his father deserves. You have to talk to somebody, and I won’t quote you.”

“And I keep telling myself that he can be a perfectly good father, whatever his faults as a husband.”

“Some faults as a husband, sure. But the payments are for support of his son. Sorry! That’s rather a sore point with me. Although I will admit that Candice is responsible on finances. Still, it galls when ‘Becca sees one of my faults as a parent as that I don’t provide what a traditional mother would.”

“You seem an exemplary parent to me.”

“You’re not a sixth-grader.” He pointed out. “I think kids’ highest ranking for parents is ‘barely adequate.’ And Rebecca seldom accords me that.

“Well, enough of parenting,” he changed the subject. “Are you enjoying the food?”

“Very much.”

Sarah turned down a last cup of coffee. When they got to her apartment, however, she asked, “Do you want some coffee?” Well, he certainly didn’t want this evening to end. He followed her in. When she dumped her coat and went to the kitchen to fix the coffee, he hung his coat and hers in the closet. She set the cups down on end tables. Did she really want them to sit on the opposite ends of the couch? But she sat far enough towards the middle of the couch so that her cup was a stretch when she picked it up. Now, that looked like an invitation to him.

He sat close to her, not touching, but close. The couch had a nice, wide, back;, and he threw his arm over that back around her but not touching her.

“I’m glad we experimented,” Sarah said. “That food was good.”

“Yes. But there was a moment there when I was sorry that I hadn’t taken you to a place where they use chopsticks. I could have given you another lesson.”

“I thought I’d done a creditable job.”

“Sure,” he agreed, “but the people in the restaurant wouldn’t have known that. If I’d taken your hands to show you how to hold a knife and fork, however, they might have guessed my motives.” He took her hand in his. “Lovely hand.” He kissed the back of her hand. “Lovely fingers.” He kissed them.

He tugged her to him, suggestively, not forcefully. When she came into his arms, he kissed her. He kept his mouth closed at first, but -- when he licked her lips -- she allowed his tongue between them. He warned himself not to grab her lovely breasts. Instead, he moved his hand along her torso towards his goal. She’d been warned, and she didn’t stop him!

The feel was as soft and firm as he knew it would be, even through blouse and bra. His right hand took one breast, and his left hand took the other. Meanwhile, he kissed her face and neck and ear. He wished he could dare to unbutton that blouse and remove that bra. The breasts would feel smooth, except for their bumpy tips. And they would taste delicious, even better than her ears. But he contented himself with what he could get.