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“Thanks,” Dani said, as she opened the car door, and I handed her the black and white polka-dot boots. She slipped them on, and I could tell she didn’t like any of this, but at least now she could step out of the car, which she did.
She threw me a tepid smile and took a few steps away from the driveway. Sarah did the same, and my family and I worked on shoveling the snow out from under their tires. Dad brought out the pickup and shoveled the rest of our long driveway. The house sat at the top of the hill, so once a car was stuck anywhere on that hill, like this one, there was no way to get it free without a massive effort.
Fifteen minutes later, after shoveling and brute force, the car was free, and the rest of the driveway cleared of snow.
Dani and Sarah were about to get back into the car, when Dani turned to me and said, “I’d like my… um… I’d like what I left in your room back, please.”
I went to pull them out of my pocket but then thought better of it. “You’ll have to ask Jonathan about that. I have no idea what you’re talking about. A woman named Shannon slept in my room last night, and from what I can gather, she only spoke to Jonathan.”
She stared at me for a moment, eyes blazing into mine, as if she were busy contemplating her response. She was even more beautiful in the daylight, especially after what we’d shared last night. I wanted to kiss her, hold her in my arms, and take her back inside so we could do what we did last night all over again. Only this time, we’d both be in my bed. No imagining anything. Instead, we’d have down and dirty sex for real this time.
For a moment, I thought she would tell me that she was done playing our little game and to hand over her panties. That I’d crossed a line this time, and she wanted no part of me.
Still, I didn’t budge.
I hardly even blinked.
Then a curious thing happened. She grinned. A wide, sinful grin that told me the game was back on. “I’ll see if Shannon is still available. If she is, I’ll let her know to contact Jonathan about her forgotten… item.”
I swung open the passenger door and held it for her. When she slid back into the seat, her coat opened, and her dress slid up her muscular thighs. Another inch, and she would’ve made my day and possibly my entire life. Unfortunately, she pulled her legs into the car before that glorious moment happened, then she slipped off the boots, and handed them to me.
I took them and reluctantly shut her door, tapped the hood, and stepped back.
Her window was still open, so I bent over and whispered, “You know you’re killing me, Shannon Brennicki.”
“Likewise, Jonathan Torrez,” she answered, as her window slid up, barring any further conversation.
They drove away then, and although there was a promise of continued contact with her, I couldn’t be sure, and it tore me up.
“Where’s she going? I made a nice anchovy, pineapple omelet just for your girl this morning,” my mother said, coming up behind us.
“Why’d you let her leave?” Frankie asked, while leaning on a shovel. “Ma outdid herself for breakfast. And who was her friend? I didn’t get a chance to meet her.”
Ted walked up. “It’s Christmas morning. Shouldn’t you and Dani be exchanging gifts, or better still, shouldn’t you be offering up an engagement ring? Why else did you bring her home?”
Frankie laughed, as I reached out for Ted, but he ducked away from my hands. My brothers and I had an ongoing great relationship, that we kept alive with our wicked humor and our unshakeable love for each other. We were all blessed to have that, and despite their ability to get under my skin, I knew they would walk through fire for me, and I’d do the same for them.
Still, we drove each other crazy.
None of us wore coats this morning, but we all wore our awful Christmas sweaters, of which we had many to choose from. Our mother kept giving them to us every year, along with Christmas socks. We had drawers full of them in various sizes from when we were growing up. Of course, our mother kept all of them, to give to our children… which weren’t born yet.
And if things kept going the way they were, she’d never get to see those tiny ugly Christmas sweaters anywhere but in our dresser drawers.
“She sure is a looker,” Uncle Louie said. “In my day, I would’ve never let her drive away on Christmas morning.”
“Why do I gotta live without a daughter-in-law and no grandkids when this girl is perfect for you?” my mother asked, as she stood out on the cleaned driveway, directing her rhetorical question right at me. “I’m cursed, that’s what I am. Cursed! I’m gonna die without any grandchildren. Then you’ll be sorry. You’ll all be sorry.”
Mom wore a red wool shawl around her shoulders, red pants, and a white blouse. My mother rarely wore a dress and rarely showed any skin, even in the dead of summer. A bare ankle or a forearm was a rarity, so I could only imagine what the conversation would be like now if she’d found Dani’s panties in my room, especially those panties which were just a scrap of sheer fabric.
“Everybody take a breath,” I ordered. “Frankie, Sarah already has a boyfriend, and if you worked more consistently in our restaurant, you’d know that.”
“Her boyfriend isn’t a problem,” Frankie said. “You know how I love a challenge.”
I ignored his insanity and turned to my other brother instead.
“Ted, I brought her home simply because I knew she would be alone on Christmas Eve. It was our first date… if you want to call it a date… which it wasn’t. Not technically. With that in mind, a proposal was probably too soon. Uncle Louie, I have no power to keep her here. And yes, damn straight she’s beautiful.”
Finally, I turned to my mother. “Ma, I can’t help it that none of your sons haven’t gotten married yet and given you grandchildren. But I’m sure one of us will… soon. That said, I would push off the whole dying thing for at least a couple more decades. You might want to see them grow up before you go dying on us. Just know, Ma, that all your sons would like nothing more than to be in a serious relationship and start families of our own… well, maybe not Frankie. He’s still in competition, but someday I’m sure he’ll want a woman of his own. Unfortunately, so far, none of us has found our perfect match, but who’s to say that sometime during this coming year, that might happen?”
