Page 34 of Wintering with George

“Frederick?” I teased him.

He just shook his head. “I know. That’s the worst too. And my uncle Fred is kind of a jerk too. He calls me champ all the time.”

“That’s nice, though, isn’t it?” I asked, trying to stop laughing.

“No. It’s lame.”

“I had no idea you hated caroling,” Thomasin told him, then looked at her husband. “Did you know?”

I saw him grimace, clear as day.

“You hate it too?”

“Hate is a strong word.”

They were killing me.

“What word would you use?” she asked him sharply.

He thought a moment. “Dislike intensely.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Brad, why didn’t you just tell me?”

“Because it makes you happy,” he said simply.

Her eyes filled suddenly, and I was reminded that she was overwrought. I dealt with life and death a lot. Most people did not. It was more than most could handle.

“You have to be honest with me,” she ordered her husband, then looked around the room. “All of you have to tell me when you hate things.”

“I don’t think I can say anything at the moment,” Brad confessed. “Not after everything I’ve done.”

She shook her head. “No. You explained everything last night. I know what happened, and let’s be honest, I knew things weren’t working out and that the houses weren’t selling as I’d hoped. I was fairly certain we were overextended, and I didn’t ask how you were taking care of that. I just let it go on.”

“It’s not your⁠—”

“The whole ignorance-is-bliss doesn’t fly,” she apprised him. “It’s not fair. I don’t get to blame you and take no responsibility.”

He wiped at his cheeks, and she got up, walked over to him, and put her hands gently on his chest.

“Look at me.”

When he did, I noted how red his eyes were.

“We’re going to get through this, and things are going to change when we get home. I don’t know what we’ll have to do, but we’ll be together, and that’s all that matters.”

Brad grabbed his wife and crushed her to him, which she liked if the smiling through the gush of tears was any indication. She really loved him, and he felt the same, and that was nice to see. A weaker couple would not have made it, but I had all the faith in Brad and Thomasin.

“I don’t care if we hafta move,” Toby chimed in, and both his parents turned to look at him. “I liked the old house better anyway.”

“You did?” Thomasin asked him, wiping at her eyes.

“Yeah. It was better.”

“It was way better,” Dennis echoed his brother. “If we get a smaller house, can we get a dog? Gran says our house is too big and that’s why we can’t have any animals because Mom is more interested in keeping up appearances than giving us a normal home.”

“What?” Brad asked him, looking horrified.

“Gran said Mom actually hates Uncle Kurt’s dogs because they might make a mess in her perfect house,” Toby explained.