The doorbell rings again. I jump up to get it, thrilled to avoid Peetsa’s question. Maybe Suchafox forgot something!
I’m only a bit disappointed to see it’s not Don, but our sons standing there.
“Hey! How did it go?” I ask as they charge in with full bags of candy.
“Great! The Gibsons were giving out whole chocolate bars and we went twice. They didn’t even notice.” They start to dump their candy out on the living room floor.
Ron comes in, helmet in hand, looking shell-shocked.
“They ran the whole time. I didn’t even let them have candy.”
“Come have some wine, babe.”
“No, thanks. I need a shower.”
He heads upstairs and Peetsa gives Zach a ten-minute warning.
“Wheels up in ten, kiddo. Do your trading and put your stuff back in your bag.”
“Okay!” Zach yells from six feet away.
Peetsa looks at me and frowns.
“What were we talking about?”
I grab the chance to change the subject.
“What do you really think of Miss Ward?”
“No, wait! P.E. laundry room…”
I wince. “Some other time, okay?”
She looks surprised. “Oh! Okay.”
“So, Miss Ward, what do you think?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. Zach loves her, that’s for sure.”
“So does Max! I just get a really weird feeling from her.”
“Well, you’d know. You spend the most time with her.”
“That’s just it. You’d think I would, because of the class mom thing. But honestly, I never see her and she told me at the beginning of the year that she doesn’t want me bothering her with”—I make finger quotes—“class-related stuff.”
Peetsa’s eyes pop.
“She said that?”
“Better. She wrote it in an email. That’s the only way she talks to me, and usually it’s only to tell me to do something like organize the parent/teacher conferences.”
“Is that normal? I’ve never been a class mom.”
“There’s really no normal. Every teacher is different. In the lower grades, they tend to want you helping out in the classroom as much as possible. But Miss Ward hasn’t asked me once.”
“Well, it’s only been two months. But it was kind of weird that the kids didn’t have a Halloween party. Did she say anything to you about that?”
I look at her over my wineglass.
“She said she doesn’t celebrate Hallmark holidays.”
Peetsa does a spit take.
“Oh, well, that makes sense,” she says, wiping wine off her chin. “Who would want to celebrate that great Hallmark holiday, Halloween?”
“I’m just wondering, when does she give a party?”
“Arbor Day?” Peetsa snickers.
“Groundhog Day!” I chime in.
We laugh as Peetsa gets up.
“Zach, let’s hit the road,” she calls to her son. “Hey, thanks for tonight. This was fun.”
“Best Halloween I’ve ever had,” I say. And I actually mean it.
*
In the bathroom, getting ready for bed, I mull over my lingering thought about kissing Don. I’ve never had a moment like that before, and it’s making me uncomfortable on several levels. It was so out of left field. I mean, I adore my husband and we still have a pretty great sex life even after ten years. Since the day we met, I’ve never even thought of being with another man … unless you count my Bruce Springsteen fantasies. While I brush my teeth, I close my eyes and try to put it out of my mind. One thing’s for certain, Ron Dixon is getting some tonight.
7
* * *
To: Parents
From: JDixon
Date: 11/18
Subject: Party time!
8
“We’re home!” Vivs and Laura scream in unison.
“What?” I exclaim. I drop the turkey I’m washing in the sink and run to hug my girls.
“I wasn’t expecting you until the end of the day.” I take them into my arms and squeeze my hardest. I can’t believe they are both taller than me.
“Well, Vivs decided to ditch her last two classes, so we left at, like, ten.” Laura can’t help sounding like a tattletale.
“I didn’t ditch.” Viv scowls. “I was going to be the only one there. The teachers will probably thank me.”
I’m about to make a crack about our hard-earned money when I realize something. “Hey, where’s Raj?”
“He’s not coming.”
“What? Why?”
“Because he’s an asshole, Mom,” Vivs snaps, and walks upstairs, her long brown hair swinging behind her.
“Oh, God, what now?” I ask Laura.
She shrugs. “I have no idea. She wouldn’t talk about it in the car. And she drove like a crazy person, Mommy! We got here in an hour.”
I hug her. “How are you, my sweet girl?”
“I’m good!” She brightens. “I still love where I’m living. My roommates are so fun.”
“And your classes? Ever get a chance to make it to any?”
“Occasionally.” She smirks at me.
Laura has blossomed into such a beauty. Her oversized eyes and lips made her look a bit like a bug when she was younger, but she has finally grown into her face and has figured out how to tame her blond curls. She looks nothing like me or her sister.
“Where’s Maximilian Swell?” she asks.
I smile at the nickname. Much improved over “Maxipad,” which is the first one she gave him.
“He and Ron are out getting cranberries. Hey, can you grab an apron and start pulling bread apart for the stuffing?”
“Sure. Just let me go to the bathroom.” Laura heads upstairs to the room she shares with Vivs when they’re home. Two minutes later, both girls come down and put on aprons. I love that they just do this without a lot of nagging on my part. It reminds me of how strict I was when I raised them. They had set chores every day and were never allowed to be sitting down if I was still working. I’ve really slacked off with Max. Vivs gives me shit about it all the time.
As they pull apart two loaves of white bread, I go back to the turkey I had unceremoniously dumped in the sink. Vivs is taking her bad mood out on the bread and ripping it apart with gusto.
“Want to talk about it?” I ask.
“Talk about what?” She looks up, annoyed.
“Your bad mood.”
“I’m not in a bad mood, Mom, I’m just preoccupied.”
Unfortunately, Laura decides to jump in.
“Oh, and I’m just lucky to be alive, because you were”—she makes quotes with her hands, which are full of bread—“‘preoccupied’ while you were driving.”
“Oh, my God, you are such a baby.” Vivs slams her hands down on the counter.
“Girls! What the hell? Is this how we’re going to start Thanksgiving weekend? Laura, let it go about the driving. She got you here. And you.” I look directly at Vivs. “Either tell us what’s going on, or snap out of it.”
Vivs looks down.
“I’m sorry. It’s just Raj did something so stupid and I’m really pissed at him.”
She pauses, as if trying to decide something.
“He asked me to marry him.”
“What?” screams Laura. “Are you kidding me? That’s what you’re upset about? A hot guy wants to marry you?”
“Shut up. You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Vivs shoots back.
Laura throws her hands up in the air.
“Somebody please give me a problem like that,” she says to the air around her.
“Mom!” Vivs whines.