It’s Christmas Everywhere But Here (3 page)

Doris appeared in the doorway, her eyes flicking from Emily to Russ.

“Ems, do me a favor and go see how long Grandpa and Uncle Max need before we go?”

“Okay. ’Scuse me, Grandma.” Emily slipped out into the hall without touching Doris and vanished.

Russ put on a smile he tried to feel. “Did you need something?”

“I wanted to talk with you about the plans for tonight. Is that Austin in the bed?”

Russ stood, tucking his wallet and phone into his pockets.

“Yep. He’s more comfortable there.”

“Russell.” Doris snapped her mouth shut at the look on his face. “Can we talk privately for a moment?”

“Sure. Austin, I’m stepping out into the hall. We’ll be leaving in a bit for the park so you can play on the monkey bars.” Russ followed Doris out into the hallway, pulling the door mostly shut behind him. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to talk with you about how we’re going to do—” She glanced back down the hall at the mostly closed door. “—S-a-n-t-a.”

Russ closed his eyes and took a measured breath. “As I thought I explained when I agreed to bring the kids, we’re not.” He leaned back on the wall to gaze at her, his head cocked to the side.

“I don’t understand why, Russ. It’s so fun seeing their surprise at the new presents on Christmas morning—”

“Because Santa is a
lie
.”

Doris stepped back from him, her smile at the imagined scene sliding down into a confused frown.

“David did do Santa with Em. She knows the truth, but she might still enjoy it. Austin—Austin has to know that what he’s being told is the truth. You saw what happened yesterday when what I told him and what happened didn’t match up.”

Doris found somewhere other than Russ’s face to look.

“Can you imagine how he’d react if he found out his fathers had lied to him? For
years
?”

“But….”

“We still do stockings. Austin understands that those are meant to be a surprise for first thing in the morning. But any gifts you have hidden that are from Santa,
please
, change the tag and put them out today.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely.” Russ realized his arms were tightly crossed. He undid them, sticking his hands in his pockets to try and appear more open.

When Doris didn’t respond and made no sign of moving, he added, “If you’d like, I can help you once we’re back from the park.”

“All right. Thank you.”

Emily reappeared with the announcement they were ready to go any time. It took a fifteen-minute countdown, three reassurances that Grandma wasn’t coming, and one trip to the bathroom before Austin was ready to go.

They took two vehicles, Max, Em, and the dogs in Max’s truck, and Randall, Russ, and Austin in Russ’s SUV.

“Have you heard from David at all?” Randall broke the silence about halfway to the park.

“He e-mailed last week. Said they were back at the base and had been debriefed. He was just waiting to hear what was happening next.”

“But he’s still coming home?”

“Yeah. He’d better be.” Russ forced a smile and glanced over at his dad. Randall was looking at him intently.

Russ glanced into the rearview for somewhere else to look. Austin’s clear blue eyes looked back at him. Dave’s eyes, one of the few of his father’s features readily evident in Austin’s face.

“David said his commission is done. He’d already given notice of retirement, and he’ll be home the end of January. We’re going to call him tonight and wish him Merry Christmas.”

“And Daddy will get the call because he has an Internets voice mail, and he can listen from anywhere in the whole world. He said it will maybe even work underwater.”

Austin stopped when Randall craned his neck to look in the backseat. “Is that so.”

Austin looked at the floor but answered, “Yes.”

“Why do we use the Internet voice mail instead of Dad’s cell phone?” Russ prompted.

“Because it’s not safe always to use a phone, but they always have Internets so he can listen to them. And then he’ll e-mail back.”

“Well, that’s pretty cool.”

Russ pulled into the parking spot at the park. Max and Em were already out of Max’s truck, the two dogs dancing around them, eager for the ball and Frisbee they could see being unloaded. Austin sat stock-still in his booster seat, making no move toward the open door.

“Austin? You getting out?” Randall held the back door open.

“Leave the door open. He’ll get out once the dogs move off.” Russ made sure he had his keys and phone. There was a possibility that Dave might call them.

Max ran a hand through his hair. “Gonna go chase the dogs down by the river. Might throw Em in too.”

“No, Uncle Max. It’s cold.”

“Paulie will follow you. I’m gonna stay and chat with Russ.” Randall bent down to give his dog a pat before sending her off after Max.

“C’mon, Paulie, c’mon!” Emily waved the Frisbee, and Paulie barked and pranced after her.

Once the dogs cleared the far side of the parking lot, a light crunch announced Austin had exited the vehicle. He even pushed the door shut before latching an arm around Russ’s thigh.

“Don’t you like dogs, Austin?” Randall asked.

“They bite.”

“Oh.” Randall straightened. “Did he get bitten?”

“Yes. By a Chihuahua cross he had been told was friendly to everyone and would never, ever bite.” Russ locked the truck and started heading toward the playground equipment he could see up the grassy incline.

“And he doesn’t do well with inconsistencies.”

“Glad one parent is paying attention. Sorry.” Russ closed his eyes and rubbed at his face with one hand. “No, he doesn’t.”

Austin suddenly broke away and sprinted ahead to the playground. There were other kids present, but he ignored them and started climbing the large half dome made of metal bars. “Cold, Papa.”

“Yup, so be careful. They might be slippery.”

Austin nodded, resuming his climb, gripping extra hard on the bars.

Randall moved to stand beside Russ. “I forgot how fast they can move at that age.”

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything. He is fearless about heights.”

“You’re still not.”

“No, Dad, I’m not.”

Austin reached the top of the dome, dropped down inside hanging by his hands, and hand walked down a level or two before twisting to hang by his knees.

“Papa! Papa! Trapeze!”

“What now?”

“He loves the circus acts. Well, except for the clowns. But the acrobats, the aerial acts, he’s all over that.” There were no other kids on the dome, so Russ squeezed through to the inside.

“He hates clowns?”

“They freak him out with an intensity that rivals what you saw yesterday.” Russ managed to get himself hung upside down from the top of the dome.

Randall leaned on the play structure, grinning at the pair of them on the inside. “You sure he’s not your kid?”

Russ ignored his dad, made sure he had a good grip with his legs, and took Austin’s hands. It wasn’t going to be too much longer before the traction on his back from doing this went from possibly helpful to painful. But Austin squealed as he swung down, even though it wasn’t truly high enough and his heels dug in the dirt.

“Again!”

They played trapeze on the monkey bars, hung upside down on the chin-up bars, and walked (or ran, in Austin’s case) the tightrope of the sandpit border. It was when Austin was walking on his hands with only the slightest touch from Russ on his little sneakers that Randall posited, “Have you ever considered gymnastics classes for him?”

“Actually, yes.”

Austin shook his foot free, rolled to his feet, and sprinted off toward the monkey bars again, giggling madly. “But the local place only has advanced classes on the weekend. The beginner stuff is all in the evenings. And he’s too blown out at the end of the school day to concentrate. It’s two hours to the nearest weekend class that would take him.”

“That’s too bad. Because he really seems to enjoy it.”

“He does. During the Olympics last summer, he was glued to the TV for the gymnastics stuff. I think some of it is still on the DVR.”

They were quiet for a moment, Russ catching his breath and Randall gazing at the small form easily swinging his way across the bars.

“You’re a good dad, Russ. And I think you’re doing a great job with him.”

“I—thanks, Dad.” Russ turned his head, but Randall was still watching Austin, now climbing the dome again.

“Maybe once David is back, you can find a way between the two of you to get him in some classes.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

“Whoop.” Randall jerked forward, and Russ turned in time to see Austin sitting up from the sand.

“What….”

“He fell. From about halfway up.”

Austin glared at his hands and only started howling when another parent reached through the bars to ask him if he was okay.

“Austin?” Russ leaned on the bars, looking through.

“Fell.” Austin drew in breath for a howl.

“Yep. Remember, I said it might be slippery because it was cold?”

The shuddering breath stopped short, and Austin turned to look up at the bars. “Oh.” He stood up and twisted out through the bars, dusting his hands on his jeans.

“Is—he all right?” The other parent, a woman, was still crouching, staring after Austin with a strange look on her face.

“Yep. He knows why he fell, so he’s fine.” Russ gave her a smile. He put his hand on Austin’s shoulder and asked, “Should we go find Max, Em, and the dogs?”

Austin shook his head. “No.”

Randall laughed and Russ chuckled. Russ lightly touched Austin’s shoulder, smiling when a hand slid into his own.

“What should we do, then?”

Austin fell away to the side, Russ counterbalancing just in time to let Austin swing instead of pulling them both over into a heap.

“Bobby’s.”

“Who’s Bobby?” Randall asked.

“It’s a burger joint back home. I don’t think you have them here.”

“Oh, I, um.” Randall straightened, scratching the back of his head. “I think your mother has lunch plans.”

“And I think if Austin wants a hamburger I’m going to buy him something he’ll eat.” Russ smiled at his dad. “Know any good local places?”

“C
HRISTMAS
E
VE
Service is a tradition in this family, Russell.”

Doris wasn’t quite ready yet, but the lint brush was being applied to her nice coat, and her hair was up in curlers. She had been quietly disappointed about them eating out. Russ was able to ignore her in the face of Austin having eaten an entire hamburger, including lettuce and tomato, and half an order of sweet potato fries.

“I understand that it’s a tradition for
you
, but it’s not for us.” Across the dining room at the kitchen island, Russ kept chopping the celery for the snack plate, possibly using a little more force than was necessary. The large chef’s knife was already a bit of overkill.

“And you’re staying with us, so it would be polite for you to participate in our traditions.”

“Not happening this year.” The knife slid through cleanly, and Russ found himself out of celery to cut. He grabbed the block of cheese and started cutting that into sticks.

“Russell! I am your mother, and you are a guest in my house!”

“And I am forty-two years old and capable of making my own decisions!”

“This is important to me! Why are you dismissing it out of hand?”

“Because I am exhausted from dealing with stressed-out children and a mother who questions every decision I make about how to take care of my kids!” Russ lowered the knife he was using to point at her and concentrated on opening the jar of peanut butter.

“We can hear you in the living room.” Randall stood in the archway from the dining room into the hall.

“Sorry,” Doris and Russ chorused.

“Sweetie—” Randall moved up to his wife, sliding his hands to her shoulders and kissing her hair. “—I know the service is important to you, and if yesterday hadn’t happened, I’d suggest giving it a try.”

“But?” Doris gave the coat one last vicious swipe and dropped the lint brush onto the dining table.

“But Austin is calm and seems content right now, so let’s not risk upsetting him. Let’s stay here and have a nice dinner and maybe watch a movie together. Later we can try and talk Max into playing piano for us, and we can sing a few carols with the kids. Or you and I and anyone who
wants
to can go to the service. And then we can have dinner together afterwards.”

She thought for a minute. “I want to go. It wouldn’t be Christmas without the service.”

“Okay. I’ll go get ready, then, so the bathroom’s free for you.” Randall kissed his wife’s head again and stepped out with a nod to Russ.

The coat was put back on its hanger and back into the closet, where the dogs, who were outside, would not get more hair on it.

“Russ, do you think you could get Emily to….”

“If she wants to go, she’s welcome to, but I am not in any way going to force or insinuate she has to.”

Doris nodded and turned to walk out of the room.

Max wandered in a moment or two later to snitch one of the celery sticks with peanut butter and lean on the counter. There were blond highlights in his floppy-pompadour-style hair that had nothing to do with the sun. “How did you manage to get us the option of going to the service?”

“Thank Dad.” Russ finished adding peanut butter to another celery stick and took a bite out of it, rather than setting it on the tray. “You going?”

Max glanced toward the hallway. “Rather not. You know she’s going to introduce me to every single woman there.”

“Wearing that, you’d probably get half of them to break their vows of abstinence.” Russ nodded at Max’s tight T-shirt showing off the tattoo on his bicep and the tight jeans that showed off everything else.

“Just what I need, another source of religious guilt. No, thank you.”

They both snickered quietly.

“You’ll find someone someday.”

“Pfft. I don’t know what you see in relationships. Start out fine, but they end up all so needy and wanting.” Max took a cheese stick and stuck it in the ranch dressing for the vegetables.