Fae Second Chance

Chapter 16 - Family Dinner

Chapter 16

The next morning, I wake up to a very hung-over John.  I look around the room and do not see his phone.  He was sober enough last night to remember to put it away from me.  I laugh to myself.  He is not helping his case to make me believe he is not cheating by hiding his phone.  I climb out of bed and head to the bathroom.  I leave the bathroom and start to get dressed.  Once I am done, I toss my pillow on John’s head.  He jumps up and put his arms over his head to protect him from my assault. 

“You need to get ready for Thanksgiving.  Your mom expects us there by 10 am.”

He groans and collapses back onto the bed.  I leave the room and go to order coffee and breakfast.  An hour and a half later John finally emerges from the bedroom.  He looks exhausted and pale.  He walks over to the breakfast tray and grabs some coffee.  I am sitting on the couch reading a cheesy romance novel.  John looks at the food and complains, “It’s all cold.”

“Well, I didn’t expect you to take an hour to get ready.  I can always order you something else.”

“No, don’t bother.  I don’t think I could eat anything this morning anyway.  All I really need is coffee.”

John strolls over to me on the coach.  He inspects my outfit, “Adequate,” he states.  “The pearls would look better than the gold necklace.”

“I didn’t bring the pearls remember.”

“Oh, well that will have to do.  You ready to leave?”

Am I ready to leave?  I have been ready for over an hour I have been waiting on his tired butt.

“Yes dear,” I smile sickly on the word dear. “Whenever you are.”

He nods, “Let me just get my coat and we can leave.”

The dinner was a lovely afternoon with Marie happily fluttering around the room making sure everyone was okay.  I went to the kitchen as soon as we got there, and assisted Marie is finishing up the meal and getting everything on the table.  John and his dad barely spoke and did a lot of glaring at each other.  When they did decide to talk to each other it usually ended in some type of argument.  John’s brother, bless his heart, tried his best to calm the two men down.  Us, ladies just sat and chatted, ignoring the men’s ego trip.  The children ate quietly looking bored.

By the time dinner was over the kids had been released from the table and were doing laps around the living room.  John had gone outside ‘to get some air’.  David and his other son were still at the table discussing some business deal they were doing.  The ladies and I were in the kitchen cleaning everything up.

Marie asked me about Border City, and I explained all the interesting sights and people there.  She laughed and said that David was not that impressed when he came out to visit us.  I stayed silent the rest of the time and my sister-in-law and Marie started to discuss the children and what they wanted for Christmas.  After the dishes were done, we walked into the dining room and John was sitting back at the table with his brother and father.  He looked up and saw and announced that we had to get going.

“What?” Marie said. “It’s barely 3pm.  I had hope you were going to stay for the entire day.  We could chat and maybe play a game or something.”

John strolled over to his pouting mother and kissed her on the forehead.  “Sorry mom, we can’t.  We have an early flight in the morning and need to get everything together.  I also have some work I need to finish up today.”

“John, it is Thanksgiving!” she places her hand on her hips and stares at him. 

David is chuckling from his seat, “Just humor your mother and stay a couple more hours.”

John turns to his father and glares. “I said no,” he says through gritted teeth.  “I have stuff I need to do, and we cannot sit here all day and get drunk with you.”

“Do not take that tone with me, boy.  I do not care how old you are, you will not disrespect me or your mother and please, what work could a ‘junior’ congressman be doing?  I know that you have been cleared you from all the committees except for the Border City position because of your attitude.”

John turns to me. “Get your coat we are leaving.”

I nod and pull away from the family tension.  I can hear some more shouting and Marie starting to cry.  John then walks into the foyer with me and grabs his coat putting it on.  He is literally drags me from the house.  As we reach the front door, I see David storming into the foyer.  He says, “Wait, how are you getting back to the hotel without a car?”  John pauses and looks around, when his eyes land on David and the smug smile on his face, he turns shoving the door open and walking out pulling me behind him.

John then turns once we get out on the front porch and holds up his phone, “Uber.”

John drags me out down their long curvy driveway.  He stops at the end of the driveway near the mailbox and schedules a car.  I can just imagine the way we look from the front windows.  We are standing out here like a couple of idiots for 15 minutes in the freezing cold just because John had a temper tantrum with his father.

The car ride back to the hotel is silent.  Once we get back to the room John storms to the bedroom slamming the door.  I walk into the living room kicking off my heels as I go.  I sit down and pick up my romance novel to start reading again.  This was not the best Thanksgiving I had hoped for, but it wasn’t the worst.  I flip through the book till I get to the page I left off on and settle in to read.

We land in Border City and head to our apartment.  John is still fuming over his father.  We haven’t spoken at all since we left his parents’ house.  I have started unpacking his suitcase when he comes into the bedroom.

“I told you I did not want to go see my family.   All this is your fault for wanting a ‘family holiday.’  Can’t you be happy with what I give you?  You always want more.  Well, that stops now.  What I say goes and you will be happy with that.” 

He turns and leaves the room.  I hear him rummage around the living room and then he leaves the apartment slamming the door behind him.  John is gone for multiple hours.  I am in bed semi asleep when he finally comes back.  I can hear him in his office for a while and then he comes into the room and goes to bed.  The next morning, I wake up to find that he has already left.

I spend the rest of the day putting up our suitcases and starting to decorate the apartment.  I go to put the spare boxes in the extra closet in the guest bedroom and it is locked.  I look around the room and realize that the lock box is also missing as well as many files that were on his desk.  I pile the boxes up by the closet and leave the room.