The Milestone Tapes (35 page)

“Well, maybe next time I’ll come to you—I haven’t been to Port Angeles in years,” Kris speared a crab leg and dropped it on her plate, splashing a lemon against the white meat.

“You should come out when you get back from St. Kitts,” Gabe offered, forking the mound of rice onto the plate.

Kris glanced at Mia, awaiting a reaction before answering. “You should totally come out,” Mia agreed nodding, taking a sip of her soda.

“Really? That would be … nice. Thank you Mia, Gabe.” Kris seemed touch by the invitation and dabbed her eyes quickly with the corner of her napkin.

“Well, can I just say, I’m happy you two girls had fun.” Gabe smiled, something deep and real in his eyes, a genuine contentment.

“Yeah, we had a blast. I got that jam, so Ginny is going to be thrilled.” Mia took a small bite of the crab, savoring the way the flavor, salty and sweet meat exploded over her tongue. “Oh my God,” Mia said, her mouth still full with pulpy flesh.

“What? Is it okay?” Kris asked quickly, a concerned look creasing her brows.

“It’s amazing. Dad this is seriously amazing.” Mia gestured to the leg, giving Kris a thumbs up.

Kris just laughed, taking a healthy bite, closing her eyes around the flavors, enjoying it.

~ * * * ~

Mia dropped her dirty clothes in the laundry room and made her way back to the family room. The television flashed brightly against the black windows, Bryan lay sprawled out on the overstuffed couch, his eyes glued to the screen.

“So when is your dad coming back?” Bryan asked and Mia flopped down beside him.

“Tomorrow I guess,” Mia yawned and allowed her head to flop back against the fluffed pillows. “He had early meetings and there was no point in coming back here to go back first thing in the morning. Besides, I think he wanted to celebrate the successful weekend with Kris.”

Bryan nodded, shoving a fist full of popcorn in his mouth.

Mia had driven home early in the afternoon, kissing her father goodbye and hugging Kris. She had placed Kris’s gifts on her coffee table before leaving, not wanting to make a spectacle of it, along with a note wishing her a safe trip and thanking her again for a really fun weekend.

Ginny had been waiting in the drive way when she pulled in a few hours later, waving jovially and giving her a huge hug, peppering her with all sorts of questions. Aunt Sophia was flying in the following morning with the boys, and Gabe was coming home for the balance of the week. The holiday’s were rapidly approaching and Christmas Vacation from school was a much welcome break.

“Are you excited to be going to see your grandparents?” Mia asked conversationally.

Bryan was leaving for the full two weeks, off to Oregon to spend time on his grandparents’ ranch for the holidays.

“Sure.” Bryan’s lopsided grin crossed his face.

“I wish you were going to be around,” Mia added, feeling slightly glum. She had wanted Sophia to meet Bryan.

“I got you something.” Bryan reached into the pocket of jeans and pulled out a small silver wrapped gift placing it in her hands, “but you can’t open it until Christmas morning,” he added for good measure.

“Bryan!” Mia gushed, holding the small box in her hand. The unmistakable swish of velvet under paper piqued her interest.

“It’s nothing crazy, just something to remind you of me.” He kissed her quickly.

“I got you something, too. Hold on.” Mia hurried to her room where her bags and suitcase lay strewn across her bed. She found the leather wallet she had picked for him, and closed the Kraft box lid before hurrying back to the family room. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to wrap it.” She handed him the bland cardboard box, which he turned over in his hands slowly.

“Can I open it now?” Bryan asked.

“No way, that’s so not fair. You can wait until Christmas, too!” Mia laughed and placed the small silver present under the fresh cut tree in the corner of the room.

“And if I let you open yours now?” Bryan raised an eyebrow, offering a trade.

“I could be convinced,” Mia joked lightly.

“Please?” Bryan let his tone turn pleading, and his brown eyes melted into pools of irresistible chocolate.

“Nope!” Mia collapsed into fits of laughter, taking the gift from his hands and placing it on the end table, wrapping her arms around Bryan’s thick neck.

“Really?” Bryan asked, fixing his lips into a pout, his eyes open wide with mock horror over her little joke.

“If we’re not going to see each other over the holidays, the least we can do is open our presents during them.” Mia kissed his pout again, pulling him hard against her.

“I’m going to miss you, Mi,” Bryan breathed into her ear.

“It’s only two weeks, you’ll survive,” Mia teased, knowing she’d miss him in equal measure.

“I’m ... going ... to ... miss ... you ... Mia,” Bryan repeated, slower this time, ignoring her dismissal.

“I’m going to miss you, too,” Mia relented, hugging him tighter to her.

“That’s more along the lines of what I was hoping to hear.” Bryan kissed her neck lightly, sending a wave of chills through Mia.

Mia wondered, fleetingly, with her arms around Bryan’s neck and with his lips pressed against hers, if this was how her mother had felt. If somewhere in the back seat of a blue Mustang, the same feelings crested for her as they did Mia, the desire. If Jenna didn’t feel the same waves of passion looking into the eyes of a boy going off to do a man’s job, the man she loved, knowing he was leaving her. Mia was sure it was a different scale with higher stakes, but the thought of being away from Bryan, even for a couple of weeks, hurt her and she wondered how her mother managed to survive a more permanent separation.

“Argh, I should go.” Bryan pulled away, moaning.

Mia knew they had been toeing a very fine, delicate line lately.

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” A warm blush bloomed on her chest and her heart pounded in her ears.

“I’ll call you,” Bryan promised, patting the pocket where his cell phone bulged out, reaching for the gift on the table in the same moment.

“Okay.” Mia walked to the door slowly, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.

“Have fun with your aunt,” Bryan bent down to kiss her lips lightly once more, standing under a pool of light on the porch.

“Have fun with your family.” Mia pulled back, wrapping her arms around him again, hugging him close.

“See you soon,” Bryan said with a small wave before trotting down the steps to his car.

“I love you!” Mia called, springing on her tiptoes, waving.

“Love you more!” he called back as he slipped behind the wheel.

Mia watched as his tail lights took the turn and disappeared from sight, feeling like part of her heart was missing, gone away with him.

~ * * * ~

Mia pulled the heavy cardboard boxes out of storage one by one, carefully hauling them up the steep stairs to the kitchen. Ginny unpacked each ornament, stocking, decoration with dedicated care.

“It looks good.” Mia stood back, her hands raw from the pine needles, balled into fits on her hips.

They’d spent the morning decorating the house, tying bows and sprinkling fake snow across the mantle, righting the tree and icing it with hundreds of blown glass balls in every shade of the rainbow. It was a real winter wonderland, one that even Sophia would approve of. It felt festive and bright, an air of cheer blown through the house. A pair of heavy live wreathes hung from the door, and Mia wrapped thousands of twinkling lights around the pillars. Ginny had changed the linens in the guest room to festive soft flannel sheets with fat snowmen and jolly Santas dancing across.

“Real beautiful, Mia.” Ginny nodded in agreement.

Ginny was busy melting chocolate on the stove for her famous hot cocoa when the head lights swept across the yard.

“Aunt Soph is here!” Mia screamed, launching herself through the door out onto the porch.

“I always forget how long it takes to get here,” Aunt Sophia laughed, half running to Mia and smothering her in a huge hug, rocking her left to right. “Look at you, so much like Jenna!” She kissed her cheeks and hugging her again.

In all the years Mia had known Sophia, she never changed. She still had a sleek, freshly cut blond bob, bright, lightly tanned southern skin with heavy dollops of pink on her full cheeks, hopeful eyes and a perfect smile hidden behind her heavily lipsticked pout. She was heavier now, rounder and soft, but perfectly tailored in her neat pant suit and huge down parka with real mink cuffs.

“You look good.” Mia smiled, hugging her back.

Caleb dutifully unpacked the trunk, while Harlen and Thomas lugged the expensive luggage and dozens of perfectly wrapped presents to the shelter of the porch. Mia appraised them. Younger than her, they were tall and lanky boys, good looking and tanned with good southern manners, shy and polite, she’d have to make sure to invite them to a party and show them off. Gabe had told Mia that they looked like their father, but Mia had never met Sophia’s ex-husband, Alex, and didn’t know for sure how true that was.

Sophia still owned her boutique, which had gone all but global, written up in decorating magazines as the place to go for hidden treasures in the South, she was wildly successful and each bit was hard earned and well deserved.

“Guys, put the luggage in the guest rooms and the presents under the tree, then you can go into the basement and play those damn video games,” Sophia instructed, linking her arm though Mia’s and starting up the porch towards the brightly lit house. “That’s the good thing about having all those boys, built in helpers,” she giggled lightly.

Ginny and Sophia hugged for a long time, and lapsed in to chatter about Sophia’s flight, the store, Ginny’s family and her holiday plans, which included two long weeks of travel, visiting her children spread coast to coast.

“That’ll be wonderful!” Sophia enthused.

“I’m lookin’ forward to all them grandbabies.” Ginny’s eyes seemed to light up behind her readers, “I miss ‘em all the time, they are growin’ up so darn quick.”

“Believe me ... I know how that feels. Even when you see them every day, it’s like, wow, they’re getting so big, so grown up,” Sophia agreed, looking towards the basement door where the sounds of rapid machine gun fire and screams of dying men filtered from.

“So Mia.” Sophia sat down beside her on a bar stool, a cup of hot cocoa in her hand. “Tell me, how is life?”

“It’s good,” Mia answered quickly.

“And how’s the boyfriend?” Sophia nudged Mia lightly, encouraging her, winking at Ginny.

Mia blushed almost painfully, knowing her relationship with Bryan had become the fodder of cross country gossip. “He’s wonderful. He’s with his family in Oregon for the holiday.”

“So I won’t be meeting him?” Sophia took a long swallow of hot cocoa.

“No. He left this morning, he’s gone for two weeks.”

“That’s too bad. I was looking forward to getting to know this Bryan character.” She frowned.

“He’s great. Isn’t he great Ginny?”

“He’s a good young man, comes from a good family,” Ginny agreed, loaded down with the three mugs for the boys.

“That’s great Mia, I’m very happy for you honey.” Sophia patted Mia’s back tenderly. “And you’re taking things … slow?”

“Aunt Sophia!” Mia blushed again hotter than before, flustered.

“Well, are you? I’m not here to be the heavy, honey, really I’m not. And, I’m not trying to embarrass you or put you on the spot or make you uncomfortable. But I’m your aunt and I’m trying to make sure you’re doing what’s in your best interest. I’m also the mother of three boys and God knows I have a handle on where their minds are ... I’m guessing this Bryan fellow is even beyond that,” Sophia explained, leveling Mia with a no nonsense stare.

“Yeah, we’re taking things slow.” Mia lowered her head, concentrating on a her fingernails, avoiding eye contact.

“So, no need for a refresher course on the basics and how to be … mature … about things?”

“Oh my God, I am not talking about this. We’re not ... doing … that, we’re not doing anything!” Mia face felt feverish and she wiped her clammy hands on the legs of her jeans.

“Okay, okay.” Sophia held her hands up in surrender. “So, then tell me, how’s your Dad?”

“Oh, oh, oh! I met Kris!” Mia announced, looking up, her lips pulled into a small smile.

“You did? When?” Sophia asked. Her lack of surprise let Mia know that Sophia probably already knew.

“Last weekend. We went into Seattle and I spent the weekend with them there,” Mia explained.

“How was it? Did you like her? Tell me everything!” Sophia beamed, clapping her hands together, interlocking her fingers, resting her chin on them, fully engaged.

“She was really nice. She took me to the spa and we got facials, pedicures and I had my eyebrows waxed. She helped me with my Christmas shopping. Dad’s different with her. Happy. He laughs all the time, and I can tell she really cares about him, too—which makes me feel better about things,” Mia gushed.