Tying the apron around her waist, Beth walked into the lounge where the boys were sitting watching television (the kids spread around playing with their new toys, Max seated on Neil's lap, sucking on a teething ring) and Beth handed the boys a beer each. Beth walked back to the kitchen to find Sylvia and Faith both in aprons, ready to get the meal prepared for the day. As Beth walked around the counter she began to laugh, 'Faith! How are you going to prepare anything with your rollerblades on?' She shook her head, that girl was amazing.
After two hours of hard work, the kitchen was filled with the aroma of a roast lamb, roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots and Yorkshire pudding and thick gravy, all traditional Christmas meals that Beth had growing up when she was living in Melbourne, Australia. The Yorkshire pudding was especially special, as it was a recipe passed down from her grandmother, a batter snack that tasted amazing with freshly carved lamb and thick gravy. The three girls looked very proud of themselves, when the final plate of food was placed onto the table. the grinned at each other, as they called the boys and kids in for dinner. On the bench, the pavlova Beth made for dessert sat decorated with strawberries and kiwi-fruit.
Beth led the little kids, Zoey, Mila, Aiden and Max into the bathroom to be cleaned up before bringing them back to the huge dining room table and sitting them down. Max still on her hip, she carried him over to his high chair and set him in it, in the chair beside her, mashing a small portion of potation into little clumps in his bowl and setting it in front of him.
About Me
- Beth C
- Mother. Wife of Neil. Member of the punk rock band Delicious Liaisons.
"Take your blades off, Faith," Syl said as she began to wash some potatoes. "Beth's right. You're not going to get anything done rolling around like that and you're going to leave marks on the kitchen floor."
ReplyDeleteFaith shook her head. "They'll help me work faster, Ma! Just watch me. You'll see. Besides, I'll clean up any marks I leave on the floor. Promise!"
Her mother rolled her eyes and sighed in resignation. "Alright, if you're gonna be responsible for your own mess, I guess that's fine."
Grinning, Faith spun around in the middle of the kitchen floor with a laugh, then glided gracefully over to the island counter to help Beth cut up the vegetables.
As they cooked for the next couple of hours, Syl couldn't help but smile while she watched her daughter skate effortlessly around the kitchen as the girl helped out with different tasks. She had to admit it really did make the work go faster.
When the last of dishes for Beth's special Christmas dinner were set on the table, Faith rolled into the dining room to take a seat on the other side of Max's high chair. She chuckled as she watched the little boy play with the potatoes his mother just mashed instead of eating them. "Having fun with your spuds there, big guy?" Playfully ruffling his hair, she kissed him on the head, then looked over at Beth with a grin. "Hey, maybe I should start calling him 'Spud', eh? What do you think, Aunt Beth?"
Syl chuckled as she took a seat beside Jon on the other side of the table. "'Aunt Beth'? That's probably the first time I've heard you call her that, love. When did that happen?"
Faith looked up from trying to feed Max a bit of potato. "Huh? Didn't I always call Aunt Beth 'Aunt Beth'?" She was completely oblivious that she had unconsciously made the transition from calling Beth 'Miss' to 'Aunt'.
Her mother just chuckled and shook her head. "Never mind, love." Faith was obviously adapting to having a larger family quite well, and Syl didn't want to disturb what was happening naturally.
Turning her attention to Jon, Syl playfully kissed him on the cheek (an action that elicited a suspicious look from Faith). "If you say *anything* at all about a woman's place being in the kitchen, I swear I will take you outside right now and kick your butt." She threw a stern look across the table at her brother to make sure he knew the warning included him as well.
"Actually," John took a sip from his beer, "I can think of a better place than the kitchen, but, um, never mind that."
ReplyDeleteJohn heard a stifled giggle from Neil's direction. He didn't look at Syl, but was sure she was burning a hole in his skull with her gaze right now. He pinched her leg below the table playfully and took another sip from his beer.
Syl was probably about to swat the daylight out of him, but a sudden pull on her sleeve stopped her. She looked over and saw Aniela, John's little 7-year-old angel. She smiled.
"Excuse me, are you Daddy's girlfriend?" Without much ado, she crawled into Syl's lap much to her surprise and threw her arm around her. She pulled herself close for a hug. John looked over from his seat and smiled.
"Caught ya off-guard, didn't she?" he laughed. "I guess it's answering time now, missy!"
Instead, John pulled Aniela in his lap and ruffled her hair. "Don't embarrass the lady, now, sweetheart!" Aniela looked at him. "But I wanna know!" John laughed. "I'll tell you later, okay? No go and eat your meal, and help your brother too!"
Aiden, who was sitting a few seats further, objected while he was trying to separate the lamb meat off the bone. "I don't need help, Dad!" In the next moment, the meat separated and Aiden lost hold of the bone, sending it flying across the room and hitting the dog with it. "Score!" He yelled as the pup squealed and ran out of the room. John face-palmed and shook his head. "Aiden, eat your food without killing anybody!" Aiden's grin froze. "Okay, Dad. Sorry about the dog, Mr Johnson."
Neil had peeked into the kitchen earlier but his survival instinct had told it was safer to be out of danger and out of range of being sucked into the work force. With beers from the bar, he spent the afternoon with Jon, wrestling with and entertaining the children.
ReplyDeleteWhen the call went out for dinner, he hung back, watching the crowd fill the room. It looked awesome. Not just the food, that looked delicious, but it was the family that made him smile. He glanced over at Beth and grinned as he nodded to Faith, “Spud is better than little man.” He replied as he moved to his into the room.
He took a moment as he was walking around filling the wine glasses with a choice of red, white or juice to pause beside each of the three women who had cooked. He kissed Faith on the cheek softly, “Thanks for keeping them organized.” He whispered to her. Moving around to Syl, he kissed her cheek and grinned. “I wouldn’t dream of saying it, although looking at the table I am very glad it is true part of the time.” He walked around to Beth and tenderly kissed her cheek, “You’re crazy, but it looks amazing.”
He grinned as he saw a bone fly through the air and he couldn’t help but laugh as the dog shot out of the room. “Aiden, no worries, but next time whistle or something so the puppy knows to look up and catch it.” He settles into his seat, looking at the stack of foot on the table.
Raising his glass he grinned at Jon, “To wine, women, the food they cook and the families who get to enjoy it” he toasted the ladies and their hard work.
He looked over to Beth. “Wow..” he said with a grin, this woman was constantly surprising him. He had long ago thrown out everything he had thought and heard cause none of it seemed to apply to the woman who shared his table.
Beth grinned as she looked back at Neil, her face slightly flushing with the compliment. ‘Well… I wouldn’t want Rita to be yoinked off the payroll…’ she said, reaching over and squeezing his arm with a giggle. She clinked his glass with his and leaned over to kiss his cheek. ‘Merry Christmas Cowboy…’ she said softly.
ReplyDeleteBeth gazed around the table as everyone giggled and laughed over Christmas crackers and the food. It warmed her heart and reminded her desperately of back home in Australia when she was growing up. To give this to her children and her friends was a great gift.
Throughout the meal there were calls of ‘Mila, sit down and eat your carrots’ and ‘Zoey, do not throw the pudding at your brother…’ and ‘Aiden, stop antagonising the dog’ from Beth or Jon, prompting snickers and chuckles from Sylvia and Neil at the table. Beth looked over to see how Max was going, to find potatoes all over his face, shirt and she turned just in time to cop a spoonful of mashed potato in the face. ‘Gee… thanks Max…’ Beth said, her right eye closed and grabbing her napkin to dab it away. With such destruction from potatoes, Beth wasn’t even sure how much he had eaten. Beth giggled as she wiped Max’s chin with his bib, and then excused herself to go and clean him up before dessert.
Upon her return, she was shocked to find the dinner plates had been cleared. Beth took her seat next to Neil, with Max on her lap and turned to Faith, ‘Wanna do the honours with the dessert sweetheart?’ She said with a wink, thinking about the Pavlova, Lamingtons and Sponge Cake on the kitchen counter for everyone, and Eskimo Pies in the freezer for the kids.
Faith nearly choked on a piece of lamb at Aniela's question. When she managed to swallow, she looked over at her mother. "Are you dating again, Ma?" The girl glared at the crazy man with the crazy hair sitting beside Syl as she waited for a response.
ReplyDelete"I'm, uh... still thinking about it, love," Syl replied to Faith, though she was blushing at Jon as she spoke. Then for good measure, she punched him in the leg under the table, calling him 'Dork' under her breath, before turning back to her food and the table conversation.
After dinner when the plates were cleared, Faith nodded to Beth with a smile and, still on her roller blades, glided into the kitchen to fetch the deserts.
Suddenly, there was a crash, the sound of pots and pans falling, followed by the girl calling back "I'm okay!" from the kitchen. After a few minutes, Faith returned to the dining room with a platter of Lamingtons in one hand, a plate stacked high with Eskimo Pies in the other, and a bruise on her cheek. She was still grinning as she set them on the table. "I'll be right back with the Pavlova," she said as she skated back to the kitchen. "And don't mind the mess. I'll clean the skid marks and stuff later."
John dug into his dessert and in less than a minute, it was gone. He rubbed his tummy and burped. "Oops. That didn't come out right. Pardon me." He felt embarrassed when he noticed Faith's killer stare. "I am doing one helluva first impression, am I not?" He whispered to Syl, who was snickering and trying not to spit out her dessert at the same time.
ReplyDeleteLater, John asked Syl to take a walk on the beach with him. "Can we come too?" Val, Aniela and Aiden sprang out from behind the door, obviously eavesdropping on their Dad. "No!" He answered. "I'll go get my swimsuit!" screamed Valentine and all the kids ran off to get ready for the walk.
John sighed. "Looks like I'll have to court-martial the entire lot for high treason and disregarding a commanding officer's order." Syl snickered and punched John in the arm as they headed for their room to change.
He couldn’t help but enjoy himself and he loved seeing Chloe and Taylor having so much fun with everyone. The food was outstanding, it had been forever since he had eaten lamb and he was going to have to get Beth to give the recipe to Alex for the Hogtown. When Beth left to take care of Max, Neil organized his two girls and between the three of them, they managed to clear the table and pile the sink full of dishes. Rita was gonna need a bonus.
ReplyDeleteNeil just laughed and applauded when Faith made it back in, pulling her over to him after she had set down the food. He put his arm around her and whispered into her ear, “I need your help tonight to wrap your Mom’s gift.” He winks at Syl, “Can you help me and I’ll ask Rita to clean up the kitchen?” he grins.
He didn’t think it was possible, but dessert was even better than the main course and when Jon’s belch echoed through the room, Neil matched it with one of his own. “Mating calls, it is how we attract women.” He grinned.
As the kids all piled out, Chloe and Taylor came over to Beth, asking if they could take Max for a bit and play with him. Neil nodded, not giving her a chance to refuse and passed Max to the girls.
Finally alone with Beth, he captured her hand in his and gently squeezed her fingers. “That was incredible..” he laughs, shaking his head. “You keep surprising me, every time I think I got you figured out, you show me something new.” He stands up, pulling her to her feet. “Come on” he says, leading her out the side door, away from the beach and the herd of children and adults that were descending on it.
He walks her along a rock path that runs up near the driveway to the garage. The leaves on the trees above cast dappled shadows on the sandy ground. He slides his arm around her as they walk past the garage to the stables at the very back of the property. He leans on the door looking at the two horses now stabled there and looks over at her. “You happy Beth?”
She was surprised when Chloe and Taylor took Max from her and murmured to him as they took him to the lounge. She was amused that Neil had spoken for her and then led her out the door of the house. Max had become such a spoiled little boy as he’d grown older with all these people fussed over him and scooping him up for cuddles. It relieved Beth’s guilt a little that Max couldn’t spend the time with his father that her other children had with their’s. At least with the other kids she’d been in a relationship with their fathers, but with Max’s, one drunken mistake led to this beautiful little boy entering their lives.
ReplyDeleteShe smiled at Neil as he held her hand, led her away from the hustle and bustle of the house and gestured toward the two horses in the stable. Her new horse, stood next to Goliath, happily. ‘I can’t believe you bought me a horse!’ she exclaimed with a giggle. She was still in shock from the events of two nights back. They disappeared from their beach picnic into the darkness and ended up on a nice cottage farm owned by Rita’s mother. There, Cowboy presented her with the beautiful gift. She grinned at him as she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips softly, ‘I am deliriously happy…’ she whispered her face almost hurting from grinning so much.
She’d grown accustomed to his scent and his presence that her body moved around his instinctively. Their nights filled with falling asleep in each others arms as a source of comfort, rising early in the morning to collect Max from his crib and bringing him back to the bed that they shared to lay and spend time together some more before the older kids wake. Their time together had increased dramatically over the weeks, to the point where Beth had agreed not to move out, after finding out Neil had been buying properties in the area before she could make a bid.
And now, even though there were no kids around; instinctively Beth kept watching where she walked to be mindful of little feet. She squeezed Neil’s hand as she looked at him, ‘So… I guess that begs the question Cowboy… are you happy?’
A few hours later, they walked together along the beach, hand in hand back to the beach house, grinning. A pony led by the reigns in Jon's free hand carried his three rambunctious children behind them.
ReplyDeleteSyl shook her head, still in disbelief. "I can't believe you bought them a pony. What were you thinking? You dork!"
She chuckled as she looked back at the three kids laughing and grinning on the back of the pony. They had called her 'Daddy's girlfriend' repeatedly during their walk. She wondered if they had noticed something she wasn't willing to admit to herself. Beth and Neil certainly seemed to see something and enjoyed teasing her and Jon about it.
There was one other problem besides her own doubt and uncertainty, though.
Sighing, she squeezed Jon's hand. "I wish Faith had come with us. I know she'd like you if she'd give you a chance." She absently ran a finger along his arm. "It would certainly make saying 'yes' easier. Being MVP for the opposing team in the big hockey game where her favourite team lost probably didn't help any."
She then gave him a quick shot in the arm. "And seriously, losing to you in a game of one-on-one probably killed her confidence as much as it killed the chances of her liking you." Shaking her head, she sighed again. "Letting her win on purpose would have probably pissed her off just as much though."
As they neared the beach house, she scanned the area for any sign of her daughter. "I should try to talk to her later. I wonder where she is."
When John, Syl and the kids went out for a walk, he hoped things will go smoothly. Some candy flosses, two pony-riding girls and one angry John later, he was dragging Pedro the pony around with all the kids riding it. "How did that happen?!" he thought, then he remembered Aiden running around the stable feeding candy floss to the ponies as John was screaming at the pony dude. "Get my kids off that pony, man, or you're mortos! Comprende? Mortos! Kobedammit!" When all was said and done, John and the pony dude shook hands and he became the proud owner of Pedro the pony. The kids were exalted. "Well, at least someone got something out of that whole ordeal."
ReplyDelete"Don't feed candy floss to the donkey, Aiden!"
"How many times do I have to tell you - it's not a donkey, it's a pony!" Syl seemed ready to sock him one so he agreed with a smile. "Sure, a pony."
As they were nearing the house, he remembered Aiden's definition of dating and chuckled. Syl looked at him curiously. "What is it?"
Before the pony (or BP for historical reference), all the kids were bent on embarrassing John in various clever ways which they thought helped cement things with their Dad's girlfriend, but none were as special as Aiden running after his sisters screaming "Daddy and Auntie Syl are dating, Daddy and Auntie are dating!" When he finally caught up to them, Val turned around. "And what does that mean, genius?" Aiden stopped to think. "It means... It means they both know what date it is today!" The girls started giggling and John face-palmed. "This isn't happening," he thought.
Back at the beach house, he realised things didn't go as bad as he thought, and that they actually had a lot of fun. He smiled and kissed Syl. "I'll see ya a bit later, baby, I have to take care of ole Pedro here. Would you mind taking the kids to the nearest decontamination room?"
He watched Syl and the kids disappear into the house with a smile on his face. He tapped Pedro's neck. "C'mon, donkey, time to show ya your own new beach house."
They headed for the stables.
He had taken her hand as she talked, the pair of them walking along the crushed stone paths that wound through the yard. The landscapers did wonders with the grounds, although he doubted that he spent enough time enjoying their work. He nodded towards a trail, "Tomorrow, we can go for a ride."
ReplyDeleteHe glanced back at her, thinking for a moment “Am I happy?” he grinned, pulling her into his arms, he leaned in to kiss her, but he never made it. “Well I guess you could say…” his eyes widened and his gaze shifted from her face to something behind her. “What the?” he asked laughing as he saw Jon trudging along with a pony. “Jon?” he asked and then shook his head. “Never mind, the stables just over there, put him in an empty stall and the trainer will figure it out in the morning.” He leaned his head against Beth’s laughing as he looked into her eyes. “Very.” He said softly, “Now come on, I need your help.”
He walked back towards the house, asking Beth to chase Faith out and then give him five minutes before dragging Sylvia out.
He waited for Faith and when she arrived, he took her over to the garage and tossed her a set of keys. “You wreck it, I’ll kill you cause it belongs to your Mom.” He warned her with a grin as he walked her over to the MacLaron F1 that was hidden under the cover. Stripping off the cover he pointed at the big red bow that was hanging on the wall, just waiting to be used. Once the car was decorated and she was inside, he started to push, “Don’t turn it on Faith, just steer.” He told her as they positioned the car in the driveway and waited for Beth to drag Sylvia out so she could see her present.
She heard his words about bringing Syl out to the driveway and she nodded, her mission clear. She kissed his cheek softly as she scampered up the beach house stairs.
ReplyDeleteBeth walked inside the house with a grin that she could not wipe off her face. Scooping Max up from Chloe and Taylor’s care, she thanked the girls profusely for letting her get away. It was getting late in the evening now, and the kids were starting to get ready for bed. Before they went though, they had to see this. ‘Aiden… go outside with Uncle Neil and Faith, Mommy will join you in a tic…’ she said, a plan formulating in her head. Beth waited for the door to slam, before she went to find Sylvia.
Syl was in the lounge room, packing up some of the toys that were strewn across the floor. ‘Syl!’ Beth said, using her acting skills to look distressed. ‘Aiden fell! He is out the front! I don’t know what to do!’ Beth said desperately and trying to hold a squirmy Max. Syl didn’t think twice as she ran in front of Beth and the two girls ran out the front door.
Syl stopped in her tracks when she found Aiden next to John, whining about a pony (or donkey) and she turned to look at Beth with a confused expression. Beth couldn’t hold the distressed look anymore as it slipped from her face replaced with a massive grin. She pointed behind Syl to a proud Neil and Faith, and she said ‘Merry Christmas!’, as Syl turned around, there in the driveway sat the biggest Christmas present of her life.
"Holy shit!" Syl swore loudly in surprise, prompting Jon's daughter Val to yell "Potty Mouth!" from somewhere inside the house. She looked over at Beth, then Jon, Neil and Faith. "You guys *can't* be serious." Her eyes took in the sleek outline of the dark blue sportscar, before looking back at the grinning faces of her friends and family. "Seriously? This is some kind of joke, right?"
ReplyDeleteFaith laughed and tossed her mom the keys. "No joke, Ma! It's really yours." The girl opened the driver's side door and stepped aside to let Syl have a seat. "Merry Christmas, Ma!"
Syl settled herself in the leather seat, and gripped the steering wheel as if to make sure it was real. "Seriously, guys? You're kidding me, right?"
Her daughter scooched into the driver's seat beside her with a laugh. "Is it really that hard to believe, Ma? Come on! Turn it on!"
Taking her mother's hand, the one that held the keys, Faith grinned as they put it in the ignition and turned the key together. The engine purred to life and hummed contentedly in the driveway. Syl was still in disbelief as she chuckled, and hugged her girl as they got out of the car. "You guys are all dorks. You know that, right? You're all awesome, but still a bunch of dorks."
With a huge smile, she went around hugging everyone, hugging Neil extra tight when she got to him. "This was all your idea, wasn't it, bro. You're the second biggest dork of them all after Jon."
Looking back at her 12-cylinder Christmas present, she chuckled. "Only one problem." She pulled out her wallet to show them her M-class license. "I only know how to drive motorcycles. I don't know how to drive a car, much less stick."
"The car drives itself, you just gotta be in it and look pretty, and you can do that quite well." John laughed. "Listen, I have something else for you." He handed her a really tiny but well-wrapped gift that looked suspiciously like a ring case. She froze for a second, looking at the gift and at John, then back at the gift. "Go ahead, open it!" The card said "Wear this close to your heart. Love, John" and so Syl decided to see what her present was. She unwrapped the gift and opened the little box. Suddenly, she gasped. "John! John?"
ReplyDelete"That's my cue." John jumped into Syl's new car and drove off as fast as possible. Syl was still gasping, as Neil and Beth ran over to see what all this was about. In the little box, they saw a pin saying "Say NO to violence!" They both started laughing simultaneously and in a few seconds Syl giggled too. "I'm going to kill him when he comes back!"
John returned not a few minutes later, still laughing hysterically. He got out of the car and spread his hands. "Okay, I am at your mercy." Syl ran over and punched him playfully. "You dork!" She leaned in and kissed him long and hard. He wrapped his arms around her and enjoyed the kiss.
When she hugged him, he kissed her cheek, “Can’t have Faith owning the first car, besides, she can teach you to drive it.” He grins at her. “Go enjoy.”
ReplyDeleteWhen Jon pulls his stunt with the ring box, he can’t help but laugh, looping his arm around Beth’s shoulder, he nudges her towards the door. “Let’s go inside and leave the two porcupines alone.”
He leads her into the house, spinning her around and pressing her against the wall once they were out of sight and sound of all the kids for a moment. “Shush, just thank you, for everything, it meant a lot.” He kissed her tenderly and then walked into the main room, gathering a few bottles and glasses as he headed out onto the back deck and set up the bar.
He poured a drink for Beth and one for himself as he settled into the deck chair and pulled her onto his lap as they looked out over the moonlit ocean. He found himself wondering what the rest of the year would bring.
Beth sat looking out to the ocean on Neil’s lap and felt comfort. ‘It was my pleasure…’ she whispered at him as she rests her cheek on his. The chorus of ‘Mom!!’ coming from inside the house bought them back to earth as she got out of his lap. ‘I’ll be back…’ she whispered, kissing his cheek, as she went and got the kids settled.
ReplyDeleteAfter half an hour, she walked into the lounge to find a poker table set up, and Neil with a cigar hanging out the side of his mouth. ‘What on earth…’ she said looking at him shuffling cards and setting up some poker chips. Seeing his cheeky grin and John and Sylvia walk into the room with game faces on, Beth realised she was in for some strip poker.
‘Ahh geez. I’ll be up against three former treasurers! I hardly think this is fair!’ She said taking a seat next to Cowboy, as he offered her a cigar. ‘I am sure I could just save us all time and strip down to my bra and panties…’ she said with a wink.
Syl's game face fell when she saw the poker table, and she immediately spun and punched Jon hard in the arm. "What the hell!? I thought we were going to play Monopoly. You told me we were going to play Monopoly!" Her angry expression was welcomed by Jon's good-natured laugh, as he led her to the table and pulled out her seat for her in a gentlemanly manner. "You are so dead, you know that, Jon," she grumbled as she sat down.
ReplyDeleteSighing, she exchanged worried glances with Beth across the table. "Treasurer experience isn't going to help here, Beth. Poker has very little do with actual numbers. It isn't even about odds. It's about signals." Disgruntled, she took a poker chip from the chip carousel in the center of the table, and spun it on the table top. "It's about the signals you give off to other people, and reading the signals people give off to you. You can have the best cards in your hand, but if someone with crap-ass cards convinces you to fold, you're screwed. There's a reason why they have that saying about 'playing a bad hand well'."
She slapped her hand down on the table, stopping the spinning chip. Picking it up, she absently traced her fingers along the edges and gave a resigned smile. "Anyways, I can't lie to save my life and Cowboy's known me so long he can read me like a book. I think the advantage goes to the former Mayors of Toronto," she said as she glanced with envy at Jon and Neil. "They're the ones with the most experience with keeping a straight face when the odds are stacked against them."
Setting the clay chip back into the carousel, she stood up and began to unexpectedly stumble nervously through her next words. "So I, uh... it seems to be a bit chilly in here," she lied. "I'll, um... I think I'll, um... go get my jacket."