Recipe For Disaster

The weeks passed by, and Alex and Ronnie remained close. They had been seeing a lot more of each other, which was fine by Alex. It was a Friday evening and Alex decided he’d call on Ronnie.

He knocked on the front door and there was no answer, but there were lights on in the house, so he knew someone was home. Alex pushed the door open and poked his head inside.

“Anyone home?” he called.

“Oh, come on in, Alex,” called Beth, unsurprisingly from the kitchen. “Sorry, dear, I didn’t hear you knock.”

“It’s no problem,” smiled Alex. “Is Ronnie around?”

Beth rolled her eyes. “Yes, she’s barricaded herself in her bedroom. You’re welcome to try to infiltrate.”

Confused by this but not about to press the matter with Ronnie’s mother, Alex walked down the familiar hallway which led to Ronnie’s bedroom. Within a ten-foot vicinity of the room, Alex recognized Underoath booming from within. Knowing that Ronnie, much to her dismay, didn’t have a lock on her bedroom door, Alex opened it and stepped inside.

Ronnie was sitting on her bed with her laptop and clearly hadn’t seen or head Alex come in. He bounced onto the bed, landing himself next to her. Ronnie swore loudly and jumped.

She grabbed the remote next to her, pressed a button, and the loud music stopped.

“Stop fucking doing that to me, you’ve taken about ten years off my life already!” she snapped.

Alex just smirked. “Nice to see you, too.”

Ronnie rolled her eyes and shut her laptop, setting it on the floor beside her bed.

“So, what’s wrong?” Alex asked, leaning back on the headboard.

Ronnie rolled her eyes. “My mother is an ass monkey, that’s all.”

Alex laughed at this. “Care to explain?”

“She’s decided that for Christmas this year, her and my aunt are going to Tennessee to visit their relatives, and I’m being forced to go with them.”

He frowned. “That sucks, why can’t you just stay here?”

“There’s no one to take care of me, because I’m fucking five years old, obviously,” said Ronnie, “she doesn’t want me spending Christmas and New Year’s alone, and I’m pretty sure she thinks I’ll have some massive party and she’ll come back to the house in pieces.”

At this, Alex smirked. “And that last point - how far from the truth is that, exactly?”

Ronnie glared icily at Alex. “Not helping, Gaskarth.”

He raised his hands defensively. “Sorry.” He paused for a few seconds. “How opposed do you think your mom would be to the idea of you coming back to Maryland with me?”

Ronnie frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, my mom and I are driving back to Maryland for the break to spend Christmas with my dad,” he said. “I don’t see why my mom would have a problem with you coming along. What do you think your mom would say?”

She paused. “Hmm,” she said. “I don’t know, we could talk to her about it…”

“Let’s go,” said Alex, jumping up. Ronnie followed, and the pair ventured out into the kitchen, where the aroma of freshly baked peanut butter cookies filled their nostrils.

“Hey, ma?” asked Ronnie.

Beth sighed, wiping her hands on a towel. “Yes?”

“Well, as you know, I’m less than happy about the idea of going to Tennessee for Christmas,” began Ronnie. “But Alex has an idea.”

“Which is?”

“Well, my mom and I are heading back to Maryland for the break,” said Alex. “I’d still need to confirm it with her, but I’m sure Ronnie would be more than welcome to come along with us.”

Beth sighed. “Guys, I don’t know. First of all, Christmas is about spending time with family. Second, it seems like it would be a huge imposition…”

“So what would you rather it be, mom?” asked Ronnie. “Me sitting there miserably in Tennessee for two weeks - and you know how miserable I’ll be - or me having a good Christmas in Maryland?”

“It’s still a burden on Alex’s family, Ronnie!” snapped Beth. “We can’t expect them to take you in for two weeks.”

“Honestly, Beth,” reasoned Alex, “My mom loves having company. I’m sure she’ll be fine with it.”

Beth sighed. “Okay, Alex, talk to your mom first, and then I’ll give you my answer.”

Ronnie smiled. “Have I ever mentioned you’re the best mom in the world?”

This forced a chuckle from Beth. “Yeah, yeah, get outta here.”

With that, they retreated back to the confines of Ronnie’s bedroom.

After Alex and Ronnie watched a couple movies, Alex decided he’d better go home.

“I’ll talk to my mom and let you know what she says,” he said. “I’m sure she’ll be fine with it.”

Ronnie smiled. “Okay, I’ll see you later.”

Alex gave her a hug and turned towards the door. “See ya.”

---------- x ----------

The next day, Ronnie was straightening her hair when her phone began to ring. Setting the flat iron down, she grabbed her cell and looked at the caller id, answering it.

“Hey, Gaskarth.”

“Hey Ronnie.”

“What’s up?”

“Not much,” replied Alex. “You?”

“Oh, just doing my hair.”

Alex laughed. “Typical. Anyways, I talked to my mom.”

“And what did she say?” asked Ronnie, raising her eyebrows.

“She said she’d love to have you come along.”

“Yesss!” cheered Ronnie. “No Tennessee for me!”

“Guess not,” chuckled Alex. “Looks like you’re coming to Maryland.”