Never Look Back

“Merry Christmas, Grand-mère.” Jordyn smiled, giving Andree a big hug as she entered her grandparent’s home. It wasn’t actually Christmas, but this is when they were celebrating their holidays with the family because Jon had a game the day before Christmas Eve, and the day after Christmas.

“Merry Christmas mon petit etoile.” Andree smiled, hugging Jordyn tightly.

“Grand-mère, this is Dylan.” Jordyn introduced as the tall athlete entered the home right behind her, hauling in the packages from the car. Yes, after lots of negotiating, a few tears, and Amy’s help, Dylan was allowed to finally come along for the family party.

“Oh! Hello, Dylan, so nice to meet you.” Andree said, pulling him into a hug and winking at Jordyn over his shoulder.

“Very nice to meet you as well, Mrs. Toews.” Dylan replied.

“Oh, please, sweetheart, call me Andree, or Grand-mère.” Andree insisted, earning the biggest stink-face of all time from Jonathan who had just entered along with Amy. “Oh! And my first daughter!” Andree exclaimed, throwing her arms around Amy as she got all teary-eyed.

“Come on, let’s go before she starts crying.” Jordyn insisted. Jon’s eyes zeroed in on their intertwined hands as Jordyn lead Dylan into the family room where Bryan and Davey were watching TV.

“Hi Grandpa!” Jordyn flung herself onto Bryan who was poised and ready to catch her.

“Hello there.” Bryan smiled before stiffening up to shake Dylan’s hand.

“Sir.” Dylan nodded, shaking Bryan’s hand while Jordyn climbed all over Davey who was sans his girlfriend for this particular gathering. Soon, most of the family was sitting around to watch the early Christmas specials on TV, the room eerily silent for a holiday gathering as fifty-percent of the Toews family was simply staring at the intruder.

“Dylan, sweetie, why don’t you help me with drinks?” Andree insisted, to which Dylan immediately got up and followed her into the kitchen.

“Can you guys not be so obvious?” Jordyn whispered, frowning at Davey who it seemed had recently forgotten how to blink while staring at Dylan with a disapproving tilt of his mouth.

“Is that your boyfriend?” Davey asked, eyes flickering between Jordyn and Jon.

“No.” They replied at the same time.

“Well, is he gay?” Bryan asked, leaning back in his recliner.

“No.” Jordyn hissed with a frown.

“Well then I don’t like him.” Davey shook his head. Jon tried to keep the smug smile from his face and kept his hands at his sides when he wanted to jump up and point at Amy shouting, “she said he could come! It’s her fault!”

“All of you stop it right now. He’s a sweet boy.” Andree frowned, flicking her towel in their direction. “If I catch any of you being mean to him this weekend…” She threatened. “You all can cook for yourselves and Amy and I will go out for a night on the town!” She finished, making Jon and Bryan roll their eyes. She returned to the kitchen where she had put Dylan to work squeezing lemons for homemade tea.

“Please, please try to be nice.” Jordyn begged before disappearing into the kitchen as well.

It wasn’t long after dinner that Jordyn asked Jon if she and Dylan could go out onto the rink out back.

“Well Dylan doesn’t have any skates.” Jon brushed off the idea right away.

“Nonsense, Jonathan, we have a thousand pairs of skates in the shed.” Andree scolded. “You know the rules, be in before ten, hats, mittens, coats zipped all the way up.” She rattled off as Jordyn hopped up from the couch, bringing Dylan with her to the front entry to grab shoes to wear to the shed.

Only a few moments had passed, Jon sitting on the couch stiffly with his arm around Amy’s shoulders before he finally caved.

“I think I need to stretch my legs.”

“I think you’re right.” Davey agreed quickly.

“I think I should supervise.” Bryan announced.

“I think I’ll sit here by the fire and drink some cocoa.” Amy shrugged from under her blanket. “No hurting him.” She said before Jon could kiss her lips softly. “And I’ll find out if you’re being mean.” She warned.

“I know, I know, play nice, be fair and all that shit.” Jon rolled his eyes, earning a slap on his ass from his girlfriend as he and his brother and father grabbed their coats and boots from the front entryway.

When the three Toews men arrived at the rink, Jordyn and Dylan were already skating around on the rink that Bryan flooded every winter. Dylan was chasing Jordyn, she was giving him a run for his money, but he caught up, wrapping his arms around her as she giggled wildly. And just as it looked like he was going in for a kiss, Jon slapped his stick on the ice loudly, making the two of them jump.

“Who wants to play some pick up?” He asked with a wide grin as his powerful thighs lead him out to center ice with Davey coming up hard behind him. Dylan stood still as Jordyn skated up to Jon, her face distressed and unhappy.

“Don’t ruin this for me.” She all but begged. “Please.” Her expression was pathetic with worry and Jon felt guilt at the bottom of his stomach, but more than that, he was sad that she was paying so much attention to Dylan and leaving him behind.

Davey handed Dylan a stick and Jordyn grabbed hers from the pile that her uncle had brought from the shed.

“You didn’t tell me you play.” Dylan commented as Jordyn skated around him, getting used to the weight of the stick in her hand after not using it for so long.

“I dabble.” She shrugged with a small smile.

“Well show me what you got, rookie.” Dylan grinned, as Bryan nudged a puck their way. They were able to goof around for a bit before Jon interfered, stealing Jordyn’s puck and making his way towards the end of the rink where Bryan was playing goalie. “Trust me.” Dylan winked before taking off after Jon, skating as hard as his powerful legs would take him. Jon could hear the kid skating up behind him and swerved at the last moment, deciding to take the puck to the other net. What surprised Jon is when Dylan dodged past him, effectively knocking the puck from his possession and darting back towards Bryan’s net.

“What is he doing?” Davey asked with a sigh.

“I don’t know.” Jordyn smiled wistfully. “But you have to admit, he’s fast.” She pointed out. “And he can stick handle.” She added. “Don’t you think?” She asked, the cold nipping at the small gaps where her skin wasn’t covered.

“He’s decent. Bit of a bender…” Davey teased, earning a slug in the shoulder from Jordyn. “So he’s the real thing?” He asked, wanting to hear Jordyn’s thoughts instead of Jon’s bias.

“I really like him, Uncle Davey. He’s sweet and kind, we have so much in common, he doesn’t pressure me or ever put me down… he’s perfect.” She sighed. “And he’s willing to put up with Dad, so you know he’s got a golden constitution.” She joked. “But really, he’s special to me, I just wish Dad could see that.” She finished.

“If you say he’s a good guy, I believe you, Jord.” Davey sighed. “Go easy on your Dad, he just wants the best for you.”

“Dylan is the best for me.”

Surprisingly, when Jordyn and Davey skated out to where Dylan and Jon were standing, they were holding a civil conversation.

“Top shelf – right where Mama puts the peanut butter.” Dylan joked, making Jon laugh, surprising everyone around them.

“Whatchya talkin’ about?” Jordyn asked, skating up to meet her Dad and not-boyfriend.

“Nothing.” Jon smiled with a wink, making his daughter pout.

“That face.” Dylan groaned while Jon frowned as well. Clearly, neither of them liked that particular expression of Jordyn’s. Jordyn huffed, eyeing them both as Dylan grinned, wishing he could have stolen a kiss to capture the moment, but knew that that was probably a terrible idea.

“Getting cold?” Jon asked, slinging his arm around Jordyn’s shoulders. Sure, they had only been outside for maybe forty minutes, but it was pitch black and freezing out. Jordyn nodded which lead to the entire group heading back inside for cocoa and cookies thanks to Andree.

“I’m going to head to bed.” Andree announced as the family finished their nighttime snack. “Jordyn, darling, Papa put your suitcases’ up in your and Dylan’s room.” She informed.

“Maman! Vous savez très bien qu'ils ne peuvent pas partager une chambre!” Jon all but snarled, speaking quickly enough that Jordyn couldn’t possibly keep up. He reminded her that she knew very well that they were not allowed to share a room.

“Jonathan, ils sont intelligents, les laisser être. j'ai peine à croire qu'il allait essayer de faire un mouvement pendant que vous dormez dans la salle.” She frowned, scolding him right away. She reminded her son that they were smart young people and Dylan wouldn’t dare try anything on Jordyn with he and Amy sleeping across the hall. “D'ailleurs, votre père a ajouté un deuxième lit de la chambre à coucher, de sorte qu'ils ne seront pas partager un lit.” She informed, telling him that they wouldn’t be actually sharing a bed since Bryan had added a second bed to the room before their arrival.

Later that night when Jon headed up to bed, he checked in on Jordyn and Dylan in her bedroom several times. Both beds were made up and they each sat in theirs with a few feet and a nightstand between them, both of them clicking and typing away on their laptops.

“Petite fille, où est le Douglas?” Jon asked Jordyn where her coveted stuffed penguin was.

“I forgot him at home.” She frowned. “I waited till the last minute to pack him with the plan to put him in my carry-on but I rushed and forgot him.” She pouted.

“I’m sure he’ll make it through the night without you.” Jon smiled, leaning down to kiss both of her cheeks gently. “Sleep well, I love you.” He whispered.

“Love you too, Dad.” She smiled.

“Don’t stay up too late, presents are at eight sharp.” He reminded. He looked over at Dylan, lips poised to threaten him with a security system that would go off if he got out of that bed, but Dylan simply nodded without Jon having to say anything. Maybe he wasn’t as dumb as he looked.

“Goodnight, sir.” Dylan nodded.

“Goodnight.” Jon nodded curtly.

•••

“Oh, ma petit, try not to look so sleepy!” Andree placed a hand on Dylan’s cheek that was covered in sleepy sheet-marks.

“I’ll try.” He offered a charming smile, making Andree blush and Amy giggle.

“Perk up, bébé.” Andree laughed, “breakfast after presents.” She insisted. When Jordyn bounced down the stairs that morning, she greeted all of her family members with a kiss, still snug and warm in her pajamas.

“Morning.” She hugged Jon tightly, resting her head against his warm chest as he swayed back and forth for a minute as Dylan helped Davey distribute presents. Soon, they were sitting in their traditional circle with a few new additions as they went from youngest to oldest in opening presents. Making their rounds until every gift was open, Dylan piped up at the end.

“Actually, I have a few gifts.” Dylan said as Jordyn grabbed a shopping bag tucked tightly behind the tree. He pulled out a gorgeous poinsettia for Andree and Bryan’s family room, chocolate peanuts for Davey (he had a tip from Jordyn they were his favorite), and a silver picture frame for Jon and Amy.

“Wow, thank you, Dylan! That’s so sweet of you!” Amy fawned over the beautiful frame.

“It’s from my Mom’s shop, she’s a florist, but they do little gifts like that, too.” He smiled.

“Well it’s wonderful.” Amy complimented again, nudging Jon with her elbow.

“Yes, thank you.” Jon nodded, looking over to Davey who was stuffing his face.

“David! Quit guzzling those down! You’ll ruin your breakfast!” Andree scolded, causing Davey to give her an awfully guilty look. He was then banished to the dining room to set the table fore brunch. As the family headed upstairs to change for the meal, Jon stopped Dylan before he could get to the stairs. Struggling to find his words, Dylan stared at him – terrified – before Jon finally picked what he wanted to say.

“I don’t want to see you touching her other than on the hand in front of me, I don’t want to see you kiss her, and I certainly don’t want you thinking you can ever spend the night again.” He began. “But you can take her on dates as long as it’s by my terms because you’re not the worst she could do.” Jon admitted. “However I can promise you - if you make her cry, if you make her sad, or if I ever find out that you’ve ever touched or looked at her in a way that I wouldn’t approve of – I’ll kill you, and I’ll make it look like an accident.” He finished very sharply.

“Yes sir, of course, sir.” Dylan nodded.

“Other than that, you have my blessing.” Jon replied.

“Thank you, sir.” Dylan nodded again like a bobble head.

“Now go change, I’m hungry.”