Simple Kind of Life

Jeff was perched at the breakfast bar in Mike's kitchen, absently stirring ingredients into his mug of coffee. Cam was going on about something, but he wasn't really paying attention. It was early in the morning and his head was still swimming from Avery's confession. It wasn't the first time a woman had claimed she loved him, but the genuineness behind it was new for him.

So was the natural compulsion to say it back. And mean it.

"Is something wrong?" Cam's words finally cut through his trance, causing his eyes to meet her concerned face.

"What?"

"Is something wrong?" She asked again, tilting her head to the side and giving him a strange look.

"No. Why?"

The corners of her lips curved upwards in a smirk. "You're putting salt in your coffee."

Jeff quickly glanced down at the container in his hand. He groaned and tossed it aside before frowning at the undrinkable liquid in his mug.

Cam shook her head as she let out a small chuckle. She took the cup from him, rinsed it out and filled it with more coffee from the pot.

"So what's going on? You're obviously," She peered at him with amusement on her face as she placed the new coffee in front of him. "Distracted."

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "Avery told me she loves me."

Cam's face slowly contorted into a full smile, showing off her dimples. "This is huge! No wonder you're out of it. What did you say back?"

"I asked her to come with me to Ontario."

Cam's smile wavered slightly. "And then?"

"And then I hit her with a snowball."

The girl's eyebrows furrowed.

"You what?"

"We were outside. I smushed a snowball into her head."

Her smile was gone. "You're such a man-child."

"I know." He groaned, folding his arms in front of him on the counter before burying his head in his limbs.

"OK, well, do you feel the same way?"

"I don't know."

Cam sighed. "You at least care about her, right?"

"Yeah. I mean, she's a great woman. She's smart and artistic. She's beautiful and genuine. She's a great mom."

"She doesn't put up with your bullshit." Cam added, a smirk returning to her face.

"That too."

She had her flaws as well. Like her stubborn nature, the nail biting, her obsession with the faint stretch marks on her stomach, though Jeff couldn't see them. Not to mention she snored like a band saw. But it didn't seem to matter.

"Shit, Jeff. You're so in love with her. Why can't you just say it?"

"I'll say it when I'm ready." He peeked at the petite girl, glaring at her. "Avery understands. She gets me."

Cam rolled her eyes and returned the glare. "Just don't leave her hanging for too long."

******************************************************************************

Avery threw her car in park just as James was exiting his mother's house. He had Lili's limp body curled against him, sound asleep.

"How was she?" Avery asked quietly as she got out of her car and opened the door to the back seat. James gently laid the child in her car seat and buckled her in before shutting the door.

"She was great. She keeps going on about the new dog."

Avery rolled her eyes. "He's a little monster." She shuddered as her mind wandered to what Phin was probably destroying in her absence.

"I can't believe he got you guys a dog. Rookie mistake." They shared a small chuckle as Avery gently pushed on his shoulder.

"Yeah," She leaned against the side of the car and peered over at him. She knew she needed to ask him about Ontario. Though Avery had full custody of their daughter, she didn't feel right about leaving the country with Lili without James' blessing. "Listen, I have to run something by you."

He mimicked her stance and leaned against her car as well. "OK. I'm all ears."

"Jeff invited us to go visit his family after Christmas."

James nodded slowly, not making eye contact with her. "OK. Why did you need to run that by me?"

Avery's gaze also gravitated to the ground. "He lives in Ontario."

She could feel his eyes on her now. "He's Canadian? Since when?"

Slowly, her eyes met with his. "Since always."

"I should have known. All them damn hockey players are Canadian."

"Yep."

He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "Avery, I don't know."

"It wouldn't be until after Christmas, so you get to spend the holiday with her. And we'll be back by January 2nd."

He sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt. She could tell he was cold by the way he kept shifting his feet, but a little frigid temperatures wasn't going to end the conversation.

"I really don't like the idea."

Avery wanted to point out that it didn't matter if he liked the idea or not and the fact that she was even consulting him was out of courtesy, but she didn't.

"It’ll only be for a week. We'll be back before you know it."

"I guess I can't stop you. I just didn't know things were that serious between you and whatshisface."

"Jeff."

"Right. Jeff."

Avery crossed her arms over her chest. "Don’t."

James frowned. "I can’t help it. I never thought we'd end up this way."

His words had a sadness to them that made Avery almost feel guilty. But then she remembered how they ended up like this. This was his fault and she wasn't going to let him play on her emotions.

"Me neither. But this is how it has to be."

James sighed and backed away from her. "Do what you want. I can't stop you," He gently kicked a chunk of snow off the driveway. "Is he coming to Christmas at your house too."

Avery nodded. "Yes. So please play nice."

James grinned. "I always do."

**********************************************************************************

Jeff’s eyes popped open at the sudden weight added to his chest. The bedroom was still dark, but he could still make out the child’s form sitting on him.

“Jeff,” Even in a low whisper, he could still hear the excitement in Liliana’s voice. “Santa came!”

“I know, Squeaks. But do you know what time it is?”

She peered over at the alarm clock on the night stand. “Five,” She paused, her brow furrowing while trying to remember her numbers. “Twenty-seven.”

“That’s right, kiddo. And that’s super early. Why don’t we go back to sleep?” He lifted her off his chest and placed her between him and her sleeping mother.

“But Santa brought presents.” He could see her pouting at him.

“The presents aren’t going anywhere.” She squirmed against his grasp, causing Avery to stir.

"But Jeff!" Liliana's squeal made the lump of blankets next to him groan before Avery popped her head out.

"Liliana Cruz Santiago, get your behind back in your bed or I will call Santa and tell him to take all your gifts back."

This was a very serious threat and Lili simply couldn't chance it. Without a word, she scrambled out of Jeff's grasp and hurried out of the room.

"Harsh, Av." The male cuddled up to the woman, nuzzling her neck with his face.

“You gotta be firm sometimes. You’ll learn.” She turned to face him and gave him a small kiss on the nose. He pulled her close and shut his eyes in an attempt to go back to sleep, but it wasn’t happening. He was excited about Avery’s gift. Thought she didn’t like him spending a lot of money on her and the kids, he couldn’t help it. It was too perfect and he knew she’d love it too much to complain about the cost.

“Can you sleep?” He asked quietly after lying there for a few minutes. Her chest rose with a sigh.

“No.” She pulled away from him and sat up. “You want breakfast?”

The two of them finally got up and Jeff threw on a t-shirt before watching Avery’s petite form shrug into one of the silk robes he loved running his fingers over.

“You know how to cook bacon?” She asked as she dug around in her fridge.

He shrugged. “You just throw it into the pan, right?”

A grin spread across her face as she tossed a package of the breakfast meat at him. He caught it easily and stared down at it. “Pretty much.”

Together, they managed to makes scrambled eggs, bacon, and wheat toast. The smell of cooking caught Lili’s attention and brought her into the kitchen with Phin trotting behind her.

“Can we open presents now?” She asked softly, staring up at her mother with big brown eyes.

“After breakfast, you can open all your presents.” The child clapped her hands and settled in at the kitchen table. Eventually Aaron joined them and the two kids gobbled down their meals.

“Did you even chew?” Jeff asked, smiling widely at the little girl. Her cheeks were puffed out with the last of the toast and eggs, leaving her plate empty. She swallowed and looked over at her mother.

“I’m done.” She hopped out of her chair and put her plate in the dishwasher.

Avery chuckled and stood with her still full plate of food. “Alright, alright. Let’s do this.”

Lili squeaked before bolting into the living room. Avery sorted through the gifts, making piles for everyone. Though Lili’s pile was the biggest, she ripped through everything with ease. Jeff couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face as he watched her systematically destroy her gifts. Aaron took his time, examining everything from the soccer gear from Avery to the game worn jerseys and Flyers tickets from Jeff. Avery snapped pictures with her phone, making both of the kids hold up each gift.

“And this one is from me, but you guys have to wait until Mom opens her presents.” Jeff held the gifts away from Lili and Aaron, much to the child’s dismay. Her eyes shifted to Avery as if to say “get on with it” but the woman declined.

“Jeff’s our guest. He should go first.” His shoulders dropped. He just wanted her to open her presents, but that maternal selfless mode kicked in. And he knew better than to argue with her.

Jeff was impressed with his gifts from the Nanahara/Santiago family. They got him a Rolex watch, Oakley sunglasses, a couple ties for when he has to travel with the team, and his favorite cologne. He knew Avery inherited money from her parents, but he didn’t realize how comfortably she was living.

“Thanks guys.” He said sincerely before he gave Avery and Lili small kisses on the cheek and shook Aaron’s hand.

“I picked out the ties. Aaron helped with the sunglasses.” Lili said proudly, hugging him around the neck. “Your turn, Mommy.”

She opened her gifts from the kids. Lili made her a colorful picture frame and in it was a photo of the four of them at the skating rink, all smiles. “It’s beautiful, Squeaks. I love it.” The girl left Jeff’s side and squeezed her mom.

Aaron’s gift was next and she gasped when she saw the massive basket of art supplies. “Thanks, Aar, I was running low.”

Jeff nudged the slim package toward her, indicating it was his. She smiled and shook it gently before pointing at all the tape he used on the jagged corners. “You wrapped this yourself, huh?”

He nodded, feeling his cheeks redden. “Just open it.”

Nervous anticipation settled into his stomach as she slowly unwrapped the box. Her eyebrows wrinkled together. “Plane tickets?”

She pulled out four tickets and examined them. “To St. Petersburg Florida?”

“It’s where the Dali Museum is.”

Avery’s mouth dropped and her eyes widened when she realized he was taking her to Florida. Salvador Dali was her favorite artist and she constantly gushed over his work. She had mentioned once after they first met that she always wanted to visit his museum and see all of his work on display. Now she’d be able to.

“Jeff,” She peered up at him with watery eyes. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“I knew you really wanted to go. Hank and Angie helped me get it all together.” Hank was a travel agent so he really hooked Jeff up and helped him iron out the details like the tickets and hotels.

“Can I open mine now?” Lili asked, already picking up her gift and beginning to open it.

“Knock yourself out, Squeaks.” Jeff laughed at the same confused face Avery had that was now decorating the child’s face. They were so similar sometimes, it was frightening.

“You got me Minnie ears?” She placed the headband with the two big mouse ears and a red polka dot bow on her head. Aaron had a matching Mickey hat.

“Disney World is only an hour and a half away from the Dali museum.”

Lili’s eyes lit up and she flung herself at Jeff, knocking the air out of his lungs. “We’re going to Disney World! Oh man, we’re gonna see Mickey and Minnie and Goofy and Donald and Daisy! Princess Jasmine and Cinderella! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” The words came out jumbled together in rushed, excited sentences.

Once everything settled down, Avery began cleaning up all the wrapping paper as Lili took her toys to her room and Phin chewed the giant bone that Santa brought him.

“You’re never gonna be able to top this.” Avery said, grinning softly at him as he held a big trash bag open for her to throw the gift wrapping in.

“I’ll just have to try extra hard next year.” They paused, letting his sentence sink in. He was never one to make long term plans with anyone, but he didn’t mind it with Avery.

“You think you’ll be around next year?” She teased, wrinkling her nose at him.

He wrinkled his nose back at her as he dropped the trash bag and pulled her into a hug. “I better be.”

His lips were just touching hers when the doorbell rang and an older Spanish woman burst through the front door.

“Feliz Navidad, mijos.” The woman announced as she and a younger man brought in armfuls of gifts. Jeff recognized the man from the one tense encounter they had a few months ago. He assumed the woman was James’ mother. The two of them placed their gifts down by the tree.

“Merry Christmas.” James said softly as he hugged Avery briefly. He turned to Jeff and surprised him with a firm handshake.

“Hi Jeff, I’m Cruz. Merry Christmas.” The plump woman pulled him into a warm hug, which he also wasn’t expecting. Over Cruz’s shoulder, he could see Avery’s amused face. He instantly decided he liked Cruz.

“Merry Christmas, Daddy.” Lili appeared and jumped into her father’s arms.

“Back at you, Squeaks.”

Avery, Lili, and Aaron had new gifts to open as well as gifts for the Santiago family to unwrap. Jeff sat awkwardly on the couch, Phin in his lap. He petted the dog roughly as if getting the tension out but Phin didn't mind. The canine was practically purring as Jeff rubbed behind his floppy ears.

He tried to pay attention and oohed and awed at appropriate times, but his heart wasn't in it. He didn't like being excluded from the family. His family.

His phone vibrating in his pocket interrupted his jealousy fest and Phin's massage. He peered at the screen and smiled as "Mom" flashed across the window. Without a word, he placed Phin on the ground and slipped out into the cold December morning.

"Merry Christmas, Mom." He greeted warmly.

"Merry Christmas, honey. Did you like what Santa brought?"

"He was very good to me this year. You?"

She gushed about the earrings and necklace he had shipped to her. Though he would see her soon, he liked for his family to open gifts from him on Christmas because he usually never spent it with them.

"Did Avery and the kids like their gifts?"

"They loved it. I thought Av was gonna cry."

His mother laughed. "I'm so excited to meet them. I can't wait."

Jeff smiled. "Please don't make this into a huge deal."

"It is a huge deal. It's not everyday you bring home a girl, let alone a decent one."

"I've brought home decent girls before."

"Like who? Mallory? She showed up half naked for Sunday dinner. And that Amanda girl had such a bad attitude. It's about time you settled down with a nice, responsible girl. You're gonna be 28 soon, Jeffrey. It's about time you start thinking about your future."

Jeff groaned and rolled his eyes. If he had to hear the old "you're going to be (insert age here) soon, it's about time you settle down" speech one more time, he was going to throw himself off of a building.

"I know, Mom. Avery is amazing and-"

"Do you think she's the one?"

Jeff froze when he heard the front door to the house open. James was standing on the walkway, lighting a cigarette. His eyes were on Jeff as he waved him over.

"She's got potential," He said slowly, giving James a confused expression. What could this clown possibly want? "Listen, I gotta go. Tell everyone I love them and I'll see them soon."

His mother seemed delighted as she said her goodbyes. Jeff was fairly certain he had just made that woman's day. Cautiously, he made his way over to James who was surrounded by plumes of smoke. It made Jeff's eyes sting.

“I know we didn't get off on the right foot last time." His tone was warm, like he was talking to an old friend.

Jeff scoffed. "You could say that."

"I respect you for hanging around and being so good to my family. That's why I'm going to be upfront with you."

Jeff instantly knew this wasn't going to be a friendly conversation.

"Upfront with what?"

"I love that woman and my little girl. I know Avery thinks she wants you. But in the end, she'll realize her mistake. She'll come back to me. She always has."

"You hit her in front of your daughter." Jeff spat the words out at him and it took every ounce of strength he had not to tear this guy apart.

"I know what I did was wrong. I've made my amends. Avery knows that. She and I have history together, we have a child together. You're temporary, bro. I'll be in her life forever. She'll eventually come around."

Jeff smirked at the man. "You're sure about that?"

"You can count on it. No one knows Avery better than I do. And no one ever will."

We'll see about that.