Take It All Away

I pulled up in front of my parents’ house and turned the car off. I glared at the front door. Adam held my hand.

“Is this the house you grew up in?” he asked, helping me get the Christmas gifts out of the car. I nodded. “Well good! Now I can see your old room.” I smiled at him as we headed up the front steps. “Uh, Violet? Why is there salt on your stairs?”

I laughed. “It helps melt the ice,” I explained. “That way you don’t have to worry about slipping as much.”

My father opened the door with a grin. “Violet!” he cried and I hugged him tightly. “Adam! It’s so good to see you again!”

“Likewise, Mr. Greene,” he said, shaking his hand.

My father scoffed. “Come, call me Oliver.”

We walked into the doublewide trailer. A large Christmas tree was set up in the family room and Adam put the gifts underneath. A fire had been lit in the fireplace, casting warm air into the room. Adam took my coat off for me and handed it to my father.

“Auntie Violet!” a little girl cried and threw herself into my knees.

I giggled. “Well, hello there Misty,” I said and she held her hands up to me. I picked her up. “Misty, this is my… boyfriend Adam,” I said and glanced at him. He grinned at me before turning to the little girl.

“Hi, Misty,” he said to the five year old.

She beamed. “Come see what I drew Violet!” she said excitedly and I put her down.

She grabbed my hand and I smiled a little at Adam as she led me into the toy room.

--

Adam watched her go with a smile. Oliver handed him a small cup of eggnog.

“I thought Violet didn’t have any siblings,” he said.

“Oh, she doesn’t,” Oliver said quickly. “We adopted Misty from a foster home in Tulsa. She was abused and we introduced Violet as her sister but she insisted on calling her aunt. So, we let her.”

Adam nodded, taking a sip. Violet’s mother came into the room and sniffed before putting more gifts under the tree. Adam sighed but Oliver patted him on the shoulder.

“You said you were a photographer?” he asked and Adam nodded. “Follow me.” He led Adam to a room across from where Violet and Misty were drawing together. “This is my office,” he explained, flipping on the light. Adam’s jaw dropped. “I was an avid photographer when I was in college.”

The walls were covered in photographs of people and scenery.

“I did a lot of traveling after I graduated,” he explained. “It was kind of a trend back then. Graduate and travel the world. I started off with a cheap throw away camera until I got to Paris. I couldn’t resist buying a good camera; that country is too beautiful to take pictures with a camera like that.” He led Adam to a small case on his desk where a Polaroid camera sat. “This was my first ever camera.”

Adam gaped at it. “May I?” he asked and Oliver grinned.

“Actually, I was going to give it to you.”

Adam stared in shock. “No. I can’t accept it.”

Oliver put the cup of eggnog down and took the camera out of the case. “I don’t use it anymore, son. Such a camera doesn’t deserve to be locked away, collecting dust.”

He pushed into Adam’s shaking hands.

“Thank you,” he breathed and Oliver patted him on the shoulder again.

“Do you have a portfolio?” he asked.

“In fact, I do,” he said. “Do you have a computer?”

Oliver pulled a laptop out of the desk and Adam sat down, pulling up the website where he posted all his pictures, making sure the Polaroid camera was set as far from the edge of the desk as possible.

--

After telling Misty I needed to change, I grabbed my bag and went into the bathroom. I had decided before we left I would at least make my mother a little happy and dress up for dinner and gift opening. I had brought a pair of nice black jeans and a long sleeved red turtleneck sweater. I opened the box that held the necklace and earrings Sofia had given me. I smiled at the way they looked and touched up my makeup.

I was going to call for Adam until I heard laughter in my dad’s old office. I poked my head in and smiled.

“God, I had forgotten about this picture,” Adam laughed. “I had some kind of obsession with food at the time. Jeez. Who takes pictures of octopi?”

“I went through a food phase, too,” my father said. “Mostly it was at buffets, of all places.”

“What are you boys doing in here?” I asked, stepping in.

“I’m showing your dad my portfolio,” Adam said. He turned to me and grinned. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Time for dinner!” my mother shouted and we filed out.

Adam held my hand as we sat at the table. My father sat at the head and my mother sat on his right. I sat on his left, Adam right next to me. Misty sat beside my mother across from me. My mother hadn’t said a word all through dinner until the end.

“So,” she sniffed and I waited for the insults to begin. “Was your trip as long as ours was?”

“Actually, we made good time,” I said, taking a sip of champagne.

“I can’t wait to drive!” Misty piped up and I grinned.

“That will be a while from now,” Oliver said.

“When will I get to wear makeup like Auntie Violet?”

“When you’re old,” I said, scrunching my nose up at her. “I’m all wrinkly under all this makeup.”

Misty giggled and dug into her pie. I smiled fondly at her. My parents had adopted her when she was three and I had fallen in love with her the moment I saw her. My father, knowing about how I couldn’t have kids, had encouraged me to spend as much time as possible with her.

“When do we get to see what Santa brought?” Misty asked, bouncing in her seat.

“No time like the present,” my mother said, grinning and pinching her cheek.

I couldn’t help but feel a little pang of jealousy. My mother was never like that with me when I was Misty’s age.

We gathered around the tree and my father passed around the gifts. I noticed that all the ones for Adam were wrapped meticulously – a sign that they were all from my father.

“You have hit the jackpot!” I said as Misty unwrapped a large Frozen themed arts and crafts set.

“I can’t wait!” she cried happily and I ruffled her brown hair. “Thank you!”

“These are from me and Adam,” I said, passing everyone their gifts.

Adam held my hand as my dad opened his.

“Thank you!” he said, staring with adoration at the set of tools I got him. “How did you know I had lost all of my old ones?”

I winked at him and watched my mother nervously. Adam had picked the gift out and I bit my lower lip. She opened it stiffly but I saw her body start to relax when she took the scarf out and unraveled it. It was made of silk and different shades of blue and pink.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed, looking up with shocked eyes.

I smiled and turned my attention to Misty who was already ripping the paper off of a set of new crayons and drawing paper. My father said that she had really taken to drawing. Misty squealed in delight and hugged the both of us.

Ice started hitting the windows and my dad looked out the window doubtfully.

“I don’t want you driving back in this,” he said firmly and turned on the TV just as the power went out.

I pulled out my phone and got out the weather app. “It says it’s supposed to continue until the morning,” I said, a little disappointed, as my father passed around flashlights.

“Well, we might as well get to bed,” my father sighed.

“Aww!” Misty pouted. “Just a few more minutes?”

“No, you need to sleep,” my father said firmly. “You were up all night waiting for Santa.”

“Fine,” she said and went to her room.

I laughed a little and led Adam to my room which was on the other side of the house.

As he looked around, I felt self-conscious. The walls were all painted green, my favorite color when I was in high school. I had a queen sized bed with red sheets and comforter. All over my walls I had many posters, most of David Bowie. I took my necklace and earrings off while he shut the door. He pulled me into a kiss.

“That wasn’t too bad,” he said quietly and I laughed.

“You’re right. I don’t even want to think what they’ll say when I tell them I’m going on tour with you.”

He kissed me deeply, both hands on my hips. “I’m so glad you’re coming,” he whispered against my lips.

“Me, too,” I whispered back and took my shoes off, climbing under the covers, and he joined me.

He wrapped his arms around me and I fell asleep to the sound of the ice hitting the window and his steady breath against my back.