My Saving Grace

"Can someone pass me the mashed potatoes?"

"I gotchu, bro," I said, scooping a heaping spoonful onto my own plate before passing the bowl to Nick.

"Thanks."

There were nine of us gathered in total at Dad's for Thanksgiving dinner—Antonio and I, Nick and Alyssa, Uncle Justin and Aunt Lauren, Grandma Elizabeth, Grandma Heather, and Grandpa James. The majority of the cooking had been done by both of my grandmothers, which I did not complain about. After all, their food was to die for.

"So, how's married life, dear?", Grandma Elizabeth asked as I stuffed turkey down my throat.

"You answer," I said to Antonio, my voice muffled from all the food.

His eyes gleamed with mirth.

"Better than single life, that's for sure. She keeps me thoroughly entertained, this one." He gazed at me lovingly, giving my shoulder a squeeze.

I swallowed my turkey before speaking.

"I could say the exact same thing."

We shared a smile.

"Any plans of becoming parents?", Grandma Heather chimed in.

There was nothing more she wanted than to become a great-grandmother, according to my dad.

"Yes, but maybe a couple more years down the road. I'm not quite ready to share Sophia yet," Antonio responded earnestly.

My heart swelled.

"And plus, Antonio's got a busy year ahead of him. He's working on a book and approaching tenure as well," I added.

"That's wonderful, son," my dad said, smiling proudly.

Antonio's face lit up.

"Thank you...Dad. May I call you that?"

"It's about time you do. My family is yours now. You're stuck with us for the unforeseeable future."

We all laughed then he raised his wineglass in a toast.

"To family—the one thing which has gotten me through all of the years, good and bad. And to Claire—the love of my life and mother of my two incredible children. May she continue to rest in peace as she watches over us."

I lifted my glass, clinking it with everyone else's before taking a sip.

"Speaking of family, Alyssa and I have an announcement to make," Nick spoke.

We all turned our eyes to the couple.

"Let's just say the Weston family is about to grow...Because we're having twins!", Alyssa exclaimed happily.

No wonder she hadn't touched any of the wine.

My face split into a huge grin as I scurried out of my seat to go wrap my brother and sister-in-law in a bear hug.

"Congratulations, you two!"

"Thanks, sis." Nick dropped an affectionate kiss to the top of my head then turned to our dad. "You're gonna be one hot grandpa, Dad."

It's true—Derek Weston aged like fine wine.

"Don't remind me," he said drily. His eyes betrayed his real emotion though—utter elation.

"This calls for more champagne," Uncle Justin declared, getting up to go grab another bottle from the wine cellar.

I returned to my seat beside Antonio, placing my hand above his on the table.

"And you, my dear husband, are going to be one hot uncle."

I felt him smiling against my lips as we exchanged a brief kiss.

Dinner lasted another solid hour and then the remaining hours of the night were spent playing pool, soaking in the hot tub outside, and watching a holiday Hallmark movie. Around ten, everyone got ready for bed, in preparation for Black Friday shopping in the early morning.

As usual, Antonio and I were settled in my childhood bedroom, and while he showered, I made a list of things we needed to shop for. They were mostly home appliances and gifts for friends and relatives.

Speaking of friends...

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and dialed Alexa's number.

"Claire!", she answered on the third ring. I beamed at the sound of her beloved voice.

"Alexa! Happy Thanksgiving!"

"You, too! Man, is it good to hear from you again. It's been way too long."

"I know! I've been meaning to call, but it kept slipping my mind. How have you been?"

"I've been great! Did I tell you that David and I moved in together last month?"

A few months ago, David had left his job at the Nike headquarters in Oregon to work at the New York office, which solved the whole long-distance issue in their relationship.

"No, but that's so exciting! I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, girl. So, tell me all about your fabulous life."

For the next fifteen minutes or so, I did exactly that, filling her in on my marriage and friendship with Chase. Then, she proceeded to tell me about how great things were progressing with David and that she was anticipating a proposal from him soon.

"So, does anyone else know about Chase besides Antonio?", she asked.

"Nope. You two are the only ones."

"Is it hard at all? Seeing him with his girlfriend, I mean."

"Why would it be? I'm happily married to my dream man, remember?"

"I know, Soph. It's just, you were so into him when you guys met. And it took almost our entire college career for you to forget about him."

I sighed.

"Yeah, I know. I'm still very much fond of him, that's for sure. It's so sweet how he remembers every little detail of the week we had together."

"Will you promise to let me meet him next time I'm in LA?"

"Yes, I promise." I smiled.

"Good. I'm excited for our Christmas trip."

"Me, too."

Alexa and I hadn't been back to Minnesota since we graduated, and there was no better time than the holidays to go. I missed seeing all of the Christmas lights surrounded by a bed of snow and of course, our college campus. Antonio and David had never visited Minnesota before, so it would be fun for them, too.

"Sophia?"

"Yes?"

"You're the sister I never had, you know that?"

My eyes began to well up.

"I know. No one will ever replace you, Lex. I'm so thankful for our friendship."

"Good to know I'm irreplaceable. And I better be the godmother to your future kids."

"Of course you will. I'm gonna go now, okay? Antonio just finished showering."

"You didn't join him? That's disappointing."

I laughed.

"Send him and your dad my love," she added.

"I will. Good-bye, Alexa."

"Bye, Soph. Stay golden."

I glanced down at the tattoo on my inner wrist.

"Always."

I hung up the phone just as Antonio stepped out of the bathroom in only a pair of black sweatpants, his defined abs on display for my greedy eyes.

"Alexa sends her love," I spoke, licking my lips in appreciation.

"Why are you looking at me the way you looked at your grandma's turkey?"

I giggled.

"You know exactly why." I stood up from the bed, grabbing my sleep clothes to change into.

Antonio chuckled, grabbing me by the waist when I reached his side.

"You were on the phone with her?", he mumbled against my neck.

"Yeah. She and David recently moved in together," I said breathily.

"How sweet."

He pressed a hot kiss to the side of my neck.

"Go to bed. I'll join you soon," I murmured.

"Okay."

I brushed my teeth then changed, and by the time I was done, Antonio was fast asleep. Feeling thirsty, I headed downstairs to the kitchen, only to find that my dad was still awake. He sat at the island with his reading glasses on, working on his laptop.

"You're still up?", I asked, filling up a glass with water before taking a seat next to him.

"I'm just replying to emails and finalizing some paperwork."

"Still the workaholic, I see," I teased.

"I'm not sleepy, that's all. It's exciting having you all here. The house is very empty with just me."

"I can't even imagine. Antonio leaves for a week, and already, I feel so lonely. And our house is nowhere as big as this one."

"That's why you have kids."

I smiled.

"Yup. Speaking of kids, I'm so excited for the twins to come."

"Me, too. Your brother and his wife are going to be wonderful parents."

"For sure."

My dad finished responding to an email then shut off his laptop, turning to face me.

"Sophia, I need your input on something."

I furrowed my brows.

"What is it, Dad?"

"Call it a mid-life crisis, but I've thought about running for governor of California."

My jaw dropped.

"Okay, I was definitely not expecting that."

"Does it sound ridiculous?"

"No, not at all. I just never knew you were into politics," I said truthfully.

"That is true. But I've dealt with numerous politicians throughout my career. I know how their minds work. Plus, we all know California's current economic state is far from where it should be."

"And who better to turn the economy around than you, right? I mean, you're practically loved by the whole state."

"Exactly! I'm more than just a handsome face. And I've never been involved in any shady business or affairs."

I laughed. His enthusiasm was contagious.

"But...?"

He grew somber.

"But, I love where I am now. Being CEO of Weston Hotel Group, it's all I've known these past thirty-one years. I wouldn't trade it for the world."

I placed a hand on his arm.

"You wanna hear my honest opinion?"

He nodded.

"We've got so many corrupt politicians in office, you'd be such a clean face. But at the same time, you're already contributing to the state so much with your current role. Your company brings in so much revenue and all the philanthropic work you do..."

"I thought the same thing, too. It'd be nice, though, to be the one in charge of all the law-making and policies."

"Yeah."

He sighed.

"What do you think your mom would say about all this?"

"She'd want you to do what makes you happy. To stick to your passion."

He stared down at his lap, fidgeting with his thumbs.

"My company is my passion. The people that work with me...they're like family."

"Be honest with yourself, Dad. Can you see yourself being the leader of this entire state? Not only would you have to deal with economic affairs but social as well."

He exhaled slowly.

"Honestly...no. It sounds way too stressful. Trying to please everyone and find a common ground. Avoiding controversy. God knows I don't ever want my name to be dragged through the mud."

"Well, there you have it." I smiled.

"I don't know where my whole hero mentality came from. Maybe I've been watching too many Marvel movies." He took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh, Dad." I laughed, giving his arm a loving squeeze.

"I'm glad we had this talk."

"Anytime. Come on, time for bed."

We got out of our seats then ascended the stairs to our bedrooms.

"See you in the morning, Dad."

"Sweet dreams, pumpkin. I love you."

"To the moon and back?"

His handsome face split into a wide grin.

"Yes. Always."

I hugged him tightly then headed to my room to get some much needed sleep before the madness that was Black Friday.

***

The weeks following Thanksgiving left Antonio and I up to our eyeballs in work. My engineering team at Abbott had been assigned multiple projects to work on, and the deadline was closer than we would've liked, which meant I had to work from home on the weekends as well.

I considered myself to be someone who worked well under pressure, but knowing that we had to present our results to the CEO definitely added to my stress levels. There was so much money on the line with the alterations to the defibrillators we'd developed.

It was a Sunday afternoon, and I decided to do some cleaning around the house to take a break from work. The fact that Christmas was less than two weeks away was the motivation I needed to power through.

Antonio had been cooped up in our home office since the early morning, finalizing his lesson plans for tomorrow and working on his book. He hadn't shaved since God knows when, and although facial hair did make him look sexier, this current beard of his was borderline caveman. I opened the door and poked my head inside.

"Want me to order pizza for lunch?", I asked.

"Yeah, sure," he replied distractedly, his eyes glued to his laptop.

Sadly, this was the norm for our interactions, lately, but hey, these were the jobs we'd signed up for.

By eight o'clock that night, I was completely wiped out, but I forced myself to finish just one more page of my report. The couch felt like a fluffy cloud as my eyelids grew heavy, blurring the words on my laptop screen.

"Stage one shows the compounding effects of copper replaced with..."

Within minutes, I was dead asleep, and the hours continued to fly by...

"Sophia!", a voice bellowed.

I stirred awake, the remnants of my dream fading as I slowly opened my eyes.

And looming over me was a very angry looking Antonio.

"Huh?" My brain was foggy.

"Where the hell is my electric shaver?", he barked.

"What are you talking about? What time is it?", I mumbled drowsily.

"Seven."

"That early? I was sleeping so well," I whined.

"Sophia, I'm not fucking around. I have a meeting with the industry donors for my research lab in an hour, and I fucking look like an ape right now. So, let me ask again. Where. The. Hell. Is. My. Electric. Shaver," he demanded through gritted teeth.

I began to panic.

"I-I must have moved it while I was cleaning yesterday. Maybe check behind the mirror?"

He glared at me then turned away to bolt up the stairs. There was no way I could fall back asleep now. Not when he was breathing fire through his ears like this. I simply lay there on the couch, anxiously biting my lip.

A few minutes later, he came back down, dressed and clean-shaven. I sighed with relief.

Until he hovered over me yet again with a hostile expression in his dark eyes.

He gripped my wrist firmly. Way too firmly.

"Never move my stuff without telling me. Is that clear?" His menacing tone sent chills down my spine.

"You're hurting me," I bit out.

He expelled a breath, abruptly releasing me before spinning on his heel to leave. As soon as I heard the sound of the garage door slam shut, I allowed myself a glance at my wrist, which had turned slightly red.

And all I could think as a single tear fell down my cheek was...

Why?