Amber spent the night tossing and turning. The pillow was wrong, the mattress sagged in the middle, and the heat was so strong it woke her up before down, stifling her breath. At least when she slept in strangers' beds-- or, more recently, Eric's-- her mom wasn't two doors down. She got up, turned the heat down, padded down to the bathroom, and lied down again. But Eric was snoring louder than he usually did (stupid soft pillows) and it took Amber a while to drift off back into sleep.
When she woke up, the morning light was strong and the house was filled with movement and voices. It took her a few moments to process, disoriented slightly. When she realized-- oh, fuck. Of all the mornings to oversleep. Why didn't Eric wake her up?! Her mom wouldn't forgive her for abandoning her like this on Thanksgiving Day.
It was tempting to stay in bed and postpone facing anyone. She couldn't even go down with Eric, since he was very absent from her bed and room. But Amber knew better than to delay; every missed minute would exponentially increase her problems. With a sigh, she sprang out of bed and got dressed. Jeans and a long-sleeved cotton shirt would do for now.
Amber went down the stairs just as Brian was coming up. "Brian!" she exclaimed and laughed as he tackled her in a bear-hug halfway through the staircase. She hugged him back hard.
"Hey! And here I thought you'd left your boyfriend with us and gone back to Jersey."
"I thought you'd ditched us completely!"
"Nah, I wouldn't do that." He pulled back, grinning. "That’d mean giving up my Christmas presents."
"You want more gift certificates?" Their family wasn't the most creative when it came to presents.
"If you don't want yours, I'll take 'em," Brian winked.
"You wish!"
Remarkably cheered up by the run-in, Amber went more light-hearted into the kitchen. Even before entering, the scent of pancakes and maple syrup called her; she just hoped there were some left. But what was most apparent to her as she came in was the crowd: all the women and Madeleine were in there.
Her mom turned to look over her shoulder. "Finally got up?"
"Yup," Amber said summarily, scanning the counters for leftover pancakes. "How's everything coming along?"
"My pie is ready," Aunt Jude volunteered proudly. Amber resisted grinning, knowing what her mom must have thought at that.
"The potatoes are almost done," Leila offered.
Ah, there they were, above the fridge; the rest of the counter space was filled with pans and cutting boards and ingredients. Amber picked up a cold pancake and starting munching. "And where's all the guys?" she asked.
"Guess," her mom said dryly.
Anywhere but here, was the clear answer. How very typical.
When she finished eating and gulping down a miserably frigid mug of what remained from the last batch of coffee, Amber got pulled into sauce-making duty. At some point Aunt Jude whisked Madeleine out to watch the guys play, which at least meant a hundred percent decrease in nursery rhymes.
Most of the morning's conversation had centered around the preparations and just how adorable Madeleine was (when not bawling for her damn ducky; Geoffrey should have decency to go out and buy a damn new one instead of throwing a pigskin around), but with just Amber, her mom, and Leila, things quieted. Leila turned on the radio to something between musak and jazz.
A few minutes later her mom asked, "Well, I see why you're dating that boy."
Amber choked. From anyone else it could’ve been a sweet statement. Her mom, though, with that polished tone-- Amber knew what it really meant. Her mom was stating loud and clear that she knew what they'd been up to last night and that she had an Opinion. But what did her mom expect? That she'd find an unfuckable man? That they'd keep from fucking just because of where they were? "He's a great boyfriend," Amber said with all the dignity she had.
Leila flashed Amber a smile. Had she and Geoffrey ever been caught fucking here? Not that Amber remembered. Nor did she want to know. It was probably different for him anyway, Geoffrey the golden boy.
With her mom's military precision, they finished everything they had to by four o'clock; up next was preparing the setting, but for the meanwhile they could take a break. Amber meant to sneak in a shower before the guys finished the game. On her way up, she glanced out the patio glass panes and caught the sight of Eric running around with the face-wide smile he only ever got in the middle of a game. Her brothers and dad seemed excited too. Geoffrey was crowing-- was he on Eric's side?-- and Brian was yelling, but they all burst into laughter when Eric somehow managed to smack face-first into a tree. He could perform brain surgery but didn't have the coordination to keep from running into large stationary objects?! That had to be a really good game.
In the shower, Amber mulled over what she'd just seen. Seemed like Eric was getting along better with her family than she was. Which was good, as it'd make both their lives easier, but... it wasn't what she'd expected. She'd thought they'd resist him more.
All cleaned up, Amber returned to her room and started to dry off.
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When she woke up, the morning light was strong and the house was filled with movement and voices. It took her a few moments to process, disoriented slightly. When she realized-- oh, fuck. Of all the mornings to oversleep. Why didn't Eric wake her up?! Her mom wouldn't forgive her for abandoning her like this on Thanksgiving Day.
It was tempting to stay in bed and postpone facing anyone. She couldn't even go down with Eric, since he was very absent from her bed and room. But Amber knew better than to delay; every missed minute would exponentially increase her problems. With a sigh, she sprang out of bed and got dressed. Jeans and a long-sleeved cotton shirt would do for now.
Amber went down the stairs just as Brian was coming up. "Brian!" she exclaimed and laughed as he tackled her in a bear-hug halfway through the staircase. She hugged him back hard.
"Hey! And here I thought you'd left your boyfriend with us and gone back to Jersey."
"I thought you'd ditched us completely!"
"Nah, I wouldn't do that." He pulled back, grinning. "That’d mean giving up my Christmas presents."
"You want more gift certificates?" Their family wasn't the most creative when it came to presents.
"If you don't want yours, I'll take 'em," Brian winked.
"You wish!"
Remarkably cheered up by the run-in, Amber went more light-hearted into the kitchen. Even before entering, the scent of pancakes and maple syrup called her; she just hoped there were some left. But what was most apparent to her as she came in was the crowd: all the women and Madeleine were in there.
Her mom turned to look over her shoulder. "Finally got up?"
"Yup," Amber said summarily, scanning the counters for leftover pancakes. "How's everything coming along?"
"My pie is ready," Aunt Jude volunteered proudly. Amber resisted grinning, knowing what her mom must have thought at that.
"The potatoes are almost done," Leila offered.
Ah, there they were, above the fridge; the rest of the counter space was filled with pans and cutting boards and ingredients. Amber picked up a cold pancake and starting munching. "And where's all the guys?" she asked.
"Guess," her mom said dryly.
Anywhere but here, was the clear answer. How very typical.
When she finished eating and gulping down a miserably frigid mug of what remained from the last batch of coffee, Amber got pulled into sauce-making duty. At some point Aunt Jude whisked Madeleine out to watch the guys play, which at least meant a hundred percent decrease in nursery rhymes.
Most of the morning's conversation had centered around the preparations and just how adorable Madeleine was (when not bawling for her damn ducky; Geoffrey should have decency to go out and buy a damn new one instead of throwing a pigskin around), but with just Amber, her mom, and Leila, things quieted. Leila turned on the radio to something between musak and jazz.
A few minutes later her mom asked, "Well, I see why you're dating that boy."
Amber choked. From anyone else it could’ve been a sweet statement. Her mom, though, with that polished tone-- Amber knew what it really meant. Her mom was stating loud and clear that she knew what they'd been up to last night and that she had an Opinion. But what did her mom expect? That she'd find an unfuckable man? That they'd keep from fucking just because of where they were? "He's a great boyfriend," Amber said with all the dignity she had.
Leila flashed Amber a smile. Had she and Geoffrey ever been caught fucking here? Not that Amber remembered. Nor did she want to know. It was probably different for him anyway, Geoffrey the golden boy.
With her mom's military precision, they finished everything they had to by four o'clock; up next was preparing the setting, but for the meanwhile they could take a break. Amber meant to sneak in a shower before the guys finished the game. On her way up, she glanced out the patio glass panes and caught the sight of Eric running around with the face-wide smile he only ever got in the middle of a game. Her brothers and dad seemed excited too. Geoffrey was crowing-- was he on Eric's side?-- and Brian was yelling, but they all burst into laughter when Eric somehow managed to smack face-first into a tree. He could perform brain surgery but didn't have the coordination to keep from running into large stationary objects?! That had to be a really good game.
In the shower, Amber mulled over what she'd just seen. Seemed like Eric was getting along better with her family than she was. Which was good, as it'd make both their lives easier, but... it wasn't what she'd expected. She'd thought they'd resist him more.
All cleaned up, Amber returned to her room and started to dry off.