Fire & Ice - Chapter 24: Chapter 24

After relaxing for a few minutes I got back up and started to put wood down in the fire pit to light a fire tonight. Once it was all in the correct places I lit the Firestarter and watched as the wood caught fire. Frank came up onto the back deck and sat down next to my chair while I went inside to grab a beer and my phone off the charger.
I sat back down in my chair and took a few sips of my beer before texting Cassie. We texted for a few minutes before I heard the back door open and close. I turned my head and watched as mom pulled a small table over to me and placed a pizza down on top of it. Once it was there she pulled up a chair for herself before going back into the house. When she came back out it was with Franks bowl and a beer for herself. She placed the bowl down and Frank dove into his dinner while I opened the lid of the pizza and smiled at the pepperoni and meatball topping.
"I figured you would want something heavier after the game. Carmella and Vito were really happy to see you play again." Mom said as she took her seat in across from me.
"You were right, thanks mom, this looks great." I said and dove into my first slice.
"You're welcome kid. How are you feeling, how are the ribs?" Mom asked.
"They are okay, sharp shooting pains only happen if I move really fast in a weird way. The bruising is almost completely gone now, there are just some light spots. Marissa has given me a lot of extra padding that covers my ribs now to protect them." I answered in between bites.
"I want to take a look at them later." Mom said and started to eat her own slice of pizza.
"Sure thing, so how did Alyssa enjoy the game?" I asked and mom coughed as she was in the middle of eating a bite of pizza.
"She is a hockey fan so it didn't take much convincing to have her come. She was really impressed with your playing." Mom said and cleared her throat.
"She must really like you to put up with you on game days." I said and smirked as mom blushed.
"Yea, the feelings are definitely strong. We have been seeing each other for a while now." Mom said.
"What's a while?" I asked only really remembering that this was still kind of new.
"So uhm, I have a confession to make." Mom said and started to get nervous. I moved to the edge of my seat and put down my food to give her all of my attention.
"What kind of confession?" I asked.
"Uhm, I've had a crush on Alyssa for years, when I switched into her department the connection was almost instant. But I never pursued my feelings because of PJ. As we started the process of the divorce she was my rock. Alyssa was really the only one who knew what was going on. We always danced around our feelings for each other but never really expressed them out loud to each other. I'm not sure if you remember but when you were in the hospital she was always sitting with me on her off days just watching you. After what happened with you I pushed her away because you were more important. You slowly started getting better but the damage was done. Alyssa wasn't going to wait around for me anymore and she started seeing someone. But I didn't blame her, I strung her along for so long, I deserved to be alone." Mom said and turned her head to look at the flames of the fire.
I let mom have moment to collect herself as I took another sip of my beer. The pizza becoming less appealing the more mom talked.
"So I kept my distance from her. The divorce was finalized, PJ was sentenced and life went on. We slowly became friend again as we worked together. Then I heard through hospital gossip that she was single again. You were doing better so I started to get close to her again but we took things slow as we had to find each other again. Before either of us knew it your senior year was over and it was summer. You spent most of your time with Travis at his house and with PJ locked away, we started dating." Mom said and picked up her beer, chugging the rest of it.
"Wait, so how long have you two actually been together?" I asked having my mind blown by this new information.
"Six months, we started officially dating back in June." Mom said and started picking at the label of her beer bottle.
"Why didn't you tell me before?" I asked kind of hurt that she hasn't told me.
"I wasn't sure how you would take it. I didn't know if I wanted you to know, if I was ready for you to know. It still kind of feels like I'm in a dream finally having this chance with her." Mom said and finally met my eyes.
I clenched my jaw and watched moms eyes for a moment. She still looked nervous and apprehensive of my reaction. I didn't know how to feel about it. All I ever wanted for my mom is for her to be safe and happy in a relationship. Getting to see her in the little glimpses with Alyssa mom looks comfortable around her. I'll hold out a bit longer before giving my stamp of approval, especially after my father, but I really just want to have a chance to have a good conversation with her.
"Well, I'm happy she is coming to thanksgiving tomorrow." I said and gave mom a smile.
Mom let out the breath she was holding and I looked back at her. She returned my smile and got up from her chair and came over to me. Once she got to me, mom wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me into her stomach and ran her fingers through my hair.
"What did I do to get a kid as great as you?" Mom asked quietly. I think she didn't mean for me to hear it but it made me wrap my arms around her tightly.
When mom let me go she returned to her seat and we slowly went back to eating our pizza and just finally had a chance to catch up. We just talked for hours. This is the first time I think ever, got to just sit and talk with each other. Before this we were always walking on egg shells, afraid if we got to comfortable alone my father would just walk in and catch us doing something he didn't like and he would punish her for it. We used to keep to ourselves. So to have this uninterrupted time together is something so special for us. But finally I lost the battle with my tiredness and retired for the night, which turned out to be like 2am. Frank joined me in bed tonight and I sighed finally feeling like mom and I made some headway with our relationship.
The next morning I woke up to a loud bang coming from the other side of the house. Frank wasn't in bed with me anymore as I pushed the blankets off of my body in a rush and grabbed one of my old hockey sticks before rushing towards the sound of the noise. Adrenaline started pumping in my body as I rounded the corner to the kitchen and found my mom slowly pick up pans from the floor. My whole body sagged in relief and I leaned against the table to try and calm down.
"Are you okay?" Mom asked looking at me.
"I just thought someone was in the house." I said and unclenched my hands from around my stick. It didn't need to be said that I thought my father was in the house, mom picked up on it right away and abandoned the pans on the floor and came over to me.
"Hey, it's just me and you in the house. He's not here." Mom said and cupped my cheeks to get me to focus on her. I just nodded and took a second to let the panic in me settle before mom pulled her hands off my face. Once they were gone she took my hand in hers and pulled me over into the kitchen to help her pick up the pans that fell out of the cabinet when she tried to pull one out.
It took us a few minutes to put the pans back inside. Once they were in the cabinet, mom sat me down in at the kitchen table and handed me a bowl of cereal and the milk carton as she continued to move around the kitchen.
"So I'm making a turkey breast for dinner with mashed potatoes, corn and green beans. Alyssa is bringing corn bread and some cookies and brownies for dessert as she actually like to bake in her free time like the crazy person she is. Uhm, if you could give me a hand in a little while with pealing the potatoes and the corn on the grill while I work on the turkey breast and green beans." Mom said and sat down next to me.
"Sounds like a plan, do you need me to go out and get anything?" I asked as I ate my cereal.
"No, I have everything we need, went shopping with Alyssa to make sure I wouldn't forget anything." Mom said and sighed.
"Why are you so stressed about this?" I asked and took another spoonful of cereal.
"Because it's important to me. You're both my favorite people in the world and I just want you both to like each other." Mom said.
"How about you stop freaking out about it and focus more on making sure the turkey comes out edible. Our last couple of thanksgivings have ended up with us ordering take out." I said and snickered.
Mom didn't like that because she grabbed my cereal bowl and the spoon out of my hand and dumped it into the garbage. I couldn't help but laugh. I was happy I already had a good amount of the cereal though so I won't be to hungry. Mom went back to moving around the kitchen and I grabbed Franks leash to take him out for a walk.
The weather was cool but nothing my trusty Carhartt jacket couldn't fight off. While Frank and I walked around the neighborhood, I gave Cassie a call and we got a chance to talk. I kind of explained what happened with my mom last night to her and my feelings about it. It was nice to get to talk to someone else about what is going on and my feelings about the need I have to protect my mom in this situation.
After the phone call finally came to an end Frank and I made our way back home. Frank was excited to get out of the cold and so was I as we made our way inside the house. Mom was sitting on the couch with two mugs on the coffee table. I plopped down next to her and mom handed me the mug.
"I want to start a new tradition." Mom said and picked up her own mug.
"What's that?" I asked waiting to take a sip.
"That even if we are apart for the actual day we make some time to come together and have thanksgiving." Mom said.
"I'll drink to that." I said and clinked my mug with hers before taking a big sip. As I took the sip I could taste the burn of alcohol and I almost choked on the drink. I managed to swallow it down started coughing afterwards.
"Shit, my bad, this is yours." Mom said and took the mug out of my hand to replace it with hers.
I took a sniff of my new mug to make sure I didn't smell any alcohol in it before taking a sip and just tasting the hot chocolate. Mom and I settled down on the couch and she put on Forrest Gump. Not long into the movie I felt my eyes started to drop and felt mom wrap her arm around my shoulders pulling me into her.
I'm not sure how long I was asleep for when I felt someone shake my shoulders. When I opened my eyes mom is sitting on the coffee table in front of me with a smile on her face.
"Hey time to get up sleepy head, Alyssa is here and we are starting to prep for dinner if you want to join us." Mom said. I only nodded and mom gave me a kiss on my temple before she got up and walked back into the kitchen.
I gave myself a second as I got up to just listen to the two women. They were both talking relaxedly about what needs to be done for dinner. Looks like mom won't freak out too much during dinner, hopefully her spiked hot chocolate from before will mellow out some of her nerves.
Slowly I got up off the couch and walked into the kitchen joining them. Alyssa is dressed in a simple black t-shirt and jeans while mom already has stains all over her shirt. Mom must be really comfortable around Alyssa to look like that.
"So, does it look like we are going to have to call for takeout tonight?" I asked mainly too Alyssa to try and start a conversation. Mom didn't like it though and she threw a dish towel at me.
"That was only one time!" Mom said and I couldn't help myself from laughing. When she had her back turned I held up 4 fingers to Alyssa and she couldn't help but snort and we both descended into giggles.
"Alright both of you get out of my kitchen!" Mom yelled and threw yet another towel in our direction. I took Alyssa arm and nodded to the back door. She followed me outside and started to set up another fire.
Alyssa helped me out by handing me some logs after I cleaned out the coals from last night's burn. Once they were in place I lit the match and watched as the fire starters caught fire.
"So, have you really had to order take out for thanksgiving dinner?" Alyssa asked and stood next to me.
"Yea, it was only three times but I just like busting her balls." I said and smiled.
"I should have known that would be true, she's tried to make me dinner a few times, some of them have been totally fine, others let's just say that cooking isn't one of her strongest talents." Alyssa said and chuckled.
"Totally not surprised. She has her few good meals she makes a lot that come out good but if she tries something new it's better to have a back-up plan." I said.
"Thanks for the advice. Look McKenna, I've been wanting to get to talk to you about this for a while now. I know that you are unsure of me, and you have every right to be. After everything your mom went through with PJ I can understand you being hesitant to her dating again. She did also tell me she just sprung this on you. I did try to tell her to talk to you about it when we became serious but she wouldn't listen to me." Alyssa said.
"She's pretty stubborn when it comes to some things, which you have had to notice by now with how close you too seem with each other." I said.
"That is an understatement." Alyssa said and chuckled.
"I want you to know that her safety is important to me, especially with me being away and now that PJ isn't behind bars anymore. You need to know that he is a violent man who has no morals and will hurt a woman. If he shows up here it could put you in danger as well as mom. I want you to know what you are getting yourself into when you became involved with my mom. I don't mean to put you off but if you really do care about my mom and want to stay with her and possibly have a future with her, you needed to know all the facts about what you're getting yourself into." I said laying it all out for Alyssa.
"I've seen the destruction PJ has caused first hand. When they were still married she would come to me for help after rough nights when you went to school. It made me sick to my stomach to have to watch her leave after I cleaned her up no matter how many times I asked her to stay." Alyssa said and looked at me. The hurt in her eyes is genuine.
"That being said, don't think I'm not keeping tabs on you. Mom did put up security cameras around the house that I do check. And so help me, if I think you are treating her the way PJ did you'll have another thing coming." I said trying to make my threat as serious as possible.
"I would never do anything to her hurt, and if I do you have my permission to keep me away from your mom." Alyssa said and I could tell she means every word of it.
The anxiety in my chest started to loosen as I nodded at Alyssa's words. It made me feel a bit better that she knows what she is getting herself into dating my mom. There is a lot of baggage that comes along with it. Even though Alyssa seems to be really into my mom, I know it could be a lot to handle if she doesn't know. Alyssa and I stayed outside for another few moments before mom came the back door to pull us back into the warmth of the kitchen.
Alyssa and I started to get to know each other a little bit more as we pealed potatoes togethers while mom worked on getting the green beans cleaned. Mom mainly stayed quiet as I learned about Alyssa, who is a doctor in the intensive care unit at the hospital. In her free time she loves to bake, which was clear in the amount of cookies and brownies she brought over for dessert, which I have no doubt we will have left over for days on end. Alyssa also enjoys hiking and running which she has also started dragging mom out with her. It made me smile when mom said she really like having that off time with Alyssa.
That was my que to start taking the corn out to the grill as dinner wouldn't take that much longer to finish. The corn didn't take long and while I was outside mom and Alyssa got everything ready inside. When I got back inside the turkey was already cut up and on a plate on the table. It just looked like they were waiting for me to start. Once I pulled my jacket off and placed the corn on a plate and put it on the table we all dug into the meal.
This year there was no need for takeout. I think mom just wanted to impress Alyssa so she paid really close attention to the turkey and it actually came out really good. Mom and I led the conversation around the table which was mainly about hockey and the team this year. She wanted to know all the details and I finally clued her in a bit more as to what has been going on between Tatiana and myself. Needless to say when I finished that conversation, mom was really pissed that Alyssa and I pulled her away from Tatiana yesterday when we saw her after the game.
As we went on with the conversation, Alyssa would join in every once in a while. I even managed to get her to join mom and I skating tomorrow. She claims it's not something she does often so she is going to need some help learning. At that moment I just sat back and watched mom carelessly flirt with Alyssa, holding nothing back. The moment just brought tears to my eyes and I excused myself to the bathroom to give myself a moment alone. This is what a loving relationship looks like. This is what I never got the chance to see growing up. It took me a few minutes to get myself together before rejoining the pair.
When I came out of the bathroom Frank stayed close to my side as we sat down at the table. We all finished eating by now and mom and Alyssa started to pack up some of the left overs. It didn't take long as we managed to eat almost everything that was made. After everything was put away and the dishes were loaded into the dishwasher we all took an after dinner drink out to the back patio and started up the fire place again.
Mom and Alyssa took the little two seater couch we had while I stuck with my same chair from before. Frank even joined us for a little while as I kept throwing a ball for him to go chase after. Once I got tired I let Frank go inside and grabbed the plate of cookies and brought them outside for us to nibble on. Mom started up the sound system and she put on one of her playlists and we just relaxed with each song. At some point Alyssa got up and pulled mom with her and they started dance around to the song playing. Chances by Five for Fighting was playing as the two slowly danced around in a circle. I pulled my phone out pocket and took a video of the pair wanting to capture this moment.
Alyssa whispered something to mom I couldn't hear and all of a sudden mom tilted her head back and let out a laugh. It didn't take her long to get it under control and once she did she tucked her head into Alyssa's neck. That when I ended the video. I pulled up my instagram and posted the video with the caption So fucken proud of you and added a heart and a rainbow flag next to it before hitting send. Once it was posted I put my phone down and finished my last beer of the night and got up off my chair.
"Do you mind if I cut in for a dance?" I asked Alyssa.
"No at all." Alyssa said and gave moms hand a kiss before passing it to me.
I wrapped my arms around my mom's hips when mom threw her arms around my neck. We didn't say anything to each other for a moment and a few seconds later Alyssa announced she was running to the bathroom. When I heard the back door close I looked down at mom.
"I approve" I said. Mom's head snapped up to meet my eyes and tears started to collect in them.
"You do?" She asked.
"Yea, there's no doubting the connection you to have. It seems like she is here to stay even after I laid it on her thick before. She really cares about you mom." I answered.
Mom couldn't say anything else as a few tears fell from her eyes and she pulled me into a bone crushing hug. Alyssa came out a few moments later and we slowly broke apart.
"Did I miss something?" She asked looking concerned when she say my mom wiping her cheeks.
"Nope, I'm going to head inside for the night. I just wanted to remind you both that I'm home tonight and the walls are thin and that I'm just down the hall so no funny business." I said and looked at both of them. Alyssa's face turned bright red while my mom yelled my name at me.
I just walked inside and closed the back door behind me. It didn't take long for me to get ready for bed and once I was done I sent Cassie a good night text.