insisted,
causing him to burst into tears. Amber picked him up and squeezed him as I
explained to Gracie that she should share, laughing at the irony. After a
minute, Amber got the joke, and started laughing too. That soothed Gracie's
pout over my slight scolding, and dried Enoch's tears. Within seconds, Gracie
scrambled off my lap, hugged Enoch and pulled him down the hall toward the playroom.
Amber and I followed. It was as if I had never left the ranch, the old,
familiar patterns falling into place already.
The few days remaining before Christmas
were consumed in preparing an even more magnificent feast than we'd enjoyed at
Thanksgiving, not to mention cookies, candy and all the other culinary delights
that meant Christmas to Janet and consequently to the rest of us. I found time
in the evenings, after putting Gracie to bed, to go out to the barn and visit comfortably
with Tyler.
He was still fascinated by college life,
even more so by my confession that I had learned to enjoy basketball as a fan.
One thing led to another, and Tyler was the first to learn everything about
Drew, since I had put the others off, saying I wanted to tell everyone at once.
We expected the other girls and Cody along with all the children for Christmas
day, and I figured it would be most efficient to talk to Charity and my sisters
as a group, rather than telling one of them this and another of them that.
Tyler took my news with grace, giving me a
brotherly hug and telling me he wished things were different, but he
understood. That confirmed my suspicion that he wanted more from me than I
could give, which in a way was sad. I liked Ty, a lot actually, but not in that
way. To change the subject, I asked him if he had talk to Russ yet about his
desire to go to college himself.
"Naw, I just cain't see myself asking
that," he said, looking down at his boots and flicking off a stray piece
of hay. If he wouldn't, I thought maybe I would. Russ was generous to a fault,
and had the means to be. I was sure that, if nothing else, he'd loan Ty the
money.
Christmas morning dawned bright and sunny,
though bitterly cold. The huge tree in the ballroom had literally dozens of
gifts, as the ranch hands were considered extended family, as well as my
sisters and I along with our kids. All together, there were thirty-seven people
seated around it, laughing as the youngest ranch hand and Annalee's five-year-old,
Al, handed out gifts. The kids who were old enough to understand this ritual
were beyond excited, and even the youngest, Annalee's new baby, had fun amid
ripped and wadded up wrapping paper.
The rest of the day was devoted to eating
and more football, watching the kids play with their new toys, and gossip. That
meant it was time for me to talk about Drew to my four sisters, Charity and
even Janet. Six rapt faces intimidated me, but I managed to start by describing
how I'd met him, and before long, the whole story came out. When Charity heard
that Drew was aspiring to the NBA, she went and got a grumbling Russ to hear
about Drew's basketball prowess and my surprising love of the game. When it
came to the dating part, though, Russ escaped and I was free to talk. Celeste
was the one to ask if I'd slept with him yet. The question shocked Amber and
surprised me, but the answer shocked everyone else.
"No. He doesn't want to get distracted
during the season," I said. "And I'm not sure I'm ready." That
ended that subject, though Charity sent me an appraising look that meant I'd be
having more discussion with her later.
Amber changed the subject by asking if I
had pictures, so we spent the next little while passing around my iPhone with
pictures not only of Drew, but also of Rihanna and the rest of her posse as
well. Talking about how much fun I was having with this group of people made me
miss them in spite of myself. If I could only have my family with me in Salt
Lake City or my friends here on the ranch, life would be perfect.
The next day, Charity asked me to
causing him to burst into tears. Amber picked him up and squeezed him as I
explained to Gracie that she should share, laughing at the irony. After a
minute, Amber got the joke, and started laughing too. That soothed Gracie's
pout over my slight scolding, and dried Enoch's tears. Within seconds, Gracie
scrambled off my lap, hugged Enoch and pulled him down the hall toward the playroom.
Amber and I followed. It was as if I had never left the ranch, the old,
familiar patterns falling into place already.
The few days remaining before Christmas
were consumed in preparing an even more magnificent feast than we'd enjoyed at
Thanksgiving, not to mention cookies, candy and all the other culinary delights
that meant Christmas to Janet and consequently to the rest of us. I found time
in the evenings, after putting Gracie to bed, to go out to the barn and visit comfortably
with Tyler.
He was still fascinated by college life,
even more so by my confession that I had learned to enjoy basketball as a fan.
One thing led to another, and Tyler was the first to learn everything about
Drew, since I had put the others off, saying I wanted to tell everyone at once.
We expected the other girls and Cody along with all the children for Christmas
day, and I figured it would be most efficient to talk to Charity and my sisters
as a group, rather than telling one of them this and another of them that.
Tyler took my news with grace, giving me a
brotherly hug and telling me he wished things were different, but he
understood. That confirmed my suspicion that he wanted more from me than I
could give, which in a way was sad. I liked Ty, a lot actually, but not in that
way. To change the subject, I asked him if he had talk to Russ yet about his
desire to go to college himself.
"Naw, I just cain't see myself asking
that," he said, looking down at his boots and flicking off a stray piece
of hay. If he wouldn't, I thought maybe I would. Russ was generous to a fault,
and had the means to be. I was sure that, if nothing else, he'd loan Ty the
money.
Christmas morning dawned bright and sunny,
though bitterly cold. The huge tree in the ballroom had literally dozens of
gifts, as the ranch hands were considered extended family, as well as my
sisters and I along with our kids. All together, there were thirty-seven people
seated around it, laughing as the youngest ranch hand and Annalee's five-year-old,
Al, handed out gifts. The kids who were old enough to understand this ritual
were beyond excited, and even the youngest, Annalee's new baby, had fun amid
ripped and wadded up wrapping paper.
The rest of the day was devoted to eating
and more football, watching the kids play with their new toys, and gossip. That
meant it was time for me to talk about Drew to my four sisters, Charity and
even Janet. Six rapt faces intimidated me, but I managed to start by describing
how I'd met him, and before long, the whole story came out. When Charity heard
that Drew was aspiring to the NBA, she went and got a grumbling Russ to hear
about Drew's basketball prowess and my surprising love of the game. When it
came to the dating part, though, Russ escaped and I was free to talk. Celeste
was the one to ask if I'd slept with him yet. The question shocked Amber and
surprised me, but the answer shocked everyone else.
"No. He doesn't want to get distracted
during the season," I said. "And I'm not sure I'm ready." That
ended that subject, though Charity sent me an appraising look that meant I'd be
having more discussion with her later.
Amber changed the subject by asking if I
had pictures, so we spent the next little while passing around my iPhone with
pictures not only of Drew, but also of Rihanna and the rest of her posse as
well. Talking about how much fun I was having with this group of people made me
miss them in spite of myself. If I could only have my family with me in Salt
Lake City or my friends here on the ranch, life would be perfect.
The next day, Charity asked me to
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