I shoot Zane the finger behind Haley’s back, and he laughs so hard he falls off the stool. “Have you been a good girl?” I ask Haley.
“No, but I’ve already gotten my gifts, so.” She laughs. “Here, Sam. I hope you like it.”
I’m painfully slow opening the leaves, one after the other.
“Open it already,” Dante yells.
“Patience, Jones. Anticipation is part of the gift.” The last leaf falls away and there’s a bracelet with different types of knots in it. “You learned how to do all these yourself?”
“I had some help—lots of help—from the guys. But I can do them by myself now.”
“They’re really good.” I slip the bracelet over my wrist. “I love it. Thank you.” Damn, I could kiss this girl for the rest of the day. For the rest of the year. Hell, for the rest of my life.
Her eyes are sparkling blue when her lips leave mine.
“Catch, Sam.” Calvin throws a small paper-wrapped package at me.
“Thank you.” I hold it up and take my time opening this one as well. More because they’re all groaning. “Wow.” He’s carved a mini-Penny. She’s sitting with her head cocked to one side.
Calvin runs his fingers behind Penny’s ears. “She was a really good model.”
She barks and wags her tail. In her don’t-stop-petting-me way.
“I love it.”
Then packages are tossed around the circle left and right. Easton’s made Dante a rack to hang above the potbelly stove to hold his spoons. Calvin’s carved Zane a Union Jack. Dante’s made Calvin some lube. Actually, Dante’s made everyone some lube.“Thoughtful and useful,”to quote him.
But my favorite part of the chaos of the guys’ gift exchange is watching Haley. Her eyes are beaming. She talks about a family, and she’s right. That’s what we are now. A family that nothing can pull apart.
Zane gathers the wrappings, both leaves and paper. While Dante’s making a fish course, Easton and Calvin are playing a game of checkers with the board Zane made Calvin. Haley’s rocking in the hammock Easton made for Dante. This new chair that Calvin made cradles my back in a way that’s the most comfortable I’ve been in months. And I can’t stop smiling. Pepper’s on my lap. Penny’s head is on my foot.
I’ve always thought of myself as someone who likes the quiet. A cup of coffee on an empty deck. The sun beating down on me. But then I’d never really been completely alone before. Penny scooches closer to my foot. Oh, I wasn’t completely alone all that time. I had Penny, but her conversation wasn’t the best. I thought I was a quiet kind of guy. But this? This is the best.
The only thing missing is my brother and my sister with her husband and kids. This isn’t bad. Nothing about it. Which is bonkers. We’re stuck in the middle of the ocean, yet I’ve had the best Christmas morning of my life. There’s a little pile of presents beside me: My Penny carving, which I’m definitely going to make sure Penny doesn’t treat as a chew toy. I run my thumb over the bracelet. She did a good job on the bowline and the other knots in the bracelet. It means so much more than something bought. The Mancala board from Zane, a shell-decorated dog bowl from Easton, and the oil from Dante.
“You can’t do that,” Easton says. And I’m not sure if he’s being serious or not, the way he says it.
“Fuck, you suck at this, Swimmer Boy.” Dante laughs, watching over the game of checkers.
“I can. You lined your pieces up for me to jump them. I thought you were doing it on purpose. I mean, seriously. Look at this, Zane.” Calvin replays the triple-jump of Easton’s pieces in a slow-motion reenactment.
“It’s fair play. Why did you...? Oh, never mind,” Easton says.
“Oh no, I’ve lost. Zane, you said you wanted to play the winner? I’ll help you, Haley.” Easton pushes up from the table.
“You lost on purpose?” Zane growls.
“I know, right? Weird.” He pulls Haley into a kiss. When he comes up for air, he laughs. “Want to take a swim?”
“I’m up for a swim too.” I put Pepper on the chair, and she curls up into a ball.
“Yeah, yeah, I do,” Haley says. “We should all go. Do you have time for a swim, Dante?”
“I have time for anything that has to do with you, Sassy. But yeah, this just has to simmer, and I’m letting the fire go out—for today, anyway. By the time it’s done, we’ll be able to eat our afternoon meal. Let’s swim.” Dante picks Haley up and races three steps. “Ugh, I love you, Sassy, but my dick isn’t going to let me run and carry you.”
She slides down his chest, laughing. “I’ll walk.” She pivots and announces to the rest of us: “I’ll walk—no, I’ll beat you all there!” She takes off running, and Calvin’s not wrong calling her a bunny. She’s got a good amount of hop in her step as she takes off for the ocean. Sand flies up from her feet.
I’m off after her, but so is Penny. Penny’s going vertical beside her?
