The Fifty-First State by Lisa Borders

Author:Lisa Borders
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781938126246
Publisher: Engine Books
Published: 2013-08-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

When Josh was little and still believed in Santa Claus, he used to wake up early on Christmas morning—sometimes before sunrise. He would run to his parents’ room, where his dad would say, “Go back to bed until it’s light out.” And Josh would open the blinds in his room and lie in bed, staring out the front window until he saw the first hint of brightness in the dark sky.

When Josh was older and fell into his habit of staying up and reading until 3 or 4 a.m., he would sleep in on Christmas morning, as would his dad—the one morning a year Dad slept past 5 a.m. They’d both wake up around ten to the smell of his mom’s French toast, would go downstairs and have breakfast and then open their presents.

Josh hadn’t expected anything to be the same this Christmas, but he woke to a smell so familiar that, in those few seconds between waking and full wakefulness, he was sure it was French toast. He would put on his bathrobe and head down the stairs and his mom would be there, in the kitchen, standing over the stove. She’d kiss him good morning and he’d get himself a glass of juice, lean against the counter and tease her about her bunny slippers while she finished making breakfast.

But when he sat up, he saw Emma’s form by his feet, and remembered what had happened, that his mom couldn’t be downstairs. He wondered when it would stop, at what point his brain would finally get over what it had been used to for seventeen years. It was Christmas, and Hallie was there, Lawrence and Kenneth were there, but his parents were not. Emma’s tail began to thump against the bed. He reached over and patted her back.

“Merry Christmas, Emma,” he said, and the dog flopped on her side, her tail thumping harder.

•

After taking Emma for a walk, Josh found Kenneth in the kitchen, but he was making omelets, not French toast. He had all sorts of vegetables chopped: onions, peppers, spinach, mushrooms.

“Good morning,” Kenneth said, teasing at the edge of an omelet with a spatula. “I hope you don’t mind that I took over your kitchen.”

“No,” Josh said, looking over the selection of fillings. There was also a bowl of shredded cheese, and one of diced ham.

“You eat eggs, don’t you? And cheese?”

“Yep,” Josh said, spooning dog food into a bowl.

“Good,” Kenneth said. “Pick your veggies and I’ll make yours when I’m done with this one.”

“Everything except the ham,” Josh said, his stomach rumbling. He was suddenly starving. He set the dog food down in front of Emma.

“Would you bring me a plate?” Kenneth asked. Josh did, and Kenneth slid the omelet onto it and put it aside, then started to make Josh’s.

“Yours will get cold,” Josh said.

“Oh, that’s okay. They don’t take long. I’ll nibble at it while I make yours.”

By the time Hallie came downstairs, Josh had eaten two omelets and Kenneth was making him a third.

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