Finding Home (24 page)

“Mom, this is my friend, Sean.” She waved him up from the bottom step where he stood waiting.

“I’m so pleased to meet you. Welcome to our home.” Mom reached out and took Sean’s hand.

Megan was proud of her mother’s graciousness. There’d been times in her childhood when Megan had shown up at dinner with at least three friends along and her mom always made room for them at the table.

“Megan!” Her dad’s big frame crowded the doorway. Megan leaped into his bear hug. “How are you?”
“Just fine. How was the drive?”
“Great. Dad, this is Sean.” She turned to introduce him.

Her father shook his hand with a firm grip and said, “Good to have you here.”

Sean’s expression was reserved. Megan thought he was nervous, but he always managed to keep his face so expressionless that, even after all these weeks, she really couldn’t always read him.

“Well, come inside. It’s freezing.” Her mom ushered them inside.

In the foyer, there was a second wave of welcome from Chris, Greg and a hugely pregnant Charlotte. The dogs twined in and out of legs, while Megan and Sean removed their coats and exchanged greetings with everyone.

Chris lifted Megan off the floor in a bone-crunching hug before setting her down. “Hey. Missed ya.” He added in a whisper, “We need to talk later.”

“Sean, this is my brother, Chris.”
“Hey.” Chris scanned Sean.

Sean nodded politely then asked Megan, “Do you want me to get the luggage?”

Megan thought he looked a bit overwhelmed by the sheer enthusiasm of her loud family, so she said, “Sure.”

“I’ll help.” Chris followed Sean outside.
“Look at you!” Megan put a hand on Charlotte’s round belly. “You’re getting enormous!”

“I know. Only one more month, give or take.” Charlotte managed to look smug and nervous at the same time. “I’m so ready for it to be over.”

“Honey, it’s only the beginning.” Mom turned from hanging Megan’s coat in the hall closet.

“How about you? Are you ready to be a dad?” Megan asked Greg. “Hell, I love kids. It’s going to be a hoot.” Greg wrapped his arm around Charlotte’s shoulders and squeezed.

“You love kids because you
are
a big kid,” Charlotte said, nudging him in the ribs with her elbow. She turned to Megan. “Do you know this guy has been dying for you to get here so we could play Monopoly? He still wants payback for last time.”

“Oh, no. Not another Monopoly tournament. It was a long drive. I’m not up for it, Greg.”

“Aw, come on. It’ll be fun. Good ice breaker for your friend, too.” He gave her a wink.

Megan was touched he realized how uncomfortable this visit might be for Sean and was trying to put him at ease. “Monopoly it is,” Megan agreed with a smile.

As they walked from the front hall, Megan came up beside Charlotte, hooked her arm through her sister’s and leaned in to say, “Hey, sorry about the argument when you came to visit.”

“No, I am,” Charlotte said. “I still think you’re crazy to take this guy in, but it’s none of my business.”

That was Charlotte all over, wrapping her apology around a little dig and offering it like cake with poison frosting.

In the living room, Megan breathed in the Christmas tree’s sharp pine scent and felt a wave of nostalgia. She remembered how exciting it had been when she and her brother and sister were small and beside themselves waiting for Christmas morning. It would be nice when she had a little niece or nephew to spoil.

As the rest of the family sat and talked, Chris and Sean returned with the luggage and placed it in the bedrooms, then Sean stood next to Megan’s armchair. Breathing in his familiar cigarette-and-Sean odor, she understood why retrieving the bags had taken so long. She smiled up at him.

He returned the smile, but seemed ill at ease standing there.

“How about that Monopoly game, then,” Greg said. “I feel the need to kick Megan’s ass.”

Chris went to get the game while the rest of them gathered snacks and drinks from the kitchen and brought an extra chair to the dining room table. Their parents abstained, preferring to sit in front of the fireplace and listen to Christmas music turned low and the sounds of their grown children playing in the other room.

“God, remember when we used to have tournaments with the Schuderman kids? Five bucks a head to play, winner takes all. That was so much fun,” Megan recalled as she counted out piles of pastel money.

“Jenn would always lose, pitch a fit and go home mad.” Charlotte laughed. “Didn’t you used to date her for, like, five seconds freshman year?” she asked Chris.

He gave a non-committal “Hm”, then held out a palmful of tokens for Sean to choose from. “Shoe, hat, dog, racehorse, wheelbarrow?”

Sean shrugged. “Whichever. Doesn’t matter.”
“Oh, but it does,” Greg said. “Choosing your playing piece is crucial to winning. You pick the wrong token and you’re jinxed.”

“He’s right,” Megan agreed. “The hat is lucky.” She snatched it from Chris’s hand. “And that’s why it’s always mine!”

Sean selected the dog and placed it on the Go square beside Megan’s hat. Megan cut a sideways glance at Charlotte and noticed her quick frown of annoyance. Charlotte always had the dog.

“So, how do you play this?” Sean asked and everyone fell silent. “You’ve never played Monopoly?” Chris asked. “Ever?”
“I was never much into board games.” Sean looked uncomfortable with all eyes on him.

“Well, okay,” Greg said. “It’s not hard. It’s capitalism at work. You buy all the land you can, build houses and hotels and collect rent from everybody who lands on it. The point is to amass wealth and force everybody else into bankruptcy.”

“The American way,” Chris added dryly. His cell phone rang and he practically jumped from his seat. He fumbled the phone from his pocket and answered, “Hey. How’s it going?”

Megan raised her eyebrows and Charlotte said, “New girlfriend. He’s talked to her twice already since we’ve been here. Guess it’s true love this time.”

Chris frowned and smacked the back of Charlotte’s head as he passed her. “Ma, take my place,” he said as he walked through the living room.

She good-naturedly filled in for Chris at the table then everyone spoke across each other for several minutes explaining the rules of the game to Sean. Finally, they began play. Dice rolled, property was bought, sold or traded and eventually houses and hotels erected.

Megan’s top hat wasn’t working for her. Within twenty minutes, she went completely broke and was forced from the game. She fondled Grover’s soft muzzle resting on her lap and watched Sean examine his Marvin Gardens card to see how much Charlotte owed him with three houses on the property. Eight-hundred fifty dollars,“ he said with a smug smile.

Charlotte, on the verge of bankruptcy, grumbled as she mortgaged properties to pay her debt.

Megan exchanged a look with Greg and he gave her a broad grin. He was such a sweetheart. He was going to make a great dad.

Pushing Grover’s head off her lap, she got up from the table to talk with her dad in the living room for a while. He told her about what was going on in the hardware world and she was bored to tears but smiled and nodded at the right parts. Then he asked about her job and she told him how exciting it was to finally be assigned articles, even if they weren’t really hard news.

As they talked, Chris wandered in and flopped down on the couch. That had been one hell of a long phone call, and Megan wondered how serious he was about this new girl. Dad asked Chris about his college courses and Megan half listened, but was getting drowsy sitting in front of the warm fire, lulled by Bing Crosby’s crooning.

“Megan.” She startled awake as her mom touched her shoulder. “Time for bed, honey.”

“‘Kay,” Megan murmured, feeling about six years old and wishing someone would carry her upstairs—maybe Sean.

“I had Chris blow up the air mattress so Sean can share his room. Your bags are in your old room.”

“Love you, Mom.” Megan hugged and kissed her goodnight and went upstairs. She could hear male voices coming from Chris’ room and she knocked, then pushed open the door.

Sean and Chris looked up from spreading a blanket over the air mattress. Megan was struck by how young they both looked, like a pair of boys having a sleepover. She didn’t appreciate the reminder that her live-in lover was three years younger than her kid brother. In fact, it freaked her out. “You got everything you need?” she asked Sean.

He nodded.

She smiled and waggled her fingers. “Well… ‘Night.”
“Good night.” His eyes told her he wished he was going with her. Chris looked back and forth between them.
“Good night, loser,” she said conversationally to her brother and shut the door behind her.

Lying in bed alone that night for the first time in over a month,

Megan longed for Sean’s warm body and strong arms wrapped around her. It was amazing and kind of frightening how quickly she’d gotten used to sleeping with him and how cold and lonely the bed seemed without him. Thoughts like that inevitably led to thoughts of the future, something Megan wasn’t ready to explore. She didn’t know how long they could be together or where they were headed. But she did know she’d already reached the point where it would hurt if their relationship ended.

She wondered if Sean felt the same way about her.

Christmas Eve morning, Megan’s dad went to open his hardware store for a half day in case somebody needed a last minute hammer to fill a stocking or something. He was insane, but he’d never slow down and stop working too hard.

By mid-morning, Greg, Chris and Sean were outside playing basketball in the driveway, Buttons getting underfoot and tripping them. Megan considered joining them, but her mom sidetracked her.

“Megan, can you help me in the kitchen? I have two more kinds of cookies to make.”

“Mother, how many people do you think you’re feeding? You’ve already made enough for a small African nation.”

“We have to have sugar cookies and orange blossoms, Megan. We always do.” Charlotte stood at the counter, taking ingredients from a cupboard.

“Fine. What do you want me to do?”
“Melt these.” Charlotte tossed a bag of chocolate chips at her.

Megan poured the chocolate in into a bowl then set it in the microwave.

“You should melt those in the double boiler,” her sister pointed out. “Why? The microwave is quicker.” Megan jabbed the minute button. “So,” Mom interrupted before they could begin bickering. “Tell me more about your friend.”

“What do you want to know?” Megan asked, preparing herself for a double grilling from her mother and sister.

“How is he doing? He seems like a nice boy. Quiet. Is he behaving for you?”

Megan had just popped a chocolate morsel into her mouth and almost choked. “Uh, yeah. He’s a good houseguest. Cleans up after himself, and me. He’s working at a construction job, so he contributes to the household expenses.”

“What about school? Shouldn’t he be in school?” Charlotte asked. “He’s studying to pass his high school equivalency. He doesn’t take classes, he does the work at home.”

“And by ‘home’ you mean your home.”
“You have a problem with that?” Megan snapped, ready to rumble. “Megan, he’s underage. It’s illegal for you to keep him like some kind of—pet. There are agencies to deal with kids in his situation. You should contact the authorities and—”

“All right. Enough, Charlotte,” Mom said firmly.

Charlotte subsided, sulkily turning her attention to making sugar cookie dough, her mouth a thin, sharp line.

“So after he gets his degree, what does he plan on doing?” Mom asked. “What are his plans for the future?”

“I don’t think he’s thought all that through yet,” Megan admitted. “I hope he’ll eventually take college classes and figure out what career he’s interested in, but for now he’s concentrating on passing high school. He’s still young.”

“Yes. He is.” Her mother’s tone was pregnant with meaning. “Are you sure you’re ready to help this child figure out his future?”

The word “child” was like a blow to her gut. “He’s not a…” Megan broke off. How could she explain to her mother why Sean wasn’t, and hadn’t been, a child for a long time?

“He’s had a very difficult life. He was forced into the role of caretaker for his mother when he was small and managed to survive on his own on the streets for over a year. I don’t think you can think of him as a child in the conventional sense.”

Megan added, “Besides, he’s almost eighteen now and even if he was in a group home, he’d be released after his birthday, pushed out to fend for himself again. I read up about this. I didn’t go into it completely blind.” She removed the hot bowl from the microwave and whisked the melted chocolate with crushed vanilla wafers.

“Well, I think it’s admirable you’re trying to help the boy.” Mom assembled the ingredients for her cranberry salad on the counter. “But I want to make sure you’re aware of the seriousness of what you’re undertaking. This isn’t a stray cat you can get rid of if it doesn’t work out.”

“Oh. That’s too much!” Megan slammed the bowl on the counter and turned to face her mother, hands on hips. “That was two years ago and that cat had a problem. He peed on everything! And I felt terrible when I had to give him away. How can you even bring that up? How can you even compare that to this?” Her tone rose and she felt like throwing the bowl of cookie dough across the room.

Her mom held up a placating hand. “Maybe that’s a bad analogy. But you understand my point.”

Megan angrily turned back to her task, afraid of what she might say if she kept talking.

“Megan—” Charlotte began.

“What is this? Tag team wrestling?” Megan turned to face her sister. “What?”

“Why him?” Charlotte sounded like she was trying to be calm and reasonable. She molded a piece of cookie dough into a freeform snowman as she said, “Seriously. I’m not trying to piss you off. I really want to know. When you were researching this article, there must have been little girls out there on the street who needed help a lot more than a practically grown young man. Why did you bring him home?”

The sincere look on her sister’s face went a long way toward dissolving Megan’s anger. She took the time to think about her answer before she spoke. “God, Charlotte. I can’t begin to tell you what it was really like. Most of those kids are addicts and so messed up it makes you cry. I wished I could take every one of them some place safe. At least get them to trust the system enough to go to Child Protective Services. But they’re so fucked up, excuse the language, Mom, there’s no helping most of them.” She shook her head, remembering Ricky. “There really isn’t any hope for them. But Sean was different. He was trying to save money to get out of that life.”