Dad searched for the remote which was lost in his chair, or so it seemed. That was a common occurrence.
“I didn’t go to the movies as a kid,” Gideon stonily replied, and my gut fell to my ankles. Dad paused in his frantic search for the remote. The room fell into a bitter silence. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to cast a pallor over things. Tell me about this movie. I’ve never heard of it.”
“Oh well, it’s a classic! It’s all about this American rancher who travels to Australia to—there it is!” Dad pulled the remote from somewhere and held it over his head like a trophy. “We’ll rewind it so you can see it from the beginning.”
“You’re in for a real treat,” I softly said
Gideon took up a goodly amount of room. Also, if I sat too near I was scared I’d act on the insane urge to touch him. Like the good boy that I am, I kept my hands on my lap as Dad rewound us back to the beginning of the film. I heard Mom creeping past to add a place setting to the already set table in the dining room. My ears would be bleeding as soon as Gideon left. If I were smart, I’d leave with him and postpone the lectures. Sneaking a peek at the man to my left, I concluded that I was an incredibly smart man—as well as a coward—so I’d offer to walk him home. Problem solved. My mother would have to sit on her agitation for a bit thus giving her time to cool off. I’m such a problem solving sort of man. I impress myself at times. Pity I couldn’t use outfoxing his mother as a strapline for a political advertisement.
The meal, on the whole, wasn’t too uncomfortable. Mom was pleasant enough, although she did glower at the discussion Gideon and I had over parking issues.
“How are you going to provide parking for the people coming into town for this new and improved carnival? Where are you going to put all the cars? And yes, I know you had plans to hire a horse and buggy company to merrily carry folks from point A to point B then back again, but that’s honestly the biggest waste of money I’ve ever seen. If you’d have thought this over before taking office, you’d have had the old Montrose house bulldozed and had ample parking right there. A one-time investment that would provide much needed parking for Main Street businesses,” Gideon had said while buttering a hot biscuit.
I’d blinked at him over a bite of cranberry sauce. “How can I possibly have given the order to bulldoze the Montrose house before I was in office?!”
“No, no.” He’d shook his dark head as strongly as he was now shaking pepper over his mashed potatoes. “I said if you’d have thought about this before taking office…”
“I thought of a lot of things before taking office. But when one isn’t actually in office it makes it hard to effect any real change.”
“Can we please not argue over parking at the table?” Mom barked. Her glower reserved just for me.
“Yes, of course, I’m sorry, Mrs. Griffiths,” Gideon responded after I mumbled an apology. “I’m just trying to help your son not be such a spendthrift. Can you pass the stuffing please, Mr. Griffiths?”
There had been lots I’d wanted to say in response but the mediator, aka Mom, of the debate had spoken. The rest of the feast was much less fractious, and by the time we were pulling on our coats Gideon and I had reached a tender kind of détente.
“Thanks for being so gracious,” I whispered beside my mother’s ear when we hugged goodbye.
“Mmhmm,” she replied before kissing my cheek.
Gideon shook my father’s hand and bowed over my mother’s. He’d been nothing but respectful and charming throughout, and I told him so as we hit the snowy sidewalk.
“I think they like you,” I said, smiling up at the tiny flakes billowing down.
“I think you’re delusional if you saw any kind of affection in your parent’s directed at me,” he replied, knocking my elbow with his.
“Spoken like a true conservative. Always looking at the worst instead of focusing on the good things. Like this snow. I love this time of year. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays, and this town is the perfect expression of small-town cheer and welcoming hearts. I want to see Cedarburg thrive and grow into a hamlet that people all over