her as if she weren’t a person, as if there were nothing interesting about her at all. He said something to her that I couldn’t hear, and she walked out of their bedroom, slamming the door behind her. He opened the door and said, “Elise, don’t slam the door.” She said she didn’t slam it, and for a while, they argued about that. The next day, when Charlie came home from work, I watched the baby while they went on a walk together. When they came back, they were in a good mood, smiling and holding hands, their cheeks pink from the cold.
Charlie crouched on the floor, between Elise and the Christmas tree. “Okay, I admit it,” he whispered. “I have to go buy presents.”
There was another pause.
“What? I’ve been busy.”
“You waited a little long for that. It’s Christmas Day. Nothing will be open.”
There was a longer pause. My father looked out the window and announced, maybe to me, that it really did look warm out, especially for December.
“Okay. Go. Fine.” Miles gurgled from her lap. “But don’t get me anything. I don’t want a present from a gas station.”
I agreed with my father, facing him. It did look warm outside!
“Elise. I have been very busy. You know that. Why are you giving me a hard time?”
“You could do gift cards.” My father pointed at Charlie. “You can find them everywhere, even on a holiday. I’ve done gift cards for years. Saves time, and everybody likes them.”
Charlie nodded, polite and quick, and turned his gaze back to Elise.
“Fine,” she whispered. “But just so you know, I’ve been busy, too. I got about four hours of sleep last night, in case you don’t remember. And now I have to prepare brunch for five people. While feeding a sixth. And I still haven’t taken a shower. So I’ll be a little busy, too.”
I leaned forward. She did look tired, the skin beneath her eyes puffed up. “I can help,” I said. “You were going to make French toast, right? I can do that. And I’ll set the table. I’ll tidy up.”
They both looked at me. Charlie smiled. “I’ll watch Miles when I get back.” He smoothed his hand down the back of her hair. “You can take a nap.”
My father waved his hand. “Don’t worry about cooking for me and Susan. We’re still not eating carbs. I brought some almonds. We’ll just eat those.”
Elise looked at him and said nothing.
“So you’ll be okay?” Charlie asked. He was already standing up, but he would wait for her answer before he turned away. From all I knew of him, I believed he would have waited even if my father and I hadn’t been there.
She nodded, looking down at Miles, who was peaceful now, happy. Charlie leaned over to kiss the top of her head before he turned and bounded up the stairs.
The dorm was locked up for winter break, of course. When we first saw my mother on the other side of the glass front door, she mouthed for us to wait, holding up a chain with maybe fifteen keys on it. She slid the biggest key into the lock and, using both hands, turned it until we heard a click. I was the one carrying the bag of presents, but as soon as she pulled the door open, she leaned out and nuzzled Miles, who was wearing a Santa hat and riding face-forward in a carrier strapped to Charlie’s chest.
“Welcome to the crypt,” she said in her croaky voice, the one she’d used when we were little, when she read us stories about goblins and witches. She was wearing slippers and a bathrobe, and her hair was still wet from the shower.
When we got inside, Elise looked around with a wrinkled nose and clutched a bottle of wine close to her coat. “It is a little spooky in here.” She peered past the unmanned front desk into the big lobby, which was only lit by two flickering exit signs. All of the heavy mauve curtains were pulled shut.
“Are you the only one here? In the whole building?”
“I hope I am.” My mother tossed the key ring in the air and caught it in both hands. When she saw our anxious faces, she laughed. “It’s fine. It’s only weird when I have to come in at night. Once I’m in my apartment, it’s okay. It feels the same as when the kids are here.”
I smiled to myself, looking around. Even an assistant hall director