Boycotts and Barflies (32 page)

Michael and Ryan dropped them off at Grace’s parent’s house so they could get  dressed and help Susan get dinner started. They showered and Meg made a call  to her parents while Grace made a quick call to Bianca and Jack to wish them a  Merry Christmas. Then they headed off to the kitchen, the smell of turkey  starting to fill the house.

“Give us a job, Mom.”

Susan looked up from peeling potatoes long enough to say, “Go set the table,  girls. There will be ten of us this year. The dishes are in the hutch. Use the red  table cloth and the green napkins.”

“We’ve got it under control, Mom. Don’t worry.” Flitti ng about the dining room,  Grace and Meg placed the extra leaf in the table, making it large enough to  accommodate all their guests. Meg folded the napkins into elaborate shapes,

something her mom had taught her when she was little. When they were done,

the table looked like it should have been on the cover of a magazine.

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The rest of the afternoon was spent in the kitchen. Meg was on cookie duty, making elegant trays for the dessert table. Grace was put in charge of the salad and the cheese tray. When Aunt Evelyn arrived, she and Susan went on turkey watch, nervously peering into the oven window every few minutes, hoping the bird wouldn’t be late and hold up dinner.

The sound of crunching tires on the driveway sent Grace racing to the window.  “They’re here,” she squealed, dropping the bowl she was washing into the soapy water, sending suds into the air.

“Someone’s a little excited …” She could hear Evelyn giggle as she cleaned up the bubbles that had spilled over the edge of the sink and onto the floor with  Grace’s exuberant exit.

Grace smoothed her hair and brushed off her apron before opening the door.

Michael was standing on the porch, smiling, while the rest of his family was still yards behind him, laughing. Ryan was right beside him, peering over

Grace’s shoulder in search of Meg.

“I haven’t seen him move that fast in a while,” Michael Sr. snickered to Liz, who couldn’t help but smile when she saw that Michael already had Grace in his

arms.

“Leave him alone, dear. He’s in love. You used to be that excited to see me too,  many moons ago,” Liz teased as Grace said hello and led them all into the

house. Michael collected their coats and graciously hung them in the front  closet.

“Gentlemen, I find it best to stay away from the kitchen at this point in the  dinner preparation, for the good of my marriage,” Henry joked. “Susan gets a  little nuts right now. The turkey never cooperates. Frank and I are hiding out  here watching the game; you’re welcome to join us.” He held out his arm,  ushering them into the family room.

The turkey was only a half hour late this year; it was the closest Susan had ever  been to serving dinner on time. The rest of the food was fabulous and the  company was even better. Michael and Ryan told everyone about their plans  for the bar, including what locations they were currently looking into as  possible sites. Grace watched Uncle Frank and Michael put their heads together  and discuss the merits of one location over another when marketing the bar.  Henry kept eve ryone laughing with stories from his latest fishing trip,

including the one about the legendary twenty-pound black fin trout that he

swears was on his line—twice, but each time, the line broke and the fish

escaped.

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Christmas with Michael was magical. There was no other way to explain it.

Meg and Ryan were off whispering together on the couch while Michael pecked away at the keys on the piano. Grace listened in awe as his voice would perfectly match the tone of the keys  he touched, creating the most magnificent melody.

When his fingers would pause, not knowing where the next key was, his voice would continue, filling in the blanks with more of his entrancing composition. After only a few notes, she recognized it as the tu ne she frequently heard him humming to himself.

They left much sooner than she would have liked. Liz needed the rest of the ruined basement carpet torn up before they headed back to Portland the fol owing day. Grace and Meg offered to come over and help, but the boys wouldn’t hear of it. They were, however, more than willing to ride back to  Portland with the girls when Grace offered. With Jack taking the car when he  ‘went back to work,’they were trapped in Spokane. It was either ride back with the girls, o r  Michael’s father was going to have to make the long trip. When they agreed to ride back together, Michael’s dad was able to stay home and help Liz with the rest of the basement clean up, and Susan felt better knowing that Grace and  Meg wouldn’t be driving all that way by themselves.

The following afternoon, just after lunch, the girls said their goodbyes to  Grace’s parents. The snow fell gently on the lawn as Meg thanked them profusely for their hospitality. Susan told her she was welcome to come back

anytime, the sooner the better. Henry jammed their bags into the trunk, trying  to make sure there was some room for Michael’s and Ryan’s things as well.  Henry made sure they had maps, their cell phones, and a blanket in case they  broke down. Grace flashed her AAA card at him and rolled her eyes, telling him  they would be fine and making some smart comment about not being sixteen  years old anymore.

After he closed the trunk, he gave Grace a hug and kissed the top of her head. “I  love you, baby. You girls be careful on the way home. If you get tired, let  Michael drive, please. Don’t be stubborn.” Grace responded with another eye  roll which made her father laugh. “Can I tell you a secret?” Henry asked in a

hushed voice. She leaned in closer so she wouldn’t miss it. “Your taste in men is

almost as good as your mother’s.”

“Dad, you’re a dork,” she said as she nudged his shoulder, trying to look

annoyed. But really, Grace was about to jump out of her skin with excitement

because Henry liked Michael—a lot. “I love you  both. We’ll call you when we

get in.” After hugging her parents, she jumped into the car where Meg was

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bouncing with excitement. The girls waved as they pulled out of the driveway

and headed toward the Andrises’  house.

Michael and Ryan were packed and standing on the porch waiting when they pulled into the driveway. Grace turned off the car and started laughing.

“Is Liz ready to get rid of you two already? Why are you standing on the porch like you’ve been thrown  out of the house?”

Michael smirked. “You haven’t bothered to look at the weather, have you?” Grace shrugged with a questioning look on her face. “There’s a storm coming; we need to get moving. Come on.” He threw the bags in the overcrowded trunk and had to use considerable force to shut it. Grace ran into the house quickly so she could say goodbye to Liz and Michael Sr. They both gave her a big hug and wished them a safe trip, insisting they call when they made it home.

Liz pulled Grace into one last hug and whispered, “Take good care of my baby for me.” Then she kissed her on the cheek and shooed her out the door.

“I will, I promise.” Waving, Grace ran out to the car. Michael was already inside,  sitting impatiently behind the wheel.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Grace asked as she ripped open the  driver’s side door.

“I’m driving. Get in,” he directed. Grace, however, perched her hands to her

hips and glared. “Please, be reasonable. I’ll get us home faster.”

She was about to throw a handful of snow directly into his face, when Meg  saved him. “Come on, Grace, let the big baby drive, and you can be in charge of  the radio. Let’s get this road trip started.” There was no mistaking the  triumphant smirk on Michael’s face when Meg jumped to his aid.

“Fine.” She slammed the passenger side door as she fastened her seat belt. “Quit smiling at me; I’m mad at you.” Her arms were crossed tightly over her  chest when he started the car, but before pulling out of the driveway, Grace  could see him grinning at her out of the corner of her eye. She tried to ignore  him, but it wasn’t working. All she could think about was how soft his lips were

and how badly she wanted to lace her fingers into his hair and kiss that smug

smile off  his face.

“I thought you were going to get us home fast. So far we’ve been in the car for

five minutes and gone nowhere!” she teased, as he threw the car into reverse

and started flying down the snowy driveway. As soon as they hit the road, she

asked the questions that always annoyed the hell out of Henry whenever they

were in the car. “Are we there yet? How much longer until we get there? I think

I need to pee.”

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Meg groaned from the backseat. “Are we going to have to l isten to you two bicker for the next five hours?”

“The way Michael’s driving, it may take more like seven now,” Ryan said as he glanced over Michael’s shoulder at the speedometer.

“Um, I hate to break it to all of you, but it’s snowing. I’d prefer we make  it back in one piece if you don’t mind,” Michael retorted as he reached over and took  Grace’s hand in his, giving it a squeeze.

They spent the next few hours talking and laughing. Michael was really funny and a great storyteller. He remembered every little detail of things that happened, much to Ryan’s chagrin. He told Meg, in great detail, a hilarious story involving Ryan, a girl, and a night of karaoke where he tried to get a girl’s attention by singing numerous sappy love songs after way too much beer.

“How’d that work out for you, honey?” Meg asked, patting him on the chest. “Obviously you’ve never heard him sing.” Michael chuckled from the front seat. “Thanks, Mike.”

“Am I lying?” Michael peeked back at his friend in the rear view mirror,  eyebrows raised.

Ryan shrugged unapologetically and looked down at Meg. “I ended up getting a  pitcher of beer poured on my head.”

“Poor baby.” Meg nuzzled her cheek against his chest. “Too bad. The bimbo’s  loss is my gain.”

The snow began coming down harder the father i nto the mountains they  traveled. What had started as occasional snowflakes fluttering through the sky  changed into a fine, powdery snow that began to fall hard and fast. Giant  snowplows tried to keep up with the weather, but it was apparent it was  becoming a losing battle. When the girls mentioned they were hungry and  wanted to eat, Michael found a more populated exit and stopped, eager to take  a break from driving as well.

While they were inside the dinky restaurant, the weather went from bad to worse. The people at the table next to them had been driving up from Portland, and they said the roads were horrible about thirty miles farther south, toward the next section of mountains. There was a television that was giving weather updates every few minutes. The weatherman in his dark blue suit managed a smile as he broke the grave news that people in the city should expect a foot of snow to fall in the next few hours, that total was doubled for the mountain regions. The foursome was still at least two hundred miles away from

Portland.

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Grace nervously glanced out the window and watched the huge white snowflakes, now falling so fast she couldn’t see across the street.

Michael took out his phone and called Jack to find out what was going on at home. Jack told him the news stations were reporting a number of accidents on the side roads, and that there was a huge pileup on the icy highway they were currently traveling on that had traffic backed up for miles. They were recommending people stay off the roads, if at all possible. Jack estimated they had only about another hour before they too would be in the heart of the storm.

Michael and Ryan began trying to figure out what the best course of action was.  They both looked extremely concerned as they finished their discussion. “Ladies, how would you feel about stopping for the night?” Ryan asked, with his brow still furrowed, not sure how the girls would react to the suggestion.  “We would need to go a little farther west, but I know there are some ski resorts that hopefully we can get to before this storm gets much worse. I don’t want us to get stuck in the mountains during the worst of it.”

Grace looked over at Meg and shrugged. “It’s fine with me. Do you care?”

The huge grin on her face was answer enough. “We’d better make a reservation, though; I’m sure rooms are going to be tough to find.”

“Then we’d better get out of here. The only thing at this exit is this diner and a gas station,” Ryan said as he tapped his fingers nervously on the top of the table. Not wanting to waste another minute, he quickly paid the waitress, and they took off in the car, trying to get through the mountains before the worst of the storm hit.

As they carefully made their way onto the highway, Grace took out her phone and was never so thankful for cell phone service in her life. She quickly called  Susan for help.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mom. Hey, I need your help with something.”

“What do you need, baby? Where are you anyway?” The concern in her voice

was obvious. Grace imagined her mother had been glued to her television,