Coming into December, I knew this Christmas was going to be a hard one. Jill and I had been together for over six years, then she dumped me out of the blue in early November. I'd moved city for her, we spent every holiday together, and we moved in together a year before. All that was over now, with practically no explanation.
But every cloud has its silver lining - at least I'd get to spend Christmas with my family for the first time in over half a decade. I hadn't even seen them in person for over two years!
I texted my sister Bella.
"Hey, don't tell mom but I've just booked a flight in to town for xmas eve. Can you pick me up from the airport?"
"Why don't you want me to tell Mom?"
"Because it's a surprise you idiot. Flight gets in at 4. Can you pick me up?"
"Fine. But not if you call me an idiot again"
"Thanks stupid"
"Fuck you!"
With that settled, I counted down the days until Christmas Eve, watching the weather forecasts with increasing anxiety all the way up to the morning of my flight - it'd be just my luck to have the flight canceled thanks to snow. Mercifully, I woke up and the skies were a crystal clear blue without a hint of a breeze. Things were finally starting to look up.
"Jason! Over here, idiot!" I almost didn't recognize Bella in person. She'd grown her hair and was wearing a full face of makeup - foundation, blush, mascara, the works. She'd always been pretty, with her pixie cut and subtle lipstick, but now she looked stunning. Even with the harsh florescent airport lighting.
"Shit! Sorry Bella!" I caught a scowl from the parents of a young kid for my language, but I didn't care. After we exchanged a quick peck on the cheeks, I pointed to Bella's face. "What's with the war paint?"
She rolled her eyes. "All the girls from high school are having a party at Emma's house tonight. Thought I should at least pretend to look like someone with her life put together."
"Well, it's working. You look great." I looked her up and down, studying her outfit - blazer, matching slacks, white blouse, sensible flats. "Very...professional. Especially for a photographer." I shifted my luggage from one hand to the other.
Bella took the hint. "Yeah, let's go. My party starts at 6 and the traffic's going to be a fucking bitch." She led the way to her car.
Her prediction about the traffic was spot-on. In the hour it took to get home, we quickly ran out of small talk, so the majority of the trip was spent in comfortable silence.
In the moments Bella was concentrating on traffic, I took the chance to really study her. She was two years older than me, but I was always the more "grown up" one. I got the decent office job, she struggled to make it as a photographer. Until November, I was in a long-term relationship, she was never interested in settling down.
But something must've happened over summer, because she was looking so grown up now. I hesitate to use the word "mature" because she still looked younger than me. I looked at her slim body and soft, attractive face and found myself wondering how many guys had kissed those lips, traced their fingers down her neck and explored what was hiding under that blouse, hiding between those legs.
Of course, I yelled at myself for thinking such thoughts. She was my fucking sister, for crying out loud. Maybe it was the prospect of spending Christmas as a single guy, coupled with the unexpected change in my sister's appearance, and my brain and my dick had confused and combined the two. By the time Bella was pulling into our street, I'd managed to will my semi-erection back down to softness.
And just in time, too. Bella rang the doorbell, then started unlocking the front door. By the time she got the door open, Mom was at the doorway with her arms open wide. At least, I thought it was my mom. This woman was skinnier than my mom, and her hair didn't have any of the gray regrowth my mom's hair usually had.
"My baby!" She cheered. Before I could respond, she threw her arms around me and hugged me tight.
I locked eyes with Bella.
"She made me tell. I swear," she grinned guiltily.
I hugged Mom and patted her back. "Hey Mom. Merry Christmas."
She'd deny it, but I thought I saw her wiping a tear from her cheek. "Welcome home, Jason. Now, come in, both of you. You're letting all the heat out."
"Wish I could, but I've gotta hit the road," Bella said. "Last thing I need is for the girls to revive 'Belated Bella'." She kissed Mom on the corner of her mouth, then pecked my cheek. "You two behave!" She grinned and shut the door. In moments, her car was reversing out of the driveway.
"The house looks great, Mom." I gestured to the insane amount of Christmas decorations around the place. Tinsel, candles, the tree, more red-and-green than you should shake a candy cane at. Outside, multicolored lights twinkled in through the curtains. "You've gone all out this year."
"Well, when Bella said you were coming home for the holiday, I knew we had to make it extra special for you. I know how much you loved Christmas as a boy."
"Thanks, Mom. That's so nice." I set my bags down. "And you look really good, too, Mom." I gestured to her slim figure. The chubby, jolly Mom I knew was replaced with a slim-but-curvy woman with a spring in her step. "Did you do this for a guy? I hope you aren't going to spring some new boyfriend on me or something."
She laughed, maybe a little surprised at my boldness. "No, sweetie, I did this for me. I got on a bit of a health kick in spring. And definitely no boyfriends, I can assure you." She smiled, but she quickly got a little uncomfortable with the attention I was paying to her figure. "Listen, dinner's about 20 minutes away. Why don't you take your bags to your room, freshen up a bit?"
I took the hint, leaving Mom to return to the kitchen while I went upstairs to my room. The room looked the same, but once again I was struck by the realization that every time I come back here, so many things have changed. I bathed in my melancholy for a minute, then dug my gifts out from my luggage. I brought them downstairs and placed them under the tree.
I helped Mom out in the kitchen, setting our places and getting us a glass of water each. Once again I found myself admiring her. Not her figure this time - I was admiring how she'd managed to raise two fairly well-adjusted kids all by herself in a city where she didn't have any family to support her. My dad left when I was a baby, and Bella doesn't have fond memories of him, so maybe it was for the best.
But before long, I cursed myself because I was back to admiring Mom's body again. She was wearing a sweatsuit from one of those expensive exercise brands, and somehow the fabric was hugging all the right places. She was busty, and her ass had a definite shape to it that didn't exist last time I saw her. Fuck, there had to have been something wrong with me. First Bella, now Mom? Why couldn't I stop checking them out?
I tried to tell myself I was just noticing the changes after being away for so long, but couldn't even convince myself of that. Luckily, Mom snapped me out of my trance with a cheerful "Dinner's ready!"
I looked at the plate - homemade pizza. My favorite. "Thanks, Mom, it looks amazing." I dug into the pizza, which pushed all inappropriate thoughts out of my mind.
"Any plans for tonight, sweetheart?" Mom asked between slices.
"Nah, I figured Christmas Eve and Christmas Day should be all about family. Friends can wait till after."
"Oh, that's nice. Pity your sister won't be getting home until quite late. It'd be nice to have some quality time as a family."
"We can still hang out and chat, though," I offered. "And don't think I missed the smell of mulled wine as soon as I stepped in."
"Okay, it's a date. One-on-one time with my baby boy on Christmas Eve. How lucky I am!" She grinned.
After I cleared the plates, we migrated to the lounge room with a glass of wine each. It started off normal enough, just asking questions about work, friends, plans, the usual. At some point, Mom flicked on the TV to "It's A Wonderful Life" and we half-watched it in the background.
"I really am sorry about you and Jill," Mom announced out of nowhere.
"Oh. Yeah. Me too." I gulped my wine, trying to keep a poker face.
"But...no offence, Jason, I'm mostly kind of relieved."
I frowned. "What? Why?"
She sighed. "It's really none of my business, but she always seemed so...controlling. Every holiday had to be spent with her, and so we never saw you. And besides, you look a bit more relaxed this time."
It was all true, but I was still surprised Mom was being as blunt as she was. "I...Yeah. She never really fit in here, did she?"
"It felt to me like she thought she was better than us. If you don't mind me saying so."
I shrugged. "Yeah, I know what you mean. But.." I finished my glass. "Is it okay if we stop talking about it? I came here to get away from thinking about all that."
"Oh, of course, darling. I'm sorry." She finished her wine, then picked up my glass. "Another?"
I nodded. "Please."
When she was out of the room, I thought bitterly about asking about her love life - see how she likes it. But no, that would hardly be in keeping with the spirit of the holidays. But I did want to ask something that had been on my mind for a while.
Mom had filled the glasses with more than last time, but I didn't mind. It's the holidays, after all. "Promise me you won't bring this up to Bella, but..."
She raised her eyebrows. "Mmm?"
"Don't you think it's about time she try moving out? I know it's way too damn hard to actually buy anything, but surely there's rentals at prices she can afford."
Mom can be too kind sometimes. "I know what you're saying, but I really don't mind. It's nice having her so close. She helps me from feeling too lonely in this big old house." She gestured around the place. "As far as I'm concerned, she can live here as long as she wants, if that's what she wants."
"You can be too kind sometimes. I bet most of my friends' parents would not feel the same way."
Mom was halfway through her second glass. "Yeah, but a lot of them are assholes anyway."
I laughed hard. I'd forgotten how fun Mom could be when she was tipsy. "You aren't wrong, Mom." I grinned.