“Why can’t I stay here?”
“It’s a family affair. Now that I think of it, I should’ve invited Deidre over. She should be here for this. Oh well, there’s always next time.
“Come on, Tessa, you can help me unravel the lights for the tree,” Mom called out to her as she left the room with dad. I dared her with a look to tell my mother no. Her look of anger promised retribution as she turned and walked away.
For the next few hours, I put her out of my mind and focused on the girls. At one point, Tom asked me to take it easy on her and involve her in what we were doing since it was her holiday too. But I told him in no uncertain terms that she would not be doing shit with Deidre’s kids, especially not on their first holiday with the family.
I still wasn’t letting Tessa do shit on this tree, so she was hanging around like a limpet doing everything she could to get between Tom and the girls who were making a merry mess and having a blast. I’d been coaching them all night to go to their dad when they needed help with something, and he was eating it up, which was making the witch twitchy. Scared much?
The idiot overheard me, telling Tom she was relegated to the sidelines; okay, I meant for her to, and she was feeling brave enough to try getting in my face. Tom gave her a look, and she seemed to come to her senses since we were all around the tree hanging ornaments while mom called out orders like a drill sergeant off to the side while dad had the task of unboxing the thousand and one ornaments and other Xmas décor for the tree.
When it was the twins’ time for bed, that’s when the real fun began. The tree was done or almost there, and mom and dad had disappeared a good half an hour ago while the rest of us were in the kitchen, getting the girls a snack. “Tom, I still have some stuff to take care of down here; why don’t you get the girls ready for bed?” The girls already have their own room here, which was once the nursery though they never really got the chance to use it until now. Something that I know has hurt my mom no end.
Again Tessa showed her ass, “Why does he have to be the one to put them to bed? He’s not their dad, you idiot, so stop trying to force him to play the part. And even if they were his kids, I’d still be their stepmom, so where do you get off…?” Too fucking far bitch!
“Look here, you manipulative waste of sperm, you know as well as I do whose they are. And no, you’ll never be their step anything. I’ll Jim Jones your ass before I let that happen.”
“What’re you talking about? Are you always this stupid? I don’t understand half of what you’re saying.”
Geez, Jared and his missing link exes. “You’re not too bright, are you? Tell me, Tessa, what and where were you before you met my brother? I somehow never got the story, and since Deidre would as soon pull her tonsils out as mention your name again, why don’t you tell me?”
“Were you ever in any serious relationships of your own, or have you always just hyenaed your way into other people’s? You know what that means, right. Because hyenas are scavengers, they go around devouring the leftovers of the animal kingdom...”
“Sam, not here, not in front of my…not in front of the girls.” I could’ve cried at my brother’s words at his slipup.
“Tom, what’re you saying? What…?” Tessa looked like a drowning rat without an anchor. I pulled her away before the girls could catch on that there was something wrong. “Let’s take this outside, shall we?” It was obvious that she didn’t want to, but I had a death grip on her arm and was all but dragging her along behind me.
Mom and dad were in the great room admiring the tree with their glasses of spiked eggnog, so the best place was outside on the verandah, away from all ears. “I warned you. If you do or say anything to upset my nieces, you’ll be spending Xmas on the street where you belong.”
“They’re not your nieces, didn’t you get the memo? Tom didn’t even sign the birth certificate because he doesn’t even believe that they’re his.”
“Yes, because you filled his head with bullshit, but haven’t you noticed? It only took me a few days of being home, and he’s already second-guessing everything you’ve said. Pay attention, you lying sack of shit. I’m about to bring down your whole house of cards. Everything you did to my sister you will pay for.”