Chapter Eleven

Time seemed to fly by while he was in the Andrews house. Before he knew it, Lucy was leading him back down to the dining room where Noah was setting down and arranging a few platters on the table. There was salad, some roasted chicken, and what appeared to be scalloped potatoes covered in cheese. Jordan wasn’t exactly a culinary snob, food was food in his book, but he had to admit that it all smelled much more delicious than hospital food.

Jordan sank down into the chair with his newfound perfect posture. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but it was definitely the least painful. The hospital had prescribed him something for it, but it wasn’t like he could afford to go get it filled, so he was determined to tough it out. He’d been okay for most of the day thanks to whatever drugs were still in his system, but now he was really starting to feel it. Noah glanced over at him just in time to catch Jordan’s wince, but he kept quiet about it, pulling his daughter in for a hug instead.

“You wash your hands, Bugs?” he asked.

Lucy nodded and sat down.

“Yes Daddy, and I made Jordan wash his too, for twenty whole seconds.”

Noah looked over at Jordan who confirmed this with a nod.

“Thanks for your help baby girl, but I’m pretty sure Jordan can manage washing his hands on his own from now on.”

Lucy gave a shrug as if to say, suit yourself, and sat down next to Jordan.

Before doling out the food, Noah bowed his head in prayer and whispered a few words under his breath. Jordan smiled at the gesture. He and Noah were completely different in many ways, but in this they were the same. Jordan’s uncle, despite his vices and his frustrations with the world, had always gone to mass whenever he could. He never forced Jordan to go with him, as he didn’t feel like it was his place to do so, but he had unconsciously instilled some semblance of religion into his nephew all the same. He didn’t know that he ascribed to any particular set of rules the way his uncle did, but he definitely believed in something. He had to. Otherwise it was all meaningless and his parents had vanished into the ether never to be heard from again, and Jordan didn’t want to live life thinking that way. Sure, he was a pessimist, but he wasn’t a masochist. In any case, it made Jordan feel at ease knowing that this kind stranger who had opened his home to him believed in some kind of higher power. It made him feel like maybe there was someone up there looking out for him after all. 

After finishing his prayer, Noah started passing out plates and handing out food. As soon as the plate was in front of him, Jordan’s stomach started growling. He guessed he was hungrier than he realized. He stuffed a mouthwatering bite of potatoes in his mouth and watched as Noah meticulously cut up Lucy’s chicken breast into tiny bite-sized pieces. He didn’t give her any salad or potatoes.

“This is really good,” Jordan said between bites.

Noah grinned.

“Well I’m glad someone appreciates my cooking.”

At this, he looked pointedly at Lucy who only narrowed her eyes at him and continued passive aggressively chewing her chicken.

“So, Jordan…” she began, changing the subject. “You’re not really an elf, are you?”

Jordan paused with his fork halfway to his mouth and looked over at Noah in panic. Noah met his eyes and gave him a little shrug that Jordan took to mean, tell her the truth if you want. He sat down his fork and turned his full attention to Lucy.

“No,” he admitted. “I’m not.”

Lucy nodded sagely.

“I thought so. Otherwise Santa would have fixed you right away.”

Jordan didn’t know how to respond to that, so he just shoveled more food into his mouth. A few more seconds ticked by before Lucy worked up the courage to ask her next question.

“Jordan, where did the bad guy shoot you?”

“Lucy,” Noah chastised. “What did I tell you about asking invasive questions.”

Lucy looked down at her plate, cowed.

“You said that Jordan has been through a lot and might not want to think about things like that.”

Jordan shook his head and wiped his fingers on the snowflake printed napkins.

“Really, it’s fine,” he said. “I’d want to know too.” He pulled down the collar of his shirt just a little bit to show the top of the entry wound, now pink and puckered. “The bullet went in right here.”

He paused for a few seconds so that Lucy could get a good look before fixing his shirt and folding his hands in his lap. Noah was looking a little bit queasy, but Lucy’s eyes were wide with curiosity.

“Did it hurt?”

“I didn’t really feel it in the moment. The hurt came later, after they took it out.”

Lucy narrowed her eyes.

“But why would it hurt after the bullet was out? Wouldn’t that make you feel better?”

Jordan tapped his fingers on the table and tried to come up with a good analogy.

“Have you ever gotten a really bad cut or scrape that had to be disinfected?”

Lucy nodded.

“It stings, right? Even though it’s helping you out in the long run. Think of it kind of like that.”

“That must have stung a whole lot then,” Lucy whispered under her breath.

“It did,” Jordan said. “Keep that in mind for your stuntwoman training.”

Lucy giggled and continued with her questions. 

“While you were at the hospital, did they have to give you a shot?”

“They gave me an IV. That’s kind of like a shot.”

“One time I went to the doctor for a checkup and I had to get a shot even though that wasn’t what I went there for. It hurt really bad, but they gave me extra candy afterward, so it was okay. Did they give you any candy? They better have. You were there for a long time.”

“No candy,” Jordan said. “Only regular food. And medicine. Lots of medicine.”

“That’s awful!” Lucy exclaimed. “You should sue them.”

“That’s okay,” Jordan said. “They were pretty busy at the time.”

“Still, you got hurt. You deserve some candy. Daddy, can we get Jordan some candy?”

“Sure love,” Noah said fondly. “Maybe tomorrow.”

Lucy nodded, satisfied.

“What’s your favorite color?” she asked next.

“Green.”

“Your favorite food?”

“Mac and cheese.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No.”

“What do you do for your job?”

“As many things as I possibly can.”

Lucy opened up her mouth to ask some more questions, but then Noah placed his hand over her wrist.

“I think that’s enough questions for now, Bugs. Let Jordan finish his dinner in peace.”

Lucy pouted, but she did as her father asked.

Noah picked up the conversation after that and started telling him some facts about the house. Apparently, it had been in Noah’s family for generations and Noah was in the process of buying it off his parents who lived in Toronto. Also, Jordan finally got his answer as to what Noah did for a living. He was a web developer and a wildlife photographer, hence all the animal pictures down in the basement. He seemed pretty passionate about it, but he got the impression that the web development was what really paid most of the bills.

As they were talking, Jordan’s eyes kept darting toward the Christmas decorations. Although the poinsettias had been moved somewhere else for dinner’s sake, there were also holiday themed place settings, not to mention the tree in the corner. It was probably a real tree, Jordan decided. It was only about three feet tall and skinny; way too small and bare to fit a manufacturer’s mold. It was also sitting inside of a black plastic pot that was propped up on a red-clothed side table, indicating that it was most likely soaking up some water in a last ditch effort to stay alive.

Jordan studied the ornaments dripping from its branches. They seemed to be a mishmash of store-bought and handmade trinkets. Jordan could make out one in particular that read “Lucy’s First Christmas” in chunky red glitter. He wondered who had made it, and how long it had taken them to create a string of popcorn long enough to wrap all around the tree. He noticed that the lights were different from the ones decorating the trees outside of the house. Smaller, and warmer. They gave off that signature tacky vibe that Jordan had always associated with the holiday.

Noah must have noticed his fixation because he glanced between Jordan and the tree before asking, “Do you not celebrate Christmas? Sorry, I didn’t think to ask you sooner.”

“It’s okay if you’re Jewish,” Lucy piped in. “My friend Matilda is Jewish. I know where we can buy some Hanukkah stuff instead of Christmas stuff.”

“No, no, it’s okay. I’m not Jewish. It’s just that I’ve never really decorated for Christmas like this before. My uncle was always busy working to make ends meet, and eventually I was too. We never really had time to…” Jordan waved his hand vaguely in the direction of the Christmas tree. “...you know, set up lights and decorations and stuff.”

Noah and Lucy stared at him. Noah looked contemplative. Lucy looked downright shocked.

“So, you’ve never had a real Christmas?” she asked.

Jordan shook his head.

“Not in the way you’re probably thinking of, no.”

“But...what about your Mommy and Daddy? Didn’t they still celebrate and give you presents even though your uncle was working?”

“Jordan doesn’t have a Mommy or Daddy, sweetheart,” Noah said gently. “It’s just him and his uncle.”

“Oh,” Lucy said, dejected. “I get it. I don’t have a Mommy either. Is your uncle nice at least?”

Jordan thought of Uncle Kenny sitting in his chemotherapy chair, telling Jordan not to give up hope even though they were both in terrible spots.

“Yeah,” he whispered. “He’s pretty nice.”

Lucy smiled. Noah looked like he wanted to reach across the table and give Jordan a hug.

“Maybe Lucy and I can give you the full Andrews Christmas experience, right Bugs?”

“Yeah!” Lucy shouted, slamming her palms on the table and making the dishes rattle. “We can sing songs and bake cookies, and I can show you how to make a Christmas ornament like the ones they showed us at school. It’s always different because every grade gets to make a different one.”

“Don’t forget looking at the lights,” Noah added.

“Oooh! Can we take Jordan to see the big house behind the high school?”

“Sure we can, Love. Also, maybe this weekend we can go get one of those gingerbread house kits we like and show Jordan how we put it together.”

“And I can make the extra gingerbread man look like Jordan this time!” Lucy squealed. She turned to Jordan with eyes the size of saucers and more enthusiasm than any human being should ever possess. “I’m gonna learn everything about you so I can pick out the perfect Christmas present.”

“Uh, that’s really not necessary…” Jordan began, unsure of what he’d just gotten himself into.

“Of course, it is,” Lucy insisted. “This is gonna be the best Christmas ever!”