Page 101 of Over the Line

Despite all the adults being hungover, it was fun and festive. Pounding head or not, I loved this rare moment of being surrounded by my family with no cameras, no hockey, and no dress code. Sitting around in my faded sweats with a gallon of coffee, my family, and nowhere to go—fuck yeah.

After breakfast, we FaceTimed with my sister, Kim, who was spending Christmas with her in-laws on the West Coast. There were calls and texts to other relatives, and we all settled back into the living room so the kids could keep playing. I helped with some of the Lego builds, and I tried a round of Mario Kart, but my hangover said “Absolutely the fuck not,” so I left it to my brother. He was barely alive himself, but they were his kids, so he could suffer through it.

While everyone enjoyed themselves beside the Christmas tree, I enjoyed my very comfortable spot on the couch with my coffee.

And my phone, which was hardly still and dormant this morning.

Garrett

How’s your head?

OMG I swear it didn’t mess me up this much when I was younger.

LOL I know that feeling. Where’s the liver that used to tolerate all-night raves and Jungle Juice?

LMAO probably pickled and malfunctioning BECAUSE of those all-night raves and Jungle Juice.

Hmm. Maybe. Not that I drink much now, but it would be nice to not have a headache the morning after I had more than a glass of wine.

How much more than a glass?

Don’t judge me.

I’m not judging you! I’m just asking for clarification.

Rude.

LOL

I chuckled to myself. I loved these silly little exchanges with him, even if they did make me miss bantering face to face. We’d get back to that soon enough.

In the meantime, my coffee was empty, so I got up and went into the kitchen. As I was refilling the cup, my phone pinged again.

Garrett

I feel like killing a bottle of wine together would be fun. But the next morning… (skull emoji)

LOL Yeah maybe not worth it.

On the other hand… it COULD be fun.

I was just typing back a response when my mom’s voice startled me so bad I almost dropped my phone.

“You didn’t tell us you had someone special.”

I shoved my phone into my pocket as my face heated. Of course I knew in an instant I’d given myself away, but it didn’t really matter—if Mom was on to me, Mom was on to me. “I… someone special?”

She laughed, shaking her head. “Thirty-seven years old and you still think playing stupid will work on me.”

The heat in my face intensified, and I exhaled. “Okay. Okay. I…” I chewed my lip and fidgeted. “What gave me away?”

“The fact that your phone is always in your hand.” Her expression warmed. “And I don’t usually see that little smile on your face, but I sure do whenever you’re texting.”

Wow. Damn. And here I’d thought I was being subtle.

Mom turned more serious. “It must be a new thing, then? Or is he not out?”

I could read between those lines—less “why haven’t we met him?” and more “why haven’t you even mentioned him to us?”