My Holiday House Guest Read online

  My Holiday House Guest

  By Carolyn Gibbs

  The day before Thanksgiving I sat at my kitchen table surrounded by various types of food in all different stages of preparation. I peeled onions for the stuffing and of course, no matter how often I rinsed them off, my eyes continued watering.

  Although I looked like I’d been crying, I was happy and looking forward to this holiday. My family had shrunk considerably in the past few years with the passing of my Grandmother and my cousins’ moving away. All that’s left of my family here in Arizona are my sister, Barbara and my son, Evan, whose arrival I was happily anticipating. But I didn’t look forward to the unwanted laundry he’d be bringing home from his freshman year at the University Of Arkansas.

  I anticipated Evan’s arrival home from college anxiously. It was the longest amount of time we’ve ever been apart. I was so proud of him being the first in our family to attend college, and wanted to make it a great Thanksgiving for him.

  Since our family is so small, I told him it would be okay to bring home a classmate who wouldn’t be going home for the holiday. We have plenty to share, and I don’t think anybody should spend the holiday alone.

  He said, “Cool Ma,” and left it at that. I knew he was bringing someone home, but I had no idea who.

  A car pulled up into the driveway with the radio blasting. My baby’s home. I heard car doors slam shut, and suddenly hoped my son’s friend was not a girl. Lord knows I wasn’t ready for that yet. A freshman needs to concentrate on schoolwork.

  “Hey Mom, I’m home!” I heard my son yell from the living room.

  “Evan, I’m in the kitchen!” I called back. I couldn’t wait to see my only child.

  Evan burst through the kitchen door and ran straight for me with open arms. We hugged each other tight. “Welcome home, baby,” I said almost unable to breathe. My son had grown stronger since our last hug.

  “Hey Mom, it’s really good to see you. Something smells gooood,” he said, standing in front of the stove. “What’s in the pots?” He picked up a lid, and I lightly patted his hand.

  “No peaking unless you plan to help. That’s for tonight…”

  The kitchen door swung open again. I turned around and there was a gorgeous hunk standing in the middle of my small kitchen. He was about six feet tall and muscular, with a smooth, caramel complexion. He wore jeans and a black tee shirt, which showcased his chiseled physique. He was extremely handsome, but I saw no signs of pretentiousness, instead his face was warm and welcoming. His appearance took me totally off guard. Our eyes met, and I felt an instant connection. Or perhaps I wanted an instant connection with him, of the physical kind. What woman wouldn’t with this man?

  “Hi, I’m Ravon Taylor, Evan’s mother,” I managed to eek out.

  “Pleased to meet you, Ms. Taylor. I’m Douglas Jenkins. Evan’s told me so much about you,” he said. He took my hand that I hadn’t remembered extending, held it, and gave it a firm shake. His hand was large and warm, and I thought, He’s so hot. But he’s got to be my son’s age. Have I lost my mind? If I had lost it, it wouldn’t be so bad trying to find it with him holding me. Not bad at all.

  “Please call me Ravon. You’re a college student, too?” I asked.

  “Yes, I’m a graduate student and the Area Coordinator of Hansen Hall, Evan’s dorm. I oversee the Resident Assistant’s and manage the building. It’s helping to pay for grad school.”

  Douglas pulled the chair out and sat. “Thank you so much for inviting me to your home for the holiday. This is very kind of you. I couldn’t really make the trip back home to Pennsylvania, and my family is scattered all over the country.”

  “Oh, don’t mention it. I’m just glad you’re not a girl…” We looked at each other and broke out laughing.

  “So am I,” he said.

  “That didn’t come out right,” I said.

  “Mom, I wouldn’t just spring a girlfriend on you like that,” Evan said.

  “Well, I’m glad you didn’t. You need to keep your mind on your studies. And I’m glad you’re here, Douglas.” I felt coy and giddy like a schoolgirl with a crush on the football quarterback, and Douglas would make a fine quarterback. Then I caught the look on my son’s face, and knew I had to reel it in. He rolled his eyes and winced with embarrassment. Evan wasn’t used to seeing me flirt with men, especially one of his friends. I needed to come back down to earth. He went to his room leaving Douglas and I alone.

  “Well thank you, Miss… I mean Ravon. Can I help you do anything? I’d like to help with dinner,” Douglas said.

  “Oh thanks, but you don’t have to, you’re our guest.”

  “No, I insist on helping. It’s a Thanksgiving dinner, so I know there’s plenty to do.”

  “Okay then, do you mind preparing the string beans?”

  “No problem, I used to help my mom do this. Back then if we didn’t help, we didn’t eat. The beans will be stingless after I’m finished with them.”

  We laughed as I put the bag of fresh string beans in front of him with a pot. I stood across from him at the table and chopped celery and onions for the stuffing. We worked quietly for awhile. I glanced up occasionally and watched him meticulously pulling strings from the beans. I thought, What a catch. Too bad I’m not ten or more years younger. Once when I took a break from my chopping to steal a quick glance at him, I looked up and found him staring at me. We held the eye contact for a bit longer than what was comfortable and then both of us laughed.

  “I caught you,” he said, smiling.

  “Caught me doing what?”

  “Caught you checking me out,” he said, laughing while pretending to squirm in his seat.

  “Oh, right, and how would you know that I’m checking you out if you weren’t checking me out?”

  “Truce, my lady. But in stating my case, let me say that any other guy in my place, sitting across from you, such a beautiful woman, would be checking you out. And that’s the truth.”

  I felt my body heating up at the hint of having a flirtatious exchange with Douglas. It was both unexpected and exciting. I could feel my pulse quicken. I better be careful with this knife in my hand, and pay attention to what I’m doing with these vegetables. Right on cue, Evan walked into the kitchen and went straight to the refrigerator without even looking at us. He grabbed a can of soda and an apple.

  “Hey, do you want to hang out with us in here?” I asked.

  “If you don’t mind I’d really like to call James and Kevin. They’re probably home for the holiday, too. Maybe I’ll catch up with them later.” And he was off to his room to call his friends he hadn’t seen in months. I know he’d missed them. So that left Douglas and me alone…again. I must admit I was glad as well as a bit apprehensive. I enjoyed talking with him, but felt a little off balance because I knew I was attracted to him, but felt I shouldn’t be.

  Douglas and I talked while he cleaned and chopped more vegetables and I prepared pies.

  “So, tell me, Ravon, what do you like to do when you’re not up to your elbows in sweet potatoes and apples? What do you like to do?”

  I shifted in my chair and felt his eyes on me as I spoke, which I liked very much. “It’s probably going to sound really simple, but I love nothing more than to spend time outdoors. I love hiking and kayaking and camping out.”

  “Really? So do I.”

  “In fact Evan and I love camping so much, sometimes during the summer we take our sleeping bags out and sleep under the stars on the backyard lawn.”

  We talked about the things we like to do, and found that we had quite a few things in common. Along with hiking, kayaking and camping out, we also loved jazz music and going to comedy clubs.

  And he told me more a
bout himself.

  “I’m half way through with my master’s in psychology,” he said. “I’m planning on becoming a child psychologist.”

  “That sounds great. What made you choose that field?”

  “I’ve always been fascinated by how the mind works, why people do what they do, and what makes them tick. I also come from a big family and love working with kids. And how about you? What do you do?”

  “Oh, I work in a store, nothing exciting. In fact baking is more fun than what I do. I’d much rather hear about your plans and what your life. How do you like running the dorm? Now that must be some job.” I said, attempting to get the focus off of me and my measly job in retail sales. I didn’t like it, but it paid the bills.

  “Oh it’s a hand full. There’s always something going on. It’s a miracle I have time to study. But my resident assistants are awesome and can handle most of the daily crisis without me constantly getting involved. So it’s a really cool job. I couldn’t ask for a better dorm or staff.”

  We continued talking and joking while I stopped preparing the Thanksgiving feast to whip up a little something for our dinner. The three of us ate together, and then Evan went out to visit some of his friends.

  While I started to clean up, Douglas said, “I also do a little writing in my spare time. I write freelance articles for travel and music magazines. Oh, I have a great idea.” He got up from the table and went back to his room and returned with a folder and opened it.

  “When you get a chance, I’d like your opinion on an article I’m writing for a new travel magazine I’m targeting. It’s about bus tours through New England.”

  “Sure,” I said. “I’ll take a look at it.” I was taken back a bit and wasn’t expecting that. I took the article and put it back in the folder. “I’ll put it in my room and read it later,” I promised, gathering the pages. “I don’t want it to get messed up out here.”

  While I walked quickly out the room with the folder in my hands, I yelled back, “Make yourself at home. Feel free to turn on the television or stereo while I clean the kitchen.”

  When I returned to the kitchen he was standing there next to the sink. “I’d rather help you, if you don’t mind,” he said.

  “You don’t have to. You’ve done so much already today.”

  “Ravon, it’s a pleasure to help.”

  “Thanks, I appreciate it. You can dry,” I said handing him a dishtowel.

  I turned around to face the sink and was shocked when I felt the unmistakable sting of a towel hit my behind. I whisked around on my heels. Douglas laughed.

  “I can’t believe you just did that,” I said, patting my stinging rear end.

  “I’m sorry.” He laughed. “I couldn’t resist it.”

  I quickly grabbed a towel from the wall rack and twirled it in front of me. “Well, you do know what this means?” I said as I moved around the room facing him. “I have to defend myself against all attacks.”

  I snapped the towel, playfully hitting the air on his right side. “You moved; that’s not fair.”

  “It’s fair,” he protested and jumped to my left while striking my rear again. “Bull’s-eye! We make up the rules as we go.”

  “Bull’s-eye?” I shirked. “Oh, you’re going to get it now.” I held both corners of my towel and spun it, then released the back end flinging the tip. Just before my towel reached its point of contact, my target jumped out of the way and snapped his towel on my leg. We continued our dishtowel battle for a few more rounds, and I finally landed some good hits.

  Then out of the blue Douglas faced me and stepped forward. He lifted his arms up and dropped his towel around my back and pulled me closer. “What do you say, let’s call a truce?”

  “Okay, that was fun,” I said, feeling his breath on my skin and the warmth of his body heat.

  “Yes, it was.” He leaned down and softly brushed my cheek with his lips moving towards my lips.

  I longed to kiss him right there, but knew that I shouldn’t. The casual flirting had gone too far. I knew I couldn’t have a relationship with a college graduate student. What would he want with me? Especially if he knew the real me. I backed up. “Let’s get back to the dishes. We really shouldn’t be doing this.”

  “Why not? I’m attracted to you, Ravon, and I can tell that you feel the same. So what’s wrong?”

  “Well for one thing, I’m a bit older than you are.”

  He sighed out loud.

  “You’re around my son’s age,” I stressed.

  “I’m a graduate student, six years older than Evan. I’m 24, and you’re not old. You must’ve been very young when you had Evan.”

  “I’m 36. And speaking of my son, you’re a friend of his. Did you see the way he rolled his eyes at me earlier? I can tell the flirting is making him une%asy.”

  “I think you’re a little overprotective of him. Evan’s more advanced than you give him credit for.” He pulled me closer to him with the dishtowel still behind my back. “I think you’re the one who’s uneasy about the flirting here. And I really don’t know why. Age shouldn’t be an issue at all”

  He’s right, age really wasn’t the issue for me, but I thought it was for my son. It’s always been just Evan and I after his father left fifteen years ago. He wasn’t interested in being a father or a husband anymore. The few times I did date, Evan sat in the living room giving my dates the evil eye and willing them to leave, until finally, they did. Evan may be a bit more mature now that he’s in college, but I definitely detected an attitude when he walked in and saw Douglas and me talking and laughing together. On the other hand, Douglas was so appealing and downright sexy, I almost melted being close to him. I knew it just wouldn’t work out, and I didn’t want to have my heart broken again. The best way not to get hurt is not to get involved at all, even if it means giving up a chance with a man that I would otherwise want.

  I wiggled out of the towel embrace.

  “Age is the issue, Douglas. You’re just too young for me, and this shouldn’t progress. And it’s also hard on Evan. If you’ll excuse me, I have some things to do upstairs.”

  I went up to my room and called my sister, Barbara. I told her about my latest dilemma. I had a young and sexy houseguest for the holiday who was interested in me. She told me in her carefree way, “Girl, if you don’t want him send him over her, I’ll take him.”

  “This is serious, Barbara. He’s a college graduate student. I feel very strange getting involved with someone who is more educated than I am.”

  Looking back, life took a series of turns that kept me from finishing school. First, I had to drop out of school when I became pregnant with Evan. My boyfriend, Evan’s father, was my age, unable to support us and too young to marry. Second, I planned to return to school, but my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. I moved back home to help take care of her. When she died, I continued to work at a store as a sales person and cashier. Going back to school never happened. It’s a decision that still haunts me to this day, but I’m too afraid to do anything about it now. And it looks like it’s come back to bite me in a way I’d never imagined.

  After a minute of shared silence Barbara asked, “So what are you going to do? Just let a good thing walk away without fighting for it.”

  Fate had delivered a handsome young man into my life, someone who could be what I’ve been looking for all these years, but would he want me when he found out that I couldn’t read? No, and I was too ashamed and frightened to tell him.

  “And Barb, not only is he educated, he’s a writer and wants to share his work with me. He’s already given me things he wrote to read. I can’t do it. I have to just push him off and forget about it,” I said, holding a page of his article in my hand. I could make out bits and pieces of it, but trying to read it made me feel like a foreigner who doesn’t understand English%.

  Barbara said, “You can’t think like that, Rav. You’ve got to just trust things will work themselves out and tell him the truth.”
r />   I cringed when she said the T word. “I can’t do it. I can’t tell him the truth. I don’t want him to think I’m stupid or something.”

  “He won’t think you’re stupid. He’ll see your point of view and take it for what it is, the honest to goodness truth.”

  Oh great there goes that T word again. We talked a bit longer then I ended the call, knowing that I wouldn’t tell Douglas the truth.

  ****

  Later that night Evan went over to a friend’s house. I was in my room about to take a bubble bath. I needed to let loose some of the pent up tension building up inside me, knowing there was an attractive and sexy man in my home just out of my reach.

  You can look, Rav, but you can’t touch. I told myself over and over again. Maybe a bath would calm me down. Lord knew I needed it.

  I was in my bedroom wearing only a bra and panties when I heard a knock at the door. My heart jumped.

  I frantically grabbed my robe. “Just a minute.” I put the robe on, and pulled it around my body, then opened the door. “Yes, Douglas…” I stopped in mid-sentence, greeted with his firm muscles filling up my doorway. His eyes searched mine, and his muscles tightened at my appraising glance.

  “…I thought you went out with Evan.”

  He boldly looked at me, from my face down to my waist then up again. I could feel his gaze softly touch me, the way I longed for his hands to. I felt warm beneath my robe.

  “I wanted to stay in and relax instead. I just wanted you to know that I was still here, just in case you needed anything.”

  I was caught off guard when just one thing came to mind that I wanted. I tried to chase the thought away, hoping he couldn’t read my mind. “Oh, well that’s nice… I mean you should’ve gone with Evan. I don’t need anything,” I said, looking down, unable to meet his eyes with my lie.

  “Are you sure about that?”

  The questioned jolted me, literally, and I lost my footing. While trying to right myself, I reached out to grab hold of the doorknob. The robe fell open revealing my scant attire underneath.

  Thank God, I was matching today.