Ruth adjusted her clothes, including the panty hose she’d been wearing for the special occasion.
“Alex seems…” Ruth began, talking to her daughter-in-law.
“I let him have time with his friends before we left,” Jackie said. “He’s actually been pretty sober considering the holidays. Thanksgiving was the last time he drank.”
“Good, good,” Ruth replied. “I’m glad you understand that husband’s need boundaries and we’re the ones to give it to them.”
“Of course,” Jackie returned. “If we didn’t keep them in check, they’d all be riding lawn mowers to the bar every day.”
Ruth and Jackie both laughed. The men, for other reasons, laughed at something they had been talking about. Ruth turned her attention to them and saw Alex was holding a lit cigar and talking with his hands, ever the younger version of his father. She smiled because Nico was a good man and great husband, and so her son had become one as well. And, if she were being honest, Nico had been a heavier drinker when he was younger.
“How has business been?” Jackie asked, apparently hearing more from the men than Ruth had.
“A good year for Nico,” Ruth answered.
“Same for Alex,” Jackie replied.
“We are blessed with great men,” Ruth stated. “Speaking of great men, where is your father?”
“Mom and Dad decided not to come up this year,” Jackie answered. “They didn’t want to deal with the snow.”
“So true,” Ruth said, pulling her jacket around her neck as if she just noticed the snow dusting the ground outside. “At least our cabins are warm.”
Turning to the group of men, Ruth spoke, “Speaking of cabins, I am going to get out of the cold. Don’t stay out too late, Mister Makris.”
“Yes, Mother,” Alex replied, eliciting chuckles from the other men.
“I meant your father,” Ruth returned.
“Yes, Mother,” Nico replied in the same tone, cadence, and style as his son.
This elicited laughter from the other men.
“Boys,” Ruth said, shaking her head. However, the smile on her face betrayed her amusement.
“I’m going in too,” Jackie called to her husband.
“Yes, Mother,” one of the other men called, causing the group to laugh.
Ruth and Jackie hugged before heading in opposite directions to the cabins. The men on the porch continued talking and once the women were far enough away, one of the men brought out the bottle of vodka he’d been hiding in his jacket from the wives and the men began the serious drinking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stumbling toward the cabins, Alex shushed a garbage can he bumped into, trying not to disturb the people who’d already retired for the night. His father was standing by the semi-frozen lake, staring at the fireworks cannons erected by the staff while Alex carried both their room keys. They had dropped them so many times, neither knew which was the right one. Fortunately, as they came to the first set of cabins, they found one of the staffers on their way to load the fireworks powders.
“Excuse me,” Alex said, waving the staffer over. “I’m trying to find my room.”
“Of course,” the young man said as he approached. He pulled out a small device and began typing something. “What is the name?”