She put her clothes in the closet on the hangers they’d left for her. When she visited him, Jake’s room was only slightly more grown up and less cluttered than Seth’s. His older sister still had a room at home too, that was very girly with flowered chintzes and matching wallpaper in dusty pink. Antonia noticed that there was no office equipment in it, although she had left home years before to attend college and medical school. Everyone had their own spaces, the same rooms they had grown up in. It was a house set up for children and the people who lived there, no matter how seldom they came home. The difference with her home struck her immediately.
They took a walk down Sacramento Street, and saw the shops decorated for Christmas. It was a real neighborhood with large comfortable homes. There were children playing in a park across the street. It looked like a wonderful place to grow up, unlike the fast-paced urban life of New York, with cars honking and traffic rushing by. There was no traffic here. All the offices and the financial district were downtown. There were no skyscrapers, and you could see the sky. It felt like a sleepy little city.
They went back to the house and moments later the front door flew open. There was a clatter of equipment being thrown down, shoes with cleats flew in all directions, and both boys had arrived home at the same time. Seth was tall with his mother’s red hair, and Jamie still looked like a little boy and headed straight for the cookies he could smell in the kitchen, with a quick hello to Antonia.
“Hi, Jake,” he said as he flew by, and Seth seemed happy to see him, and smiled shyly at Antonia. They both looked like nice boys, and she could see the resemblance to Jake. Antonia followed them into the kitchen, and sat at the round table with them, and Lea came in to remind them to get their things out of the front hall before someone fell over them.
They went to their rooms after several cookies, and as soon as Seth got to Jamie’s room where he’d be sleeping, he turned the stereo on and the music was blaring. Jake had his stereo on too, and their mother reminded them to turn it down to something more civilized. Then she went to her own room to check messages and return calls. She was taking time off from her practice until after the new year, so she could enjoy her family and spend time with them. Just seeing them, Antonia envied Jake the family atmosphere he had grown up in. She wondered if he realized how lucky he was.
Ian came to see him as soon as he came downstairs when he finished writing, gave him a bear hug, and welcomed Antonia warmly. That night they all had dinner in the big country kitchen. They ordered Chinese food, and conversation was constant around the table, interspersed with laughter as they told Antonia funny stories. She loved both of Jake’s brothers, and Ian was a warm teddy bear of a man. His hair was disheveled and he had a beard. He corrected the two younger boys gently but firmly, and after dinner they all went to their rooms to settle down, call friends, watch TV, or do whatever they wanted. Jake came to check on her, tucked into Seth’s room.
“Are you doing okay?”
“I couldn’t be happier, and they’re not crazy at all, they’re terrific!” It was a house full of love. It filled every space and reverberated from the rafters.
“They’re on their best behavior for you. Wait till the boys get into a fight and start throwing things at each other, and my dad’s two little monsters arrive on Christmas Eve and Day. My mother says they’re both hyperactive, and Genevieve thinks they’re fine.”
Antonia loved Eloise, when she and John arrived the morning of Christmas Eve. They all had lunch together and went for a walk on Ocean Beach. The fog was hovering just beyond the coastline, and you could hear foghorns in the distance. It was such a picturesque little city. Antonia loved it, and she and Eloise had a long talk about their favorite movies. Lea had let the young people go out alone. She let Jake drive their Suburban and there was room for all six of them, Lea’s four children, and Antonia and John. They came back in good spirits with bright pink cheeks from the wind at the beach. It felt like a city and the country and beach combined.
At the end of the afternoon, they all went to their rooms to dress for dinner. Caterers were setting up for the meal, and they were going to use the formal dining room for Christmas Eve. It was a traditional menu of turkey and stuffing and all the fixings. It smelled delicious while they were cooking. Antonia took a short black velvet dress out of the closet and high heels. She took a bath and did her hair, and when she knocked on Jake’s door, she was wearing the velvet dress, with her hair French-braided and long down her back, and little pearl earrings, and he was wearing a good-looking dark gray suit, and a shirt and tie.