Chapter 23

Val, as far as girlfriends went, was about as low maintenance as they came. Her little talks with Mrs. Holmsteader and Mrs. Herd had given her insights into how Danny’s mind operated. She took their advice to heart, and made few demands on him. When he was with her, he gave her as much attention as she could possibly want. When he wasn’t ... well, his mind focused on other matters. Sometimes, he did lose track of time. Still, Danny did try to make sure that she came first – it was just that first was often a slippery kind of thing once he got focused on something.

On Christmas morning, Val was seated in the living room with her mother and father, having just finished opening presents. She’d had a pretty good haul that year, with several new outfits and a nice tablet computer. She had given her mother a new sweater and a new putter for her father. It might not have been as exciting as when she had been a little kid, but it had been pleasant exchanging presents.

They were discussing what to eat for breakfast, wanting it to be small and simple. They were planning on having a rather large meal around two in the afternoon. A lot of families had traditions of serving turkey, ham, or prime rib for Christmas. It had become a tradition that they have Cornish Hens cooked according to an old family recipe. There was just something special about a Cornish Hen served on a bed of wild rice surrounded by maple glazed vegetables.

The current topic was having bacon and eggs for breakfast when the doorbell rang. Her father, dressed in a bathrobe, got up from his chair and headed towards the door. Her mother, dressed in a nice robe, wondered if she should head to the bedroom to change. Val, wearing her sleep shirt, wondered who would come over so early on Christmas day.

Mr. Mueller opened the door to find Danny standing there with presents in hand. It was his opinion that it was way too early in the morning for a boyfriend to drop by unannounced. Still, this particular boyfriend had saved his daughter, and he was willing to be a little forgiving.

Danny said, “Hello, Mr. Mueller. I apologize for stopping by so early, but my mother demanded that I spend Christmas Day with her. I wanted to deliver these presents before I left. I didn’t want Val to think I had forgotten about her.”

“That’s completely understandable, Danny. Come on in,” he said stepping back to allow Danny to enter the house.

“Thank you, Mr. Mueller.”

“Honey. Val. Danny is here.”

There was a pair of squawks from the other room, and then silence. Danny looked at Mr. Mueller and asked, “What was that?”

“I think that was two women running off to change clothes.”

“Oh.”

“Have you had breakfast, yet?”

“No. We were going to stop at a burger place and get one of those egg and muffin things,” Danny answered.

“Why don’t you and your father stay for breakfast? We were just discussing having bacon and eggs.”

“I don’t want to impose,” Danny said. He frowned and said, “Besides, my mother is expecting me to get there real early. I’d hate to start the visit off on a bad foot.”

“I understand. Come on into the living room.”

Danny followed Mr. Mueller into the living room. He could see the Christmas wrappings still littering the area. Nice little piles of presents were stacked neatly. It was pretty obvious which stack belonged to which person.

“Have a seat. I’m sure they’ll be out in a minute,” Mr. Mueller said.

“Thank you, Sir.”

Danny sat down and placed the presents on his lap. Sitting stiffly, he wondered what was taking so long just to change clothes. Mr. Mueller sat across the room watching him with some amusement in his eyes. He finally decided to give the poor guy a break.

“Women take a bit longer to change clothes than guys do.”

“I guess I knew that. I never really noticed that with my mother. Usually she was busy yelling at me to get ready to go.”

“I was the same way, when I was your age,” Mr. Mueller said.

It seemed like a lot more time passed before Mrs. Mueller came out. She was wearing a nice outfit complete with makeup. Mr. Mueller looked at his wife somewhat amused that she would go to all of that trouble for their daughter’s boyfriend.

“Good morning, Danny.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Mueller. I’m sorry to be here so early, but my mother insisted I come over for Christmas. I thought I would drop off these presents since I didn’t want Val to think I had forgotten about her.”

“That was considerate of you. I’m sure Val will appreciate it,” Mrs. Mueller said with a smile.

She liked Danny. She had liked him from the start. Her greatest fear was that Val would hook up with some big man on campus and serve as arm candy for him while forgetting that she was a capable person of her own. Danny treated Val well without wanting to show off. That little incident in the mall had just confirmed that he was a suitable boyfriend for Val.

“I hope so. I don’t think I’m a very good boyfriend. I try, but I’m just not always attentive,” Danny said. “She puts up with a lot more than most girlfriends have to.”

“I’m sure you’re attentive enough.”

“I want her to be happy.”

Val finally entered the room holding a hand behind her back. She had put on a very nice dress. Her hair was brushed and her makeup was perfect. Danny didn’t realize the amount of work that she had done in such a short time to look like that. He just assumed that was how she always looked.

“Gosh, you’re so pretty,” Danny said while rising from the couch.

“Good morning, Danny. I see that you have some presents,” Val said.

Both teenagers looked at her parents and decided that a good morning kiss probably wouldn’t be the best idea.

Danny held out the stack of presents and said, “I have a present for each of you.”

“That’s nice of you,” Mrs. Mueller said.

Val brought her hand out from behind her back. She was holding a small nicely wrapped present. Danny looked at the present with surprise. He hadn’t even considered that she would buy him a present.

Danny handed out his presents, and accepted the present from Val. They took their time in opening them. Val jumped up and down before kissing Danny for the classy silver heart necklace that he had given her.

“This is so wonderful,” she exclaimed.

“I’m glad you like it,” Danny said.

Mrs. Mueller opened her present. She held up a nice scarf. She wasn’t the type of woman who wore scarves, but it was a nice one. She felt the material while lifting it out of the box. She spread the scarf open to look at the pattern printed on it. She had to admit that it was a nice pattern.

Smiling at him, she said, “This is a wonderful silk scarf. It’s so pretty. Thank you, Danny.”

“I really didn’t know what to get you,” Danny said.

What kind of present does on get for the mother of your girlfriend? His Dad had been no help in answering that question. He finally decided that something simple, generic, and pretty would have to suffice.

Mr. Mueller opened his present. It was a box of four golf balls. He looked up at Danny and said, “I can always use new golf balls.”

Mr. Mueller had been the easiest person to buy a gift for. When Val had mentioned that she was getting her father a new putter, he had naturally thought of a golf present. Every golfer loses balls or has them fail at some time.

Danny said, “I also have some advice from Lee Trevino for you.”

“What?”

“If you are caught on a golf course during a storm, and are afraid of lightning, hold up a 1-iron. Not even God can hit a 1-iron.”

Mr. Mueller burst out laughing. He said, “I’ll definitely remember that.”

Val held out her package for him. He took it and unwrapped it. The box contained a new leather bifold wallet. Considering that his current wallet was five years old and had a space ship engraved on it, he appreciated the thought.

He said, “This is great. I’ve been needing a new wallet.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Val said.

After a quick glance at her father, he gave her a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. She didn’t let him go and turned it into something much more intimate. They broke apart when her father cleared his throat.

Danny said, “I better go. Dad is waiting in the car for me.”

“Okay. Will I see you tomorrow?”

“Yes. I’ll give you a call tomorrow morning,” Danny said.

Danny left the house happy that Val had liked her present. He got into the car with his father and said, “She liked it.”

“That’s good.”

Danny sighed and said, “I guess we better head to Mom’s.”

Upon reaching the front steps of the condo, Danny turned to watch his dad drive off. He didn’t want to spend Christmas with his mother. After the freedom of living with his father, he didn’t want to get back to the controlling and condescending treatment of his mother. He sighed and went to knock on the door.

His mother opened the door and said, “Oh, Danny, you’re here. Sorry for the late notice, but the court did say that I got my choice of holidays. We’re going to have a very nice Christmas.”

“Hello, Mom,” Danny held up the package that he was carrying and said, “I brought you a present.”

“Come in. There’s someone I want you to meet,” his mother said.

Danny followed his mother into the condo. They got into the living room and he found himself face to face with a stranger. The man was slightly shorter than he was, a little pudgy, and balding.

“Danny, this is Dr. Stevens and his daughter Missy. Steve, this is my son, Danny.”

Danny spotted the young woman standing behind Dr. Stevens. She was dressed in a green velvet dress befitting the holiday. It wasn’t exactly the kind of clothes that a girl her age would wear. He had a feeling that the dress was the idea of the father more than the daughter.

“Hello, Danny. What grade are you in?”

Danny hated conversations that started with a question about school. If he answered it with sophomore, then he’d get treated like a typical sophomore student. He chose to redirect the discussion. He wished that he had a chance to put down the package that he was carrying and take off his coat.

“Hello, Dr. Stevens. What are you a doctor of?”

“Medicine.”

“What specialty?” Danny asked.

“Endocrinology.”

“Treat many cases of acromegaly?” Danny asked recalling one disease that an endocrinologist would called upon to treat. An excess of growth hormones was one interesting type of hormonal disease. It caused people to grow into giants.

“That’s a rare problem,” Dr. Stevens said looking at Danny in surprise. “I’m surprised you know about it.”

“There are a few well known people in show business who suffer from it,” Danny said.

Missy was standing off to the side irritated at being ignored. His mother, on the other hand, was pleased that Danny and Steve were getting along so well.

“That’s true,” Dr. Stevens said. “You never did say what grade you were in.”

Ignoring the implied question, Danny turned to the daughter. He figured that she was about his age, give or take a year. She looked a little angry and, perhaps, rightfully so. It had been kind of rude to ignore her like they had.

He said, “Hello. I’m Dan. I’m pleased to meet you, Missy.”

“Hello,” Missy said sullenly. She didn’t want to be there.

Danny held up his package in his mother’s direction and asked, “Is there someplace I should put this?”

His mother took the package away from him and set it on a coffee table. She gestured to the chairs and said, “Why don’t we make ourselves comfortable?”

Danny took off his winter coat while everyone else sat down on chairs. Not knowing what to do with his coat, Danny put it on the back of the chair and sat down. Missy took out her cell phone and started texting her friends.

Danny looked around the condo realizing that there weren’t any kind of Christmas decorations in sight. At home, they had a small artificial tree, and a few decorative items hung on the walls. He and his father had joked about it being ‘male minimal holiday décor’ ... manly yet seasonally appropriate. This condo looked sterile in comparison.

His mother said, “Steve is taking us out for Christmas dinner.”

“Oh,” Danny said. “I’m afraid that I’m not exactly dressed for a dinner out.”

“I bought you dress pants and a button down shirt along with a sports coat for Christmas.”

“That’s nice,” Danny said thinking that it was now going to be difficult looking surprised when unwrapping his Christmas presents from his mother.

They all sat around the living room looking at each other in a somewhat awkward manner.