Page 39 of Package Deal

Glen’s smile fell, but he dutifully opened the first box. It had crayons shaped like donuts. The other box had a knitted rainbow hat with horse's ears and a horn, except the horn was beige and curved, looking more like a dick than anything else.

“Okay, time to eat,” I said, hoping it would distract Glen from the disaster.

“Remember that time I got a basket of Slimfast for Christmas?” Nadya asked. “People give the weirdest things.”

Vera shrugged. “You gifted her your ex. That’s worse.”

With the tension slowly dissipating, we went to the table. Before I could pull Vera’s chair out for her, she did it herself, not even noticing me trying to be the perfect gentleman. Mince had better luck with Ljuba, helping her sit in the corner between him and Nadya.

I caught Vera’s eyes on the two of them. Her tension was palpable, but she didn’t say anything.

“He won’t hurt your sister,” I whispered to her.

“He’d better not,” she answered, then dug into her food.

Damian had ordered everything from some spiffy restaurant, promising that everything wasn’t loaded with sugar and butter. Vera served herself vegetables, the way she always did, then added a couple of pieces of kabob.

Glen relaxed into his seat, his eyes going from face to face until he looked at me. “A few guys from the dojo want to hang out tomorrow.”

“To celebrate your birthday?” I asked.

I smiled, glad he had found friends, and damned if this right here wasn’t a perfectly good family. Sure, we weren’t the most traditional bunch, but in my experience, traditional families sucked.