Coming Clean Ch. 02

"He'll be here the week before Christmas. I think he's got about two weeks before heading back."

"Well, maybe I can do something to help you two then."

"I'm not sure I want your kind of help," Brenda said uneasily.

"I'm being serious, Brenda. Kyle and were talking about going away for the holidays, and he found this amazing cottage for rent. Why don't you and Brian join us? There doesn't need to be any hanky-panky going on, just a regular mother-son bonding trip for you and Brian."

"I think I know what your idea of mother-son bonding looks like," Brenda quipped sarcastically.

"Why, is some of what I'm saying finally getting through to you?"

"I don't know what to think, Jackie. I guess I more confused than anything."

"That's fair, and honest. I can appreciate that. Look at this way, you said you wanted to spend some time with Brian, try and reconnect with him. This is a great opportunity for that."

"And if my best friend has ulterior motives?"

"Anything I say or do can only be effective if you let them be. If you only want to spend time with Brian as your son, then that's your prerogative. We just wanted to go to a nice place for Christmas, and I'm asking if you'd like to join us."

"Out in the middle of nowhere, during winter? That doesn't sound so great to me," Brenda said with trepidation.

"It's just outside of a resort town. Kyle and Brian will probably want to go hiking along the trails, but there's plenty to do in town for you and me."

"I'm still not sure."

"Let me show you the ad I found," Jackie said, pulling out her phone. Brenda was indeed impressed with how beautiful the pictures in the ad looked, and the cottage was only a few years old, with all kinds of modern amenities to it as well.

"Well... okay," Brenda relented. "I'll ask Brian and see what he says."

"Kyle already talked to him about it, and he said he'd love to go," Jackie smiled.

"Oh... I see," Brenda said uneasily. Brenda had to wonder if Jackie had something up her sleeve with this idea. She was acting innocent enough, but with all of the "surprises" her friend had laid out for lately it was hard to imagine there something more going on then met the eye.

Either way, this was going to be an interesting Christmas.