All Natural, Some Assembly Required
an excerpt

It’s Christmas Eve and some slow jazzy Christmas song is playing on the Old Man’s music machine. He and Randi do a sort of dance without touching, which leads me to believe she knows. Even if she doesn’t know. She knows. It’s depressing as hell, but I can’t stop myself from watching. Well, hell, it’s more than anything I’ve got. So I can’t help it. I go up to Randi.

“Hey, can I cut in?”

She looks up, startled. Forgot I was there, did she? It’s pathetic, sadly pathetic, that something like this could happen. Not for the first time, I wish I were a heartless bastard. The job would be a lot easier. Then I remember. I have no heart.

The Old Man’s woken up too. “Yeah, you two go on. I’ve got work to do out back.”

So much for the “no touching Randi” rule.

I grab her hand, right in front of the Old Man, and pull her close. Real close, in a real dance. I don’t miss the look in the Old Man’s eyes as he walks out of the room.