For Better Or Worse Read Online Free PDF

complete disaster, but it wasn’t what I would call “Merry” either.
    Julie’s brothers arrived early in the morning. Peter was first, and I was surprised by him. He was taller than I’d expected and very handsome, too; he didn’t fit my image of a brain surgeon at all.
    Peter introduced me to Ellen, his wife, and to their kids; eleven-year old Andrew, who was cute as could be, and four-year old Allison who walked right passed me and into Kathleen’s arms.
    Ellen was attractive, but just as vapid as Julie had led me to believe.
    Robert barreled in next, wearing nothing more than knee-length gym shorts and a ratty-looking t-shirt despite the cold, and carrying three duffel bags and a lap top computer bag as well. Eileen, the maid, whisked two of the three duffels away instantly as they were apparently laundry, and Robert dumped the third at the foot of the stairs. After a brief hello to everyone, he announced that he had to check his email and disappeared into his father’s study with his laptop.
    Breakfast was chaotic, and Julie’s family stepped all over each other in the kitchen. The kids took their food and disappeared to watch TV, so just the adults were left behind to make small talk, drink coffee and choke down eggs. Peter and I had a halting conversation about the weather and about their flight out from the East Coast. He didn’t seem uncomfortable around me as much as just generally uncomfortable around so many people at once. In my eyes, he solidly maintained his geek status while gaining a few points for trying to be friendly.
    Robert joined us after a half an hour or so. He came into the kitchen and went straight for the refrigerator. “There are eggs on the counter and some of that multigrain bread that you like by the toaster honey,” Kathleen shouted to him over the general din of conversation. Robert grunted back at her and pulled a carton of milk out of the fridge from which he drank directly while frying up a couple of eggs. Kathleen looked positively mortified. I looked at Julie and she ginned
    at me. Julie had once told me that Robert was a very talented potter, but that he chose banking because it paid the bills better. She and Robert were close, I knew that, and now I could see why.
    After about an hour it was decided that we should move into the living room, where the Christmas tree had been erected by the house staff the day before, to open presents. The kids were summoned and they immediately began tearing into gifts.
    Julie and I had promised not to spend a lot on each other, so she gave me toasty slippers from L.L. Bean, a pair of cozy-looking mittens that she had knitted herself, and Katherine Hepburn’s biography. I gave her toe socks, an organic perfume, and a gift certificate to her favorite spa for a day. She got upset that I’d spent more on her than she had on me, so with a grin, I whispered into her ear the numerous ways in which she could make it up to me.
    Julie’s parents exchanged gifts as well. Kathleen got Gareth a fancy humidor for his cigars and Gareth gave her sapphire earrings and a matching sapphire and diamond bracelet. Kathleen gave Julie a fat American Express Gift Check, and I thought it was sad that she didn’t know Julie well enough to realize that Julie would rather have a ten dollar gift that her mother had picked out with Julie in mind, than a thousand dollar check. Julie frowned at Kathleen, but quickly covered it with a smile, thanked her politely, and put the check away.
    “Hang on Julie, sweetie, I’ve got something for you, too.” Gareth stood up and retrieved a box from next to the tree. He nodded seriously to Julie as he handed it over. “These are for those kids of yours, the ones you said couldn’t afford them,” he told her, looking uneasy with the whole process of gift-giving, but hopeful. The box was full of scientific calculators for Julie’s students.
    He hadn’t wrapped it, but it didn’t matter; apparently Gareth actually listened