Free The Consequences by Colette Freedman

out of the dining room every five minutes, or one or the other of the parents kept hopping up to check on a particularly loud scream or bang from the other room. Stephanie came roughly in the middle of the Burroughs clan, but there was only a twelve-year difference between Billy, the eldest, and Joan, the youngest. The family remained remarkably close, with the exception of Stephanie, who had left home early and rarely returned. She felt slightly out of place—almost a stranger—sitting here surrounded by her Midwestern family. But it was better, infinitely better, than sitting at home in Boston in an empty, lonely house, she reminded herself.
    After dinner, Stephanie and Joan found themselves in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher. The four boys and CJ, who’d always been a tomboy, were ferrying the dirty dishes in from the dining room, while Toni and Matt and the various spouses and partners played with the children. The kitchen still smelled wonderful—rich and warm with the aromas of meat and spices, herbs and liquors.
    â€œGod, I feel like I’m about ten again,” Stephanie said. She breathed deeply. “These Christmas smells are the defining scents of my childhood.”
    â€œMine was always the smell of tree sap,” Joan said. “Remember when Dad would top the trees in the backyard, and the boys would drag the cut wood across the garden?”
    â€œAnd the smell of burning leaves.” Stephanie smiled. “The smell of autumn.”
    She looked out through the kitchen window. Most of the trees were long gone now. They’d simply grown too large for Matt to handle. Five years ago, the four boys had come over late in the summer with their chainsaws and cut down the larger ones. They’d then sliced the trunks into fire-sized pieces, and the dry shed beside the double garage was still packed with the circular and semi-circular sections. There was probably enough wood to last for another three years at least.
    â€œI could get used to living here again,” Joan said suddenly.
    â€œHave you spoken to Eddie?”
    â€œI had CJ talk to him for me. Told him where I was.”
    â€œGuess he had a lonely Christmas without you,” Stephanie suggested, carefully stacking side plates in the dishwasher.
    â€œLook, I missed him too. But he lied to me, Stef. And once a man starts lying to you, it’s over. And when it’s over, it’s over.”
    â€œMaybe. Maybe not. Sometimes circumstances throw you right back at someone you’ve left,” she said grimly. She looked up and caught her sister looking quizzically at her. “Did you ask Eddie why he lied to you in the first place?” she asked quickly, trying to forestall an inevitable question.
    â€œHe was ashamed that he’d lost his job and didn’t want to worry me.”
    â€œThat’s fair.”
    Joan blinked in surprise. “You’re taking his side.”
    â€œI’m not taking anyone’s side; I’m just commenting. He was stupid, he lost his job. But he didn’t want to worry you, so he got up every morning, got dressed, and went out and spent the day doing . . . What did he do?”
    â€œLooked for a job, he said.”
    â€œSo he spent the day looking for a job, because he loved you.”
    â€œAnd I forgave him that,” Joan protested. “When I eventually discovered the truth, we had a huge fight. . . . Well, I screamed and he listened and finally admitted that he’d lost his job because they were laying crew off. But that was another lie. He was fired because he was claiming overtime he hadn’t done.”
    â€œAnd you’ve never done that?” Stephanie wondered. “You’ve never padded an invoice, claimed for an extra hour, or slipped in a couple of additional expenses?” Before her sister could answer, she continued quickly, “Was he keeping this extra money for himself?”
    â€œNo, he wouldn’t do