The Dammermen’s sat at the dining room table inside their Omaha household, the rest of their family sat there as well, all together, eerily happy- all was right. It was December 25th 2014 the turkey had been cut and the family had reunited. Louise Dammermen’s drug addled brother- Desmond who had recently been got divorced from his wife of fourteen years was there, Desmond had come back from rehab, deep down everyone had their suspicions that he was still using but they didn’t bring it up. Miles Dammermen’s sister June had up come as well with her lawyer husband, Alexandra.
Miles hated Desmond for his pretentious bullshit, his constant use of big fucking words but he put up with it. Five kids sat at the table; Two were Louise and Miles’- Mikki Dammermen and Rebecca Dammermen, two were Desmonds’s a strange boy called Roger and a strange girl called Juliet, the other kid was June’s and Alex’s- Lewellyn. The family was happy and talking gleefully; drinking copious amounts of wine and lemonade, eating endlessly.
Miles had his phone turned off, stopping the endless buzzing and also happy that the glares from June would dissapear.
Mikki yearned for a girl that he had liked for six months now, he talked to get often, hell he used to. He recalled how he smashed his phone, throwing it across the kitchen floor after she got a boyfriend, the guy used to be his friend now he was an asshole. Mikki held disdain for Desmond, Juliet and Roger who were selfish self absorbent assholes-
Roger and Juliet were looked after by their friends parents whilst Desmond did his stint in rehab- he endlessly criticising those who were at the rehab centre- acting superior. Mikki rarely ever felt rage but he felt it, eating pieces of Turkey and swigging lemonade, wishing that everything was normal but it wasn’t. However apart from the rage Christmas was going well.
Mikki wondered how everyone else felt he wished happiness for his dad, mother and sister. He as watched adddiction take hold of one man and tote him apart. Desmond was an asshole or so Mikki firmly believed.
He eventually began to wonder whether he should submit a short story he wrote to a small online literature magazine he had found. Mikki’s mind drifted away towards anticipation for reading the Charles Bukowski book his parents had bougt him- it was Notes of a dirty old man. He’d been after it for awhile but unable to find it.
Mikki took another gulp from the lemonade and realised he needed to get laid. Mikki shrugged the thought away and figured he’d play the Radiohead EP My iron lung in his bedroom afterwards- Mikki had got it for christmas. Mikki smiled at the thought.
Mikki looked over to where Desmond sat, he hadn’t eaten much, Mikki noticed a pinprick in Desmond’s right arm. Mikki hated the bullshit of Desmond but hell it was Christmas so he had little to complain about. He wondered what next christmas would bring as he chewed on some turkey.
Ben Brizell 