Chapter Thirty-One
All is not calm, all is not bright
Beau
Ivy is looking at me like I m the crazy toymaker in Babes in Toyland . Are you nuts? That s the worst idea I ve ever heard. She punches a button on the vending machine and a bottled Coke drops down to the opening slot.
C mon, Ivy. It s Christmas. You can t throw your family out in the cold on Christmas.
My parents flew in on private planes. I think they ll be okay finding a soft place to land without our help.
When she can t twist the cap off her Coke, probably because she just slathered her hands in lotion, she hands the bottle to me.
My parents house isn t that far away. I twist off the lid and hand back the Coke. And my mom already said yes. I just got off the phone with her. Besides, your brother s in a cast. He s recovering from surgery. What are you going to do? Kick him to the curb of some hotel on Christmas Day?
She takes a drink, holding up a finger, then says, He has a wife now. Pretty sure she s got the situation under control.
What if she doesn t? I only caught a glimpse of her but she seemed a little frazzled. And aren t you a little curious about the woman your brother married? Plus this is a chance for all of you to be under the same roof again for Christmas. Isn t that what you ve always wanted?
Sure. Before my parents got divorced. All of us being together under the same roof is only a recipe for disaster at this point.
How do you know? It s just one night. Remember that story about the German and English officers during World WarI who put aside their differences one night for the sake of Christmas? Think of this like that.
You ve got the World War part of it right.
When she sighs, I know she s going to give in.
Because I know whether she wants to admit it or not, she wants this.
She s always wanted this. Having all her family together for Christmas is her dream.
Fine. I ll put the offer out to them. But no promises they ll take us up on it.
I can t help but smile at the way she says us .
And I can t help but grin when her parents do take us up on the offer. Probably stacked the cards in my favor when I hinted to them behind Ivy s back that the two of us have something special going on. What parents wouldn t be curious to know more about their daughter s special something ?
And I m downright giddy when her brother and his apparently new wife take us up on the offer too.
Must be the magic of Christmas. Whatever it is, I m making the most of this opportunity.
Not for me. For Ivy and her family. Something tells me this is a group of people who ve missed out on way too many Christmases together.