Chapter Nineteen #2
She glanced up and nodded. “There’s an action movie with Tom Cruise and a romantic comedy, too. Which one do you prefer?”
“Either. Both,” he said.
“Hey, you two,” Kellie said, coming out from the kitchen. “The turkey is out of the oven.”
Avery rushed to her feet. “Oh my goodness, I should be helping with dinner.” She felt terrible that she had left Kellie with all the work preparing their meal.
“No need,” Reed said, carrying a large platter with the turkey. He set it in the middle of the table. “Kellie and I have got everything dished up and ready to serve.”
“I apologize.” Avery was embarrassed by her bad manners.
“No apology necessary. Harrison asked for a few minutes so he could speak to you alone, and . . .”
“Kell,” Harrison protested and rolled his eyes.
“Did you?” Avery enjoyed teasing him.
“It worked out perfectly,” Reed interjected. “I wanted a few minutes alone with Kellie, too.”
“Avery and I are going to the movies this weekend,” Harrison announced as he pulled out a chair for her to take a seat. He caught Kellie’s eye and winked.
She winked back and smiled at Avery.
Reed stood behind Kellie’s chair, then took his own. Before they ate, the four joined hands and Reed said a short prayer.
“Grams would have loved meeting both of you,” Avery said as they passed around the dishes.
She loaded her plate with mashed potatoes and giblet gravy.
She skipped the green beans and took an extra scoop of stuffing, her favorite.
She noticed Harrison did the same, passing over the vegetable in favor of extra stuffing.
By the time they finished with all the side dishes, her plate was full to overflowing.
Their meal was wonderful as they exchanged banter, joking back and forth.
From the way they interacted, it was as if they’d known one another far longer than they had.
Avery had been convinced this first Christmas without her grandmother would be hard as she and Reed tried to make the best of it alone together.
And yet here she was enjoying herself just the way their grandmother would have wanted.
Afterwards the four worked together cleaning the kitchen. Kellie insisted on packaging up several containers of leftovers, claiming everything tasted even better the second day.
“I doubt that’s possible,” Reed said. “I can’t remember a meal I enjoyed more, or the company.”
Once everything had been set right in the kitchen, Harrison suggested they watch a Christmas movie.
“How about Die Hard?” Reed said. “That’s one of my favorites.”
“That’s not a Christmas movie,” Avery argued. “What about Home Alone?”
Reed rolled his eyes. “How many times have you watched that silly movie? A dozen?”
“Probably more. It’s tradition,” Avery argued.
Reed wasn’t listening. “What’s your choice?” he asked Kellie.
Harrison’s sister shared a smile with Avery. “Home Alone.”
“No, please, no.”
“Don’t I get a say?” Harrison asked.
In a united chorus, the three others said, “No.”
“Okay, okay, it’s Home Alone,” Harrison said with a laugh as he reached for the remote.
Reed and Kellie claimed the sofa. Kellie snuggled up against Reed and he placed his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.
Harrison reached for Avery’s hand and the two nestled in the loveseat as the movie started to play.
Although Avery had watched the movie many times, it never failed to make her laugh. She enjoyed being close to Harrison and didn’t object when he tucked his arm around her. With her stomach full of their meal, she rested her head against his shoulder and yawned at the end of the movie.
When the last of the credits rolled across the screen, Reed sat up and announced, “It’s time for the RumChata.”
“It’s a Christmas tradition that started with our grandparents,” Avery explained.
“This is our first Christmas without our grandmother. It seems fitting for us to continue in her honor,” Reed added.
Kellie brought out four small shot glasses and set them on the coffee table. Reed opened the bottle and poured each of them two knuckles. He distributed the glasses and then raised his in a toast.
“To Grams.”
“To Grams,” Avery repeated.
Kellie and Harrison echoed the toast and raised their glasses.
They each took a small taste.
“Not bad,” Harrison said, arching his brows. “This is one Christmas tradition I wouldn’t mind continuing. I imagine you miss her,” he said, looking at Avery.
“Nothing feels the same. I dreaded this first Christmas without her, unsure how Reed and I would get through it. I was afraid there would be this giant hole with her gone. For the last several years it’s only been the three of us.”
“How do you feel now?” Reed asked, catching her eye.
“Today, you mean?” Avery asked after a thoughtful moment. “It feels different and at the same time perfect. What about you?” she asked her brother.
He stared down at the glass in his hand. “This might sound a little silly, but I’m going to say it anyway. I think Grams might have been behind the four of us meeting the way we did. I’m convinced she meant for us to share this day together.”
“I think you’re right,” Avery agreed, then sipped her drink in Grams’s honor. “That would be just like her.” Deep down, Avery knew their grandmother would know how terribly they would miss her this Christmas and would work from heaven to make this day special.
“It’s too much of a coincidence that the four of us would meet up the way we did,” Reed added. “I mean, what are the odds that Harrison and Avery would find each other on the ferry with literally hundreds of passengers on board.”
“And that the two of us would happen upon each other,” Kellie added. She reached for Reed’s hand.
“Normally I would have been on the East Coast, spending Christmas with my parents,” Harrison said.
“Our parents, who decided to take a cruise this year instead,” Kellie inserted.
“That’s a fair amount of finagling,” Harrison said, sounding skeptical.
Reed and Avery laughed in unison.
“I wish I had known your Grams,” Kellie said, her fingers entwined with Reed’s. “Having met the two of you, I suspect she must have been a special woman.”
“She was,” Avery agreed. Looking toward the heavens, she raised her glass to Grams, her heart filled with love.