Three | Sam
Three
Sam
“T he chicken is delicious ,” I said, wiping my mouth with a napkin.
“Thank you,” Cassidy said, smiling.
While we did Sunday dinner at my parent’s house every week, we took turns on who cooked it. That way, it didn’t always fall on the same person to do all of the cooking.
“Do you like the macaroni?” Cassidy asked Kennedy, who had a giant spoonful ready to shove into her mouth.
“It’s cheesy,” she answered with a giant grin.
“That’s because I added extra cheese.” Cassidy smiled and wiggled her eyebrows playfully as Kennedy took a bite.
“You’re going to spoil her,” Avery teased with a smile and shake of her head.
“That’s what aunts are supposed to do.”
“Does that mean Sam’s my uncle?” Kennedy asked around a mouthful of macaroni.
I felt Avery’s eyes on me as she stalled in answering her daughter. We hadn’t talked about any of this, and it wasn’t like I had known Kennedy until yesterday. Her relationship with Cassidy was a lot different due to how much time they’d spent together and how often Cassidy had gone to North Carolina to visit after Kennedy was born.
“You know what I heard?” Cassidy said, clearly changing the subject. “I heard that Santa’s reindeer are coming for the Frosty Fest this year!”
“What’s a flosty flest?” Kennedy asked, still not having finished her bite.
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” Avery scolded gently, placing her hand on Kennedy’s arm to get her attention. “And please take smaller bites. I don’t want you to choke.”
“But thits so good,” Kennedy objected, continuing to talk with her mouth full.
“It’ll still be just as good with smaller bites.”
“Frosty Fest is an annual event that we do in Sugarplum Falls,” Cassidy answered, looking at Kennedy and avoiding Avery’s gaze that was on her. “There’s always a lot of fun shopping, but the best part is the parade in the morning to kick it off. Santa and Mrs. Claus come, and they bring the reindeer! After the parade, you can go visit the reindeer and feed them carrots!”
Kennedy’s eyes widened as she looked from Cassidy to Avery.
“Can we go?” she asked excitedly, finally having finished her bite.
“When is it?” Avery asked nicely, though I could see the daggers she was shooting into my sister’s head.
“Two weeks.” Cassidy pinned Avery with an equally threatening look as she lifted her fork to her lips and took a bite of chicken.
“I don’t know if we’ll still be here,” Avery said gently to Kennedy, her eyes softening as disappointment washed over her face.
“Okay.”
I could feel the tension mounting on Avery’s shoulders from where I was sitting, and though I didn’t know the whole situation, I wasn’t happy with my sister for what she just did. Once dinner was over, I sent Avery and Kennedy to the living room with my parents to watch a movie while Cassidy and I cleaned up.
“What the hell was that shit you just pulled on Avery?” I bit out angrily as I filled the sink with hot water.
“What are you talking about?” she asked while setting down a stack of plates from dinner.
“Why would you tell Kennedy about Frosty Fest without checking with Avery first? Now you’ve gone and disappointed Kennedy while also making Avery feel like shit for not being able to promise her daughter they can go.”
“Look, I know you mean well, but you don’t know anything about what’s going on with Avery and Kennedy.”
“You’re right. I don’t. But I know a lot about family and friendships, Cassidy, and you don’t do shit like that to someone you love.”
She sighed heavily, pushing the air forcefully out of pursed lips.
“I don’t want them to leave, okay?”
I pulled my head back in surprise, not believing what she just said.
“This isn’t about you . It doesn’t matter what you want. You don’t get to make things harder for Avery just because you don’t want them to leave.”
“I’m not trying to make things harder for them. I’m trying to help out the best I can. She doesn’t have anything right now, Sam. Not a penny to her name. Her dumb-ass ex took it all when she filed for divorce. She’s having to start over, and the only thing she got from him was a beautiful daughter who she loves with all of her heart. If I can keep them in Sugarplum Falls, then I can help them. I can give them a safe place to live where Avery doesn’t have to worry about how to pay the rent. It’s less than three weeks until Christmas, and she can’t even afford gifts for her daughter. How is Santa supposed to come, Sam?”
She turned away and wiped the tears from her eyes, not wanting anyone in the living room to see. Thankfully, the TV was up loud enough that no one could hear what we were talking about.
“Shit,” I muttered, shoving a hand through my hair. “I didn’t know it was that bad.”
“She’s my best friend. She’s like the sister I never had. I love her and Kennedy so much that it kills me that this is what they’re going through right now. So yeah, it was a shitty thing to do by getting Kennedy excited about Frosty Fest, but what else am I supposed to do? How is she supposed to experience the magic of Christmas if we don’t help? They’re literally in the most Christmas-obsessed town, and yet they haven’t experienced any of the joy it brings. You can’t fault me for wanting to give that to them.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I assured her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders.
“You don’t have to do anything, Sam.”
“It’s family, Cassidy. We rally around our family and help them. You know that.”