Chapter Twenty-one
Twenty-one
Christmas day. Annie surprised herself, sleeping in until eight o’clock, opening her eyes to the sun blasting through the window.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d awoken after sunrise. Rolling over to check her phone – nothing. No messages. No pictures of the twins opening their presents Christmas morning.
It wasn’t unexpected. Roy had followed through on his threat to take her to court. He’d filed a motion for a parenting plan with the superior court, and their hearing was set in seven weeks. Of course he’d punish her on Christmas by making her wonder what they were doing. How they were doing.
The smell of coffee wafted in from the kitchen, pulling Annie out of bed. Her mom was already up, a red and white velvety Christmas hat atop her head.
“Merry Christmas, sweetheart,” she said, kissing her on the cheek.
Annie poured herself a mug of coffee. “Merry Christmas, Mom.”
Annie shuffled, pajama-clad, to the couch. Their small tabletop Christmas tree had two new presents beneath it. A small box wrapped in shining gold paper, and a much larger box wrapped in silver with red satin ribbon.
“What’s this?” Annie asked.
“A little something for you,” Clara said, settling in next to her.
“I thought we said no presents,” Annie said.
“It’s not really a present.” Clara lifted the smaller of the two presents and placed it in Annie’s hand. “The other one is from Margie and Sheila. Santa dropped it off.”
Annie smiled at her. “Santa’s working for Margie now, eh?”
She tore off the wrapping paper and revealed a dark violet, velvet box. Inside was a gold ring with a glittering sapphire surrounded by a dusting of little diamonds.
She looked up at her mom, her mouth hanging open. “Grandma’s ring? I can’t take this.”
“Of course you can,” she said, beaming. “It deserves to see the light of day again.”
“It’s too fancy for me to wear,” Annie said, slipping it onto her ring finger. It fit perfectly, throwing flashes of colored light from the Christmas tree.
“You can wear it to the fundraiser,” Clara said.
“Oh. Yeah.” Annie looked up at her. “Thank you, Mom.”
Clara beamed. “Open the big one!”
Annie eyed the package before picking it up. “I wish they hadn’t gotten me anything.”
“Oh hush,” Clara said. “There’s a card. Read that first.”
Annie unfolded it and read aloud. “Annie, we wanted to get you something to thank you for not just the idea for the fundraiser, but for all the incredible work you’ve put into it. You deserve to shine. Love, Margie and Sheila.”
She pressed her lips into a line, willing the tears to go away. It was going to be a weepy day.
“I can’t wait to see,” Clara said.
Annie cleared her throat and set the card down. She had a feeling she knew what it was.
She pulled on the silk ribbon and it came undone easily. Setting the box on the ground, she lifted the lid. A gasp escaped her.
It was a dress, nestled in a bed of tissue paper. It was the dress she’d tried on, at their insistence, the one that was laughably expensive.
She lifted the gown from the box, the sequined pink flowers shining in the morning sun. The rest of the dress was champagne gold, the perfect tone to warm her complexion. It had long sleeves, and a V-neckline that was probably too much for a mom of two, and a delicate pink embroidered waist.
It felt substantial in her hands, like the dress of someone far more important.
Clara sighed, clutching her hands to her chest. “Oh Annie, it’s beautiful. Put it on!”
“I can’t put it on! I’m a mess!” Annie pointed to the bun on the top of her head.
“You’re right, you need to take a shower. Freshen up. Go on!”
Annie cast her mom a look, but she didn’t protest. Without prompting, she’d wallow in flannel all day.
This dress deserved more than that. She carefully placed it back in the box, texted a hasty thank you to Margie and Sheila, then took her mom’s advice.
Not ten minutes after showering and drying her hair, there was a knock at the front door. Annie rushed to open it, her heart pounding against her chest on the off chance that maybe, just maybe, Roy had decided to have a truce for the day and bring the twins around.
No such luck. She pulled the door open with too much force, cold wind blasting in. On the doorstep stood Miles and Bella, grinning.
“Hit it, Dad!”
Miles pressed a button on his phone as Jingle Bells started to play. Then they started singing.
“Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh...”
Annie covered her open mouth with her hands, laughter forcing its way out.
Miles went hard on some improvised Ho Ho Hos, earning a sharp look from Bella, which he ignored.
Clara stood with her arm around Annie. “Noel would’ve loved this.”
“I love this,” she said through laughter.
When the song ended, Clara clapped loudly and called out, “Bravo!”
“Real life Christmas carolers!” Annie said, unable to contain her grin. “Do you want to pop inside, or are you hitting every house in the neighborhood?”
“I hope not,” Bella said, stepping inside. “I don’t know if you can hear, but he’s tone deaf.”
Miles scrunched his nose. “I’m not tone deaf. I sound great. We should make a firefighter Christmas album.”
Bella rolled her eyes. “Don’t even joke about that, Dad.”
He shut the door, standing in front of it all wide-shouldered and hopelessly masculine, dressed in a red and black buffalo flannel, looking every bit the part of a Christmas album star.
Why did he always have to look so good?
“Merry Christmas,” Annie managed to say.
“Merry Christmas,” he said with a warm smile. “I am going to be presumptuous and assume you don’t have any plans for the day.”
Annie looked around the empty house. It was obvious, and Annie suspected her mom had told him the same. Her urge for Annie to shower made sense. “You would be right.”
“Perfect. Then you won’t mind us hanging out here before heading over to my buddy’s farm for a sleigh ride later. You’re both invited, of course.”
“It’s more of a farm cart being pulled by a horse,” Bella said.
“There’s still a horse,” Miles countered. “And I’m going to bring hot chocolate.”
Though staying home and weeping felt like the right thing to do, even Annie couldn’t imagine turning down an opportunity to see Miles.
She glanced at her mom. “We can’t say no to hot chocolate.”
He smiled that stunning smile. “I was hoping you’d say that.”
Her heart stopped. She blinked. “Would either of you like coffee or tea?”
“I’m allowed to have decaf coffee!” Bella announced.
Annie nodded. “Coming right up!”
Miles followed her into the kitchen. “I hope you don’t mind us dropping in. Your mom said it would be okay.”
“Not at all.” She met his gaze, steady and calm. “It’s nice to see you.”
“How are you doing?” he asked.
She was quiet for a moment, listening to the kettle heating up. “Better now.”
One side of his mouth tilted up.
“Is this a plant?” Bella yelled out. “My dad has been trying to get me to watch this for years.”
Annie shot him a quizzical look before returning to the living room. Bella had a National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation DVD in her hand.
“It’s not a plant,” Annie said. “It’s a great movie and we rewatch it every year.”
She frowned. “It’s older than I am. I am not watching a movie that’s older than me.”
Annie met Miles’ eyes. He shook his head as if to say, “Here we go again.”
“What if,” Annie said, kneeling in front of the TV, “as a Christmas gift to me, we all watch it together?”
Bella stared at her, arms crossed over her chest. Finally, she let out a sigh and said, “All right. For you, Annie. But only you.”
After popping some popcorn, they settled into their seats.
Bella piled pillows on the floor and insisted on stretching out on them.
Clara sat next to Annie, and Miles positioned himself at the other end of the couch.
It was foolish of her, but Annie had wanted him to sit next to her.
To maybe get the chance for their legs to brush against one another, to feel the sparks zinging up her leg.
After he had surprised her in the lab, she found herself thinking about all the times he’d been so close, yet still so far from her. Laying next to her on the blanket, grasping both of her hands when he offered to have Roy’s house egged.
There was a steadiness to him. It was in his even moods, in his soothing presence. More than that, she felt it even when he wasn’t there. It was like his calm voice had invaded her head. She could hear him telling her things would be okay.
Oddest of all, she believed him. Maybe she was naive, but to her, he was a real-life hero.
Foolish indeed.
The movie started, and much to her teenage chagrin, Bella kept laughing.
“These people are nuts,” she said.
“They’re family,” Miles said simply. “All families are nuts.”
“And they make us nuts,” Clara added, chuckling at her own joke.
Miles and Annie exchanged wary looks before bursting into laughter themselves.
When the movie was done, Bella admitted it was enjoyable, and possibly even a classic. Then, they loaded into Miles’ truck and made the drive to the farm.
On the way there, Annie’s phone lit up with a text message from Roy’s dad, of all people.
He had always been a pleasant man, easy to joke and offer a smile. He was friendly to Annie, but completely overshadowed by his wife and silent since the divorce.
Her heart thudded as she opened the message. Had something happened to the twins? Did she need to fly to the hospital?
But no. It was pictures he had taken of Leon and Noel opening presents, playing with toys, and eating cookies. There were smiles on their faces and icing on the Christmas outfits she’d bought for them.
They were okay. They were having a good time, even.
She tucked her phone away, hiding the happy tears in her eyes, as they got to the farm. There were two other families there, both with school-aged kids. Miles introduced them and they stood around a propane fire (allowed, per Miles), sipping on hot chocolate as the kids tried to roast marshmallows.
Miles’ friend swung by with his horse and carriage, welcoming the first load of riders onboard. The kids leapt up, Bella included.
When they returned, Miles asked Annie if she was ready to try it out.
“I’d love to,” she said.
Her mom started after them, but stopped herself. “That’ll make my hip too stiff, actually,” she said, returning to the fire.
It was just the two of them, then. Annie’s heart leapt as Miles slid in next to her.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he said. “At the very least, I can keep you warm.”
The day had been far too magical – from the surprise pictures and gifts, to the caroling, to getting to watch an old favorite through Bella’s eyes.
It had all been because of him. Well, mostly because of him. Always there for her to fall back on.
Their sleigh pulled away with a start, and something like the Christmas spirit overcame her. She squeezed his hand.
“Thank you, Miles. For everything. You’ve rescued my Christmas. I thought I’d be sitting and crying into my hot chocolate.”
“My pleasure,” he said.
“I’d always pick a spot next to you, and not just because you’re warmer than everyone else.” She stretched and planted a kiss on his cheek.
His eyes flashed wide, red filling in his cheeks.
He looked down at her, his face split by a wide smile. “Best gift I’ve gotten all day,” he said.
Annie laughed, her chest glowing with boldness. She laid her head on his shoulder and they passed the rest of the ride side by side, not saying a word.