Chapter 7
Christmas and New Year
Rob’s parents show up Christmas Eve, all smiles and warm hugs. Andrew is a tall, gray-haired man with rimless glasses over piercing blue eyes. He has a definite Seattle architect vibe. Kind of an older Steve Jobs, with a quick wit and very little filter.
“Rob, my boy!” Andrew presents a half-case of wine, pretending to stagger under its weight. “Help your old man out, would you?”
Rob’s mom, Kim, is the one who interests me most, though.
A short Indigenous woman in her early seventies, her long hair is mainly jet-black but streaked with silver.
Her face is pretty and inviting. She speaks in low tones that force me to listen and, unlike her husband’s, her words are carefully chosen.
Kim reacts to all of her husband’s unfiltered comments with a small, wry smile, waiting to ensure he’s done goofing around before she quietly takes charge. I envy her serenity and patience.
“They’re a sweet couple,” I tell Rob while they unpack in the green room.
“They’ve never fought much, that I remember. I’m sure Dad irritates Mom, but she’s so Zen, she lets it wash over her.”
Seems like her son takes after her — Rob’s been pretty calm about all my craziness.
“That’s good. Different, but complementary. Your mother met your Dad when he was working with the Lummi Nation on a resort development, right?”
“Yeah. It took a while for them to marry, though. My grandmother relied on Mum a lot, so she remained on the reservation even after marrying Dad in her early thirties.” Rob smiles into the distance, a look of nostalgia passing across his face.
“We still have my paternal grandparents’ old house in La Conner, north of Seattle.
That’s where she would stay with my Dad a few days a week.
But she kept living with my grandmother until she got pregnant with me, and Mum and Dad decided to move to Seattle as Dad’s business was taking off. ”
It’s fascinating to watch Rob with his folks and understand where his looks come from.
His height and easy grace are his father’s, but his light brown skin coloring, thick black hair, deep brown eyes and wide, open facial features are all his mother.
He’s a perfect mix. And it’s hard to stop staring.
“So, Josie,” Andrew says, as we enjoy our Christmas Eve dinner. “I heard some douchebag hit on our girl at the office party?” His eyes are glinting with laughter. Rob must have told him.
“Yeah.” I glance over at Rob, whose smiling face is lit beautifully in the candlelight. “A total sleaze. Said if I couldn’t remember being married, he wanted me to know I ‘had options’ if I felt single.”
“Unbelievable.” Andrew shakes his head. “Even if that were in any way valid, which of course it isn’t, who hits on his boss’s wife? What a dick—”
“What did you say, Josie?” Kim asks, shooting Andrew an admonishing look.
“Well, I seem to remember it involved me calling him greasy and throwing the rest of my wine in his face. Then going over to Rob for a slow dance. We didn’t see him after that, funnily enough.”
Rob’s eyes crinkle in amusement. “He came into my office a few days later, tail between his legs. Said something like, ‘I believe I owe you an apology, I had too much to drink at the party and I may have said something inappropriate to your wife. I will of course offer my resignation if you think it’s necessary.’ Something lame. ”
“What did you do?” Kim’s expression is gentle as she looks at Rob.
“I’d’ve fired him,” Andrew declares. “That kind of lapse in judgment tells me he’s not right for the company. What a fu—” He breaks off as Kim gives him another look, flopping back in his chair with an audible huff.
Rob shrugs. “We had a formal meeting with HR, who gave him a warning, but then we let it go. Josie didn’t want him fired on her account. He’s got a lot to prove, though.”
“I think a lapse in judgment can be a wake-up call,” I add. “Maybe he’ll think twice about getting wasted at work events.”
“Your girl has a good head on her shoulders, Robbie.” Kim smiles at me.
The accolade is wonderful to hear, although it also makes me uncomfortable. They wouldn’t like me if they knew. I’m not Rob’s real wife. I’m an impostor.
Christmas Day dawns with a mild hangover, cured by coffee and Rob’s production of a full English breakfast — “a treat for my English wife.” Then the gift-giving begins.
Fortunately, any Christmas gifts from me had been ordered or bought before my accident.
Other Me had helpfully written a gift list on her phone, and various packages arrived over the past few weeks.
All I had to do was wrap them. It felt particularly duplicitous, wrapping gifts chosen by someone else. But what else could I do?
Kim is the first to open the small, soft parcel from me. A gorgeous silk scarf in blue and gray tones, bought from an expensive boutique. She seems to love it. I could’ve picked that out for her myself.
Andrew’s gift from me is a hardback copy of Douglas Coupland’s City of Glass, about Vancouver, signed by the author. He’s impressed and curious about how I got the autograph, but I have no clue and Rob is also unable to answer.
Rob’s parents’ gift to me, presented in a huge box, is a silvery-brown faux-fur throw with matching pillow from an exclusive home store. It must’ve cost hundreds, I think with a pang of guilt. “It’s a gift for Rob too, so we didn’t hold back,” Kim comments, reading my expression.
“I love it. Thank you.”
“My turn to open something.” Rob grabs the large cube I wrapped for him in silver paper. I’m not sure how it will be received, considering the circumstances. I’d have never given this to him myself, but of course it’s from Other Josie, really.
He pulls open the bow and tears off the paper, finding a box with a lid.
He lifts it to find another box inside, and then three incrementally smaller boxes, with the last a six-inch cube.
Inside, among silver tissue paper, Rob finds the gift — a red envelope containing a voucher for a two-night stay and dinner for two at the Blue Harbor Inn on Orcas Island in Washington State.
He looks up at me from his position cross-legged on the floor, his eyes moistening.
“Wow. Thank you so much, baby. That’s going to be amazing.
” He turns to his mother. “Look, a weekend on Orcas Island. Isn’t that awesome?
We’ve always wanted to stay at Blue Harbor Inn, the food is pretty famous, but we’ve never gotten around to it.
We could stay a night in La Conner, too. ”
“That’s wonderful.” Kim turns to me. “You’ll love it. Andrew and I have stayed and eaten at the inn a number of times. It’s fabulous. You must visit us in Seattle while you’re in the area.”
“When will you come?” asks Andrew.
“I don’t know. Maybe sometime in the spring?” Rob’s face is lit up. He’s so happy.
“Sure, around then would be ideal.” I wonder if I’ll still be here.
But I’m excited by the prospect of the Blue Harbor Inn, as I’ve heard of it myself.
“Actually, I learned about the inn well before I met Rob,” I tell Kim.
“I remember reading about it in The New York Times many years ago — top restaurants worth getting on a plane for, or something. It sounded so wonderful. I’ve always imagined the Pacific Northwest as a wild, romantic place. ”
“Thank you, my darling.” Rob kneels down. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me in, kissing my temple, pressing his mouth against my skin for a moment, his beard tickling my cheek. I blush, a teenager again.
“You’re welcome.” But when he pulls away, I give him a sheepish half-smile, as if to say, we both know that gift wasn’t really from me.
“Now for you.” He picks up a flat red box, trimmed with a huge white bow, and places it on my lap.
“Very festive.”
Pulling apart the bow, the lid falls off.
And inside, folded in black tissue paper, I glimpse rich, deep red silk.
A dress? Yes. I pick up two ribbon-width straps and pull the dress up high, letting the box fall.
It’s long, slinky and divine. Thank God I’ve now got the body for it — I’d have never been able to get away with this a month ago.
The straps divide at the back, both continuing down to the deep V and crossing each other.
The front neckline is a simple V, edged with the ribbon of the straps. Simple, yet extravagant. Gorgeous.
I can’t help but laugh. “This is incredible.” I lean toward Rob, sitting on the floor against the arm of the couch, and kiss the side of his head.
“I hope it fits.” He’s watching me indulgently.
“It should. I’ll try it in a bit. Really, thank you so much.”
“Hey, it’s as much a gift for me as for you, right?”
“You’ll be lovely in it.” Kim smiles.
“You could wear it for Hans and Mike’s New Year’s Eve party,” adds Rob.
“I might save it for the Valentine’s Luxury Listing party. It’d be so perfect for that. I’ve already got my eye on another dress for New Year’s Eve.”
* * *
When New Year’s Eve comes, I set aside the red dress, even though it does indeed fit my new body perfectly, and pick out a knee-length cocktail dress with a black lace overlay and long chiffon sleeves instead.
I pair it with an extra-long silver necklace and a pair of strappy sandals.
I’ve blown out my thick hair to up the glamor.
Now, I’m ready to hit an exclusive Manhattan New Year’s Eve party.
Rob and his parents are waiting for me in the living room.
Rob is very handsome in yet another of his fine gray suits with a slate-blue shirt beneath.
“You look amazing.” He pulls me close to kiss my forehead.
It’s probably not something he would have done if his parents hadn’t been here.
He clearly needs them to see we’re a happy couple, even if I do have amnesia and am sleeping in the guest room.