The Perfect Christmas

Chapter Thirteen

Angie

“Isn’t there anything you can do? I made a mess in the kitchen, and we got another cute pet. She’s making me sneeze a lot, but I can live with that. I tried to have a big family dinner, but my parents already booked their vacation. That wasn’t up to me, was it? Please, what else can I do?!”

Distantly, Angie was aware that she had to sound like a madwoman, but catching Nadine at the Christmas market seemed like the only avenue left since she still hadn’t come up with a better idea.

This place was associated with the holiday more than anything.

It was worth a try, wasn’t it? She was running out of options and time.

Nadine regarded her with sympathy after carefully arranging her display of bracelets, earrings and necklaces.

“You are trying so hard you’re missing the most obvious thing.”

“And what would that be? If you know it, why aren’t you telling me? That’s cruel.”

Nadine shook her head. “No, it just is. That’s different from cruel. You’re in this situation because you made a wish. You wanted things to be different. Now they are, and if you’re not happy, you should ask yourself why.”

“I know why!” Angie leaned closer, because she didn’t want the woman perusing the merchandise to overhear her, and besides, if she lowered her voice, she might sound a little less absurd.

“Everything seems so…wiped clean. We used to have so much fun together, to be close, and happy, and now everyone’s walking on eggshells all the time.

Christina doesn’t talk to me anymore. I used to be able to tell if everyone was happy, and now I can’t, and… it hurts.”

“You have a few more days to figure it out,” Nadine said. “I wish you the best of luck. Merry Christmas, Angie. Please excuse me.”

When she went to address the potential customer, Angie left, tears blurring her vision.

She had to keep it together, go back to work and then home, all cheery for the family dinner.

Or maybe she needed to tell Neva the truth.

***

The thought was so unsettling she dismissed it right away, but it lingered during the day, as she tried to concentrate on work, and later when she drove home.

Angie was excited to see Christina and worried at the same time. She and Neva had always wanted to make it clear that the girls could tell them everything. They meant it. Sure, now Christina had friends she confided in, but something was still off.

Well, surprise. Her entire life was “off” at this moment, and she didn’t have the slightest clue how to fix it. Nadine’s question had stirred something up though. Why wasn’t she happy?

What grand gesture could she make to restore the life she knew?

With some trepidation, she let herself into the house. It was quiet, though when she walked further inside, she could see light from Neva’s office and hear the twins laugh in their room. Brad was sleeping in his dog bed, and Fluffy was nowhere to be seen.

Angie couldn’t ignore her presence though, the instant sneeze reminding her.

She went straight to Neva’s office, and Neva got up to greet her with a kiss.

“Hi. You’re still at work?”

“Just finishing something up. How was your day?”

Neva was smiling, so how could Angie hear an edge in her voice?

“Good. Long. I’ll just change, and we can go eat? I’m starving.”

“Sure, but it’s okay if you take your time. I need a few more minutes, and we had lunch at the Christmas market.”

“Oh.” Angie wasn’t sure what else to say. She was lucky they hadn’t caught her badgering Nadine.

“We talked about this on the phone, remember?” Now there was definitely an edge.

“Yes, I know, but…I hope they didn’t have too much sugar.”

Where did that come from? Angie froze, realizing she was acting more like this reality’s version of herself than the one she wanted to get back to. Neva had noticed it too.

“I thought you said a bit of indulgence around the holidays was fine. It was just to welcome Christina.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there. I’ll get ready.”

“Yeah.”

Angie left the room, closed the door behind her, and walked a few steps only to jump when she nearly ran into Christina.

How much of her and Neva’s argument had she overheard?

Angie’s face heated at the possibilities.

Sure, she and Neva disagreed sometimes, but they had a strict rule of not arguing in front of the girls.

Nevertheless, she was happy and relieved to see Christina. Angie folded her daughter into a tight embrace.

“You’re home! I missed you so much.”

Christina held on. Sometimes, gestures were easier than words. Angie could relate.

“Is everything okay?” she asked quietly.

“You tell me.”

To her surprise, Christina sounded almost angry when she stepped back.

“What’s going on?”

“You call me at school, in the middle of class, when you knew I was coming home for Christmas. And you asked me if I liked being at Caron, with the principal sitting right across from me. It was embarrassing! Why would you do that when you couldn’t wait for me to go there?”

For the second time today, Angie was close to tears. This wasn’t about her though, and it was too important for her to worry about her own feelings.

“We thought that was what you wanted too! We would have never sent you if you weren’t okay with it, Christina. Did something happen?”

“Whatever.” Christina turned around, then thought twice about it. “No, nothing happened, except that weird call. I’m sorry, Mom, but please don’t do that again?”

“I promise,” Angie said quickly.

That moment, the kitten zipped by at a remarkable speed, perhaps startled by something.

“Wait, who’s the fluffy comet?” Christina asked, in awe. “A kitten? I thought you were allergic?”

“Aunt Amanda needed someone to take care of her for a little while.” Angie kept the timeline vague on purpose. The last thing she needed was to disappoint anyone else.

“Okay.” Christina stepped closer and back into her embrace. “I’m sorry. I missed you too.”

“It’s okay. We’ll have a few days together. And we’ll start with a nice dinner.”

“Good luck.” Christina laughed. “I think everyone’s still a bit full from lunch.”

“That was hours ago! How much did you all eat?”

Christina’s laughter was worth it, making her forget that she’d skipped lunch trying to fix this mess. Angie was still teetering on the edge, but she was determined to keep calm this evening. Stick to the plan. Figure out what to do.

“I guess I’ll hear about it. I’ll get ready, and worst-case scenario, you can all accompany me and watch me eat.” She hesitated. “Are you really okay?”

“I swear. Now, shouldn’t you get going?”

Angie took the hint.

Something still told her that she should share her predicament with someone else, that Nadine shouldn’t be the only one. It seemed like the jeweler wasn’t affected by the outcome either way.

If Angie couldn’t figure it out, maybe the person she loved most in the world could?

***

By the time they got to dinner, everyone else was in the mood for food again. Over pizza, they shared plans for the coming days, and Christina opened up a bit more, talking about her friends and favorite subjects in school.

Angie listened closely, somewhat reassured to know that she was doing well, academically and socially. Nothing to worry about, right? Until she reminded herself that this wasn’t reality, but a disorienting copy of it.

Neva had to feel it too.

Later that night, when they had retreated to their bedroom, Angie found new resolve and hope. Perhaps this was what had been in front of her all along. She had to come clean, about everything.

“Neva,” she said.

“Hm?” her wife answered with a sleepy sound.

“I’m sorry, but I have to talk to you. It’s urgent.”

Neva, now wide awake, sat up in bed and stared at her. She looked worried, no, more scared, illuminated by the fairy lights they had decorated their bedroom with.

“Something happened the other day…” She hesitated for a heartbeat. And then some more. “With Nadine. I’m sorry, Neva but I need to talk about this.”

“What happened? What did she do?”

Angie took a deep breath. “It’s more about something I did,” she said, feeling her eyes well up. “And I’m so, so sorry. It’s important that you know—”

Neva, who had been listening quietly until now, held up a hand, shocked disbelief in her expression. “No. Maybe it isn’t. Angie, why, what were you thinking? I don’t want to hear this, not now, not ever.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m going to need a moment,” Neva declared as she got up. “And I don’t want to hear the details.”

“Wait, what?” The blood shot to her face when she realized what Neva meant. “Oh my God. That’s not it! I would never! I…I can’t believe you’re thinking that.”

Neva’s face flushed. “You didn’t…All right.

You didn’t. I’m so sorry!” Sitting back down, she sounded relieved and embarrassed at the same time, as she wiped a hand over her face.

“I can’t believe it either. You’ve been so stressed lately, and I was afraid…

but that’s no excuse either. Please, can we start over? Forgive me?”

Obviously, they would have to, but why would Neva even go there? That was perhaps a question for another day, though it seemed to fit right into this confusing alternate universe. What Angie actually had to tell her should be much easier in comparison. But it wasn’t, and she chose to stall.

“Yes, I forgive you, but I reserve the right to bring that up in a fight ten or twenty years down the line, okay?”

Neva laughed softly. “I’m an idiot, and you have every right to bring it up as often as you’d like. When I saw you at the market…”

“You saw me? Why didn’t you just come over…

Okay, let’s put a pin in that for now. This does have to do with Nadine though.

” She couldn’t put it off any longer. “Remember the day I brought her to dinner? When we parked out front, I saw that the string of lights on the tree was broken again, and…” In hindsight, it seemed silly that this one little thing had led her to want to alter the course of her life.

In the future, Angie would be extremely careful what she wished for.

“It made me think of all the things we still had to do before Christmas, and I won’t lie, I got a little mad, and frustrated, and I made a wish.”

“You made a wish. Okay.”

The blank look on Neva’s face told Angie that she had to give her a few more details, and quick.

“Anyway, everything seemed so messy at the time. You had just brought Fluffy home, and we still had to make more cookies and get wrapping paper…” It came to her that Neva had apparently no memory of these events, as in this reality, they didn’t bake cookies and had their gifts wrapped at the store. To Angie’s relief, Neva played along.

“So, what did you wish for?” she asked.

“The perfect Christmas.” Angie took a deep breath.

“I was childish, but I thought it would be nice to have one holiday where everything was already in place, no messes, no working around the clock to make it happen…I’m so sorry.

I was ungrateful. Then we walked in, and everything had changed.

And now I don’t know how to get it back. ”

“Get what back, Angie? You’re not making sense.” The emotion coming off her voice was a mix of concern and fear, but not for herself. Neva reached out to touch Angie’s forehead, making her shrink back.

“I know! But this is what happened. I just wanted a break. I blinked and everything changed. Our daughter is in boarding school, no one laughs at dinner, you don’t paint anymore, and…you thought I was having an affair!”

Neva was silent for long moments.

“I don’t know what to say,” she finally spoke.

“Except for me jumping to conclusions. I shouldn’t have.

I don’t know why I said it, and I am truly sorry.

The rest…those are all things we agreed on, to make life easier for us, but mostly for the kids, so they can succeed.

And it might be a small detail, but given everything that has happened, I think I should remind you that we didn’t yet have the kitten when Nadine came to dinner. Wait, why did you call her Fluffy?”

So she had noticed.

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you! I named her.

This was in the other reality. Our life.

Our real life, where we are happy, and Christina isn’t in boarding school, and we have three pets…

” Angie forced herself to take a breath.

“I was hoping you could help me, that we could brainstorm together? If we don’t figure it out by midnight on Christmas Eve, it will stay like this forever.

That’s what Nadine told me. I’ve been trying to get her to help me ever since. ”

“Angie!” Neva took her hands, holding on so tightly it was almost painful, desperate to make her point. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but this is our life. The only one we have. I am so sorry you’re not happy.”

She was a heartbeat away from tears. Angie was, too. She had to make sure Neva understood. So much depended on it. Maybe…everything.

“That’s not what I said. I said…”

“You made a wish and catapulted all of us into an alternate reality.” There was resignation to her tone now.

“It sounds weird when you put it like that, but yes. Nadine is…what she called, a wish granter. And when I said it out loud, she made it happen, and she claims she can’t undo it.”

“What does she say?”

“That I have to find the solution. I’m running out of ideas.”

Angie had harbored the hope that Neva might be at least curious.

“It’s been a long day. Perhaps we should get some sleep.”

“I’ve been trying to get us back, take more time off, bake cookies, have our parents over, but whatever I do, it’s not the right thing. I needed to talk to you.”

Neva reached out, brushing her fingers over Angie’s cheek, before she kissed her softly.

“You can always talk to me, but now, I think you need some rest. Please, trust me on this. Everything will look different in the morning.”

Her tone lacked conviction, but it was clear to Angie that the conversation was over for tonight. She had to try again, find a better angle. Tomorrow.

When Neva opened her arms, she went eagerly.

They hadn’t solved anything, but it was a first step.

And they still had twenty-four hours.