9. Let It Snow #3
Stephanie and Mya continued to listen closely, they had seen firsthand how Hidradenitis Suppurativa had wrecked Aniyah’s life throughout the years.
They had been there through her embarrassment, her pain, her uncertainty.
They knew she preferred being alone because she feared rejection when someone saw her scars or learned of her illness.
“Ice cream with Trevor huh? We’ll put a pin in that,” Mya noted, “continue.”
“I’ve been taking my ibuprofen 800s, doing the hot compresses, drinking my turmeric tea and rubbing my salve on it.
You know I’m a pro at this now. I just have to get through it.
I will say, I’m glad this waited until the school season was over for the semester.
Trying to run with kids while not being able to raise your arm is a bitch. ”
“I understand honey. So sit your ass down and put that compress back on. We got everything else,” Stephanie commanded.
“Okay okay, I’m sitting.”
Within an hour the condo smelled like seasoned meat, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and the candle Mya had lit despite Aniyah insisting she didn’t need one.
They changed into their matching pajamas, thick socks sliding softly across the hardwood floors as they built their usual nest in the living room with blankets, oversized floor pillows, and the good throw that still made Aniyah think of Grandpa Earl every time she unfolded it.
Almost Christmas played first, followed by This Christmas not long after, the television casting a soft glow across their faces while they ate tacos straight from foil wrappers and argued over which movie had the better family fight scene.
As the cocoa was poured into oversized mugs and marshmallows began dissolving into the surface, the room had settled into the kind of warmth only years of friendship could create.
Mya tucked her legs beneath her and held out her left hand dramatically. “Before we get into what’s been going on with Mr. Director and our golden girl. I have something to say. Will proposed!”
Stephanie grabbed her hand and squinted at the ring like a jeweler inspecting merchandise. “Girl what?! When?! How are we just now finding out about it?!”
Mya giggled, “It literally happened last night. Y’all know I thought he had been sneaking around, turns out he was trying to plan when to pop the question.”
Aniyah leaned forward to look too, the Christmas lights from the tree catching the stone as it sparkled. “That’s amazing Mya. I’m really happy for you,” she said softly .
Mya’s expression softened immediately. “I know. And thank you. I still look down sometimes and get surprised all over again.”
Stephanie lifted her cocoa and sighed dramatically. Then looked at them with a sly smile on her face “Meanwhile I’m over here becoming somebody’s mama…”
Aniyah’s head snapped up so fast she almost spilled her drink. “What.”
Mya nearly choked, “Bitch, what.”
Stephanie burst out laughing at their faces and held up both hands.
“Relax. I just found out this week. And before either of y’all starts hollering, I wanted to tell y’all tonight.
Deshawn is excited. He’s already fixing up the nursery, crazy ass.
” They all laughed at that. “And… I also got promoted.”
She took a long sip of cocoa like she hadn’t just dropped three major life updates at once, “Life apparently decided I needed all my blessings at the same damn time.”
The room exploded.
Aniyah and Mya lunged forward at the same time, nearly knocking the coffee table over as they wrapped Stephanie in a hug. Stephanie laughed into their shoulders, muttering something about regretting telling them before midnight while they squeezed her tight.
When they finally fell back into the mountain of blankets again, Mya turned her attention slowly toward Aniyah.
“All right,” she said calmly. “Your turn.”
Aniyah blinked into her mug. “My turn for what.”
Stephanie pointed at her immediately. “For whatever has you over there smiling at cocoa like somebody wrote a love letter in it.”
Aniyah drew her knees up beneath the blanket and pretended to think harder than necessary.
“It’s nothing huge compared to the information that was just shared,” she said carefully .
Both women stared at her in perfect silence until she sighed.
“Trevor invited me to Christmas dinner with his family.”
That landed exactly the way she expected it would.
Mya sat up straighter. “First ice cream, now Christmas dinner. Y’all basically go steady at this point. Where is dinner?”
“At his dad’s house,” Aniyah answered.
Stephanie leaned back against the couch and let out a long whistle. “Oh that man is serious enough to be dangerous.”
Aniyah looked down at her mug. “I don’t know if dangerous is the word I’d use anymore after the time we’ve been spending together.”
“It is,” Mya said calmly. “Because that is not just casual friendly behavior. Men do not bring just anybody to Christmas dinner. Especially not men with families like the Porters.”
Stephanie nodded emphatically. “Tight tight families like theirs? You get folded into something like that and suddenly everybody knows your business and feeds you at the same time.”
Aniyah traced her thumb along the handle of her mug, “I almost said no.”
“But you didn’t,” Mya said.
“No.”
Stephanie grinned. “Good. Because both of us are out of town this year and I refuse to imagine you sitting here by yourself eating leftovers while that man and his fine ass family are somewhere passing greens and arguing over who burned the mac and cheese.”
Aniyah laughed despite herself. “You only care because you want information.”
Stephanie leaned forward shamelessly. “Listen! I had the biggest crush on Angelou when we were kids.”
Mya groaned immediately. “Oh brother, here we go again like we didn’t have to live through that obsession.”
“No because I’m serious,” Stephanie continued, fanning herself with a pillow. “Remember when he had them braids? That boy used to walk through the hallway when he came to pick up Trevor like rent was due and he owned the building.”
Aniyah laughed so hard she had to set her mug down.
“You are ridiculous.”
“I’m honest,” Stephanie corrected. “There’s a difference.”
Mya shook her head, but her smile stayed. Then her tone shifted slightly, not harsh but careful.
“All jokes aside,” she said, looking directly at Aniyah now. “I think you should go. I really do. You deserve to be around some warmth.”
Aniyah felt the sincerity in that.
But Mya wasn’t finished, “I just need you to keep your eyes open,” she added gently.
“Trevor is newly single. I’m not saying he’s not a good man.
Everything you’ve told us says he is. I just don’t want you getting pulled into something tender while he’s still figuring out what’s left of him.
Other than that, have a good time with his family. ”
Aniyah nodded slowly, “I will.”
Stephanie reached across the blanket pile and squeezed her ankle. “You can know that you need to be careful and still enjoy yourself. They’re not opposites. There is room for both.”
Mya nodded. “Exactly. Go. Eat good food. Let that family love on you like we know they are going to.”
Aniyah thought for a moment, then a picture popped in her head of all those friendly faces she met the night before standing around the Christmas tree filled with warmth and love she hadn’t experienced since her grandpa’s passing.”
“I’m going.”
Both of her friends answered at the same time, loud enough to drown out the movie.
“Good.”
Aniyah’s kitchen smelled like brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon when the sweet potato soufflé came out of the oven, the top puffed golden and delicate the way her grandfather used to like it.
She stood there a moment longer than necessary, oven mitt still on one hand, watching the steam curl into the air like it carried pieces of memory with it.
Of course she had chosen this dish. Papa Earl used to say no Christmas table was respectable without it, and the thought steadied her nerves in a way nothing else had all afternoon.
Thankfully her flare had gone down in the last few days which helped lift her spirits tremendously today.
Her phone buzzed against the counter.
Patrice.
Aniyah stared at the name long enough for the call to roll itself to voicemail, the familiar heaviness settling briefly in her chest before she reached over and tapped the screen again. Block caller. The quiet that followed felt immediate and clean, like opening a window after a storm.
Nothing good ever came from those conversations. And she didn’t need that. Not on a day that felt fragile in a way she wanted to protect.
She wiped her hands on a towel and leaned her hip against the counter, letting her mind drift the way it always did around Christmas.
Her last holiday with Papa Earl rose easily.
The brownstone glowing like a lighthouse on the block, every window strung with lights because he said decorations should be seen from the street.
The smell of food drifting down the hallway while he hummed along to old Christmas records.
Them singing badly together in the kitchen, laughing when the notes slipped away from them.
Movies playing back to back while snow gathered along the window ledges and neither of them bothered to check the time.
She smiled softly.
That Christmas had been perfect in a way that never asked for anything more.
And because they had that time, because she had filled that house with love while he was still there to enjoy it, the ache of his absence never swallowed the holiday the way people always warned it would.
It simply sat beside it.
A quiet companion instead of a wound.