Page 24 of Christmas On Anchor Island

Henri had not been so lucky.

“Don’t give up on her,” Callie said when Henri remained silent. “You know better than anyone that a happy ending is possible.”

“That’s in fiction,” she replied. “Real life doesn’t always work that way.”

“Maybe not for everyone, but I still believe it’ll happen. After all, there’s proof of it all around you.”

Henri flicked a bulb hanging on the tree. “This island isn’t magical. You know that, right?”

One slender blond brow arched high. “Maybe not, but there’s always the chance of a Christmas miracle. Have a little faith, cuz. If something is meant to be, it’ll happen.”

Hopping up, Callie carried the bag of discarded paper into the kitchen, leaving Henri to consider this Christmas miracle idea. She’d never been much for religion, but if some higher power wanted to send her a little help, she wasn’t going to turn them down.

* * *

The Stamatis Christmasmorning had not qualified as exciting, or even jovial, in years. Three adults exchanging maybe two presents each that often included gift cards simply did not incite the same kind of frenzy that came with little ones anxious to see what Santa had brought them. Mia didn’t have much experience outside of her own, but she assumed this was the case no matter what holiday a family celebrated this time of year. Children just made things more fun.

This year, she learned that you don’t need children around to get that level of joy.

This was their first Christmas with Lauren, and her brother, Knox came in on leave from the military the night before. Thanks to their tumultuous childhoods, this was their first real family Christmas in many years, if not the first one ever.

All of this added up to a Christmas morning full of laughter, delighted squeals, and genuine gratitude. For each other. For their good fortune. And for the future that offered so much more. There had even been baking, which despite having to be in her restaurant kitchen in a matter of hours, Lauren fully embraced. They made traditional melomakarona and kourambiethes cookies, which resulted in sticky counters and powdered sugar covered aprons.

Nick even whipped up his Christopsomo bread, dragging Knox into the process by declaring him a sous chef for the day and then tossing orders at him that involved chopping nuts and buttering the pan.

By the time Lauren and Nick headed off to Pilar’s to start prepping for the midafternoon meal, Mia’s cheeks had hurt from smiling, and she noticed a little extra pink in her grandmother’s cheeks as well.

“That was fun,” she said as they stood at the counter washing the last of the baking pans. Knox had gone back to Lauren and Nick’s place to change, though Mia was certain he’d hurried off to get out of KP duty. “It was nice to see Lauren so excited to open gifts.”

Grandma rinsed a cookie sheet and passed it over. “We’ve been missing that sort of wide-eyed wonder for far too long.” Pulling a spatula from the soapy water, she added, “Imagine what the holiday will be like when I have great-grandbabies running around.”

Mia knew that the couple had no plans to start a family anytime soon. Lauren loved being a chef, but she also knew that the hours the job required were not conducive to raising children. Not that chefs didn’t have families, but as she’d explained, her personality was the type that she did things all the way or not at all. Splitting herself between being a chef and being a mom would likely result in failing at one or the other, if not both, and Mia admired her for having that level of personal understanding.

Women received so much constant messaging about doing it all and doing it well that having the guts to say I can’t do it all was brave in itself.

“Don’t start pressuring them about kids.” Mia slid the dried cookie sheet into the cabinet. “They aren’t even married yet.”

Grandma scoffed. “Who said I was talking about them?”

She’d stepped right into that one. “Don’t be looking at me, either.”

“Who else am I going to look at?” She rung out the dishrag and draped it over the faucet. “When I was your age, your father was already in the third grade. You need to get started soon.”

Mia reminded herself that Nota came from a different generation. After counting to ten, she said, “I haven’t decided if I even want to have kids.”

The older woman gasped. “What are you talking about? Of course, you’ll have children.”

If Mia ever found a life partner, there would be one crucial baby-making ingredient missing. She loved children, but did she want one badly enough to endure the extra steps required for her to have one? And what if her partner didn’t want to be a parent?

Since her talk with Lauren, and the visit from her brother, Mia had spent hours thinking about her future. Something she hadn’t done since moving to Anchor Island. But even before the move, she hadn’t really been living. She’d been breathing, sleeping, eating. Moving like a robot from one day to the next, completely out of touch with herself. With her thoughts and dreams. There were moments when she felt ready to jump in the car and go, then the voice of reason would pluck her back to earth, and she’d be grounded once more.

Being grounded wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but Mia wanted to fly.

“How is Olaf?” she said, changing the subject. “I’m surprised he wasn’t here this morning.”

“We aren’t done talking about babies,” Grandma replied. “And his daughter came in from Raleigh, remember? I’ll see them this evening.”

Trying to create an opening, Mia said, “Would you call him your… companion?”

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