Page 59 of Heartbreak Hill

“Can we open them after dinner?” Lynnea asked.

“How about we open them after we eat dessert?” Kiran suggested. “Maybe we can get your mom to make us some hot cocoa.”

Lynnea agreed enthusiastically, while Gemma sat there, reserved. Nadia noted the way Gemma stared at Kiran. Did she see what Nadia did? Could Gemma sense that Kiran meant more to them than just being Rafe’s best friend?

After dinner and dessert, Kiran took the girls into the living room, while she made hot cocoa from scratch. While she waited for the milk to reach the right temperature, she peered out the window at the leafless branches on the tree. She was startled when the cardinal landed on the branch nearest to her.

“Are you my sign?” she asked the bird quietly. “Did my husband send you?” Realistically she didn’t expect an answer. That didn’t stop her from hoping for one. She stood there until the bird flew away, which he did right when the milk reached the perfect temperature.

Nadia carried a tray with four mugs of cocoa and a plate of cookies into the living room. The girls sat on the floor, with Gemma leaning in the chair Nadia normally sat in. She sat and ran her hand down her daughter’s hair.

“Are you feeling okay?” she asked her.

Gemma nodded. “I wasn’t sick when we left Grandpa’s,” she told her mother. “I fibbed.”

Nadia’s heart swelled. “You didn’t have to do that for me.”

“Yes, I did.” Gemma crawled into Nadia’s lap and snuggled into her embrace.

“I love you, my sweet girl.”

“I love you, Mommy.”

Over the next hour or so, they opened presents from Kiran and drank hot chocolate, and then Kiran told them he’d see them in the morning to take them to the airport for the quick flight to Maryland. Nadia walked him to the door and thanked him for the presents, and to her shock, he leaned in and kissed her cheek softly.

“Merry Christmas, Nadia.” Kiran was out of the house and down the steps before she could respond.

Once the house was quiet, she sat by the tree with its twinkling lights and soft music playing in the background. The present from her in-laws sat on the table next to her. Part of her didn’t want to open it because the hurt would be too much. Gemma had been right about the gifts, and it was pretty shitty that a child recognized how poorly Cleo had treated Nadia.

She picked up the box and shook it. Something moved around. Knowing better than to open it, she did. Inside the box was a scarf, hat, and mittens. The kind you would buy for the Yankee swap in your office. Nadia stared at the contents and then looked at the wrapping again. The tag read: NADIA. Cleo couldn’t even write FROM: MOM& DADor CLEO& OTTOon it.

Nadia set it aside, turned everything off, and climbed the stairs. She woke the girls up and told them to crawl into her bed. She needed them with her.

TWENTY-ONE

NADIA

The holidays were anything but special. Nadia had struggled emotionally, as had the girls. Gone was the magic Rafe had brought to the morning. They missed him more than they thought they would. The magnitude of her situation weighed heavily on her.

When Nadia had stared at her bank statement and saw the number in her savings account dip lower, she worried. Christmas wasn’t easy on one income, and she didn’t think it would be fair to Gemma and Lynnea if she had to scale things back. At least not their first one without their father. She was grateful that someone, she assumed the city or the hospital, had covered all Rafe’s medical expenses and she didn’t have to contend with those bills. There were others, though. The mortgage, which they’d both contributed to. Health insurance, previously obtained through Rafe’s employer, was now Nadia’s responsibility. What she had through the school district didn’t have their old low fees and deductible plan. Still, she was grateful to have coverage.

As she looked at the numbers, she figured since she had the summers off, she’d get a waitressing job downtown. When tourist season was in full swing, the bars and restaurants were so busy that locals rarely went to any of them. She could easily supplement her income. None ofthat would work, though. Anything she made would go to a babysitter, leaving her back where she was.

Her luck changed when her brother called one rainy afternoon in late February.

“I got a job offer in Boston,” he told her.

“That’s fantastic.” Over Christmas, he’d mentioned switching jobs but hadn’t said where. Having him so close would be a relief and a gift. Living away from her family, especially during such a tumultuous time, had been hard. Her mother had stayed with her for some time, and her dad had made numerous trips up north to help around the house and maintain the yard until Kiran took over. Having her brother close would mean she’d have someone, other than Hazel and Kiran, to depend on. And the girls loved their uncle. He’d be able to help out with them whenever she needed.

“I’m going to need a place to stay,” he said.

“I can definitely help you look.”

Reuben cleared his throat. “What about if I live with you and the girls?” he suggested. “We can convert a space in the basement into a room. There’s already a bathroom down there. Dad can help me extend it into a shower. This will give you a man in the house, not that you need a man living there. But also, I’ll pay rent. I’d rather live with you and the girls than in some apartment where I’m lonely, and I expect to spend most of my free time at your place anyway. You’d be saving me gas money.”

It took Nadia all of three seconds to agree. Now, when she looked at her bank account, there’d be a bit of a cushion, thanks to her brother.

Currently, Warren, Reuben, and Kiran were hard at work in the basement, and her mom fluttered around in the kitchen, making copious amounts of food to freeze later. Lorraine had been concerned Nadia wasn’t eating well enough when she saw her at Christmas. She’d commented on how much weight she’d lost, which Nadia had explained away by the pain she felt from losing her husband. She vowed to getbetter. If not for herself, for her girls. They needed their mother to be strong and healthy.

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