Page 26 of A Curvy Wonderland

She hadn't replied after my last message, and I took the blank screen to mean I was right. We were done. We’d never even started.

After spending the morning working on a few projects for the giving tree, Delilah took her girls back home for lunch, leaving me on my own for a couple hours. Since we were already in town, I walked to Scrooge's Diner.

In the past, it had been my favorite place because it offered an escape from all the overdone Christmas traditions in Garland. Lately, it had gotten even better because I got to sit by Holly, our shoulders brushing against each other, smelling her peppermint perfume.

Now, walking inside by myself, it lacked some of its typical luster. Scrooge hardly noticed me as I picked a booth toward the back. But when he came over with his ordering notebook, he said, “Where are the girls?”

“That's over,” I said, barely keeping the bitterness out of my voice.

He grunted. “Well, what would you like?”

I couldn’t bring myself to get a burger and onion rings. So I got a chicken sandwich and fries instead.

“Should I ask?” Scrooge said.

I looked up at him, almost in disbelief that he was talking to me. Scrooge rarely used more words than absolutely required to take my order. But he hadn't left, so I assumed that he was waiting for my response.

I shook my head. “You're right to be alone. It’s easier that way.”

His furry eyebrows drew together, like I just said the stupidest thing in the world. “It's not smart to be alone. It's lonely to be alone.”

“But you’re—” I began.

He shook his head. “If you play it safe, you know what you're going to get. You're going to be by yourself. And there's nothing wrong with being by yourself. If you're satisfied that way. But judging by the sad look on your face, you're not. If you put yourself out there, yeah, you could end up still being alone... But you could also end up with something a heck of a lot better.”

Without waiting for me to reply, he walked away, leaving me in a stunned silence. I’d never heard Scrooge put so many words together. Much less ones that hit so close to home.

But honestly. He was right. Now the big question was... did I have enough courage to do something about it?

15

HOLLY

Imust have fallen asleep, because when I heard the door to my room open and I opened my eyes, the light outside was fading, somewhere between the pale yellow of late afternoon and the dark blue of nighttime.

I looked up to see my mom coming in still wearing her uniform from her job as a medical assistant at the local clinic. They all wore matching red and white scrubs, with the name of the clinic stitched over the breast pocket.

Her hair was pulled back into a slick bun, and she even had a red bow topped over it.

“Hey honey,” she said.

“Hey.” I sat up, leaning back against my headboard.

She joined me at the foot of my bed. “Those girls must be wearing you out.”

“Something like that,” I said.

Now I realized that she was holding something in her hand, and she held it out to me, revealing a dark green envelope with metallic gold lettering on the front.

“What's this?” I asked her, taking the paper in my hand. It felt expensive.

“Came in the mail for you today,” she answered with a shrug.

I flipped it over, seeing a matching gold wax seal with a Christmas tree stamped into it. It was beautiful, very Christmassy, exactly the thing I would have loved if not for the perpetual ache in my chest.

“Are you going to open it?” my mom asked. “I'm so curious.”

I smiled at her, thankful that she was excited enough for the both of us, and peeled open the flap. When I pulled out the card, golden Christmas tree shaped confetti came out, and I read the invitation.

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