Page 13 of The Christmas Cookie Crush

“Sugar cookies,” she says, apropos of nothing.

“You want a sugar cookie?” I ask.

Her nostrils flare. “Yes. But your grandfather always made a special batch for me. An elf with brown hair instead of blond. Like me.” She gestures around her head and face. When I don’t respond, she huffs out a sigh. “Look. I getyouaren’t going to go out of your way to do something nice for me, but could you at least tell your grandpa I miss his cookies? And that I hope he gets better soon. Here.” She lays an envelope on the counter.“Give this to him? And your grandma, too, of course. It’s for them.” I glance down and see Mr. and Mrs. Fitzpatrick written in loopy script on the envelope.

When I look up again, Nora’s already walking away.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Nora

“Our annual open house is Thursday,”Mom announces at breakfast on Monday morning, as though I wouldn’t already know.

I nod my head as I scarf down the breakfast burrito I prepped last night for this week’s breakfasts. It’s the tradition during ChristmasFest that we each take turns prepping breakfasts for the week for everyone. Mom insists that we need something filling to get us through the long days, but by the end of the first week, we’re all so tired that getting up early enough to do more than grab something easy is too much. It started when Ty was a teenager during his first season as an elf, and the tradition’s continued ever since, folding each of us in as we got old enough to join the family business. Mom always said that once we’re old enough to work, we’re old enough to cook.

It’s usually something like breakfast burritos or egg sandwiches. Things that are easy to make in a batch, portion out, and leavein the fridge for everyone to grab in the morning and heat up quickly in the microwave.

Mom’s week is always my favorite, though Dad makes a good breakfast sandwich. Sarah’s burritos were always perfect, though. I still haven’t figured out how she rolls them so well. I miss Sarah’s breakfast burritos.

At least I don’t have to deal with Dylan’s slapdash sandwiches with their uneven amounts of egg and limp, greasy bacon.

I always take the time to make sure my bacon is crispy and drain it well so it still tastes good reheated. It’s amazing how much faster it goes now that we’re down to just Mom, Dad, and me. Of course that means I also have to do it more often. Going from five to four when Sarah moved out didn’t seem like such a big deal, but cutting down to three now that Dylan’s gone feels like a much bigger jump for some reason.

I never thought I’d wish forDylanto be around again, annoying brother that he is, but here we are. It’s lonely being the youngest.

“Dylan and Lydia are coming in later this week.” Speak of the devil … But I’m glad. It’ll be nice having more people in this house again.

“Are you going to let them share a room?” I ask, watching Mom over the rim of my coffee mug.

She gives me the stink eye. “Yes. Of course.” She sniffs. “I’m not so foolish as to think they don’t stay over at each other’s homes fairly regularly.” She lowers her voice. “Honestly, I’m a little surprised they aren’t living together already.”

I shrug. “Lydia likes living on her own. She doesn’t want to be too dependent on Dylan. I think that’s a good thing, personally.”I thought Lydia was a little standoffish last year when she worked ChristmasFest—nice, but she kept to herself quite a bit. Of course, I was wrapped up in my own social life and didn’t think to invite her along. But since she and Dylan started dating, she and I have started texting, and I’ve gotten to know her pretty well the last year. I’m excited to see her again, even if it means my stinky brother will be here too.

“I know,” Mom says, but she sounds like she’s lamenting something rather than acknowledging reality. “It’s just nice having all my older kids coupled up.”

I suppress a flinch. I know she doesn’t mean it to sting, but it does all the same. Herolderkids. Aka, her moreresponsiblekids. The ones that know what they’re doing with their lives. In their adult relationships.

Meanwhile, I can’t keep a boyfriend more than a few months. And my family has actively encouraged me to take a break from dating for a while so I can focus on my studies and what I want to do next.

Which I suppose is better than emphasizing marriage as the only correct course of action—one of my friends from high school went to college with the express purpose of finding a husband, and that was the only reason her parents agreed to pay for her to go to school at all. We lost touch by the end of freshman year, so I have no idea if that happened for her or not, but I’m glad I don’t have to contend with that, at least.

As difficult as it seems right now, finding a job, even if it’s just an entry-level one that I’m not excited about other than as a vehicle to pay the rent, seems far easier than finding ahusband. That’s assuming I want to get married at all anyway.

Only one of my siblings is married. And while Sarah’s obviously living her best life and loving it, I don’t know if I can see myself following in her footsteps. Which might be partly due to the fact that I can’t see myself withanyonelonger than a few months.

I get bored with guys by that point. Or they get bored with me. Or maybe it’s mutual. Either way, it always ends up feeling like too much effort for too little reward. They expect all kinds of things from me but don’t reciprocate with nearly the same amount of care and consideration they want from me. And who has the time and energy for that?

Not me.

I don’t think any of my siblings deal with that, though. I’ve seen how they are with their partners. They’re all clearly in love, and even when spats inevitably break out, it’s nothing earth shattering or relationship ending. It’s just the normal kinds of things that happen when you’re in close proximity to someone for a long time.

While it’s not quite the same, I’ve had practice navigating those types of situations with roommates. The difference is, I actually care enough about my roommates to put in the work, and they feel the same way.

These dudes that want all the benefits with none of the responsibilities?

Nope. Pass. Moving on.

And even though it irritated me when Mom suggested I take a break from dating for a while, I ended up taking her advice. It helped that Sarah said basically the same thing. She was just more indirect and let me reach the conclusion on my own, which is why I haven’t dated anyone at all this school year.

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