Page 56 of Ho Ho Oh No

Her eyes spring wide. “Don’t blame me when you have my snow glitter all over your beard.”

Bending down close, I whisper in her ear. “Later, I hope to have much more than your glitter on my beard.”

She catches my meaning, and the silver gems she glued under her eyes and along the tip of her nose are quickly overshadowed by the rosy hue of her blushing cheeks.

“Kiss her later,” my mother huffs, reaching between us with a stiff-arm barrier. “It’s my turn to be with our little snow angel.”

Oh damn. That’s a better name for her thanFrostette. Where was Mom when we were coming up with costume ideas?

Chapter 16

Cake is best when shared

KLEIN

My toe taps inside my freshly-polished dress shoe as I bop along to Brenda Lee’s classic tune. Unlike the song suggests, we’re not rocking around a Christmas tree. Tomer, Shep, Sawyer, Aaron, and I are gathered near the dessert table.

Although conversation flows with our typical lighthearted jabs and jokes, the underlying tension from the Lenkov threat remains.

It’s killing us not to revert to our innate need to strategize and talk shop. We’re managing, though. Probably thanks to the cheery vibe Lettie and her decoration crew managed to create for the party.The costumes don’t hurt either. Kind of hard to talk about the mafia when Aaron and Jonesy have their dicks in boxes. Allegedly.

When the idea for a holiday party was floated, Boss immediately shot it down. Not to say he’s a Grinch; I mean, he’s dressed up like Santa Claus, beard and all. He said no because the mood at Redleg is tense as fuck these days. We’re all on high-alert around the clock. Most of A-team and their partners have been sleeping here for safety. It’s not conducive to jovial festivities.

In the end, Lettie wore Boss down.

I asked Tomer how she pulled it off, and his returning smile spread so uncharacteristically wide I worried he was having a stroke. After a long beat, he said, “Sunshine doesn’t let darkness win.”

And I understood instantly.

So a party was planned, safety precautions taken, and here we are. One night to remember the joy we’re fighting for.

I keep an eye on my mother, where she sits in the corner talking to Sammy and Val. By talking, I mean she’s mostly listening to them. Her verbal communication has continued to decline, so she’s no longer a big talker. It’s not that she can’t speak, but the words get jumbled, and she struggles to string them together in the proper order, leading her to shut down out of frustration.

She seems perfectly happy now. Wonder what they’re talking to her about?

As long as Ma keeps me in her field of vision, she seems comfortable. In fact, despite the sea of new faces and being in a strange place, she’s shown only minimal agitation since we arrived.

When Val first approached her, I admit I was terrified Ma would panic due to the costume. Same when Junior walked by. For unknown reasons, they’re dressed like Sally and Jack Skellington fromThe Nightmare Before Christmas.

However, if what I overheard is accurate, Val’s pissed off about him matching her since it wasn’t a planned thing.

Awkward.

Despite the eccentric and slightly creepy costumes, Ma didn’t falter. Just held out her hand for an introduction, smiling pleasantly. From that point on, she’s been happy as a lark.

Not sure I can say the same for Sammy. However, since she sat down beside the woman who raised me, she’s smiled more than I’ve seen in a while.

Even with her deteriorating health, my mother has that effect on people.

A song change catches my ear. “White Christmas” is an odd choice for a Florida holiday. But it still works.Mom sways gently from side to side as she listens.

She’s still in there somewhere. Buried deeper at times than others, yet there nonetheless.

“Nice playlist,” I mutter to no one in particular, then bite into my snowball cookie.

Minebecause I made it from scratch, born from an idea I had one morning. Shot me right out of bed with creative inspiration.

A sugar cookie truffle with a hint of coconut extract, a white chocolate coating rolled in coconut flakes, andlightly dusted with silver edible glitter.

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