Page 9 of Merrily You

Mom and her siblings had grown up poor, so I think it was her way to give herself the kind of Christmas she hadn’t had growing up. When popcorn and folded paper stars were as elaborate as things got.

“When are you going to Danny’s?” Mom asked as we sipped our hot chocolate. This was definitely worth coming home for. Mom made it in the crockpot and I didn’t even know what was in it. Deliciousness.

“I’m going over for dinner,” I said. Danny’s family did a potluck, so there would be no shortage of really good food.

Mom huffed again but didn’t comment further. She really wanted me here for the whole time, but this year I’d at least have a good reason. We were telling her family tonight and telling mine tomorrow. They were going to be pissed that they’d be the second to know, but they’d have to deal. A few years ago I had suggested that we combine our family Christmases and that hadn’t gone over well. It wasn’t that my mom and Danny’s mom didn’t get along. They did, and they had a nice friendship. But they were each militant about how their celebrations would go and they weren’t giving an inch. New Years was another thing entirely, and things got much more flexible. But Christmas was the big one.

I did my best to help Mom with organizing the house, making lunch, and generally keeping things running smoothly.Dad was on grocery run duty, and he was busy as Mom kept thinking of more things we needed. Mom had four siblings who lived nearby, Dad had three, and there were too many cousins to count. Soon our house would be overrun and there wouldn’t be enough food or toilet paper or wine. The garage fridge was packed with extra food and booze, but it wouldn’t be enough, even with everyone bringing their own contributions. It was mayhem, every year.

Sometimes I wondered why my parents had only had one kid when they both had siblings, but it seemed like too personal a question so I’d never asked. Did I really want to know? Not really.

Messages from Danny were nearly constant. She also sent me pictures and videos and it was almost like she was here with me.

You look great, babeI sent when she showed me the Christmas sweater her mom had forced on her. It was tacky in the extreme, which I loved. I would have worn it in a heartbeat.

Babe? I thought we were only doing that when other people were around?She responded.

I was practicing. Seems like a good idea to try it out ahead of time so it comes out sounding naturalI responded.

Oh. I guess that makes sense. Babe.I couldn’t help but giggle at that simple four-letter word. It was so cute, and I was starting to like it. I could have been calling Danny babe this whole time. Maybe I should have been.

“Talking to Danny?” my cousin Jessie asked, a smirk on her face.

I rolled my eyes. “Yes.”

She snorted. “Are you ever going to admit you’re in love with her or no?”

It was already starting, and I wished I could just tell them that hey, we’re dating, but Danny and I were telling her familyfirst. We wanted to be together when we shared the news so we could cover for each other. Seemed like the right way to do it.

But now I was wishing I’d just sent a message to the family group chat and then turned my phone on silent. That would have been dramatic, but it would have gotten it over with.

Now I had to field comments until then. I was already tired. So tired.

I put on a nice sweater and jeans, yelling at anyone who was around that I was going over to Danny’s and I’d be back later.

Snow fell softly to the ground as I started up my car and turned on the wipers to clear the powder. It took some maneuvering to get my car around all of the other vehicles, but I was happy when I made it to Danny’s. Her mom must have talked her dad into another inflatable. He’d been resisting for years. Go Linda.

I didn’t bother knocking and walked into a wall of warm air filled with the scent of cookies. Linda was a machine when it came to cookies and she always made hundreds. My contribution was always pitiful compared to what she cranked out in two days.

I always joked I was going to call her Betty Crocker or submit her to one of those baking shows as a potential contestant. She could bake anyone under the table with a smile on her face.

Danny was the first person I saw as I knocked a little bit of powder off my boots and left them by the door.

“Tell me that’s eggnog with rum in it,” I asked when she held a cup out to me.

She smiled and I felt every single ounce of stress immediately leave my body. “It is.”

“Bless you. Babe,” I said, whispering the last word.

I didn’t know if it was my imagination, but her eyes sparked at the last word. Maybe it was just the reflection of the lights above the doorway.

I gulped some of the eggnog and almost moaned. It was so good. Just the right amount of spiced rum. I wouldn’t be able to drink as much as I wanted, because I had to drive home, but it would have been nice to get blasted on eggnog and then pass out in Danny’s room with her. That had happened a time or two before, but I didn’t think it was a good idea tonight with us announcing our relationship. Had make a good impression on my fake girlfriend’s real family.

Danny and I didn’t have much time to ourselves as I plunged into the house and greeted everyone, hugging her parents and siblings and anyone else that I knew.

Everyone was obsessed with little Nicholas, and I had to admit that he was a pretty perfect baby. This year he was a lot more aware and actually talking. He thought things like tissue boxes were hilarious and his laugh was completely infectious.

“Someone is getting spoiled by Santa,” I leaned in and said to Danny as we sat on one of the couches together. Due to a lack of space, we were practically in each other’s laps, but I wasn’t complaining. We’d done this before and for some reason it felt different this year. Was it because of the whole fake relationship thing?

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