Page 34 of A Grinchmas Delight

Maia: Okay. I’ll see you then. Love you.

Part of me wants to unblock Zane. I kind of want to know what he has to say for himself, but the other part of me wants to vomit at the thought of what he could possibly say. I think I would die if I had to hear it from his mouth.

I spend the day helping Aunt Cindy bake desserts and get the house ready for the rest of our family. I put Reese in her little red ugly Christmas sweater that matches mine and we take pictures in front of the tree before my judgmental parents arrive.

Mom and Dad arrive early, they’re here by one o’clock. They’ve been early for everything my whole life though. Polar opposite of my cousins. I find myself grateful for them, through the struggles and their ill feelings of my life and career.

The house fills up quickly and the holiday spirit is in high gear. Everyone’s in their Christmas sweaters and ready to devour the most delicious meal of the year. Aunt Cindy’s Divinity Candy is already assorted into equal sized tins, ensuring everyone gets the same amount. It’s the most desired item on the menu. I’ve already stowed mine away in the room.

Among the other Christmas goodies are blondies, fruitcake cookies, and chocolate peppermint fudge. Some of my favorite flavors, all out on display on the island in the kitchen. I’m goingto gain a solid ten pounds this week with all of the sweets I’m consuming. These desserts are worth every single ounce, though.

“Dayra! Back away from the fudge slowly, and no one gets hurt!” my brother Dallas yells from the front door.

I put my hands up slowly and take a step back in surrender. “I wasn’t doing anything!”

We laugh and he pulls me into a warm hug. “Merry Christmas, Sis.”

“Merry Christmas, little brother.”

The house is crowded with people that I love and I’m so distracted by the holiday cheer that Ialmostforgot about Zane. Almost.

Maia comes busting through the door in a puffy jacket, leggings, and duck boots with a beanie on her head. She’s shivering as she removes her jacket and hangs it on the rack by the front door.

“Hi!” she cheers, greeting the room.

Everyone sounds off from the living room and dining room with shouts of ‘hi’ and ‘hey Maia’. Uncle Ken is the only one who walks clear across the room to wrap her up in a hug.

“We missed you around here lately, kiddo.”

“I missed you too!”

Her little feet are dangling as Uncle Ken squeezes her then sets her down. I wait patiently for her to get done saying hello to the rest of my entire family before she pulls me aside.

“Your room? Is it free? Got something to show you.”

“Yeah. What’s up? You’re being weird.”

She disappears into my old room and shuts the door behind us. She’s acting like we’re about to do a secret drug deal or something.

“What?” I ask, my anxiety rising the longer that I have to wait for whatever it is that she’s got to show me.

“Okay. So. Don’t be mad… “

“Maia Dae! Justtell mebefore I spontaneously combust right here!” I whisper-yell, my patience wearing thin as my anxiety worsens.

“I may have blown Zane’s phone up this morning, went off on him, made him explain himself, found out Jade was lying and went and gathered proof to show you.” She says the sentence so fast and jumbled it takes me a minute for her words to process.

“You didwhat?” I ask, incredulously.

She offers me a cheesy grin, showing me a video on her phone. She presses play and I recognize the man, the woman,andthe place immediately. I watch as Jade approaches Zane at the bar at Scotty’s, the knot in my stomach growing larger with each second as the anticipation of what I am about to witness lingers.

She wraps her arm around his bicep and just as I feel like I’m going to throw up, Zane grabs her hand and removes it. He says something to her and she obviously didn’t get the hint because she tries to lean in closer to him. He steps away from her again, putting more distance between the two of them than before.

She goes in one more time, this time reaching for his leg and he physically jumps away from her. I can’t hear what’s happening in the video as there is no audio, but Zane’s voice is raised. I can tell that much from his body language.

Jade must have finally gotten the hint because she storms away from him. Maia’s phone pans to the front door camera as Jade hits the front door and all but runs to her car. I glance at the time stamp and she leaves the bar at eleven-twenty-eight. Maia fast forwards the video to when Zane leaves the bar, alone, at ten-minutes after two.

I stare at Maia, my brain running wild and processing all of the information I just received. I don’t know what to say. I was so quick to believe the worst about Zane when he’s given meabsolutely no reason to think that he was that type of man. I have never heard anything bad about him, granted, most people at the office don’t know him outside of work to say anything bad.

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