Page 67 of Holiday Surprise

Sid was just standing there. He hadn’t fallen as I had feared.

“Uncle Sid?” I asked as I pulled the door further open to find my dad staring back. They both wore matching shocked faces. “Dad?” I asked. “What are you doing here?”

He completely ignored me. “Sid?”

“Vern? Is that really you brother?”

I looked around and realized mom and Jessie were with him. I ushered them all inside.

“What are they doing here?” mom asked me.

“We’re having a Larken Pack New Year’s Eve party. They came to help set up.”

“Here?”

“Yes, mom. Here. Thomas already approved it, so you don’t need to worry.”

She came to a halt looking like she’d just seen a ghost. Her face paled.

“Mom? Are you okay?” I asked.

“Jessica? Is that really you?”

“Charlotte?”

My aunt got up and walked over to embrace my mother like long lost friends.

“Wait, Jessica?” Jessie asked.

“Aunt Jessica,” I informed her. “Pretty sure they named you after her.”

Aunt Jessica pulled back to look at my mom. “You did?” she asked.

Mom nodded. “We did. It was sort of our way of keeping you close to us.”

The women cried and sat down to start catching up. I introduced Jessie to Nettie and Fred. Before long Tom came bouncing over to see what all the commotion was about.

I saw dad and Uncle Sid talking softly in the dining room. I didn’t sense any real hostility between them. I think they were just in shock.

“This is just the best holiday surprise ever,” I heard Nettie exclaim as I witnessed the brothers embrace for the first time in over twenty years.

I had tears in my eyes, and I interrupted mom to point them out. She gasped and started crying too.

I didn’t think full forgiveness was going to happen in one day, but they were certainly on the right path now.

Before long, others started arriving. Much to my greater surprise, my family didn’t leave. They stayed for the festivities.

Luke arrived late. He had a big smile on his face that faltered when he saw my parents were there. He found me in the crowd quickly and gave me a concerned look as he tried to discreetly point in their direction. I still had tears in my eyes and a perma-grin on my face as I nodded happily.

It took him a few minutes to weave through the pack to reach me, but when he did, he swooped me up in a big hug and kissed me for all to see.

“Gross,” Jessie yelled out. “Save it for midnight. You’re going to make everyone lose their appetites.”

I rolled my eyes at her and blushed.

Luke let the festivities carry on and for the most part everyone was still in high spirits, though there was still a sense of doom and sadness hanging in the air.

“I’m really sorry to hear what happened to your home,” I heard my dad tell Uncle Sid. “I guess this means you can finally come back?” he asked hopefully.

---