Page 79 of I Am Salvation

Ricky—my best friend—and his brother, Mack, are there, each holding a gift. Mack has a big one, and Ricky has a much smaller one.

“Ricky!” I scramble to my feet and run to the front door, giving him a high five.

“Hey, Dragon,” he says. “Merry Christmas!”

Dad gets up and joins us at the front door. “Merry Christmas indeed. Shouldn’t you boys be at home opening your own presents?”

Ricky shakes his head. “We opened ours last night.”

I put my finger to my lips. “Shush. Griffin doesn’t know about?—”

“Mackie!”

Griffin runs through the front door and throws her arms around Mack’s leg. She loves Mack.

“Hey, Angel. Merry Christmas.” Mack leans down and strokes her hair. “Are those new jammies?”

Griffin lets go of his leg and beams up at him. “Yeah! From Dragon. They’re my new favorites.”

Mack raises an eyebrow. “Even more than the ones I got you? With the blue hearts?”

Griffin widens her eyes. She clearly forgot that Mack got her those jammies for her birthday a few months ago.

“I love them both! And it’s always good to have lots of jammies.”

Mack smiles. “You’ve got me there.”

“Won’t you boys come in?” Mommy says. “Dragon and Griffin just started opening their presents.”

“Well, it’s a good thing we got here in time, then.” Mack walks inside. “Santa accidentally left these two gifts at our house. One for each of you.” He holds up the larger one. “This one’s for you, Angel.”

Griffin’s eyes go wide.

Ricky hands me the smaller gift he’s holding. “This one’s for you, Dragon.”

“Thanks!” I pound his fist. “You guys are the best.”

Griffin has already ripped the paper off her gift—it’s a Barbie Dreamhouse. The kind that Mommy always says is a little too expensive whenever we pass it when we walk down the toy aisle at Walmart.

Mommy’s and Daddy’s eyes widen, but they don’t say anything.

“I love it!” Griffin shouts, skipping around the room. “I’ve always wanted a Dreamhouse, but Mommy always said?—”

Mommy clears her throat. “Can I get you boys something to eat? We still have some of those donuts your parents brought over last night.”

Mack flashes her a smile. “I’d love one.”

“Can I have another, Mommy?” Griffin asks.

Mommy purses her lips. “You’ve already had a whole big donut, Griffin. That’s a lot of sugar for this early in the morning.”

“Maybe half a donut?” Mack asks. “I can grab a knife and cut one if you can tell me where you keep them.”

Mommy cocks her head. “You don’t need one of our big knives to cut a donut. You can just use your hands. Griffin won’t mind, I assure you.”

Mack shakes his head. “I’d rather be sanitary about it. It’s flu season, after all.”

“It’s fine. Just be careful.” Dad stands up from the couch. “I’ll show you where we keep them. They’re kind of hidden away. We don’t want the kids getting into them accidentally. They’re quite sharp.”

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