Page 48 of Christmas Wishes

Keaton

I munchedon my new bag of peppermint popcorn while scrolling a community event calendar to see what was happening in the area this week. After spending part of the day exploring downtown Flagstaff, I was in the mood for more small-town goodness.

I’d considered myself a city guy because I thought I needed to have a million options of things to do to keep myself entertained, but how often did I take advantage of those things back home? I could stroll the streets of Minneapolis for hours and never run into anyone I knew. In Flagstaff, I’d bumped into someone I’d met at the vendor fair in Juniper Ridge. It was…nice. I liked being seen.

“What are your thoughts on caroling?”

Joule tucked her nose under her paw from her perch on the far end of the couch, opposite from where I sat in the recliner. It was major progress. My goal was to give her scritches by the time I had to fly home.

“Not a fan? Let’s see what else there is.” While continuing to check out upcoming events, I considered turning on the TV for background noise. It was in such an awkward position. The living room could use a good rearranging, but I wouldn’t dare do that to Riggs. The big TV was off to the side, angled too oddly for a good view from any seat. It looked like it’d been dropped there. It was too big for the television stand, and I suspected the TV in Riggs’s room had been in this room. Maybe the big TV was a Riggs addition. I wondered what else, if anything, was his.

My phone buzzed in my hand. I looked down and saw Mom was calling.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Hi, sweetheart. Did you get home okay? You’re not in the guest room, so I’m guessing you’re at your brothers’?”

I winced. I’d been so caught up in, well, Riggs yesterday that I’d forgotten to let my family know I’d extended my trip. Shit. “Actually, I’m still in Arizona.”

“Is everything okay? Did your flight get cancelled? Do you need money?”

“Everything’s good.”

She huffed. “Are you going to make me playTwenty Questions? It’s my least favorite game.”

“I thoughtUnowas your least favorite.” I laughed at her growl.

“We don’t use the U-word in our family. You know better than that, Keaton Lester Rossi.”

Ever since Chris had broken the vase passed down through three generations of Mom’s family when throwing a fit after Steph won a tense game, it’d been banned in our house. Then, a few years later, UnoGate 2.0 happened when Steph’s new boyfriend broughtUnoas his White Elephant gift on Christmas Eve, and everyone was accused of starting a fight until we realized her boyfriend had unwittingly brought it.

“Sorry, Mom.”

She hummed. I could hear the clank of her loading the dishwasher. “Why are you staying in Arizona? Is your job letting you work remotely? It’s so fancy that people get to do that these days.”

I grimaced and quickly debated whether to come clean. My prior plan had assumed I could keep things quiet until Christmas Eve next week. Being asked about it directly hadn’t been part of my plan.

I might as well tell Mom first and act embarrassed because then she’d nip any bullshit from my siblings in the bud. Hopefully.

“I got laid off, so I don’t need to worry about working remotely.”

She made a startled sound and began to say something, but I hurried to continue.

“Arlo got laid off too.” I sent a quick mental apology to Arlo for throwing him under the bus to save myself. I knew Mom would probably worry more about Arlo than me because everyone knew I was used to this. For better or worse, I usually handled change better.

Mom made a sympathetic noise. “Poor Arlo. Is he okay?”

“Better than I expected, to be honest.” I gave her the abridged version of sending each other on a trip and let her assume it was my harebrained idea. I kept the dares out of it because it was Arlo’s decision whether he wanted my mom to know about his family situation.

“And then everything with your apartment. Have you heard yet if your stuff is okay?”

I sighed. “I don’t know yet. The landlord has been very communicative, but it’s taking time to get someone in to assess the damage. We’ll have a better idea soon.”

“If you need me to head over there and take a look, I can do that anytime.”

“Thanks, Mom. I appreciate that. I’m not sure when it’ll be safe for us to go in, but I’ll keep you posted.”

I heard the dishwasher door close. “Well, any other big news you’ve been hiding from me? Moving out of state? Join a cult?”

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