Page 8 of The Christmas Letters
“I said no judging.”
“That was a totally benign, strictly observational whoa,” I argue.
She laughs. “Mmm, I don’t know. It sounded judgy.”
“Tess, I swear. Come on. Let’s hear it. So you go to Bali by yourself?”
“Yes. And it was totally amazing, blah, blah, blah. Anyway, the point is, the guy I didn’t marry is the brother of the guy my cousindidmarry.”
“Ohhh, and now you’re finally back in town. Hanging out with your cousin…”
“Exactly. My cousinandher husband. Who is so nice and sweet, even though I know he’s basically pretending I didn’t torch his little brother’s entire life.”
I shift my weight from one leg to the other, suddenly wishing I had a place to sit down. “Was it the right call?”
“Was what the right call?” she asks.
“Leaving him.”
“Oh. Absolutely. We wouldn’t have been happy.”
I nod along as I say, “Then I’m guessing his brother realizes that, too.”
She’s quiet for a beat. “Thanks,” she finally says. “I hope he does.”
I hear some shifting, then her voice comes through the door a little closer than it was before. “Okay. Your turn. I just told you about my last relationship. It’s only fair.”
“You want to know about my last relationship?”
“Absolutely I do.”
Ben chuckles silently from the doorway, pumping his fist over his head in a “go get ’em” gesture.
I wipe a hand across my face to hide my smile. I shouldn’t be enjoying myself so much, but Tess is really easy to talk to. Fun. Refreshing.Exciting.
“Her name was Daisy Mae.”
“Wait…Daisy Mae?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“No reason. Just…that is a very Southern name.”
She sounds like she’s hiding something, but honestly, what do I know? She could be hiding everything, and I wouldn’t have a clue.
Either way, the beat of uneasiness has me revising how much I admit about my relationship. “So we broke up six months or so ago. Turns out we were looking for different things.”
“I can relate to that,” she says softly. “What were you looking for that she wasn’t?”
“Something real, I guess?”
She doesn’t immediately respond, which makes heat creep up my cheeks.
“That probably sounds stupid,” I say.
“I don’t think it sounds stupid at all. My relationship with Preston never felt real. Or maybe it just didn’t feel like I was the right version of myself when we were together.”
“Preston, huh?”
