Page 13 of UnLucky Christmas
“Sorry, Whit,” she says with a sigh. “My mother forgot to add the date of the party to her calendar. She says it slipped her mind which is such BS. They started renovations this week—painting, redoing the floors in the house since they are traveling so much. It won’t be done until the 23rd. So, that means we can’t have the party there.”
My heart sinks. “No.”
“I’m so mad. I specifically asked her if I needed to send her a calendar invite, and she insisted she had it down.”
I throw my head back in exasperation. “I’m not surprised—this seems to be the way my life is going right now.”
“Maybe we can find another place to have it,” she suggests. “Or should we cancel it all together?”
The thought causes a lump to rise into my throat, and I put my hand to my forehead. I don’t want to cancel our party. It’s the one thing I had to look forward to. More stupid bad luck.
When I look up, I glance at the door to the café. A familiar man walks in—he’s wearing a crisp navy-blue suit and moves with such confidence that it causes two women to whisper, and one of them fans her face. As soon as he takes off his sunglasses, I recognize him—he’s Macy’s brother Grant. He doesn’t look up from his phone as he moves through the line.
“Whitney? Are you still there?” a voice asks into my earpiece. Holy crap—I forgot that I was talking to Janelle.
“Yes—sorry,” I say, my eyes still focused on Grant. “I don’t want to cancel the party.”
“We’ll figure something out,” Janelle insists. “Don’t worry.”
I watch as Grant takes his cup and sits down at the table right across from mine. He still hasn’t looked up from his phone.
“We need to come up with a solution,” I mumble. “Our friends are counting on us having this party.”
He finally looks up, and our eyes meet. I give him a little wave, and he gives a confused look like he’s trying to figure out if he knows me. He probably doesn’t remember who I am. Our meeting was so brief, and he wasn’t in the mood for small talk.
“I know,” she assures me. “I’m about to meet Brian for dinner. I’ll ask him what we should do, and we can discuss it later tonight.”
I sigh. “Okay.”
As soon as Janelle ends the call, I look back at Grant who’s returned to scrolling through his phone.
When I get up to leave, I decide to stop and say hello.
“Excuse me,” I say. “You probably don’t remember me. I’m Macy’s friend, Whitney.”
He gives a slight nod. “Oh yes, hello.”
I guess small talk really isn’t his thing.
“Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. Have a good evening.”
Grant rises to his feet, and my head tilts back as I stare up at him. He towers over me.
“I’m on my way out too,” he says, continuing to show no emotion.
As we approach the door, he reaches for it and holds it open for me. At least he has manners.
“I should probably apologize for how rude I was when we first met,” he says as soon as we step outside. He turns to face me and puts on his sunglasses. I pull my jacket around me. It’s a brisk New England day even though the sun is shining.
“Oh, it’s fine,” I say waving my hand. “I know you had any appointment.
He nods. “Yes, and my sister thinks the only thing that matters right now is shopping for Christmas decorations.”
I give a shrug. “Well Christmas decorations are pretty amazing.”
He groans. “Ah. You must be one of Macy’s merry little followers.”
I purse my lips. I suddenly remember what Macy said about her grinch post being inspired by her brother.
