Page 88 of Mistlefoe
“Merry Christmas, Conor.”
“Merry Christmas, Sierra.” I smile against the crook of her neck. “The first of many together.”
CHAPTER 30
SIERRA
Without a doubt, this has been the best December of my life. First, I get the previously unthinkable gift of a boyfriend. Second, I get the gift of a bonus and a promotion—although, are they really a gift if I worked my ass off for them?
Anyway, third, I get the gift of Grammie coming over for Christmas.
“You look like a kid on Christmas morning, mija,” Mom says from the passenger seat of our truck. “Are you that excited?”
“More.” I can’t stop moving. During the drive from home to the airport I’ve fiddled with my seatbelt, the window, my phone, my hair—which I’ve put up in a ponytail and then down again—and my phone again, texting every minutia to Conor and shockingly not making him sick of me yet.
“Good thing I’m the one driving,” Dad says with a snort and glances at Mom. “Am I the only one who feels jealous that she doesn’t get this excited to see me?”
“No, clearly there are favorites.” Mom laughs.
“Oh, please.” I huff. “You were the ones who basicallydecided to redo the guest room and even came up with the idea of installing guardrails in the bathroom.”
“Really good idea, mi amor.” Mom places her hand on Dad’s arm.
“Thank you, I saw it on the ‘Gram.”
I don’t bother hiding my cringe. “And also, you’ve been playing guarachas non stop for a week already because it’s Grammie’s favorite music.” It’s this old, really fast cousin of salsa with somewhat spicy lyrics that was all the rage during Grammie’s youth. It was all well and good except for every time that my parents left me alone to clean, because they needed to have an impromptu dance session in the kitchen.
Cute, but really annoying. I look forward to being that obnoxious with Conor one day.
Speaking of, my phone buzzes in my hand.
Conor the Boyfriend
Did you make it to the airport okay?
Me
Not yet. So close yet so far
Conor the Boyfriend
Don’t forget to breathe
I send him a sassy emoji because this isn’t the first time he says this. Apparently, when I feel an emotion too strongly, I tend to hold my breath. I wonder if that lack of oxygen flowing to my brain is what has caused me to make bad decisions, such as when I determined that Conor was going to be my enemy. Clearly that was wrong.
But I’m feeling magnanimous today, so I take a few deep breaths and find that I’m fidgeting a lot less. I’m about to text this man about the curious calming power he has on me evenwhen he’s not around in person, when I feel the truck slowing down. We’re finally entering the airport’s parking lot.
Welp, so much for calming down. My heart rate skyrockets.
While Dad finds parking, I check the airport app on my phone and it shows that Grammie’s plane hasn’t landed yet. That’s great, because we definitely want to be waiting for her when she clears security. I’m sure the trip has been exhausting and the language barrier overwhelming.
Unfortunately, that also means that I have to do a lot of pacing back and forth in the terminal as we wait. Mom and Dad have camped right at the travelers’ exit, a couple of shopping bags at their feet with all the welcome paraphernalia we prepared. I wish I could be like them and could be excited but calm. Alas.
“Are you sure you want us to come over today?” Conor asks me over the phone. I had to call him, desperate for a distraction.
I officially broke the news to the family last weekend, right after theSPORTYevent, and their reactions were so funny. Mom couldn’t stop repeating the wordsI knew it. Dad sat on the couch as if he’d lost all strength and, spent the rest of the day on the exact same spot just staring blankly at the floor. But Grammie’s reaction was to say she didn’t care about meds or doctor appointments, what she wants out of her visit to the States is to meet my boyfriend.
“El mismo día que llego,” she said, folding her bony arms and jutting her chin with stubbornness.
