Page 121 of Kiss Me at Christmas
Harriet looked into the red-rimmed eyes of her daughter, a messy bun piled on top of her head and the collar of her Rudolph pajamas just visible in the frame. Her heart squeezed like someone was using it as a stress ball.
“Maisy, sweetheart, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” Another sob escaped. “I just miss you. I miss everyone. I think this was a terrible mistake.”
“Oh, my darling girl, I thought you were having a wonderful time.”
Already her brain was calculating how much it would cost to get her daughter home on Christmas Day from upstate New York.
“I am,” she sniffed. “I’m having the best time. It’s amazing here.” Another huge tear rolled down her flushed cheek. “But I woke up this morning, and you weren’t here. And Savannah and her family are great, and they’ve been so kind to me, but they aren’tmyfamily and I miss you, Mum, and it hurts, it hurts really bad. I feel like I can’t breathe, and I’ve left you all alone, and you won’t go to Dad and Emma’s, and it’s all my fault for being so selfish.”
“Okay, let’s just calm it down, shall we? Now I want you to take some deep, calming breaths for me. Can you do that?”
“Uh-huh.” Maisy sniffed again but did as she was told and began to take deep, shaky breaths in and out.
“That’s great, my love, now you keep breathing and I’ll do some talking. All right?”
“All right.”
Harriet could hear her breathing calming already.
“This is simply a spot of homesickness, nothing more, and it will pass, my love, I promise. It’s okay to miss yourfamily, that’s completely normal. You’ll have loads more years to spend Christmas with us. But this might be your only chance to spend Christmas in a cabin in the mountains. How amazing! And I miss you too, my darling, of course I do, but you’ll be home soon enough, and I’m having a gorgeous Christmas, I promise, so don’t waste your time thinking about me when you need to soak up every fabulous moment with Savannah. My love is wide enough to reach all the way to New York and back again, Maisy my darling.”
“But. You’re all. Alone,” Maisy hiccupped.
“I am choosing to be by myself today because I want to be. But I’m not lonely. I am spending some quality time with me. I’ve never done that before. I am on my own personal journey this Christmas.”
Maisy laughed snottily. “You sound like a self-help book.”
“I do a bit, don’t I?”
“Don’t enjoy yourself too much, or you won’t want me back next Christmas.”
“Oh, there will always be room for you in my Christmases.”
“Thanks, Mum. Sorry I blubbed.”
Her voice was still a bit shaky, but Harriet could tell that the storm had mostly passed.
“You don’t need to apologize. Now, what are your plans today?”
Maisy blew her nose. “Um, well, after presents, we’ve got a champagne breakfast. Then we’re going to walk down to this little hotel that’s got an ice rink on a lake, and we’ll do skating and have drinks and dinner and then come back for candlelit fondue and Christmas movies.”
“Eugh! That sounds awful. No wonder you miss me.”
That made Maisy laugh. “I love you, Mum.”
“I love you too, sweetheart. Will you be okay now?”
A big sniff. “Yeah. I’m good.”
“Call me later?”
“I will. I’ll call you before you go to bed.”
“Okay, love. Merry Christmas! Have the best day ever!”
“Merry Christmas, Mum.”
