Page 86 of Once Upon a Holidate
“While I was pregnant with Hunter.”
Joylyn’s eyes widened. “You were young.”
“I was. She was living in Alaska at the time.” Wynn remembered her mother telling her she was moving. “She believed she needed a man in her life to be happy. When I was little, she told me I had to be pretty in order to win my handsome prince.”
“Shouldn’t the message be more about studying hard and making something of yourself?”
Wynn smiled at her. “You’d think, but no. While I was growing up we had a neighbor, Ms. James. She was a schoolteacher who had never married. She always talked to me about going to college and being successful. My mom said Ms. James hadn’t amounted to anything because she never had a man in her life. It was confusing.”
She unwrapped several ornaments before finding the oneshe was looking for. She put the sparrow in its nest ornament on the palm of her hand.
“Ms. James gave me this one year. It’s supposed to remind me that if I want to get anywhere, I need to spread my wings.”
“I love it when ornaments tell a story,” Joylyn said. “My dad and I had a different themed tree every year. I wonder if he kept the ornaments we collected together. He said he did.” Her tone was wistful.
“When we’re done here, we’ll go over to your place and find out.”
“You don’t have to decorate our tree as well as yours.”
Wynn stood. “It’s not difficult work.”
With carols playing in the background, she and Joylyn chatted about Holly’s wedding and Joylyn’s upcoming birthing class. Wynn decorated the tree, filling up the branches with happy Santas and red and gold stars. She hung two boxes of ornaments that looked like icicles before finishing with the decorations Hunter had made for her. When she was done, she stood back and admired her work.
“I like it,” she said. “When Hunter gets back, I’ll have him push the tree closer to the window.” She grinned at Joylyn. “Teenage boys don’t mind grubbing around on the ground, so that’s a plus.”
“I’ll look forward to that.”
She struggled to her feet, then rubbed her back. “I am counting the days until this baby is born.”
“I’ll bet. The last month is the most difficult. It’s hard to get comfortable anywhere.”
Wynn carried the mugs and the plate into the kitchen before opening the front door. She and Joylyn walked over to Garrick’s place. Sure enough, the giant TV was tuned to a college football game.
“Hey,” Garrick said, not taking his gaze from the screen. “How did it go?”
“It’s beautiful,” Joylyn told him. “You should go take a look.”
“I will. At halftime.”
Joylyn shook her head. “Dad, it’s just football.”
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
The game went to a commercial. Hunter sprang to his feet.
“Come on, Garrick. We should go to my place to watch the rest of the game.”
“Why?”
Hunter sighed heavily. “Mom’s going to talk the whole time she’s decorating the tree. She’s going to ask Joylyn about every ornament and tell her stories about when I was a kid.”
Garrick looked at her. “You do that?”
“Every year.”
He and Hunter headed for the front door. “You girls have a good time.”
“Women,” she called after him. “We’re women.”
