Page 12 of A Cozy Kind of Christmas
Mom held the elevator doors open. “We text every few weeks. He likes to make sure you’re doing okay, and he’s so great about keeping in touch with your father. You know your father; if he goes off the grid, he won’t remember to eat.”
“Off the grid” was an understatement. Ever since Pops returned from his extended stint undercover, he preferred to stay in the shadows. He’d been freelancing and picking up gigs on the side but stayed out of the spotlight. He didn’t trust big government, local government, the media, AI, the list went on and on. If Charlie Reed didn’t want to be found, there was no chance of tracking him down.
He called Meg on a burner phone a couple of times a month to tell her about his latest escapades and check in. She was fine with their arrangement. Through the work she’d done on her own mental health, she’d come to realize she couldn’t change him. She’d given up trying and decided to meet him where he was at. According to her therapist, it was a sign of growth.
Currently, Pops was in New Mexico working on an investigation into a major kidnapping on tribal land.
He’d called two weeks ago when he saw theTimespiece. “Maggie, well done, my love. It’s a beauty of a story. I wish I could go back in time. I would make so many different decisions, but as you well know, we are our choices. In a different life, I might have made better choices, but alas, in this one, I’m left with my mistakes and regrets. I rationalized it back then because I believed the work I was doing wasimportant. It was important but certainly not more important than you or your mom.
“I was not very present with you in your formative years, and when I was present, at least physically speaking, I wasn’t emotionally present. I’m sure none of this is news to you. When I read yourNYTpiece, it hit hard and reminded me how much damage I’ve done. That’s why it’s better this way—you know you can always call me on this burner or find me on the message boards.”
She wasn’t surprised Matt had been keeping an eye on Pops, but she was shocked he’d remained in touch with Mom.
“You’re seeing him while you’re in Bend, aren’t you? He’s very excited about it. Turning thirty—it’s such a milestone and hard to believe. The party sounds like a wonderful reunion. I’m sure the three of you will have so much to get caught up on.”
“Yeah, sure,” Meg lied.
Gam’s lips pressed together in a hint of a frown, but she didn’t say anything.
Was Meg going to go to the party?
She didn’t know.
She wasn’t sure she was ready to see Matt with another woman, but then again, she could easily live in denial and never be ready. No, she’d made a promise with this trip, not just to show up for this assignment but to stop letting the past take up so much headspace.
Gam once told her that most people spend their entire lives staring out the tiny rearview mirror, fixated on what’s already behind them when they should be focused on the expansive, wide-open windshield in front of them.
Meg had never been particularly good at following that advice. She was here now. Back in Oregon.
And if she wanted to move forward, it was time to stop dragging her past around like her carry-on baggage that she had never bothered to unpack.
EIGHT
JILL
Three flights later, Jill found herself touching down in Bend, Oregon, nudging Owen awake again. “We’re here, finally,” she said with a yawn.
He stretched, massaging his jaw and giving her a groggy smile as he leaned over Jill to see out the window. “Snow! We’ve got legit snow, as far as you can see.”
“It’s a winter wonderland, isn’t it?” Jill agreed, reaching into the seat-back pocket to gather her candy, gum, headphones, and paperback mystery that she hadn’t managed to read a single word of. The view was undeniably Christmassy, with snow-capped mountain peaks and a brilliant icy-blue crisp winter sky stretching out endlessly over the high desert.
But what time zone were they in now?
First, there was the long-haul flight from London to New York, followed by a flight to Portland with a quick layover, and then an hour-long flight to Bend on a much smaller plane, resulting in plenty of bumps. Shockingly—or not so shockingly—Owen slept like a baby on each flight, even through the turbulence, unbothered by gravity or any impending life changes.
Jill, on the other hand, had spent the trip wide awake, rehearsing a million ways to try to tell him about San Francisco and the baby.
Nothing sounded right.
Somewhere between the turbulence and layovers, her mind drifted to the last time she, Meg, and Matt had been living together in the same city. Seven years. Seven long years since they shared frothy pints and garlic rosemary fries at Deschutes, making countless promises that none of them kept. It was almost impossible to believe that much time had passed. It was even harder to believe that Meg and Matt still weren’t speaking.
The fact that Meg was coming was a small miracle, a feat only made possible by the one and only Johanna King, a true force of nature. Jill had taken an instant liking to Johanna when they met years ago in New York. If she lived closer, she imagined the three of them would do some damage, just like she had with Meg and Matt before things had gotten complicated.
She stuffed everything into her carry-on bag and followed Owen off the cramped airplane. As much as she was excited to see her closest friends, she was also nervous. Navigating the tension between Matt and Meg was likely going to fall to her. She hadn’t met Matt’s girlfriend, Lucinda Hinton, but even if Lucinda was the chillest person on the planet, there was no chance the duo of Matt’s first love and new love wasn’t going to be complicated.
And then there was the ticking time bomb of her own love life.
Meg was more than a friend. She was a sister. Keeping anything secret from her was practically impossible and unnatural, like trying to walk with a rock stuck in your shoe. And the truth was Jillneededto talk. She needed Meg. If things went the way she anticipated, she was also going to need a shoulder to cry on, and there was no shoulder better than Meg’s.
