Page 121 of The Twelve Months of Christmas
“The baby,” fretted Jeanette.
“Oh, my God, am I going to lose the baby?” Sunny shrieked. Shrieking was a bad idea. Some nasty demon got mad and drove the hatchet in her head deeper. Arianna was by her side, telling her not to panic.
More players arrived. EMTs. “Hey, Alden,” said one. “What’s the story?”
“She fell. Hit her head on the railing. Fractured ankle, I’m guessing, and a possible concussion.”
“My dessert,” she moaned. She’d been so proud of that dessert, sure everyone was going to love it. Even Bella.
“It’s okay, babe,” Travis said.
“Okay,” she repeated.
Arianna and Alden followed Travis and the ambulance, and both sets of parents got in their cars and followed them. Rae and Will left for the hospital also. The remaining partiers stayed behind to clean up the mess. The kids were subdued, especially Bella, Molly noted. She looked as white as a ghost.
“Honey, why don’t you run and get me a broom and dustpan,” Molly said to her, figuring the child needed something to do.
Bella bit her lip, nodded and raced up the stairs.
“Is the doctor going to make Sunny all better?” Sophie asked.
“Yes, he is,” Molly said.
“Like he’s making my Grammy better,” Sophie said, with an enthusiastic nod.
Like they hoped that the doctor was. It was great to see Mia eating again.
“Kids, how about you take up the dirty plates and bowls?”
The other three nodded and got busy.
Ava fetched paper towels and a waste can. She knelt down and began mopping up the ice cream.
“Careful, there’s broken glass,” Molly cautioned.
Ava nodded and kept mopping. “Poor Sunny,” she said as Reggie and Mia passed them, taking serving dishes back up into the house. “Of all the people for this to happen to. She’s been working so hard on all these parties, trying to make everyone happy.” Bella had returned with the broom and dustpan, and Ava gave her a disapproving look.
Bella bit her lip and dropped them, then turned and ran up the stairs.
“Ava, doll, your timing is perfect,” Molly scolded.
“I think it is, as a matter of fact. It’s about time that kid thought about someone other than herself.”
“She will, once she grows up a little bit,” Molly said, and hoped she was right.
Twenty minutes later everyone was waiting to hear how Sunny was doing. Ava was still puttering in the kitchen, wiping down counters. Out the kitchen window Molly could see Paisley and Sophie, subdued and sitting on a blanket under the apple tree in the corner of the yard, watching while Dylan kept himself occupied tossing a softball up in the air and catching it.
She and Reggie went out on the deck to sit down and discovered Bella sitting on the top step, crying softly. Mia sat next to her, an arm around her shoulder.
“Uh, maybe I’ll go make some coffee,” Reggie said, and disappeared back in the house.
Molly settled in a chair, ready to pitch in and help Mia with the girl if she needed it.
“It’s my fault,” Bella was sobbing. “I said I hoped she’d die.”
“She’s not going to die,” Mia said firmly.
“I didn’t mean it.”
