Page 53 of The Twelve Months of Christmas
“I would. Thank you for being my friend.”
“Of course. Molly and Ava are here for you, too, so whatever you need, don’t be afraid to ask. Okay?”
Arianna nodded.
“Take your pill and call me in the morning,” Sunny said.
She stayed long enough to make sure Arianna took the pill, then she left.
She had a lot to think about on her drive home. Yes, she had her problems, but her mom was alive and well and she had a husband who loved her. She had a lot for which to be grateful. Having so much made her rich, and with a rich life came the responsibility to help those in need.
She thought about the twelve months of Christmas they’d committed to celebrating. Giving was such a big part of the holiday. It looked like over the next few months she and the other members of their little holiday band were going to be giving in ways they hadn’t anticipated.
The pill helped for a while, but then, in the wee hours Arianna was awake, staring into the darkness, tears sliding down the sides of her face. How could this be happening? Why was it happening? Hadn’t it been enough that she’d had to cope with a falling apart marriage and a divorce? This wasn’t right.
Life doesn’t always go the way you want, her mother had told her often enough,but it’s still good.
How could she see the good when the bad was looming right in front of her face, blocking her view of anything else?
At five o’clock she dragged herself out of bed and made coffee. At five thirty she showered. At six o’clock she got Sophie up and told her to get dressed. At six fifteen she called Sunny, who answered with a mumbled, “Hello.”
“I’m sorry to wake you,” she said.
“I’m awake,” Sunny lied. “Bring her on over. I’ll make pancakes.”
“Great. She loves pancakes,” Arianna said.
She went to Sophie’s room to get her and found her in her underwear and T-shirt, sitting on the floor, using one of her socks as a puppet and talking to it. “And then the princess turned the mean boy into a toad.”
Lack of sleep combined with worry were a recipe for impatience. “Sophie, what are you doing? You were supposed to be getting dressed,” Arianna snapped. She bent and yanked the sock off her daughter’s hand. “Honey, we don’t have time for this.”
“Mommy, don’t,” Sophie protested.
Arianna ignored it and slipped the defunct sock puppet on her daughter’s foot. “We have to get going and I find you in here playing.”
“I wasn’t playing. I was turning Timmy Timmons into a toad,” Sophie protested, and began to cry.
There was no time to find out what Timmy had done to deserve a life sentence as a toad. “You can’t turn people into toads. It’s not nice.” Arianna pulled a pair of pink leggings from the dresser drawer.
“I don’t want to wear those!”
“Okay, you pick,” Arianna said, trying desperately to stay patient.
Sophie went to her dresser and stood, regarding the choices in the drawer.
“Now.” Arianna’s voice came out harsh. Total patience fail. She’d probably be the next one to get turned into a toad.
Sophie sat down on the floor and began to cry. “You’re being mean.”
“And you’re being naughty,” Arianna said, in no mood to admit her own guilt. “Now, come on, stand up.”
Sophie stood, still crying, and stepped into the pink leggings. “I’m gonna tell Grammy you’re being mean.”
She was, and she suddenly wanted to cry, too. “I’m sorry, baby. I am. But please, we have to get going. I need to get to the hospital.”
“To see Grammy? I want to come.”
“You have to go to school.”
