Page 82 of The Twelve Months of Christmas
“Your daughter doesn’t like me, does she?”
Molly wasn’t prepared for such an honest conversation. “She’s very protective of me,” she hedged.
“I know I don’t look like much. Never been much of a dresser.”
He didn’t exactly show off well, she had to admit.
“Will you go shopping with me?” he asked.
“Oh, Reggie, you don’t need to buy new clothes on my account,” she protested.
“It’s time I upgraded my wardrobe. Anyway, you know what they say. Clothes make the man.”
“No, they don’t. They’re just window dressing,” she said. “Don’t you go turning yourself inside out for my daughter.”
“She’s your family, and I’d turn myself inside out and upside down for you, Molly,” he said.
His words covered her in sweetness. This man was a keeper. She didn’t care how he dressed.
You’re rushing things with him.
She frowned. She was not. Rushing would be running off to Vegas, finding that chapel of love, then getting Reggie completely out of those out-of-style clothes. And keeping him out of them for a nice long time. She smiled at the thought. It was one she would not be sharing with her daughter, that was for sure.
Mother’s Day was hard for Arianna, although it started out perfectly. Sophie brought her breakfast-in-bed—a bowl of cereal, carefully clasped in both hands. She’d made a card also, of course, using her favorite colored paper. It showed a picture of her and Arianna, block figures holding hands, walking under a sky filled with hearts.
“This is lovely,” Arianna said.
“I made one for Grammy, too,” Sophie said. Her smile clouded over. “I wish I could bring her breakfast-in-bed.”
“You’ll be able to later, after her tube is out,” Arianna promised, and hoped it wasn’t a false promise.
Mia was feeling good that day so they decided to visit the Bremerton City Nursery. It had always been a favorite place of Mia’s. The azaleas in the front flower beds and the roses in back, as well as the ornamental thyme along the front walk were all from the nursery. Mia had already been out playing in the yard on her good days and was determined to keep doing so.
“It brings me joy,” she liked to say.
So did walking around the nursery, where they picked out three baskets filled with petunias to hang outside along the front porch.
“I do love flowers,” Mia said as they drove home.
“Me, too, Grammy,” said Sophie, who was holding the pot of stargazer lilies that she’d picked out for her “present” to Mia in her lap.
“We are going to have the prettiest house on the block,” Mia said to her.
“Yes, we are!” Sophie agreed.
Arianna smiled. Then her smile faded as she wondered if they’d be doing this come the next Mother’s Day, if her mother was still with them. She ran away from the ugly thought. The idea of having to face life on her own without tapping into her mother’s strength and wisdom was more than she could bear.
They’d beat this thing. Lots of people beat cancer.
Still, even though the sun was out, she couldn’t shake the feeling that they were driving along under a huge black cloud.
Sunny and her sister and mom all went to see a movie—a rom-com, it always had to be a rom-com, that was the tradition.
Sitting in the dark theater, diving into her bucket of popcorn, she could almost forget that the only Mother’s Day card she’d gotten had been from Travis, thanking her for working so hard to be a good stepmom. She hadn’t expected anything, knew she’d get nothing, but even though she’d braced for the hurt, it had still stung. She’d always wanted to be a mom, had loved the idea of having children of her own to play with and encourage. She was running on a relationship treadmill with the kids, getting nowhere. Maybe she wasn’t meant to be a mother.
“Be patient,” Mom had said. “One day you’ll get that Mother’s Day card. Meanwhile, you don’t want to get something that isn’t heartfelt.”
“Maybe I do,” Sunny had muttered.
