Page 27 of Ten Christmases Without You
“So is Emmy,” Madison said from the doorway.
Emmy laid the papers in her lap. “Oh, no, not like Mom, but I would like to see if I could draw a modern version of some of these.”
Madison had already crossed the room. She picked up Emmy’s sketchbook and flicked through it, turning around Emmy’s design that featured a bateau neckline with a delicate bow detail at the shoulder, added for feminine charm. The bodice was tailored, with princess seams, and the pencil skirt fell below the knee, hugging the hips and then tapering slightly.
When Emmy pulled her appraising eyes from it, Charlie was staring at her curiously.
“You drew that?”
“Yeah.”
His eyes rounded. “It’s incredible.”
Was he just being nice? It didn’t seem like it. Wearing her mother’s clothes, their drawings side by side, Emmy felt an unspoken unity with her mom fall over her. They’d always shared a creative bent, but this was the first moment that she feltlikeher.
“I’m heading back into the kitchen. Aunt Elsie is getting out the Scrabble board.” Madison leaned in. “Run,” she whispered dramatically.
Emmy laughed.
Then Madison left Emmy and Charlie alone once more.
Emmy flipped through the rest of her mom’s sketches, pointing out things she liked to Charlie. He was a good listener. He was attentive, flipping through her drawings as he chatted about her mother’s. He asked questions and seemed interested in her answers.
While they were in the same room they’d been in last year, in the daylight, with all that had just happened, things felt very different. She couldn’t wait to see where the day took them.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Emmy spent the entire breakfast making small talk with her family, while Charlie sat beside her. His presence changed the dynamic. And he’d kept her mind off the fact that she didn’t know where they’d have family Christmas next year if the house sold.
Emmy was hyper-focused on the length of time between conversations before she began a new one, her table manners, and how many bites she ate in a minute. She wanted to make a good impression. Was something wrong with her? Everyone her age had moved on from their high school years, yet there she was, still getting warm fuzzies for the guy she’d grown up with. There was only one reason her feelings for him lingered: At twenty-six years old, she hadn’t done anything of note to move forward.
“Right, Emmy?”
Madison’s voice floated into her consciousness.
“Hm?”
“I was telling Charlie that Adrienne McLoughlin’s getting married next year, and she’s already in plan-mode.”
Madison stole the conversation starter Emmy had saved for Charlie.
“And then I said that not everyone can stay single forever,” Aunt Charlotte chimed in.
Madison leaned forward, putting her forearms on the table. “But I said that staying single can be done. It just takes the right personality to do it.” She picked up her glass. “Many of us crumble under the weight of going through life solo. But not you, right? Emmy is a confident bachelorette.”
Emmy smiled, but Madison had confirmed exactly what Emmy had been thinking. Although, she was wrong about one thing: While Emmy didn’t crumble under the weight of being on her own, she wasn’t as confident as she might look.
They finished breakfast with small talk unrelated to Emmy, thankfully. Aunt Charlotte had gone on for a while about how she’d really like to live in a camper and travel the U.S. Uncle Stephen had insisted she’d be claustrophobic after a week, and they’d all fallen into a debate about what would be the most difficult aspect of living on the road.
After helping to clean up breakfast, Charlie pulled Emmy aside. “Want to go for a drive to pick up a few things for my parents?”
She’d never been more relieved to escape the house.
“Why don’t you bring your notebook and the envelope with your mom’s drawings so we can really look at them?” he asked.
“You sure you want to spend your free time viewing fashion designs?”
“Maybe we could sit somewhere, and you could draw that sketch you wanted to try?”
