Page 42 of The Twelve Knots of Christmas
Lyla was trembling like she was cold, and I rubbed her arms to soothe her. She wiped away a few tears. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. “They’re still doing some scans and other tests. When they bring her back to her room, we can go see her. But she still hasn’t regained consciousness since she collapsed.” She sucked back a sob. “They can’t tell me when, or evenifshe’ll wake up.”
“She’ll wake up. Miss Eloise wouldn’t miss Christmas for anything.” I swallowed back my fears. I had to be strong for Lyla, for my housemother, for all of us.
Leaning against me, Lyla gave a weak laugh. “No way would she miss it.”
Balthazar put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Do you girls need anything? I can get you some water and snacks, or if you’re hungry for dinner, I’ll fetch whatever you feel like.”
Somehow having him there made it a little easier to bear. I nodded, still needing something myself. “Water for sure. Do you feel like eating anything, Lyla? Maybe a butter burger? We haven’t been out to Culver’s since, oh, last week.”
Her face scrunched up, battling with her emotions. “Well, I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t want to be a burden.” Lyla sighed and gave in to my suggestion of her favorite fast food. “Okay. A butter burger. I haven’t eaten since, uh, breakfast. I forgot lunch since I was getting you ready for your Mrs. Claus gig.” She glanced at Balthazar after that comment and added, “You’re welcome.”
Balthazar smiled. “You must be one of Santa’s elves with the magic you worked. Thank you. So a half dozen butter burgers, fries, drinks, and concrete mixers?”
“What? No.” I snorted, nudging him with my elbow, but still keeping an arm around Lyla.
“Well, maybe…” Lyla put a hand on her stomach and gave us a sheepish grin.
“I’ll load up.” Balthazar nodded. “Text me if you think of anything else you want, and if you get called into Eloise’s room.”
“We will. Thanks.” I flashed him a grateful smile, but my insides were still quivering. My heart and body had suffered a whiplash of emotions. I was a little numb from the shock of the news, but it helped me stay steady for Lyla.
Balthazar zipped off to get food, and I led Lyla to a corner to give us as much privacy as possible in the busy room. “Tell me what happened.”
She leaned her head on my shoulder, making her seem smaller than she was. I was short at five foot five. She was model tall at five foot ten. “I was in the kitchen baking. Today was fruitcake day.”
“Ew.” I scrunched up my face as if on cue.
Lyla poked my side. “I know you don’t like it, but my homemade recipe is a lot of people’s favorite. Miss Eloise was doing some sorting and wrapping of some gifts she was donating to Big Sisters. She came in and out of the kitchen showing me stuff and bagging the cookies we made yesterday to add in with the presents.” She inhaled slowly and let out a shaky exhale. “The last time she came in, she stumbled and couldn’t seem to walk straight. She started to tell me about something, but the words weren’t making sense. I asked if she was okay, and when she smiled, one side of her face didn’t move. I knew right then it was a stroke and was coming to her to get her to sit or lie down, but she lost consciousness and fell. I called nine-one-one right away.”
My eyes stung with tears. I didn’t want to cry though. I needed to be strong. “I’m so glad you were there with her. The faster the response, the better.”
“The ambulance was there in less than ten minutes. The longest minutes of my life.” Lyla buried her face against my shoulder, and I hugged her tight.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, but you did well. You recognized the stroke for what it was and got help. You’re so brave. Elsa would be proud.” I hoped to get her to smile by mentioning her favorite Disney princess. She and Emberlee loved to watch all the princess movies. Emberlee liked Merida, and they demanded I pick a princess for myself. After forcing me to watch like twelve different movies, I decided Rapunzel was the best.
“Thanks, Rapunzel.” Lyla sniffled and then lifted her head, rubbing the thick fur collar of the coat I was wearing. “Actually, I’m going to start calling you Mrs. Claus.”
I grimaced. “Please don’t.”
“Well, your hair held out but your makeup has partially worn off. I can see your rosy cheeks. Why do you have Santa’s coat?” She sat further back to fully take me in and raised a brow. “And where are the leggings?”
Oh God. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have here. My face heated, and I tried to hide behind the furry collar. The ache between my legs reminded me of exactly what went on in the records room. “Some things happened and the leggings got ripped. But I promise to buy you new ones. An extra pair on top of that too.”
Lyla nabbed the collar and pulled it away from my face. I leaned away to try to keep it up, but it was yanked even farther back. She gasped and whispered, “Mari! Where did you get that giant hickey?”
I yipped and swiftly covered my neck. Balthazar left a hickey? Fuck. I felt like a teenager caught making out with her boyfriend for the first time. “You didn’t see anything.”
“I most certainly did.” Lyla tugged at my collar and peeked down at my neck again. “Wow. So let me guess…” She pursed her lips and then grinned. “Santa saw his Mrs. Claus looking super sexy and couldn’t resist. That’s why you have his coat on, and why you lost the leggings.”
“Ripped, not lost.” I corrected, and then winced at my impulsive tongue.
“Details, girl. How can such a thing happen at a charity event with tons of children running around?” Lyla leaned in, eyes gleaming.
I wasn’t ready to share anything. My head was a mess, and thinking about what happened, having sex in a hospitalwhile wearing a Mrs. Claus costume, that was a bit much to take. Yet it diverted Lyla from worrying over Miss Eloise. It worked to distract me too. So as embarrassing as it was, I told her what happened.
And it was the best thing for me. Even as stressed out as she was, Lyla never failed to be encouraging and supportive and funny. Plus, dirty. Why did she need to know how big Balthazar’s dick was?
Fifteen minutes later, a nurse called Lyla’s name, and we followed her back to the room they’d put Miss Eloise in. We held hands as we entered, and I swallowed a whimper at seeing our housemother hooked up to so many machines on the bed. She looked so tiny, like a fragment of the grand woman who I knew as Miss Eloise.
