Page 64 of A Very Merry Enemy
No, but she’ll be disappointed and you’ll have to hear it until the end of time.
Lucas
Your choice though.
Holiday
UGH!
Lucas
Sorry. I don’t make the rules.
Holiday
Mawmaw does, apparently.
Three dots appear and disappear about six times.
Holiday
You owe me.
Lucas
How do I owe YOU? I don’t want to go either.
Holiday
Okay, but it’s your family.
She has a point.
Lucas
Fine. You’ve been granted one IOU.
Holiday
Thank you very much. I will cash in.
Lucas
Make it good.
I can’t begin to imagine what she’ll ask of me. We used to exchange IOUs like they were currency. In a way, they are.
As soon as the sun sets, I go home.
My house is cold and empty, per usual. I turn up the heat and stand in the kitchen, staring at the container of cookies we made last Saturday. I haven’t been able to toss them out because it seems like a waste.
I grab one and bite into it, and it’s unsurprisingly still good, even almost a week later. But she’s determined to do better, and I get it.
I almost feel sorry for Dominic because when Holiday gets a chip on her shoulder, she’s dangerous. Unstoppable. She’ll run circles around him with a smile on her face.
I finish eating the cookie and wipe down the counter, knowing Holiday will be here again, baking in the kitchen that was built for her. It was odd seeing her as I’d always imagined.
I pull my phone from my pocket.
