Page 6 of Maybe This Christmas
Davis had already agreed to the trip in theory.It wouldn’t hurt to get more information.
She replied to the DM with her email address and set her phone down.Davis could change his tune once the trip went from hypothetical to reality.But maybe that was its own sign, of a sort.
She was tired of the back and forth, neither of them saying how they truly felt.
Her phone chimed with a video call.It was her sister, Aniyah.She accepted the call.After a moment, Aniyah’s face popped up in the center of the screen.
“Hey, nugget.I just wanted to check in with you.”She set the phone down.Emma could hear rustling in the background.
“What are you doing?”
“Clearing out the pantry.Thanks to my executive dysfunction, you know I need a distraction to complete tasks.”
“Glad I can be of help,” Emma deadpanned.
Aniyah’s head popped back up.“You know what I mean.I got your text last night after I went to bed.Are you okay?”
Outside of Davis, Aniyah was the only family she had.They called each other sisters, although their bond wasn’t born from blood.They’d both ended up in the foster care system.Emma had been somewhat luckier—she’d had a stable upbringing with her grandmother.She was thirteen when Grandma passed away, and Emma entered the system.She had no other living family, with her mother dead and her father MIA.
It’d been a terrible few years for them both, until their final foster home.Those last two years with the Grossmans had taught her what a family could be.
“I’ll get through.I always do.”
Aniyah’s head dipped down again as she began rifling through the contents of her pantry.“Life is more than white knuckling our way through it.”
“Did you learn that in therapy this week?”
Her hand flashed in front of the screen, her middle finger raised.“Don’t be a smart ass.It’s not like you’ve been to any sessions lately.”
“My therapist moved away, remember?”
Aniyah snorted.“I thought they went on maternity leave.You need to get your story straight.
Emma tried and failed not to roll her eyes.“Don’t try to make a liar of me.”
“All right, so put that on the top of your unemployment to-do list.Find a therapist.”
“Okay, okay.I’ll work on it.”
“I was giving you a hard time, Em.Go back when you’re ready.It has been helping me a bit.”
“Can we talk about anything other than therapy now?”
“Okay, fine.What’s your plan now that you’re jobless?I mean, after filing for unemployment.Are you finally going to plan that wedding?”
Davis had proposed well over a year ago.Neither of them had been in a huge hurry to plan a wedding.Davis, because he wasn’t exactly sentimental, and his work kept him busy.Emma, because…well.She didn’t want to think too hard about her reasoning.
“Why, looking to see what color your maid of honor dress will be?”
A not-so-subtle eye roll told Emma everything Aniyah had to say on the subject.She’d never liked Davis.However, when pressed, she couldn’t nail down exactlywhythat was.She would make some half-hearted excuse about not liking his vibe.That was the thing—he wasn’t awful in a way either of them could pinpoint.He didn’t cheat or indulge in any vice to excess.On paper, he was perfect.
Ever since they’d had a blow-out argument earlier that autumn, Aniyah didn’t bother hiding her disdain for Davis.
“Look, you’ve heard me say this before.But just because Davis can give you a good life doesn’t mean you’ll be happy.You’re not happy now, why would you be after you two got married?”
Emma glared at Aniyah.“Enough with the therapy talk, seriously.It’s my relationship to sort out.”
Aniyah let out a sigh.“Fine.You know I’m right, though.”
