Page 54 of The Holiday Ex-Files

I was so overwhelmed; I didn’t even know where to begin. But I did check to make sure the manager wasn’t gorgeous-slash-single before I went on my feeding frenzy. I was in luck; it was a guy named Chuck with a beer gut and yellow, stained teeth. I think I was safe from asking him out for dinner or even drinks. All I had to do was stay away from the holly jolly aisles and I should be fine.

Mom and I each grabbed a cart. We meant business. Shanna was going to have the best porch around. And I had a feeling I was going to have the best day I’d had in a long time.

~*~

While I was arranging some of the pumpkins and gourds we’d bought at the nursery around the gorgeous bronze mums we’d picked up, Mom casually tossed out, “So, Kellie called me.”

I dropped the green gourd and looked up at Mom, who was setting a darling scarecrow on a bale of hay. I knew Kellie and Mom were still friends, even though it was awkward now. But not as awkward as my dad and Jay still being business partners. I can’t stress enough how important it is not to marry your dad’s business partner’s son. Even so, it wasn’t unusual for Kellie and Mom to talk, but I knew what this conversation was about. Mara had given me some of the 411, especially about Claudia Cann’s woes. Apparently, some of her fans found it distasteful that she would flip anyone off, especially at a hospital when her mother-in-law was sick. Even better was that someone recorded it, and it was making the rounds on every social media channel. The hashtag #CannClaudia was trending. Was it evil how happy that made me? What was even better? Mara was using her fake accounts to spread that hashtag around. I seriously loved her.

“What did she say?” I asked innocently.

Mom gave me a knowing smile. “Something along the lines that I have a wonderful daughter and you gave her a lot to think about.”

“Yeah.” I knew I had caused a lot of heartburn for the Scott family. We are talking, Kellie kicked Jay out of their bedroom. And I think she might have binged an entire pizza and skipped Pilates. “I might have broken up a marriage.”

“No, my love, that marriage was broken a long time ago.”

“In my heart I know she should leave him, but I know it will hurt Mara.”

“And you will be there to help her if and when that time comes.”

At least I knew I would always show up for Mara. “Why is love so complicated?”

Mom set her scarecrow on the porch and walked down the stone steps to me. We both took a seat and let the autumn sun warm us. I rested my head on Mom’s shoulder, contemplating the meaning of life. Well, sort of. I wasn’t that deep.

Mom kissed my head. “Honey, just because something is complicated doesn’t make it bad.”

“For some,” I whispered.

She sighed that sigh of hers, the one that said she didn’t know what to say to me anymore to change my mind about love, but she wished with all her heart that I would. She had more journals to give to me. Journals she wanted me to pass down to my own daughter.

“Kellie mentioned Noah was there on Sunday too,” Mom said out of the blue.

“He was.”

“Apparently, there was some trouble between him and Ben,” she growled his name.

“Ben had to run his mouth and Noah stuck up for me.”

“That’s nice,” Mom said, all cheery.

“Noah’s a nice guy.”

“He is,” Mom sang. “And I hear you’ve been spending more time together,” she said conspiratorially.

“Who told you that?”

She waved her hand around. “I hear things.”

“Okay.” I had no idea who would tell her these things. “Noah and I are friends. Friends hang out sometimes.”

“And do you have fun together?”

“Yes, Mom. And we share our toys too,” I teased her.

“Like sex toys?”

My head popped off her shoulder. “Mom! Why would you say that? Noah and I aren’t having sex.”

“I saw that movie, Friends with Benefits, and thought I should check.”

I scrunched my nose. “What other movies are you watching? You know what? I don’t want to know.”

Mom laughed evilly.

That didn’t make me feel better.

Mom took my hand. “Oh, lighten up, buttercup. I’ve had six kids—you don’t think I’ve seen it all?”

“Regardless of what you see or what you and Dad watch, I don’t need to know about it. In my head you only watch Disney movies, and I want to keep it that way. Besides, I’m a proud born-again virgin.”

Mom rolled her eyes.

“I thought you would be happy that I wasn’t sleeping around.”

“Darling, I’m proud that you don’t need to find your worth in a man’s bed, but don’t you ever miss waking up in the arms of the person you love?”

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