Page 26 of You Can't Ruin Christmas

Chapter Twelve

We have taken another cab to my parents’ house, and unfortunately, it’s daylight. I considered asking Sven to shut his eyes, so it wouldn’t spoil the beauty of the Christmas sleigh ride through our property that I plan to take him on later.

But with the glittering snow already covering all the trees, and giant ornaments and strings of sparkling tinsel hung from every single tree along the path, it looks almost as beautiful during the day as it does during the night.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you grew up in such a magical winter wonderland?” Sven asks, as he stares at everything around us. “If I lived in a place like this, I don’t think I could ever bring myself to leave.”

“My siblings and I planned to go off and see the world and seek our fortune,” I tell him, with a smile. “But part of my heart always remained at home. Growing up here—those were the happiest days of my life.”

“Maybe we could move back here in a few years,” Sven suggests. “After you star in a couple movies, of course. Maybe I could open a gym in Snowflake Creek. Or start a franchise of gyms. This seems like the best place on earth to raise kids.”

When he says that, my heart melts a little. I can’t believe this is really happening. He wants to stick around. He wants to be with me, and be here—in my favorite place. For the long term. Maybe this could really work out.

As we exit the cab, collect our luggage, and head toward the house, I begin to feel even guiltier about the plan to lie to my parents. And when my mother greets us with excited hugs, my guilt worsens. She gushes over me for a good two minutes, telling me how beautiful I am and how much she’s missed me, and she doesn’t hold back the tears.

“So, this is Sebastian?” she says, after she has finished fussing. “Let me look at you! How handsome. I couldn’t ask for anything more in my future son-in-law. Come inside and meet Mary’s father!”

Sven and I share a look as we move after her, bringing our luggage inside.

We move into the elegantly decorated family room, with our childhood stockings hung over the fireplace. My father is sitting in his favorite brown leather, reclining armchair, wearing an extremely ugly Christmas sweater that my mother knitted herself. He looks like the perfect picture of a grumpy old father.

“Hey, Dad!” I say, moving over to put my arms around him.

“Mae-Mae!” he exclaims with surprise. “I thought you weren’t coming home for weeks and weeks.”

“Evie convinced me to come home sooner,” I tell him, kneeling by his side. “How are you doing?”

“Oh no, your mother’s been telling the whole world that I’m losing my mind, and making everyone worry, hasn’t she?” my father says, scrunching up his face in frustration. “I will have you know that I’m not senile yet.”

“Mary brought her fiancé home!” my mother says, guiding Sven forward. “This is Sebastian, dear. Isn’t he handsome?”

My dad looks up with surprise, studying Sven. “I get it. You all really think I’ve lost my marbles. If this fine lookin’ fellow here is Sebastian Andersson, then who’s playing hockey right over there on the television? Huh?”

I clear my throat, as my face begins to turn red. “Well, Dad, that’s last night’s game.”

My father switches to some other sports channel. “Oh, yeah? So who’s this getting interviewed, live, about last night’s game? And his strategy for tonight’s game?”

Sighing, I sit down on the coffee table. This was surely the shortest ruse in the history of ruses.

“That’s my brother, sir,” Sven says, stepping forward and extending his hand to shake my father’s. “My name is Sven Andersson. I’m sorry we lied, Mary just thought it would be simpler.”

“Simpler than letting her old man know that her boyfriend is a scoundrel who’s been all over the internet with dozens of other girls?” my father asks.

“I check up on you kids using Instagram,” my mom says, putting on her bifocals to peer closely at her phone. “When I saw all those posts, I couldn’t help but get a little worried about you, dear. And we kept asking you how you were, and you kept lying and saying that everything was fine, when it clearly wasn’t.”

“So, you’re in on this together,” I say, covering my red cheeks. “You guys hoodwinked me.”

“Of course, sweetie,” my mother says moving to the kitchen to pour us some large mugs of hot chocolate. “You can’t hoodwink the original hoodwinkers. It’s our job to make sure our baby’s okay, even if she’s on the other side of the country.”

“So, Dad is really fine?” I ask, turning to him. “Eve said that you were having problems with your memory. That you wandered out into the snow, barefoot.”

“Oh, nonsense, I was just fixing something! One of the old lights needed a bulb, and I was too lazy to put on my boots. Your mother blew it out of proportion. I’m strong as an ox, Mary.”

“I would still like to take you to the doctor, to get checked out,” I tell him. “Just in case.”

“Maybe you need to get your head checked, Mae-Mae!” my father says with a laugh. “I can’t believe you tried to fool me that this was Sebastian. If there’s anything a Minnesotan man knows, it’s his hockey players.”

“Well, Sven is an even better hockey player, Dad,” I say proudly. “He just tore some ligaments in his knee, but he’ll be back on the ice in a few months.”

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