Page 29 of You Can't Ruin Christmas

“Oh, fuck,” Sven says. “We have to deal with this now?”

“Mary!” Sebastian calls out, moving forward. “Mary, I’m so sorry. I really screwed up.”

“Uhhh.” I sigh, looking at Sven for help.

“Hey, bro!” he says, standing up in the sleigh as it comes to a stop. “I think you’re in the wrong country, man! You have a game in Toronto tonight, don’t you? It’s over there!” Sven points in the general direction of east.

Smiling, I wrap the blanket closer around myself.

“Please,” Sebastian is saying. “Mary, can we talk?”

“Why, Seb?” I ask. “What are you doing here? You dumped me, remember?”

“I wasn’t thinking clearly,” he says desperately, moving closer. “It’s just been a crazy couple months, Mary. I wasn’t ready for all the fame, the crazy schedules, the screaming fans…”

“I bet you weren’t,” I mumble under my breath.

“I saw the Instagram post of you two together,” Sebastian is saying, and he sounds out of breath, like he’s been running. “I know I promised I would come home with you for Christmas, and when I saw that you tagged Sven at that local restaurant… you just looked so beautiful, and I missed you so much, and got on the first flight over here.”

“Why?” I ask.

“To make things right. I miss you, Mary. I miss you so much, and I should never have ended things. I want you back.”

Of course. Isn’t that just classic. I find myself rolling my eyes.

“I’m sorry, Seb. I’ve moved on.”

“You can’t have moved on this quickly,” Sebastian says, panic visible on his face. “With him? My brother? Are you just faking this to piss me off?”

“Not really,” I say softly, holding Sven’s arm.. “I just got dumped by my boyfriend and was feeling super sad and lonely. Sven was there to cheer me up.”

“You can’t be intoSven,” Sebastian says with shock, pointing. “My shy, pathetic, good-boy brother couldn’t make a move on you in such a short period of time. It’s only been like a week.”

“It turns out you can change your whole life in only a week,” Sven says. “If you’re brave enough.”

“You guys are messing with me,” Sebastian says, with a smile. “This is a joke. You guys are playing some kind of joke on me right now. It’s not funny, Mary. You can stop faking it.”

Sven grins. “I don’t think she was faking it when I fucked her on the plane ride over here, bro. I mean, she was screaming so loud I had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep the whole plane from hearing.”

I giggle at this. “No, I definitely wasn’t faking anything.”

Sebastian’s mouth has fallen open, and it’s kind of satisfying. “My Mary wouldn’t do such a thing. She’s a good girl.”

“Your Mary doesn’t exist anymore,” I tell him. “She would have invited you in for hot chocolate right now, and been nice to you, despite everything. But I don’t have the energy for that. I think you should leave, Seb.”

“Who’s this?” my father asks, as he steps out onto the path. He must have been fixing up the lights nearby. He always replaces dead bulbs and removes any excess snow that might be blocking the displays after all the guests leave.

“I’m Sebastian,” he answers.

“I’m sorry, who?” my dad asks. “I’m having trouble with my memory. What are you doing on my property?”

“Dad,” I say with concern. “You just saw him on television. The hockey player?”

“Oh! It’s the fucking douchebag who hurt my daughter?” my dad asks. “I’ll be right back with my shotgun. If I can remember where I put it.”

Sebastian shifts around nervously. “Um. Is he going to remember where he put it?”

I shrug. “No idea. But I think it’s kept in a really visible location.”

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