Page 9 of His Christmas Gift

I couldn’t take the pressure and the constant disappointment from them, so I left after high school. I just wanted to live my own life without anyone trying to change me to benefit them. However, I couldn’t escape my hometown and my family forever. I still kept in contact somewhat.

“Hello?” I said once I answered the call.

“Autumn, I need to speak with you,” my mother replied in her typical urgent tone. Everything she said was of some importance according to her and many people in St. Francisville.

“Alright,” I replied as I headed down the hallway away from my office. At least I could leave for the day.

“Christmas is coming up. You need to come visit your family. We have a whole week and a half of activities planned for our friends and family. I’m sure everyone would love to see you,” my mother told me. As usual, she wasn’t asking me to do anything. She was telling me.

I didn’t like being bossed around by anyone. When Dean did it, it made me feel some sort of twisted excitement. When my parents did it, I felt dread and frustration. I could never please them because I wasn’t living the life that they envisioned for me.

A big house. A perfect husband. An important role or job in town. Just like them.

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” I replied, trying not to sigh. I always went home for Christmas, but I never looked forward to this trip. Everyone in my family asked too many questions and then judged my answers, whether I was talking about my job, my life in the city, or how I was single. That last one always incited the most disappointment.

“Just you?” my mother asked, already sounding disappointed. It was like she expected that answer from me.

I parted my lips to sharply confirm that I was coming to Christmas alone again, but I suddenly shut my mouth. I didn’t want to give her any satisfaction this year. I wanted to be the one that was right for once. Out of frustration and determination, I blurted out a lie.

“No. My fiancé will be with me,” I told her, sounding as cocky as could be.

“Fiancé? Since when do you have a fiancé?” my mother asked, sounding genuinely surprised and confused.

“We’ve been together for the entire year. You’ll get to meet him,” I replied with a smirk on my face. I couldn’t describe how good it felt to catch her off guard for once.

“Well, I look forward to it,” my mother said.

“Me too,” I answered, feeling all high and mighty. I bet she felt pretty silly about assuming that I was coming to Christmas alone again. She always thought that she was right. Not this time.

“See you then,” my mother replied before ending the call.

I lowered my phone with a “humph,” feeling quite satisfied. Then, reality crashed down on me. I just told my mother that I was bringing my fiancé to Christmas this year. I didn’t have a fiancé! I didn’t even have a boyfriend or a guy friend that could pass off as a fiancé. I dug myself a hole that I didn’t know how to get myself out of.

Panic set in as I pushed a hand into my hair, trying to grasp the magnitude of my mistake. I didn’t want my parents to know that I lied. They would never let me live it down, and I would really become the black sheep of the family that everyone talked about under their breath. I couldn’t handle that on top of everything else that I was dealing with right now.

There was no clear answer as to what to do. I believed I really messed up. I either admitted to my lie or I held it up.

If only I had some idea about how to do that.

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