Page 11 of Her Exception 3

Christmas

Christmas with my parents was more depressing than usual this year. They hadn’t even bothered to put forth the effort to decorate the house or put up a Christmas tree. After we exchanged gifts, theirs not even being wrapped for me, I left and made my way to spend the rest of the holiday with Amelia and her tribe. I appreciated that she’d even invited me. It was clear she didn’t fully trust my intentions and I could respect that. I had no problem earning the place in her life that I should have cherished from the moment she entered this world.

By the time I arrived, the adults had somehow shifted into a conversation that revolved around a woman being loved by a man who didn’t know how to truly love and how toxic it was. It seemed like a random, dark topic for Christmas, but I gave my greetings and headed into the kitchen.

“You came,” Amelia said with a genuine smile.

She made her way around the island and gave me a hug.

“Of course, I came. Merry Christmas, and thank you for inviting me.”

“Merry Christmas. Have you eaten?”

“Yeah, but I can eat again. What you make?”

Amelia chuckled as she guided me across the kitchen, running down an extensive list of items on the menu. She offered to fix me a plate, and I told her to put a little of everything on it. By the time we made it back into the living room, the conversation had shifted to something lighter thankfully.

“Uncle Jeremy!” At the sound of Alisia’s voice, I turned toward the hallway.

“My favorite twelve-year-old munchkin. Hey, niece.”

Lis laughed as she rushed over to me and gave me a hug. “I’m youronlytwelve-year-old munchkin.”

“Even if you weren’t, you’d still be my favorite. I got your Christmas gifts in the car. I’ll go get them when I finish eating.”

“Okay! Yours are under the tree.”

Confusion covered my face as I looked from Alisia to Amelia. “Y’all didn’t have to get me anything, Milli.”

“Nonsense. Now eat up before your food gets cold.”

I swallowed my emotion, not sure why them including me made me so emotional. I guess because things had been so off between us; I was just grateful for the invitation.

When I was done eating, I opened the gifts they’d gotten me and went out to get theirs. I’d even gotten Amaru and AJ something so they wouldn’t feel left out. Milli warned me that their mothers would be here, so I had flowers and wine for them too.

After that, Christmas songs and movies turned into line dancing and drinking. By the time the guys and I were passing around the third jar of moonshine, I knew I needed to call it a night. I was a comfortable tipsy, capable of getting home safely, and I didn’t want to overindulge.

It warmed my heart when both Amelia and Alisia were sad to see me go, but I promised them we could hang out again soon.

As I drove home, I had a strong desire to call Maritza and wish her a Merry Christmas. I expected her to let the call go to voicemail, but when I heard her sultry voice on the other line, I couldn’t stop the grin that spread my lips.

Six

Maritza

It took me a second to answer Jeremy’s call. Our Christmas festivities had run long this year, and I was okay with that. There was nothing, and I do mean nothing, that I loved more than spending time with my family and friends. Work and parenthood had separated my tribe, unfortunately, but I hung out with my closest friend, Dena, as much as I could.

Clearing my throat, I stood quickly from the large bean bag I was seated on to answer Jeremy’s call.

“H-hello?” I almost whispered, stepping out of my parent’s home theater.

“Maritza… hey.”

I smiled as I leaned against the wall, which was new. “Hey. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas. I hope I didn’t interrupt you while you were doing something important.”

“No, not at all. Is everything okay?”

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