Page 59 of Blame It On the Lattes

“It’s not that easy. I hurt him. I haven’t even had a chance to tell him that I declined the job. For all I know, he’s so mad at me that he won’t even care if I stay in Sugarplum Falls. He’ll probably call the school in Houston and demand that they take me so he can be done with me.”

“You’re being a bit dramatic.”

“Says the girl who is measuring ribbon to tie around the box she wants her best friend to hide in.”

“Hey—this is a brilliant idea. You guys have been fighting over the job in Houston so what better way to give him the news that you’re going to stay in Sugarplum Falls than to make yourself into the best gift he has ever gotten?”

“Is mommy ready to get in the box?” Kennedy asked as she walked into the living room.

“Almost,” Cassidy said. “But she needs to hurry up and get her butt in there before Sam gets home.”

“Why does Sam want my mom as a Christmas gift?” Kennedy questioned, plopping down on the couch. Thankfully, we had more or less broken the habit of her calling himUncle Sam.

“Umm...” Cassidy looked at me with a lost expression.

“Don’t look at me. This wasyourcrazy idea,” I hissed so Kennedy couldn’t hear me.

“Okay, enough out of you. Climb in the box, and I’ll come wrap you up in a minute.”

I rolled my eyes but carefully got in, making sure not to tear the cardboard in the process.

“Your mommy is getting in the box so she can surprise Sam when he gets home. She hasn’t told him your guys’ secret yet, so that’s part of the gift she’s giving him.”

“Our secret?” Kennedy questioned, her eyebrows pulled together. “Is it that mommy is going to have a baby?!”

“No,” I answered quickly, pinning Cassidy with a look before she could run with the idea again. It took me forever to convince her I wasn’t pregnant the last time Kennedy said something. “Mommy is not having a baby. You’re my only baby.”

“But that’s not fair,” Kennedy grumbled, folding her arms over her chest and pouting.

“What’s not fair, honey?” I asked, not having the energy to deal with this while trying not to fall out of the box.

“That Santa doesn’t give me what I told him I wanted for Christmas.”

“Oh, sweetheart. I’m sorry. I know that you want a baby sister or brother, but that’s not something Santa can give you. That’s something that happens between adults, and it’s very complicated sometimes.”

“The little girl in the movie got it,” Kennedy countered, still upset about it.

I frowned for a moment, trying to recall which movie she was talking about. We watched so many recently that they were all starting to blur together.

“Miracle on 34thStreet is a pretend movie,” Cassidy explained, kneeling in front of her as she spoke softly. “While Santa is real, the movie wasn’t. They were all actors and actresses.”

“But it’s not fair!” Kennedy cried louder, making my heart break.

Suddenly, we heard the garage door open, and Cassidy and I exchanged a panicked look.

“Here, take your sign,” she said, grabbing it from the coffee table and throwing it at me as she jumped up. “Duck down, and I’ll tape you up real quick.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I hissed as I sat on the floor and let my eyes adjust to the darkness as Cassidy closed the top and taped it.

“Sam is coming, so we have to be quiet and not tell him that Mommy is in the box, okay?” Cassidy asked Kennedy. “I’ll give you some of that fudge you like if you can sit with me on the couch and pretend we’re watching TV.”

“Cassidy!” I scolded, then immediately shut up as I heard the door to the house opening at the same time the sound on the T.V. turned up.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” Sam asked, closing the door behind him.

“Oh, I’m just hanging out with Kennedy. Avery had to run a last-minute errand, so we’re just chillin' and watching T.V. You know how much Kennedy likes her cartoons.”

I didn’t have to see the screen to know she was lying, given that a monotone man started talking about the recent snowfall and how Sugarplum Falls hadn’t seen a storm like this in years. I closed my eyes and pressed the palm of my hand to my head.

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