Page 54 of Single Dad's Christmas Cookie

“Oh, hi, yes, my car is stuck on the side of the road,” I started. I explained my entire situation to the woman on the other end of the phone. She let me know that between the holiday and the number of cars that were on the side of the road, unless I was in danger or my car was blocking traffic, I probably wasn’t going to get a tow truck until after Christmas day.

I let out a dejected sigh and accepted my fate. I thanked her for her information and made a mental note that I would have to call back in a couple of days.

I turned my attention to my to-do lists. I had two of them—all the meal preparations for today and all the meal preparation for tomorrow. The plan as it stood meant I wasn’t going to be here on Christmas morning. I wasn’t going to be anybody’s present to unwrap, and I didn’t expect a last-minute invitation. Reality really sucked. I was going to have to figure out a way of getting home.

“Do you need any help?” Bryan followed Amelia into the kitchen. He carried breakfast dishes.

“To be honest, I’ve got a big meal to make. Can you handle Amelia today so I can focus?”

“Of course. You let me know if you need anything.”

“Bryan,” I started nervously. “They’re not going to be able to tow my car for another couple of days. I know this is a huge favor to ask, but you don’t have a car I could borrow, do you?”

He seemed like the kind of guy who would have more than one car. I held my breath as he thought about it. “Sure, let me go get you the keys to the pickup truck.”

“You have a pickup truck?” Of course he had a pickup truck. His house was a mansion and he practically lived on an estate.

“I really appreciate that.”

The day went by in an absolute blur. There were dishes to wash. I had to move candlesticks from the den back into the formal dining room. I had to find out where Bryan kept the good China and silver so that I could set the table appropriately.

Everything was timed perfectly. Bryan’s mother arrived just as I pulled the main dish from the oven and let it sit before I plated it for the presentation.

“Amelia, whatever are you doing back here?” Bryan’s mother’s voice could cut glass as she followed Amelia into the kitchen.

“I wanted to show Nova my dress,” Amelia whined. I had barely seen her all day.

“We do not socialize with the help,” her grandmother said. She had Amelia redirected out the door before I had a chance to tell Amelia how pretty she was in her red velvet dress. It reminded me of the dress I had worn when I met her father, with puffy sleeves and a touch of lace at the neckline.

My stomach rioted with nerves as I carried serving platters to the dining room. As I had done previously, I made it so that dinner was ‘family style’ and they would serve themselves.Which was just as well. I didn’t have some fancy livery uniform to wear while I served. My jeans and sweater were hardly appropriate.

“Everything sells amazing,” Bryan said as he stepped into the dining room.

“There are only three plates at the table,” Amelia announced. “Where is Nova going to sit?”

“The help does not eat dinner with the family,” her grandmother said.

“Nova eats dinner with us all the time. Don’t you, Nova?”

“Not tonight, Amelia,” I said.

My heart ached at not being included. I harbored a deep wish that Bryan would invite me to pull up a chair and join them. I knew I wasn’t part of the family, and I never would be. I bit the inside of my cheek hard so that I wouldn’t start crying where anyone would see me.

I retreated to the kitchen and wrote a very long note with instructions so that Bryan could put together tomorrow’s meals with what I had left in the refrigerator.

I made sure to set out a plate of cookies for Santa, and then I left a note wishing Bryan and Amelia a very happy Christmas.

24

BRYAN

Nova was showing off. Dinner was exceptional. For the past few days, Nova had made what I could only describe as easier meals—chili, hearty, homemade soups, tacos. But tonight’s dinner had multiple courses—a butternut squash soup, roasted vegetables, and a rack of lamb cooked to perfection with apricot chutney and mint sauce on the side. Her desserts were exceptional, a bread pudding with figs and a cranberry pecan pie. There were two kinds of whipped cream, one with bourbon and one without.

Nova really did know how to cook. With Amelia and other chores, like decorating for Christmas, out of her way, her cooking was able to shine.

My mother didn’t have anything to complain about regarding the food. She had plenty to complain about regarding the snowstorm and how the town hadn’t properly cleared the roads to her liking.

The city had done a fine job clearing roads and restoring power. After all, Mother’s driver was able to get here without any problems. Mother didn’t drive. She thought two extra cars onthe road at the same time was traffic, and any weather made for hazardous driving conditions.

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