Page 86 of Mistletoe Misses
“For what? The play isn’t until spring.”
“I got the TV show.”
“You did? Oh, sweetheart. That’s amazing. Although, I’m not surprised. Your audition was a no-brainer.” This time, she lets me bring her into a hug and cover her face in kisses while she giggles. “Let’s celebrate tonight.”
“Can Maddox come?” she asks, and I love how she wants to share her life with him as I do.
“I’ve already invited him, but he isn’t responding to my texts.”
“That’s weird. He acted a little weird when I told him, too.”
Air catches in my lungs, making my next words squeak out shakier than I’d like. “What did you say to him?”
“That I was going to be on TV in California.”
Thick and jagged tears blur my view of her. I can only imagine what Maddox is thinking and hope Sadie’s surprise hasn’t hurt him beyond repair. Fear presses against my lungs. I should have told him. I expected her to get the job and knew how it would affect him, but I’d been too focused on rebuilding our relationship and didn’t think ahead.
“What’s wrong, Momma? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, of course not. I’m so happy for you. You’ve worked hard for this and deserve it.” I kiss her forehead to piece myselfback together. “Let’s have dinner backwards and celebrate with dessert while we wait for him.”
“Yay!”
“What do you want?”
“I’ll see what we have, or maybe Nana has a pie downstairs.”
“Good idea.” She hops off my lap. “You go check with her, and I’ll call Maddox.”
She runs downstairs, and my frantic fingers can’t call him fast enough. I punch the wrong app and contacts in my haste, finally hitting CALL when I get it right. Waiting for him to answer, I curse myself again for blindsiding him. It didn’t help that Sadie’s eight-year-old understanding of the world didn’t tell the full story, surely giving him an unnecessary and painful bout of déjà vu.
Of course, I get his voicemail. I call again. Nothing.
Me:Please call me.
I try his mother next.
“Hi, Carmen,” she says in answering
“Hi, Marilyn. Is Maddox there?”
“No. He went back to Boston.”
I take a few seconds to breathe through the shock wanting to paralyze me. “He went— Why?”
“He didn’t tell you? I swear.” She lets out an audible sigh. “Everything okay?”
“I’m worried.” Needing somewhere for my energy to go, I pace the room.
“What happened?”
“Sadie told him we’re moving to California.”
“She got the part?” Marilyn’s excitement would be heartwarming if I wasn’t panicking about Maddox’s interpretation of that news.
“Yes, but I’m sure it feels like my eighteenth birthday all over again to him.”
“Oh no. And with the news about Adrian,” she trails off, empathizing. I recognize the concern in her voice, and it only amplifies my own. I could be patient if she’d been cool and confident that everything would be fine. But she knows something, pushing me until I’m one nervous jitter away from jumping in the car and driving to Boston to find him.
