Page 24 of Wishing for Christmas
“Hey, Clar.”
Clara could tell from Lily’s gravelly voice that she had woken her up. “Lil, I’m sorry to call so early, but I need to ask you something.”
“Sure.”
“Where have I been for the past year?”
“Uh . . . what?”
“When was the last time you saw me?”
Lily cleared the morning voice from her throat, probably realizing this wasn’t going to be a quick call. “Well, I saw you the other day at Buddy’s.”
“Yes. At Buddy’s . . . right after you got engaged.”
“Um, no. I got engaged last year. I’m talking aboutthisyear, as in, a few days ago.”
A long silence followed.
“Clara, it was just the other day. We talked all about Brent coming home, remember? Speaking of that, how did it go? Was it super romantic, like those military homecomings you see on the news?”
She squeezed her eyes shut at the reminder. “Well . . .”
Lily was silent, obviously waiting for her to continue.
Clara bit her lower lip. “He proposed.” She braced herself for the reaction she knew was coming.
“What!? Clara, that’s incredible.” Her best friend was clearly fully awake now, her voice brimming with enthusiasm. “Congratulations!”
Clara cleared her throat. “Thanks.”
Lily paused. “I mean, that’s great, isn’t it?”
She didn’t say anything in return.
“Uh oh,” Lily said.
Clara knew Lily was able to interpret that silence in an instant. She tried to recover. “No, sorry, I was drinking my tea,” she lied. “It’s great. So great.” She continued to chew on her lower lip.
“Okay, what’s up? Why aren’t you more excited? It isn’t likeyouto be playing it so cool with a huge announcement like this.”
“I know, it’s just that—” She wasn’t sure how to finish the sentence.
“Clara?”
“I mean, I like Brent and all, but?—"
“Like him? You’re crazy about him.”
“I am? I mean, I am. Of course I am.”
Lily let out a sigh. “My dear friend, you’ve talked about nothing but Brent for the past year. All I’ve heard lately is how much you love him and can’t wait for him to get back. He comes home after all this time away, proposes to you, and you’renotecstatic? And you talk about me holding back my emotions.”
“I said I loved him?” she asked, then immediately regretted it. “No. Of course I’m excited. I guess I’m still getting used to the idea.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah.”
