Page 19 of The Santa Rules
Bella nods at me. “It’s okay, he’s in on the secret. He’s a Santa now too.”
“She did,” I confirm.
“Cool,” he says, in that way only a disinterested teenage boy could.
“Dad just drop you off?”
“Yeah, a few minutes ago.”
She looks at me, hooking a thumb at Isaac. “It’s like pulling teeth with this one.”
“It’s the opposite for me. Avery doesn’t even need me in the room to have a full-on conversation. She’s just like her mom.” Her eyes soften, and I realize this is probably the most I’ve spoken about Lydie with someone since she died, besides Mike and my therapist.
“It snowed pretty good last night, huh?” Isaac asks.
And we’ve made it to the part of the conversation where we talk about the weather.
“Yeah, I’m really gonna have to talk to Mother Nature about only snowing when you’re here. I had to shovel the driveway all by myself, and I am not built for that anymore,” Bella says.
Isaac leans back on the couch, a shit-eating grin taking over his face, and I know this kid is up to something. It takes Bella a minute to catch on, but once she sees his face, she drops hers in her hands, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Isaac, how many penises are hidden in my yard right now?”
“I didn’t draw any in the yard,” he says, holding his hands up like he’s innocent, but it’s obvious from his tone that he’s not telling the whole story.
“On my house?”
“None.”
“On the windows?”
He shakes his head.
She lets out a deep breath before changing the subject. “How’s your dad?”
“Good. He wants me to come out to his place for Christmas this year since they’re renting a cabin in Aspen.”
I can feel the anger radiating off Bella as her shoulders tense. “Do you want to go?” It’s obvious there’s more she wants to say, but she’s holding it in.
“I dunno. It’s like four hours away, and I wanna be closer to my friends.”
“And it’s my weekend,” she mutters before slapping on a smile, her tone suddenly chipper. “Well, let me know what you decide. I would love to see you on Christmas, but if you want to see your dad too, I understand.”
“Thanks, Mom. I’m gonna go log on. The guys are waiting for me,” he says as he stands, and I watch him walk to the stairs.
Once he’s out of earshot, I hear a muffled noise and turn to see Bella screaming into a pillow. “It’s fine. This is fine,” she says as she fluffs it and places it back on the couch.
“It’s clearly not fine. Why didn’t you say something?”
She leans her arms on her knees. “Isaac is thirteen. He’s a year away from being able to choose if he wants to live with one of us full-time and I don’t want to lose him.”
“You have a custody agreement, right? I don’t think the State of Colorado would allow that.”
“We do have an agreement, but once a kid is fourteen, the courts take their opinion into consideration more. I doubt they would rule against him living with me, but I don’t want to risk it. Jake can woo him with expensive gifts and vacations, and I can’t compete with that. His family comes from money, and I’m barely making ends meet on a teacher’s salary.”
Suddenly, some of her Santa tiers make more sense.
“But what I lack in fancy gifts, I make up for in quality time. Well, as much of that as a teenager can handle. I want him to feel seen and loved when he’s in my house since I know my ex doesn’t spend a lot of time with him.”
“Isaac can see through all that,” I say, leaning forward so I can look in her eyes.
