Page 46 of What Happens This Christmas
That was it. I picked up my phone and angrily pecked at the screen, responding to Nick’s insistence on not putting her up in a hotel.
Candy:Then get a shovel and start digging because if you’re not stuck in a ditch, I’m going to put you in one myself.
Nick:What does that mean?
Candy:It means she’s ruining Christmas.
Until Virginia Crane waltzed into the picture, I had feared my sister would be the one to ruin Christmas. Now I was confident nothing my sister could do or say would compare.
When I looked back at Virginia, she wasn’t drinking her coffee. “Something wrong?”
She jutted a finger out and pushed the mug away from her. “I’ve lost my desire for it.” She heaved a sigh. “I’m surprised you don’t want to treat my son better than this.”
When I didn’t respond to her fast enough, she blinked, staring up at me with hollow eyes. “You can’t even make a simplecup of coffee, dear. My husband never wanted for anything, that’s all I’m saying,” she elaborated by way of explanation.
I spun on my heel and considered my options. Thankfully, Nick texted before I could say something I’d regret.
Nick:Because our Christmases are usually so magical?
Candy:Don’t make me out to be a grinch. You know I cherish the season.
Nick:You cherish the sales.
Same thing.
Candy:We’re done here. Get yourself home and deal with your mother. And, no, I don’t care what you’re doing.
“Good news. Nick just texted me.” I sat down opposite of her and laid my hands on the table. “He’s on his way home, and he cannot wait to see you.” Alone. Because I’d be finding anywhere else in the world to be.
She threaded her fingers together as she kept her hands on the table. “That’s not any sort of news. He was bound to come home sooner or later, and I don’t doubt he wants to see me.”
I licked my lips and nodded. I couldn’t win from losing with her. The only silver lining to our divorce might be that I would never have to interact with Virginia Crane again after this Christmas.
Chapter 21
dung-on-a-twig
NICK
“Besides the one encounter I had with Virginia at your wedding, I’ve been truly fortunate to never run into her again,” Eloise said, not holding back on my account. Not that I would have thought she would. Eloise tended to speak her mind, and I honestly didn’t care one iota. I didn’t wear blinders and knew that my mother could be somewhat of an acquired taste.
Candy stopped scrolling on her device. I’d caught a third of what she had told me she was working on earlier. Something regarding our party, that was all I knew. I would have inquired further, but I didn’t tend to involve myself in shit I didn’t know enough about and would only wind up in a heated discussion over.
“Eloise, what exactly are you trying to say?” Candy asked.
It seemed obvious to me, but I would be staying out of this one.
Eloise shrugged, bringing her finger to her mouth and biting on the nail. “Come on, Cici. When she walks into a room, it’s likegird your loins because shit’s about to go down. Far, far, far down.”
Well, that was one way of looking at it.
Candy’s eyes widened with astonishment. “Can we please change the subject?”
My guess was that thegird your loinscomment got to her.
Eloise hopped off the couch and extended a hand for Candy to take, moving her fingers at a rapid pace like they weren’t attached to the rest of her body. “Okay, but remember you so totally asked for it.” She let out a loud shriek.
Nobody asked, but I had grown fond of my hearing over the years. On the one hand, I had to listen to a hell of a lot more stupidity from strangers than I cared for, but on the other, it allowed me to hear Candy’s cries of pleasure. That might not have been happening as often as I liked, but that was beside the point. All this to say, I needed to put earplugs in around my sister-in-law. “You might as well take her hand,” I informed Candy, choosing now to speak up and put my laptop down. I wasn’t even looking at anything good, just some dumb lessons from a class I had started taking so I could—
