Page 30 of Mission: Merry Christmas
“Yes, ma’am. I got it in our gift shop. Mom said I could.” He carried a small box wrapped in red and white striped paper with a metallic gold bow on top over to her.
“He insisted,” Brooke added.
“This is so thoughtful. Thank you.” Nico had clearly wrapped it himself. There was more tape than paper securing it, but she finally got into it.
Avery lifted the delicate gold chain from the box. From it hung a tiny lizard with ruby-jeweled eyes.
“Uncle Drew told me you love lizards,” he said proudly.
She flashed Drew a look, who had just about spit out his orange juice from laughing so hard. Finally, he swallowed and wiped his mouth. “It’s a long story, Sis. I’ll have to tell you that one.”
“I can’t wait,” Brooke said.
Avery hugged Nico. “I love it. I’m going to put it on right now. Thank you so much.” She squeezed him. “You are the best.”
Drew helped her with the clasp, whispering, “I really wish I’d thought of this.”
She wrapped her fingers around the dangling charm. “It’s precious. I will always love this lizard.”
Once they’d all emptied their stockings, which at some point Drew had filled with fresh fruit and those wacky paddles with the ball on elastic that prompted a competition between them all. Finally, they unwrapped their last Santa gifts, the puffy jackets with the fur trim, and went outside to get the snowball fight going.
Teams took their places, and for the next forty minutes, an all-out snow ball fight took place in Drew’s backyard under a warm, island sun.
Somehow, Nico had never even noticed that it had been Drew aiming all the snowflakes over the backyard from behind the pool house wall. He really did believe that Santa had made it snow, and Drew didn’t seem to mind not getting the credit one bit which made Avery just appreciate him more.
Avery went inside to her room to call home while Drew and the rest of them helped Nico build his first snowman out of the fluffy unmeltable mixture that she’d put together. She’d made enough to fill three big boxes, so they had snow to spare for any size snowman, or a couple of smaller ones.
She dialed Mom and Dad’s number. “Hi, Daddy. It’s Avery.”
“Merry Christmas, my littlest elf. We’re missing you. Let me get your mother.”
She waited until they were both on the phone. “Hey, Avery. We were just talking about you. We wish you were here.”
“Me too, Mom.”
“We got our big holiday basket from the agency yesterday morning,” Mom said.
Dad chimed in, “Before seven in the morning. I hadn’t even had my coffee yet.”
“You did?” Drew was right. Tom was going to pull out all the stops. Avery knew that delivery had to have been a last-minute decision by Tom, because those baskets were always delivered in the middle of December. She hoped Tom had had to deliver it on Christmas Eve himself. Even better if that had made him late for his own wedding.
“It’s even bigger than last year,” Dad said.
“Oh goodness. Well, I hope there’s something in it you like.”
“Your dad is already wearing the Carolina Panthers hat,” Mom said.
Avery wanted to blurt out the truth about her job at agency right then, but that would only ruin their day. She held back and let them give her an update.
Afterwards she told them she’d be in town for Corinne’s New Year’s Eve party. “Are you two coming to that?”
“No,” Dad said, “but you can all come over for New Year’s Day dinner. Your mother will have all the necessary foods to be sure we have luck, and money, and love, and everything else.”
“I’ll be there,” Avery said.
“Merry Christmas, honey,” Dad said. “We can’t wait to see you.”
Avery hung up the phone feeling a little homesick. Losing her job had felt like the end of the world a few weeks ago. When had her priorities gotten so off track? Family should’ve been first.
