Page 95 of Christmas Crisis
The interest in Miranda as a potential home-wrecker had dissipated almost immediately after the photos from the arcade.People seemed to prefer the narrative that she and Stone were just good pals. Reaction to pictures of us at the Holiday Hoopla solidified the general lack of interest in the matter.
Miranda told me she still planned to be friends with Stone and possibly even Naomi. I was surprised at how little that concerned me, but I figured if James could be okay with Kasen, I could be okay with Stone.
As though thinking of him had summoned it, Miranda’s phone buzzed with a text.
“Stone wants to know if it’s okay if he calls me in a few minutes,” she said, concern in her voice. “That’s pretty unusual for him.”
We’d already opened gifts and had no plans for the day other than watching football, so she went into our bedroom to take the call.
I hoped whatever he had to say wouldn’t derail what had been a wonderful couple of weeks.
Miranda had received some welcome news on a Zoom call with her supervisors five days ago. Apparently, several of her coworkers had pointed out the mastery of the @theadventurousmiranda persona she’d created, and Walt wanted her to be part of a team focused on expanding the company’s business to include younger clientele and new media companies.
She was excited to return in January, eager to continue proving herself. I’d be staying in Tacoma for the time being, burning up I-5 until we figured out a long-term living situation.
Ten minutes later, Miranda poked her head into the hallway, motioning for me to join her.
I followed her into the bedroom, closing the door behind me.
“You’ll never guess…” she said.
“He called to tell you about a big sale on surfboard wax? Or give you an update on the weed gummy situation in Vancouver?”
She rolled her eyes. “He called to let me know he’s dating someone, and he didn’t want to risk my finding out some other way.”
“He’s giving it a go with Naomi for real?”
Miranda laughed. “Um, no. As much as the public wishes that were true, they barely have anything to say to each other. They’re sticking with the plan to break up publicly around Valentine’s Day.”
“Then who?”
“Shoshanna! When he let her know about our breakup, she admitted her feelings for him. Then I guess she insisted he make it clear to me that she never would have made a move while we were dating.”
“You believe her?”
“Uh-huh. Shoshanna is a true boss. She’d respect girl code.”
I smiled. “And Stone feels the same way about her?”
“Honestly, it sounded more like he was just sort of fine with it, like he hadn’t thought about it, but once she proposed the idea, it made sense. At any rate, he wants to give it a try.”
“Leave it to Stone to start a relationship with a proverbial shoulder shrug. I mean, he’s a grown man and can do what he wants, but that just seemsodd,” I said.
“But on-brand,” Miranda countered. “Besides Stone himself, no one cares as much about his career as Shoshanna. If they’re both on the same page there, it might work.”
“Still, it sounds so businesslike. Joyless.”
Miranda raised her palms. “Stone just isn’t in a place right now to put someone else’s needs ahead of his own. Businesslike is probably the most he can handle.”
“Welp, not our sink, not our dishes,” I said. “As long as it doesn’t bother you, I don’t care who Stone dates.”
“It doesn’t bother me. I hope someone comes along someday to knock him off his feet, but he’s happy focusing on his career right now.”
“Just like I’m happy focusing on you.” I toyed with the zipper at the top of her onesie.
“Ditto, Bear.”
“You know I loved you every minute you were with him. So even if he wasn’t doing it the right way, you were always loved.”
“I knew that. Deep down. That’s what made itbearable.”
“Bearable. I see what you did there.”
“I’m dork Barbie now.” She twined her fingers with mine. “Cheeseball Barbie? Bad pun Barbie?”
I brought her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles. “Not Barbie. Just my Miranda.”
The End
