Page 39 of That Time I Kissed My Brother’s Best Friend

“Kasey!” Her blue eyes widen, and she reaches for my hand. After I kiss her papery cheek, she checks me out from head to toe. “You look simply wonderful.” Her voice is wobbly, but her gaze is clear. “I am so very happy to see you.”

My heart almost bursts. “I am so very happy to see you too.”

“Ahem.” Brady leans in. “What am I, Big Mama? Chopped liver?”

“Oh, Brady.” She waves his comment away. “Your sister hasn’t been home in ages, and I see plenty of you.” She tilts her head, and her halo slips. “Besides. Chopped liver is delicious. That’s hardly an insult.”

Brady chuckles. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Good boy,” she says. “Now go help your mother in the kitchen, so I can catch up with my granddaughter.” She pats the cushion beside her. “Come. Sit, Kasey. Let’s have a chat.”

I take a seat and help her readjust her halo. “How are you doing, Big Mama?”

“Oh, you know.” She sighs. “Taking it one meal at a time.” Her head bobbles like it’s too heavy for her neck. “I kept my Christmas Eve pancakes down, so that’s progress.”

I lay a hand on her knee and squeeze. “That’s excellent news.” I was actually wondering how she’s been holding up without Big Papa. But if she wants to talk about breakfast instead of her feelings, I completely understand. They were together for most of her life. That’s a loss I can’t even imagine.

“How about you, dear?” She pats my hand. “A little birdy told me there might be a new man in your life.” She peeks around the room and lowers her voice. “That little birdy is your mother.”

Shocker.

“Nope.” My insides churn. But for Big Mama’s sake, I’ll force a smile, even if it makes my face crack off. “No man for me.” Churn. Smile. Crack. “But I did get a new job I’m pretty excited about. More like a promotion. At the newspaper.”

“The Chronicle.” She beams.

“Exactly.” My smile suddenly feels less forced. “I started there years ago as an unpaid intern. Now I’m a department head.”

“Well, isn’t that wonderful. Rewarding work is so important for a smart young woman like you. Whether that work is in the home or somewhere else.” She stares off into the distance like she’s calling up the past. “I was a librarian at the Abieville Library for years. Did you know that, dear?”

“I did know, yes.” My smile is genuine now. “I always thought that was pretty great.”

“Well, I caused quite the stir back then.” She clucks.Ahhhh. That’s where my mom gets it. “Keeping my job after Remy was born wasn’t the norm in Abieville,” she says. “But I loved the library, and I loved my daughter, and I didn’t want to leave either of them. So I just brought the baby to work with me.” She raises a wispy eyebrow, remembering. “Eventually everyone got used to her. Remy was our little library mascot.”

And now I’m grinning. “I don’t think I’ll be bringing any babies toThe Chronicle. It’s not exactly a family friendly office.”

“Then that’s probably wise.” She shifts her focus back to me. “The important thing to remember is you’ve got choices, Kasey. You can do anything. Be anything. Have anything. Your heart just has to want it badly enough.” She reaches out to clasp my hand. “The world is your oyster, dear. Just be sure to choose therightoyster.”

My stomach clenches at the metaphor. Big Mama couldn’t possibly know how hard my choices have been this week. Or could she? Either way, she seems a whole lot sharper than Mom led me to believe. I take a deep breath and let it leak out slowly.

“What is it, dear?” she asks.

“I don’t know.” I shake my head. “I guess I wish choosing could be easier.”

“Ah. Well.” She shrugs. “Whenever I can’t decide, I just order one of each oyster on the menu.” Her eyes begin to sparkle. “Sometimes I end up eating a dozen by myself, but at least I never have regrets.”

“Hold on. Is this still an oyster metaphor? Or are you talking about oysters for real now?”

“Maybe both.” She blinks at me. “I’m just glad you’re home for Christmas.”

Over the next half hour, the rest of Big Mama’s family trickles in. Aunts. Uncles. Cousins. Even Ford, who worked the overnight shift, so when he falls asleep in a corner chair, nobody tries to wake him. Letty and Three and Nella take turns handing out Big Mama’s gifts. Everyone knows what’s in the boxes, but we all act surprised anyway.

According to tradition, we open gifts in order from youngest to oldest, which means Daisy—the only great grandchild at this point—goes first. We all ignore her no-talking thing, engaging in one-sided questions and answers. I love that about us. Weird is normal for my family. Plus my mom talks enough for all of us.

After we’ve hung our new ornaments on the cousins’ tree, Mom splits us up into different rooms to change into our new pajamas. They’re all Buddy-the-Elf themed, with bright green tops and yellow bottoms. Quotes from the movie are printed across the backside. We do our usual fashion show, walking the “runway” in front of the tree, reading the quotes out loud.

Tess got:Smiling’s my favorite!

Darby has:What’s your favorite color?

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