Lucy pointed to Courtney. “Oh, and the Yearly Plan.”
“Okay,” Rachel said, holding her hands up, begging them to stop before they started talking about her house cleaning list or her closet organization. She’d always loved being organized. But after what felt like a very long, grueling fight with cancer before her last scan six months ago showed no cancer, when practically everything had been out of her control, she craved being in control now more than ever.
And, okay, she had been noticing lately that it maybe wasn’t always the best mindset to have, especially because she didn’t want Aiden to miss out on things. Which was the only reason she was entertaining her friends’ bet. “Can we get back on topic?”
“Yes,” Courtney gave a single nod. “Like I mentioned when I first gave you the book—monthsago—I think a year of saying yes to things is too much. Baby steps are good. Are you ready to have a Christmas Season of yes?”
Rachel swallowed down her worries. “Yes.”
“You don’t have to say yes to the same thing more than once. This is all about trying new things and opening yourself up to new possibilities. If you try something and hate it, you’re not obligated to say yes again.”
Rachel nodded. That was good. She could do this.
“So you’ll say yes toeverythingthis Christmas?” Lucy asked like she was trying to get her to swear under oath or something.
“I mean not everything. I still have to be a responsible parent.”
Courtney cocked her head. “Do you, though? Hear me out. Let’s say Aiden wants dessert for dinner. Is saying yes one time going to be the worst thing ever and doom him to an adulthood of not being a productive member of society?”
Okay, okay. Perspective. That was what was going to get her through this season. Looking at the big picture. Because she wanted to say yes to more things. To live a bit more spontaneously. But she still wanted to be responsible.
“And you don’t have to say yes to anything dangerous,” Lucy said. “Like if a man dressed in a dark hoodie says, ‘Hey, you should walk down this shadowy, sketchy alley and I’ll sell you a knock-off Prada Galleria Saffiano Double-Zip Tote Bag for fifty bucks,’ you don’t have to say yes to that.”
“So I can say no to being ax murdered. Got it.”
“And who knows?” Lucy said. “Maybe one of those yeses will bring you to the man of your dreams.” She wagged her eyebrows.
That thought was laughable. “Do you really think now is the right time? When I’m so busy I can’t even seem to fit in something as quick as putting in earrings in the morning?”
Lucy lifted a shoulder in a shrug. “Love is like Jell-o. There’s always room for it.”
Courtney clapped her hands once. “We need stakes! I can’t believe we forgot the stakes. What happens if you don’t follow through, and what happens if you do? We can’t just have a bet for a bet’s sake. There has to be consequences.”
The three of them stood there in a circle—or, really, a triangle—looking at each other.
“If we were guys,” Rachel said, “we would already have this part figured out.”
Lucy raised a finger like she was pointing at the light bulb that just went off above her head. “I’ve got it! If you stick with it and say yes to everything that isn’t dangerous—”
“—at least once,” Court cut in.
“—then we will give you a day of pampering to die for. If you don’t, then we drive to the Wal-Mart in Littleton, go to the middle of the store, and you have to belt out Whitney Houston’sI Will Always Love Youat the top of your lungs. Deal?”
“And we get to film it,” Courtney said.
Rachel bit her lip. Could she commit that fully? She really couldn’t sing. At all. But that day of pampering did sound pretty glorious. And she really wanted to be more spontaneous, so maybe having something as motivation like belting out a song that no one other than Whitney Houston or Dolly Parton could pull off might be just what she needed.
Her eyes went from Courtney to Lucy, back and forth, as she tried to decide if she could. Then she tried to shake all her fears out of her head and let herself make the crazy choice. “Deal. The bet is on!”
As soon as Court’s and Lucy’s cheers died down a bit, she said, “And guess what the first thing is that I’m saying yes to? Getting that wreath at The Home Improvement Store that Aiden was begging me to buy. I’ve already called the babysitter to see if she can stay a few minutes longer.”
Courtney gave Lucy a look before turning her gaze back to Rachel. “I see you’re living large already.”
Itwasliving large. For her. She glanced down at her watch. “Oh—I’ve got to go! I am so behind schedule!”
When Rachel gotto the last stoplight before Main Street, she pulled up the Daily List on her phone. She had so much to do. Being a single parent was hard all year, but it was especially hard at Christmastime. She took a deep breath. She could be a good mom to Aiden and still get everything done.
When the light changed to green, she turned onto Main Street. It wasn’t completely dark yet, but the lights that draped overhead from one side of the street to the other were on, and all the Christmas decorations in front of the shops were lit with their own lights. It reminded her that she hadn’t managed to get her decorations up yet.
