In a way this is also a do-over for Christmas, since I spent it on bed rest at Evan’s apartment. We decided to put off moving into the brownstone until I was fully healed, so I could handle the stairs.
I’m now six weeks post-op. Fully recovered for the most part, but definitely have some nerve sensitivity near my scar.
Even so, Evan refuses to let me carry anything heavier than my purse into my father’s apartment. “¡Papi!” I shout as soon as I enter the apartment. I give him a quick kiss on the cheek, then head into the kitchen. “Can you tell Evan that I’m healed now, and he can stop acting like I’m a delicate flower.” I cross my arms over my chest as I lean onto the kitchen counter.
They exchange a comical glance. “Stop complaining. In a few weeks you’ll text me saying that he has you doing manual labor at the new house.” He waves me away as he brushes past me to grab a beer from the refrigerator.
Rude. Since when did these two becomebuddy buddy?
Quickly, the rest of the crew shows up.
Music is playing throughout the apartment and there is enough food to feed all of my father’s neighbors. There are a dozen small framed photos of my mother placed around the apartment for décor. She picked the photos and the frames. It makes me laugh how she made sure we were not left to our own devices when picking out photos to remember her by. All of the pictures are flattering, in good lighting, and from her best angles. The woman’s a genius.
There are even a few new faces at this party. We invited Luke and Maribel. One saved my life, and the other helped me get my man back. Maribel has also lost a spouse, so she was delighted to see us celebrating my mother’s life. Something she hopes to do for her late husband with her own kids.
Maggie is also here, and it’s nice to see Evan mingling with both of his parents after all of these years.
I’m about to get a refill on my wine, when one magically appears before me. “Truce?” Priscilla shrugs.
“Wine is better than an olive branch in my opinion.” I take the glass from her and smile.
Over the past month, Priscilla has sent over food, flowers and even offered to help clean our home, but we haven’t really spoken one-on-one since our blowout on my birthday.
“Look. I’m sorry … For being an asshole and all.” She laughs. “We’re too grown for this shit, and life is clearly too short to be fighting over literally nothing. I’d like to get a chance to know the grown up version of Amelia. The one I’ve been too busy filling in the blanks for. That is, if you’re also willing to get to know me. I’m a lot more versatile than you think. I don’t even date married men anymore.” She nudges my shoulder. “Which by the way, was a complete misunderstanding, but everyone was too busy sensationalizing it to listen to my version of events.” She sighs into her glass.
“Well I would love to hear the story if you ever want to chat about it. Over brunch maybe?”
She quirks an eyebrow. “Make it a boozy brunch, and I’m in.”
“Is there any other kind?” We clink glasses and laugh.
I feel an arm snake around my waist and squeeze my hip. “I swear this is only six ounces of wine, Evan. I’m sure I can hold up the weight of this glass just fine,” I playfully tease.
Evan shakes his head. “Yeah, yeah, c’mon. We’re going to play a few home videos now,” he says.
I still. “Do you think that’s a good idea? Last time we did that for dad’s birthday he got choked up.”
Evan kisses my head. “Don’t worry, your dad knows all about this video.” He winks, then guides me to the living room.
My dad is sitting on the center of the couch, looking a bit too giddy. Is he tipsy already? I take a seat next to him.
Evan calls everyone over, and they all sit in mixed matched chairs and stools. Nikki comes and sits on the floor near me.
She and Antonio have been acting weird ever since Evan and I convinced them to take that one-week vacation that Nikki and her ex, Justin, were supposed to take together.
Antonio got a paid two-week suspension after he rescued me. “Optics” is what his Captain claimed it to be. Either way, he was sulking about his promotion to detective being delayed with nothing to do, and Nikki was sad after her breakup. So Evan and I figured they both deserved a vacation over New Years Eve, regardless of the fact that they can barely stand each other.
But now they seem to be acting even more off than before. I make a mental note to remind myself to grill Nikki about it after she’s had one too many glasses of wine.
I’m pulled from my thoughts when I see Evan standing in the middle of the living room, by the TV.
“So, as some of you may remember, we tried to watch some home videos for Dr. Nuñez’s birthday last time we were here. But the poor man was still watching them on VHS.” Everyone laughs.
“I finally got the time to convert everything to digital, and I thought today would be the perfect day to share a certain clip with everyone, in honor of Anna’s celebration of life.” He smiles, then presses play. He stays standing beside the TV while the video starts.
It’s actually the same exact clip that we cut off last time we tried to watch.
It’s my mother in the kitchen…with Evan. I’m pretty sure this was his first Christmas with us, so he must have been fifteen at most.
