Something bangs against the car window right near my ear. I scream and practically jump into Cherry’s arms. As much as I can with the center console between us. My cousin wraps her arms around me. “It’s just Nora.”
I twist to see my mother staring in at us. My heart pounds so hard I can’t quite catch my breath. “Why does she always have to be so damn aggressive?”
“Hurry up,” Mom shouts through the glass. “We’re all waiting for you inside.”
Cherry’s laugh is a soft breath against my ear. “We better go in and save Peach.”
I groan and shift away from Cherry. “Remind me why we’re doing this?”
Mom bangs on the window again. “Come on. Let’s go. It’s freezing out here.”
“We’ll be right there,” Cherry yells at my Mom. Then she focuses on me, her expression serious. “I get it, Blue. You don’towe Nora a damn thing. But Peach wants this, and Nora’s really been trying. Last week, I saw her at a boutique in town and she didn’t shoplift anything. She didn’t buy anything, but she didn’t steal anything either.”
I sigh as I pull the handle on my door. “People don’t change, Cherry. Nora’s playing nice now, but she’ll be back to her old ways as soon as Milo dumps her or she runs out of money.” And she’ll break Peach’s heart along the way just to make herself feel better if her old patterns continue.
Cherry doesn’t have an answer to that, probably because she knows I’m right. Cherry’s had more than a few issues with her own mother.
“What were you two doing out here for so long?” Mom asks as soon as I step out of the car. “You’re already late and Milo has plans later tonight.”
“I didn’t realize we had to be here by a certain time.” I’m really getting tired of being yelled at by everyone. “And I thought this was supposed to just be us, no partners. Why is Milo even here?”
“I asked him to be here. He’s part of the family now.”
“You can’t be serious about him, Mom. He’s nowhere near rich enough for marriage.”
Mom narrows her eyes, even as she’s shivering in her leggings, over-sized sweater, and boots with sky-high heels. “Milo is a very good man, Blue, and I won’t have you ruining this for me.” She leans closer. “He’s from a very wealthy family. He could change our lives. You will be polite to him.”
“Blue is always polite.” Cherry links her arm through mine and starts walking toward the small house. “It’s almost like you don’t know your own daughter.”
“Cherry Reid,” Nora says. “I changed your diapers. I don’t need that kind of sass from you.”
“So sorry, Aunt Nora,” Cherry says as she hurries us up the porch steps. “I forgot the rule about not sassing people who’vewiped poo off your butt. Though I’m pretty sure your nanny was the only one changing diapers back then.”
Cherry drags us through the front door before Mom can say anything else. She won’t say anything in front of Milo, who’s seated at the small dining room table with Peach, both of them with mugs in front of them.
“You’re here.” Peach gets up from the table with a smile, but it’s strained. We’ve left her alone too long with Nora and Milo.
“We’re here and ready for fun,” Cherry shimmies over to Peach and hugs her.
Peach smiles at me over Cherry’s shoulder as I join in and make it a group hug.
“It smells good in here,” I say, my stomach rumbling. When was the last time I ate?
“I made Christmas cookies.” Peach pulls free of us as the oven dings. “I’ll be right back.”
She hurries into her kitchen, leaving us alone with Milo and Mom, who sashays over to the table and sits on Milo’s lap. “The girls were in the car chatting. If I hadn’t brought them in here, they’d probably have stayed out there all night.”
Milo smiles up at us, one hand sliding down to cup my mother’s ass. He’s younger than me, and I still haven’t figured out what the hell he sees in her. My mom’s in great shape and she’s always up for a party, but there’s no way she keeps up with a guy in his early twenties. “It’s good to see you both. How’s the mayor’s office treating you, Blue?”
My smile is pinched. I can feel it, but I can’t change it. Milo knows everyone in this town. I’m sure he knows exactly how it’s going for me. “It’s great. Where should we start with the decorating?”
“I got the tree up.” Milo smiles, his expression exuding pride. “Nora has boxes and boxes of decorations, and I have no idea what she wants to do next.”
Mom looks at her perfectly manicured nails like she’s bored. “This is all Peach’s idea. Ask her.”
Peach comes back into the room. She’s wearing a ridiculously ugly Christmas sweater with jeans that are a shade of green to perfectly match her sweater. “I don’t have a plan for decorating,” she says. “Just rip into a box and start. I want this to be a new family tradition where we all go to each other’s houses and help decorate every December.”
Instead of pointing out that everyone in this room except me already shares a home with a partner or will by next year, I go to the first box and open it. Inside is a porcelain Christmas village I remember from my childhood. I was sure Mom would have gotten rid of this in her many moves, but here it is, bundled carefully in bubble wrap.
