Molly was pooped and her feet hurt. The last thing she wanted was to go out. But when Arianna had called she was insistent that Molly go out to dinner with her and her new friend Sunny.
“You can rest your feet at Horse and Cow,” she’d said.
So here they were, in the popular pub that had been part of downtown Bremerton for seventy years. It was small and noisy but offered plenty of atmosphere, displaying all kinds of submarine memorabilia as a tribute to the city’s naval history. And it served the best burgers in town.
With her blond hair and happy smile, Sunny was well named. Molly was instantly charmed.
And felt old next to these two, especially when Sunny talked about doing a repeat of Christmas with a party in January. “It could be so much fun,” she enthused.
“And so much work,” Molly said. This all sounded like a pain in the posterior.
“Not necessarily. If we all pitched in,” Sunny argued.
“Or if we went somewhere,” said Arianna. “Like up to the mountains.”
A whole day driving up to the mountains, wandering around in the cold. “You two have fun. I don’t ski.”
“Me, neither,” said Sunny, “but I like to go inner tubing.”
“I’d probably fall off,” Molly said and Arianna frowned in disapproval over her lack of enthusiasm. “Plus, it would take hours just getting there.”
“But your granddaughter would love it,” said Arianna.
“She’d love going to a movie, too. And I can sit through that.” Their hamburgers arrived and Molly dug into hers.
“What if we went somewhere nearby?” Sunny said. She snapped her fingers. “Ice-skating!”
“There’s no rink here,” said Arianna.
“There is in Edmonds. We catch the Kingston Ferry and it’s only a quick ride away. I bet Sophie would love it.”
“So would Paisley,” said Arianna, looking at Molly.
“I wouldn’t have to skate, would I?” Molly asked.
“You can take pictures,” Arianna told her.
“I could do that,” Molly said.
And, after her holiday slacking, her daughter would be thrilled to see her doing more activities with Paisley. Maybe Ava would come, too.
“It would be a great Christmas do-over,” Sunny said, and chomped on a French fry.
“I’m all about trying again,” said Arianna. “I need some holiday happiness. I have a whole year worth of misery to make up for.”
“This could be a good start,” Sunny said.
“Maybe it will be enough to hold me through February,” Arianna said, and frowned. “That’s going to be a fun month, with Valentine’s Day to look forward to.”
Sunny turned thoughtful. “What if you had something else to look forward to?”
“Christmas in February?” Molly joked. Oh, no. She could tell by their expressions that the other two were taking her seriously.
“Oh, yes!” Sunny enthused. “Let’s leave our trees up and decorate them for V-Day.”
“Heck, let’s leave them up in March and decorate them with shamrocks,” said Arianna.
“Let’s hire leprechauns to come clean our houses and bring us energy drinks,” Molly said. These two were getting out of control.
