“Seriously, Mom?” Sandy asked. “How could you forget to tell him about Elsa? She’s part of the family!”
“Sorry, sweet pea,” Jessica replied. “It just slipped my mind.”
Ah-choo! Dad sneezed again. A look of concern flickered across Jessica’s face.
“Sandy,” she began.
It was like Sandy knew what Jessica was going to say next. She wrapped her arms even tighter around Elsa and shook her head.
“You’ll have to keep Elsa in your room while Tom is here,” Jessica said. Her voice was even—she didn’t sound mad or anything—but there was a no-arguing tone in it that was obvious to everyone.
Sandy didn’t move a muscle, and she didn’t say a word. The only sound was when Dad sneezed again.
A silent look passed between Jessica and Sandy for a long moment that was uncomfortable for everyone. Then, with a loud sigh, Sandy spun around and marched out of the room.
The next sound was the loud slam of a door.
Jessica shook her head. “Please excuse me,” she said before disappearing after Sandy.
Chloe hadn’t done anything wrong, but she still felt terrible. This was not how she had pictured her first meeting with Sandy and Jessica.
If only Dad wasn’t allergic—
If only Charlie hadn’t chased Elsa—
If only there was something Chloe could do to fix everything—
That’s when she had a great idea.
“Dad!” she said in an excited whisper. “Let’s go get the tree!”
“Now?” he asked, sounding uncertain. “Maybe we should wait until—”
Chloe shook her head. “No, when they get back, it will be really awkward,” she replied. “Jessica and Sandy are probably, like, fighting right now. But if we surprise them with the tree…”
“I see where you’re going with this,” Dad said. “I think the tree will be just what we need to bring back the Christmas spirit.”
“Great! Let’s go get it,” Chloe said.
A few minutes later, they returned with the tabletop tree. The scent immediately filled the room, making the cottage feel much more Christmassy.
“The little tree was a great idea, Chloe,” Dad told her. “They’re going to be so surprised.”
“I hope so,” Chloe replied. “Quick! Let’s see if we can get the lights on before Jessica and Sandy come back!”
The tree was small enough that Chloe and Dad were able to wrap the strand of lights around it in no time. Dad held the plug out to Chloe. “Would you like to do the honors?” he asked.
Chloe reached for the cord—but stopped herself just before she plugged it into the wall. “You know what? I think I’ll ask Sandy if she wants to plug in the tree,” she said.
Before Dad could respond, Chloe heard footsteps coming down the hall. Her heart sped up a little bit as Sandy and Jessica returned to the living room. More than anything, Chloe hoped that the little tree would be a fresh start, a way to help them get the trip back on track.
“What’s this?” Jessica asked.
“Surprise! It’s a little Christmas tree!” Chloe exclaimed. She immediately wished she’d said something—anything—else. Duh, of course it’s a little tree, Chloe thought. Way to state the obvious.
But she pushed on, hoping that she wouldn’t keep sounding so, well, desperate. And dumb.
“It doesn’t feel like Christmas without a tree,” Chloe continued. “So we—we thought we’d surprise you. Here—do you want to plug it in?”
Sandy stared at the cord in Chloe’s outstretched hand like she didn’t know what it was.
“We already have a tree,” Sandy finally said. “Back home. We already decorated it, too.”
Chloe dropped her hand, feeling even more embarrassed. Maybe Sandy is upset because this tree doesn’t even have any ornaments, she thought.
“I love this little tree!” Jessica said in happy voice that was maybe just a little too loud. “What a great surprise, Chloe and Tom! It’s just what our cottage needed. I can’t wait to decorate it!”
“We, um, we didn’t bring any ornaments, actually,” Chloe spoke up. “But I have a ton of stuff to make ornaments! It’s all here in this bag—sparkly paper and foil and ribbon and—”
“Mom,” Sandy said, staring straight at Jessica. Now Chloe was even more confused. Had she said something that upset Sandy? Or was Sandy still mad about Charlie and Elsa’s fight? Or the fact that Elsa had to stay in Sandy’s bedroom?
Chloe glanced uncertainly at her dad. He looked as confused as she felt. “Maybe the tree wasn’t such a great idea,” she said. “We can take it back to our cottage.”
“No!” Jessica insisted. “I love it. It was so thoughtful—the perfect surprise! And I’d love to make some ornaments with you, Chloe. Let’s see what you brought.”
With a shy, sideways glance at Sandy, Chloe brought over the bag of her best crafting supplies.
“Ooh, I love this glitter paper!” Jessica exclaimed. “The gold piece will be perfect for the star on top.”
“Check out this foil, too,” Chloe said, feeling heartened. “So easy—all we have to do is cut out circles and they’ll look like shiny Christmas orbs. Of course, my circles look more like squiggly ovals. I’m not so great at drawing—”
“You could use this.”
When Sandy spoke, everyone turned to her. She brought over the canister of kitty treats, which had a perfectly round lid.
“Yes!” Chloe exclaimed. “Just trace it and cut it out, right?”
Sandy nodded. “I think that will work.”
Sandy sat down in the chair across from Chloe and reached for a package of coffee filters. She held it up and made a funny face. “Is your tree hooked on caffeine?” she cracked.
“Not exactly,” Chloe said, smiling back. “I thought we could cut those into snowflakes.”
“Cool,” Sandy replied, reaching for the scissors.
“Who wants some hot cocoa?” Jessica suddenly asked. “We’ve got mini marshmallows and whipped cream!”
“Yum! I do,” Chloe said.
“Me too,” added Sandy.
“Tom, would you help me in the kitchen?” Jessica asked.
“The kitchen? Sure. Of course,” Dad said quickly.
As soon as they were out of the room, Sandy laughed under her breath. “Way to be obvious, Mom,” she said. Chloe laughed, too. Dad and Jessica hadn’t been very subtle.
“Bet you anything they’re talking about us right now,” Sandy added.
“Yeah. You’re probably right,” Chloe said. “I think they talk about us a lot, actually. After my dad sees your mom, he’s always like, ‘Sandy scored a three-pointer’ and ‘Sandy got a ribbon in the science fair.’”
Sandy stared intently at the coffee filter she was cutting. “My mom never tells me anything,” she said.
Whoops, Chloe thought. Just when things were getting better, she’d blown it—again. “My dad doesn’t tell me that much, honestly,” she said. “Just, like, your basketball games, mainly. I play, too.”
Sandy looked up, her eyes bright with curiosity. “Oh, yeah? Which position?”
“Guard,” Chloe replied.
“Cool. I’m a guard, too,” Sandy said.
Chloe already knew that, but she wasn’t going to tell Sandy. “Awesome,” she replied. “Are you on any other teams?”
“Nope. Basketball’s my favorite,” Sandy said.
There was an awkward pause. Chloe tried to think of another topic.
“I like to cook—do you?” she asked.
“Not really—that’s more my mom’s thing,” Sandy replied. “But… I like to watch people cooking.”
“Really?” Chloe replied. “Like, cooking shows?”
Sandy nodded. “I could watch them for hours,” she said. “Actually, I have watched them for hours! Last weekend, one of the food channels had a Christmas-cookie marathon—”
“I saw that!” Chloe exclaimed.
“I watched it
for, like, six hours!” Sandy told her.
“Me too!” Chloe said. “Then I was inspired to make florentines—you know, those lacy ones with the chocolate in the middle—”
“I remember! They looked so good. Were they delicious?”
“Well…” Chloe began. “They looked delicious, but I accidentally used baking chocolate instead of semisweet chocolate for the chocolate layer. They were so bitter, we couldn’t even eat them! I threw the whole batch away!”
“No! That’s tragic!” Sandy cried, cracking up. “I thought you liked to cook!”
“I do like to cook!” Chloe replied. “I never said I was any good at it!”
“Oh, no—look what I did,” Sandy said, holding up her coffee-filter snowflake. She’d laughed so hard that she had accidentally cut it in half—which made both girls laugh even harder.
Suddenly, Chloe stopped laughing. “Where’s Charlie?” she asked, glancing around the room. “Usually if I’m sitting down, he’s got his head on my feet.”
“Don’t worry,” Sandy told her. “He’s right here. He’s got his head on my feet.”
Chloe was so surprised she ducked under the table to see for herself. “Charlie! Don’t bother Sandy,” she scolded him. “Come here, boy.”
“It’s okay,” Sandy said quickly. “I don’t mind. He’s like my own personal foot warmer.”
“Okay… if you’re sure he’s not bothering you…” Chloe said as she returned to her seat.
“Nah, he’s a good boy,” Sandy said. “How old is he?”
“Nine,” Chloe said. “We got him after…”
“After what?” Sandy asked when Chloe’s voice trailed off.
“Oh. Sorry. I spaced out a little. After my… third birthday. Charlie was a Christmas present, actually,” Chloe said, quickly covering. Inside, though, she was yelling at herself to be more careful. She’d almost said after my mom died. Thankfully, though, Chloe had caught herself just in time. She knew from experience that there was no quicker way to derail a conversation than to mention her mom. Nobody ever knew what to say when they found out that her mom had died.
If Chloe was acting weird, Sandy didn’t seem to notice. “Nine? I can’t believe it! He still acts like a puppy!” she said.
“Actually, he has some health problems,” Chloe told her. “He got really sick last year and now he has to be on a special diet and take medicine every day.”
“Aww, poor Charlie,” Sandy said, reaching down to scratch his ears. “That must have been so scary.”
“It was awful,” Chloe agreed.
“I’ve been there with Elsa—but in her case, it was entirely her own fault,” Sandy replied.
“What do you mean?” asked Chloe.
“She likes to eat things she shouldn’t,” Sandy explained. “Ribbon or tinsel or string—stuff like that. That’s why…”
Sandy’s voice trailed off as she gestured at the small pile of ribbon she’d made on the table.
“Oh!” Chloe exclaimed. “Is that why you didn’t want to decorate the tree?”
Sandy nodded. “At least, not with ribbons,” she said. “One time when Elsa ate ribbon, it made her really sick. She almost needed surgery.”
“Yikes,” Chloe said, making a sympathetic face. “That’s terrible.” She impulsively reached forward and grabbed the ribbons, then shoved them in her backpack. “I’ll keep these zipped up until I can stash them at our cottage,” she promised. “We have plenty of other stuff for decorating the tree.”
Sandy flashed Chloe a grateful smile. “Thank you,” she said. “I love Elsa so much. If she got sick like that again…”
“I know exactly what you mean,” Chloe replied. She smiled at Sandy as her heart filled up with hope. The trip may have gotten off to a rocky start… but Chloe had a feeling it was only going to get better from here!
After the girls finished decorating the tree, Sandy turned to Chloe. “I was thinking,” she began. “You and Elsa didn’t really get to meet each other properly; everything was so… crazy. Do you want to come see her?”
“Definitely!” Chloe replied with a big smile. She didn’t want to jinx things, but Chloe couldn’t help thinking that she and Sandy were on the way to becoming friends. Maybe even best friends!
Chloe followed Sandy to her room. “Be ready,” Sandy said over her shoulder as she opened the door just a crack. “Elsa does not like being trapped. She’ll probably try to bolt.”
“I’m ready,” Chloe assured her.
In one fast motion, Sandy opened the door and knelt down to preemptively block Elsa from escaping. “Go, go, go, go!” she urged Chloe, who dissolved into giggles as she scrambled through the doorway. Sandy was right behind her, and both girls cracked up as they crashed onto the braided rug in the middle of the room.
Elsa, who was snuggled on a pillow on one of the twin beds the whole time, opened her eyes. She didn’t look impressed.
“She’s so pretty,” Chloe said. “Do you think she’d let me pet her?”
“Sure,” Sandy said. She reached over and pulled Elsa into her lap. “She’s actually very cuddly when she’s not being chased by a dog she’s never met before.”
Chloe’s smile faded.
“I’m joking!” Sandy quickly said. “Charlie’s a great dog. He just… got a little carried away. Here—do you want to hold her?”
“Yes!” Chloe exclaimed. She settled on the floor and held out her arms. Sandy carefully passed Elsa to Chloe.
“Oh! She’s purring!” Chloe said quietly so that she wouldn’t startle Elsa.
“She likes you,” Sandy said.
“You think so?” Chloe asked, resting her ear against Elsa’s fur. “Because I love her. I always wanted a cat, but… you know. My dad’s allergies.”
“That’s too bad,” Sandy said sympathetically.
“If he would get allergy shots, it would help a lot,” Chloe confided. “But my dad didn’t see the point, especially because I love dogs, too.” Then a knowing smile crossed her face. “Of course, he might be more interested in getting those shots now.”
Sandy reached over and pulled Elsa back into her lap. “Oh?” she said.
“Of course! My dad would do anything for your mom,” Chloe said. “He’s totally crazy about her! It would be, like, embarrassing if it wasn’t so sweet.”
Sandy didn’t answer.
“Trust me, he’s not about to let some little cat allergy get in the way,” Chloe said.
At last, Sandy spoke. “Get in the way of what?”
“Their relationship!” Chloe said. “They seem really happy together, huh? I mean, really happy. I wouldn’t be surprised if my dad asks your mom to marry him! Wouldn’t it—”
“Let me stop you right there,” Sandy interrupted. Her voice was colder than the icicles hanging from the eaves outside. “I have literally no idea what you’re talking about.”
Chloe blinked in confusion. “I—our parents—”
“No.” Sandy shut her down. “Absolutely not. I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but my parents are probably getting back together.”
“But—”
“And even if they weren’t, my mom would never marry your dad,” Sandy continued, talking right over Chloe. “He is definitely not her type.”
Chloe’s knuckles dug into the rug as she pushed herself off the floor. She walked to the door with perfect posture and steady steps, aware of every muscle in her body as she tried to will away the tears that stung her eyes. She wasn’t going to cry in front of Sandy. She wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction.
Because that was what Sandy wanted, right? Chloe couldn’t think of any other reason why she would be so, well, mean. She didn’t understand it. One minute, Sandy seemed sweet and fun and cool. The next minute, she was insulting Chloe’s dad, acting like he wasn’t good enough for her mom. Acting like her mom wouldn’t ever lower herself to date him—let alone get married.
Chloe paused in the hallway. Does Sandy know somethin
g I don’t know? she wondered. What if Jessica had told Sandy that she and Dad were just friends? What if—what if she’d told Sandy that she was going to break up with Dad? For a moment, Chloe felt sick. What if Dad was planning to propose someday—but Jessica was already planning to dump him?
It was too horrible to think about.
Chloe was sure of one thing, though. She wanted to leave Mistletoe Cottage and never look back. Dad and I can have our own fun weekend, she thought fiercely as she strode toward the living room. Who needs them?
“Dad, I want—” Chloe announced as she burst into the living room.
Then she stopped short.
There were Dad and Jessica, slow dancing in the light of the little Christmas tree. From where she was standing, Chloe could see Jessica better than Dad. Jessica’s head rested against his shoulder, her eyes were closed, and there was the happiest smile on her face. Even from across the room, Chloe could tell that there was nowhere Jessica would rather be.
So what was Sandy talking about?
Dad and Jessica stopped dancing, and Chloe wished she hadn’t interrupted them.
“Hey there, sweetie,” Dad said, a look of concern on his face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Chloe said, forcing herself to smile even as her face turned red. She’d never been good at lying. “I’m just—tired.”
“Tired?” Dad repeated as he crossed the room. “I hope you’re not coming down with something. Your face is flushed. Do you feel feverish?”
Chloe ducked away from Dad’s hand as he reached for her forehead. “No, I’m fine. Just tired,” she said. “I was so excited about the trip that I barely slept last night—remember?”
That part, at least, was true.
“Would it be okay if I go back to our cabin and rest for a while?” Chloe asked.
Jessica and Dad exchanged a glance. They always seemed to be talking without any words.
“I’m pretty tired, too,” Jessica said. “I was up late finishing a project for work so I could take a few days off. I’ll probably need to lie down for a while this afternoon… unless you want me falling asleep at the dinner table!”
Chloe smiled again. She could tell that Jessica was trying really hard to connect with her… and to lighten the mood.
Celebrate the Season--Let It Snow! Page 2