He said the same thing every year. And, as she did every year, Mom rolled her eyes and waved away the compliment. “Hurry up and say grace, John, before the natives get restless.”
Dad complied, and the second he was finished the guys were all reaching for food. For the next few minutes, everyone concentrated on filling his or her plate and the conversational landscape was sparse.
Slowly, the time-honored topics surfaced. Which teams were going to the Super Bowl? How Grandpa would have loved to see this growing gang at the table, and, speaking of growing, had Tara and Corey settled on a name for the baby yet? Say, was this a new recipe for candied yams?
“Oh, I just haven’t made it in a while,” said Mom.
“Was it in the recipe book you gave me when we got married?” asked Tara.
“I think so,” said Mom. “If not, let me know and I’ll e-mail it to you.”
“I want it, too,” put in Gwinnie.
“Don’t worry. You’ll get it, along with all the other family recipes, when you get married,” Mom said absently, and then looked like she wished she could swallow her tongue.
An awkward silence landed on the table and camped there. Eyes shot this way and that, everywhere but Kiley’s direction. She was aware of Gwinnie regarding her nervously and Jeremy once again trying to loosen that invisible tie, and suddenly felt a lump in her throat the size of a golf ball, but she gamely scooped up a forkful of mashed potatoes and oh-so-calmly inserted them in her mouth.
Grandma came to the rescue. “Recipes might make a nice Christmas present for both our girls. I’ve been thinking it’s time I parted with the one for my Christmas cake.”
“I’d love to have that,” Tara said eagerly, obviously happy to help steer the conversation in a safer direction.
Kiley kept her eyes on her mashed potatoes.
After dinner the men cleared the table and vanished into the kitchen to wash dishes, while the women lingered over their coffee. Kiley wished she didn’t have to linger. Once the kitchen was clean the gang would be off to work up an appetite for pie by playing football. She had no appetite, for either pie or football. How soon till she could leave?
Wait a minute, she thought. Why should you be the one to leave? The ones to go should be Gwinnie and Jeremy. They’re the problem, not you. She looked across the table to see Gwinnie gnawing her lower lip and watching her, hoping for absolution.
She turned her head.
A few moments later, Corey was leading the pack from the kitchen. He clapped his hands together and rubbed them eagerly. “Okay, who’s ready to get their ass kicked?”
“By who?” retorted Zach, who was now right behind his cousin.
Corey loomed over him. “By me, dude.” He cocked his head, motioning for Kiley to follow. “Come on, Road Runner. You’re on my team.”
Now Kiley could see Jeremy smiling at Gwinnie. “Come on, Gwin,” he said.
She shot a look in Kiley’s direction. “I don’t want to.”
“Oh, no,” said Zach, hauling her up. “Everybody plays, even sissy girls.”
“I want to play,” piped Beau.
“Another couple of years, bud,” his father said, rumpling his hair.
“But I want to play, too,” he whined.
“Me, too,” put in his twin.
“Aw, let ’em,” said Zach. “Like you said, everybody plays.”
“Okay, then. But don’t trample ’em,” Corey added, pointing a warning finger at Zach.
Tara had come out in time to hear the tail end of the discussion and quickly vetoed her husband’s decision. “Some games are for grown-ups and bigger boys. When you’re a little bigger you can go,” she told the boys firmly. “Anyway, Grandpa and Uncle Al need you two to stay here and play with them so they won’t get bored.”
“We’re going to play some Wii bowling,” added Dad, and that was all it took to change the twins’ minds about football.
“Maybe I’ll stay and play, too,” said Kiley. Then she wouldn’t have to watch Jeremy stealing kisses and hugging Gwinnie, like he used to do with her.
“Oh, no,” said Corey, pulling her away from the table. “You’re coming, too. Tara can’t play this year, Dad’s back is trashed, and Uncle Al’s knee hurts. If you don’t come we won’t have enough people.”
It was useless to protest. Kiley went to change. Unlike Gwinnie, who made a production out of everything, it didn’t take her long. In comfortable sweats and with her hair caught up in a big bush of a sloppy bun, she felt more like herself. But she didn’t look like much, especially when she compared herself to her sister, whose outfit was tight and pink and made her look like a cupcake. Jeremy had obviously done plenty of comparing himself, Kiley thought miserably as Corey loaded her into his car.
The cousins piled into the backseat, leaving Gwinnie and Jeremy to follow in Jeremy’s car.
“Okay, what was that stunt about?” Corey demanded as soon as the door was shut.
She tried to play dumb. “What?”
“Hiding at home with Mom and Dad won’t help you get past this,” he continued.
“Yeah,” put in Mark. “Anyway, if you ask me you had a lucky escape.”
Some lucky escape. She got out with a broken heart.
“Really,” added Zach in disgust. “The guy is a doof.”
She turned in her seat to look at him. “What do you mean, he’s a doof?”
Zach shrugged. “He just is, Kile. You can do better.”
“Well, if he’s such a doof why didn’t any of you say something when we were first dating?”
“Like you’d have wanted to hear?” retorted Corey.
“Anyway,” Mark added with a shrug, “he didn’t seem like a total doof back then. But now that he’s dumped you and taken up with Gwinnie…” Mark didn’t finish the sentence, just shook his head.
“He runs like a duck,” said Zach.
“Wears a Polo shirt to play football,” Corey added with a snort.
He and the cousins were all in old jeans and ripped T-shirts, which they filled out with well-built pecs and abs. Compared to them Jeremy looked…small. And inferior.
Except he wasn’t. He was sweet and thoughtful and loved to go to movies. Okay, so he’d never had any desire to run with her. They still had lots of fun together. At least they used to.
“Look, Road Runner,” said Corey. “I know this is hard, but you’ve got to believe us when we tell you that losing this clown is really a good thing. He’d have just turned out to be a starter husband for you. He wouldn’t have been enough to keep you happy all your life.”
“Hell, he won’t even be enough for Gwinnie,” cracked Zach.
“That’ll never last,” Mark agreed. “This guy doesn’t know what he’s doing. By next Thanksgiving he’ll be history.”
What were they saying? “You think he’ll dump Gwinnie?”
“Bank on it,” said Corey with a sad shake of the head.
“If she doesn’t dump him first,” said Zach. “So this year we may as well have some fun,” he added with an evil grin that didn’t bode well for Jeremy.
Even though she was still mad at her sister, Kiley felt a moment of concern. The men in her family didn’t always stay in touch with their feminine sides and if they decided to punish Jeremy it would be sure to upset Gwinnie.
“You guys…” she began.
“Don’t worry,” Corey said easily, cutting off her protest. “We won’t hurt him. Much.”
Sure enough. As soon as they got to the field and started playing Jeremy became a tackling dummy. Kiley winced each time he got shoved and pelted with the football. “Sorry, man,” said Zach with a smirk, after a bruising that made Kiley wince.
Finally, when Corey took Jeremy down, landing on top of him, a red-faced Gwinnie accused, “You’re not supposed to tackle. You’re trying to hurt him!”
“That was an accident,” protested Mark. “Corey tripped.”
Gwinnie burst into tears. “You’re all being mean.�
��
Jeremy limped over to her and put an arm around her shoulder. “It’s okay, Gwin. I’m fine.”
“No, it’s not.” She glared at the others, hands on hips. “You guys don’t have any right to treat Jeremy like this.”
“Oh, yeah?” retorted Mark. “Well, maybe you didn’t have any right to treat Kiley the way you treated her.”
The tears were streaming down Gwinnie’s perfect face now. “You don’t understand. We didn’t plan on falling in love. We didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
“You did, Gwin,” Corey said quietly. “And you never thought about how hard it might be for Kiley today.”
“I did so! And it’s been hard for me, too.” Gwinnie buried her face in her hands and began to cry in earnest.
Watching her, Kiley felt heartsick. What a mess. And maybe some of it was her fault. She should have hugged her sister when she first arrived, been friendly to Jeremy, acted like she didn’t care. Then everyone would have been happy and no one would be fighting.
“It’s okay,” she said, and hugged Gwinnnie.
Gwinnie, ever the drama queen, threw her arms around Kiley and upped the tear production. “Please don’t hate me, Kiles. I love him. I can’t help it.”
“Oh gawd, I’m gonna puke,” drawled Zach.
“You are such a spoiled brat,” Corey told Gwinnie in disgust and Jeremy, who should have jumped in to defend her, stood there with a spine like a cooked noodle.
He could have said, Don’t blame Gwinnie. This is all my fault. I’m sorry I’ve screwed up your Thanksgiving and your family. Why wasn’t he saying something? Maybe he didn’t want Gwinnie to be upset any further. Or maybe he was a doof. Or maybe Kiley was just bitter.
“This is lame,” said Mark. “We may as well go back and eat pie.”
And so, for the first time ever, the game ended on a sour note.
Back at the house, Dad and Uncle Al were playing Wii with the twins while Pansy yapped encouragement. The women were still parked at the dining room table, visiting. Corey and the cousins went to the punch bowl to rehydrate, Jeremy went to sponge off his dirty pants, and Gwinnie plopped onto the couch to pout.
Kiley decided she’d had enough fun for one day. She gave her mother a kiss on the cheek and said, “I’m going to take off.”
“Already?” protested her aunt.
“I think I’m getting a migraine,” she lied. Her mother studied her with concern and she felt her face warming under the scrutiny.
Thankfully, Mom didn’t ask her what was wrong. Instead, she rose and led Kiley to the kitchen, saying, “Well, then, let’s get you some pumpkin pie to take home.” Once it was just the two of them, Mom said, “I’m sorry this day has been so hard for you, sweetie, but I’m proud of you for being brave enough to come.”
She hugged Kiley, and that broke the dam. “How am I going to get over this, Mom?” cried Kiley, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I still want him. And I hate her. I know she’s my sister, but I hate her.”
“I know,” Mom said softly, patting her shoulder. “Right now you do. But this ugly storm will blow over, I promise.”
“When?” Kiley cried. “When will I see a rainbow? It’s not that I don’t want Gwinnie to be happy. But why does she have to buy her happiness with my misery? My God, Mom, it’s been one thing after another this year. I wish I could catch even a glimpse of happiness.”
Her mother took Kiley’s tear-stained face in her hands and gave her the kind of bracing look only mothers can master. “I know you’ve had a double whammy, but you are a strong young woman, and a good one, and goodness never goes unrewarded.” With those words of wisdom and a ton of leftovers, her mother escorted her safely to the front door.
Kiley drove away with a sore heart, the image of Jeremy sitting on the couch next to a pouting Gwinnie and looking miserable imprinted on her brain. Good. Misery loves company.
“You had a lucky escape,” she told herself for what felt like the millionth time. A man who could swear undying love to one woman and then dump her in a heartbeat for her sister wasn’t a keeper. She should feel sorry for Gwinnie. And she would, if she ever got past feeling sorry for herself.
Back home she settled in with her cat, Furina, to watch a DVD and gorge on pumpkin pie. But even though the movie was a holiday favorite it couldn’t hold her attention, and the pie tasted like ashes.
She finally gave up on both, took a shower, and went to bed.
Sleep wasn’t kind to her. Instead of letting Kiley sink into dark oblivion, it tortured her. She dreamed she stood in a church festooned with flowers and full of people as Gwinnie’s bridesmaid, and instead of a gown, she wore a clown suit. On the other side of her sister stood Jeremy, resplendent in a ringmaster’s red tuxedo and a black top hat. He leaned across Gwinnie and told Kiley, “I never wanted you.”
All the wedding guests started laughing, and chanting, “He never wanted you.”
“He did!” Kiley insisted, and Gwinnie reached over and grabbed her big, red clown nose, making it honk.
Her eyes popped open and she sat up with a gasp, scaring Furina off the bed. She let out a calming breath and pushed her hair out of her eyes. Get a grip. She scolded herself. It was just a dream. Just a stupid, pie-induced dream. She looked at her bedside clock. Three a.m. Good grief.
Time for a bathroom break. Then she’d go back to sleep, continue the dream, and give her sister a big kick in the butt with her clown shoe.
The little snow globe seemed to call to her as she passed her dresser. “You were a waste of money,” she told it.
Waste of money or not, she couldn’t resist the urge to jiggle it.
Wait a minute. What was going on here?
Four
Kiley blinked in disbelief. The scene in the snow globe had changed. She still saw a toyshop, but this one appeared to be in Seattle, in what looked like the Pike Place Market. A huge Christmas tree decorated with kites and dolls, and stuffed animals adorned this new toyshop window. And where was the angel? Maybe off having dinner at Ivar’s.
Her eyes were playing tricks on her, that was it. She shook the globe again, stirring up a fresh snowfall, and watched the same toyshop with the toy-laden tree in the window emerge as the storm subsided. What did it mean?
Once back in bed, she snuggled under the covers and thought about the story the antique shop owner had told her about the snow globe’s history. What was it trying to tell her? She suspected she wouldn’t know until she found that toyshop.
Come morning, she awoke to realize something was missing. It was the heaviness that had been pressing on her heart for the last few weeks. Gone just like that. Now, there was a miracle!
She threw off the covers and padded to the dresser to visit the snow globe. The modern toyshop she’d seen was gone and the angel and the Alpine village were back. She reached out for the snow globe, then pulled back her hand. Of course, she’d dreamed what she saw the night before. Why disappoint herself by picking it up? She’d only ruin her good mood.
She slipped into her reflective running gear and did her usual three-mile morning run. It was seven-thirty and normally Kinnear Street would be bustling with cars. Every day she saw the bus on its way downtown and other joggers out on the street. But the early-bird shoppers were already at the stores today and everyone else in the civilized world was either still off visiting relatives or sleeping in. All she had for company this nippy morning was the sound of her breathing accompanied by the rhythmic pounding of her feet. She cleared her mind of everything but the sensation of fresh morning air and the pumping of her heart. After a mile, however, her mind began to wake up, and soon two words danced in time with every footfall. Why not?
Of course, it was silly to shake the snow globe again looking for some fairy-tale adventure. She’d been in a dream state when she saw that vision. What was the point in looking for something that wasn’t real? She might as well plan to wait up for Santa on Christmas Eve. But…
Why not?
; As soon as she got back home, she abandoned her earlier resolve, and picked up the snow globe and jiggled it. Her breath caught when the snow settled. There it was again. Okay, she told herself, It’s broad daylight and I’m wide awake so I’m not dreaming. But she could be going crazy.
There was only one way to find out. She showered and made a protein drink with a banana mixed in for good measure. Then she parked on the couch with her drink and her laptop and began an Internet search. If there was a toyshop at the Pike Place Market, she’d find it.
She was barely into her search when her cell phone rang.
“Are you at the mall with your family?” asked Allison.
“Noooo. Yesterday was enough for a while.”
“Oh. How’d it go?”
“Well, it wasn’t fun,” Kiley said. “But you know what? I think I’m over the Jeremy flu.”
“The fever broke, huh?”
“Yes, it did.”
“I’m glad,” said Allison. “He doesn’t deserve you.”
“That’s pretty much what Corey and the cousins think. And you know what, I think they’re right.” Kiley couldn’t help smiling when she remembered how they had enjoyed pummeling her ex. Sick puppy that she was, she rather enjoyed the memory of it now. “How was your Thanksgiving? Do I dare ask?”
“No big fights.”
“That’s an improvement over last year,” said Kiley, staying positive. “How long did you last with the wicked stepmother and the crazies?”
“An hour and a half. And she’s not wicked. She’s just…clueless and self-absorbed.”
It amounted to the same thing as far as Kiley was concerned. “Anyway, that checks off family togetherness until Christmas,” said Allison. “Speaking of Christmas, how about going to Northgate with me? I want to make a dent in my shopping list.”
“Actually, I may be doing some shopping, but not at the mall.”
“Online?” Allison guessed.
“No, closer to downtown. Actually, I’m on a quest.”
“Yeah? For what?”
“Promise you won’t laugh?”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because it’s going to sound crazy.” Actually, it was, but, crazy or not, she had to find that toyshop and see what it had for her.
The Snow Globe Page 3