rubbed my hand on my pants so it could thaw out.
Mom exhaled loudly. “Sorry, Kenzie. David’s just got me all crazy.”
“Clearly,” I muttered under my breath. The light with the faulty wiring flickered above me, casting an eerie glow on the white walls.
“It’s just that you don’t know him the way I do. He’s bad news, Kenzie. If he’s back there’s got to be a reason. And knowing him, it’s not a good one.”
“So there’s not even the slightest possibility that he came back just for me?” I leaned my back against the counter. It was sticky and melded to my shirt.
Mom’s heavily made-up face softened. She blinked her lashes at me. They reminded me of spiders because of all the black mascara stuck to them. Pursing her ruby red lips, she ran a finger through my hair. “Oh, Kenzie. I’m sorry. I know how much you want your dad in your life. But believe me, he’s the one missing out. Not you.”
I nodded. It wasn’t the answer I wanted from her. However, I knew she meant well. Under the circumstances it was the best she could do.
“What do you say we go get a Christmas tree.”
I felt like I’d just endured whiplash with the major shift in conversation. Besides, we never got a tree this early in the season. Usually Mom brought home a scrawny tree on Christmas Eve from the lot across the street from her salon, because they gave them away for free. We would string a strand of lights on it and a couple of those ball ornaments. Christmas was never a big deal at our house. Mom didn’t believe in Jesus, so it wasn’t like we celebrated that. And we never had enough money to get very many presents.
“Why the sudden interest in a tree?” I asked.
Mom groaned. “I’m trying here, okay, Kenzie. Just once can’t you let me do something nice for you without getting all crabby about it?”
“Sorry. I was just asking.”
“I know Christmas is a big deal to people like you.”
I furrowed my brows. “Christians, you mean?”
“Uh-huh. So I thought we should have a real celebration this year.”
As weird as the whole thing was, I actually got excited. A real Christmas with a tree and presents sounded fun. My spirits lifted a little. I smiled. “Okay. Thanks Mom.”
“Not bad, huh?” Mom crossed her arms over her chest and appraised the tree. After going to the lot, we stopped at the store and picked up some ornaments and new lights. The white lights twinkled amongst the forest green needles, and the shiny ornaments sparkled.
“Not bad at all.” I sighed with contentment when I looked at the top of the six-foot tree at the star that I picked out. It was perfect.
Mom’s arm draped over my shoulders. She gave me a light squeeze. “I’m glad you like it, honey.”
I rested my head against her. “I love it, Mom.”
“I’m sorry that I cancelled our trip to California.”
I stood up straight, eyeing her. Mom rarely said sorry for anything. “You are?”
“Yeah. I never should have done that. I tried to re-schedule the trip, but now Mom is flying to her sister’s for the holiday.”
“Yeah, Grandma mentioned how excited she is to see her. I guess it’s been awhile.” It struck me that I had never even met my great-aunt. I wondered if she was anything like Grandma. “It’s okay. I don’t think I could handle being around Isaac right now, anyway.”
Mom nodded. “Still, the things I said and did, I feel bad about them.”
I wondered how much she was apologizing for. Did she remember the things she had said when Wesley had taken possession of her?
“Religion isn’t that bad. In fact, you’ve been a much different person since the summer. You’ve settled down and made better choices. I shouldn’t have tried to discourage that.”
My mouth dropped. I never thought I’d hear that from Mom. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. But it will be.”
Before I could process what she meant by that, Mom said, “We better clean up this mess.”
Pine needles riddled the
Mom exhaled loudly. “Sorry, Kenzie. David’s just got me all crazy.”
“Clearly,” I muttered under my breath. The light with the faulty wiring flickered above me, casting an eerie glow on the white walls.
“It’s just that you don’t know him the way I do. He’s bad news, Kenzie. If he’s back there’s got to be a reason. And knowing him, it’s not a good one.”
“So there’s not even the slightest possibility that he came back just for me?” I leaned my back against the counter. It was sticky and melded to my shirt.
Mom’s heavily made-up face softened. She blinked her lashes at me. They reminded me of spiders because of all the black mascara stuck to them. Pursing her ruby red lips, she ran a finger through my hair. “Oh, Kenzie. I’m sorry. I know how much you want your dad in your life. But believe me, he’s the one missing out. Not you.”
I nodded. It wasn’t the answer I wanted from her. However, I knew she meant well. Under the circumstances it was the best she could do.
“What do you say we go get a Christmas tree.”
I felt like I’d just endured whiplash with the major shift in conversation. Besides, we never got a tree this early in the season. Usually Mom brought home a scrawny tree on Christmas Eve from the lot across the street from her salon, because they gave them away for free. We would string a strand of lights on it and a couple of those ball ornaments. Christmas was never a big deal at our house. Mom didn’t believe in Jesus, so it wasn’t like we celebrated that. And we never had enough money to get very many presents.
“Why the sudden interest in a tree?” I asked.
Mom groaned. “I’m trying here, okay, Kenzie. Just once can’t you let me do something nice for you without getting all crabby about it?”
“Sorry. I was just asking.”
“I know Christmas is a big deal to people like you.”
I furrowed my brows. “Christians, you mean?”
“Uh-huh. So I thought we should have a real celebration this year.”
As weird as the whole thing was, I actually got excited. A real Christmas with a tree and presents sounded fun. My spirits lifted a little. I smiled. “Okay. Thanks Mom.”
“Not bad, huh?” Mom crossed her arms over her chest and appraised the tree. After going to the lot, we stopped at the store and picked up some ornaments and new lights. The white lights twinkled amongst the forest green needles, and the shiny ornaments sparkled.
“Not bad at all.” I sighed with contentment when I looked at the top of the six-foot tree at the star that I picked out. It was perfect.
Mom’s arm draped over my shoulders. She gave me a light squeeze. “I’m glad you like it, honey.”
I rested my head against her. “I love it, Mom.”
“I’m sorry that I cancelled our trip to California.”
I stood up straight, eyeing her. Mom rarely said sorry for anything. “You are?”
“Yeah. I never should have done that. I tried to re-schedule the trip, but now Mom is flying to her sister’s for the holiday.”
“Yeah, Grandma mentioned how excited she is to see her. I guess it’s been awhile.” It struck me that I had never even met my great-aunt. I wondered if she was anything like Grandma. “It’s okay. I don’t think I could handle being around Isaac right now, anyway.”
Mom nodded. “Still, the things I said and did, I feel bad about them.”
I wondered how much she was apologizing for. Did she remember the things she had said when Wesley had taken possession of her?
“Religion isn’t that bad. In fact, you’ve been a much different person since the summer. You’ve settled down and made better choices. I shouldn’t have tried to discourage that.”
My mouth dropped. I never thought I’d hear that from Mom. “It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. But it will be.”
Before I could process what she meant by that, Mom said, “We better clean up this mess.”
Pine needles riddled the
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