Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 97466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
“Ren,” I began.
“Othcah!” another voice cried. “Othcah, do you have cookieth?”
Lily and Mallory’s daughter Meryl looked up at me with bright eyes. Thankfully, Ren had enough patience at age five to not shove her out of the way, or maybe it was only because they were after two different things. I squatted down to their level and held Meryl’s little arm while I looked at Ren. “I didn’t bring Frank today. He had a late night and needed to get some sleep. But I told your mom she can bring you by after school one day for a visit, okay?”
He nodded politely before letting a big smile full of tiny teeth spread across his face. “Can I give him a mealworm too?”
“Ew, groth,” Meryl cried. “Nobody wikth to eat womth. I want cookieth.”
Ren ran off to find a spot at the kids’ table while Meryl gave me her big brown eyes. I bit back a laugh. “I don’t have any cookies, baby. But Gran probably has a sweet treat for you after you eat breakfast.”
Her face froze for a moment before she let out a big sigh and turned to follow Ren. Mallory found her and helped her find a seat as I stood up to find a spot for Hugh and me. Thankfully, there was still room away from the kids’ table.
Once we were settled in our seats, Hugh leaned in and murmured, “They love you.”
“They love hedgehogs and Thin Mints.”
He leaned even closer. I could smell my shampoo on his hair, and the memory of sharing a shower this morning made me light-headed. “They think you’re the best thing here.”
“They’re wrong,” I replied, turning to meet his eyes. Time slowed for a few beats. Hugh’s Adam’s apple took a slow up-down as his eyes searched mine. The truth was, Hugh was the best thing here. By a cosmic margin.
“You’re really lucky,” he said, swallowing again. “They’re all so wonderful.”
“I know it can be a lot,” I said. “And no one will expect you to remember names.”
Once Mallory settled Meryl, she took the seat next to Lily across the table from us. To Lily’s right sat Heath and Terezia. To Mallory’s left sat Birch’s brother, Lake, followed by Lake’s husband, Will. My mom had introduced Hugh to most everyone already, but I took a moment to lean over and point them out again when he said he wanted to try to learn them.
“I’ll have to know them for Hyacinth’s wedding anyway,” he said before taking a dish someone passed him.
It was an offhand comment that stopped me in my tracks. “H-Hyacinth’s…”
Hugh’s cheeks turned magenta. “I’m sorry. I didn’t… it…” He glanced around before leaning in and pressing his lips against my ear. “I just assumed you’d want me to go. So when your mom said something, I went along with it. I’m sorry.”
I reached over under the table to grab his hand. When I turned my head, I caught his lips with mine. “Please,” I whispered into them. “If you will.”
He nodded, and something in his expression softened. “Of course. What are boyfriends for?”
One of my siblings on Hugh’s other side offered him another dish, so he quickly served himself, and the meal began. As usual, the chatter around the table was varied and loud, full of laughter and good-natured accusations, teasing and nosy inquiries. Hugh soaked it all up, seeming to enjoy every minute of the chaos.
When plates finally emptied and drinks were refilled, my mom stood up to thank everyone for coming. “I know how hard it is to get everyone together these days, especially around the holidays. Thank you for making a point to be here today. We’re obviously missing Basil and his family in Iceland, but the fact the rest of you were all able to join us is really…” She paused when her emotions got the better of her.
Birch stood up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “It’s really wonderful, and it means a lot to us. As most of you know, we recently celebrated our fifteen-year wedding anniversary.” He cleared the emotion clogging his throat. “As always, I can’t celebrate what a gift this woman has been in my life—our lives—without mentioning Oscar.” He turned to me, and I felt a familiar restlessness under my skin. “Without you, none of this would be possible. Not only did you lead me to this incredible life partner, my best friend and second mother to my children, but you helped me provide them with a happier and more stable future by believing in me.”
Thankfully, my mom recognized that I was about ten seconds from bolting. If it hadn’t been for Hugh’s sudden tight grasp of my hand under the table, I would have already nudged back my chair.
“Enough about Oscar, although I wanted to make sure everyone took a moment to admire the centerpiece today since it was a gift from him for our crystal anniversary. There’s something special about it you can only see when you look up close.” She shot me her attempt at a wink, which was a silly double blink that made Birch lean over and kiss her on the head. “The next time we’ll all be together is at Cynthia’s wedding, so I wanted to be sure to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas. And happy any other holiday you celebrate between now and when we’ll all be together again. Obviously, everyone is welcome to spend Christmas in Vermont and come to our place for meals.”