I helped her sit up, taking her in my arms and holding her. “From now until forever.”
3
LIV
Fletcher had goneto pick up Maya while I stayed home baking Christmas cookies, making popcorn, and preparing needles and thread for us to make a popcorn garland. Maya may not have been my biological daughter, but she was mine. And I couldn’t wait to share the holiday with her.
Even if it meant keeping the activities more PG. Just looking at the island made me flush with heat.
I fanned my face before continuing to mix the sugar cookies with red and green sprinkles and M&Ms. The smell of the dough with the simmer pot was heavenly.
I checked my phone for the time—Fletcher and Maya should be home any moment now. But I also saw a new text message.
Grandpa Griffen: Love you too, kid. Thanks for helping me remember all the good times.
I smiled at the text and made a mental note to bring some of the sugar cookies to him tomorrow with Maya. He loved that little girl—even if she did regularly beat him at Skip-Bo and Mexican Train.
I had just put the next round of cookies in the oven when I heard gravel crunch in the driveway. I did a giddy little dance asI took off my apron and went out to the front yard to see my girl. “Maya!” I cried happily.
“Livvy!” She dropped her duffel on the ground, running to give me a hug.
I picked her up in my arms, swinging her around. “I’m so happy you’re home!”
Once I set her down, she said, “Daddy says you have a surprise for me?”
I smiled, nodded. “But you have to close your eyes.”
Dutifully, she squeezed her eyes shut. Fletcher followed behind us, carrying her things as I guided her into the house. Then I said, “Open!”
She stared around the house, checking out all the decorations and the fresh cookies on the counter. “Can I have one?” she asked, going to the counter first.
Her dad and I chuckled, and he gave me a look likeOf course she would go for the cookies first.
Smiling, I said, “Go ahead. I thought we could decorate the tree while we eat cookies and watch a Christmas movie?”
“Ooh! Can we watchElf?” she said. “I love that one.”
“Doesn’t everyone?” I said with a smile. “Let’s do it!”
Fletcher added, “I’ll go put your bags up and come back to help.”
While he walked away, I squeezed Maya again. “How long were you gone?” I asked her. “Like a year, right?”
She giggled. “Just a weekend.”
“Oh, right.” I smiled at her and brought her with me to the box of ornaments Fletcher had saved for them. I sat near the box, handing each of them to her while she explained what they were. Some, she’d had since she was a baby. Others, she picked out with her grandpa at the store or made with her mom.
I loved seeing all her memories, the way she smiled as she talked about them, how carefully she placed the really importantones on the tree. She was letting me into her world, trusting me with the precious pieces of her life.
“Do you have any ornaments?” she asked me.
“Actually...” I pulled a shoebox from under the coffee table. “These are mine.”
I’d been collecting the flat, golden ornaments for as long as I could remember. The first one was a baby in a cradle and said “Olivia’s First Christmas” with my birth year underneath.
I showed it to Maya and her mouth dropped open. “I didn't even know that was a real year.”
“Maya!” I laughed, shocked.
