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Mom is dazzling in some kind of skin-tight white dress with white fur on the collar. She’s the host with the most, totally in her element. My sister Everly is standing, staring, with eyes wide as saucers. She looks… off her game and that doesn’t track. She’s nothing if not dependable. Something must be terribly wrong.
I scan the room, but nothing seems amiss. When my eyes land back on Everly she’s staring at me, not blinking. When I take a step toward her, she gives me the slightest nod of her head toward the dining room. I follow her gesture until my eyes land on the table behind her and my heart leaps into my throat.
Colorful pedestals of red and green pepper the otherwise white space. On the top of each pedestal is one of my creations. My jaw drops open.Oh shit, Mom’s going to have someone’s head for this.My heart rate ticks up and I push my way through the well-dressed crowd to the table. I take a step closer to the pedestals in question. The desserts are poorly executed, but they’re undoubtedly mine.
A hand lands on my shoulder and I turn with a start when I see Everly standing behind me, my nephew Preston at her side.
“What the fuck are these doing here?” I whisper between clenched teeth.
“They—” She starts.
“You said fuck? Mom, she said fuck!” Preston covers his laugh with his hands.
“Go, now!” My sister grimaces and escorts her son through the kitchen doors.
Then the classical music comes to a screeching halt and the room quiets in turn. Eyes dart in every direction and when Mom catches mine, I step in front of the offending pastries.Maybe she hasn’t seen them and this is some awful prank. Maybe…
I stop. The sound of Elvis’ Blue Christmas flows out of the speakers and my breath catches in my chest. My jaw falls open when I see him. Shawn walks through the front door without a single reservation. He’s in jeans and an ugly knitted sweater. He’s topped the look with a Santa hat and his head is held high.
“What is this?” Mom’s jaw tightens and her face goes pale as she looks from Shawn to me and my ghastly desserts.
Shawn faces her. “This is a showcase of your daughter’s amazing desserts. I didn’t do this because she needs the help. I did it because her desserts deserve to be here. She’s incredible, creative, and so fucking talented. It’s time everyone sees that. Now, I’m not a baker so you can imagine they look better when she does them but…”
“Excuse us.” Mom’s voice is tight and she attempts to usher the film crew out of the front door.
As Shawn makes his way over to me, I can’t help the tears that well in my eyes. “You made these?”
“Terribly, I got marshmallows in places that just should never….” Shawn takes my hands in his. “Listen, I know I’m meddling and I don’t mean to. That isn’t what this is about. I don’t know better than you and I don’t want to take over your life or tell you how to build your career. This is about showing you that I will stand behind you or beside you through everything. I know you don’t need me, but I’m hoping you want me. Because you are all I want in this world.”
“You are all I want too.” I throw my arms around his neck.
Shawn lifts me off the ground and spins me around. Heismy smile and I’m so happy to have him back. I know that this is it. Nothing will ever be the same. My Findlay happily ever after. My heart swells with joy.
“Please excuse this interruption” Mom’s voice is shrill somewhere behind me, but I don’t care because I’m finally home.
Emmett shoves into us, knocking Shawn and me away from the dessert table. He holds his phone up in full selfie mode. “What’s up guys, checking back in. Like I was saying, my sister made these. She’s a food blogger and hopefully, she’ll get you guys the recipes. They're pretty incredible…” He takes a bite of a chocolate-dipped marshmallow rolled in caramel.
“Wow uh, sis…” Emmett holds up his phone in my direction.
“Stop, I don’t want to see how many followers you’ve got. Don’t you see Shawn’s here, come on Emmett, don’t ruin this moment for me.” I bite back a giggle and bury my face in Shawn’s chest.
Emmett continues, “No. It isn’t that. It’s that they don’t want me, they want you.”
I look at Emmett’s phone and when I see the number of comments and likes, my eyes widen. “Wow…”
“They can’t have her, she’s taken,” Shawn yells into the phone and wraps me in his arms.
As the camera crew comes back in through the front doors, Shawn and I slip out of the back. He holds me in his arms under the white light of the moon.
He brings his lips to my ear. “It looks like there won’t be any more 'blue Christmas’ for us.”
Epilogue, Everly Tiding Ten Months Later
Things aren’t always as they seem. When I told my sister that I was getting divorced, her mouth fell open in surprise. Though, I can’t imagine what all the shock was about. Things have been hard with my husband Spence and me for a long time. But even when I found out that he had gambled all our money away, I stayed.
I stayed for Spence. Then I stayed for myself. Then I stayed for my son. I stayed for too long. I stopped eating. I wore the clothes. I hosted the parties. I was ready to commit to a life that I hated just like my mother taught me to do. As the oldest daughter, I thought it was my destiny. But when he told me about the other woman, I knew I didn’t have any other choice. I left.
Even though I’m the one who filed for divorce, it was Spence who didn’t choose me. As it turns out, he didn’t choose Preston either and that breaks my heart.
