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“Do you like it?” Reuben asks gently.
I just laugh. Like a mad woman. “That can’t be a serious question. This is so beautiful, so sparkly and special.” It’s my name, Winter, depicted in a singular, repeated image. “I can’t express how much I love this,” I ramble. “And now I’m feeling stingy.”
Warmly, Reuben chuckles. “You’re not a miser. You’ve given us a great gift too, Winter, willing to give this a try. We hope you won’t regret it. And besides, we have a New Year’s diamond ball coming up. This way, we know you have something to wear.”
When I stop looking at the incredible gift in my hands, I look up to see Luca eyeing Brecken cautiously.
“I want this to work out,” I reassure them, not making eye contact with anyone in particular. “I’m excited about my new job.”
“I hope that’s not all,” Luca ventures.
I smile, shaking my head. Of course, I’m keen to see where this leads, butI amvery happy about the promotion.
“We need to talk about what you want out of this,” he stresses. “What you like. We can be…creative,” he offers. “So don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. Chances are we’ll be game.”
Butterflies launch from the pit of my stomach, rising up and up until I feel light-headed. There are lots of things I’d like to try.”
Interrupted by Brecken’s ringing phone, I admire the diamonds, my thoughts veering to other things. Family calling on Christmas Day is to be expected, and it’s a part of the holidays I haven’t had to partake in for some time. Knowing they’re about to share some goodwill wishes with their loved ones, I wander to the office where I put the gift in a drawer.
From the main room, I hear, “Hi Dad.” A pause. “Yeah, Merry Christmas.”
I reach for the door, overhearing Reuben grumble, “Fuck. Three messages from the poison pixie.”
“Shit.” Luca. “Same.”
Just as I close the door, Brecken tells his Dad, “Yeah, hang on.”
Muffled conversation continues from the other room. Taking a moment to recover from my extravagant gift, I take out my cell to doom scroll.
A few minutes later, from beyond the door, I hear, “See you then. Bye.” Taking that as my cue, I exit the office. Immediately, I’m struck by a weird, building tension. The earlier relaxed atmosphere has gone, one where we were smiling, joking, looking at glittering jewelry worth a cool hundred thousand dollars easy.
Deciding to keep myself out of whatever family drama is going on, I make myself a fresh coffee, my earlier giddiness drastically waning.
“I can’t get hold of her,” Luca says irritably, his cell by his ear before he studies the screen.
“I can’t get through either,” Reuben says, the three of them forming a tight circle. “I’ve just messaged her to say we’re not here, but you know what she’s like.”
I’m seconds away from asking what’s going on, but a sharp knock at the door stops me.
“Fuck, is that her? Should we pretend we’re not here?”
Making some quick assumptions, and going by the nickname this woman has—poison pixie—I’m guessing it’s someone’s annoying aunt. Short aunt. Either that, or an ex-girlfriend. “Shall I answer the door, or call security?”
“Good idea,” Reuben chuckles. “But no, not needed.”
A woman’s voice calls from behind the front door. “I can see your Range Rover, Brecken. Hello?!”
“She’ll just ask for me at reception. It’s best to answer.”
“Fuck, okay. Let me go outside and speak to her,” Luca says, heading towards me. He stops when he reaches me by the island. I’m unmoving, like frozen ice as I work out what the hell is going on. Because this doesn’t sound good. “There’s something we need to explain, and we’ll do that, but please give us the chance to.”
More ominous-sounding words were never spoken. Waiting for me to nod, or perhaps tell him to take a hike, I decide to do neither. Instead, I turn around to make myself another mimosa, because to hell with coffee.
Luca’s footsteps carry him towards the front door. When it yawns wide, a bubbly, young woman dressed in a fake fur hat, and a long winter coat breezes in through the door like she’s already lived here for the past five nights.
“Oh thank god. I was worried you’d already left for the slopes.” Throwing her arms around Luca’s neck, she squeals excitedly before giving him a big smacking kiss on his cheek. “Happy Christmas! Where are the rest of my boys,” she asks, walking in and casting me a fast glance.
She greets Brecken and Reuben in the same way: exuberantly, familiarly.
