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Robin set down the brush and guided her daughter to the bench seat at the vanity so she could style her hair in a fancy updo, as requested.
While she worked, Abby told her all about what her friends had said they’d be wearing to the ball and said that she couldn’t wait to see theNutcrackerperformance.
“Have you ever thought about getting into dance? I bet you’d make a beautiful ballerina.” Robin twisted a lock of Abby’s hair into a curl against the side of her head, then pinned it securely.
“Nah.”
Robin fought the sigh that threatened. So many of Abby’s friends had hobbies outside of school, but not her. Over the years, she’d tried to get her daughter to sign up for swimming, gymnastics, Girl Scouts, soccer. But Abby always insisted that she didn’t want to do one thing; she wanted to do all the things.
So they’d do a pottery painting class here, an art class there. Day passes at the batting cages in the next town over, as well as occasional visits to the ice rink Snow Hill’s last mayor had put in thanks to Holly’s movie crew. They’d brought one in for her film and then let the town enjoy it one night before they’d broken it down, and it’d been a big hit with the locals.
But that was it for Abby as far as interests went. Unless you counted her obsession with her snowman collection or her longtime love of reading, the girl just had an insatiable taste for variety.
“You know what I might like though?”
“What?”
“Drama.”
Robin dropped the curl she’d been pinning and slapped her thigh, throwing her head back in a totally over-the-top show of laughter. “You’re kidding! I’m shocked!”
Abby turned around and narrowed her eyes at her mom. “You’re a terrible comedian, Mama.”
Robin flipped her hair over her shoulder and shrugged. “I think I’m funny.”
Turning back around so Robin could finish her hair, Abby opened her mouth and then closed it again several times. Finally, she sighed. “Tanner does drama.”
Again, Robin dropped the curl. But this time she didn’t laugh. No. This time, she scowled. “Tanner? The same Tanner who made you cry because he called you a loser for your snowman collection?”
Abby cringed. “Maybe?”
“There’s nomaybeabout it. This is a small town, and I don’t think I’ve heard you mention more than one Tanner.”
“Okay, so I guess he is the same one.”
“Why would you want to do drama class if Tanner’s in there? Didn’t we say to steer clear of him and everyone else who was in on the jokes that day?”
Her little girl lowered her eyes to rest on her hands, which were folded way too tightly in her lap. “Well, it’s kinda Jack’s fault that Tanner is my friend now.”
“Um, how so?”
“Tanner saw the snowmen outside, and he asked me about them at school. He said they were really cool. He liked the Marine one, and the superheroes too.”
Robin needed more information to follow how it could be Jack’s fault that she was friends with her bully, and she waved her hand to tell Abby to say more.
“He said he was sorry for what he did. The jokes and stuff. Then he asked me all these questions about the stuff Jack decorated the snowmen with, and I guess he’s not as mean as I thought he was. He even said he hoped we got to hang out at the ball tonight.”
Robin shook her head, not voicing the thoughts that were currently running through her mind.Not as mean as she thought he was?Robin had been ready to call that boy’s mom and give her a piece of her mind over that whole thing, and she probably would have, if it weren’t for Jack’s snowman surprise making Abby feel so much better that it hadn’t seemed to matter anymore. And now she was simply going to forgive him and be his friend?
Robin internally winced. Okay, on second thought, that was kind of amazing. With a long sigh, she finished tucking the last few curls into Abby’s up-do and gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze. “Forgiveness is a good thing, so I’m proud of you.”
Abby stared back at her through the mirror. She didn’t say anything, but her expression was clear. She was waiting for a “but.”
Robin pursed her lips, choosing her words carefully. Sometimes moments like this snuck up on her. Moments when she could tell that something important was unfolding, and the way she handled it could potentially impact her daughter for years to come.
Maybe she was overthinking it, but Robin was a woman who erred on the side of caution whenever possible. And if this was a big moment, at least she’d known she’d handled it with care. It was her job as Abby’s mom, right? If she didn’t do it, who would?
“But,” she finally said, not missing her daughter’s triumphant expression that she was right about Robin having more to say, “I need you to be careful. When it comes to people treating you poorly and then suddenly becoming your friend, you need to find a balance between being forgiving and getting taken advantage of.”
