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“I missed you,” she whispered into Katie’s collar.
Katie breathed an emotional laugh. “You have no idea how much I missed you.”
“Oh, I think I do.”
“No chance.”
Maggie laughed. “How long do you have?”
“Ugh.” Katie finally pulled back, the freezing air rushing in between them, and Maggie regretted asking. “Just long enough to buy you a hot cocoa.”
Maggie laughed as Katie grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the tiny Christmas market that had sprung up in the plaza opposite the hospital. Even through both of their thick winter mittens, it still thrilled Maggie when Katie held her hand.
She tried to protest when Katie really did buy both of their drinks, but Katie insisted and Maggie knew too well she wasn’t giving in when she was that set on something, so, instead, she blushed, thanked Katie, and spun in a small circle, taking in the magical scene.
The little wooden cabins were all bedecked in decorations, Christmas music played from a speaker somewhere, and people moved from stall to stall, investigating what each one had to offer. It was a tiny taste of their usual traditions but Maggie loved it just as much, perhaps even more for the effort Katie had gone to just to ensure they had this moment.
Maggie sipped her hot cocoa. “Mm. It’s good. Not as good as the one you made the other night, of course.”
Katie laughed, looking away, a little shy. The sight made Maggie’s stomach drop delightedly. “That was nothing special.” She laughed once. “And, even if it had been, it was rather ruined by the arrival of a bunch of other people.”
“Yeah.” Maggie looked her over, noticing the troubled pucker between her brows. “How’s that going?”
Katie sighed, stepping closer to Maggie. “I know I’m going to have to talk to her. I half think she believes that, if she refuses to leave, I won’t go to work on Christmas Day, but it doesn’t work like that. And she knows it.”
“I mean, I’d show up at your apartment and refuse to leave if I were missing you too.”
Katie half laughed. “That’s different. I want you there.” She sighed. “I love my mom, a lot, but I’m not a kid anymore, you know? Once you’ve moved out and formed your own life, it’s hard being around your family all the time again. It’s hard living with them and having your mom constantly tell you what you’re supposed to be doing, controlling all of your time.”
Maggie nodded, nursing her hot cocoa. She knew exactly what Katie meant. Nobody wanted to hurt anyone, nobody meant to be mean, but, past a certain point, when you’d built your own life, there wasn’t space to be controlled like a child again. Nor should there be, really, but she knew it must be hard for people to let go of that.
Katie shot a nervous glance Maggie’s way. “And, you know, I guess the whole thing isn’t helped by…” She chewed her lip for a moment before carrying on. “Well, by the fact that I had important plans the night they showed up.”
Maggie’s legs felt like Jell-O. “Right. Does she know that?”
Katie huffed. “She knows I had plans, but… I don’t know, it’s that whole thing of her apparently thinking I’m still five and couldn’t possibly have actually important plans. She ate half of the meal I made you for lunch the next day. Didn’t even ask if it was okay.” She looked up at the sky, searching. “Is that a mom thing, or is that amy momthing?”
“I’m honestly not sure. I don’t spend enough time around my mom to really know, but I’d guess it’s not every mom.”
“Yeah… I don’t think I’d have cared if she’d eaten literally anything else, but that was… for you, you know?”
Maggie’s face burned as she looked at Katie. They both knew this conversation was about something more than Irene. This conversation was about the one they hadn’t gotten to have yet. And it didn’t seem to matter to either of them that it was happening in a busy plaza, opposite a hospital, because they just needed it to happen. They’d both been sitting on it for too long now. Over dinner would have been nice, but this was the time they had, and that was good enough.
Sometimes, it wasn’t about the perfect place and the perfect time. Sometimes, it was about the time and the place you had, and it was something else that made it perfect. Something you couldn’t plan for.
Katie took a deep, tense breath. “I’d wanted to tell you something. Something important.”
“Me too,” Maggie whispered, facing Katie.
Silent Nightplayed on the speakers around them. Shoppers split to walk around them. The chilly air bit at their exposed noses. The lights glowed against the fading daylight. And Maggie’s breath came fast and shallow. Katie was looking at her almost the exact same way she had at the Christmas tree farm.
The only thing in the world that mattered was Katie. Katie, who was staring back at her, searching for words for feelings too complicated to be contained by them, and every other person faded into the background. Right up until someone yelled both of their names.
Chapter Thirteen
The sheer irony ofSilent Nightto be playing when Katie felt like she wasn’t getting another one of those for the rest of her life.
I like youhad been bubbling up, itching to break free of her.I love youwas more accurate, but she didn’t want to scare Maggie—although, with the way Maggie had been looking at her, she was beginning to wonder if she even needed to worry about that.
