“Flynn, listen to me. She will take you back. She's angry and perhaps not feeling too well after the baby.” Our own mother had gone mad after the birth of the twins. Maybe Shannon was feeling strange too. I would ask Theo to check on her. “You and Shannon are in love. This is simply a temporary misunderstanding.”
“There's no misunderstanding about it. She despises me for lying to her.”
I heard footsteps out in the kitchen and turned to see Fiona, Jo, and Theo. “In here,” I called out to them. Perhaps they could talk sense into him.
The three of them piled into the small office. They all had rosy cheeks from dancing and perhaps a tuck into the punch bowl someone had spiked.
“Brother, we came to pull you out to the dance floor,” Theo said.
Flynn put his feet on the floor and leaned back in his chair, bringing the front legs off of the floor. “Not interested.”
Jo frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you feeling sorry for yourself?”
“None of your business,” Flynn said.
“He is,” I said. “Shannon's still angry with him. He's been sleeping here at the club.”
Fiona's hands flew to her mouth. “She's kicked you out?”
“So to speak,” Flynn said.
“Well, this won't do.” Jo sat in the chair next to me. “What shall we do to fix this?”
“There's nothing you can do,” Flynn said.
“Nonsense, we can come up with a plan,” Fiona said. “Like when we were kids. Remember, Flynn, when Cymbeline was stuck in the dumbwaiter and we all worked together to get her out?”
“This is different,” Flynn said.
“She needs time,” Theo said.
“No, that's not what it is,” Fiona said, sounding surprisingly firm. “We need a Christmas miracle. Something that reminds her of how much she loves you.”
“And that will make her forgive you,” Jo said.
“Something big,” I said. “So big that she can't help herself but see how you've changed.”
“Have I changed?” Flynn asked. “Or am I still the same scoundrel I've always been?”
“Making mistakes and failing changes us,” Theo said. “For the better.”
“It makes us more humble,” Jo said.
“Which I needed, apparently,” Flynn said.
“I told him, everyone makes mistakes,” I said. “That doesn't make you a bad person.” I thought for a second before I continued. “All this time I've thought I was a problem simply because I wanted things other girls didn't seem to want. Now I see that it's just the way I am. It's the same for you, Flynn. You had ambition that led you down a certain path. Now it's time for you to veer off that course and start fresh. We can help you, right?” I looked around at the concerned faces of my siblings.
“Yes, of course we will,” Fiona said. “We'll make it a Christmas that Shannon won't forget.”
“But how?” Flynn asked.
No one answered.
“We'll figure it out,” I said. “Just like you guys got me out of the dumbwaiter.” I could still remember the close quarters that had made me feel claustrophobic. “When I was stuck in there, I was quite sure I'd never get out. And then you all left to go get help and I imagined myself in there, dying alone. All hope seemed lost. Yes, I was only eight, but it felt real.”
“That's how I feel now,” Flynn said. “Without hope.”
“There's always hope,” Fiona said.
“And love,” Jo said. “We all love you very much, Flynn. With all your faults. Just as you love us with all of ours.”
“Together, we'll come up with a plan,” Theo said. “There's almost no problem that can't be solved if one thinks about it long enough.”
“Or just jumps in to tackle it.” I made a fist in the air.
“Maybe I could find a book that would give us some advice,” Jo said. “Ideas for the lovelorn or something of that nature.”
“Romantic music might soften her,” Fiona said.
I grinned at the dear faces of my brothers and sisters. “Whatever it is, we'll do it together, like we always have.”
“Not always,” Flynn said. “I'm sorry, Cym, that I wasn't supportive of your dream to jump. It seems I'm the only one.”
“I knew nothing about what these girls were doing,” Theo said. “They kept it from me too. You're not alone.”
Flynn brightened slightly. “Oh, well, that's something, I guess.”
“Tomorrow marks a week before Christmas.” Jo made a motion in the air as if she were writing on a calendar. “A week to fill Shannon with the Christmas spirit.”
“We can do it.” Fiona clapped her hands together. “I’ve got it. The Seven Days of Christmas. Each day Flynn can do something to win her heart back.”
“Like what?” I asked. What could he possibly do to lessen her anger? This obviously wasn’t the job for me.
“I don’t know,” Fiona said.