WREN
Christmas morning.
My birthday.
I wake up slowly, not wanting to get out of bed and face the day. Not yet. I roll over and crack my eyes open to find the piece of art staring back at me, and I smile.
A Million Kisses in Your Lifetime. That’s what I want. I want someone to promise me a million kisses and more. Someone who will cherish me and love me and only want to see me happy.
And I think that someone is Crew.
I sit up in bed, brushing the hair out of my face as I reach for my phone to see I have a text from him.
Crew: Happy Birthday.
Crew: Merry Christmas.
Crew: I sent you something.
I actually gasp out loud. He needs to stop spending money on me.
I also love how he said happy birthday first.
Me: Thank you. Merry Christmas! Stop sending me gifts.
Crew: Stop telling me what to do.
So grouchy.
Crew: When are you coming over?
Me: I need to spend some of the morning with my mom.
I don’t want my mother to be alone on Christmas. How depressing. My dad? I don’t really care what he’s doing.
Okay fine, I care. I want to be callous and unfeeling, but that’s not my style. I’m still hurt by what he did with Crew’s gift to me. I think he came home late last night, long after I went to bed, and never actually spent Christmas Eve with us beyond the disastrous breakfast, which I know hurt Mom. She didn’t say anything to me about it, and we got dressed up and went out to dinner after Crew left, just the two of us, which was fun, but I know she had her suspicions on where Dad went.
And I think some of them have to do with Veronica, the assistant.
If he’s actually cheating on her, after everything they’ve struggled with lately, I know…
This will be the end of their marriage.
Crew: It’s a low-key day for us. There will be food and my asshole brothers. My parents. My dad is an asshole too, but he’ll be on his best behavior when he meets you.
I love how he calls all of the males in his family a-holes. Sometimes, he acts like one too, ha.
Me: I’ll text you when I’m ready to leave.
Crew: Want me to send a car?
Me: Tell me Peter has Christmas Day off. Please! He deserves it.
Crew: He does. It’ll be someone else driving.
Me: I can find my own way over there.
Crew: No. Let me send a car. I want to make sure you get here safely.