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“I bet,” Charles said, putting a hand on my shoulder.
His grandmother was at my other side. “I bought these dolls from her. I’m sure she has a record of them.”
That piqued my interest. “You didn’t buy them from anyone else?”
His grandmother winked at me. “I sort of had this feeling that the shop owner’s daughter might be part of my family one day.”
Warm chills washed over me.
Charles squeezed my hand. “That’s funny.”
My cheeks flamed. Rather than dwell on it too much, I focused on the dolls, walking around the room. “I guess things don’t always work out the way you think they will.”
His grandmother slipped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into her, whispering softly, “In my experience, things usually do work out.”
Nervous energy pulsed through me, and I didn’t know what to say.
“Let’s go by the tree and have some hot cocoa and open some presents,” Charles said.
In the parlor, Hazel was sitting near the tree, knitting something. The tree was beautiful, decorated with different beach ornaments—whales and dolphins and mermaids. Oncloser inspection, I saw little figurines of all the brothers. There were also pictures of the family all over the tree. “I love these.”
His grandmother pointed at the tree. “Did you see a couple with the whole crew?”
I was shocked to see that several of the picture ornaments included me. I touched one that showed me tucked under Charles’s arm. How different would this Christmas be if we had stayed together?
Charles took my hand. “It’s crazy, right? That picture.”
His grandmother appeared next to us, smiling. “You guys were always a handsome couple. You still are.”
I laughed awkwardly.
“I think we are. Things just get better with time, after all.” Charles gestured to the couch. “Let’s open presents.”
Again, I felt out of sorts. “I don’t have presents for anyone. I’m sorry.”
Charles pulled me down onto the couch next to him and draped an arm around me. “We don’t expect you to have presents. These are the presents that Grandmother gives to everyone.”
His grandmother picked up a package and held it out to me. “This is something I’ve been waiting a long time to give you.” She let out a light sigh. “I don’t know how this will go over, but I’m hoping.”
Hesitantly, I began opening it, and I realized it was a Christmas quilt. “This is beautiful.” And then I saw it. Woven into the quilt were the beach pictures of us together. There were more than just a few; the quilt was big enough to cover a king bed. I was stunned. “Oh my gosh.”
Charles helped me pull it out of the wrapping paper. “Grandmother, how did you do this?”
She grinned at us. “I did it years ago. I planned to give it to you that Christmas when everything went to smithereens.”
I laughed, and my eyes stung with tears. “You were going to give this to me back then?”
She nodded. “I guess it’s better late than never.”
I turned to Charles, who looked just as shocked as me. “This is crazy.” I moved toward his grandmother and hugged her. “I love it. Thank you.”
She grinned. “I was always rooting for you two. Never forget that.”
We spent the next half hour exchanging presents. Charles’s grandmother gave him American cuff links. Hazel was given a Christmas quilt as well, although hers wasn’t twenty years old. We all had hot chocolate, and then we read the Bible story about Jesus’s birth.
There were so many emotions swirling within me that I felt out of sorts. I was in shock, I realized. This was the life I should’ve had, the life I had grieved for a long time.
Finally, I stood and picked up the quilt. “I’ll see you tonight for dinner. I’m going to head to my apartment and straighten up and get some more of my things.”
