Page 14 of We Wish You a Messy Christmas

Dr. Wheeler rubbed his chin. “Are you doing anything now? Want to meet for a cup of coffee and kick this around some more? Marsha stays on to help with Sunday school in second service so I’m at loose ends. Well, unless I get a call.”

Malcolm agreed to meet him at a nearby coffee shop, and as soon as they sat down with their drinks, they were discussing the latest advances in veterinary medicine, the way Dr. Wheeler’s practice had grown in the past several years, and even the possibility of a job. When they wrapped it up, it was nearly noon, and Dr. Wheeler explained it was time to pick up his wife. They exchanged phone numbers and shook hands.

“Do you plan on being around for the holidays?” Dr. Wheeler asked as they were heading outside.

“Yeah. I’m taking off a week at Christmas. Our vets take turns on holidays and vacation time, but it wasn’t really my turn yet, so I’ll be putting in a lot of overtime between now and then to work out a switch.”

“Okay, let’s talk again when you’re back in town.” Dr. Wheeler patted him on the back. “Tell your folks hello for me.”

As Malcolm got gas, he replayed their conversation. He hadn’t been promised anything, but he still felt pretty hopeful. He realized it could involve more work and more hours than his current job, but in the long run, it would be worth it. In time the old vet would retire, and he’d need someone to take over the clinic. It would be a dream come true.

He was just leaving the gas station when his phone pinged with a text. Olivia. She was worried he’d left for Salem without her. At the stoplight, he reassured her he was still in town and would soon be at her place, suggesting she be ready to go.

He didn’t ask her to be waiting on the front porch but knew he didn’t want to go up to that door and go back inside that house. To his relief, she was outside waiting when he arrived.

“I really thought you’d left without me,” she said as she got in the car.

He explained about slipping out early to spend more time with his family. “Didn’t you get my note?”

“Yeah, but that was hours ago. And your car was gone.”

“I wouldn’t have stranded you like that,” he said in a slightly defensive tone. “Sorry to worry you.”

“It’s okay. No big deal. Gave me more time with my parents.”

“Did you go to church?” he asked. “I didn’t see you at first service.”

“Dad went to second service, but Mom was set on decorating for Christmas. She always decorates on the same day—and this was the day. Like her countdown to Christmas. I decided to stick around.”

“Uh-huh.” He wanted to sound interested but really didn’t care to hear about it. “So, you helped her decorate?”

“Yeah . . . I guess . . . sort of . . .” Olivia’s tone faltered, and she turned to look out the side window. She seemed disconnected, which was fine with him. He wasn’t ready to talk about anything that mattered, and he’d never liked chitchat. Part of him wanted to tell her about his serendipitous meeting with Dr. Wheeler, but another part of him felt cautious. Because, really, he didn’t know where this relationship was going, and suddenly the two-hour drive felt like it would be very long—long and quiet.

seven

Olivia didn’t want to talk—to anyone. Including Malcolm as he drove them home. At first she thought it was because he had abandoned her—or that was how it had felt. But it wasn’t long until she realized it was her mother getting under her skin. She would have preferred to have been irritated with Malcolm since she knew that would pass quickly. But she knew it was her mother. As usual.

She hadn’t really wanted to help Mom with the Christmas decorating. She knew better. She’d helped Dad get the artificial tree set up in front of the living room window, keeping her negative opinions about fake trees to herself. She knew that would only create an unwanted battle, pitting her and Dad against Mom. But after testing the lights, Dad announced he was heading out to church and invited Olivia to join him. She was about to say yes, but seeing Mom’s forlorn expression filled her with daughterly guilt. After all, it wasn’t like she visited the home front very often. And it had been ages since she’d helped Mom decorate for Christmas. Why not while away an hour, hopefully less, with her mother while waiting for Malcolm to return? Especially since he’d said he wanted an early start on the road this morning.

She sighed and slumped back in the car seat, crossing her arms and closing her eyes, prepared to feign napping. The truth was she wasn’t ready to engage with Malcolm quite yet. Not that she exactly blamed him for her miserable morning, but she wanted to escape brooding over him . . . and she began to replay the morning with Mom.

It had all started out innocently enough. Olivia had offered to help carry the neatly stacked storage bins from the garage. Each plastic bin was clearly labeled, thanks to the label maker her mom credited Martha Stewart’s ingenuity for. And when they began to open the carefully packed bins, every item was predictably wrapped in pale blue tissue paper.

“You always pack everything so carefully,” Olivia absently said as she unwound a crystal snowflake hanging by a ribbon. She twirled the piece in the sunlight coming in from the front window. “Pretty.”

“Pretty fragile. Do be careful with that,” Mom warned. “That’s my Swarovski box.”

“Wow, really?”

“Each piece in there retails for about a hundred dollars. Although they were less when I got them, plus I got a quantity discount.”

Olivia stared at the box, guessing the total contents’ replacement value could be around two grand. “My goodness. Maybe you should handle this box.”

“Yes. How about you get on the stepladder and I’ll unwrap and hand them to you, and you can place them where I point.”

“Okay.” Olivia wanted to jokingly ask Mom if she had a remote control, and Olivia could be the robot, but knew better.

While Olivia perched on the ladder, her mom used a yardstick from her craft room as a pointer, specifically instructing where and how to hang the precious snowflakes. By the time they got to the lower branches, Olivia felt so nervous, she wished she’d put on an extra layer of antiperspirant after her shower that morning.