Page 20 of We Wish You a Messy Christmas

She knew Malcolm had been working the night shift from three to midnight, so she knew he’d be there. But when she parked in front, she was dismayed not to see his SUV. It’s probably in the back, she reminded herself, carefully getting out the cookie plate, resecuring the plastic wrap that had started to congeal with the still moist frosting. Well, whatever, she chuckled to herself. Here’s to imperfection.

A brunette receptionist smiled from the front desk, glancing around behind Olivia. “Do you have a pet? Or are you delivering cookies?” She sounded hopeful.

“I was hoping to leave these with Dr. McEntire,” Olivia said a bit formally.

“Oh?” The young woman stood, looking down at the cookies with a puzzled expression. Maybe she was trying to figure out if they were tainted. “Are you a client here?”

“No.” Olivia laughed. “I don’t have a pet. Just a personal friend. Is Malcolm here?”

Before the receptionist could answer, a woman with short gray hair wearing a pale green smock popped her head into the reception area.

“Cassie, can you call Mrs. Stillman and let her know her cat is going to have to stay for overnight observation?”

“You got it, Dr. Reiner.” The receptionist reached for the phone. “And this woman is here to see Dr. McEntire. Is he back there?”

“No, I gave him the rest of his shift off.”

“Lucky duck.”

“Well, the poor boy’s been working so hard this week. Two double shifts. He looked so tired I gave him the key to my beach cabin and told him to go relax for a couple days. He’ll be pulling all night shifts next week until his holiday vacation time.” The older woman peered curiously at Olivia.

“I, uh, just brought these Christmas cookies,” Olivia said lamely. “For Malcolm. And to share with his coworkers. I guess I’ll just leave them here.” She set the platter on the counter.

“Did Dr. McEntire take Sadie to the beach with him?” the receptionist asked.

The vet grinned. “Are you kidding? Those two have been inseparable all week long. Ever since Sadie’s mama died.”

“Yeah, that was so sad to hear. Poor Sadie.”

Olivia was backing up now but still listening.

“Well, Sadie really needs him,” the receptionist continued.

“Yes. And I’m glad they can get away for some downtime.” The vet glanced at Olivia, who stood frozen by the door, taking this all in. Who was Sadie? “Thank you for the cookies,” the vet said politely. “And we’ll let Malcolm know you brought them when he gets back here.”

“Although they might be gone by then.” The receptionist had already peeled off some of the gooey plastic wrap and picked out a pink Santa. “Well, if they’re any good.”

“Oh, I think they’re okay,” Olivia assured her. “Taste better than they look. I’m not a very experienced baker, but the recipe I used had five stars.”

The receptionist took a bite, then licked a finger and nodded eagerly. “Yum! They are good. Thanks!”

“Merry Christmas!” Olivia’s smile felt stiff as she feigned enthusiasm she did not feel.

By the time she got into her car, she felt like crying. Could it be that in just one week’s time, Malcolm not only had a new romantic prospect but was right now taking her to the coast for the weekend? Clearly, he was not the guy she thought he was.

She felt tears burning as she navigated commuter traffic to drive back to her apartment. Still, she told herself, it was better to find this out now than to learn of it later. At least she wouldn’t be spending her holiday vacation wasting time on romantic imaginings. Yes, it hurt. More than she cared to admit—even to herself. But at least this gave her time to toughen up before going home next week. She had no doubts that Dad would ask questions about their relationship.

Thinking of Dad reminded her of the voicemail he’d left her this morning letting her know that Grandma Lulu had arrived a couple days ago and was already making her mother perfectly miserable with her messes. “The first step in our intervention plan,” he’d said. And although she agreed it was a necessary step, she couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty. It was always easier to feel sorry for Mom from a distance, but Olivia knew if she were home right now, she would feel differently.

She’d planned to call and cheer her dad and grandmother on this evening, but, knowing how close she was to breaking down in uncontrollable sobs, she’d have to wait. Hopefully her skin would thicken up in the next few days. In the meantime, she would try to forget about Malcolm and his Sadie girlfriend, whoever she was, if that was even possible.

eleven

Lulu had only been a guest for three days—three excruciatingly long days—but by day two Jane felt she was losing her mind. Literally. Besides feeling foggy and confused, she was extremely irritable about everything. It didn’t help that she and Rob were not speaking. Rather, she was not speaking to him. That stubborn man kept trying to make small talk, acting like nothing was wrong. But she was so infuriated with him, she couldn’t even risk the slightest verbal exchange for fear she would explode into uncontrolled swearing. And she had never in her life uttered a single bad word and had always abhorred hearing others engage in such infantile behavior. But the words rolling through her head right now were profane enough to make a logger blush.

To make matters worse, Rob, who’d never seemed overly fond of his mother-in-law, seemed to be actually enjoying her company. Jane should’ve been grateful for the time the strange pair spent playing cribbage or watching ridiculous YouTube videos after dinner since it meant fewer interactions between her and her mom, plus it allowed her to sneak off to bed unnoticed. And yet their uncanny compatibility was like adding insult to injury and was profoundly aggravating.

On top of that, Lulu’s insistence on “helping” in the kitchen had become the tipping point. If Jane was really going to lose it, her kitchen would be the battleground she would surely die upon. For the last three nights, her “helpful” mother had concocted all sorts of bizarre international dinners that Jane and Rob had never even heard of. Where she’d collected her strange ingredients was a mystery. Maybe they’d come in her zebra-striped bag. And whether or not it was to further torment Jane, who refused to eat her mom’s awful food, Rob appeared to enjoy each feast that Lulu prepared and even offered to shop for her. But it was the messes Lulu left behind that really pushed Jane’s buttons. It was like something from a bad dream, which was no exaggeration since nightmarish images of her ravaged kitchen woke her in the wee hours. Not that she was getting much sleep. Oh, she’d pretend to be snoozing after hurriedly setting her book aside before Rob came to bed. Never mind she’d reread the same chapter over and over.