Page 5 of We Wish You a Messy Christmas

She beamed at him. “No, no, not at all. I suppose I’m worried about you doing that to me.”

He reached for her hand, which was still slightly cold, and, cupping it in both hands, seemed to study her. “I’ve never been happier with anyone, Livvie. But if you plan to break my heart, I’d prefer to get it over with.”

She shook her head no and they both smiled. For what felt like several minutes, they just gazed at each other, and she almost thought this could be the big moment, but then he looked at the clock.

“Hey, why don’t I get to-go cups, and we’ll be on our way. I don’t need to pack a bag since Mom never throws anything away and I still have some random clothes and things there—and we’ll be coming back here Sunday afternoon anyway. But you probably need to stop by your apartment. My car’s outside. I’ll take you by.”

“Don’t bother. I don’t need to pack anything either. My room is just how I left it and I’ve got stuff there. Let’s just hit the road, Jack.”

Once they had their to-go cups in hand, they walked the short distance to the car, and before long, Malcolm was navigating city traffic to the interstate. With her still-damp jacket in the backseat, Olivia utilized a car blanket like a shawl and, once the heater was cranked up, was cozy and warm.

“There might be snow on the pass,” she pointed out as Malcolm turned onto the eastbound highway toward home.

“I figured, but I have my winter tires on. No worries.”

“I can’t believe Christmas is less than three weeks off.” She plugged his charging cord into her nearly dead phone, wondering if she should give her mom a little heads-up text . . . except that might just send poor Mom into an unnecessary cleaning frenzy. Maybe a surprise was better.

“This is actually perfect timing for something else,” he said mysteriously.

“Something else?” Her engagement radar perked up.

“Yeah. You know Dr. Wheeler and his veterinary practice? Well, I heard through my brother that he’s talking about retirement and needs to hire an associate.”

“Really?” She turned to stare at him. “Are you thinking about it? Seriously? I mean, moving back home?”

“It sounds like a great opportunity. I’ve always wanted a practice that treated some large animals too. I get tired of highly strung little yippy trophy dogs and spoiled, overfed old cats.”

“That does sound a little pathetic.”

“I don’t want to forget everything I learned in school about treating large animals. And working alongside Doc Wheeler would be a fantastic opportunity.”

She glumly nodded. “Yeah, but I would miss you.”

For a long moment the only sound was the wiper blades going back and forth.

“You always say you’d never move back there, but do you really mean it?” he asked.

“I think I used to mean it, and then to be honest, it probably just became a habit. It’s easy to say when you’re trying to fit into big-city life. But I suppose I do miss it.” She considered this. “But to be honest, it would be a challenge to live in the same town as my parents. More specifically, my mom. You know she can be sort of difficult.”

He chuckled. “I know she can be a little finicky about some things.”

“Some things? She’s finicky about everything. The truth is, going home even for just an overnighter kinda sets my teeth on edge.”

“But you said you plan to be home for the holidays,” he reminded her.

“Yeah, I suppose this visit can be like a little booster shot to inoculate me for what’s coming at me in a couple weeks.” She attempted a lighthearted laugh.

“Your mom is going to be thrilled to see you.”

“Malcolm,” she began carefully, “do you think . . . I’m being totally serious now, but do you think my mom is, uh, normal?”

“Normal? Frankly, I don’t know anyone who is normal, so I have no idea.”

“Okay, okay. I realize there is no normal. But sometimes I worry that my mom has mental health issues. It’s like she’s in this perfectionist trap of her own making, and the older she gets, the worse it gets.”

“Maybe it just seems that way since you’re living away from home. If you were around her all the time, you might not even notice. I mean, my family has a lot of weirdness. Like, Jocelyn is on this crazy minimalist kick. And Jonathon has ups and downs and—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know your family, and sure, they have their quirks, which I find rather uniquely charming. But my mom goes beyond that. According to Tracie, any behavior that negatively affects your life or those around you might be more than just an eccentric personality trait.”