Izzy’s Short Story Multiverse

I came up with the idea to create my own short story multiverse around the time I started writing again. It’s been sitting on my story ideas list for a while and I finally decided to give it a try. This project, coined by me as Izzy’s Short Story Multiverse, will be an ongoing project for the duration of this burgeoning writing career of mine, and each year I will add the next years batch of references to this ongoing story. I’m excited to see it grow and to share it with you as I go along! I will be releasing the stories referenced here periodically, so be sure to check out the Short Stories tab for more!

(Working Title)

Part 1 (2023)

Sarah settled in beside her son on his child sized bed, her back resting against the headboard and legs crossed. She set two books on her lap. 

“What’ll it be tonight, bud?” Sarah asked. 

“Both!” Grayson exclaimed. 

“No, no, you can only pick one, remember?” Sarah said. “Now which will it be? If the Moon Were a Cookie (1) or The Tale of the Firefly? (2)”

“Hmph,” Grayson replied with a sigh as he flounced down onto his pillow. “I guess the cookie one.”

“That’s one of my favorites,” Sarah said, winking at Grayson as she set the other book on the nightstand and opened the worn board book with a cookie moon on the cover. 

“I was looking at the sky late one night, when the big bright moon caught my eye. I thought to myself, starting to wonder, what if? What if? I sure do wonder. What if that moon, shining way up there, was a cookie that the whole wide world could share?”

Before Sarah reached the middle of the story, she heard the quiet sound of Grayson’s deep breathing. He was already fast asleep. She smiled down at her son, and with a light kiss on the forehead, she slowly rose from the bed and set the book on the nightstand. After pulling the covers up and tucking them in around Grayson, she sat for a long moment, watching as he slept. 

Not so long ago, Sarah was afraid she was going to lose Grayson, and she cursed the world for being unfair. He spent his childhood in and out of children’s treatment centers around the country, and had been in remission for the past year. She remembered how happy Skylar, her adoptive daughter, was when she found out she was going to be a big sister. But after Grayson’s years of hospital visits and surgeries, Sarah spent most of her time worrying over him, and because of that, she could feel that there was more distance between her and Skylar by the day. Sarah and her husband Michael did what they could to make her first year with them smooth and pleasant. But it seemed that lately Sarah was receiving the brunt of her daughter’s resentment, despite her efforts to make her feel welcome, to feel at home.  

With a sigh, Sarah quietly turned off the firefly lamp by the bedside and crept out of the room, closing the door silently behind her. 

—

As she made her way down the stairs, Sarah could hear the faint sound of the TV coming from the living room. She poked her head in on her way down the hall. 

“Grayson’s asleep,” she said to her husband, who was lounging on the sofa scrolling through channels absentmindedly. “I’ll go make some popcorn and then we can start date night.”

“Hmm?” Michael started at the sound of his wife’s voice. “Oh yeah, sounds great,” he added, “Make mine kettle corn please.”

“You and your sweet popcorn,” Sarah laughed as she made her way into the kitchen. She returned with two bowls, one filled with kettle corn and the other with movie theater butter popcorn and curled up on the sofa next to Michael. She handed him the white bowl with a flourish. 

“Mmm, thanks,” he replied, breathing in the sweet aroma. “So what do you want to watch tonight? An action movie? A Comedy? A Rom Com?”

Sarah set her pink bowl in her lap and rubbed her hands together excitedly. “I’ve really been craving a Rom Com double feature,” she said. “What do you think?”

“Sounds good to me,” Michael replied between bites of kettle corn. “I’ve got my popcorn so I’m happy.” He grinned, revealing a mouthful of popcorn kernels that seemingly replaced his teeth. Sarah laughed. 

“Okay, you goober,” Sarah replied. “Well there’s two new ones out that I’ve been dying to see.” She grabbed the remote and pulled up the first movie’s description on the screen. “So Nothing Stays the Same (3) is about three best friends who spend their last summer together before they go off to college.” Sarah scrolled a little further and pulled up the second movie. “And The Forever Date (4) is about a guy and his high school ex pretending to be together so they can go to his brother’s wedding to his ex model girlfriend and get her back. This one looks hilarious. The first one seems sweet and nostalgic. Wanna start with that one?”

“Sure,” he said.

“Perfect,” Sarah replied as she pressed play. 

While the ads played, they snacked on their popcorn and caught up on the day’s events. 

“Just another day at the office, really,” Michael replied to his wife’s inquiry about his day. “What about you?”

“Oh you know,” Sarah began, “The usual around here. I talked to Mom earlier and she said we’re all set for Thanksgiving next week at her place. And you mentioned that your folks are good with us coming for Christmas?”

“Mhmm, all set for that,” he replied as he chewed and stared at the TV screen. “Mom is already getting excited to see the kids and making elaborate plans for cookies and watching White Christmas. And apparently Grandpa Norman told Grayson that they could do a ‘Santa stake out’ this year.’” He held his hands up in the air as he said this, creating a set of quotes in the air as he laughed. “They’ve got it all planned, and Grayson’s determined to catch the guy and prove he’s real. Also Alyssa wants to visit us on New Year’s while she’s in town.”

With Michael’s father out of the picture, Sarah knew that his mother, Melissa, spent most of her time alone unless there was a holiday or important family gathering, which was usually few and far between. She always looked forward to their visits, and she was glad to bring the kids over to enjoy Christmas and to keep her company during the holidays. 

Sarah nodded in reply, turning to look up at the TV when a familiar commercial came on. 

“Oh, I love this one,” she sighed happily. “So sweet.” She mouthed the words as the ad continued. 

“...You never know where coffee with a stranger (5) will lead. Find your adventure on the country’s longest interstate in America, the I-90 transcontinental freeway today…”

“And don’t get me started on that sad car commercial,” Sarah said with a shake of her head. To her surprise, that was the ad that came on next. “Oh, I don’t wanna cry,” she said with an exaggerated whine, pretending to wipe her eye as she sniffed. 

“You and your commercials,” Michael smiled as he watched her get enraptured by the fictional enactment of a car accident involving a young mom and her son. 

“Shh, here it comes,” Sarah said quietly as her eyes remained glued to the screen. “Aww, it’s just so sweet, the mom kissing her son’s head at midnight on New Year’s Eve after he wakes up (6).”

“You know they’re just actors right?” he said with a laugh. 

“Not to me,” she replied. “I mean come one, it’s his favorite time of year and he’s in a coma and the mom doesn’t think he’s going to wake up and then he does.” She clutched her chest as she said this. “I guess as a mom it just hits home for me.” With a sigh she shoved a handful of popcorn in her mouth and shook her head slightly. After a moment of silence, she perked up as she recalled something she wanted to tell him. She paused the movie as the title sequence started. 

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. Today when I was gathering up laundry, I kind of saw Skylar’s diary laying open. It was halfway tucked underneath her pillow, and I was grabbing clothes and throwing them in the basket when I saw it. I didn’t mean to read it, but when I glanced at the open page I saw an entry that seemed pretty angry. Sounds like boy trouble if I’ve ever seen it. I read a line that said, “If I can’t have him, no one will…(7)” So I immediately assumed that she must be interested in someone at school. I don’t know. It made me wonder though. When she got home this afternoon I tried to ask how her day went and she just blew me off and stormed up to her room. And you saw how she didn’t want to talk at dinner.”

“Yeah, maybe that’s why she’s been so distant and crabby lately. But then again I think it’s just part of being a burgeoning teenager. Wait, I thought she had a boyfriend?” Michael said, raising his eyebrows as he looked at Sarah and tossed another piece of popcorn into his mouth.

“That’s what I thought, too. And yes, I’m pretty sure she’s dating that Jordan kid, you know, Brad and Lori’s son?” she said. “Just typical high school drama and hormones, if I had to guess. Oh well, I’m sure she’ll figure it out eventually. I do know one thing though. I do not miss that drama.”

He laughed as he said, “Yeah, you still couldn’t pay me to go back.”

“Same,” Sarah replied as she held up the remote. “Anyway, that’s all I’ve got. You ready to start the movie? It’s ironically about high school.” She smiled as she extended her arm and prepared to press play. “But it seemed cute, and it reminded me of us back then.” 

“Go for it,” He smiled warmly as he leaned back and put an arm behind his head.

With that, Sarah and Michael sat in mutual silence as they vicariously relived their youth through fictional characters on screen. 

After The Forever Date was over, Michael let out a yawn as he sat up and stretched. 

“Those were some good picks,” he said as he nodded at Sarah in satisfaction. “Good job choosing the lineup tonight.”

“Thanks,” she smiled as she said, “Glad you liked them. You ready for bed?”

“Yeah I think so,” he replied as he stood. “You coming?”

“I think I’m going to put on a late night show and catch up on some reading. I’ve been meaning to start this new memoir I bought a while back.” She gestured at the book on the coffee table before she added, “But I’ll be up soon.”

“Sounds good,” Michael replied as he leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Love you. ‘Night.”

“Love you too. Goodnight,” Sarah replied. As he started to walk away, she grabbed his hand and gently pulled him back. She circled her arms around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. He cupped her face with his free hand and leaned in for a long moment before they both pulled away. With a smile, Michael squeezed her hand before letting go, and stealing another glance at her at the doorway, made his way out of the living room. Sarah waited for him to ascend the stairs to their room before she settled into her favorite spot on the couch with an old worn blanket. She picked up her book off the edge of the coffee table and spent a moment studying the cover:

Fleeting Like Fireworks: A Memoir by Joy Riveres (8)

The picture on the front was of a woman with a man and their dog. They looked blissfully happy, on a beach somewhere together. Sarah couldn’t help but smile at the couple. She saw the book at a discount store and was immediately intrigued by the world travels that the author had gone on, summarized on the back of the dust jacket. An avid traveler herself, Sarah loved any book about far off places and adventure, and thought it would be great inspiration for her and Michael’s future travels. After reading the back and the inside flaps of the dust jacket again, as was part of her new book ritual, she carefully stripped it off the book and cracked it open. Sarah despised reading a book with the dust jacket on; it always got in the way. With that, she let out a sigh of satisfaction and flipped to the dedication page: 

To my two and only life loves and joys, Felix and Rosie Riveres

She lingered on the page for a moment and felt a wave of bittersweet happiness as she read the dedication to the author’s late husband and dog. Turning to the first chapter, she dove in. When she glanced up at the clock after what felt like mere minutes later, she didn’t realize that it was already past midnight. With a yawn, she placed her bookmark and gently clasped the book shut. She stood and set the book back on the table. As she was turning the TV off and preparing to leave the living room, she heard the front door lock softly click. A wave of knowing dread washed over Sarah as she sank back onto the couch and called out into the silence.

“Where have you been?” she asked her daughter as she crept by the living room towards the stairs, shoes in hand. Skylar stopped in her tracks, shoulders visibly tense as she jumped at her mother’s voice. With a defeated sigh, she turned on her heel and leaned her shoulder against the doorframe, avoiding her mother’s gaze. 

“You know curfew is ten, right? Or did you think that the rules just don’t apply to you?” Sarah asked cooly.

“I was just with my friends,” Skylar shot back. “I didn’t think it was a big deal—”

“Well that’s where you’re wrong,” she snapped back, meeting her daughter’s narrowed eyes. 

“I’m an adult, Mom. You can’t tell me what to do anymore.”

“As long as you live under my roof and go to school I most certainly can,” Sarah warned her. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, but until you can remember to respect boundaries and ground rules then I think you need to spend more time at home.”

“Are you seriously grounding me?” Skylar started in, throwing a hand up in the air in exasperation as she placed her other hand on her hip. “I was just down the road—”

“Yes I most certainly am grounding you, and I don’t care where you were,” she interjected, rising to her feet and pointing a finger in the direction of the front door. “When you don’t come home on time I worry myself sick until you walk through that door. Whatever problem you have with me is going to end up getting you into some serious trouble. And until you learn to respect mine and your dad’s rules then you will be going nowhere but to school and back home for at least two weeks. Do you understand?” 

Skylar set her jaw and glared at her mother for a long moment.

“Whatever you say, Mommy Dearest,” Skylar hissed, giving her mother a final look of pure disgust before she stomped up the stairs. Sarah called after her as she reached the landing and stormed to her room. 

“Don’t you dare slam that—”

Slam.

“Door,” she sighed. She closed her eyes and winced, sighing when she heard the creaking of another door upstairs, and the pitter patter of tiny feet climbing down the stairs and to the living room. Grayson appeared in the entryway, rubbing his eyes and yawning. 

“Mommy?” he asked groggily. 

“It’s alright sweetie,” Sarah said, holding her arms out wide. “It’s just your sister.”

Grayson closed the distance and wrapped his arms around her, laying his head on her chest and closing his eyes. 

“Oh,” was all he said.

Sarah stroked his hair and kissed his head. She gave him a tight squeeze and sighed.

“Don’t you dare grow up, you hear me?” she said.   

“Mmm…okay,” he replied. He was barely awake. 

“Get back to bed. It’s late,” she said as she broke away from their embrace and nudged him towards the hall. 

“Night Mommy,” Grayson said as he dragged his little tired feet back up the stairs and shut the door behind him.  

Sarah sat there, eyes focused on the ceiling as she listened for Grayson settling back into bed. After a moment she slowly stood and made her way up the stairs to bed.

—

One Week Later

Sarah and Michael woke to the sound of Michael’s phone ringing. Groaning, he rolled over and fumbled to answer it. His voice was hoarse and groggy when he spoke.  

“Hello?” he said.

“Hey stranger, (9)” the voice on the line replied.

Sarah recognized Michael’s father Nathan on the other end. As he tried his best to make pleasant small talk, she could hear him wishing the family a happy Thanksgiving. She sat up on the edge of the bed, stretching and letting out a yawn. Before she could even get her house shoes on and rise, she could hear him saying he had to go. 

“Well, I guess I’ll let you go…”

“Okay, Dad. Bye.”

With a sigh, Michael dropped his phone back on the nightstand. 

“It was Dad. He said Happy Thanksgiving and to say hi to the kids.”

“Mm,” Sarah replied. “Will do.” 

“He also said he’d like to see us for Christmas if we can swing it.”

“Uh huh. Yeah sure, okay.”

“I know you don’t really get along, but I’d like the kids to be able to have a grandpa figure if he’s willing.”

“Key words: if he’s willing. I’m just looking out for you babe. But whatever you want to do, we’ll do.”

She didn’t feel like getting into it that morning about how absent and estranged Michael’s father was. She wished he wouldn’t put himself through the hurt she knew he felt about things that weren’t even his fault. With a sigh, she made her way to the bathroom and shut the door. She turned the shower on and let the steam fill the room before she stepped in. A moment later she heard the door open and close quietly.

“Can I join you?” Michael asked. 

With a smile, Sarah opened the curtain. 

As they got ready for the day's events, they talked about Sarah and Skylar’s fight from the night before.

“Oh it went as expected,” Sarah began. “She was upset she got caught, then blew up when I grounded her. Slammed her bedroom door and woke Grayson up. The usual adolescent tantrum. Whatever she says, she’s grounded for another week.”

“Got it,” Michael replied. 

“You sure?” Sarah smirked at him in the mirror. “She is Daddy’s girl after all. If you cave then I’m screwed.” 

“I promise I won’t cave,” Micheal laughed. 

“I don’t know what it is, but lately it’s been a nightmare trying to figure out her raging hormones. And speaking of nightmares, I had a pretty interesting dream last night.”  

“Yeah?” Michael mumbled as he flossed his back teeth. 

“I dreamed I was at the airport, except it didn’t really feel like it was me. But my ex boyfriend was there, and there was a new policy where we had to get our “emotional baggage” checked, just like luggage. And it was a fiasco,” Sarah paused as she ran a brush through her hair, “the impromptu counseling session about my past relationships and my parents and all kinds of crazy stuff. Anyway, I never ended up going on whatever trip I was supposed to go on. It was really weird (10).”

“Huh,” Michael replied, thoughtful with a mouthful of frothy toothpaste. “That is weird. I had a crazy dream too.” He rinsed his mouth and put his toothbrush in the holder on the counter before he continued. “I was on a date with that loud mouthed woman with the obnoxious laugh from one of your sitcoms, and she was berating the waiter and in the same breath telling me that she felt like it was fate that we found each other. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, the waiter brings out a free dessert to make up for her messed up order, and there was an engagement ring inside the cake that I had never seen before. Before I could say it wasn’t mine, the woman started babbling about how it was meant to be and next thing I know I was getting married and never getting a word in edgewise for the rest of my life. It was truly frightening (11).”

“Wow, that does sound like a nightmare,” Sarah laughed. “Worse than mine.” 

“Tell me about it,” Michael replied. “I woke up in a cold sweat and had to check and make sure she wasn’t in the bed next to me.”

“Well good thing it was just a dream,” she winked as she pinched her husband’s cheek. “I need to finish getting ready and then I can meet you guys downstairs. Make sure the kids are ready. You know how Grandma is when we’re late.”

He smiled as he said, “Sounds good.” He gave Sarah a quick kiss before he left the room and headed downstairs. 

Sarah finished applying her makeup and went to the bedside table to retrieve her phone. She went to her messages and found who she was looking for.

Sarah: Hey girly, just checking in. We’re about to head over to my folks’ for Thanksgiving dinner. You know you’re always welcome to join us. Love you and hope you’re doing okay. 

Anna: Hey girl, thanks for checking on me. And thanks for the invite, but I don’t think I’m feeling up to it. I’m sorry. I’ll probably just make a frozen pizza and have a bottle of wine and watch some football at home. I’ll be okay, really. Love you too. Let’s catch up soon. 

Sarah: Okay, if you’re sure. Happy Thanksgiving. Yes I’d love to meet up soon! Just let me know when you’re feeling up to it <3

Anna: I will. Thanks. Happy Thanksgiving. Tell the family I said hi <3 

Sarah: Will do <3 (12)

She stood there for a moment, reading over the text conversation again. Anna was recently widowed, and she hadn’t gotten quite back to her old self yet. Sarah often worried about her, and made it a point to check in with her regularly. Her heart went out to her friend, and with a heavy heart she thought about what she would do if she lost Michael or one of her children. She just couldn’t fathom it. With a sigh, Sarah put her phone in her back jeans pocket and made her way downstairs. She called out on her way down. 

“Everybody ready? We gotta go!”

“Ready!” Grayson yelled out.

“Michael? Skylar?” 

“Yes,” Skylar mumbled. 

“All set,” Michael replied as Sarah came into view. He opened the door and gestured for the kids to head to the car. 

Once everyone was in, the family settled in for the hour-long car ride to Sarah’s family’s house.

“Does anybody wanna play a game?” Grayson asked, bouncing up and down in his seat. 

“No thank you,” Skylar muttered as she put her earbuds in and pulled out a worn copy of an old thriller novel Sarah read when she was in high school. She could see the tattered cover in the rearview mirror. 

“How are you liking The Ghosts of Our Past (13)?” Sarah asked her daughter, who was making an active effort to ignore everyone. She lifted the book high enough to cover her face and didn’t reply.

“Okay, nevermind,” she said casually as she gave Michael a side glance. He returned her gaze and gave her a shrug. 

The rest of the drive was silent, save for Grayson quietly mumbling to himself as he played the license plate game alone. 

—

As soon as Michael put the car in park, Grayson bounded out and to the front door. Skylar was about to get out with her earbuds still in, but Sarah stopped her. 

“Come on, Skylar,” she said. “Lose the earbuds and leave the book in the car. We’re here to spend time with family.”

“Whatever,” Skylar said, giving her best eye roll as she yanked out her earbuds and clapped her paperback shut. With a huff she got out of the car and trudged up the sidewalk.

Sarah looked at Michael with pursed lips. “I don’t know what’s gotten into her lately.”

“I’m sure it’ll pass,” he replied. 

“I know you’re right,” she sighed. “It’s just…you know I’ve heard stories about what raising a daughter is like from birth, and sometimes I just wish I had that same experience, you know? I mean don’t get me wrong, I love Skylar so much, but it just seems like we’re constantly at war. I guess she’s just coming of age. And I know it couldn’t have been easy for her to be in and out of foster care and to have to share the spotlight with Grayson. I always wanted a little girl, a little mini me who was my best friend who wanted to spend time with me and talk to me about what she was going through. Maybe one day she’ll come around.”

“I know she will,” he said. “It’s just going to take some time. And besides, you’ve always got me.”

“I do,” Sarah smiled. “Well, I guess it’s time to get in there.”

Sarah and Michael were welcomed with the familiar aromas of turkey in the oven and casseroles cooling in the kitchen. The sound of laughter was coming from the living room down the hall. 

“I’m going to see what’s cooking,” Michael whispered, rubbing his hands together mischievously as he rounded the corner into the kitchen. 

Sarah poked her head into the living room, and found her Mom, stepdad and grandma lounging on the sofa, watching a movie. 

“Hey, family,” she said. 

Everyone turned simultaneously and the regular greetings and pleasantries ensued. Grayson and Skylar sat in the adjacent loveseat, Grayson bouncing excitedly as Skylar sat slumped with her arms crossed, looking annoyed. 

“Come sit dear,” Sarah’s grandmother Beverly said, gesturing to the recliner next to her. 

As Sarah sat down, she looked at the TV and let out a small snort. 

“Cleopatra (14), huh? Haven’t you seen this at least a hundred times, Grandma?”

“No, I definitely haven’t seen this one before. I’d remember,” she said, waving a hand to dismiss her, eyes still glued on the screen.

Sarah met her mother’s gaze and gave her a knowing look. Her grandmother’s memory had been deteriorating for the last couple years, and she was starting to forget a lot of short term events. But it was best to let her believe she was right. She got pretty upset when anyone pointed it out. One thing she never forgot, however, was how to navigate the kitchen.  

“Well, the game starts soon,” Paul, Sarah’s stepdad, chimed in. “Are you going to relinquish the TV so we can watch Dallas and Washington play?” 

“Oh, I suppose I will,” Beverly said. “Men and their football. Your Grandpa Glenn was the worst one of all. He was a Pittsburgh fan all his life. Never missed a game.” 

The only other thing Beverly never forgot was her late husband, Sarah’s grandfather. Though she couldn’t recall that Glenn was actually a die hard Kansas City fan, she was definitely right about him being obsessed with the game all his life.  

“Oh I remember,” Alison, Sarah’s mother, replied. “Sometimes I think he wished I was a boy so that I could have played in school.” 

“I don’t doubt that,” Beverly laughed good naturedly. “But you know he loved you so much.” She gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek and grabbed her cane. Standing slowly, she let out a groan. 

“These old bones don’t work like they used to,” Beverly said. “But there’s work to do. Paul, go ahead and put your game on. Alison and I have some potatoes to peel.”

Sarah led the way to the kitchen, where Michael was perusing and sampling the food that had been prepared. 

“Ahem,” Sarah cleared her throat to warn him before her grandma saw him digging in early. If there was one thing that was sacred to Beverly, it was waiting until it was time to eat, and eating together as a family. 

“Oh,” he started at the sound of his wife’s voice. He tried his best to pretend he didn’t have a mouthful of food as he stepped away from a nearby casserole dish. 

“Hey Grandma Beverly,” he mumbled. “Just seeing what you had going on over here.”

“Oh don’t play dumb, I see a small dent in my sweet potatoes and your mouth is clearly full of something.” Beverly gave him a playful sneer, but her words were still sharp. “Now go on and get before I bake you into a pie.”

“Okay, okay, I’m going,” he laughed. “I’ll go watch the game with Paul.” As he walked past her on his way to the living room, Beverly gave him a light slap on the back.

“Good boy,” Beverly said. “Good to see ya,” she called over her shoulder as she hurried to the oven. 

She peered in and gave her “harrumph” of approval. 

“Looking good,” Beverly said to herself. She straightened up and looked over her shoulder. “Got about an hour left on the bird. You ready for the potatoes and cranberry sauce?”

—

Grayson retreated to the game room down the hall and Skylar went out to the back patio to talk on the phone, leaving Michael and Paul alone to watch the football game.

“Ah, come on boys!” he yelled as he threw his hands in the air and slapped his knee. “That was a perfect pass.”

“The O line is looking pretty rough,” Paul grumbled. 

At that moment, the game cut to a familiar commercial. Michael laughed out loud as the camera zoomed in on a red button and a finger hovering above it, contemplating whether or not they should push it (15). 

“I love this one,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ll tell you one thing, it really does feel like life or death when your wife realizes you didn’t bring her back anything from Sonic.” 

Paul laughed in response.  

“I’m glad you and Sarah could make it. I know it’s quite a drive. Especially with the kids.”

“It’s no trouble at all. We’re glad to be here,” Michael reassured him. “I lost my grandmother two years ago, and it’s been really hard to celebrate the holidays without her. My sister would always help her in the kitchen and I would just sneak in and steal food while they cooked.” He paused, laughing at the memory. “But they were good memories. Sarah’s Grandma reminds me a lot of my Grandma Nora. Coming here feels like home (16).”

“Yeah, it’s hard when you lose someone close to you,” Paul replied, nodding his head knowingly. “There’s just something that’s always missing after that.” He stared off silently, eyes focused on some distant point in space through the television screen.  

“Yeah,” Michael nodded, staring sightlessly at the TV. “I miss the love she put into her cooking most of all.”

He was interrupted from his somber reverie by the sound of Sarah calling across the house. 

“Dinner’s ready! Wash up and get yourselves in here.”

Paul smiled at Michael and set his empty bottle on the table. They silently rose and made their way into the kitchen. 

—

After Thanksgiving dinner, the family retired back to the living room together.

“Sarah,” Beverly said, “Be a dear and get the scrapbooks off the shelf would you?”

“Sure,” Sarah replied, grabbing the three dusty leather bound books filled with pictures off the bottom shelf. She squeezed in between her grandma and mother on the couch and put the scrapbooks on the coffee table. Skylar sat on the arm of the couch, and Grayson climbed in her lap. Michael and Paul stood to the side, drinks in hand. 

“Let’s start with Grandma’s,” Sarah said as she cracked open the yellowing picture book in her lap, Grayson holding the right side open as the family looked at old snapshots and reminisced. 

“Oh how I loved that house,” Beverly said, pointing to a black and white photo of an old and weathered two story home (17). “Glenn and I bought it while he was on leave from the war. I got my folks to help me fix it up. It was going to be a surprise.”

Beverly’s voice wavered as she briskly wiped her nose with the tissue that was crumpled in her hand and swiped at a tear that escaped her brimming eyes. Her gaze settled on the photo below the house, laying her hand on it as she sighed, a bittersweet sound. 

“I loved that man. Glenn was the only one for me. I’m glad for the time I did have, and for what he gave me.” She turned to her daughter and gave her cheek a pinch. Alison smiled warmly in response. 

“I wish I could have met him,” she said. 

The family looked at Beverly’s remaining photos in silence, until a particular photo made her cackle hysterically.

“That was from BINGO night at work, probably 20 years ago now, (18),” she said. “I almost forgot. Linda and Karen had it out for each other. Real competitive, those two biddies. I wish I had a picture of Karen’s face when Linda won, though I wouldn’t say she won fair and square. She was so surprised when she found out later that Linda marked a space on her BINGO card when she wasn’t looking.” Beverly paused, smiling as she said, “I suppose it wasn’t all bad, this old life of mine. Though I do miss meeting up with the girls. If Alison would let me drive I could still see them from time to time.”

“Mom, you know why you can’t,” Alison reminded her. 

Alison spared the family the usual spiel that a year ago, Beverly was driving home after a night out with Karen and Linda and couldn’t find her way back. Her daughter decided it was safer for everyone if she didn’t drive herself around town anymore. And Beverly hated being at the mercy of anyone else when all she wanted was to go come and go as she pleased, just like she believed she was still able to do. 

“Hmph, whatever you say,” Beverly huffed. Her eyes brightened when Alison turned the page to reveal her baby pictures. 

“To think that sweet little angel right there in my arms would be telling me what to do,” Beverly grumbled, but she gave her daughter a gentle nudge as she said it. “Couldn’t have asked for a better one though. And you always had your father’s eyes. Such a sweet little thing.” 

Reaching the end, Sarah closed the old scrapbook and picked up the second one in the stack. 

“Now it’s your turn Mom,” she said as she plopped the scrapbook into Alison’s lap.  

“Oh boy,” Alison replied. “Hope you’re ready for neon and lots of hairspray.” She laughed. 

The family laughed and talked about the eighties, stopping on the page with prom pictures (19). 

“Oh I loved that dress,” Alison sighed, “Big bow and all. What do you think, Skylar? Wanna borrow this dress for your prom? I know I still have it somewhere.” 

For the first time all day, Skylar smiled. With a snort she held her hands up in defense. 

“No thanks, I’m good,” she said. “The eighties are definitely out.”

“Oh, well,” Alison surrendered, “It was worth a shot. Who knows, maybe it’ll make a comeback.”

Beverly chimed in then with a contented sigh. 

“You and Paul have always made a cute couple,” she said, turning to smile at Alison and Paul in turn. 

“Mom, that isn’t…” Alison began, meeting her husband’s pained gaze apologetically.  

“It’s alright,” Paul assured her, lips pressed into a tight thin line. He stared down at his shoes, rocking back and forth on his feet. 

Alison quickly turned the page, trying to hide her glistening eyes as she stared down at the scrapbook. When she saw a picture of her and Sarah’s biological father posing for a prom photo together, her eyes welled up again and she quickly set the scrapbook down on the coffee table in front of her. 

“Excuse me,” Alison muttered as she rose and rushed out of the living room to the bathroom down the hall. 

Paul made a move to touch her arm as she hurried past, but she didn’t stop. He stared after her for a long moment before he quietly exited the room and headed for the front door. It closed with a light click, leaving Sarah, Michael, the kids and Beverly alone.   

Sarah met Michael’s gaze and gave him a sad half smile. She knew her mother would need space before she was ready to talk, and from the looks of it so did her stepfather. She decided to give them some time and finished flipping through her mother’s scrapbook. Beverly continued to call her biological father by Paul’s name until the very end. Sarah decided to let it lie. 

Sarah closed the scrapbook, the spine cracking as she did so. She picked up the last one on the table.  

“Last but not least,” she said cheerily as she opened the book. 

“Michael, get ready for awkward high school and college photos.”

“Can’t wait,” he winced as he smiled. “Lucky for you you’ve always been beautiful.”

“Need I remind you I got glasses and braces in college,” Sarah shuddered as she began to flip through the pages. She stopped on an old photo from art class. 

“Oh my gosh, that was the day we were painting that mural and you got bright orange paint in your hair. You can see it if you look close (21).”

“Man that was embarrassing,” Michael laughed. 

“It was adorable,” Sarah gave him a wink as she turned another page. This one was filled with pictures ripped in half, her ex-boyfriend haphazardly ripped out of all of her prom photos. 

“And we’ll just skip all those,” she said casually as she turned another page. 

“Could’ve been me,” Michael teased. 

“I know, I know,” Sarah said. “What can I say? I was going through my bad boy phase.”

“Well thankfully your nerd in shining armor arrived right on time,” Michael said as he puffed his chest and smiled a goofy smile. 

“Exactly,” Sarah replied, puckering her lips and making a kissing noise in her husband’s direction. He pretended to catch it and put it in his pocket. Skylar rolled her eyes as she let out a disgusted sigh. Grayson let out a moan as he covered his eyes. 

“Ugh, Mom, Dad. Gross,” Grayson said through his hands. All the adults laughed.

“You say that,” she said to him, turning another page as she placed her chin on Grayson’s shoulder and tickled him with her free hand, “But you wouldn’t be here without your lame parents.” Grayson let out a loud laugh, kicking his feet wildly. Sarah pointed to a newborn picture of him in her arms. “Look at those little cheeks, and that sweet little face. I miss you being so little, and that sweet little laugh.”

Grayson smiled, dropping his hands from his face as he said, “Yeah, I was pretty cute.”

Sarah smiled as she pointed to a picture of her oldest.  

“And so was this little bundle of sunshine,” she said, gesturing to a newborn picture that her adopted daughter had of her biological mother holding her as a baby. 

“You didn’t even know me then,” Skylar scoffed, reminding her adoptive mother that she had only been a part of the family for a little less than a year. 

“Oh but I know you better than you think,” Sarah reassured her with a warm and knowing smile. “Your mother would be proud of the young woman you’re growing into.” 

At this, Skylar averted her eyes, studying the carpet intently. She never opened up about losing her mother as a young girl, and having no other family to take her in. Sarah did her best to make her new life as comfortable as possible, but she felt that as soon as she got the chance she would leave and never look back, and the thought always hurt Sarah deep down. Lost in thought, she turned the page to a picture of their little family.      

Michael chimed in then, bringing Sarah back to the present. 

“Call me biased, but our story is my favorite. My three joys in life, all together.” He winked at her, and she smiled up at him warmly.

The remainder of the scrapbook contained recent photos of the entire family, half filled with new memories and the promise of new ones to come. As everyone sat in blissful silence, letting the warmth of the memories fill the empty space, Grayson abruptly broke the silence.

“I love our family,” he said with a wide grin. 

“Me too, little one. Me too,” Sarah replied, giving him a squeeze. 

“Well, I guess that’s it,” she declared, tossing the scrapbook on top of the stack on the coffee table. “I guess it’s time for us to head home.”

“Without dessert?” Beverly and Grayson exclaimed at once. 

“Oh, right! I almost forgot,” Sarah said, winking at Beverly as she did so.

“Come on squirt, you can help me set the table.”

Grayson leaped up and bounded to the kitchen. Beverly slowly stood, laughing as she followed, Skylar close behind. Only Michael and Sarah remained, and Sarah gave her husband a sweet embrace, burying her head in his chest. 

“I love our lives,” she whispered.

He kissed her on the head before grabbing her hand and leading her to the kitchen, where the sounds of clinking plates and laughter filled the air. 

“I love our lives, too,” he replied.

—

As Sarah was crossing the hall into the kitchen, she caught sight of someone standing on the front porch. 

“Hey,” she said quietly, touching Michael’s arm, “I’ll be right there. I’m going to check on him.” She nodded her head to the front door.

With a nod, Michael watched her go before he entered the kitchen. 

Paul turned as she slipped out the front door, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

“Everything alright?” she asked, eyebrows raised.  

“Oh, hey,” he said. “Yeah, yeah. I just needed some air.” He turned his face up to the sky and took a deep breath. With a sigh he exhaled and they stood together in the silence for a long time. 

“I know that I wasn’t her first choice,” he finally said. 

“What do you mean?” Sarah asked, not meeting his gaze. She knew all too well what he meant, and she felt guilty for not checking on him sooner. 

“Your mom,” he said. “Every time she looks at those old pictures, I know she gets sad. She really loved your dad. And I’m reminded of that all the time. I know that sounds awful, selfish. And I don’t begrudge her at all. I just know that I won’t ever quite fit into that void that she feels without Jeremy.” Paul hung his head. “She also never wanted to have kids with me. But I hope you know that despite everything that I am grateful for your mother, and for you. I did my best by the both of you, and I love you both so much.” 

“I know,” Sarah whispered as she put an arm around him and gave him a gentle squeeze. “I guess you’re alright,” she said, smiling up at him. Paul laughed in response.  

“You’re not so bad yourself, kid,” he replied. 

Sarah’s eyes grew serious as she said, “You know we love you too.”

With a shaky breath, Paul put an arm around her. He gave her a fatherly kiss on top of her head, something he hadn’t done since she was a little girl.  

“I know,” he said as he rested his chin gently on Sarah’s head. 

After a quiet moment, Sarah broke away and nodded towards the front door. 

“You up for some dessert?” she asked.  

“Always,” Paul replied with a smile, less somber than before. Sarah opened the door and gestured for him to go first. 

“After you,” she said. 

“Thanks,” Paul replied as he walked inside. Sarah followed, shutting the door gently behind her.

—

While the rest of the family finished their dessert in the kitchen, Alison appeared in the doorway. She met her daughter’s gaze, tilting her chin in a nodding gesture. Sarah quietly rose and followed her mother across the hall to the living room. Alison perched on the edge of the couch and reached out for her scrapbook on the coffee table, tracing the cracks on the cover lightly. As Sarah settled into the seat next to her, her mother delicately lifted the photo album into her lap, fiddling with the worn edges as she avoided her daughter’s gaze. 

“I figured it’s about time you and I had a talk,” Alison said. “About your real father.”

Sarah swallowed nervously as she met her mother’s gaze. 

“Mom, it’s okay. You don’t have to—”

“I want to,” Alison reassured her with a weak smile. “He was an important part of my life, and you should know about him, too.”

“Okay,” Sarah nodded, waiting for her to continue.

“Your father, Jeremy, was the sweet type, terribly shy. We were childhood friends (20), until I moved schools. When I came back to Hillview High to graduate, I didn’t even recognize him. If he hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask me to dance at our senior prom, things might be a lot different.” She smiled at her daughter, eyes shining with tears. “But you have to understand, I am happy with how things turned out. I love Paul so much. And he was such a wonderful father to you, and I’m so grateful for that. I just wish you could have known Jeremy, too.” 

Sarah’s mother flipped through the scrapbook pages and stopped on the old prom Polaroid of her and Sarah’s father. She smiled knowingly, touching the old photo with her fingertips. 

“The memory has always been too painful for me to talk about, and I know that Paul must feel some type of way that I never truly let your father go. But I just wanted you to know a little bit about him, and I hope this doesn’t make you think differently of me or Paul. He truly loves you like his own. I know I should have done better by him, but I know he cares about me deeply. I’ll always remember Jeremy, but my heart has been Paul’s from the day I met him. Just don’t ever doubt our love for you,” Alison finished, wiping a tear from her cheek and sniffling quietly. 

Sarah leaned her head on her mother’s shoulder and sighed. 

“Thank you Mom,” she said. “I know how hard that must have been. It’s nice to have a piece of my father, even though I never got the chance to know him.” Sarah paused, studying the old picture for a moment before she continued. 

“But I can see how much you love Paul, and to me, that’s my dad. And your story will always be my favorite.”

Alison smiled through fresh tears and gave her daughter a long hug. 

“I love you, dear,” she whispered.

“Love you more,” Sarah replied. 

“I want you to have this,” Alison said as she pulled the prom photo out of the four corner stickers. She held it out to Sarah with a wistful smile.

Sarah took the photo and stared at it for a long time. Now it was her turn to cry. She held the picture up to her chest and let out a shaky breath as the tears spilled down her face. 

“Thank you,” she said. “This means the world.”

Alison smiled and nodded in response. With a sniffle, she asked “I guess you’ve got to get going soon, huh?”

Sarah swiped at the tears in her eyes as she looked up at the grandfather clock. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” she said. 

As they stood and gave each other a final hug, there was a light knocking on the entryway of the living room.

“My girls alright in here?” Paul asked. 

Alison smiled and closed the distance between them, giving him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. 

“Never better,” she replied.

Sarah approached and gave Paul one last hug. 

“Alright family,” Sarah called into the kitchen. “It’s time to load up.” 

Alison and Paul stood on the porch, arms around each other’s waist as they watched them leave. Beverly stood off to the side, waving until they were out of sight.   

The family was almost home when Skylar took an earbud out of her ear and leaned so that her reflection showed through the rearview mirror. She had that look, like she wanted something and was afraid to ask for it. There was a faint glow on her face as she held her phone in one hand, open to her messages.

“Hey Mom?” Skylar asked. 

“Hmm?” Sarah replied, waiting for her daughter to get on with it. 

“I was wondering…I mean my friends were asking what I’m doing tonight, and I thought since we’re done with family stuff maybe I could meet them at the movies? I’d be back by curfew and—”

Michael interjected with a firm shake of his head. 

“No can do Skylar,” he said. “You know you’re still grounded.”

“Oh come on, still? But I’ve done what I was asked all week long, no complaints,” Skylar protested as she ironically complained.

“Your dad’s right,” Sarah said. “I told you that you were grounded for at least two weeks.”

Without another word, Skylar flounced back into her seat with a sigh, crossing her arms defiantly and staring out the dark car window. Sarah thought she heard her mutter “unbelievable” under her breath but decided not to push it. Michael thought better of letting it go. 

“Keep it up and you’re going to get an extra week,” he snapped, breaking the silence. Skylar didn’t say another word until they parked the car in the driveway. 

“I hate my life,” Skylar grumbled as she slammed the car door and made a beeline for the front door. The sound stirred Grayson from his peaceful slumber in the backseat. 

“Hmm? Where are we?” he yawned and wiped his eyes groggily. 

“We’re home, little one,” Sarah said. “Come on let’s get you to bed.”

Michael picked Grayson up out of his seat and Sarah followed as he went into the house. 

After they got him settled into bed, Sarah and Michael stood outside the door, whispering to one another.

“You need me?” he asked, gesturing to Skylar’s closed bedroom door. 

Sarah stared at the door with the crooked “Keep Out” sign and sighed. 

“No, it’s probably better if I do it,” she said. 

“Well, good luck,” he whispered, giving her a quick peck on the cheek before he went downstairs, leaving Sarah alone, standing at her daughter’s door.

She knocked gently before she let herself in. 

“Skylar? I want to talk to you —”

The lights were off in Skylar’s room. The only light was the dim glow of the moon through the window. She stepped into the room and noticed that the window was open just a crack, enough to cause the open curtains to billow in the breeze. Upon further investigation, she realized that the seemingly sleeping figure in the bed wasn’t moving. She pulled the covers back to reveal a pile of pillows, nothing more. 

“Skylar,” Sarah said to herself, more sad than angry. “What am I going to do with you?”

— 

About 11PM, Sarah heard a light bumping coming from upstairs. She rose from the couch and quietly made her way up the steps to Skylar’s room. This time she didn’t knock. When she opened her bedroom door, Skylar was just closing her window. At the sound of her door opening, she jumped and spun around. 

“Mom, you scared me,” she said, letting out a sharp exhale. “I was just letting some air in—”

“Spare me the speech, Skylar. Please,” Sarah interjected, lifting a hand in the air to signal for her daughter to stop talking. “I know you snuck out. I found a pillow person in your bed. Pretty convincing, I’ll give you that.”

Sarah crossed the room and threw the covers back. Sure enough, the pillows were still there. 

“Ugh. Busted,” Skylar mumbled, putting a hand over her face as she said it. 

“Busted, indeed,” Sarah said, crossing her arms and setting her jaw. “You wanna tell me just what you thought you were doing?”

“Well, you remember how I asked if I could go out with my friends? Well I was with them.”

“Oh really?” Sarah asked. “So you weren’t with Jordan?”

“I mean, he was there too,” Skylar said, eyes on the floor. 

“Unbelievable,” Sarah scoffed as she shook her head. “You just keep breaking the rules and expecting no consequences. I’m going to put an alarm on that window first thing tomorrow. And you're grounded for a month, starting now.”

“Ugh, you can’t be serious!” Skylar yelled. “You never let me do anything! How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not a little kid that you can boss around?!”

“Don’t you dare raise your voice at me like that,” Sarah warned her. “How can I trust that you’ll do the right thing when you deliberately ignore our rules? You think that once you’re out doing whatever you want that you don’t have to listen to us. Seriously, I don’t understand why you and I are constantly butting heads, when all I’ve done is welcome you into this family with open arms and give you everything you ever asked for—” 

“Oh please,” Skylar laughed. “It’s not like you’ve ever truly cared about me. It’s always been Grayson this and Grayson that from the moment I got here. Your ‘perfect little miracle child,’” she held up air quotes as she said the words. “Be honest, it’s not like you have the time to worry if I’m coming or going.”

“That is not true, Skylar,” Sarah said. “And it’s unfair. You know your brother has required special attention for his illness, and I never meant to make you feel like you didn’t matter. I just want to work this out, figure out what it is that makes you not want to be here. I just want to help—”

“You’re not my Mom! Okay?” Skylar exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. “You never were, and you never will be. I was just some pity adoption to make you guys feel better. Like you could just pick some random kid off the street and call them your daughter and that would fix everything!” She stared at her mother, eyes wide as she caught her breath. It only took a moment for the regret to appear on her face. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that—”

“Oh, I think you’ve made yourself perfectly clear,” Sarah snapped, eyes narrowed. “I won’t try to be your mother anymore. But as long as you live under this roof, you’re going to play by me and Michael’s rules. If you don’t like it, then you can go back to the girl’s home until you’re free to make your own decisions in the next two years. Just say the word and we’ll make that happen.”

“Sarah, wait—”

Sarah was to the door and out before Skylar could say anything else. She silently cursed herself as she fell into her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as a tear ran down her face.

—

Part 2 (2024)

Christmas Eve, One Month Later

Michael’s mother answers the door after the second knock.

“Grandma!” Grayson shouts as soon as it swings open, rushing in to give Melissa a hug around the waist. She chuckles and gives him a squeeze. 

“Hey, pumpkin,” she says, smiling down at him. “How’ve you been?”

As Grayson excitedly rambles about school and Santa, Melissa smiles at Michael and Sarah in turn. She leans over to give Skylar’s shoulder a pat as everyone enters the house. 

“Where’s Grandpa Norman?” Grayson asks as he interrupts himself in his excitement. 

“Oh, where you always find him,” Melissa replies. “I think he said something about a Santa stakeout tonight?” She smiles and winks at him knowingly.

Grayson’s eyes light up, and with an eager gasp, he hurries to the living room where Norman is undoubtedly in his recliner watching Christmas movies on the classic movie channel.

“How ya doing, Mom?” Michael asks as he gives Melissa a hug. 

“Oh, never better,” she says. “I’m so glad you could make it.” She turns to embrace Sarah as Skylar excuses herself.

“I’ll be where the hot chocolate is,” she says as she shoots her grandma a sideways grin. 

“I’ll be right there,” Melissa calls after her before turning to face Sarah. 

“How are things going with you two?” she asks, brow creased.

“Oh, you know,” Sarah says with a wave of her hand, “As well as they could be. I’ll always be the bad guy and I’ll never be her real mom, which she kindly reminded me of the last time we argued.”

Sarah’s smile turns wistful as her eyes dart down the hall.

Melissa gives her shoulder a pat.  

“Well we’ve got time to talk about everything later. Come on in and make yourselves right at home, dear. I’ll be in the kitchen.”

With that, Melissa disappears down the hall and Michael and Sarah go to their room to drop off their bags.

Michael hoists his suitcase onto the bed and lets out a sigh. He gives Sarah a wavering look. She lifts an eyebrow. 

“Everything okay?” she asks. 

“Yeah,” he says. “Just wanted to tell you that Dad texted earlier today. Says he wants to meet us for lunch tomorrow on our way back home if we can swing it.”

“Ah.” She purses her lips. “Well whatever you want works for me.”

“Okay then.” His shoulders relax slightly. “Then I’ll let him know.”

“Great,” she says as she makes for the door. “Well, shall we?”

Michael closes the distance between them and gives Sarah a kiss on her forehead before nudging her into the hall.

“After you,” he says with a smile. 

—

When Michael and Sarah enter the living room, Grayson is currently gushing to his great grandfather about his plan to capture Santa. 

“Oh, is that right?” Norman asks as Grayson explains to him that he has the perfect trap prepared. Norman looks up when Michael and Sarah settle into the couch. 

“There they are,” he says with his signature grunt and grin. 

“How’s it going Norm?” Sarah asks. 

“Oh, not bad, not bad,” he says. “Michael,” he adds in greeting. 

“Hey Pop,” Michael says with a nod. “Already hard at work in the recliner, huh?” He shoots his grandpa a goofy grin.

Norman just chuckles.

A moment later Melissa and Skylar enter the room with cups of steaming hot chocolate. They sit together on the loveseat across from Michael and Sarah. 

“Where’s mine?” Grayson whines, eyes filled with dismay as he drools over his sister’s mug. 

“Oh, calm down,” Skylar says as she rolls her eyes. “It’s on the kitchen table.”

“Alright!” Grayson cheers as he races across the hall, out of earshot. 

“He’s gonna flip later,” Sarah whispers to Melissa and Norman. “We got him a new instant print camera so he can get a picture of Santa tonight.”

Norman lets out a hearty laugh and Melissa smiles. Sarah holds her finger up to her lips as Grayson pads back into the living room with his hot chocolate filled to the brim and a chocolate mustache already on his upper lip. 

“Come here, squirt,” Melissa says with a laugh. She wipes his mouth with a tissue from the box on the table. 

“There,” she says, leaning back and nodding. “For a second I thought you really grew a mustache.”

Grayson giggles in response, sitting cross-legged by the coffee table and hugging his mug in both his child-sized hands. 

“Well, I hope you guys are hungry,” Melissa says, addressing the room. “We’ve got a ton of food. Should be ready in an hour or so.”

“We’re starved,” Michael replies, rubbing his stomach. “I’ve been saving room all afternoon.”

“Are we still making cookies later and watching White Christmas?” Skylar asks, trying to mask her excitement. 

“Well it wouldn’t be Christmas without either, would it?” Melissa asks, nudging her granddaughter with her shoulder.

Skylar gives her a small smile as Sarah watches their exchange. She feels a small flood of warmth knowing that, despite their differences, she can provide her daughter with something, anything, that makes her happy, especially during the holidays. 

“Are we getting a Christmas gift tonight?” Grayson asks, knowing the family always got a pair of matching pajamas every year on Christmas Eve. 

“I’m sure we can swing that,” Melissa says with a wink. 

“And then Grandpa has to help me get ready for tonight,” Grayson adds, kicking his feet excitedly as he meets Norman’s gaze. 

“You got it, sport,” Norman replies, eyes shining. 

“Well, let’s get to it then,” Melissa says, standing and clutching her empty mug. “Sarah, do you mind helping me with dinner?”

“Not at all,” Sarah replies as she rises and follows Melissa to the kitchen. 

—

“I hope she comes around,” Sarah says as she helps Melissa set the table. “Skylar’s a great kid, and I just want her to be happy.” 

“All you can do is your best,” Melissa replies. “She is a teenager after all. You can’t blame yourself for every mood swing. You just have to give her time.”

“You’re right. I just want her to feel safe. And loved.”

“Oh, she knows.” Melissa gives her a firm nod. “Just keep doing what you’re doing and everything will be fine.”

A moment later Skylar rounds the corner. She averts her eyes as she makes a beeline for the sink and rinses her empty mug. With a quick sheepish glance, she hurries out of the room. 

Sarah and Melissa exchange glances. Melissa smiles and shrugs. 

“Alright gang,” she calls, “Time for dinner!”

—

As everyone buzzes with excitement over Christmas dinner, Sarah silently takes in that familiar warm feeling she always gets when her family is together. Skylar sits across from Sarah, her head down as she moves potatoes around on her plate with her fork. She glances up and meets Sarah’s gaze and the pit in Sarah’s stomach announces its presence. Skylar gives her a half smile and averts her eyes. Sarah smiles back, her worries subsiding enough to settle back into easy dinner conversation. 

“Dinner was incredible as always, Melissa,” Norman says as he leans back and pats his stomach. 

“Thanks, Dad,” Melissa replies, beaming. “I do my best to honor Mom’s memory. I just wish Alyssa were here, too. At least we’ll see her at New Year’s.”

After a contemplative pause, she claps her hands together.

“Who’s ready for their early Christmas presents?” she asks, looking at Grayson in particular. 

“Me!” Grayson yells, pushing himself away from the table and leaping out of his chair as soon as she says it. 

“Well the sooner you help me clear the table, the sooner we can open them,” Melissa says with a smile as she turns to wink at Sarah and Michael. They laugh. 

Once the table is cleared, everyone goes back to the living room, and Melissa hands out six identically wrapped rectangles.

“Alright, everybody ready?” Melissa asks, surveying the room. Everyone has their box on their laps, nodding eagerly. 

“Okay…everybody open!” she shouts as the sound of tearing and rustling fills the air. Grayson can’t contain his delight as he holds up his green pajama top with candy canes all over it.

“I love them!” he yells as he sprints out of the room to change immediately, sending the adults into a fit of laughter. 

Once everyone is dressed, Melissa puts the camera and tripod. She sets the timer and everyone frantically runs around to get into position. Skylar stands next to Sarah, putting her arm around her shoulders. Sarah smiles and returns the gesture just in time for the camera to flash. 

“Now a goofy one!” Grayson yells. Everyone poses with rabbit ears and tongues out as the camera flashes again. Melissa laughs as she looks through the photos. 

“Dad, you were supposed to do a funny pose,” she snorts. 

“I figured I looked funny enough on my own,” Norman says with a goofy grin. 

After a pause he rubs his hands together.

“Is it time for cookies?” he asks. 

“You bet,” Melissa says. “But I need my helpers.”

She gestures to Grayson and Skylar, who eagerly follow her to the kitchen, leaving Norman in his recliner and Sarah and Michael curled up on the couch. Before long Norman is snoring in his chair, which prompts a soft chuckle from Michael.

“He must be getting his beauty sleep before the big stakeout tonight. Grayson is going to be so surprised.”

“I know,” Sarah agrees, smiling. “We’ll have to give him his other gift after cookies.”

Sarah glances toward the kitchen. She can hear Skylar and Grayson’s laughter as it carries across the hall.  

“Have you noticed Skylar’s been acting…well…pleasant?” she asks, looking up at Michael with a smile. 

“I’ve learned to just not question it and enjoy it while it lasts,” he replies, giving her shoulders a squeeze. 

“True.” She rests her head on his shoulder. “I’m just really enjoying it.”

“Yeah, me too,” he says. 

—

In the kitchen, Grayson is covered in flour and Skylar is trying to help her little brother ice the cookies. Melissa watches, smiling as she wipes her hands on her apron. 

“Hold still,” Skylar says as she guides Grayson’s tiny fist over the edge of a snowflake-shaped shortbread. His giggles make his lines inconsistent.

“Well, it’s better than the last one,” Skylar teases as she gestures to a candy cane-shaped one with crooked and over-sized stripes. “Good job,” she adds, high-fiving Grayson and sending a puff of white powder in the air as their palms make contact. 

“Santa’s gonna love ‘em,” Melissa says as she surveys the kids’ work. “I’m sure you’ll catch him this year, Grayson. I’ve got a good feeling about this batch.”

Grayson beams at his grandma and admires his handiwork. Skylar suddenly looks far away. Melissa sees her staring blankly at the cookies and turns to Grayson. 

“Alright sport, why don’t you go wash up and meet us in the living room? I think your mom and dad have something else for you.”

“Okay!” Grayson exclaims as he runs out of the kitchen. 

“You okay, hon?” Melissa asks, placing a hand on Skylar’s back. 

Skylar’s eyes brim with tears. 

“Yeah,” she sniffs as she swipes at her eye. “This just reminds me of when I was little. This was always my mom’s favorite time of year. She and I used to make cookies together and open presents by tree light at midnight on Christmas morning. At least we did. Before she…”

Her shoulders fall as she starts to sob. 

“Oh, come here,” Melissa says gently as she pulls her granddaughter close. She kisses the top of her head and smooths her hair. 

“I’m so sorry that your heart is so heavy for a kid your age. But you are so loved. You know that?”

Skylar buries her head into Melissa’s shoulder and closes her eyes.

“I know…it’s just…I’ve been so awful to Sarah and Michael…I just want them to know that I’m grateful. I really am.”

“Well, they would know if you showed them. If you told them.” 

Skylar nods silently and pulls back. She wipes her eyes and smiles a weak smile. 

“I’ll try,” she says. 

“Good.” Melissa smiles warmly. “Now how about we get ready for White Christmas?”

Skylar’s face lights up as she nods eagerly. 

—

“No way!” Grayson exclaims after he opens his new instant print camera. Skylar and Melissa observe from the doorway as Norman, Sarah and Michael watch Grayson’s reaction in the living room. 

“We figured you’d want proof once you catch Santa tonight,” Sarah says. She winks at Norman, who winks knowingly back. 

Grayson throws his arms around his parents. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Grayson exclaims as he dances around. “I’m gonna try it out!”

As Grayson runs around the house snapping photos of everything under the sun, the rest of the family settles in to watch White Christmas. Skylar sits next to Sarah and rests her head on her shoulder. Sarah smiles at Michael and returns the gesture. Grayson creeps back in and takes pictures of everyone before he sits on the floor and looks through his prints. 

Michael is asleep by the time the credits roll, and Norman is snoring in his recliner.

Sarah nudges her husband. 

“You ready for bed, sleepy head?” she asks.

Michael stirs and stretches. 

“Oh yeah,” he says with a sigh. He turns to Grayson. 

“Good luck tonight, sport,” he says as he ruffles his son’s hair. “Goodnight everyone,” he adds as Sarah follows him out of the room. 

“Grandpa!” Grayson yells as he shakes Norman awake.

With a loud snort, Norman’s head shoots up. 

“Huh?” he says as he sits up in his chair and rubs his eyes. 

“It’s time!” Grayson says as he jumps up and down. He runs over to his sister, dancing around with excitement. 

“Are you going to stay up with me?” he asks, eyes pleading. 

“Oh, I don’t know,” she says as she stands. “I think I’d just get in the way. You and Grandpa have got this.” Seeing Grayson’s dismayed expression, she adds, “Tell you what. I’ll at least help you get the milk and cookies ready before I go.”

Grayson reluctantly accepts, and after fussing over where to put the plate of cookies and the glass of milk for the better half of fifteen minutes, he’s finally satisfied.

“Good luck,” Skylar says with a smile. “Night everyone.” 

“Night,” Grayson, Melissa, and Norman say in unison. 

“Alright, squirt,” Melissa says as she pulls Grayson into a bear hug. “I’m going to turn in, too. You boys have fun tonight.” 

With a smile at Norman, she leaves the room.

—

Grayson wakes the whole house in the early morning with his shouts of delight. 

“Mom! Dad! Skylar! Grandma! I saw him! I got a picture of Santa!”

Over breakfast, everyone looks at Grayon’s prints from the night before. When Norman sees the photo, he acts surprised. 

“I can’t believe I left the room for five minutes and I missed him.” 

He winks at Melissa, who smiles back. Grayson has no idea that his grandpa dressed up while he dozed, staging the whole thing. 

“Well, good thing you had that camera,” Michael says to Grayson. Sarah smiles as she looks at the pictures. 

“Great snapshots, too,” she says. 

“Thank you…I mean,” Norman clears his throat and says, “Good goin’ sport.” 

He pats his grandson’s shoulder. 

The morning is filled with excitement as the family opens presents and stockings. When the time approaches noon, Michael gets restless. 

“Well, I guess we better get ready.”

He gives Sarah a sideways glance, unsure of how she’ll react. 

“Sounds good,” Sarah replies with more enthusiasm than he expected, gesturing to the kids and their piles of opened gifts. “Alright you two, get your stuff.”

After loading the car and saying goodbye, the four of them head to a nearby local diner, where Michael’s father Nathan is meeting them for lunch. He’s even punctual for once, waiting at the booth in the back when they arrive. He waves them down without standing. 

“There they are,” Nathan says as everyone sits. “Long time no see.”

Sarah hated how Michael’s father always seemed to insinuate that they were the reason they didn’t see him often. Despite her warring thoughts, she presses the annoyance down and gives her best smile.

“How’ve you been, Dad?” Michael asks. “Have a good Christmas?”

“Oh, can’t complain,” Nathan replies as he leans back in his chair. “Just spent it with Tabitha.”

It seemed like every time they turned around, Nathan had a new girlfriend. It was difficult to keep up.

“Ah,” Michael says, nodding, “Guess I haven’t met her yet.”

“Well, you know you’re always welcome at the house.”

“Thanks,” Michael says, with a hint of hesitation. Sarah reads this for the unspoken truth it really is: Even if they wanted to visit, Nathan was always too busy to be bothered, or he was never home.

“So how have you two been?” Nathan asks, finally addressing his grandkids who he claimed were the whole reason he wanted to meet in the first place. 

“Good,” Skylar says, picking at her napkin. 

Grayson eagerly digs in his pocket. 

“I got a picture of Santa last night!” he says excitedly as he flashes a print at Nathan. He chuckles and examines the photo. 

“Well look at that,” he says just as his phone chimes. He fishes it out of his coat pocket immediately. 

“That’s Tabitha now,” he says. 

Everyone stares on quietly as he gets lost in a long text exchange. As usual, the conversation that Michael tries to make falls on deaf ears, and all Sarah can do is watch him deflate as the kids quietly pick at the remains of their food.

“Then we’ve got a friend’s wedding,” Michael aimlessly rambles on, “And the New Year’s party—”

At this, Nathan perks up and sets his phone on the table.

“New Year’s party, huh? I wouldn’t mind swinging by. Maybe I could bring Tabitha.”

“Uh,” Michael begins as he meets Sarah’s warning gaze. 

“Yeah, maybe,” he says, uncertain. 

“Great,” Nathan says as he claps his hands together. “Well let me get the tab. Least I can do. Call it a Christmas gift from Grandpa.”  

“Thanks,” Michael says, clearing his throat and shifting in his seat. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Don’t worry,” Nathan reassures him, “I’m happy to. It’s not every day I get to have a meal with you all.”

Sarah’s shoulders tense at the insinutation as Michael grows quiet. 

Shortly after paying, Nathan pushes himself away from the table and stands. 

“Well, I gotta meet Tabitha,” he says, “Let me know about that party.”

“Alright,” Michael says, “Thanks for lunch.”

“You bet,” Nathan smiles. He gives the kids a hug and says goodbye. 

“Merry Christmas,” he says as he exits the restaurant, everyone silently staring after him. 

—

“I just wish you hadn’t mentioned it,” Sarah says as she and Michael unpack.

“I’m sorry,” Michael says with a sigh. “It just slipped out. I didn’t think he was even listening.”

“Well, it’s done now. I guess we’ll just have to prepare for the worst.”

“I guess so.” Michael sighs. “It’s just that he always acts like he wants to be a part of the kids’ life. My life. And it’s so rare that I just kind of latch on to what I can get. It’s stupid, I know. I just don’t get why I have to make all the effort. It sucks.”

Sarah walks around the bed and gives him a hug. 

“I know,” she says. “That’s why I get so defensive. I’m just trying to look out for you.”

“I know. And I appreciate it. Thanks for understanding.”

With a kiss on the cheek, Sarah pulls away and heads for the door. 

“I’m going to make some tea,” she says before slipping out.

—

Sarah rounds the corner into the kitchen and glances out the patio door. The sky is gray and the snow is steadily falling. Skylar is standing outside, arms crossed in her oversized sweater, staring up at the clouds. Sarah quietly steps outside. 

“You alright, kiddo?” she asks as she joins Skylar at her side. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Skylar replies, still staring at the sky. “Just thinking. This is just a hard time of year for me. And I know I haven’t been fair. To you.”

Sarah puts an arm around Skylar and kisses her head. 

“I’m sorry for what I said before,” Skylar says softly. “I didn’t mean it.”

“I didn’t either,” Sarah says as she gives her shoulders a squeeze. “It’s okay. I’m here if you need anything, alright?”

Skylar smiles a wistful smile and nods. 

“Thanks, Mom,” she says quietly. 

Sarah smiles back, eyes burning. She hurries back into the kitchen, closing the door behind her just in time for the tears to come. She closes her eyes as she covers her mouth with her palm. After a few shaky breaths, she crosses the kitchen to grab the kettle off the stove, smiling all the while. Only one word replays on a loop in her mind. 

Mom.  

—

New Year’s Eve

The house is in a lazy state of morning routines as Grayson sleeps in and Michael and Sarah start breakfast. Skylar is hard at work at the kitchen table, hunched over a spiral notebook containing an array of written and crossed out words. 

“Whatcha working on?” Sarah asks as she peers over her shoulder. 

“Well, I’ve had this English assignment for a while and it’s due in a week, but I’m still at a loss. We’re supposed to take a fairytale trope and flip it on its head.”

“Ah, English,” Sarah says with a dreamy sigh. “Well, why don’t you bounce your ideas off me and your dad?”

“Hmm?” Michael mutters through a mouthful of bacon as he stands at the stove. “Yeah, sure. Although I’m terrible at writing.” 

“All I’ve got so far are two ideas,” Skylar says. “The first one is to take that “Fairytale” song and write alternate–or, more realistic–endings for the four princesses in the song: Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Rapunzel. Plus, Rapunzel is my favorite princess, so that’s a plus. I would call this one ‘Love is for the Middle Class (22).’”

“Not bad, not bad,” Sarah replies, tapping her chin. “And the other one?”

“The other one idea is to pick some princes and princesses and write about which dating apps they would use, and how they ‘actually’ met their significant others. I’d call this one ‘Define the Relationship: Fairytale Edition (23).’”

Sarah lets out a laugh.

“That’s a good one,” she says. “I can’t decide. What do you think, Michael?”

“Hmm?” Michael mutters again with another mouthful of bacon. “Oh, right. Yeah, they both sound great.”

“Thanks,” Skylar says with a smile. “I might just have to write both and see which one I like best.”

“How about you and I do some research?” Sarah asks, eager at the prospect of some quality time with her daughter. “There’s this new fairytale anthology series that I’ve been wanting to see. It’s about two princes sharing neighboring kingdoms. There’s dragons and romance and lots of comedy, from what I’ve heard. Why don’t we watch it together? You can take some notes and maybe get some inspiration.”

“That actually sounds pretty great,” Skylar says, smiling. “Let’s do it.”

Sarah smiles back and turns to Michael, who is dangling a crispy strip of bacon in front of her nose. She laughs and takes the charred stick from his hand. 

“Grayson!” Sarah calls, “Breakfast!”

After a long moment with no sign of life, Michael starts up the stairs.
“I got him,” he says as he disappears.

— 

Michael opens Grayson’s door to find him sitting on the bed, surrounded by his instant prints from Christmas. His brow is furrowed and his fist is under his chin when Michael steps in. 

“Thought something was wrong when you didn’t respond to the breakfast call,” he says as he crosses the room and stands by his son’s bed. “What are you up to, anyway?”

“Dad?” Grayson asks, tilting his chin to gaze up at Michael. 

“Son?”

“Did you know that Grandpa Norman is Santa Claus?!” Grayson exclaims as he gestures to the photos of a familiar old man in a fake white beard placing presents under the tree. 

Michael stifles a laugh as he creases his brow and looks closer. 

“Well how do you like that?” he says, eyes widening in exaggerated surprise.

“I can’t believe it!” Grayson says as he claps his hands and stands up on the bed, jumping up and down. “Wait ‘til I tell my friends!”

Michael gasps and grips Grayson’s shoulders, steadying him as the squeaking box springs settle beneath him. 

“What?” Grayson asks, baffled. 

“You can’t tell anyone Norman’s secret,” Michael says in hushed tones. “What if the secret is the magic? You don’t want Santa to lose his magic, do you?”

Grayson’s eyes grow wide. 

“No, I don’t,” he whispers back as he shakes his head. “But it’s so cool!” he whines as he slumps his shoulders and glances at the photos haphazardly scattered around his feet from the jumping. 

“I know, son, I know,” Michael says as he gives his son’s arm a squeeze. “But just think, you and I are the only people who know the truth. Isn’t that exciting?”

Grayson thinks for a moment, lifting his gaze. He beams. 

“Yeah, I mean that is pretty awesome,” he agrees. 

“Good,” Michael says with a grin, “Then we’ll keep it between us. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” Grayson says as he hops down from the bed. He lifts his head and breathes in. 

“Is that bacon?” he asks, practically drooling as he makes for the stairs.

“Fresh out of the skillet with your name on it,” Michael confirms as he follows the excited patter of small footsteps down the stairs. 

—

While Sarah drops off Grayson at Melissa’s and runs party errands, Michael and Skylar drive to the airport. Michael catches a glimpse of his daughter in the rearview mirror, staring silently out the window. He clears his throat and stares back at the road. 

“You okay back there?” he asks, drumming the wheel with his fingers. 

“Hmm?” Skylar mumbles a moment later, leaning over to look into the rearview mirror, holding an earbud between her thumb and index finger. 

“Oh, just seeing if you were alright,” Michael says as he realizes why she had been so quiet. “Enjoy your music.”

Skylar gives him a slight smile and nods before putting the earbud back in her ear and going back to silently staring at passing traffic. 

“Dad?” she says a few moments later. 

“Hmm?” Michael says, glancing over his shoulder to check his blind spot and shooting Skylar a quick look as he merges toward the airport exit. 

Skylar lets out a breathy exhale. 

“I just want to tell you that I see how hard you try. You and Sarah. You and Mom.”

At this, Michael puts on his hazard lights and pulls to the shoulder of the empty access road. He turns to face Skylar, who is fumbling with her earbuds in her hands and staring at her lap. 

“And I know I’ve been hard to deal with lately. So I just wanted to say thanks. And if you guys don’t want to keep doing this, I would understand.”

Michael places his hand on her knee. “Oh, Skylar. Do you really think we’d give up on you so easily?”

Skylar’s eyes meet her father’s, brimming with tears. 

“I wouldn’t blame either of you,” she whispers. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Her shoulders shake as she begins to sob. 

“Shh,” Michael says softly, “It’s okay.”

“I’ve just been so lost,” she says through shallow breaths. “Things have been a mess at school, and I miss my mom and I’ve been so horrible to Sarah. God, I said awful things—”

She clutches her stomach as she shuts her eyes. 

“I’m just so sorry,” she breathes finally, opening her eyes but unable to look at Michael. 

“Skylar?” Michael says, “Will you look at me?”

She slowly raises her head, swiping at her eyes and sniffling. 

“If that doesn’t sound like growing up, then I don’t know what does,” he says with a soft laugh. “You haven’t exactly had it easy for a kid your age. And your mother and I didn’t sign up for this just to give up on you. You’re a bright girl, Skylar, and we love you so much. Whatever you’re going through, we’ll get through it together as a family. Period.”

After a long pause, Skylar smiles. 

“You have no idea how much that means,” she says with a nod. “Really.”

“I know, kiddo,” Michael says with a smile. “I know.”

—

A familiar face comes into view as Michael pulls up to the curb at the airport terminal. His sister waves eagerly and hurries over. Michael pops the trunk and gets out to help her with her luggage.

“Hey, sis,” Michael says as he leans in for a hug. 

“Hey, big brother,” Alyssa squeals as she squeezes Michael back and gives him a peck on the cheek. “So good to see you.”

“Someone else is in the car waiting for you,” Michael says as he gestures to Skylar in the backseat.

Alyssa rounds the car and peers into the window. Her face lights up and she squeals again as she yanks the passenger door open and hops in. Michael follows suit, settling behind the wheel as Alyssa turns in her seat and reaches out her hand.

“Skylar!” she exclaims, “You’re here!”

Skylar beams and squeezes her hand. 

“Hey Aunt Alyssa,” she says, “It’s been a while.”

Michael glances in the rearview mirror and sees that Skylar’s face is still red. Alyssa seems to notice, and shoots Michael a quick glance before deciding not to press the issue. 

“How’ve you been, kid?” she asks as she turns back around and buckles up. She tilts her head to the side as she listens to Skylar fill her in on recent events.

When Skylar goes back to her music, Alyssa and Michael talk quietly amongst themselves.

“Did something happen before you picked me up?” Alyssa asks, eyes on the road. 

“Something like that,” Michael replies with a half smile. “It’s been hard lately, but I think we’re making progress. Slowly but surely. Being a teenager is hard in itself.”

“Tell me about it.” She laughs softly. “I don’t think I ever stayed out of trouble.”

“Well good thing you had a big brother to get you out of it,” he teases. 

Alyssa smiles knowingly. It wasn’t a secret that she and Michael had a hard time in high school during Nathan and Melissa’s divorce. Alyssa snuck out all the time, leaving Michael to deal with the screaming and the fighting. But if it wasn’t for him coming to his little sister’s rescue countless times in the late night hours, their parents would have had a lot more to worry, yell and fight about. 

“While we’re on the subject,” Michael says, shooting Alyssa a sideways grimace, “I wanted to give you a heads up about the New Year’s party.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound foreboding at all,” she says with a short laugh. “What’s up?”

“Well…we met up with Dad at Christmas, and he was doing the pretend-to-listen-while-he-texted-girlfriend-insert-number-here, and I was rambling on about nothing important, and—”

“Kind of like you’re doing right now?” She gives her brother a good-natured but impatient punch in the arm.

“I mentioned the party,” he blurts. “And he kind of invited himself. He’s also bringing Tabitha, his new girlfriend.”

“Did you tell Mom?” she asks. 

“Not yet,” he admits. 

“Oh boy,” she says dryly as she leans her head back against the seat with a light thud. “Can’t wait for him to show his ass and to meet girlfriend number fifteen, not necessarily in that order. Oh, well. I guess it’s too late to do anything about that now.”

“Guess not.” 

“Don’t worry,” she reassures him, “I’ve got your back, Big Bro.” 

“Good.” He relaxes his grip on the steering wheel. “And thanks.”

He steals a glance in the rearview mirror and sees that Skylar is fast asleep. 

—

Sarah is already home when Michael, Alyssa and Skylar return from the airport. She greets them at the door with a wide smile.

“You’re here!” Sarah shrieks as she hugs her sister-in-law tight. “Come in, come in. I just started decorating for the party tonight.”

After Skylar disappears upstairs and Michael excuses himself to make a call, Sarah and Alyssa catch up as they hang streamers.

“So Nathan’s coming tonight,” Alyssa says more than asks, shooting Sarah a knowing glance.  

“Yep,” Sarah says shrilly as she secures the photo booth curtain to the wall, smoothing the tape with tense fingers. She hops down from the step stool and puts her hands on her hips. “I just don’t want any trouble.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Alyssa says with a snort. “Michael’s calling Mom right now to warn her.”

“Poor Melissa,” Sarah says with a sigh. “I want her to have fun tonight. She never gets out of the house and she always looks forward to New Year’s with us.”

“Well, if things get crazy I’ll kick him to the curb myself,” Alyssa replies with a defiant lift of her chin. 

“Good,” Sarah replies, shoulders relaxing. “I just wish Michael was able to be honest with him like that.”

“Well, he still believes that one day things might be different,” Alyssa says with a shrug. “But if he wasn’t him I don’t know where I would be.”

At this, Sarah smiles. 

“Same here,” she says. 

At that moment, Michael enters the kitchen, brow furrowed. 

“Everything okay?” Sarah asks as she crosses the room. 

“Yeah,” Michael says with a sigh. “Mom said she’s still coming.”

Sarah purses her lips and looks over her shoulder at Alyssa. 

“Don’t worry,” Alyssa says as she crosses her arms, “I already volunteered to run interference tonight.”

With a quiet nod, Michael turns to Sarah. 

“What’s the final headcount for tonight?” he asks.

“Let’s see,” Sarah says, holding up her fingers and ticking them off as she goes. “Mom and Paul, Grandma Beverly, Melissa, Nathan and Tabitha, and maybe Anna. Skylar’s got that party at her friend’s house. It’s supervised. I already checked.”

“Sounds good,” he says with a nod. “Need anything from the store? Gonna make a final run for cups and drinks.”

“All the alcohol please,” Alyssa says, raising her hand with a smile. 

“I second that,” Sarah says with a laugh. “We might get started a little early.” She gestures to the wine rack filled with bottles of white and red liquid. 

Michael laughs as he kisses Sarah and grabs his keys off the table. 

“Don’t forget the Roy Rogers ingredients for Mom,” Alyssa calls as he makes for the door. 

“Got it. You girls have fun,” he calls before shutting the door behind him.

“So which will it be?” Sarah asks Alyssa as she heads for the wine rack on the counter. She grabs two bottles and holds them in the air. 

“Actually,” Alyssa says with a slight smile, “I’ll take club soda and lime if you have it.”

At this, Sarah raises an eyebrow. 

“Okay, what’s with you?”

“What do you mean? I’m just trying to keep a clear head for tonight, that’s all.” 

Sarah sets the wine bottles on the counter before crossing her arms. 

“Uh huh,” she says with a smirk. “Are you seriously going to keep lying to me?”

Alyssa’s guilty smile fades and she lets out a groan. 

“Okay, fine. But you can’t tell anyone. Not even Michael. Swear?”

“Swear,” Sarah promises, crossing her heart. 

“Well, the Roy Rogers stuff wasn’t necessarily just for Mom…and I don’t usually drink club soda to have a good time…” she trails off, meeting her sister-in-law’s gaze. 

After a few silent moments, Sarah’s face lights up. 

“Oh my god, you’re pregnant?!” she squeals.  

“I’m pregnant!” Alyssa squeals back as they hug. 

“Oh I’m so happy for you,” Sarah says as she squeezes her. 

“Thanks. I could hardly believe it when my third in vitro attempt finally took. And don’t worry, I plan on telling Mom and Michael. I just wanted to enjoy my visit before it became all about life plans and baby showers and all that.”

“Then my lips are sealed.” Sarah gives her a firm nod. She pulls back, hands on her shoulders. “You’re going to be a great mom.”

“Yeah, I think it’ll be pretty cool to have a little rascal to hang out with.” 

“They’re truly the best,” Sarah agrees with a happy exhale. “Biological, adopted, or in vitro. Such a diverse family we have.” She beams at her sister-in-law, eyes wet with unshed tears.  

“Then I look forward to it,” Alyssa says with a grin, eyes shining. “And I can’t wait for you to be an auntie.”

“I’ll drink to that. Now how about that club soda?”

“Well it’s not like I have a choice for the next nine months,” Alyssa says with a shrug and a laugh. 

— 

“Mom! Dad!” Skylar calls as she descends the stairs. She peers into the kitchen to find Michael, and Sarah, and Alyssa sitting at the kitchen table. 

“Chelsea is here,” she says, readjusting the strap of her backpack over her shoulder. 

“Okay,” Sarah says with a smile. “You guys have fun tonight.”

With a smile, she nods and waves. 

“You too,” she says. “See you guys later.”

A chorus of farewells fill the air as Skylar closes the door behind her. She skips down the steps and jogs to her friend’s car.

“Hey,” Chelsea chirps as Skylar jumps into the passenger seat. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Skylar replies as she straps in and sighs. “I’ve really been looking forward to this.”

“Me, too.” Her friend squeals as she bounces in her seat. “It’s going to be so fun!”

“So, how many people did you invite?”

“Oh, pretty much the whole sophomore class,” Chelsea says casually, “No big deal.”

“Right.”  Skylar snorts as she stares out the window. 

“So, I guess that means…?” 

“Of course I invited your boyfriend, silly,” Chelsea says with a laugh before she glances at Skylar’s pale face. “What is it? Did I do something?”

When it clicks, she gasps. 

“You guys aren’t still fighting are you?”

“I don’t know. I mean, ever since that anonymous note in my locker threatening, ‘If I can’t have him, no one will’,” Skylar says, holding up air quotes, “things have been weird.”

“How so?” Chelsea tilts her head.  

“Well, I confronted him about it to see if it was some dumb prank that his friends pulled or something, and he got really defensive and told me that I should drop it. That I worry too much and it’s nothing.”

“Hmm,” Chelsea mumbles as she pulls into the driveway and puts the car in park. She waits for Skylar to continue. 

“And ever since then he’s been really distant. I mean, being grounded for a century didn’t help things. But we haven’t exactly had a lot of time together lately, and our calls are short or non-existent, and it just doesn’t feel like he’s really into it anymore.”

“I didn’t know,” Chelsea says as she turns to Skylar, frowning. “If I did I wouldn’t have invited him, I swear.”

“I know. It’s not like I’ve really filled you in. It’s kind of a new development.”

“Well, you just say the word and he’s gone.” Chelsea jerks her thumb over her shoulder to make her point.

“No, it’s okay.” Skylar smiles. “Maybe we’ll get a chance to talk. Work things out.”

“And if not then we’ll still have a great time tonight.” Chelsea extends her arms toward her friend. Skylar leans in for a hug. 

“Thanks,” Skylar says with an exhale. “You’re the best friend a girl could have.”

“I know,” Chelsea teases as she gives her another squeeze.

—

The sound of the doorbell is faint over the music. Sarah hurries to the door and throws it open. 

Anna stands on the porch, champagne in hand. 

Sarah pulls her best friend in and hugs her for a long time. 

“It’s so good to see you,” she says as she pulls back and smiles. 

“You too,” Anna says with a bright smile of her own. “Hope I’m not too late.”

“Just in time.” Sarah pulls her in by the hand and shuts the door behind her. “Everybody’s here. Well, almost.”

“No Nathan yet?” Anna whispers as they round the corner into the kitchen. 

“Not yet,” Sarah mutters, “But we’re still expecting chaos to break out any minute.”

“Then I’m gonna need a drink,” Anna says with a smile and wink as she holds up her champagne bottle.

“Way ahead of you,” Sarah says as she takes the bottle and goes on a hunt for the bottle opener. “Say hi, everyone!” 

Greetings erupt over the music as Sarah pours her friend’s glass and makes her way over to where she and Michael are in the middle of a friendly embrace. Michael always considered Anna a second sister, and her absence ever since she unexpectedly lost her husband didn’t go unnoticed for him or Sarah. But Anna was here now, and Sarah was glad to have a buffer for the evening’s imminent storm that was Michael’s father.  

As Sarah takes in her surroundings, she thinks to herself that she can at least enjoy the peace while it lasts. The music is blaring, the drinks are flowing, and the conversations are buzzing. Everyone wears glittering hats and cardboard glasses shaped like the numbers of the new year, holding noisemakers between first and second fingers like casual late-night cigarettes as they laugh and take pictures at the makeshift photo booth made out of gold streamers on the wall. 

Sarah and Anna are in the middle of a series of snapshots when the doorbell rings at a quarter to eleven. Sarah and Michael exchange glances across the room.

“Here goes,” she mutters under her breath as she smooths her glittering black dress. “I’ll come find you later, okay?”

“Right,” Anna says with a nervous smile. “Good luck.” She squeezes her friend’s hand before she goes to sit at the kitchen table with Melissa, Alison, Paul and Beverly, where a heated card game is ongoing.

Sarah crosses the room and joins Michael as he makes his way to the door. He takes a deep breath, hand on the knob. 

“Ready?” he asks as he glances down at Sarah, uncertain.

She lightly bumps his shoulder with her own. 

“If you are.” 

“See you on the other side, then.” He leans in to kiss her. “You look gorgeous by the way,” he says with a wink before he opens the door. Sarah doesn’t have time to reply as the door swings open and reveals their last two party guests.

Late as usual, Sarah thinks to herself as she plasters on a smile. 

“Michael, Sarah!” Nathan’s boisterous voice echoes as he shakes Michael’s hand. 

Sarah can smell the alcohol on his breath as he leans in for a hug.

He’s already drunk. 

Michael steals a glance in Sarah’s direction, his shoulders tense. 

Nathan stumbles back a step and puts a lazy arm around an unfamiliar tall blonde woman’s shoulder.

“This is Tabitha,” Nathan slurs as he squeezes her shoulders. She looks uncomfortable as she smiles tightly and holds out her hand to Michael and Sarah in turn. 

“Sorry we’re late,” she says, the apology for Nathan’s inebriated state in her eyes as she adds, “It’s nice to meet you both.”

“Likewise,” Michael says as he and Sarah step aside. “Come on in.”

As they cross the threshold, Sarah gives Michael another concerned look. He silently returns the gesture. 

“Everyone’s in the kitchen,” Michael calls as Tabitha steers Nathan toward the noise of the party. 

“Everyone who?” Nathan asks with a loud laugh as he rounds the corner and sees everyone at the kitchen table. Sarah and Michael watch as he eyes settle on Melissa. Despite the music still blaring in the background, the equivalent of a pin drop echoes in the tense air. 

“Hello everyone,” Nathan says with a lazy smile. “Don’t mind us stragglers. Please, go back to your game.”

He makes his way around the table as the noise hesitantly resumes, zeroing in on his ex-wife sitting at the far end.

“Hey, Melissa,” he says as he walks by with Tabitha on his arm. Tabitha smiles politely as she pulls on Nathan’s forearm in an attempt to steer him elsewhere. 

“Hold on a minute,” he mumbles as he gestures to Melissa, who sits silently staring with lips pursed as he sways back and forth. “Tabitha, this is Michael and Alyssa’s mom. My wife. Ex-wife.”

Melissa pales as she gives Tabitha a tight smile.

“Hello,” Tabitha says quietly as she attempts to pull Nathan away. 

“Been a long time,” he says as he stares at Melissa with glassy eyes, standing his ground. 

Or more accurately, swaying his ground. 

“Not long enough,” Melissa mutters as she plays her next card.

“Oh, come on,” he teases, “Is that how you greet the father of your children?”

Anger flares in Melissa’s eyes just as Alyssa walks into the kitchen.

“What’s going on in here?” she asks in a cold and shrill voice as she locks eyes with Nathan. She folds her arms across her chest and sets her jaw. 

“Alyssa,” Nathan says, half surprised and half pleased at his daughter’s presence. He turns to look at Melissa and back at his daughter. “We were just—”

“Enjoy the party, Nathan,” Melissa says as she turns back to her game. Without looking up she adds, “Nice to meet you Tabitha.”

“You too,” Tabitha says quietly, eyes on the floor.

The party slowly starts to come alive again as everyone goes back to their games and conversations. Sarah lets out a quiet sigh in relief. She meets Alyssa’s gaze across the room, mouthing thank you in her direction. Alyssa holds up her cup with a wink.

“Disaster one averted,” Michael mutters as he watches his dad and Tabitha quietly bicker in the corner. Nathan dismisses her with a flick of his hand and stumbles over to the makeshift bar on the kitchen counter. He grabs an unopened bottle of whiskey and heads for the back patio.

“Yeah,” Sarah says, a pit of dread growing in her stomach as she chews her bottom lip. She turns to Michael. “Have you seen Anna anywhere?” she asks.

“I think I saw her disappear upstairs a while ago,” he says with a shrug. 

Sarah hands him her empty cup and squeezes his arm. 

“I’ll be back.”

Sarah makes her way down the hall and climbs the creaky steps. She finds Anna sitting at the edge of the bed in Grayson’s room. 

She lightly raps on the doorframe and peers in.

“Anna?”

Her friend’s head shoots up, eyes gleaming in the darknes. She quickly swipes at her eyes with her hands as she rises. 

“Sorry, I just…” she trails off, gesturing to the party and the noise downstairs. 

“Don’t be sorry,” Sarah says as she crosses the room, gesturing for her friend to sit. She sinks down beside her with a heavy sigh.

“We were trying for a kid of our own…when he…” Fresh tears stream down Anna’s face. “And now…it’s just so hard. I’m trying, I really am…but it’s still too much.”

Sarah pulls her friend into a hug. She lightly smooths her hair as she cries, laying her cheek against her hair. 

“I know, I know. I’m sorry if I pushed you to come here tonight.”

“It’s not your fault.” Anna shakes her head. “I know I need to live my life, to surround myself with friends and loved ones. Maybe I’m just not ready for a party yet.”

“And that’s perfectly fine.” Sarah squeezes her friend’s shoulders. “How about next time I come to you? We’ll order takeout and have a movie marathon. Sound good?”

Anna laughs as she raises her head. 

“Sounds great.” She hugs Sarah again. 

“Good.” Sarah pulls away and puts her hands on Anna’s shoulders. “Now why don’t you crash here tonight? Grayson’s with his grandpa and Skylar is at a friend’s house. I’ll cook you a big breakfast tomorrow and we can have some coffee talk, just the two of us.”

“Okay. I’d like that.” 

“Take Skylar’s room,” Sarah offers as she stands.

“Thank you.” Anna slowly rises and smooths her dress. She crosses the hall and lightly closes Skylar’s door behind her. 

Sarah stares at the Do Not Disturb sign crookedly hanging on the door for a long time. She hugs her arms and lets out a sigh.

The sound of raised voices carry up to where Sarah stands on the landing. She takes the steps two at a time as she runs to the kitchen. 

—

“I thought you said you were coming tonight?” Skylar says quietly into her phone. “Chelsea said she invited you.”

An audible sigh echoes on the other end.

“You know how I feel about those big parties,” Jordan says. “And I thought you needed space.”

“Well, this is me rescinding my request for space,” she pleads as she clutches tightly to her cell. “Besides, it’s New Year’s Eve.”

Another audible exhale. 

A long pause. Skylar almost convinces herself that the call dropped. 

“I’ll be there in an hour.”

Her shoulders relax as she smiles. 

“See you soon.” 

“Yeah,” he says abruptly before the crackling click and beep indicating the call ended.

Suddenly the cracked door of the bedroom opens and Chelsea’s abrupt entrance startles her.   

“Was that Jordan?” her friend asks as she enters her bedroom, where Skylar sits on the edge of her bed. 

“Oh, hey,” Skylar says. “Yeah, it was Jordan. He said he’s coming by.”

Something flashes across Chelsea’s features so quickly that Skylar doesn’t even notice as she stands and meets her gaze.

“Oh,” Chelsea lets out a shrill syllable. “So…you guys are cool now?”

“I hope so.” Skylar shrugs. “I mean, I figured tonight we could smooth things over.”

“Aww, well that’s good.” Chelsea shoots Skylar a thin smile. 

“Yeah, I think so.” Skylar grins wide. 

“So people are wondering where you went.” Chelsea jerks her head down the hall. “You coming back down soon?”

“Right behind you.” 

Skylar watches her friend go before making her way back to the kitchen, where a group of fellow classmates are standing by the drink table. She smiles and nods as she squeezes in to get a sparkling plastic cup full of dark red punch. Slipping out of the kitchen, she goes to find a seat in the living room. She fishes her phone out of her back jeans pocket with one hand and lowers herself onto the cool leather couch. Clicking on the first name in her message history, she snaps a picture of herself with her punch, puckering her lips as she dreamily stares off. 

Skylar: Everyone’s here. You’re missing out. XOXO

Less than a minute later, her still-open phone buzzes and a blue text bubble pops up on the left side of her screen. 

Sean: Bummer LOL. This is what my night consists of.

Skylar’s friend texts her a photo of himself holding an energy drink with headphones over his ears. His eyebrows are raised as he feigns a sip. Skylar laughs to herself as she sets her punch down on the coffee table so she can type with both hands.

Skylar: Nice, well have fun. Are we still on for half price shakes before we go back to school?

A few minutes go by before the text dots start floating in the text thread. 

Sean: Sorry, I was in an online match. Yeah we’re still on if you’re down. 

Skylar: Duh 😉 Well enjoy your nite 😊

Sean ends the conversation with a heart reaction, and with a happy sigh Skylar puts her phone in her front pocket and picks up her drink. As she watches everyone talk and dance to the music around her, she’s content with being a silent observer as she nurses her punch, sipping lightly so she can avoid mingling in the crowd to get another cup—as long as she reasonably can at a social gathering before Chelsea forces her to get up and dance or play some game she isn’t interested in. 

Minutes turn into an hour and a half and Skylar hasn’t heard anything from Jordan. She tries calling him, but the call goes straight to voicemail. Frowning, she tries texting. 

No answer. 

Skylar gets up, leaving her half-finished punch, now lukewarm, on the coffee table as she weaves through the crowd of people in the living room and back into the kitchen. She scans the small space and recognizes one of Chelsea’s other friends. She grabs her shoulder as she’s walking by. 

“Hey Jessica,” Skylar raises her voice over the blaring music, “Have you seen Chelsea or Jordan anywhere?”

Jessica’s shoulder slightly tenses underneath Skylar’s hand before she shrugs her shoulders. 

“Nope, sorry,” she says before excusing herself to get more punch. 

Skylar watches her go, brow furrowed. 

“Weird,” she mutters under her breath as she stands there, puzzled. 

Jordan should be here by now, she thinks as she peers back into the living room to scan the crowd one more time. After another fruitless search, she decides she needs some fresh air. Slipping out the door, she steps onto the front porch. The cold fills her lungs and she lets out an exhale, her breath visible as she pulls out her phone and checks for messages. 

Still none. 

With a sigh she stows her phone and crosses her arms. She stares at the line of parked cars on the curb, beneath the yellow glow of streetlights that stretch down the vacant quiet road forever. Squinting into the darkness, Skylar stops short on a familiar car. 

Jordan’s car.

Skylar pulls her cardigan around her and descends the steps. As she walks, the dread builds in her chest. She stops for a moment, three streetlights away from the green four-door, and her breath catches in her chest. 

Jordan is in the driver’s seat, in profile as he faces the passenger side. 

The un-empty passenger side. 

Before Skylar registers the familiar face beside him, Jordan is kissing her. 

Skylar is frozen where she stands as a shocked exhale escapes her parted lips and dances in the air.

Jordan is kissing Chelsea. 

Her best friend. 

Suddenly Skylar’s legs are carrying her to the driver’s side window.  She stops and peers in, stooping so her face is visible. When she taps on the window, ever so slightly, they jolt apart and turn to face her in shocked unison. She may as well have sent a baseball bat flying through the glass, judging by how startled they are.

Skylar slowly pulls the car door open. 

“Jordan?” she asks, trying to keep her voice even. 

Before she can address her friend, Chelsea is already slipping out of the passenger door and sprinting back to her house across the lawn. 

Jordan stares after her, bewildered, before he slowly ducks out of the car. He lets out a visible breath as he meets Skylar’s cool gaze.

“Skylar, I can explain. I just got here, and before I could get out of my car she got in, and she came onto me—”

“No, Jordan,” Skylar snaps, eyes wide. “I think you should let me talk.”

Jordan shrinks back slightly, face paling in the glow of the streetlights. He sets his lips into a thin line, jaw clenching as his anger swells. 

“You don’t get to talk your way out of this one.” Skylar laughs humorlessly, shaking her head as she jabs a finger into his face. “You don’t get to tell me I’m overreacting or that you’re innocent or that I need to just forget about it and move on. I don’t even want to know how long you’ve been sneaking around behind my back, either. I want you to leave, Jordan. It’s over.”

“Skylar.” He has the nerve to let out a what’s the big deal sort of scoff as he reaches for her hand. “Can’t we go somewhere? Talk about this? I mean, things haven’t exactly been great between us lately. But I messed up. You shouldn’t have found out this way.”

Skylar lets out a scoff of her own. 

“You’re unbelievable. You’re just upset that you got caught.”

She takes a deep breath and leans in so close her nose is nearly touching his. 

“We. Are. Done.”

Jordan stares for a long moment, breathing heavily. He turns toward his car and brings his fists down onto the roof before he climbs in, slamming the door behind him. 

The sound of squealing tires fills the air as Jordan speeds off. Skylar crosses the lawn with purpose, taking the porch steps two at a time and flinging the front door open. She scans the living room before retrieving her punch cup from the coffee table. After a quick stop in the kitchen to top off, she makes her way up the stairs. 

She can hear the sound of hushed tones as she opens the door to find Chelsea mumbling into her phone. She jumps and hangs up immediately when she sees Skylar standing there, tossing her phone onto the bed as she stands. 

“You wrote that note I found in my locker, didn’t you?” Skylar leans on the doorframe, not a bit surprised. “I honestly don’t know how I didn’t see it sooner.”

Suddenly Chelsea’s body language changes, and she crosses her arms with a small smirk. 

“I told you no one could have him if I couldn’t,” she says with a casual shrug. “I liked him first, remember?”

“Oh, so that’s why you insisted on Jordan and I dating, so you could just swoop in and sabotage me? Does Kyle know about how you’ve been using him? How you've been lying through your two-faced teeth?”

“Oh what do you care?” Chelsea huffs. “Kyle is clueless. Besides, it’s not like you were making Jordan happy.”

At this, Skylar’s eyes begin to blur as her throat tightens. 

She gives her friend a tight smile and crosses the room so that she is standing in front of her.

“Well, if all Jordan wanted was to bag the biggest tramp in the tristate area, then you’re more than welcome to him. And you can rot in hell for all I care.” 

With a devilish grin, she slowly begins to tip her cup. Chelsea lets out a yelp as crimson punch pours down the front of her sparkling white dress. 

“What the hell Skylar!” 

“Didn’t you know?” Skylar says as she looks over her shoulder, “White’s not your color sweetie. And the halo doesn’t fit, either. I’m just sad that I’m just now seeing it. But now that I do? I can picture the matching pitchfork and horns.”

With a smile and a wiggle of her fingers, she drops her empty cup and storms down the hall. She doesn’t stop until she’s outside again, phone in hand and Sean’s name lighting up the screen as the dial tone buzzes in her ear.

He picks up on the first ring. 

“Hey,” he says, “How’s the party?”

Skylar bursts into tears. 

“Skylar?” His voice fills with worry. “What happened?”

She can’t find the words, just sinks to the curb and continues to cry. She can hear the rustling sound of Sean getting out of his desk chair, the jingle of keys, and the thud of a car door before an engine roars to life. 

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Okay,” she whispers before hanging up.

—

Half an hour later, Sean pulls up to the curb and jumps out of the driver’s side. He rounds the car and finds Skylar sitting there, face in her hands. She looks up as he approaches, tears streaming down her face.

Wordlessly, Sean helps her up before wrapping her into a big hug. He leads her to the car and opens the passenger door. 

“Come on,” he says as Skylar gets in. He leans, eye level with her. 

“Where do you wanna go? You name it, we’ll do it.”

“Anywhere but here,” she croaks, facing forward as she swipes at the tears in her eyes. 

“You got it.” He shuts the passenger door and makes his way around to the other side, sliding behind the steering wheel. “I know just the place.”

—

Even though she doesn’t say a word all the way there, Skylar can’t help but laugh as the familiar neon sign comes into view. 

“I’ll take it I chose correctly,” Sean says, shooting her his signature grin as he whips into a parking spot at the end of the awning. “They close in thirty minutes, so we gotta order fast. I take it you want the usual?”

As he leans out the window to push the red order button and turns to glance over his shoulder, Skylar feels a warmth she’s never felt for her friend.

“No,” she says, shaking her head, “I think I’m in the mood for something new.”

He smiles warmly as he leans over to give Skylar’s leg a squeeze. His eyes dart to her lips before he sits back and lifts his gaze. Skylar feels the heat burning her cheeks as she stares back. 

“So, jalapeño chocolate?” he asks, grinning again. Skylar snorts. 

“Don’t get crazy.” She holds up her hands. “How about a peanut butter and chocolate cream cookie shake for now?”

“Okay, but you don’t know what you’re missing.” He winks before turning to answer the loud staticky voice coming from the speaker. He orders the two aforementioned shakes, and the voice echoes the order back and announces the total.

“Great thanks,” he says. “Hey, if you don’t mind, bring it to our picnic table instead of the car?”

As the muffled voice acknowledges his request, he signals to Skylar to get out. 

“C’mon. It’s a beautiful night.”

“Yeah, and a cold one,” Skylar replies. 

Sean rummages in the backseat for a moment and retrieves an old worn hoodie. 

“Good thing I’m always prepared.” He hands it to Skylar.

“Thanks.” She shrugs it on. “I swear it seems like just about every other guy on the planet is rummaging or gesturing to the backset for a different reason.”

“What do you mean?” he asks, trying to hide his obvious disdain for Jordan from his expression, but to no avail.

“Oh, nothing. Coming?”

As they settle in across from each other at a picnic table beneath the awning and the fluorescent lights, Skylar shakes her head. 

“How’d you know?” she asks Sean, gesturing to the fast food restaurant behind her. 

Sean smiles, eyes wide.

“Oh come on,” he says, incredulous. “You’ve been using me for a free ride ever since I got my license. You’re obsessed with this place.”

“Okay, well one thing can be true,” she says with a guilty smile. “Yes, I’m obsessed, but you’re my friend. I don’t use you.”

At this, Sean’s face grows serious. The carhop brings out their shakes in the same instant, and he focuses his gaze at his foam cup in front of him. As he mutters, “Thank you,” to the middle-aged woman, she’s already crossing the threshold of the glass door back into the kitchen. He looks at Skylar across the table.

“Where’s Jordan tonight?”

Skylar fiddles with her bright red straw, not meeting her friend’s gaze. 

“Probably with Chelsea,” she says quietly. 

His brows raise, but he remains silent. 

“Yep. It’s over. We broke up tonight. And it’s safe to say after I found my so-called best friend kissing him in his car that Chelsea and I are no longer friends. It’s also clear that because I’m not interested in sleeping with him that I’m not ‘good enough.’”

Sean's face quickly goes from rigid to soft as he reaches across the table and takes her free hand. 

“I’m so sorry, Sky.”

She smiles, but it’s a sad one. 

“It just wasn’t meant to be.” She stares through the red mesh picnic table, surprised that no tears are forming.

“Well, if you ask me, Jordan is a jerk, Chelsea is a terrible person, and those losers deserve each other. But I know it still sucks. Just know that it isn’t a reflection of who you are. You’re really great, and honestly? I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little happy that you called. That you needed me, I mean. And I’m here for you, okay? That is if half price shakes are still your thing. You’re not too cool or anything, right?”

He gives her a weak smile and a laugh as she smiles at him for nervously rambling. Her gaze softens.  

“Honestly?” she says as she rises and picks up her shake. Rounding the table, she sits beside him and lays her head on his shoulder. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Sean rests his chin on her hair.

“Ditto,” he whispers. 

Skylar lets out a sigh and meets Sean’s eyes. 

“I am sorry, you know.” 

“For?”

“For neglecting you. You mean a lot to me, and I know I’ve blown you off a lot for Jordan over the years. And for that I’m really sorry.” 

“Well I appreciate that.” He looks down at Skylar with a smile, his eyes searching hers as she stares back. 

As they lean in, the carhop sticks her head out the door. They jump back at the sound of her voice.

“Lights out in five,” she calls with a slight smile. “Just a heads up.”

Sean lets out a nervous laugh. 

“Time to go then.” He stands. 

“Yeah,” Skylar exhales with a weak smile. 

They walk back to the car in silence, and as Sean pulls out of the parking lot, he shoots a sideways glance at Skylar. 

“Where to now?” he asks as he pulls out onto the two-lane highway.

“I guess I should be getting home. But this has been really nice.”

He smiles, eyes focusing on the road. Skylar studies his profile as it fades into the faint glow of the streetlights and back to black again, noticing how little she paid attention to his striking features before. As Sean sits there, blissfully unaware, he rolls his window down and turns up the radio. Skylar follows suit, letting her hand float on the wind current as she closes her eyes and breathes in. Sean steals a secret glance at her, admiring her slight smile and the way her hair framed her face and flew around in endearing wisps. 

They’re a few miles away from Skylar’s front door when an old beat-up pickup truck runs a stop sign and collides with Sean’s car. 

—

Sarah can hear Nathan’s voice before she even makes it halfway to the kitchen. She rounds the corner to find everyone staring silently at the center of the room. Tabitha is pale, standing to the side as Nathan wails to a flustered Melissa, who appears to have just stormed back inside from the patio, a belligerent Nathan trailing behind.

“Enough, Nathan!” Melissa exclaims as she whirls around and makes him stumble backward. “You’re drunk. You don’t know what you’re saying.”

Her eyes settle on Tabitha, a helpless look on her face as she shakes her head. “I don’t know what he’s talking about,” she says.

“Melissa, please,” he slurs as he sways before her, the open whiskey bottle dangling from his loose fingertips. “You know you still love me, too.”

He tries to lean in and whisper the words, but it’s loud enough for everyone to hear. 

“Nathan,” Tabitha says, crossing the room and steadying his shoulders. “Try to calm down, okay? Why don’t you sit down—?”

He whirls around. 

“No, I don’t want to sit down!” he barks as he points a finger at Melissa, who stands horrified behind him. “I want her to tell me the truth!”

Tabitha shoots Melissa a helpless look of her own as she steps back. Melissa turns Nathan around by his shoulders, shaking him slightly as she stares at him, eyes wide. 

“You want the truth, Nathan?” she yells as she leans in closer. 

“I. Do. Not. Love. You. Anymore. This?” She gestures to his drunken state, “is exactly why I left you. You were no good to your kids, much less to me, when you were like this. And you were always like this. I can’t even remember the way things were before that.”

Nathan stares, dumbfounded, as his glassy eyes blink long and hard. 

“It’s never going to happen,” she adds before she lets go of his shoulders. “You have got to let this go. You’re embarrassing yourself.”

Nathan clenches his jaw and sniffs as he looks down at the whiskey bottle in his hand. He turns, takes a few steps toward the patio door, and hurls the liquor bottle through it with an angry yell. The sound of exploding glass fills the air, ringing in Sarah’s ears as she stares in shock from the entryway of the kitchen. 

Suddenly, Michael quietly crosses the room. Without a word, he hoists his father up by his shirt, gripping the fabric in his fist as he looks him in the eyes.

“I think it’s time for you to go, Nathan.” Acid drips from his father’s name as he says it, his eyes cold. 

Nathan stumbles back into the kitchen table. He slowly straightens up and jerks his chin in Tabitha’s direction, his gaze never breaking away from Michael.

“You hear that, Tabitha? We’re being kicked out.”

With that, he makes his way to the entrance of the kitchen, shooting Melissa a final glance over his shoulder before meeting Alyssa’s cold stare.

“Alyssa,” he mutters in farewell as he passes by. He doesn’t notice Sarah’s expression of silent disdain as he saunters past her and down the hall, Tabitha close behind. 

“Always a pleasure, my dear sire,” Alyssa mutters as she crosses the room to give Melissa a hug. She meets her big brother’s gaze over her mother’s shoulder. Michael stares silently back, breathing heavily.

A few minutes later, Sarah can hear fast footsteps ascending the porch steps before the door flies open. 

Tabitha stands there, brow creased and lips parted. 

“Nathan’s gone,” she chokes out. “I told him we should call a cab, that I wouldn't leave here with him like that, but he didn’t want me to drive, and—”

She burst into tears, rubbing her cheek. The blood is rising beneath the surface, indicating the start of a bruise.

Michael and Sarah exchange worried glances. 

“Are you alright?” Sarah asks, taking a step forward. “Please, come in and let us get you some ice.”

“No,” Tabitha says as she wipes her eyes. “I’ve overstayed my welcome as it is. Besides, my cab is here. I’m going to go find him. I just wanted to say thanks for inviting us. And…I’m sorry.”

Before either of them can respond, she shuts the door quietly behind her. 

“This is all my fault.”

Sarah turns to look at Michael’s tormented face. She grabs his face in her hands. 

“This is not on you,” she says with a sad smile. “Do I think you’re too loving and trusting of your father? Sure. But do I think that this is in any way your fault? Not in the slightest.”

Michael pulls Sarah in and rests his chin against her temple. 

“I’m still sorry,” he says quietly, letting out a loud sigh. “I’m gonna go check on Mom.”

Sarah nods silently and watches him go. She sees Anna standing at the base of the stairs, arms folded across her chest. 

“Everything okay down here?” She closes the distance between her and her friend.  

“Oh yeah,” Sarah says with a tired smile. “At least it is now, I guess.”

“Nathan?” 

“Bingo.”

“Well, I’m glad everyone’s okay. That loud bang woke me up and I was worried.”

“Yeah, we’ve got a door to fix thanks to his drunken antics.” Sarah lets out a deep sigh. “But right now I’m just glad he’s gone.”

“You need help cleaning up?” Anna gestures toward the kitchen. 

“Nah, that’s okay. You still crashing here tonight?”

Anna rubs her arms with her hands for a moment.

“I don’t know,” she says finally, “I think I might just head home. I miss my bed.”

Sarah smiles and nods. 

“That’s fine. As long as you’re okay.” 

“Oh yeah. Much better now. Thanks for everything. I really do appreciate it.”

“Anytime.” Sarah hugs her friend tight. “Let me know when you’re feeling up to it and we’ll have a girl’s day.”

“I will. See you later.”

“See ya,” Sarah calls as her friend walks out the front door.

—

Shortly after the incident, Melissa heads home, leaving Alison, Paul and Alyssa. Michael goes to bed shortly after they insist on helping Sarah clean up and craft a makeshift plastic-wrapped solution to the broken back patio door.

“What a night, huh?” Sarah’s mom says, making conversation as she sweeps glass into a dustpan with a handheld broom and Paul adheres the plastic wrap to the shattered hole in the door. 

“You could say that again,” Alyssa says with a snort. “I didn’t exactly picture myself scrubbing brown liquor off the floor and rigging a broken door with plastic tonight. We missed the ball drop and everything.”

“At least it’s the same every year,” Sarah offers. 

“Yes, but unlike the ageless glittering disco ball that heralds in the new year, I lose more and more of my ability to party and be young with each passing minute.”

“Fair,” Sarah laughs as she ties up a fourth heavy-duty trash bag. “You can’t say things weren’t eventful, though.”

“I’d drink to that, but we’re out of whiskey,” Paul jokes as he rises to his feet and Alison dumps the glass shards into a freshly changed garbage bin. A moment later, Sarah’s phone begins to ring. She hurries across the room to the kitchen table, where she lowers herself down and grabs the vibrating rectangle off the freshly wiped surface. She quickly swipes to answer. 

“Skylar, how’s the party?”

An unfamiliar voice on the other end startles Sarah, and her mind goes straight to worry. 

“Hi, Mrs. Earnest?” the young male voice stutters through the receiver.  

“Jordan?” she asks, voice trembling. 

“No, ma’am,” says the weak raspy voice, “This is Sean. Skylar’s friend.”

“Is everything okay?” Sarah grips the phone tight. 

“Well,” Sean begins, “She’s a little banged up but she is fine. I was driving her home, and someone ran a stop sign…”

Sarah’s heart stops in her chest as the sound of Sean’s voice becomes distorted and far away. 

“We’re at Long Grove Memorial,” he says, his voice ringing out clear as Sarah comes back to her senses. 

“I’m on my way,” she says abruptly. She hangs up the phone and sprints up the stairs to wake Michael. 

“Michael,” Sarah says in a quiet panic as she shakes her husband’s arm. 

“Hmm?” Michael mumbles in the darkness. 

“It’s Skylar…she’s in the hospital. Come on. We have to go now.”

At this, he leaps out of bed.

“Sarah?” Alyssa calls from the kitchen, “Everything alright?”

Sarah descends the stairs and finds her and Alison anxiously waiting in the hall. 

“Skylar’s in the hospital,” Sarah cries as she struggles to breathe. 

“I’ll drive you,” Alyssa says, springing into action.

“Are you sure you’re up to it?” 

“Oh yeah, one hundred percent,” she says as she squeezes Sarah’s shoulders. “I’ve been pounding Roy Rogerses all night, remember? Now c’mon.”

As Michael races down the stairs, hair disheveled from sleep, Alison gives Sarah a hug and a kiss on the cheek. 

“Paul and I will hold down the fort here,” she says. “Guard the broken door and finish cleaning up. But you let me know as soon as you’ve heard anything.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Sarah smiles and gives her a squeeze before she, Michael and Alyssa barrel out the door and into the car. 

As they race to the hospital, Sarah pleads with the universe. 

Please be alright, she thinks over and over as she stares out into the dark distant horizon from the passenger seat. 

—

When they arrive at the hospital, Sarah recognizes the young boy sitting in the chair outside of Skylar’s room, elbows on his knees and hands in his hair as he rocks back and forth. He jumps up as Sarah, Michael, and Alyssa approach. 

“Sean?” Sarah says as he stands. “I’m sorry I didn’t realize it was you on the phone.” She pulls him into a hug. 

“Hey Mrs. E.,” Sean says as he hugs her back. “They haven’t let me in yet. I guess it’s family only.”

“Well, you’re family today,” Sarah says with a nod, eyes shining. 

The four of them file into the room, the door clicking softly shut behind them. Skylar’s eyes flutter open at the sound. 

“Mom. Dad. Alyssa,” she murmurs as Sarah crosses the room and hugs her, gentle but fierce. 

“Thank God,” Sarah whispers as she strokes her daughter’s hair. She leans back and beams, caressing her face in her palm. Skylar leans into it with a sad smile. Her eyes quickly dart to Sean, who is hovering nervously to the side. Her smile softens before she returns her gaze to her mother. 

“I’m sorry,” she says softly. 

“For getting hurt?” Sarah asks, incredulous. 

“For once, I was trying to do the right thing. Things went south at the party, and Sean picked me up. We went for shakes and he was bringing me home when…”

Skylar looks to her father now, who stands over her with a creased brow. 

“Someone ran that stop sign. At Maple and Magnolia. Now, Mom, Dad, I don’t want you to freak. But…”

As she says the words, her gaze shifts to the glass window in the door. Everyone turns to find Nathan standing outside. 

Michael stands frozen as Sarah storms out the door. His face pales as his eyes settle on Skylar’s leg, plastered in a cast.

“Dad?” Skylar says, uncertain, as he stands there, stunned. His lip trembles as she takes his hand and he stares at the wall. 

“It’s not your fault, Dad,” she reassures him. But she knew he was too far gone to hear her. 

Alyssa sits down on the bed beside her niece and tries to make polite conversation to distract from the loud shouts erupting from the hall.  

“You only hurt the people I love!” Sarah screams, voice only slightly muffled by the door. “You’re selfish and you’re nothing but a burden. I don’t want to see your face around my house or my children again. You stay away from us!”

Nathan doesn’t say a word. As he walks away, Sarah catches her breath. Fishing her phone out of her purse, she calls Melissa. She agrees to bring Grayson to the hospital to see his sister. After a moment, Sarah lets out a frustrated and exhausted sigh, violently swiping at her eyes before going back into the hospital room. 

“Melissa and Grayson are on their way,” she says with a smile as she shuts the door behind her. “Has the doc said how long you’re in for, Sky?”

“He said I could leave as early as tomorrow,” Skylar says as she turns to Sean with a teasing smile. “Sean got lucky. He can leave tonight.”

Sarah can tell by the way Sean sits alert at her daughter’s side that he has no interest in leaving any time soon. 

“Thank you for looking after our girl,” she says to him. “I’m so glad you’re both okay, and that Skylar was in good hands.”

Sean smiles weakly. 

“Of course,” he says simply. Skylar looks at him with a hint of a smile on her lips 

Sarah guesses that there is a lot more to the story of the night than Skylar has let on. She hopes once she’s feeling up to it that she’ll tell her all about it. 

An hour later, Melissa arrives with a confused and sleepy Grayson. She carries her grandson in and lays him down next to Skylar. 

“Sissy, are you okay?” Grayson mumbles as he gives her a hug. 

“Oh yeah, right as rain little brother,” Skylar says as she gives him a squeeze. 

“Well, that’s good.” He rests his head on her shoulder and closes his eyes. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Skylar’s eyes fill with tears as she rests her head on his. 

“Right back at ya kid.”

The whole room settles into a bittersweet silence as the hours tick by. At four in the morning, the doctor pays another visit.

“Hey, family, I’m Dr. Andrews,” she says as she enters the room. “Just here to check on Skylar and get these release forms started.”

Everyone except Sarah and Michael file out of the room, and a few minutes later they also step out. 

“She’s getting dressed now,” Sarah says with a smile filled with fatigue and relief. “We get to go home soon.”

“That’s great,” Melissa says. “Well, I guess I’ll leave you guys to it then. Call if you need anything.”

She hugs and kisses Michael and Alyssa before hugging Grayson goodbye. 

“Alyssa, come see me before you head back to New York,” she says. 

“Of course,” Alyssa says as she waves goodbye to her mother. 

Suddenly Grayson looks at Sean like he’s never seen him before that moment. 

“Who are you?” he asks as he yawns and rubs his eyes. 

Sean laughs. 

“I’m—”

“This is Sean,” Sarah interjects, “A family friend.”

Sean smiles, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking on his feet. 

“Well, I guess I should get going, too,” he says finally with a reluctant look over his shoulder at the hospital room door.  

“You’re welcome to come by anytime you like,” Michael chimes in unexpectedly, holding out his hand.

“Thank you, sir,” Sean says as he returns the gesture. “I’ll definitely take you up on that. Could you tell Skylar goodbye for me?”

“Of course,” Sarah offers before hugging him. “Be safe getting home. I hope your car is okay.”

“Oh, it’ll be fine,” he assures her. With a nod, he slowly makes his way down the hall. 

A few minutes later, Skylar is being carted out of her room in a wheelchair, crutches in her arms. She looks around. 

“Where’d Sean go?”

“Sean said to tell you bye,” Sarah says. 

Skylar’s face drops slightly. 

“But he said he would stop by later,” Sarah adds quickly. 

“Okay.” Skylar smiles as her shoulders relax. “Well, I guess it’s time to head home then.”

“Let’s go, kiddo,” Michael says as he wheels Skylar out of the automatic doors, the rest of the family close behind. 

—

One Week Later

“Things finally feel like they’re settling back into a normal rhythm,” Sarah says to Michael as she puts her hair into a messy bun.

“Yeah, it’s always equally nice and kind of sad when the holidays end.”

“Did you and Alyssa get a chance to chat?” Sarah pried. She was chomping at the bit waiting for his sister to tell him the big news.

“Yeah, we did,” he says with a smile. “Looks like I’m going to be an uncle.”

Sarah claps her hands together and beams. 

“Thank god,” she says with a sigh of relief. “I wasn’t going to be able to keep it from you much longer.”

“Well at least you got to know first,” he teases.

“Fair enough. Well, I’m heading downstairs to hang with Sky. I think this extra week off from school to rest up has made her stir crazy. She actually asked me if I wanted to watch that anthology series tonight. I mean, who am I to question at this point? I’ll take it.”

Michael lets out a laugh. 

“Well you girls enjoy.” 

Shutting the door gently behind her, Sarah pads down the stairs and peeks into the living room. She finds Skylar where she left her, leg propped on pillows and surrounded by blankets. She’s writing in her journal with her earbuds in. 

“Sky?” she calls loudly. 

Skylar taps her left bud once and turns. 

“Hmm?” 

“Need anything while I’m up? I’m going to make some popcorn.”

“Kettle for me, please.” 

With a smile, Sarah disappears to the kitchen, thinking about how despite no blood relation to Michael, Skylar takes after her father in so many ways. 

She returns a few minutes later with two separate bowls, setting one beside her daughter. 

“Ready?” she asks as she aims the remote at the TV. 

“Ready,” Skylar says, her earbud case clicking shut before she tosses it aside and readies her pen and paper. “Hopefully this will help me decide what to write about for my English paper.”

“Good thing you got an extra week,” Sarah says with a wink, gesturing to Skylar’s cast.

“Tell me about it.” Skylar grins. “But next time I’d rather beg for an extension than to endure another injury that makes walking so hard.”

“I second that,” Sarah says. “You gave us quite a scare.”

After a long pause, Skylar lets out a sigh. 

“I’m really sorry, Mom.”

Sarah pauses the opening credits of Tales of the Sister Kingdoms (24) and turns to her daughter.

“Why on earth are you sorry?” 

“Just…for everything before.” Skylar averts her eyes. “For sneaking around and being unbearable lately.”

Sarah smiles and strokes her hair. 

“Well, believe it or not, I’ve been there kiddo. Being a teenager isn’t easy. Neither is losing a parent. But you have to take it as it comes, and be glad for the memories you do have. Some people never even get those.”

She tried not to think about her own father that she never knew. 

Skylar rests her head on her mother’s shoulder. 

“I’m working on it,” she says quietly. 

“That’s all you can do.” Sarah kisses Skylar’s hair. 

She’s about to press play again when Skylar continues.

“I know we didn’t get to talk much about what happened on New Year’s Eve…” 

“Really, Skylar, you don’t have to tell me if you’re not ready.”

“No,” Skylar says with a weak smile, “I want to.”

With a nod, Sarah listens as her daughter tells her about Jordan reluctantly agreeing to come to Chelsea’s party, and how she found him and her best friend kissing in his car. She told her that Jordan was old news, and that she ruined Chelsea’s dress before she left the party and asked Sean to pick her up.

At the mention of Skylar pouring punch on Chelsea’s dress, Sarah laughs. 

“Attagirl,” she says, smiling wide. “And good riddance, I say.”

“I believe I said something to that effect,” Skylar says with a rueful smile. “I might have implied she was a promiscuous temptress who looked much better in red instead of white.”

Sarah lets out a loud laugh. 

“Good for you.” 

After a pause, her expression softens. 

“So, Sean has been coming around a lot this past week.” 

“Yeah,” Skylar says, unable to hide her ear to ear grin. “He has.”

“Well, if you’re a fan then I’m a fan. He’s a nice boy.”

“Yeah, he is,” Skylar agrees. 

Sarah rises from her seat and retreats into the kitchen again. 

“Be right back,” she calls out, echoing as she crosses the hall. 

Skylar hears the thud of the freezer door closing and the clinking of silverware. Sarah reappears with two pints of ice cream and two spoons. 

“I think this calls for more than popcorn,” she says with a wink as she hands Skylar one of each and presses play. 

After binge-watching all nine available episodes, Skylar and Sarah are entering a sugar coma and Skylar has pages of notes. 

“Well?” Sarah asks as she tosses the remote onto the coffee table, “What did you think?”

“It was great,” Skylar says with a contented sigh. “Prince Zedrick and Balthazar the Bard are definitely my favorite characters.”

“I really loved Prince Alix and the dragon brothers,” Sarah chimes in. “Pretty great worldbuilding in my  opinion. I can’t wait to see the finale.”

“Same here,” Skylar agrees. “Wanna watch it together when it comes out?” 

“It’s a date.”

“Well, I’ve got a lot of notes to comb through.” Skylar carefully rises from the couch, balancing on one foot as she reaches for her crutches. She tucks her notebook under her arm and holds her pen between clenched teeth as she maneuvers around the furniture and toward the hall.

“Night, Mom,” she mumbles as she disappears up the stairs. 

“Night, Sky.” Sarah smiles to herself as her daughter’s bedroom door softly clicks closed instead of slamming for once. 

After cleaning up the remains of the devoured snacks, Sarah retreats to her and Michael’s room, where her husband is reading in bed. His head lifts slowly when she opens the door, her coffee table book in hand. 

“How’d it go down there?” he asks as she settles in beside him and opens her book. 

“It was good,” she replies as she places her bookmark on the nightstand. “We ate lots of snacks and had some good laughs. She also opened up about what happened at that party last week.”

“Oh?” He turns to face Sarah, pushing his reading glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Yeah.” She sighs as she lowers her book to her lap. “Long story short, her friend was seeing Jordan behind her back. They broke up.”

“Ah.” Michael frowns. “Well, good riddance, I say.”

“My thoughts exactly. That certainly explains why Sean has been coming around so much lately.”

Michael grins. 

“Yeah, he seems like a good kid.”

After a pause, he flips a page in his book. 

“I didn’t get the chance to tell you about mine and Skylar’s talk on the way to the airport to pick up Alyssa.”

“What happened?” Sarah stares at her husband’s profile as he continues to flip pages without reading their contents. 

“Well, she thanked us for putting up with her, and she said she’d understand if we wanted to give up on her, for starters. Then she apologized for how she’s been acting and said she missed her mom.”

Sarah’s eyes are sad as she reaches for Michael's hand and gives it a squeeze. 

“But she also called you Mom,” he adds with a warm smile.

Sarah’s eyes fill with tears. 

“Yeah, after Christmas with Melissa and Norman she said sorry for everything. And that was the first time she called me Mom. And she has no idea what that means.”

She covers her face with her free hand. Michael sets his book on his lap and pulls her close.

“She is so loved,” she chokes as he kisses her head. 

“She knows,” he murmurs against his wife’s hair.

“I guess we’re not doing a bad job after all.” She smiles as she tilts her head up to look at Michael’s face. 

“Not too shabby,” he says with a grin.

—

References

***Disclaimer: Some stories referenced in this story were inspired by prompts provided by Reedsy.com. Titles and prompts for all stories referenced are provided below, including original ideas and titles of my own. Visit the Reedsy site https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/ to learn more.****

—

1. If the Moon Were a Cookie

2. The Tale of the Firefly

3. Nothing Stays the Same

   (Reedsy Prompt: Write a story where someone says, “Everything is changing.”)

4. The Forever Date

5. Coffee with a Stranger

   (Reedsy Prompt: Write a story about two characters whose paths briefly cross, but are actually going in opposite directions - whether literally or figuratively.)

6. My Boy

   (Reedsy Prompt: End your story with a kiss at midnight.)

7. One Day

8. Fleeting Like Fireworks

   (Reedsy Prompt: Write about a character who would have complete happiness, if it weren’t for that one thing.)

9. Hey Stranger

10. Unchecked Baggage

    (Reedsy Prompt: Emotional baggage must now be checked in at the airport.)

11. I Do?

    (Reedsy Prompt: Your date finds an engagement ring inside a slice of cake they ordered for dessert. You weren’t planning to propose.)

12. Frozen Pizza

13. The Ghosts of Our Past

    (Reedsy Prompt: You go to visit your neighbor. When you ring the doorbell, a stranger appears and tells you that your neighbor has been dead for ten years.)

14. Cleopatra

    (Reedsy Prompt: You’re moments late to everything. You watch buses pull away as you run behind them, you miss the first 5 minutes of every movie, and you have never caught a green light. One day, you arrive on time.)

15. Life or Death

    (Reedsy Prompt: Write a story where a character has to decide whether to press the button or not.)

16. The Missing Ingredient

17. What Could Have Been

18. S.O.B.

    (Reedsy Prompt: Two super competitive colleagues meet at the office’s monthly BINGO night.)

19. I Always Knew

    (Reedsy Prompt: You’re sitting at your desk eating candy hearts. You start to realize the notes on the hearts are trying to give you a message.)

20. Dance with Me: An I Always Knew Story

    (Reedsy Prompt: You’re sitting at your desk eating candy hearts. You start to realize the notes on the hearts are trying to give you a message (A reimagining of the same prompt from a different perspective.))

21. Forever

22. Love is for the Middle Class (I haven’t shared this one on my blog because of potential copyright issues from referencing songs and princesses)

23. Define the Relationship: Fairytale Edition (I haven’t shared this one on my blog because of potential copyright issues from referencing princesses)

24. Tales of the Sister Kingdoms (A work in progress!)