will.”
“Then I’ll keep that image in my mind and sneak some fortified eggnog over the next few days and do everything I can to avoid being trapped alone with my mother.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve complicated your life, Mary.”
“Don’t you ever say that to me again. I mean it.”
Ellis thought she detected tears in Mary’s words. “Okay, I just meant—”
“I know what you meant, but you need to get clear on something right now. These three days away from you have showed me how much I want to be with you. I know I haven’t done any of the things a real lover should do, but when I get back to Atlanta, I’m going to fix that.”
Ellis nearly jammed the phone inside her ear canal. The spontaneous burst of warmth in her pelvic region made her weak in the knees.
“You’ll help me learn how, won’t you El?”
“Yes, sweetheart. We’ll take as long as you need. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”
“Right now I need you to let me get off this phone and slide back into the flames of hell, but when I get home on Saturday—”
“Come home Friday, Mary. Better yet, come home now.”
“I wish I could, but I’ve got to do Christmas at Mother’s tomorrow and then Nat goes with Nathan for two days at his parents’.”
“So you come home tomorrow and let Nathan bring her back with him.”
“It’s not that simple. Nathan’s not coming back to Atlanta right away. He says he’s got things he needs to do up here, but I haven’t a clue what that means. Besides, my mother would never understand why I’d rather be in Atlanta than here with her.”
“Oh.” The word hung like an icicle.
“I’m sorry, Ellis. Christmas is a super big deal to my mother. It won’t always be like this. I swear.”
“Okay. I was just wishing out loud.”
“I can’t wait to make your wishes come true.”
Again, Ellis had to will herself to stay standing, and it had nothing to do with her old ankle injury.
“You still there, El?”
“Yes, but I’d rather be with you.”
“Me, too. Soon, babe.”
“Not soon enough.”
“I gotta go. I probably won’t be able to call you again until Wednesday.”
“I understand. I hate it, but I understand.”
“Thanks. I almost forgot to ask, is everything okay with Sam and Swiffer and your foot?”
“If you don’t count missing you, the three of us are fine.”
“Good.” Mary sighed loudly. “Ellis, I—”
“Let me say it first this time. I love you, Mary. Come home.”
“Love you, too. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Bye for now.”
Ellis cradled the phone against her chest and let Mary’s words echo in her heart. At last she had her own MaryChris Moss miracle, and just in time for a Merry Christmas, too.
∗ ∗ ∗ ∗
Ensconced on the sofa, Ellis read another of Mary’s articles in the back issues of Georgia Life magazine. She’d come across a stack of them next to Mary’s computer in the third bedroom and decided it was a perfect way to learn more about the woman she’d fallen in love with. It was only December twenty-sixth, so she still had three days to fill before Mary and Natalie’s return from Clarkesville.
Ellis found Mary’s writing style to be the perfect blend of crisp exposition and evocative metaphor. Even her articles about yawn-worthy topics like what peanut farmers do with the shells from their legumes proved to be entertaining as well as informative. (Kitty litter, wallboard, animal feed, paper, and fireplace logs. Who knew?)
Ellis set the magazine aside and glanced toward the picture window. Jolly Old Saint Stickalus still stood there in all his outlandish glory.
Christmas.
As best she could tell, it was more a marketing ploy than a holiday. Even when she was a child, her mother’s infirmity meant that celebrations were low-key, almost nonexistent. Nicolas and Anika, her brother and sister who were more like strangers than family, were so much older than she, that she had no memories of her family gathered
“Then I’ll keep that image in my mind and sneak some fortified eggnog over the next few days and do everything I can to avoid being trapped alone with my mother.”
“I’m sorry if I’ve complicated your life, Mary.”
“Don’t you ever say that to me again. I mean it.”
Ellis thought she detected tears in Mary’s words. “Okay, I just meant—”
“I know what you meant, but you need to get clear on something right now. These three days away from you have showed me how much I want to be with you. I know I haven’t done any of the things a real lover should do, but when I get back to Atlanta, I’m going to fix that.”
Ellis nearly jammed the phone inside her ear canal. The spontaneous burst of warmth in her pelvic region made her weak in the knees.
“You’ll help me learn how, won’t you El?”
“Yes, sweetheart. We’ll take as long as you need. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”
“Right now I need you to let me get off this phone and slide back into the flames of hell, but when I get home on Saturday—”
“Come home Friday, Mary. Better yet, come home now.”
“I wish I could, but I’ve got to do Christmas at Mother’s tomorrow and then Nat goes with Nathan for two days at his parents’.”
“So you come home tomorrow and let Nathan bring her back with him.”
“It’s not that simple. Nathan’s not coming back to Atlanta right away. He says he’s got things he needs to do up here, but I haven’t a clue what that means. Besides, my mother would never understand why I’d rather be in Atlanta than here with her.”
“Oh.” The word hung like an icicle.
“I’m sorry, Ellis. Christmas is a super big deal to my mother. It won’t always be like this. I swear.”
“Okay. I was just wishing out loud.”
“I can’t wait to make your wishes come true.”
Again, Ellis had to will herself to stay standing, and it had nothing to do with her old ankle injury.
“You still there, El?”
“Yes, but I’d rather be with you.”
“Me, too. Soon, babe.”
“Not soon enough.”
“I gotta go. I probably won’t be able to call you again until Wednesday.”
“I understand. I hate it, but I understand.”
“Thanks. I almost forgot to ask, is everything okay with Sam and Swiffer and your foot?”
“If you don’t count missing you, the three of us are fine.”
“Good.” Mary sighed loudly. “Ellis, I—”
“Let me say it first this time. I love you, Mary. Come home.”
“Love you, too. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Bye for now.”
Ellis cradled the phone against her chest and let Mary’s words echo in her heart. At last she had her own MaryChris Moss miracle, and just in time for a Merry Christmas, too.
∗ ∗ ∗ ∗
Ensconced on the sofa, Ellis read another of Mary’s articles in the back issues of Georgia Life magazine. She’d come across a stack of them next to Mary’s computer in the third bedroom and decided it was a perfect way to learn more about the woman she’d fallen in love with. It was only December twenty-sixth, so she still had three days to fill before Mary and Natalie’s return from Clarkesville.
Ellis found Mary’s writing style to be the perfect blend of crisp exposition and evocative metaphor. Even her articles about yawn-worthy topics like what peanut farmers do with the shells from their legumes proved to be entertaining as well as informative. (Kitty litter, wallboard, animal feed, paper, and fireplace logs. Who knew?)
Ellis set the magazine aside and glanced toward the picture window. Jolly Old Saint Stickalus still stood there in all his outlandish glory.
Christmas.
As best she could tell, it was more a marketing ploy than a holiday. Even when she was a child, her mother’s infirmity meant that celebrations were low-key, almost nonexistent. Nicolas and Anika, her brother and sister who were more like strangers than family, were so much older than she, that she had no memories of her family gathered
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