Dear Santa(2)

“I was here for the Fourth of July,” she reminded her. She’d come home shortly after getting her own apartment, and just before she’d learned the terrible truth about…She stopped her thoughts, refusing to let them drift toward even more unpleasantness.

“Yes, and that was months ago. It isn’t like we’re a thousand miles apart. Seattle is barely three hours away in traffic.”

“I know, I know, but I moved, remember, and then there was this project for work that demanded nearly every weekend. But it was worth it, because I earned two weeks off to spend the holidays with you, Dad, Chad, Ashley, and Peter.” Her younger brother had married his high school sweetheart and worked at the apple warehouse in supply-chain management. Within a year, Ashley and Chad had presented her parents with an amazing grandson. Lindy was crazy about four-year-old Peter. They connected every week through FaceTime, and she mailed him gifts so often, Chad had to ask her to resist. Ashley was currently pregnant with a little girl they had decided to name Grace. She was due to arrive the first week of March.

    When Lindy finished her coffee and cookies, she unloaded her car and brought her suitcase into her bedroom. Standing in the doorway to the familiar room, she found it exactly as it’d been when she’d left for college. She sat on the edge of her bed and looked around, remembering how carefree life had been when she was a teenager.

A poster of the Jonas Brothers was tacked to one wall. Her pom-poms from dance team were tucked against the corner of the bulletin board, and the corsage she’d worn to her senior prom was pinned to the board.

Home.

Peace washed over her, as she wrapped all that was familiar around her like a heated blanket.

“Lunch will be ready soon,” her mother called from the kitchen, soon after Lindy had unpacked. She tucked the few wrapped gifts she’d brought with her under the Christmas tree that adorned the living room, in front of the picture window that looked out over Apple Orchard Lane.

    “I’ll be right there.” After admiring the tree, Lindy joined her mother, who had already dished up two steaming bowls of soup. The breadbasket sat in the middle of the table, along with a butter dish.

After a simple grace, Lindy lifted her spoon. “I dreamed about this soup. It never tastes the same when I make it, and I follow the recipe to the letter. Somehow it always tastes better when you cook it.”

“That’s because it’s made with love.”

Lindy wanted to discount this extra ingredient that her mother insisted made the difference. How could she, though, when there didn’t seem to be any other explanation?

Her mother waited until Lindy had finished her lunch before she paused, her eyes serious. Looking directly at Lindy, she said, “I’m waiting.”

“Waiting for what?” Lindy asked.

“Waiting for you to tell me what’s going on with you, and please don’t try to brush this off. You’d best tell me before—”

“Mom…there’s nothing.”

With narrowed eyes, her mother waved her index finger like a clock’s pendulum. “Lindy Rose, I’m your mother. No one knows you better than me. I’ve suspected for quite some time you’re unhappy. Now spill.”

Lindy was afraid that once she started, she might not be able to stop.

    “It’s more than work, isn’t it?”

Her mother did know her. “Yes,” Lindy confirmed. “There’s more to the story of my split with Brian.” Lindy had told her parents they’d broken up, but she hadn’t gone into the details. She couldn’t. It was too painful then, and only a little less so now.

“You were rather vague about the reasons.”

With cause. A majority of what happened were things she’d prefer to keep to herself.

“Did it have to do with you getting that apartment?”

Apparently, her parents were good at reading between the lines. Lindy nodded. It was that and so much more.

“I remember in July that you mentioned your relationship with Brian had changed. It was not long afterward that you decided to go your separate ways.”

Shortly after she returned to Seattle Lindy had learned the truth about Brian and Celeste, and it had devastated her.

“You cared for him. Right?”

“Yeah.” Lindy had. Deeply. Early in their relationship, she could see them marrying and building a life together, once she’d achieved her career goals. She enjoyed his company, but as time progressed, she could see Brian wasn’t ready for marriage, and, for that matter, neither was she. Marriage was a huge commitment.

“Are you sorry the two of you broke up?”

    “Definitely not,” she said emphatically.

Her mother’s eyebrows rose close to her hairline. “Your reaction tells me there’s a whole lot more going on that you haven’t mentioned.”

Lindy’s shoulders slumped slightly. She hadn’t intended to get into this quite so soon. Now, with her mother probing for answers, Lindy felt like she didn’t have a choice. She might as well get it over with. Learning what Celeste, her onetime best friend, and Brian had done wasn’t something she relished telling her mother.

Her mother paused as she waited for Lindy to continue. Lindy knew her mother intended to give her time until she was comfortable enough to explain.