Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses(100)

“In Chicago,” Robin said.

Susan rolled her eyes. “What for?” she said in mock annoyance.

“Work.”

“Ugh,” Susan said. “In and out, in and out. Never still. He’s just like his father.”

Abbey tensed at that comment—Susan’s comments seemed to straddle that edge of inappropriateness, but no one seemed overly bothered. She had to admit, his absence was maddening to her as well. She tried not to think about the fact that tomorrow was Max’s “Bring Your Daddy to School Day.”

“Well, if he’s not here to show me this gorgeous house of his, then please, Robin, take me around! The entrance blew me away. I want to see what else he’s had done.” She shrugged off her faux fur and draped it on the sofa, then turned to Caroline and Abbey. “Ladies, would you like to join us? I’m dying to hear what company he hired to decorate. I’m feeling all Christmassy!” She fluttered her hands in the air before turning and swishing down the hallway toward the front of the house.

Chewing on a smile, Abbey followed slowly with Caroline, her confidence in her talent growing miles with every step.





Chapter Twenty-Six





Abbey hit the gas, trying to balance going fast enough to exceed the speed limit and yet not fast enough to get a ticket. Nick hadn’t come home last night. Her last day decorating had ended with little fanfare other than Susan’s complete surprise when they’d finally told her who’d done the decorating. All she had left were a few more finishing touches on the living room tree.

When she’d dropped by her apartment to get the mail last night, she’d seen a legal envelope with Nick’s name and address as the sender. She opened it and had to steady herself as she read the numbers on the check. He’d overnighted her seventy-five thousand dollars. The envelope was absent of any correspondence. It was just the check.

Now Abbey was trying to get to Max’s school as fast as she could. Since Nick had not come home from Chicago, she’d had to prepare Max for the disappointment; the regret she had over it was almost too much to bear as she saw his face. It had been her fault. Max had fallen hard, just like she had, and now, he had to deal with the fact that Nick wasn’t around. Nick had warned her enough, but she’d thought she could change his mind.

She’d tried to shield Max as much as possible this morning, telling him how Nick had gotten caught at work in Chicago, and that he had to fly in an airplane to get back home. He wouldn’t be able to make it. Then, in the silence of the morning, with all the doors in the house still shut but theirs, she promised that she’d come instead so he’d have someone there for him.

“But you’re not a daddy,” he’d said, his distress clear. She’d assured him that it would be fine if she came instead, but she could tell that he was uneasy about it.

The light turned green and she hit the gas again.

In minutes, Abbey pulled the car into the lot at Max’s school and got out. Her heart was pounding as she looked at her watch. She was late. She ran up to the door, trying her best not to slide on the ice, and hit the bell to enter. Her head pounded with every tick of the clock as she filled out her name and got her visitor’s badge in the office. The woman behind the counter was smiling, slowly completing her information for her. She wanted to snatch the badge out of her hand and run down the hallway. Max was waiting for her with no parents, probably watching the other dads with sadness in his eyes. She looked at her watch again.

The woman finally handed her the badge and she peeled the backing off as she ran down the hallway, rushing past two students who turned around to look at her. She stuck the yellow visitor sticker on her coat and came to a stop outside Max’s classroom door. She took one more second to get herself together and catch her breath before going in. When she opened the door, the teacher greeted her. All the children were at their tables, their daddies beside them, sitting in little chairs, their knees all resting higher than the tables themselves. They were smiling, talking quietly to their children as they made a craft with craft sticks and paint.

Abbey scanned the crowd for Max. The teacher had moved seats, and he wasn’t in the same place as he’d been when she’d visited last. She looked for his brown hair, his blue shirt, and then, she stopped, her entire body freezing in surprise, tears filling her eyes. She blinked to clear them so that she could be sure that what she was seeing was real. Max had his back to her, and beside him, holding a craft stick and talking sweetly to her son, was Nick. She walked over and squatted down beside them.

“Hi, Mama!” Max said, a proud look on his face. “Nick came!”