Gran said we didn’t and told me to make whatever plans I wanted, assuring me she’d pass it along to Mom. Now, I just needed to figure out what Morik had planned. I debated calling him, but decided to leave him alone. He would show up when he was ready.
After showering, dressing, and doing a load of laundry, I heard a car in the driveway. I moved to the kitchen window, but couldn’t see much because of a sudden gust of blowing snow. A car door closed. Immediately following that, a knock on the door sounded. I smiled and rushed to get it. Only one person could move that fast.
He stood in the swirling snow a small smile on his face when I reached to tug him through the open door.
“Where were you?” I asked taking his things.
“I had to get something for your Aunt,” he replied, his gaze finding Aunt Grace in the living room.
Having woken up late, she had wet hair from her recent shower and still sipped her coffee on the couch while watching a talk show. She looked up when he said ‘Aunt’.
“Me?” she asked, a startled expression on her face when she saw his eyes on her.
“Yes, you.” He strode toward her, in stocking feet, and dropped keys in her hand. “That belongs to the car outside, Tessa’s price for a very important promise.”
All eyes turned toward me. “I promised to stay inside last night when he came back for the snack mix.” I shrugged as if it weren’t a very interesting topic. “What kind of car did you find?”
“Let your Aunt look. It’s her surprise.”
Aunt Grace popped off the couch and hurriedly tugged on her things. Her bare feet slid into her runners. The door loudly clicked shut in her rush.
I moved to the door to peek out the window. A shiny, cherry red car sat in the driveway with my Aunt draped over the hood, obviously in love. I watched her rush to let herself into the driver’s side door and listened to the muffled sound of an engine start. She eased the car forward, veering toward the left of our two-car garage.
“It looks kinda new…” I commented stepping away.
A moment later, Aunt Grace flew into the house like a lunatic and launched herself straight at him. “I love you!” she cried wrapping her arms around his neck. He stood stiffly in her embrace while I stared at them both in amazement. Though Aunt Grace had never shown the open hostility Mom had, she hadn’t made an effort to interact with him like Aunt Danielle or Gran either.
“What was it?” I asked her.
She rattled off something that I didn’t understand, but the year caught my attention. The current year. “That’s new, Morik!” I accused.
“Technically not. The car has a prior owner, making it used.”
“But I said a beater!”
“Hey!” Aunt Grace scolded, removing her arms. Morik looked relieved. “You did good,” she told him as if her enthusiastic hug hadn’t already confirmed that.
“If she chooses to beat it, she may,” Morik offered helpfully.
“Best Christmas ever,” my aunt murmured to herself as she shuffled back to her bedroom with a silly grin on her face.
Mom came home looking slightly dazed before Morik and I decided what to do for the day.
“Saw the car, huh?” I lounged on the overstuffed chair with my feet dangling over the edge waiting for Morik to come up with a better idea than Beatriz’s house.
“Hmmm?” she said absently.
I frowned at her, watching her hang up her jacket and kick off her shoes. The motions were right, but the attitude all wrong. I called her name. Twice. She answered with another noncommittal noise as if her hearing had suddenly stopped functioning overnight.
“Gran!” I called getting up and going to Mom. Gran came up from the basement, a basket of laundry in her arms.
“Tess, you don’t need to yell,” Gran scolded as I called Mom’s given name in her face.
Mom pulled back as if I slapped her. “Tessa! What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with you? Did you get in an accident?” Despite her now angry frown I still worried.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Stephen dropped me off.”
When she said his name, she smiled a little. That’s when I noticed the glint on her ring finger.
I grunted in pain, feeling a very real punch to my stomach. “Engaged?” I whispered, my eyes darting to hers trying to read a denial in them.
She nodded, her smile growing. Gran gasped and Aunt Grace squealed for her to show the ring.
Stepping back, out of her way, I stared at her as an alien feeling gripped me. Morik congratulated her quietly and then strode toward me. Our gazes locked. How could she do this? Less than five months to go, and I struggled to find the answer to make the choice to set them all free. I was trying. Very hard. She couldn’t wait? Didn’t she want to know if I’d live with Morik or die as Aunt Danielle before throwing herself at Stephen?