Page 96 of Even After This
“Yeah.” I grin. “I’ll come celebrate Christmas with you, Harlan Holcombe.”
He draws me in to kiss me on the forehead. Leaving his lips there, he says, “Thank you.”
The thought of Christmas with Harlan settles into the squishy sensation in my belly, but voices sound from the living room and interrupt the moment.
“What now?” I ask.
As I twist in Harlan’s arms, Claire charges onto the porch, her eyes full of panic. “Meredith, I was at Panera grabbing your order for you, and look who I found who wanted to come check on you because he thought you might be sick.” Her words sputter in such quick succession, they don’t register.
Which is unfortunate because the next person to join us outside is Stanley. Only instead of panic, his eyes are loaded with confusion. Then anguish.
“Oh. My. Gosh.” Claire’s awe-filled tone whispers through the tension. “Hercules totally puked in your house the other day.”
“Meredith?” Stanley’s glare flashes from Harlan, to me, to Harlan’s arms around me, and back to me. His face clouds in thunder.
Molly ambles out to the patio, arms crossed over her chest, completing the trifecta of disaster. She stands behind the others and narrows her angry eyes.
Where is Harlan’s camping gear? I need to send up a flare.
I turn to try to pull away from Harlan, but he clamps his grip to my waist and plasters me to his side. Heat infuses my cheeks.
“Stanley”—I throw out a limp arm in his direction—“this is Harlan, my ... uh ... Harlan. And Harlan”—I dart my eyes to him, not making eye contact—“this is Stanley, my ... friend.”
Harlan’s body is stilted when he pulls me forward with him and offers a hand to Stanley.
Stanley stares at the greeting a touch too long. Finally, he moves forward to shake Harlan’s hand once, then retreats to his position. “How do you know Meredith?”
I glance at Claire, and it looks like her eyes are going to bug out of her head.
“Harlan, that’s my friend Claire.” I point to her. “Claire, this is Harlan.”
Claire cracks a giant smile. “So nice to meet you.”
Harlan nods. “Same to you.” Then he nods to my sister. “Good to see you again, Molly.”
Waves of distaste roll off her haughty stance. She shifts her gaze to me. “Christmas without your family, Meredith? Really?”
Now my face flushes for a different reason.
Enough is enough. This little scenario is full of fish to fry, and Molly is swimming to the top of my list. I lean toward her. “Were you eavesdropping?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your answer,” Stanley says to Harlan. “How did you meet Meredith?”
“Met her in Colorado Springs,” Harlan says with a clipped tone, the first hint of his waning patience.
“And now she’s going back for Christmas.” Molly holds her hand out like she’s in a courtroom offering exhibits.
“Why would you do that?” Stanley scratches his chin. “Christmas is a really tough time for you.”
“Because we’re dating.” With Harlan’s firm tone, it’s clear he’s done with niceties.
But Stanley doesn’t deserve that tone. He’s just been blindsided, evidenced by how destroyed he looks. Then again, I’m about done with Stanley inserting himself into my life.
One more glimpse at Claire and I see her gawking between each of us, enthralled with this nightmare of mine. All she needs is a bucket of popcorn and a comfy chair and she’d be set. At least she’s not causing problems.
“Okay, I wasn’t going to butt in, but clearly I need to say something.” Molly steps toward me. “Harlan, you have no idea what you’re getting into. It’s fine if you want to spend time with Meredith, but just don’t do it over Christmas.”
Claire slides her eyes to my sister. “Molly, that is not cool.”
