Page 20 of Light Up My Life

I glanced at our family calendar on the wall next to the advent one. On December twentieth in big red letters were the words Mom’s Office Party.

“One of you needs to be home that night to watch Harris,” Mom added.

“Not it!” Marcus and I called out at the same time.

“Hey!” Harris objected. “I’m fun.”

“You’re way fun,” Marcus said.

“The funnest,” I agreed, playfully running my hand down Harris’s face and mouthing Not it over his head to Marcus.

“Time to shower and brush your teeth, kid,” Momma said to Harris.

He whined but headed toward the stairs.

“I’m in the mood for hot chocolate,” Mom said.

“There are four different flavors in the pantry,” Momma responded, typing on her laptop. “Even the mint one you like.”

“I want to try something new,” Mom said with an edge to her voice that made me look over. She was giving Momma the Play along expression.

Momma must’ve caught on because she said, “Hmm, it would take way too long to drive to the store right now with all the traffic. Oh, luckily—”

I groaned. “Stop trying to set me up with the hot chocolate guy. We don’t even know who he is. What if he’s a serial killer?”

Mom turned her whole body so she was peering over the back of the couch at me. “A serial killer wouldn’t sell hot chocolate in a busy neighborhood during Christmas.”

“That’s exactly what a serial killer would do,” Marcus said.

“See!” I said.

“I talked to him yesterday,” Mom said. “He’s very sweet. And an entrepreneur. The hot cocoa stand is his own business.”

“Wow! Impressive,” Momma said.

“And I would love a hot drink,” Mom said with a smile, pulling her blanket tighter around her.

“Mooooom,” I whined. “If I go get some hot chocolate, will you stop trying to push the hot chocolate guy on me?”

“Yes!” she said with a clap of her hands as if I was doing this willingly.

“You don’t have to,” Momma said.

“Do you want some cocoa too?” I asked.

“No, I’m good. We literally have four canisters here. And the mint one,” she reminded Mom.

I raised my eyebrows at Marcus, and he shook his head no. I took my coat off the back of the chair and pulled it on.

Mom pointed to the basket on the sideboard by the table. “There’s some cash in there.”

I flipped through envelopes and papers until I found a ten-dollar bill and tucked it in my pocket. “What flavor do you want?”

“Actually I’ll just drink one here. Why don’t you get one for yourself?”

“I’m going to kill you, Mom,” I said.

She smiled over at me. “Christmas is a magical time! Embrace it!”