A Christmas to Cherish (A Festive Christmas #4)

Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

J ules perched on the edge of the bed and linked her fingers together. “I know it’s crazy, and maybe it’s not the best idea, given that family bonding time hasn’t been going so well, but I kind of did something.”

Emma stepped out of the adjoining bathroom and raised an eyebrow. “The last time you said something similar, you’d gotten in trouble at school for wanting to kidnap those frogs in science class.”

Jules made a face. “Yeah, I still don’t think it was a good idea to dice up frogs, even if they were dead.”

Emma smiled and reached over her shoulder to switch off the light. “You always did have a big heart, honey. I love that about you.”

Jules averted her gaze and stared at the ground. “Try to remember that when I tell you what I did.”

Emma stepped into the room and glided over to where her daughter sat. She knelt on the carpet and placed her hands on Jules’s lap. “Nothing you can tell me will make me mad at you.”

Jules glanced up, her eyes wide and hopeful. “Even if I tell you I signed us up for Christmas karaoke at Harper’s Brew?”

Emma laughed. “Oh, that’s not a bad thing, sweetheart. I didn’t know you wanted some mother-daughter bonding time. You and I are overdue.”

Jules grimaced and sat up straighter. “Actually, it’s not just us. I signed up for Grandma and Grandpa too. I hope that’s okay.”

Emma’s stomach tightened as she pushed herself to her feet and looked away. “Of course, it’s okay. Why wouldn’t it be?”

She’d had Jules for twenty-three years, and during that entire time, her parents had never once fought her over her decisions. They deserved time with their granddaughter, regardless of how they’d felt about her father.

Emma wouldn’t be the one to take that away from her or them, even if it meant having to sit through an entire dinner in public, making small talk and acting like the picture-perfect family.

With a sigh, Emma went over to the closet and threw the doors open. “As long as you’re not going to put us in coordinating outfits like you tried to do with the Christmas photo.”

Jules giggled. “I thought that turned out well.”

Emma reached into the back of the closet and pulled out a dark green dress that fell just past her knees. She held it up to the full-length mirror, a smile hovering on the edge of her lips. “I haven’t worn this in years. You should have it.”

Jules looked over her shoulders and shook her head. “No way. That dress will look great on you, Mom. It’s still got a few good Emma years left in it.”

Emma laughed and turned away from the mirror. “Emma years? Is that a measurement now?”

Jules emerged with a long skirt and a soft-looking red sweater. “It is to me. Anyway, I’m going to give Kyle a call before I get ready.”

“Tell Kyle I said hi.”

Emma went back into the bathroom, and while she waited for the shower to heat up, she snuck glances at herself in the mirror. Instead of the familiar scattering of pimples, uneven teeth, and stick-straight hair staring back at her, she now had tight lines around her eyes and a few gray hairs that were artfully hidden.

She had no idea why she’d half-expected her teenage self to stare out from the same mirror.

Exhaling, Emma examined herself further by twisting to and fro until steam filled the room. As soon as it did, she peeled off her clothes and stood under the showerhead, trying to think of safe topics to bring up during dinner.

A short while later, Jules sang at the top of her lungs while Emma rolled up a pair of stockings and shoved her feet into boots. After running a comb through her hair, she dabbed on some concealer and clear lipstick and reached for her purse. Downstairs, her mother was waiting by the door, wearing a red cashmere sweater over dark pants.

She was looking at her watch while Henry sat beside her, tapping his knees, his discomfort and reluctance evident by the way he kept glancing at his study door longingly.

Her mother sighed and checked her watch so often that Emma was tempted to call off the whole thing.

For Jules’s sake, she bit back her retort and placed one foot in front of the other.

Neither reacted when Emma came down, except to offer a brusque nod.

Everyone rose to their feet when Jules emerged, a vision in her flowing skirt, ankle boots, and sweater that made her eyes pop. In the car, Jules insisted on driving and keeping up a steady stream of conversation while the radio played. A few blocks away, a headache was already forming in the back of Emma’s skull, one she tried to drown out when they walked into the Brew and caught the last notes of “Jingle Bell Rock” ringing through the air.

A smattering of applause rose.

Jules steered them to a booth by the dartboard and signaled to the nearest waitress. Emma was glancing around and trying not to fidget when Jack returned with their tray of eggnog and slices of fruit cake.

“Jack.” Marie rose to her feet and enveloped him in a warm hug. “It’s always a pleasure to see you. You always seem to be busy when we come in.”

Jack drew back and gave her a winning smile. “I’m never too busy for you, Mrs. Sullivan.”

Marie waved his comment away and stepped back to gesture to Henry, who was pretending to skim through the menu. “Dear, look who it is.”

“Mr. Sullivan. Thanks for stopping by tonight.” Jack kept his smile in place and clasped his hands behind his back. “I know, on nights like tonight, you’d rather be by the telescope.”

Henry smiled for the first time all night and lowered the menu. “At least someone understands. Business looks like it’s doing good.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Henry placed both hands on the table and nodded toward Jules. “Have you met my granddaughter? She’s studying to be a journalist.”

“I have. You must be so proud. I’m sorry to cut this short, but I’ve got to get back. It’s a big night tonight.”

As soon as he disappeared, Emma reached for the glass of water to hide her frown.

Where was Jack’s usual warmth when dealing with her?

Had he gotten tired of her too?

Marley went up on stage, and Jules joined her midway through a rendition of “Merry Christmas, Darling.” The two of them danced and twirled around together. Near the end of the song, everyone began to sing along, and Emma found herself swaying to the beat while nibbling on the cake. As soon as they were done, Emma was the first to rise to her feet and clap so hard that her hands hurt.

When she sat back down, her parents were giving her a strange look.

“I thought you didn’t like karaoke night,” Henry commented between sips of his drink. “I remember you saying that.”

Emma cleared her throat. “I do, but I just didn’t want to do it every week. It’s nice to change things up.”

Marie sniffed her drink and took a small sip. “I’m sure Rockport isn’t nearly as exciting as the city.”

Emma gave her a meaningful look. Here we go again. You can’t even get through one night without baiting me, can you, Mom? I just wanted one night, for Jules’s sake, and you couldn’t even give me that.

Marie set her drink down and dabbed her lips. “Why are you looking at me like that? It was just an observation.”

“It wasn’t just an observation, Mom.” Emma sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “Can we just try and get along, at least for tonight, for Jules’s sake?”

Her parents exchanged a long look before glancing back at her.

Together, the two of them nodded, and Emma breathed a sigh of relief.

One night where they weren’t at each other’s throats shouldn’t be too hard.

It was a good start.

“So, how’s your job going?” Marie smoothed out the napkin and linked her fingers together. “Any interesting cases?”

Emma leaned back against the booth. “I’m working on this divorce case. The father basically doesn’t want to pay any of his daughter’s expenses because he thinks it’ll teach her character. It’s ridiculous, obviously, but he’s insisting she should be the one to pay him for the years of school, her living expenses, and all of that.”

Henry scowled, and his entire expression turned serious. “You’re joking.”

“I wish I was.”

“And you enjoy working on cases like that?” Marie was frowning at her, the lines around her face even more evident underneath fluorescent lighting. “I don’t understand how you can stand it.”

“I have faith in the legal system,” Emma replied, her eyes darting between them. “It’s a lot like astronomy, actually. You just have to do your research by studying everything, and you look for a pattern. All you have to do is observe and be patient.”

Henry gave her an indecipherable look, his eyes widening slightly.

A heartbeat later, he glanced back at the menu and pretended to find it interesting.

As usual, her father had chosen to bury his face in the sand and leave them to go head-to-head.

Why had Emma assumed that he’d changed?

“How about you, Mom? Do you like working as a family support coordinator for the hospital?”

She was grasping at straws, but Emma was desperate to find something—anything else for them to talk about.

“I like helping families get access to the services they need, and the community in Rockport is very helpful with all of its resources and social programs.”

“It’s not much different than what I do.”

Marie raised an eyebrow. “I’m helping families by giving them guidelines and tools to navigate unfamiliar terrain. You’re airing out people’s dirty laundry. It is definitely not the same.”

Emma snapped her mouth shut and forced a smile when Jules bounded over.

Keep it together, Emma. Don’t say anything to ruin Jules’s night. Just breathe and ignore the taunt.

It wasn’t as if it was the first time hearing Marie belittle her work, but each time she did, it chipped away at Emma, leaving something ugly and festering in its wake.

After some pleading, she drew her grandparents to the stage, and Emma ducked into the bathroom. There, she splashed cold water on her face and gripped the sink. When she came back out, Jules and her parents were singing along to “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree.” Emma kept her head lowered as she made a beeline for the bar and sank onto the stool.

A short while later, Jack materialized with a glass of red wine in hand. “Here, you look like you could use this.”

“Are you the Christmas godmother?”

Jack chuckled and paused to wipe the counter. “No, I’m just really good at reading people. A perk of the job.”

Emma took a long sip of her drink, and it burned a path down her throat before settling in her stomach. “Sounds like a downside to me.”

“Not if you manage to help someone having a bad day.”

Emma ran her finger along the rim of the glass. “No offense, but I don’t think you can help. Jules set this whole thing up to help us all reconnect, but I don’t think it’s in the cards for us. Too much time has passed.”

Even without their issues, Emma and her parents viewed the world very, very differently.

With nothing in common, how was Emma supposed to mend fences with them?

How was she supposed to bring them back together?

For Jules’s sake, she desperately wanted to find the common thread to tug them together, but after tonight, she had to wonder if it even existed.

Jack patted her hand and lingered, his warm and familiar touch sending an unexpected jolt through her. “I’m sure you’ll figure something out. You’re Emma Sullivan. You always find a way.”

She was still turning his words over in her head when Jules hurried over to pull her on stage. All through a rousing rendition of “Last Christmas,” Emma tried to shake the feeling off, but she couldn’t. When they drove home in silence and everyone retired for the night, she still felt the heavy pit in the center of her stomach—the one she thought she’d outrun all those years ago.

Emma had never fit in with her parents, and all that time and space hadn’t changed a single thing.

Why had she been na?ve enough to let herself hope otherwise?

Why couldn’t she just let it go?