“Go get Mom,” I tell him. He rushes into her room, calling her name. Soon she emerges, looking a little hesitant. The moment she sees the Christmas tree, her expression is better than I could have imagined. Her mouth falls open and she stops in her tracks, then looks at me. “What is all this?”
I give a coy shrug. “I guess Santa came.”
Mom knew there would be some gifts, but not this many. She gives me a hug and then tells Max he can open them. My phone buzzes with a text from Connor, and I text him back quickly and discretely.
Max runs to the first present, the biggest one, and rips it open. He gasps and then squeals. “It’s dog food!” The fifty pound bag of dog food was really hard to wrap last night because of how big it is and how weirdly shaped it is. But we somehow managed to get it done without waking up my family.
Max turns around and grins at Mom and me. “Santa brought me dog food!”
“Well, open up the rest of them!” Mom says.
Max dives into the presents, revealing a dog food bowl, water bowl, and some toys. There’s a collar, a leash, and a dog bed. His excitement wanes a little bit when he opens the final present and sees that it’s another dog toy, but not a dog.
He frowns and squeezes the toy, making it squeak.
I send another text to Connor.
The doorbell rings.
“Well, I wonder what that is,” Mom says, giving me a knowing smile.
“Maybe Max should check it out?” I say.
Max opens the door, and there’s our new dog. He’s wearing a big blue bow around his neck and a Santa hat. I have no idea how Connor managed to pull that off, but the dog looks happy to be all dressed up.
My brother screams in excitement and throws his arms around the dog, who wags his tail and licks Max’s face. I glance out the front door and see Connor standing a little ways down the sidewalk. He waves at me and then heads back to his truck. “Thank you!” I call out before closing the door.
This entire morning went exactly as we’d planned it.
Max is so happy he bursts into tears, and the dog licks them off his face.
“What are you going to name him?” Mom asks.
“Buddy,” he says. “Like Buddy the Elf from that movie we watched.”
“That’s a good name,” Mom says. I sit next to her on the couch and hand her the present I bought her. Before she opens it she says, “So … what’s going on with you and Connor?”
My cheeks blush. “We can talk about that later.”
“Aww,” Mom says with a grin. “I want to talk about itnow. He’s cute!”
“Pleasedon’t say that when he comes over tonight!”
Mom gives me a smile that is absolutely evil. “I’ll try not to.”
Chapter Sixteen
Connor
I try on three different shirts until I finally decide on what to wear to Jayda’s house tonight. I’ve never had this problem in my entire life. Clothes are clothes and I’ve never cared much about them. But suddenly it matters. Everything matters. I try to fix my hair and I brush my teeth twice just to make sure my breath smells good. This is Christmas dinner with my new girlfriend and her family.
This is my first Christmas without my mom. It needs to matter. It needs to be perfect.
I’m so nervous on the drive to her apartment that I actually miss my turn and have to circle around. Guilt tugs at my heartstrings because on one hand I am so happy to have Jayda in my life. She was my dream girl for so many years and now she’s my girlfriend. I am beyond happy. But at the very same time, I’m also sad, missing my mom, and wishing she could be here. I guess it’s possible to be both happy and sad at the same time. Deep down I know my mom would want me to have a good time.
So I put on a smile and I hold my famous deep dish pizza in one hand and Jayda’s Christmas present in the other hand as I walk up to her front door. This is scary but amazing. Awkward and nerve-wracking but the greatest feeling ever, all at the same time.
I have a girlfriend, and she is the best.
