Erica wished she were more intuitive. She needed Anna’s skills. “Is this about the kids leaving home? All that talk about change with Hattie has upset you?”
“No.” But this time Anna’s smile was a pathetic imitation of the real thing. Seeing raw misery, Erica put her hand on her arm.
“Anna—”
“Ignore me. It’s just something Pete said a few days ago. Oh, look at her go! She has no fear. Meg was exactly like that. Nightmare.” Anna clapped her hands as Delphi careered toward them.
Erica wanted to ask what Pete had said, but Anna was running to meet Delphi, all smiles and encouragement, and Erica followed, accepting the fact that Anna clearly didn’t want to talk about it.
She watched her friend with Delphi, seeing the warmth and the interest. Anna was so natural with children. So completely happy and absorbed by them. It wasn’t hard to understand why she’d be sad at the prospect of her own children leaving home.
She frowned. Was Pete annoyed that Anna had come away with them so close to Christmas? No. Pete was the most laid-back person ever,and he’d never tried to control Anna. So what had happened?
She wanted to ask but at that moment Delphi came barreling toward her.
“Aunt Erica! Did you see me?” She wrapped her arms around Erica’s legs and hugged her tightly.
Erica felt a rush of warmth. It was impossible not to respond to Delphi’s affection. “I saw you. You were brilliant.”
“I love going fast. Shall we go again?” Delphi’s pleading look was hard to resist.
Erica glanced at Anna, who gave an overly bright smile.
“Why not? It will be dark soon. Let’s do it.”
They hauled themselves back to the top of the slope for a final run, and this time Hattie met them at the bottom with Rufus and deftly persuaded Delphi that it was time to come indoors.
Delphi insisted on holding Erica’s hand. Erica had no idea what she’d done to deserve such unreserved acceptance and was surprised by how good it felt.
“Aunt Erica,” Anna whispered into her ear and flashed a quick smile as she headed toward the stairs and the sanctuary of her room. Erica looked at the slump of her shoulders and saw Anna check her phone quickly and then put it away again.
“Anna, wait—” Erica wanted to talk to her, but Anna didn’t pause.
“See you for drinks.” And then she disappeared around the curve of the stairs and Erica couldn’t follow because Delphi was tugging at her hand.
“Do you like hot chocolate?”
Erica tore her gaze away from Anna. It was no use pretending she wasn’t worried. Anna was the steady one, the one who soothed them when they were in a crisis.Even with her friends, she sometimes played the role of mother. If there was a problem, she talked about it. She was straightforward and easy to read. Which added to Erica’s anxiety, because right now she couldn’t read her.
“Aunt Erica?” There was another tug on her hand and Hattie crouched down in front of her daughter.
“Aunt Erica is here on vacation with her friends, so we have to let her have some time on her own.”
“I’m her friend, too, and I like playing with her.”
Erica felt pressure in her chest. “Hot chocolate sounds good.” Anna had made it clear that she wasn’t ready to talk about whatever was bothering her, so she might as well enjoy a little more time with Delphi. “Let’s do that. Then I’ll go and take a hot bath and get ready for dinner.”
For the first time in her life she was starting to understand the pleasure Anna derived from simple interaction with young children. To be with Delphi was to witness unfettered happiness in the moment. Whether it was careering down a slope on her sled, coloring a picture or making hot chocolate, she managed to turn each activity into a moment of joy.
Adults, Erica thought,could learn a great deal from children.
Hattie rose to her feet. “You drink hot chocolate?”
She hadn’t had hot chocolate since she was a child, but what harm could it do? She was freezing, so at least it would warm her up. “On snow days, I most definitely do.”
By the time she made it back to her room it was dark outside and the snow was falling again. Erica stripped off her outer layers and hung them to dry and then went to run a hot bath.As steam gathered she sat on the edge and added bubbles.
She’d always lived an independent, single life. When Anna had talked about wanting a family, Erica had simply wanted to be able to focus on her career. She’d never been able to imagine deriving the same satisfaction from a family that she did from her job. But now she was wondering.
