“It does,” Tig said and slung his arm around my shoulders before kissing my cheek. “Ready to decorate?”
“Yes, we might find a few things in my old stuff, but the new decorations are all so nice, and it all matches,” I said and walked over to one of the totes.
“Let’s put a little of it all. I love the idea of you still having some of your old stuff along with the new on our first tree.” His eyes were so bright, and he looked so fucking happy it made me smile back at him. In that moment I wanted to do whatever it took to have him always look so happy. “What?” he asked.
“Nothing, I’m just excited to decorate,” I lied because I loved that he was happy but decorating a tree wasn’t at the top of my list.
Six
Tig
“Hey, Dad, what areyour plans for the holidays?” I asked. After decorating both houses and spending a few nights with Isaac asking me about Christmas I knew I had to start figuring it out.
“We’re going to Hawaii, your mother doesn’t want to spend another cold holiday, her words not mine. Why? What did you have in mind?” he asked. Dad had been retired a few years now and the two of them stayed busy at home or traveled.
“Isaac and I were trying to work out what we’re doing for the holidays.” Not wanting to tell him I was thinking of inviting the family back to Foggy Basin if they already had plans.
“Your sister is single again and I’m sure she’d love to join you,” he said throwing Cammy under the bus as a sacrificial guest. Cammy was older than me and had yet to meet mister right, but not without her trying.
“Do you think she’d want to come back here?” I asked, truly wanting his opinion.
“Sure, why not. I’ve got to go, son, we have a pickleball tournament we’re going to be late for.” Without even waiting for me to reply, he hung up.
“Well, can they come?” Isaac asked as he sat on the couch sipping his decaf.
“They’re going to Hawaii, but Dad said Cammy might want to join us.”
“Your sister?”
“Yeah, I’ll give her a call. Look, just so you know, I’m more than happy to not invite any family and just enjoy the locals and your family. There are plenty of people to keep us company,” I said, and wasn’t kidding.
“Okay, ask your sister, and make sure she knows about going to Jack’s parents’ party. It’s a tradition,” he said.
“I’ll ask her, but I thought you might like to have a party of our own?” I asked, and deep down hoped I was wrong.
“Not really, I thought it was maybe what you wanted. I’m not really the party host type,” he said. “Plus, they invite most of the town anyway so it’s sort of like the town party.”
“Will your family be there this year?” Because as far as I knew they weren’t last year, but knowing Isaac a bit more I wasn’t sure he would have told me who they were last year.
“They don’t leave the house at Christmas. They have a big dinner and open their gifts on Christmas Eve, then everyone spends time together on Christmas Day, but it’s mostly just playing with their gifts or hiding in their rooms especially for the older kids.”
“Really? I thought they’d have a big Christmas dinner.”
“Nope, Mom said by then she is over everything and doesn’t want to leave the house unless she’s forced to,” Isaac said and laughed.
“I understand that. Let’s just focus on going to the Larson’s for Christmas Day. How about you and I have our own Christmas Eve?”
“Can we open presents?” he asked.
“We can do whatever we want. It might be fun to spend it at my place if we want to get away from everyone, but I like the idea of being in town,” I admitted. Since I’d moved back the people I knew before had welcomed me, and it was nice to be part of a community where everyone wanted to spend time with each other.
“When would your sister get here?” Isaac asked.
“No clue, I’ll message her. She’s just in Sacramento so it’s not far and she might want to only come for Christmas Day, or not at all,” I said. Of all my siblings, Cammy was the only single one, and the most unpredictable. I tapped out a text and sent it to her before turning back to Isaac.
“It’s supposed to snow again.” He grinned.
“I heard that, but do you think it really will?”
