“Oh, she’s that for sure.”
“I see a lot of myself in her,” Tiffany admitted softly.
“No.Really?”That didn’t seem possible.Tiffany was so chill and put together.
Tiffany nodded.“I guess it’s true that birds of a feather flock together.”
“But you’re not bossy.”And Mandy was.She very much was.
“I can be.I do like to have my way on things.”She shrugged and then turned to open her car door.“Sometimes life has a way of knocking the bossy out of a person or, at least, dulling the sharp edges,” she said as they both got out of the car.
“What happened?”There had to be a story behind such a statement.There just had to be.
Again, Tiffany shrugged, but this time, she also shook her head.“Just stuff.”Her lips curled into a smile that seemed forced.“Let’s go get rid of that gift bag so this can all be behind you.”She wrapped her arm around Esther’s and began speed-walking toward the front door.Apparently, Esther was going to face her past and break away towards her future as soon was humanly possible when wearing dress boots and traversing a partially snow-covered parking lot.
Inside the church, Christmas music played over the sound system.A small group of children in festive clothes were chasing each other around the foyer.Adults were chatting as they removed their outerwear.Esther had always loved this service.There was just something about a Christmas Eve service that made her feel like things were, or would be, right in her world.The Prince of Peace seemed to reign on this night.
But honestly, she wasn’t feeling that cozy, this-is-home feeling this year.At present, she felt like home was something that was far, far away.Perhaps the furthest away it had ever been in her life.
She paused in hanging up her coat.Maybe that was because Steve was far away.Could it be that she was beginning to think of him as home?She twirled that idea in her mind for a moment, and it felt good but… also not quite right either.
God, she whispered in her heart,where is my home?
“There’s my baby girl.”
Esther shook her head.“Dad, when are you going to stop calling me that?”She squeezed him tight.
“Uh, never,” he replied before giving her cheek a kiss.“You’ll always be my baby girl.”His head tipped.“Well, maybe I’ll have to give it up when you have a daughter of your own.Hey, there, Tiffany.”
“Hello, Mr.Adams.”
“You can call me Trent.”
“I know you’ve said that, but I don’t think I can.Sorry.It’s how my parents raised me.”
“They must have been good parents.Will you get to see them over the holidays at all?”
Tiffany nodded.“I’ll video call them.”
“Oh, that’s not the same,” her dad protested.“But, I guess it’s better than nothing, eh?”
“And cheaper and takes a lot less time away from work.”
“Yeah, that work thing can put a damper on a lot of plans.Speaking of which…” He turned toward Esther again.“I’m on call tomorrow.Jake was supposed to do it, but he’s got that awful virus that’s going around.He could barely speak when he called me.”
“I guess we’ll play it by ear.”She was good at that when it came to her dad.He wasn’t known for making and keeping plans very well.Of course, this time, it wasn’t his fault.“If you can make it to my place for dinner, great, and if not, well… we’ll deal with it when or if it happens.”
“But I don’t want you to be alone on Christmas.Maybe the Bennetts wouldn’t mind having you over?”
Esther could feel her eyes growing wide at the suggestion.“No, Dad.I’ll be fine.Besides, I’ve got all the food bought already, and it has to be made.I’m not a little girl anymore.I can fend for myself – even on Christmas.”
Her dad sighed.“I had really hoped to spend the whole day with you this year.Who knows if I’ll ever get to do it again?”
“You’re just on call, Dad.Maybe no heaters will go out tomorrow and everyone will be warm and toasty.And I’ve only started dating Steve.”
Her dad’s head tipped, and his eyes searched her face just like they always had when he was trying to figure out what was going on in her head.“Are you saying that you don’t see this relationship lasting?”
“No, I’m not saying that.I’m saying it’s just started, and I don’t know where it will go.Don’t count your chickens and all that.”
