I thought of Bobbi. If she had lived, would she now be playing a family matriarch in one of these sappy holiday movies?
“Great,” I lied. “I got everything on my list.”
The house was warm and smelled of balsam pine. The lights on the tree glowed cheerfully in the corner of the living room. The angel glowered at me from where she hung in the corner, swaying slightly.
Mark kissed my cheek, smiled at the bags.
“I got the iPad Pro for Izzy and a cool 3DNutcrackerpuzzle for Olivia. Also a ballet book she doesn’t have—The Encyclopedia of Ballet. It’s beautifully illustrated.”
“Sounds perfect,” he said. He started poking through the bags.
“No snooping,” I chided.
He backed off, hands up. He was so like a little kid when it came to all things Christmas.
I set the bags on the dining room table.
“So, how’s my mother been?” I was almost afraid to ask.
“Fantastic,” he said.
I bit my tongue to keep from asking if she’d said or done anything odd while I was gone.
“Penny and Louise came for a bit and brought some amazing tarts and one of those little crocheted blankets Penny makes.”
I nodded. “That was sweet,” I said.
“Yeah, your mom loved it. She was really touched. She’s got it draped over herself right now.”
I could imagine the scene, my mother playing the role of a grateful but sickly grandma to a T.
“After they left, I made us toasted cheese sandwiches for lunch,” Mark said. “And we played cribbage.”
“No kidding?”
“She’s a hell of a card player,” he said. I nodded, remembering how she and my father used to play cards, how they’d play late into the night when Bobbi came to visit. “She skunked me! I think all the action tired her out, though. She’s been sleeping for the last hour or so. Oh, and I called Kingdom Hospice. Janice is going to start coming every day for a couple of hours. There’s also another LNA, Paige, who can help out if we need more. And Penny and Louise offered to help in any way they can.”
I nodded. “Great, thanks for arranging that. Where are the girls?”
“Olivia’s at Sophie’s. And Izzy’s at school.”
I frowned. I’d lost an hour somehow in the food court, but was I losing track of days now? “On a Sunday?”
“She’s with Theo and the kids from drama club. They’re doing that parade thing? I think Izzy’s recording it.”
I nodded, remembering now that Izzy had said something about it last week. How a bunch of kids were going to dress up as Krampus and parade through town banging drums. Izzy called it “an anti-Christmas art happening” and thought it might be something I’d enjoy. “You should come check it out,” she’d said, and seemed to genuinely want me there—which was unusual these days. Maybe her interest in the new Moxie book, the one I was busy avoiding, had softened our sometimes-fractious relationship. Izzy was a big fan of ghouls and costumes of all kinds, and sheloved Halloween. My latest project, stalled though it was, seemed to have increased her respect for me somehow. But with all the stress of taking care of my mother, I’d forgotten about Izzy’s Krampus parade. “Do you know what time the parade is?” I asked.
“Six,” he said. “And she was hoping you could pick her up after. They’re going through the downtown to the high school. She needs to be picked up there around seven.”
I checked my watch. It was only five. “No problem. I’ll go early and watch the parade.”
“Should be pretty cool,” Mark said. “One of the kids is going to be on stilts. And they were trying to get permission to carry actual torches. I don’t know if that was ever okayed, though.”
“Maybe just as well,” I said, smiling. I took off my coat. “Listen, there’s something else we need to talk about.”
“Okay.” Mark sat down at the dining table and I joined him.
“I need to go to Woodstock. I’d like to go tomorrow if we can arrange care for my mother.”
