Lights gleamed on burgundy wood and whiskey bottles. A guitarist and fiddle player, jammed into a corner, belted out asong about bells on Christmas Day. The revelers at the bar joined in the chorus.
Reeti had met us for dinner. “So... Surprise?” she asked when Toni went to the bathroom.
“Big surprise,” I admitted. “I knew Toni wasn’t happy, but I didn’t think she’d drop out.”
“How long is she staying?”
I made a face into my wineglass. “I’m not sure.”
Toni’s allowance from our mother’s trust was almost enough to live on, but she couldn’t touch the principal—except for school expenses—until she turned twenty-one. Which meant she needed a plan. I needed a plan. Toni was too young to know what she was doing. I had to fix things somehow.
“I’m going to find us a nice hotel for the holidays,” I said.
I could afford to treat us both for a few days. Unlike Toni, I could draw on my portion of the trust. Although now that I no longer had a job or a place to live, I needed to budget.
“Good luck with that,” Reeti said. “It’s Christmas. The hotels will all be full. Why not stay at the Nortons’?”
“Not an option.”
“Why not?”
I told her.
“Shit,” Reeti said. “What a witch.”
“That’s what you said about Maeve.”
“So maybe they’re more alike than they seem.”
“Wise and powerful?” I suggested.
“Selfish and practical.” Reeti’s eyes were sympathetic. “I’m so sorry. But that settles it. Now you have to stay with me.”
She wassucha good friend. “I don’t want to put you out.”
“I won’t even be there. I’m going to London to visit my family over the holidays.”
I could do it, I thought. For Toni. “Does your family celebrate Christmas?” I asked, buying time.
“In our own way. My family likes all holidays. Any excuse to eat, get together, and gossip.”
I smiled. “And fix up their daughter with a nice Sikh boy.”
Reeti blushed. “That, too. Anyway, I have a big empty guest room. You’d have a kitchen. And your own bath.”
A kitchen! If the restaurants were closed on Christmas Day, I could cook. “Well... If you’re sure we won’t be in the way... Maybe for a few days?”
“As long as you like,” Reeti said firmly.
I smiled mistily across the table. “Thank you.”
Toni returned to the table by way of the bar. “What?” she said when I eyed the whiskey glass in her hand. “I’m totally legal here.”
“You’re not used to drinking.”
“How do you know?”
I didn’t, of course. I hadn’t been there to help her navigate freshman year. Underage drinking was a problem on campus. Maybe...
