Hudson: Will you please tell Ayla I'm wishing her a Merry Christmas?
My hands trembled as I texted my response.
Angela: Of course.
"Ayla—" I waited for her to look at me. "Hudson says Merry Christmas."
Her face lit up. "Can we call him?"
"I'm sure he's busy," I said as she grabbed my phone, the sound of it ringing filled the room. It was on speaker. I knew he wasn't sleeping but still, he could be in bed. Or getting ready to go to his family's home.
He answered. "Hello."
"Merry Christmas! Did you see my bike?" She swung the phone wildly.
"Your mom sent me a picture."
It must have been on video, because she angled the camera so he could see the tree and the bike.
"What else did you get?" I heard Hudson ask her.
Ayla sat cross-legged on the floor and calmly told him about every present she'd unwrapped.
I couldn't help but think about the fact that Gus had never done anything like this. He didn't even call her on the holiday. Gus said he didn't want to interrupt her day. As if her father was an interruption and not a necessary person in her life.
"You got a lot of good presents. Which one is your favorite?"
The deep baritone of his voice filled the empty space, settling deep in my chest, somewhere near my heart.
"The bike," she said as if it were obvious.
"It's a nice bike. You plan on taking it for a spin?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Probably later."
Ayla tossed me the phone, and I fumbled it before lifting it to see his face.
It looked like he was resting against a pillow. My face heated. Was he in bed? Was his chest bare? I thought the answer was yes and yes.
He smiled. "She seems happy."
I smiled too. "It's Christmas morning."
"Yeah, I can remember the excitement. It was the best feeling in the world. Wondering what you were going to get and unwrapping it. Only to have your brother snatch it from you and play with it first."
I laughed at that. "I didn't have that problem, and neither does Ayla."
"She's lucky. Brothers are a pain."
Ayla sat next to me, sticking her face into the camera view. "I told Mom we should get a dog."
She grabbed the phone and scanned the space. "Don't you think it would look good here."
"A puppy would fit right in. Are you getting one?"
Ayla rolled her eyes. "Mom says no because we live in an apartment. But when we get a house, we could. Right, Mom?"
"Of course." My heart squeezed because I wasn't sure if I'd ever be able to afford one. Prices kept rising even as I saved whatever I could.
