And maybe some physical benefits too? Honestly, my lady bits might be amassing cobwebs at this point from the lack of contact with anything other than my vibrator.
Shivering at that possibility, I pull my rainbow beanie over my head. Then I slip on my sage-green gloves and stuff my arms into the sleeves of my puffy red jacket.
I take one more deep inhale for good measure before I get out of the car. Maybe the extra oxygen will relax all my tension-filled muscles.
My lashes are weighted with snowflakes when I finally make it to the front door, opting to leave the last-minute gifts I grabbed in the car so my five-year-old nephew, Jack, can’t tear into them early.
When I push open the door, relief sweeps into my heart like a warm breeze.
I soak in all the little details. The garland twining around the banister, the phantom smell of sugar and vanilla, the faint Christmas music drifting to my ears.
Home.
I let my eyelids fall shut as I close the door behind me and drop my bags.
Despite the fact that I planned to stay away this year, I can’t deny the comfort washing over me. I missed it here.
“What the fuck, Lena?”
My eyes shoot open to land on my sister-in-law, Zara. A shocked smile brightens her blue eyes as she stands from the couch with her one-month-old son, Noah. “What are you doing here?”
“I heard it’s Christmas.” I shrug, grinning as we meet in the entryway.
“Did you have this planned all along?” Zara asks, tugging me into a quick, one-arm hug.
“No. Millie’s family got sick, so I’m a surprise gift.” My dark curls brush Noah’s cheek as I lean toward him to leave a kiss on his forehead.
“Tia Lena,” Jack screeches, his wild ringlets bouncing as he barrels toward me and collides with my legs.
Mama rushes in from the kitchen, hands waving excitedly. “Oi,” she squeals. “You came! Merry Christmas,amorzinho.”
Letting go of Jack, I pull Mama toward me, a wave of calm cresting through me as she squeezes me tight.
As Mama releases me, my grandmother, who we call Luci, rounds the corner. With tears glistening in her eyes, she frames my face between her palms. “Menina, you scared the shit out of me saying you wouldn’t be here.” She shakes her head, staring into my eyes like she can see right through me. “Don’t do it again.” Her blunt words have me nodding in her grip. “I’ll make you hot tea. It’s freezing outside,” she announces in the lingering Portuguese accent from her childhood in Brazil.
I huff a laugh. “It’s okay. I’m really not that cold. I have a heater in my car.”
She waves me off as she makes her way back to the kitchen.
Zara snickers, her blond hair swinging as she shakes her head. “She’s a force to be reckoned with today.”
“Where do you think I got it from?” I shoot her a sassy wink as I strip out of my cold-weather gear.
Zara nudges Noah toward me, and I settle him into my arms, a snuggly little bundle against my sweater.
“You’re stuck with him now,” she calls over her shoulder as she jogs up the stairs. “Auggie’s at the store, and I need a shower more than you want to know.”
Carefully carrying Noah into the living room, I navigate around Jack’s doll collection in the middle of the floor.
“Where’s your sister?” I ask him, lowering myself to the couch.
“With Daddy at the store,” Jack says as he stuffs his doll’s feet into a plastic shoe. “They had to get more bread for dinner.”
I hum in understanding as I focus on the little guy in my arms.
New addition to my running list of jobs to look for: holding snuggly babies all day.
“We’ve only met once before,” I whisper to Noah’s sleeping face, soaking up every detail of his rosy round cheeks and long dark lashes. “But I’m sure you remember me. I’m the one who told you the secret about your dad actually being an alien.”
