Tara shook her head. Of course she had an uglier one. Aunt Sandy was the queen of Christmas spirit. She even had on her Christmas bulb earrings that dangled back and forth when she walked. “You look perfect just as you are. And where we’re going is a surprise, even to me. All I know is some teachers at school said they love going, and the event could use a few more spectators, and I figured we’d be good at that.”
“How very cryptic of you. Lead the way.”
Tara locked up, patting the candy cane soldier standing guard at the door on their way out. It rarely snowed in Amber Canyon, but tonight the sky looked like a thick gray soup. Maybe they’d get a white Christmas after all. She hoped it wouldn’t decide to sleet or hail and ruin the neighborhood Christmas parade they’d be attending. Apparently, it was a tradition going back fifteen years.
She drove carefully, following the GPS directions from her phone while Aunt Sandy fiddled with the radio before landing on a station playing Christmas music. One would think she’d never heard “Carol of the Bells” before based on her expression of delight.
“I just love Christmas,” Aunt Sandy said with a sigh. “It seems like a time when anything is possible. You know?”
“Sure, Auntie. Although anything being possible is kind of a scary notion if you think about it. Jurassic Park could be possible. Jumanji could be possible. The zombie apocalypse. Killer dolls.”
“You done?” Aunt Sandy laughed. “Sometimes I can’t believe what comes out of your mouth. You’re so salty sometimes.”
“Me? Salty? I would use that term to describe someone else I know. We might have to look up the definition of that word, because it definitely describes you.”
“Me thinks the lady doth protest too much,” Aunt Sandy said with a shrug.
“That’s it. I’m eating your dessert.”
“There’s dessert?”
“There is now. And I’m eating all of it.” Tara would do no such thing, but it felt good to threaten.
“See? Salty.”
The unmistakable intro to “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” filled the car and they grinned at each other before singing along to every word. Tara pulled into the Garden Estates neighborhood, which was quickly filling up with cars parked along the sides. Aunt Sandy went silent and looked around with unguarded curiosity.
It was rare for Tara to surprise her with anything. Tara was usually the one feeling surprised. It was a nice changeup. Aunt Sandy had done so much to lift Tara’s spirits that it was time Tara returned the favor.
“Come on.” Tara got out and went to grab their lawn chairs from the trunk. She could hear music coming from up the street in the direction others were walking. Each taking a chair, they linked arms and walked quickly to the end of the street, then turned to see traffic cones blocking the rest of the neighborhood. All the houses were decked out in Christmas lights and decorations, but the real sight was on the street. A group of Christmas carolers roved around in costume, tables with goodies for sale sat on lawns, and red wagons dotted the whole block, decorated in theme, just like little Macy's Day Parade floats.
Tara pulled out her phone to check the time. They had about fifteen minutes before the parade was supposed to start.
“Oh, Tara. I think my heart just grew three times its size.”
“That’s a medical condition, Aunt Sandy.”
Her aunt lightly wacked her in the arm. “I love this.”
“I know. Let’s go spectate.”
There were enough people that Tara felt comfortable just wandering through and taking it all in as an outsider, but soon enough she came across the fifth-grade teachers who had told her about the parade. It was their first time attending, too, and they were almost as excited as Aunt Sandy.
They chatted for a few minutes before Tara and Aunt Sandy moved on to the dessert and craft tables. Tara bought a homemade snowflake ornament and tucked it into her purse. Aunt Sandy was still looking, unable to make up her mind, so Tara walked over to the dessert table to browse.
The little old lady manning the table told her a little about each dessert before getting up and waving over someone to take her place. Tara realized too late that her replacement was none other than Monica Tyler. Monica was the Physical Education teacher at Clark, and one of the people who had made going to work pretty much miserable after Tara got jilted. Even summer break wasn’t enough to let the juicy gossip die. It had started right back up in September when Derek got engaged again and Tara didn’t run home to Denver with her tail between her legs. She liked this little town and the school she worked for, and not marrying their golden boy wasn’t a big enough deterrent to make her leave just yet. Maybe it was pure stubbornness keeping her here, but she didn’t have to justify her reasons to anybody.
Monica’s face split into a big fake smile when she recognized Tara. “Funny seeing you here. And with your aunt as your date again. Fun!”
The woman was a professional at understated rudeness. Tara had played these passive aggressive games with her before. It was better to pretend the jab hadn’t hit its mark than try and explain why it did.Take the high road.
Monica wasn’t done though. “Hey, Mary. Look who’s here. Come over here so you can tell her how Derek is doing. Isn’t his new fiancée like, your cousin or something? What a small world.”
Mary’s head whipped around from where she had been mixing up a new batch of cider, and she exchanged amused looks with Monica. The sharks were circling.
“Cousin-in-law,” Mary corrected. “Derek’s fiancée is my cousin’s wife’s sister. She’s so incredibly beautiful it makes me just want to scream with envy. But does it make you uncomfortable if we mention her?” She tilted her head at Tara, probably attempting to look contrite. “I mean, technically they were together before you, so it’s sort of like she stole Derek back and not just straight up stole him. Sorry, all I’m saying is, I sort of see both sides.”
Tara opened her mouth to say something, anything, but a hand touched her shoulder, catching her off guard.
