“Wake up, Mama. We brought Christmas to you,” Lily said excitedly, bouncing next to her, shaking the mattress.
Beth’s mind worked overtime to orient where it was in time and space as she blinked again.Christmas, right?
“Let’s go, festivities start in ten minutes.” Lily pushed off the bed before disappearing.
Beth sat up, rubbing her eyes. She was still adjusting to the feeling of being awake when she noticed a figure in the doorway, “Shit, Sarah,” she said, her breath catching in her chest, her surprise quickly dissolving into excitement. “What are you twodoing here?” She squinted, looking closer at Sarah. “And why are you wearing reindeer antlers?”
Sarah grinned. “Spreading holiday cheer. I thought that was obvious. Was waking up like that not part of your ideal holiday plans?” Her tone was easy-going, matching the way she casually leaned against the doorframe of Beth’s bedroom.
“No, can’t say that it was,” Beth replied absently, momentarily distracted by how Sarah seemed to own the space around her so easily, so confidently, so powerfully. She let her eyes trail up the length of her long legs—the fitted, high-end athletic pants she was wearing accentuating exactly how toned she was. “Why are you guys here?” she asked, still not fully comprehending. “I’m supposed to go to Pat and Sean’s for brunch.”
“Change of plans. I talked to Sean earlier, and we’re all going to go over in the afternoon. Lily and I—we wanted to spend Christmas morning as a family…and we couldn’t really do that without you.”
Beth sat there in her bed, the duvet still warm from sleep, quietly stunned. She hadn’t been expecting any of this. She and Lily had done their Christmas Eve celebration last night—an overly competitive gingerbread house decorating competition and swapping a few small gifts—but then Lily had left for Sarah’s, and Beth went to bed.
“Sorry, got deep there for a minute,” Sarah said quickly, trying to gloss over her admission, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks. “Did I mention we brought presents and French toast casserole?”
Beth wanted to acknowledge Sarah’s desire to spend Christmas as a family, but what exactly did that mean to her? Reading Sarah had always come so easily to her, or at least she’d thought it had. Beth couldn’t help but wonder if somewhere along the way, over the years of silent conversations and readingbetween the lines, she had inadvertently stopped actually hearing Sarah.
But that conversation felt too heavy for Christmas. “Well, why didn’t you lead with that?” She pushed the duvet aside then pulled it back, remembering that she had opted to sleep in her underwear and a T-shirt last night. “Can you, uh—” She gestured towards the door.
Sarah’s grin turned mischievous, causing the heat to rise slightly in Beth’s cheeks. “Nothing I haven’t seen before.” She winked, backing out of the doorway to head back downstairs.
Beth’s heart raced, her mind spinning vicious circles becausethathad definitely been flirting. But was it actually? Or did Beth just want Sarah to be flirting with her? Attention from Sarah in any form had always given her a rush.
By the time she descended the stairs, a fire was already going in the vintage triangular fireplace set into the sunken living room. Lily placed the last gift precariously on top of a pile next to the tree while Sarah was in the kitchen, dishing out portions of French toast casserole.
“What is all of this?” Beth looked to the pile of gifts, to Lily, then to Sarah.
“Don’t look at me.” Sarah shrugged, grabbing two plates, bringing them to her and Lily. “Ninety percent of this is her doing.” She nodded in Lily’s direction.
Lily took her plate from Sarah and set it down on the coffee table. “Okay, you two sit. I’m playing Santa this year.”
Beth sank into the couch, tucking her legs up under herself as she took a bite of the casserole, the cinnamon and sticky syrup delighting her taste buds. A moment later, the cushion to her left sank under Sarah’s weight as she settled down next to her.
Lily handed them identical wrapped packages. Beth set her plate aside, slowly peeling back the wrapping paper, opening thebox to reveal a pair of pajamas patterned with little neon cats wearing Santa hats. In Sarah’s hands, a matching set.
“We missed the whole matching PJs thing last year,” Lily said, a painful reminder of how disconnected from everything Beth had still felt this time last year when Sarah had taken Lily and Wren to Disney for Christmas with Nell and Nate. Beth had tried to spend the holiday alone and sulking, but Pat and Sean refused, making sure she was taken care of. “So I took it upon myself to make sure we didn’t miss this year! I have my set downstairs. We should all change into them.”
When they returned to the living room, matching pajamas and all, Beth couldn’t hold back the laugh at how absurd they all looked in the chaotic pattern Lily had picked out. “This has got to be my favorite set yet, love.” She pulled Lily into a hug, kissing her forehead.
“We need a picture,” Sarah exclaimed, pulling out her phone, as Beth and Lily leaned in. “I’ll take a bunch, and Lily, you can let us know which ones pass your standards.”
Lily rolled her eyes and Beth grinned, but it was the unexpected touch of Sarah’s arm sliding around her as the three of them leaned in closer for the photos that made Beth’s breath catch.
The rest of the morning passed pleasantly as they slowly worked their way through the pile of presents, which included an assortment of handmade gifts from Lily, such as a denim jacket she had reimagined with embroidered flowers and a digital drawing of the three of them from the Olympics.
Throughout the morning, Beth and Sarah exchanged silent glances, truly appreciating their daughter and the young adult Lily was becoming before their very eyes. Beth had made many mistakes in her forty-five years, but she was always glad she and Sarah had been able to set aside their differences when it cameto raising Lily, staying committed to being a united force. It had been the best decision they ever made together.
That evening, after an afternoon of continued celebrations and dinner at the Cassidy household, Sarah pulled her Porsche back into Beth’s driveway, dropping her and Lily off. Lily immediately jumped from the car, hurrying inside to take a call from Wren, who had opted to spend Christmas in Mexico with some of her teammates.
“Can you believe Lily and Wren have been together for almost a year?” Sarah mused.
“That’s nothing. They’re basically still strangers,” Beth muttered.
“You and I were already talking about getting married a year in,” Sarah pointed out, her body shifting in the leather seat to face her.
Beth didn’t say anything in response. She quietly observed the way the moonlight filtered through the windshield, casting contrasting shadows across Sarah’s sharp brow, the glow of the dash illuminating her eyes.
