But her brother arrived then with their dad in tow, and Erin had to play the dual roles of wonderful hostess and perfect daughter.
“Hi, Daddy,” she said, offering her cheek for a kiss.
“Sweetheart!”
His coat was cold from outside on her bare arms as they hugged.
As always, her father’s first stop was at the food table. Erin teased her brother about his new haircut while their dad loaded up a plate for himself.
“Why do I even visit when you’re always so mean to me?” her brother joked.
“Someone has to bring Dad to see his favorite child.”
“No chicken wings?” their dad asked.
“Ooh,” her brother said. “Are you sure you’re the favorite child when you didn’t even make chicken wings?”
Erin ignored him. “I know, I’m sorry. I should have made time to make them.”
“Please, sweetheart. No apology needed. I tried to get your mother to stop making them for years.”
Erin was distracted by her brother making vague gestures behind her dad, which she was pretty sure were supposed to be about him being the favorite child but it was hard to tell. It took her a moment to process what her dad had said.
“Really?”
“She hated them! So much work for such a tiny amount of meat on each one of those things.” He reached for a prosciutto-wrapped fig. “These on the other hand? Totally worth the work.”
Erin couldn’t move on with the conversation. “She hated the chicken wings?”
“The chicken wings, the cleaning, the never knowing how many people would actually show up. There were so many years I would’ve canceled the thing if she wouldn’t have killed me for it.”
“You can’t cancel the Christmas Eve party.”
Erin’s dad laughed and shook his head. “You truly are your mother’s daughter. What would people think if you canceled the Christmas party?!”
Before Erin could ask what that meant, Parker slid her arms around her grandfather’s waist from behind, squeezing him hard. “Pop!”
His granddaughter took all his attention, and Erin’s brother’s, too, and Erin was left to herself to try to understand this new information about her mom.
For Erin, it wasn’t about what people would think. She loved the Christmas Eve party. Sure, she agreed with her mom on the chicken wings and the cleaning, but not knowing who would show up was half the fun. Every year someone she didn’t expect would arrive, and she’d get to catch up with an old friend—or introduce a new friend to her favorite traditions: figs wrapped in prosciutto, holiday punch, and Melissa’s lemon-polenta cake.
Had her mom only cared about the party because—what? People might think something was wrong if she didn’t host it? Like she was worried about judgmental people. Erin had always thought of her mom as one of the judgmental people. She’d had certain standards she held everyone to; they’d always felt higher for Erin.
If Erin were truly her mother’s daughter, Cassie would’ve never known she was stressed about the party. There would be chicken wings, and the floors would be mopped.
Every year after the party, Erin needed a nap.
It was almost eight by the time she woke up. There was a note on the kitchen counter from Parker—she and Cassie were apparently doing some last-minute Christmas shopping.
Erin heard the front door as she was picking through the leftovers.
“Come eat!” she called.
The air fryer beeped to let her know the wontons were ready. They were the only dish to get an actual plate instead of being served directly from Tupperware.
Only Parker appeared in the kitchen. Erin raised her eyebrows at her daughter.
“She’s putting your present upstairs to wrap later.”
“Oh my God, Parker, she didn’t have to get me a present!”
Parker shrugged and grabbed a wonton off the plate, tossing it back and forth in her hands to cool it down. “She wanted to.”
Erin opened the fridge to find the sweet chili sauce. The woosh of cold highlighted her warm cheeks. Hopefully Cassie didn’t feel beholden to her. She certainly didn’t have to buy Erin a gift.
“Speaking of presents.” Erin didn’t bother getting a dish for the sweet chili sauce; they could pour it. “You both should open your Christmas Eve presents after we eat.”
“Can I pick which one to open?” Parker asked.
“Sure,” Erin said. “You can pick any present wrapped in purple tissue paper.”