Even though I had originally had the exact same thought myself, hearing it from Glenn’s smug lips felt like a mortal insult upon both Miles and his whole family’s idea to bring the magic of Christmas back into people’s lives.
“It’ll be fun. The last thing I’d want to do is let myself be too stuffy to have a little fun now and then.” I was very aware of Miles turning his eyes on me just then, but I ignored him and smiled sweetly at Glenn instead.
“Isn’t it…kind of strange that your mom didn’t know you were dating anybody until yesterday morning?” He looked at us both again, a patronizing look on his face like he knew we were pulling a fast one.
I shrugged nonchalantly, like we got this question all the time, even though, inside, I was wondering how bad our acting skills really were if Glenn was suspicious. I snuggled as close to Miles’s side as my conscience would allow. “We wanted to keep it quiet for a bit, that’s all.”
“I see.” He nodded as though considering this deeply before looking up at Miles. “Was there some reason for the secrecy, though?”
Miles smiled, his hand dropping to my knee for a second before it moved a tiny bit higher—my lower thigh, to be exact, if the trail of smoldering heat and fire was accurate. His thumb made a soft back-and-forth motion that caused my breath to catch. “If there was, I guess that would be our secret, then.”
Glenn laughed and held out his hands like he had been joking. “Hey, I don’t care either way. You guys do you. I just thought it was strange, that’s all.”
I couldn’t help but feel grateful as my mom settled in beside me just then, with Russ next to her and Glenn’s parents across from us. Glenn would act much different now. The three of us eased more into the background as the group of four neighbors and friends talked and teased about the actual game of bingo they had just finished playing together in a back room of the lodge.
Miles removed his hand from my knee to eat his sandwich. And…thank goodness. I didn’t miss his hand. Not at all. But I couldn’t deny a feeling of emptiness his hand had left. It was probably just the warmth that I missed from his touch. As if his thoughts mirrored my own, Miles’s thigh suddenly brushed against mine and stayed there, bringing with it another tingling heat wave. I forced my mind to focus in on the conversation around us.
“I’m trying to get Elaine to be more adventurous,” Russ was saying. “She’s scared to death to do anything fun.”
My mom balked, slapping his arm gently, a flush rising to her cheeks.
Miles broke in, nodding toward me. “Must be a family trait.” He nudged me gently, almost as if to tell me he was only teasing. “It’s been like pulling teeth trying to convince her to do the polar bear plunge.”
Every eye at the table was suddenly upon me. I wasn’t sure how to handle this level of attention, so I forced my gaze back down to my plate.
“I even told her I’d take my shirt off,” Miles said, “but no dice.” I cringed as Russ snorted appreciatively.
I had my snarky reply primed and ready until I remembered we were a couple in love—or at least boyfriend and girlfriend in serious like. So then I sat for a few seconds, pondering another type of reply that would match that storyline, and I remained stumped.
My mom spoke first, her mouth slightly agape. “You’re doing the polar bear plunge?”
“Maybe,” I told my mom at the same time Miles said, “Yes.”
Her eyebrows raised. “Good for you.” Looking at Miles, she added, “And good luck to you.”
He laughed. “It’ll be good to get her out from behind her books for a bit this week.”
His hand now brushed my back, rubbing lightly.
“My books are more fun.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“Her mom’s the same way,” Russ interjected. “I practically had to force her to go cross-country skiing yesterday.” He looked down at my mom. “And what did you say about it again, hon?”
My mom blushed. “It was fun,” she conceded.
“She’s spent the last thirty years hardly leaving the house. Not anymore,” Russ said. “It’s time to get out and see the world. We’re hoping for a scuba-diving trip to Jamaica this year.”
My nostrils flared with rage at his words. Just because my mom didn’t cross-country ski, that didn’t make her boring. It didn’t mean she wasn’t living life. She and my dad had just been that way. They preferred a quiet evening at home to the crowds and the busy restaurants. As a child, when my dad got home from work, he loved to sit in his office and read. He went golfing with friends a few times a month, and my mom had her book club. But other than that, they were quiet people happy to live a quiet life, and my mom didn’t need Russ to come in and change that. Change her.
“Some people are perfectly happy to be at home. They don’t need to prove themselves to anybody,” I clipped, smiling smartly at Russ.
His face dropped, and he nodded. “I know, kiddo. I just…want your mom to experience some fun, is all.”
Fun. He thought my mom’s past life hadn’t been fun. He was trying to make her think it hadn’t been fun. My toes and fingers curled tightly in a clenched ball.
Miles was watching me curiously, and I expelled a rigid breath, hoping to release my frustrations. My mom could do what she wanted. She was a grown woman. If she wanted to plaster her face in makeup and turn herself into some sort of outdoorswoman, so be it. I just hoped that she didn’t allow her new husband to make her think that the past thirty years hadn’t meant something.
Because they did.
THIRTEEN
“I'm in the depths of despair!"
L.M. Montgomery - Anne of Green Gables
In case there was any confusion, pulling on an old swimsuit in the middle of winter to go jump in a frozen lake was my personal version of hell on earth. How did one dress for that? Miles insisted on picking me up at the cabin because he knew, with certainty, I’d never meet him on my own （points for being correct）。 After lunch, we’d met up with Chloe and Ben and the girls outside of the lodge and built two epic snowmen. Ivy and Holly’s snowman was of the Picasso variety, parts and sticks poking out everywhere. Miles and I went with a more classic look, with rocks and carrots, complete with an old scarf. We didn’t end up winning the competition, but one square of the bingo card got crossed off, which was enough for me. The crisp air had been surprisingly refreshing, and if Chloe had been on the fence about me and my supposed boyfriend, watching Miles chase her girls around the snowmen, tossing them into the air and catching them, definitely had to sway her in our favor. I even caught myself smiling at the non-stop giggles I heard from the girls and Miles.
It was only when my mom and Russ showed up that I feigned a headache and made my way back to my quiet cabin for a cup of hot chocolate and a book.
By the time the knock at the door sounded later that evening, I had pulled on Miles’s sister’s old swimming suit （the one he had kindly dropped off earlier）， but it was now covered by my joggers, my flannel pajamas, and my white parka.
When I opened the door, Miles stood leaning against the door frame, a duffel bag strapped across his shoulder. He wore tan, insulated coveralls, his blue coat, and his gray beanie. There were bits of straw in the part of his hair not covered by the hat. He must have come straight here from doing chores.