December Wishes (A Year in Paradise Book 12)

by Hildred Billings

  “I think she knows you better than I do.”

  “Come on, Sky, you know the adult me better than she does, still. Ten years ago I would’ve squealed like a pony to see a tennis bracelet or something. These days I’d rather she put it toward her rent.”

  “…Like a pony?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Thank God I don’t.”

  Skylar finished her dinner and contemplated the dirty table she would soon have to clean. You know, a famous actress was sitting in this chair a couple days ago… Skylar was used to seeing Fleur Rosé in her pizza parlor. For some reason, the Hollywood starlet had a taste for greasy pizza. Eh, maybe it was her favorite non-nutritionist-approved meal, and this was the only place she could eat it in peace. Skylar wouldn’t begrudge her that.

  A little weird, though. Famous people were bizarre.

  She was about to get up and finish her break in the bathroom, the most happening place at Paradise Pizza to get a little privacy, when the Devil herself walked through the door.

  “Uh, hi.” Skylar was halfway out of her seat when Ariana made eye contact with her. “Are you looking for me?”

  Ari stopped in her steps. “How’d you guess?”

  “Because you’re coming right at me?”

  “Right. Sorry. You’re on break, right?”

  “Wow, you know my work schedule?”

  “It hasn’t changed much since you started working here.” Ari sheepishly looked away, as if she had been caught stalking poor Skylar. “Do you have time for me to ask you something?”

  Skylar glanced at the clock before sitting back down. “I’ve got ten minutes on my break.”

  Ari nodded hello to John before sitting down in the other chair. Her heavy jacket and clomping boots made her sound like she weighed a hundred pounds more than she did. Then again, with a frame like that, she could have easily been 180 pounds of lean muscle mass. Maybe. I’m terrible at guessing how much people weigh. She’d believe it, though.

  “Thanks.” Ari politely moved Skylar’s lunchbox to the side so she could fold both arms upon the table. “It’s about Mik. Oh, and this conversation never happened.”

  Now I see what Mikaiya was getting at. If only she had texted Skylar an hour later! “I’ll do my best. Although I don’t know what you could possibly want to ask me instead of her. We’ve been here for a year already. You probably know her better than I do.”

  “Well… I can’t ask her.” Ariana ran her hand through her hair, mussing up what had been perfectly combed only a second before. “Because this is kinda sensitive in nature.”

  “That so?”

  Ari glanced at the counter. John popped in and out of the kitchen, but otherwise, they were alone. “Yeah. It has to do with us. I mean, what’s going on between me and Mik. Like you said, it’s been a year since you two moved here. Guess I could use some outside perspective about our relationship.”

  She’s gotta be kidding me…

  “You think Mik is happy with me? Be honest.”

  She wasn’t kidding!

  “Uh…” Skylar nearly swallowed her tongue. “That’s quite the position to put me in.”

  “Sorry. I’ve got a bunch of weird thoughts running through my head. You know that Mik and I were supposed to get married before she skipped town ten years ago, right?”

  “Yeah, I heard something about that.” Oh, had she. When it wasn’t the first thing out of Mik’s mouth when they first moved there, Skylar had heard a million whispers on the townsfolks’ lips. Those who had been around for the big drama in 2009 were more than happy to share the story when given the chance. It was the sort of story Skylar wouldn’t have heard in Portland, where things that happened a decade ago were often forgotten thanks to the high turnover of residents. I was still learning about public access legends when I moved away. Shit, Skylar had no idea “Grimm” was filmed in Portland until six months ago. Someone from Paradise Valley told her, like it was their point of pride!

  Ari scratched her neck. “Guess I was wondering if she thought it was worth it moving back, even if it meant she got back with me. Can’t ask her myself, because she’ll tell me whatever I want to hear. She doesn’t like rocking the boat much now. She’s changed a bit…”

  “So have you, from what I understand.”

  “No shit, huh? I think she had a bigger reaction to it than most. Then again, they saw me grow up as it happened. Mik disappeared for ten years and came back to see… this.” Ariana gestured to her square torso and the muscles beneath her coat. Becoming an EMT had been good to her physique, from what Skylar heard. Then again, I saw some of Mik’s old pictures. I don’t get it. Girls change when they grow up, too. Only in towns like Paradise Valley did eighteen seem like such serious adulthood to everyone around. As if people didn’t keep growing and changing – and that included physically. “Still, kinda weird that I’m the butch one now.”

  Skylar shrugged. “It happens, I hear.”

  “Guess I was wondering if Mik had said anything about our relationship recently. Don’t tell her this, but I’ve been thinking about our future. Not only moving in together – she told you about that, right? – but farther into the future. It’s hard giving up the love you have with your high school sweetheart. Sometimes I think I’m an idiot for getting back with her. Then I think about how right it always feels, you know? Like she and I were meant to be together from the moment we met. Ah, listen to me. I’m not making any sense. We knew each other a while before we started going out. Maybe I’ve been watching too much Disney since my roommate sprung for that Plus subscription.”

  Skylar couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you a Disney Princess? Or is that Mik?”

  “Oh, you know she’s the princess! That was true back then! You should’ve seen her on that softball team. Everyone’s favorite cute shortstop. She was in the running for homecoming queen before Missy Melonie scored the winning shot at the game that took us to the regional basketball playoffs. People don’t forget moves like that.”

  Going to school in this town must have been a trip. Skylar was grateful she missed it.

  “For what it’s worth,” she began, “Mik seems happy with you. Now, is she happy about living with her grandma and me? Not so sure about that. But she talks about you a lot. God knows she spends enough nights over at your place.” Skylar didn’t want to think about what those two were doing, although according to Mik, they spent many a night waking each other up with the snoring. “She clearly loves you. I try to not ask too many questions about it. All I know is what I see.” She bit her lip. “I think you’re the reason she can tolerate living in this town.”

  That was supposed to inspire Ari into doing whatever it was she wanted with Mikaiya. Instead, she sighed. “Kinda afraid of that. If there’s one thing I know about her, it’s that she’s bigger than this town. I always kinda knew that she was never meant to stay here. She was always meant for places like Portland or Los Angeles.”

  “As someone from the LA area, I can tell you that they’re two totally different places.”

  “You know what I mean. Mik likes big towns. Lots of energy. Plenty of cultured people she can talk to. Have intellectual conversations. She was like that back in high school, too. Total English class darling who had discussions with the teacher while the rest of us were lost. She talks about wanting to go to Europe and Asia. I thought she was joking until she said she’d help me get my passport. She knows I’ve hardly ever been out of Oregon, never mind America…”

  Skylar sympathized with her. There were plenty of small town minds in Portland, too.

  “Guess I’m afraid I’d be holding her back if she decided to stay here because of me. I know she’s gotta look after her grandma, but Abby ain’t gonna be around forever. She’s got lots of spunk and spite in her, so I give her a solid ten more years. What about after that? We won’t be forty yet. What if Mikaiya wants to…”

  Skylar interrupted Ari before this conversation continued into somebody’s p
izzeria shift. “You can’t do that to yourself. Mik’s her own person. She makes her own decisions. Trust me. She’s good at forming a plan and acting on it.”

  Ari nodded. “She sure is. Did you hear how she restructured my retirement for me? I still can’t make sense of it.”

  “You’ve got two choices, Ari,” Skylar continued. “You can either keep on like you are now, hoping for the best, or you can make your move now. Whatever that move is.”

  “How’d you know…?”

  “Because I’m not stupid. I see the way you two dodge the big questions. You think Mik isn’t always blowing up my phone with, ‘So what do you think Ari is thinking? OMG I sure hope she isn’t over my shit!’”

  Ariana laughed. “She really talks like that to you?”

  Skylar was about to respond when a siren cut into her thoughts.

  Both she and Ariana glanced out the big window overlooking the parking lot and Main Street. A black sedan sped by at illegal speeds. Not two seconds behind it came the only cruiser Paradise Valley boasted.

  “Hot damn,” Ari said. “That guy’s wife better be in labor if he’s gonna drive that fast through town! Candace is gonna kick his ass!”

  “Here’s hoping he doesn’t crash. Are you on call?”

  “Hell, no. The one night a week I’m not called for anything unless it’s the apocalypse. Which reminds me, I’m supposed to meet Mik at your guys’ place.” Ari stood up. “Thanks for the chat. I feel a lot better now.”

  Skylar was always happy to help. It was a lot easier to give advice and sort out other people’s problems than figure out her own hapless life.

  Chapter 15

  SALLY & CANDACE

  “All right.” Candace put the family car into park. They were surrounded by SUVs, pickup trucks, and vans of all sizes, yet the bustling Greenhill clan were all crammed into one single car as they made the trek from Paradise Valley to Portland. Technically Tigard, but who was counting? To Sally, it was all Portland as soon as they entered the land of stoplights and Multnomah County Police. “Everybody know which mom they’re sticking with today?”

  The cheers of three kids and one confused baby echoed in the small car. Tucker, who sat up front with his moms, did a double-fist pump before high-fiving Candace in the driver’s seat. Sally popped a Tylenol. She really had to pee.

  “I’m with Mom,” Tucker announced, and only through the tone of his voice did his parents know which one he meant. “Mom and the baby.”

  “That’s right. Paige? Gage?” Candace unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the driver’s side door. “You’re with me.”

  Sally took her time getting out of the car, waiting for the rest of her family to vacate first. She had the magnanimous responsibility of getting baby Daisy out of her car seat and into her stroller, but it was much easier to do if the rest of the family went on ahead of them.

  Not like Sally was looking forward to today. A far cry of how she used to feel when she was younger… ten years and four kids ago.

  It was the weekend before Christmas, and they had come to Portland to shop at the biggest mall in the state. Washington Square Mall was a behemoth compared to anything Sally and her kids were used to back in Paradise Valley, where the closest thing to a mall was the weird strip shoved on the outskirts of the valley. Sometimes, they ran over to Woodburn to shop at the outlet mall, but that still didn’t put into perspective how big some of the malls in America could get. While malls weren’t what they used to be, Sally still took in the scope of anchor stores and restaurants and felt that anxiety coming on when she remembered how crazy her kids got.

  “You coming, Sal?” Candace called.

  “Coming!” After inhaling a deep breath, Sally kicked open her door and prepared for the onslaught of chaos that came from the biggest Christmas shopping day of the year.

  She had it lucky, kinda. She had a stroller to push and her oldest to mind himself as they browsed the stores and thought about what the other half of the family wanted for Christmas. This is the easiest way to do it if we all come together. The twins and Candace would shop for Sally and Tucker. They would shop for the twins and Candace. The baby? Daisy wasn’t old enough to care yet, but Sally asked Candace to pick up a couple of surprises for the baby to open on Christmas day. Sally would be damned if her youngest ended up in therapy because she remembered her siblings being excited on Christmas, but she already knew what she was getting!

  This day had started with a hitch, though. The twins refused to leave the house unless they were in costume. For Gage, that meant his Captain America costume, and for Paige, that meant the Wonder Woman ensemble that was one size too small. But she had seen the new trailer a few days before and had not shut up about Diana ever since. While Sally was always for more female role models in her daughters’ lives, she drew the line at Paige smacking her with the end of the Lasso of Truth. “Where are the cookies, Mom!” If Sally heard that one more time…

  One of the strollers’ wheels bounced around as the family advanced down the long line of cars. Macy’s loomed before them, a bastion of That’s Too Expensive and Oh, God, If the Kids Break That, We’re Screwed. Sally was halfway to suggesting they go through the main entrance a little ways down, but Candace was already opening the door for the stroller and her wife.

  Paige and Gage ran off full steam ahead. Daisy clapped in her stroller. Tucker played it cool by pretending he wasn’t excited to go Christmas shopping. Candace yelled so loudly after the lot of them that both finely dressed Macy’s employees looked at them as if the biggest nuisance of the day had finally shown up.

  Sighing, Sally pushed the stroller forward and prepared for a long day of kid wrestling.

  She had a small reprieve when Candace and the twins split off in the mall. Paige had spotted a toy store, so that was the first place they ran. As for Sally, she hauled Tucker to the discount shoe store for some trainers he desperately needed for school.

  Somehow, she had completely underestimated the craziness of a big mall the weekend before Christmas, and this wasn’t their first time doing something like this. Yet Sally was exasperated from the moment they stepped into the shoe store and she was surrounded by people of all sizes and ages. Their loud voices, pushing bodies, and complete disregard for the employees made Sally want to run out screaming. Except she’d probably drop the stroller on her way out, and with her luck, leave Tucker behind to fend for himself.

  This would be a longer day than she anticipated.

  Everything culminated when they were due to meet back up for Santa’s Village in the middle of the mall. Sally and Tucker had passed it more than once, and every time they walked by, Tucker once more feigned disinterest in sitting on Santa’s lap and telling the big man what he wanted for Christmas. That had been his big thing since turning eight. Or was he nine now? God, Sally could hardly remember how old she was. The only age she properly kept track of was the baby’s, and that would change as soon as she hit three years and the minute tracking of months was no longer a “thing” in Sally’s head.

  She didn’t know what she expected when they rounded Santa’s Village a final time and encountered Candace and the twins already standing in line, a ton of bags spread between them. Both Paige and Gage held a bag each. It mostly looked like discount Christmas decorations and baby toys. Good. That was exactly what Sally would saddle them with, too.

  “I can’t believe you guys are dressed like this for your picture with Santa.” Sally motioned to the superhero costumes on her children’s bodies. Tucker, in his baggy T-shirt and jeans, looked woefully underdressed compared to his siblings. The baby was in a festive Christmas onesie, at least. Although Sally dreaded handing her off to Santa and watching the waterworks start. “Your Mom and I got you those nice sweaters to wear for your pictures this year, remember?”

  Paige dropped her bag and slung her red cape around her arms. Her crown was askew. When she got hopped up like this, Sally wasn’t allowed to fix a strand on her daughter’s head. “Those swe
aters are ugly!” She said ugly! with a hop of her feet and swing of her arms. “Super scratchy!”

  “You’re wearing polyester. There ain’t nothing scratchier than that for a kid.”

  “Come on, Sal, let them wear what they want. Twenty years from now we’ll be laughing at those pictures and talking about when Gage wanted to ride his shield down the handrail back there,” Candace said.

  “He did what, now?”

  “He didn’t bring the shield, remember? We made him leave it at home.”

  Right. Because Sally had to draw the line somewhere. Though it’s cute she makes it sound like she helped in any way. Candace was an enabler to their children unlike anybody else. Probably because she always had to be bad cop at work. At home, she wanted to be good cop, which meant Sally suffered with the dirty looks and screams of defiance.

  They moved up one spot in the line. “Did they raise the prices?” Sally asked, getting a load of the photography cost list hanging by the entrance. “Do we have enough for this?”

  “Relax, Sal, we’re only getting one photo. It’ll cost the same either way, right?”

  Great. Candace wasn’t listening to her again. Probably because the baby currently on Santa’s lap was screaming its head off. Sighing, Sally checked on her baby and pushed the stroller a little forward. One of Santa’s elves came down the line and did a headcount. When she saw the twins, she bent down and said, “Wow! Captain America and Wonder Woman! Santa’s been waiting to meet you two!”

  “There’s no such thing as Santa,” Paige declared.

  “Now, that’s not a nice thing to say…”

  “Paige,” Candace said through clenched teeth. “Remember what we said about talking about Santa in front of other kids your age?”

  “It’s so dumb we pretend he’s real. You know who’s real?” Paige smacked her hands against her chest. “Wonder Woman!”

  Her voice carried across the mall, silencing conversations among other families and gaining the attention of another elf. The crying baby was taken away from Santa and given back to her mother. Sally sucked in her cheeks and hoped Paige didn’t pull a stunt with Santa.