The Time of Her Life

by Jeanie London

  SUSANNA SETTLED HER parents in their room. Early birds, they declined the late-night Christmas tradition of midnight mass that most of their guests would participate in.

  “We’ll catch mass after we open gifts in the morning, dear,” her mom said. “There are several times to choose from. Dad already checked. You go have fun tonight and leave the old folks here to rest.”

  “Who’s old?” Susanna kissed her mom’s smooth cheek. “I’ve never been able to keep up with you. Still can’t.”

  Mom beamed. “I don’t know. Looks like you’re giving me a run for my money around here.”

  Dad gave Susanna a quick squeeze. “Your new arrangement suits. I haven’t seen you look this happy in too long. And I’m glad, Susanna. It’s been a long time.”

  All true. She was happy.

  For the moment.

  “Oh, Daddy.” She moved in for another hug, rested her cheek on his shoulder, a safe place always. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  He stroked the back of her hair with a big hand, as he had when she’d been little, when he’d been praising her after some accomplishment or comforting her during some disappointment. The gesture was one and the same, meant he was always there to deal with life’s ups and downs, creating the sort of family life that Susanna had dreamed of recreating with her own husband and kids.

  “Now that Dad’s retiring, we’re thinking of investing in an RV,” her mom said. “Then we could make road trips.”

  “Looks like you’ve got plenty of room to park around here,” Dad added.

  Susanna shifted her gaze between them, smiled, reassured her parents would continue to be an active part of her life no matter where she wound up. “I like that idea. A lot.”

  Then she was kissing them good-night and heading back out, debating whether or not she had enough time before midnight mass to make one last check on the gifts. The last thing she wanted to do was trek back to the cottage in the wee hours after mass because she’d forgotten something.

  The tradition was the kids woke up to their presents under the tree. That tradition would continue no matter where they were. They might have grown past the days when Skip would clamber around on the roof and track reindeer hoofprints all over the yard, but the kids had long ago picked up the torch. Brooke would sneak her gifts for everyone under the tree at night to surprise everyone upon awakening. Brandon would make an appearance to eat the cookies Susanna always left on Santa’s plate, leaving crumbs the way Skip had.

  Susanna knew the Santa plate had made the trip but gave herself a mental note to put the cookies out when she put the gifts under the tree. On the table beside the tree in the family room, she thought, so Brandon wouldn’t have to look too hard to find them.

  Just as she reached the door to her own bedroom, Karan appeared at the end of the hallway.

  “Exactly who I was looking for,” she said.

  Karan looked as lovely as usual, and the sight of her approaching, dressed elegantly, as always, in a festive gold skirt-and-blouse ensemble that complemented her fair hair and creamy skin, made Susanna realize how much she’d missed her best friend. Phone calls weren’t the same, no matter how often they talked and texted.

  “I’ve got your gift,” Karan said. “And I wanted to give it to you when we were alone.”

  “Come on in and I’ll grab mine so we can exchange—”

  “No, not necessary. I still have your official gift for under the tree. This one’s special. Just for us.”

  Translated, this meant Karan’s special gift was likely so over-the-top that she didn’t want to draw attention to it. That was also typical Karan, so Susanna motioned her friend into the bedroom, bracing herself.

  She’d barely shut the door when Karan demanded, “First, I want to know why you don’t listen to me. Ever. Why don’t you ever listen to me?”

  Susanna stood at the door, staring into the lovely bedroom Jay had assigned her with the four-poster bed and the hand-carved mantel from a cypress home on the Georgia coast. “What are you talking about?”

  “I told you not to mate for life.”

  Oh. Susanna feigned confusion. “Who, me?”

  Karan’s expression revealed utter disbelief. “You know exactly what I’m talking about so don’t even go there with me or you will not get your Christmas present. I swear, Susanna.” She gave a huff for good measure. “I can’t even believe you’d try to play stupid.”

  Susanna sank to the edge of the bed and spread her hands helplessly, unable to admit the truth. As if admitting she’d been playing house with Jay, had been enjoying the moment would make the reality of his inevitable departure real.

  The Arbors made it easy to keep reality at bay.

  “I know you’re involved with Jay,” Karan said. “I knew it the instant you introduced him.”

  “That’s not—”

  “Please,” Karan scoffed. “You blush every time you look at him. I told you not to go from zero to sixty. What is wrong with you? Are you really incapable of dating?”

  Susanna rocked forward and covered her face with her hands. “Ugh. I’m trying. I’m totally trying.”

  “Obviously not hard enough.”

  “Is it really that obvious?”

  “Oh, please. I know Brooke suspects because she told me. And your mom. Skip’s mom, too. And Drew’s been giving Jay such a hard time, I’d bet money he suspects. Charles agrees, so don’t be surprised if he starts picking Jay’s brain to make sure his intentions are honorable. You know how he is.”

  “Shoot. Me. Now,” Susanna ground out between splayed fingers. “Take back whatever you bought me because all I want for Christmas is for you to stop making me feel stupid.”

  Karan sank down to the bed next to her, wrapped an arm around Susanna’s shoulders. “Suze, Suze, Suze. We’ve been best friends since middle school. Aren’t any of my manhandling skills ever going to rub off on you?”

  “I’m hopeless.”

  “A hopeless romantic. For as pragmatic as you can be sometimes...well, most of the time, you still believe in happily ever afters.”

  “You should, too, since you’re living yours with Charles.”

  Karan relented with a sigh. “You’re right. I should be appreciative because life couldn’t be more perfect.”

  Something in her voice brought Susanna to attention. There was a look on Karan’s beautiful face Susanna hadn’t seen before, a peaceful contentment that was simply alien to a woman who’d never ever been peaceful or content.

  Whatever had put that expression on her face was big.

  “Dish,” Susanna said. “Now.”

  That smile played around Karan’s mouth another moment before she said, “That’s your special Christmas gift. You’re going to be an aunt.”

  That announcement filtered through Susanna in degrees.

  An aunt?

  Arching a delicate eyebrow, Karan admitted, “I’ve been trying to tell you since I first suspected.”

  The crack-of-dawn phone calls suddenly made sense.

  “Oh, Karan. I can’t believe I’ve been so wrapped up in my own angst that I didn’t give you the chance.”

  “You earned that right, trust me.” Karan patted Susanna’s hand reassuringly. “But since I can’t take my gift back, I’ll have to give you another.” She smiled, the picture of contentment. “Everyone likes Jay a lot. Merry Christmas.”

  * * *

  JAY SHOULD HAVE BEEN tired. They’d been running n
onstop since the first of the guests had arrived. There were large meals in the formal dining room where Great-Grandmom’s china made an appearance after nearly a decade of sitting on a shelf.

  Late nights chatting around the fire in the family room. Afternoons spent playing ball with Brandon on the lawn by the lake. Excursions to the mall. Christmas preparations.

  In addition to all the partying, there’d been work...but Jay felt alive as he toted two big bags of wrapped gifts down the stairs in the heavy quiet of late night.

  Susanna led the way, running ahead to peer around every corner and insure the coast was clear. Only the glow of the Christmas lights marked their way, their muffled footsteps betrayed by the odd creak of the floorboards.

  Jay was reminded of long-ago Christmases when he and Drew would hide in the shadows of this old house, trying to catch a glimpse of Santa coming down the chimney through one of the real fireplaces. Mom had always made a big production of leaving cocoa with extra marshmallows for Santa on the sideboard before tucking Jay and Drew into bed. But there had always been three cups when Drew dragged Jay out of bed to see if they could catch Santa. And the cocoa was always warm.

  He smiled at the memory, imagined his parents, grandparents, too, probably, watching mischievous young boys tiptoe down the stairs.... The thought made him smile. There’d been life in this house once.

  He remembered because of Susanna.

  She darted across the foyer and peered into the family room then motioned him to follow her.

  “Coast’s clear.”

  Hauling the two flannel bags that weren’t so much heavy as bulky and awkward, he set them in front of the tree. Susanna dove in. He rolled his gaze when she reached into one of the bags and whipped out a ceramic tray that read Cookies for Santa on top of her kids’ small handprints immortalized in red-and-green paint. Then she pulled out an unopened bag of Oreos.

  “Brandon’s favorite,” she whispered.

  “I shouldn’t be surprised by how organized you are,” he whispered back, dropping beside her to start unpacking gifts. “But I unloaded your luggage and would swear you didn’t bring enough clothes for six months let alone Christmas decorations.”

  “Priorities.”

  That made him smile, made him think about how much she cared. The loving mom, who saw to all the details, who made it her business to make sure those she loved felt loved. His mom had been the same way.

  And she was exactly the kind of woman he wanted to make new memories with, the kind he wanted a life with. A woman who would scoot along the floor on her knees, half-hidden by fir branches and twinkling lights, giving him a prime shot of her curvy bottom as she placed gifts under the tree.

  This woman.

  The woman who stole a kiss beneath the mistletoe after they finished playing Santa, wrapping her arms around him while whispering “Merry Christmas” against his mouth.

  The woman who slipped inside a guest bedroom after a final kiss good-night. The woman who left him wishing he was crawling into bed with her as the door shut with a squeak that reminded him to oil the hinges.

  Those thoughts turned over and over in Jay’s head and kept him from stealing even a few precious hours of sleep.

  Or maybe he couldn’t sleep because Susanna wasn’t here. He’d gotten so used to the feel of her beside him.

  Or maybe Jay was finally facing reality, the inevitable truth that what he wanted conflicted so dramatically with what he’d found with Susanna.

  Watching her sneak around playing mom tonight, watching her interact with her kids the past few days...he wanted what she had. Close, loving relationships with great kids. Sure, life had dealt her family a rough blow, but they were still a family, still living their lives together.

  Jay admired that. Envied it, too.

  By the time the sun rose and he heard Susanna’s parents, the earliest risers, moving around in the kitchen, he had no answers for any of the questions that had robbed him of sleep.

  He only knew how he felt.

  He felt eager to get out of this room when he finally abandoned futile attempts at sleep and took a shower.

  He felt welcomed when arriving in the kitchen to find both older couples working together side by side to provide a feast for the people they loved. Susanna’s mother shoved a mug of hot coffee into his hands and steered him to the family room to relax beside the fire Susanna’s father had brought back to life.

  He’d felt surprised there were so many presents for him under the tree, and not just from Drew and Walter. Brooke declared herself the gift distributor and sat in her warm robe with her hair pulled up in a lopsided ponytail, an organizer like her mom. She kept track of who hadn’t yet opened a gift.

  “No, no, Grandpa, hang on to that for a second. Uncle Charles hasn’t opened the one from Mom yet.”

  She read each tag aloud. “This one’s for Jay from Aunt Karan and Uncle Charles.”

  He glanced at the blond couple sitting close together on the divan. “Appreciated, but not necessary.”

  “Of course it was.” Karan waved a dismissive hand. “You’ve opened your home to us, Jay. We’re having a lovely time.”

  “I chose that gift, though, so you’re safe.” Charles pulled his wife close to him and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “She wanted me to pick you up a surgical sanitizing wand from one of my hospital suppliers.”

  “I didn’t. I swear.” Karan laughed. “But it would be handy for traveling.”

  Smiling and aware that everyone watched him, Jay unwrapped a wheeled leather travel bag that must have cost a small fortune. Designed to carry essentials that met airline requirements, it was large enough to hold items a traveler wouldn’t want to check, like a laptop.

  “Now that is a handy gift.” Drew inspected the finely tooled leather bag with approval. “Flying commercial nowadays with all that security.”

  “Appreciate it.” Jay meant it. “I’ll put it to good use.”

  There were gifts from Susanna’s parents and her in-laws: a practical travel pet-care kit and a necktie carrier. He liked the closeness of this family, the generations that were all an active part of one another’s lives.

  When he watched the way everyone interacted with Charles and Karan, he knew that Susanna understood the concept of family-by-love, as she called it, the only family he had nowadays except for Drew.

  But the running theme through all these gifts told him Susanna had been the one to suggest them. All were useful for a man getting ready to cut ties with everything he’d known. And she knew what that would entail firsthand.

  She obviously cared so much.

  “Here’s Jay’s stocking stuffer,” Brooke announced. “From Mom, Brandan and me.”

  “Now when did you all find time to shop for me?” Jay asked. “You haven’t stopped running since you got here.”

  Brendan shook his head. “No clue, dude.”

  Jay laughed.

  Brooke scowled at her brother. “Come on, Jay. Open it.”

  The box contained a travel coffee cup and a hefty supply of VIA in several varieties.

  “The coffee’s from Brandon.” Brooke scowled at her brother, who shrugged.

  “Caffeine no matter where I am. Thanks,” Jay said.

  “So what was your contribution?” Brandon asked his sister. “You tied the bow?”

  “I took the photo, thank you very much.”

  “Photo?” Jay inspected the travel cup and encased securely
behind hard plastic was indeed a photo that had been sized to fit around the entire cup. A photo of tiny smiling faces.

  The Arbors’ staff.

  Walter came up beside him. “I’m there behind Tessa.”

  Jay turned the cup and identified the faces of every one of his staff. Administrators. R.N.s. LPNs. PCTs. Dietary. Aides. Housekeepers. Laundry. The guys in maintenance and engineering huddled around Chester.

  He was silent so long that when he did finally glance up, that blush was back in Susanna’s cheeks, and she jumped to fill the quiet. “I know it’s not as amazing as hosting my first Christmas in Charlotte in your antebellum plantation. But I wanted you to take away something that will remind you everything’s fine where you left it.”

  God, how did he even respond to such caring?

  “When did you get everyone together—” He stopped. “How did you manage to get everyone together?”

  “We helped,” Drew said.

  Charles nodded. “Each of us grabbed a radio and manned a nurses’ station to hold down the fort. Staff on shift was gone maybe ten minutes tops. You should have seen the stampede getting everyone back inside.”

  As a doctor, Charles understood better than most what pulling staff off the floor involved, but Jay had also been referring to the fact that everyone off shift would have had to come in on their days off, before or after their shifts, all to crowd together and smile for a ten-minute photo.

  For him.

  Humbled didn’t even begin to describe how he felt. He met Susanna’s gaze, noticed the color high in her cheeks, wasn’t concerned who saw how much he cared.

  “Thank you.”

  For caring enough to reassure him.

  For giving him a Christmas filled with laughter.

  For bringing him back to life.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  AFTER SPENDING THE better part of two weeks living in Jay’s house for the holidays, Susanna was ready to head back to her cottage. Not because she didn’t love his house. Living there had come too easily, if anything, as though once she’d cut ties with her life in New York, she instinctively needed to set roots down elsewhere. Jay’s house had been easy to fill with happy family memories. But the holidays were over and everyone had gone home.