“Nick?” Ruby said. “Like Saint Nick, in the book?”
“He wishes,” Mallory snorted. That reminded Ruby about the story … and now that she had three adults to entertain her, she shifted to hold it open for Mallory to read next.
“When out on the roof there arose such a clatter, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter,” Mallory recited. Alex met my eyes and I lifted a brow to point out that I wasn’t the only one who freaked out over unexpected midnight visitors.
“It’s Santa, right?” Ruby exclaimed. “I bet the sound is the reindeer on the roof. Are reindeer louder than dogs? Our neighbor has a dog that barks, a black lab named Cinder. He likes to be scratched behind the ears, but I’m not supposed to touch his tail. Do reindeer bark? Or do they neigh or snort?”
I smiled, putting a finger over my mouth. “Let’s find out.”
“His eyes — how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!” Mallory read aloud.
“That’s Santa, he came to visit me today,” Ruby told Mallory as she pointed to the drawing. “Grace called him and he visited after feeding the reindeer.”
Mallory looked delighted, not noticing Alex flushed — cheeks like roses, indeed. She pointed to the drawing. “Did he look like that?”
Ruby tilted her head, then popped her lips. “Nope, this guy’s too short and his belly looks squishy. The real Santa has prettier eyes.”
She examined Mallory’s eyes and her brow furrowed. “Blue, like yours.”
"We might be long-lost cousins," Alex deadpanned, “Our brother Nick is practically a Viking, and Norway is next door neighbors with the North Pole.”
When Mallory cracked up, Ruby smiled like she was in on the joke. She cuddled closer as her questions slowed in frequency. I wrapped up the book, “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
Her eyes had closed, but they snapped open. “You read it wrong, it’s supposed to be Merry Christmas.” When I corrected, she yawned against my chin.
Mallory decided to go out with Kate and invited me to join them, but I declined, not ready to leave Ruby yet. She hesitated, then asked, “Lex, want to come to Kate’s?”
His eyebrows rose in surprise as he cleared his throat. “I worked late last night, I want to crash.” When disappointment flashed on her face, he added, “Rain check? At the cabin?”
“I’ll hold you to that. We'll get that sh-shi-shimmy back.” She kissed my cheek and said, “Merry Christmas, see you tomorrow.”
Ruby struggled to keep her eyes open.
I whispered, “You seem sleepy, little one.”
“Not tired,” she protested, rubbing her eyes.
“You had a tet spell today, that makes you feel tired.”
“But I don’t want to be tired.”
“You don’t want to miss the fun,” I said. “I feel the same way after I …”
Her eyelid cracked open. “You have tet spells?”
“No, but sometimes I have … episodes. I never want to miss the fun, but even when I feel better, I'm still tired.”
She nodded into my neck. “Then what?”
“Well, I’m lucky I have people to take care of me.” I felt my voice tighten and told Ruby, “Maybe you can close your eyes for just a minute.”
“Just a minute …” she murmured.
Within moments, Alex indicated that she’d nodded off and rose to drape a blanket over us, then brought me a glass of water from the kitchen and settled in two cushions away, a neutral look on his face.
He turned on the football game, and we watched for a few minutes in comfortable silence. “I left my notebook.”
“Hmm?” I asked, stroking Ruby’s hair.
“I left my work notebook on your table, next to the book I was reading.” He took a long swig of his beer, then rubbed the back of his neck.
“Do you need them tonight?” That could be a problem if somebody noticed me coming back or him sneaking out.
“No, I … I didn’t want you to wonder if you should read it.” He scraped a tooth over his lip before a hesitant offer. “You can read it. If you want.”
“Do you want me to?”
“It could help my case,” he said, “but it could also scare you off.”
The man had yelled at me before I even met him, and he thought a notebook would be the thing to scare me off?
“I won’t open it without your consent,” I said. I understood how much damage secrets could do if they weren’t revealed in the right way.
“I think … I think I want you to.”
A few minutes later, Helen guided Jean into the living room, both teary-eyed.
“I knew today would be hard, but I didn’t think I’d miss Sarah this much,” Jean sighed, her fingertips fidgeting with a circular necklace
