Kissing Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn

Author:Robin Jones Gunn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: FaithWords
Published: 2016-10-04T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

I lingered at Rose Cottage for the rest of the afternoon and felt, truly, like family with Miranda and Ian.

Miranda completed her baking and frosting. I focused on finishing the coloring book and Ian kept the fire going and did his bit of sketching on a project he’d brought home from the architecture firm where he and Peter worked.

All teasing and taunting about Peter had subsided.

Twilight was coming on and Miranda had prepared a simple supper for us of pasta and salad. The three of us tucked in, as Ian liked to say, around the small kitchen table with the nativity scene taking up the center space.

“This is a beautiful set,” I told Miranda. “Have you had it long?”

“No. Ellie got it for me last year at an after-Christmas sale. She loves it when she finds a bargain. She gave it to me last January because she said she was afraid if she put it away she’d forget all about it and not be able to find it again this Christmas.”

Ian’s phone buzzed and he glanced at it to see the text message. “It’s Peter,” he said.

I didn’t know if I should believe him, so I kept eating as if news of Peter didn’t interest me.

“Aww, that’s a pity.”

“What is it?” Miranda asked.

Ian scrolled down the screen on his phone. “Molly is running a fever. Peter is staying home with her tonight so that his parents can go to the play. It’s the highlight of their year, he says.”

“I hope Molly is all right,” I said.

“She spikes fevers every now and then,” Ian said. “It’s usually gone by the next day. Of course, they don’t want to take a chance since so many viruses are going around this time of year.”

“How are your dad and Katharine?” I asked. “I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Katharine is over her cold. She’s feeling fine. My dad never had one. He’s fine.”

“I thought he was sick, too, since he didn’t join in the other night at the Tea Cosy.”

“He was feeling all right but he and Katharine thought it best for both of them to close themselves off upstairs that evening. If he was coming down with the same cold, they didn’t want to expose the entire cast of the play.”

“That was a nice preemptive gesture,” I said.

Ian turned to me. “If you’ve ever heard my dad sneeze, he can raise the roof. He could have taken out the whole cast with a single sneeze that night.”

“It’s too bad that Peter is going to miss tonight,” Miranda said.

“Sometimes I think he’s too good of a son,” Ian said. “It’s not my place to say that, of course.”

“Why do you say that?” Miranda asked.

“I know Molly was a bit of a surprise baby—there’s a big age gap between her and Peter. But I don’t think if I had a sister born with special needs that I’d be as devoted as Peter is to helping care for her.”

“I’m sure his parents appreciate all that he does for them.

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