The Learning Curves Omnibus by Ceillie Simkiss

Author:Ceillie Simkiss [Simkiss, Ceillie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781735969411
Publisher: Foxglove Fiction

María and Cora laid out pallets made of blankets and couch cushions for Sofía and David. They were asleep in minutes and she wistfully thought how nice it would be to join them for a nap. She shook the thought away with a sigh. A nap was not in her future today.

Elena had told her about this tradition, but Cora had been so preoccupied with both of their families to visit for Christmas that the thought that this might happen hadn’t even occurred to her.

Cora wouldn’t have traded being a part of the family tradition for anything. She wouldn’t have minded it if they came two or three hours later, though, for the sake of a good night’s sleep.

They still had a lot of cleaning and food prep to do to be ready for Christmas Eve dinner. The Mendéz family had brought more food than she thought they would ever be able to eat. Cora was in charge of the ham and Elena was in charge of the shrimp scampi. Everything else had been farmed out to their various family members.

Luís was making kid-friendly coquito, and Cora’s mother was bringing Cora’s favorite apple pie when she arrived later in the evening. Maríahad decided that she was going to surprise the family with the sides that they were making.

Cora had been testing glaze recipes on Elena for weeks, trying to find the perfect one. They had decided on a mixture of spices, minced garlic and red wine vinegar. It had been marinating on the 10-pound spiral ham for several days. Cora found herself praying that it turned out well at the end of the night.

She desperately didn’t want to disappoint the Mendézes or her own parents. Neither she nor Elena had anything to prove to their families, but it was the first time that they were hosting them both in their new home.

For once, Elena was not as anxious about it as Cora was. Perhaps because it was small compared to her usual family Christmases, but larger than the ones that Cora was used to. Both women also had tasks of their own to take care of on this busy Christmas Eve.

Elena had to finish the grocery shopping with her brothers.

Cora’s two tasks were to pick up the homemade paper Christmas crackers that were part of her family tradition, and the ring that she had chosen to propose to Elena with as soon as their families had left for the night.

They were not particularly hard tasks, but she was anxious nonetheless. She figured she might as well get it out of the way, which meant getting dressed properly. Cora made her way back to the bedroom, grabbing her thickest forest green knitted sweater and sliding it over the black T-shirt she’d worn to breakfast.

It, combined with the thick wool socks she wouldn’t go without, would do well to keep her warm despite the below freezing temperatures outside. It was one of the coldest winters she could remember and she hated to have to go out in it.

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