Three Girls and a New Beginning by Rachel Schurig

Author:Rachel Schurig [Schurig, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Humor, Women's Fiction, Contemporary Women, Contemporary Fiction, Humor & Satire, General Humor
Amazon: B00I3I1FC8
Published: 2014-01-27T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Jen

Seven Years Ago

“Holy hell, Jennifer, it smells ridiculous in here,” Annie said, trying to get a peek at the turkey. I slapped her hand away.

“Don’t call me Jennifer. And thank you.”

“When you said you wanted to make us Christmas dinner, I had no idea you meant all this.”

I looked around the little kitchen. I had potatoes boiling on the stove, fresh rolls ready to go in the oven, and a few pies cooling by the windowsill. Plus the turkey. Which, on second thought, was probably way too big for the three of us.

Oh, well, I thought. We’ll have leftovers.

“I wanted it to be special,” I told Annie. “It’s our first Christmas here in the house together. I didn’t want either of you to regret not going to your parents just because…well, because of me.”

She snorted. “Yeah, right. Because Ginny and I just love spending time with our families.” She reached a hand under my arm and succeeding in grabbing a fingerful of crispy turkey skin.

“Hey,” I yelled. “That’s not finished yet.”

“Couldn’t resist.”

“Yeah, well, don’t come crying to me when you get salmonella.”

“Speaking of crying.” Annie looked over her shoulder. “Have you seen Little Miss Mope yet?”

“Don’t call her that,” I said automatically. “She’s sad. She needs us.”

Annie hopped up on the counter. “Yeah. But how long is the whole sad thing going to last? Because it’s getting old.”

“Annie.” I tried not to let on that I thought she had a point. Ginny’s constant, overwhelming depression after her breakup was starting to get to me, too. “Come on,” I said, my voice firmer to hide my own agreement. “She’s having a rough time. Breaking up with Josh was super traumatic.”

“Yeah, Josh was a great guy. We all know that. But he wasn’t, like, Brad Pitt or something. She obviously could do a million times better. She’s a freaking knockout for God’s sake. I never could really figure out what she was doing with that nerdy skinny dude in glasses. She could have anyone she wanted.”

“She wanted Josh. And let’s not forget that she went through plenty of supposed catches before she fell for Josh.”

“Yeah.” Annie’s voice was wistful. “I liked it so much better when she was a tramp.”

I laughed, throwing a dishtowel at her. “Why don’t you go check on her? This should all be ready in twenty minutes or so.”

I finished basting the turkey and slid it into the oven before looking around the room. There wasn’t much more to do at this point. The potatoes needed a few more minutes before I could drain and mash them. I took a deep breath, slipping my phone from my pocket. I may as well get it over with.

My mother answered on the third ring. It sounded very noisy in the background, and she sounded like she’d been laughing. “Mom?”

“Hi, Jen! Merry Christmas!”

I leaned against the counter, closing my eyes at the sound of her voice. I missed her.

It had come as a bit of a shock when she told me that she wouldn’t be home for Christmas.

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