My Name Is Mitch by Shelagh Lynne Supeene

Author:Shelagh Lynne Supeene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2010-08-21T00:00:00+00:00

14.

Friday is Christmas Eve. Everyone goes to Auntie Chris and Megan’s apartment. Megan’s last name is Ito. When I first heard her name I was just a kid and I thought it was all one word. I said, “Pleased to meet you, Meganito,” and everyone laughed except Megan. I liked her right away.

Uncle Brandon brings someone we haven’t met before. Her name is Lindsay and she talks to me like I am seven years old.

“What do you want from Santa Claus?” she asks in a sickly sweet voice, bending over to be at my level. I glare at her. She doesn’t get it, so I just ignore her.

“Oh!” she says, “He’s shy. Isn’t that cute?”

Aargh!

We always have take-out food on Christmas Eve, with homemade desserts. Auntie Chris has made shortbread cookies and there’s half-hour pudding in the oven. It smells great. It has brown sugar sauce, which is so sweet it makes Mum’s teeth ache, but not mine! Uncle Brandon and Lindsay bring the take-out. It’s Italian this year. It smells so good!

Auntie Chris brings out a bottle of wine and there is just enough for her to pour some into every glass, including a little bit in mine.

She lifts her glass. “Peace on earth, kindness in families.”

Auntie Chris practices family law and Christmas is one of her busiest times because of families fighting. Mum and Dan seem especially happy, as though they have a secret. Once Mum even giggles, which is a little suspicious.

We play cards. Megan is awfully good at cards. First we play Thirty-One, and she knocks with only fourteen points and wins! Grandpa perks up. He loves a challenge. He and Megan eye each other, trying to figure out who’s bluffing. Auntie Chris’s beeper goes once, but she doesn’t have to go out. She says, “I’m on call tomorrow, but Ry — one of my colleagues is on call tonight.”

Megan is off for a week over Christmas.

She is a doctor. She says for once she can stay up as late as she likes.

Uncle Brandon says he might have to move this summer. He’s got a job interview in January up in North Bay. It sounds like he wants the job, but things sure would be different without him. His car needs a tune-up before he goes for the interview, so he and Dan figure out when he should take it in.

So far the music has all been Sarah MacLachlan. She is not my personal favorite; that’s all I’ll say. Grandma wants a change. (Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!) “Let’s have some Christmas carols, eh?” She gets up to change the CD, but three other people beat her to the CD player. Mum and Dan and Uncle Brandon each want something different. Finally they put on Enya singing Christmas carols.

Uncle Brandon leaves to drive Lindsay home.

“Will Uncle Brandon come back?” I ask.

“You bet. It’s early yet. We haven’t even gone for our walk,” Grandpa says. Grandpa really likes Christmas. He used to dress up as Santa

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