The Christmas Sisters

For a moment she saw the businessman rather than her husband.

This, she thought, was how the people at work saw him. They didn’t see him sprawled with the Sunday papers and a severe case of bedhead. They saw the dynamic creative director of a top Manhattan multimedia agency.

Jason had done well. His boss liked him and he was due another promotion and a fat salary increase.

Beth would have forfeited the extra money to have him home more. It wasn’t only that she would have loved more family time, it was that somewhere along the way she’d lost the feeling they were a partnership, but she was about to address that.

She’d thought all afternoon about the best way to handle the conversation but in the end decided to be straight.

Jason pulled her toward him and kissed her. “How was your day?”

Beth wrapped her arms round his neck. She liked the fact that Jason was only a few inches taller than she was. They fitted perfectly.

“Hannah has canceled tomorrow. Business trip.”

“Does that mean I don’t have to rush home from work for an early dinner?” He let go of her and took off his jacket. “What’s wrong? Has she upset you? This is Hannah, remember? Her canceling is not exactly a surprise, is it?”

It wasn’t a surprise, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t disappointed.

She was about to tell him how she felt when there was a chorus of girlish screams followed by the muted thunder of bare feet as the girls pounded out of their bedroom.

“Daddy, Daddy.” They were so excited it was hard to be annoyed, even though she knew she’d have to settle them again and that meant another hour at least before she could have the conversation she was desperate to have.

“Whoa.” Jason caught Ruby and swung her up high until she squealed. “How’s my girl?”

“Mommy bought me a new fire engine.”

“She did? Another one? So I guess that means you have a whole fleet now.” His gaze snagged Beth’s and she felt herself blush.

Ruby squeezed him tightly. “I want to be a firefighter.”

“You will be a fantastic firefighter. No fire will dare to burn with you nearby.”

“Will you play with me? Can I save you from a burning building?”

“Not now because you’re supposed to be asleep. Maybe tomorrow.”

Melly pressed close to his leg, more reserved than her sister. He set Ruby down and scooped her up. “How’s my other girl?”

Melly laid her head on his shoulder. “Ruby is always telling me what to do.”

Jason laughed. “She has great leadership qualities, don’t you, Ruby? And so do you.”

“I don’t like shouting.”

“Leadership has nothing to do with shouting, honey.” He stroked her hair. “One day you are going to have a very important job and everyone is going to listen to you. You won’t need to shout.”

Beth loved the fact that he never favored one child over the other. She loved the way he was with the girls, even though she knew he got the good parts. If parenting was a meal, then Jason came straight in at dessert, bypassing all other courses including vegetables. He skipped the tantrums, the food fights and the relentless arguments. He also escaped the unique brand of loneliness that came from being at home with young children. Not that she was alone, of course. With two young children, she was rarely alone, but that didn’t stop her feeling lonely. She’d discovered it was an impossible concept to explain to people who weren’t in the same situation.

“If you want to put them back to bed, I’ll finish off dinner.”

“Daddy, will you read us a story?”

“Yes.” Jason caught Beth’s eye. “Why are you looking at me like that? What have I done?”

“I’ve already read them two stories and settled them down. They need sleep.” Also, Beth had been with them all day and she was ready to sit down with a glass of wine. She felt brain dead, which made no sense because these days her brain didn’t get much of a workout.

Jason frowned. “One story won’t hurt, surely? I haven’t seen them all day.”