The Christmas Sisters

“We had a terrible row.” Beth dropped her head into her hands. “I don’t want another baby.”

“Baby?”

Posy glanced nervously over her shoulder, but the noise levels were back up to normal levels and no one appeared to be paying attention.

Beth lifted her head. “I don’t want it. It feels wrong.” She thumped her head back down in her hands again, just as Aidan arrived with the food.

He looked confused. “If you don’t want the burger, then we can—”

“She wants the burger. Thanks, Aidan.” Posy grabbed the plates from him. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

“My problem isn’t the burger,” Beth said, her voice muffled, “it’s the baby.”

Aidan froze and Posy felt like dropping her head into her hands alongside her sister.

“Ignore her.” She waved him away and nudged Beth’s arm. “Sit up. I can’t talk to you while your head is in your hands and people are staring.”

“I don’t care if people stare.”

“I do, and I have to live here after you’ve gone. I’m already handling enough gossip. Are you telling me you’re pregnant?”

“Pregnant?” Beth lifted her head. “No, I’m not pregnant. At least, I’d better not be pregnant.”

“Then what—Oh for goodness’ sake.” Posy pushed the coffee across the table. “Drink. The sooner you drink, the sooner you will start making sense.”

Beth took a sip of coffee and then started to talk. It all slid out in a jumble of disjointed statements. Jason wants more kids, I want to go back to work, need to have some time to myself, horrible fight, feel like a terrible mother, maybe Jason will walk out, maybe he’ll kill the girls—

“He is not going to kill the girls. He’s their father! He adores them.” Posy could see now how pale and tired Beth looked and it tugged at her heart. This was her sister and they’d always been close, despite the geographical distance. They didn’t see each other often, but they emailed and talked on Skype. How had she not known how miserable she was?

She ignored the fact that she hadn’t shared her thoughts with her sister, either.

“I meant by accident. What if he forgets to carry Ruby’s inhaler?”

“Then she’ll have an asthma attack, he’ll have to take her to the ER and he will never forget it again. But I don’t think he’s going to forget.”

“When it comes to the kids, I’m the one who thinks of everything.”

“That doesn’t mean he can’t do it if he has to.” She processed what she’d heard. “So Jason wants more kids, but you want to go back to work?”

“Yes. He thinks my day involves getting a manicure and lounging on the sofa with a book.” Beth put the coffee down and picked up her burger. “Do you mind not mentioning any of this to Mom? I’d like to keep it between us. She’s always busy at Christmas. I’m hoping she won’t notice anything is wrong.”

“I think she’s going to notice you’re here without Jason and the girls. Not to mention the small fact that you have no luggage.”

“I’m planning on telling her I’m here early because I wanted to spend quality time with her and help out before the kids arrive. I know how much work we are.”

That was probably true, but Posy knew their mother wasn’t going to fall for that. “Why not be honest?”

Mom, I don’t want to take over the business.

Hypocrite, Posy. Hypocrite.

“I don’t want her to worry. She’s already worried enough about Hannah. Do you want a bite of my burger?”

“Why would I want a bite of your burger? I have my own.”

“Sorry, I’m not used to having food all to myself. At home I have to share everything. Breakfast cereal. Smoothies. You name it. Sharing food is so ingrained I even offered to share my smoked salmon with the guy in the seat next to me on the plane. He probably thought I was insane.”

“I’m sure he thought you were generous.” Posy decided to deal with the issue of their mother later. “Instead of leaving, have you tried explaining to Jason how you feel?”