“What ‘theme’?” I demanded. I was getting a little tired of the whole game.
“Well…she called it ‘time is money.’”
I glanced at Mayra then back to the car in front of me as I contemplated what kind of Christmas tree decorations would go with a theme like that. There was really only one answer.
“She covered it with dollar bills or something, didn’t she?” I growled.
It was one thing when Aimee just magically made shit happen, but I didn’t like being handed cash. For one, I never knew what to do with it, and making money decisions was just not something I liked to do at all. I liked being short of money and having to budget everything—it was what I knew. I was used to it, and I was comfortable with it.
“Well, yes, partially. Knowing her, it’s probably not singles, though.”
I shook my head sharply.
“Why does she do that?” I asked with a sigh.
“Because she’s grateful and wants to help us.” Mayra’s fingers touched my thigh. “It’s Christmas—don’t be angry about it.”
“I’m not angry,” I said. “I’m…frustrated.”
“You are expressing yourself well,” Mayra said with a smile. “You’ve been doing really great with that lately.”
“You’re trying to change the subject,” I said. “I’m not falling for it. What else is on the tree?”
“Um…clocks.”
“Clocks?”
“Yes, for Megan.”
“She’s going to go nuts,” I said with a laugh.
“It will probably keep her entertained the whole weekend.”
“She won’t get bored. That should help her time at home go smoothly.”
“You are taking this much better than I thought you would,” Mayra said.
“I think I have given up on trying to change Aimee’s ways.”
“Smart boy.”
“Well, I know one thing,” I told her. I reached down and wrapped my fingers around her hand. “I have great taste in women.”
“That you do,” Mayra said with a smile. She leaned close and pressed her lips to my cheek.
I couldn’t have asked for more, but I seemed to keep getting it anyway.
We picked up Megan and brought her back to the house. As soon as she saw the tree Aimee had provided, she sat in front of it, stared open-mouthed, and counted the clocks on the branches.
She couldn’t have been happier.
“I’ve got the shopping list done,” Mayra said.
I glanced over at her and swallowed. I’d never hosted a family gathering before, and I wasn’t sure I could cope with so many people being in the house. The last time a family dinner was held here, Mom and Dad were still around.
“You sure you want to do this?” Mayra asked as she tilted her head to look at me.
“No,” I said. I shrugged and scrunched up my face at the thought of what all of this meant.