Super Secret Santa

“Cindy.”

“From what you told me, he didn’t even ask you out until they had broken up. So, are you going to judge him for trying to fill a hole with alcohol and parties, when there was nothing stopping him? Surely, you didn’t expect him to be a monk over the past nine years or so just for the sake of your memory. A girl he never even kissed. When you certainly weren’t a nun yourself, getting married and having a kid during that time.”

Damn, Angela had to be the voice of reason every time.

“You’re right,” I told her. “Now I just have to figure out what to do about it.”

“Now you’re talking,” she said with a satisfied grin.

I got home with Mark later and let him play his new video game. It wasn’t the zombie-killing game, and instead was something tamer, which was all I allowed him to play at home, but he was just as happy.

I picked up the phone and listened to my voicemails for the first time since Christmas. I had several from Neil, asking me to call him, let him help, at least give him a chance. I could hear the pain and confusion in his voice and felt bad.

There were a few hateful messages from Donna saying that we needed to talk immediately about my “lifestyle” and its influence on Mark, and that she wouldn’t tolerate watching her grandson raised by a woman like me.

I didn’t know what I expected from her after two days, but it wasn’t that. I was still so pissed at her that I would enjoy nothing more than having it out with her.

How dare she talk to me like that? And to suggest anything untoward when prior to Christmas I had only ever been with James. I spent one perfect evening with my high school crush, the one man I had ever felt anything for at all, and she just had to go ballistic on me.

Well, I saw her true colors and was done with her. I deleted her messages because I owed her nothing.

The last message was from a local reporter asking that I call him back regarding a story he was writing on the Leviathans’ Tight End Neil Bowman. I wrote down the number.

Then I looked at the call history and saw that both Neil and Donna had called many times— more frequently than the messages they left suggested. I decided I was not having it out with Donna over the phone when Mark was in the house.

The more I thought about it, I didn’t even want to talk to her at all and let her get me all wound up. I decided to text her instead.

You are Mark’s grandma and that is all. I will not speak to you when you are like this, and I owe you no explanations.

You are welcome to see Mark as long as you learn to control your anger and not say disparaging things about me, his mother.

At this time, you can text me a date and time when you next want to see Mark, and I will respond. I can send him out when you arrive, and vice versa. Just like we did last time. That is how this is going to go from now on.

When Mark had last gone over there, things had been so strained between Donna and me that that was how we had handled the situation. And I was beginning to see it was the best way forward, if she was going to continue to act so badly towards me.

I doubted that this would go over well, but this was me being more decent than I felt like being. If she had really messed with Neil’s livelihood, someone she had never met before Christmas, that was kind of unforgiveable.

I was hesitant to take any more people away from Mark after he had already lost his dad. But I would not be disrespected. Angela was right. And this was the best way I could think of to still have him see her without having to subject myself to her abuse.

For whatever reason, I was still avoiding calling Neil. I looked at the reporter’s number and called that instead.

“Hello, this is Becca,” I said, once he’d answered.

“Is this Rebecca Bell?”

“Becca, please. Yes.”

“Ms. Bell. I understand that was your house in a video clip of Neil Bowman showing up as Santa.”

“Yes. I saw that.” I took a deep breath and then continued. “It is my house, yes.”

I hated to further expose myself and wanted to remain anonymous and have my privacy. But more than that, I wanted to set the record straight. It was time I showed Neil I was serious about wanting to be with him, after so long spent not trusting him for no good reason.

“Can I ask what the nature of your relationship with Mr. Bowman is?