It wasn’t that I was trying to make Valerie my best friend or something. She didn’t like me for a variety of reasons, but perhaps the most obvious was that she’d been in love with Neil for decades and somehow viewed me as having swooped in to steal her man. Or something.
That wasn’t fair. She had a long-term boyfriend, now, and she’d never outright accused me of stealing Neil. There was just a lot of friction between us, and probably would be, again, in the future. But there had been nice things, too.
“Well, schedule Christmas at Langhurst Court,” I said. “Because Neil and I want to have everyone there. His family, my family. Our family.” I gestured between her and me. “We want you to be there.”
“I’m not sure if I can,” she said bluntly. I knew right away that it wasn’t because of any petty drama between the two of us. They had celebrated Christmas there a lot when Emma was a little girl. It might have been too painful for her to go back.
Then, she added, “I may be getting married.”
“Getting married?” I whooped with joy, and she motioned for me to keep my voice down.
“Sophie, we haven’t announced it. Don’t run off and tell everyone. But Laurence and I are trying to decide between a Christmas wedding or a Christmas elopement.”
“Can you elope on Christmas?” I wondered aloud. “Isn’t City Hall closed?”
“There are wedding chapels in Las Vegas,” she reminded me. “We might just go to one of those.”
“Well, according to my mom, the Bellagio is the best hotel on the Strip. And the fountain is the eighth wonder of the world.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Valerie said dryly. “Must run. But I’ll talk to Laurence about Christmas. I’m not blowing you off completely.”
“Please don’t,” I said, then nudged Olivia’s arm. “Wave bye-bye.”
Olivia mustered up enough tired enthusiasm for a quiet, “Bye-bye” and a perfunctory open-and-close of her hand.
We stepped back and closed the door, and I gave her a little kiss on the forehead. “Come on. Let’s go see what Afi made for dinner.”
In the kitchen, Neil stood at the island, cutting chicken into cautiously tiny pieces while Mom and Tony set hot serving dishes on the table. Mom turned as we entered and came to claim Olivia, but I warded her off with a warning hand. “Teething.”
“Oh, never mind, then.” Mom let Olivia cling to me like a little barnacle and went to set up the high chair. I managed to coax Olivia into it and took the seat beside her.
Neil sat on the other side and pushed the small plastic plate he’d prepared in front of her. “Here, my darling. Don’t you look worn out?”
“She’s probably a little sleep drunk from the car, too,” I pointed out. She seemed to wait for the last ten minutes of a car ride to actually sleep then woke up cranky. Then, I glanced at my mom’s left hand. Still just an engagement ring. “Hey, you didn’t do anything stupid, like elope in Vegas, did you?”
“Of course not, Sophie Ann!” Mom reacted like I’d asked if she’d assassinated a president while she was in Vegas. “You know we’re getting married here.”
“Whatever would make you say something like that?” Neil asked with a laugh.
Since I couldn’t tell him about what Valerie had said, I just shrugged. “People do it.” As Olivia dove her fist into her risotto, I changed the subject. “I told Valerie about Christmas, by the way.”
“What about Christmas?” Mom asked.
“Sophie would like to have Christmas at Langhurst Court, this year.” Neil said, reaching for a helping of chicken. “It’s my house in Somerset.”
“Oh, Haunted Hogwarts?” Tony said, then looked immediately mortified.
“That’s what Sophie calls it,” Mom explained to Neil.
He nodded and raised his eyebrows. “Yes, I am familiar. I prefer Deadton Abbey.”
“We thought we could invite everyone. I mean, we can fly the family over if they want to come—” I began, and Mom’s eyes went wide.
“Are you kidding? Honey, do you think Grandma and Aunt Marie are going to want to haul themselves all the way to England at the busiest time of the year?” Mom asked, as though I’d put everyone out just by asking. “And what about the family who won’t want to come, or can’t come?”
“It was just an idea.” I looked down at my plate and cleared my throat. “I just wanted to do something nice.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t nice,” she said quickly. “Tony, I bet your ma would love a free trip to England.”
She slightly stressed the “free”. I knew Mom thought Tony’s mother was a penny-pincher of the most obnoxious sort. I’d heard all about her giant coupon folder and the numerous arguments with department store clerks.
Tony just nodded mildly. “If she’s invited. And her docs clear her.”
“Of course she’s invited,” Neil said easily. “You’re family, now, Tony.”