Lila held her cup, hands shaking. “Did I ever tell you how I met your father?”
Rebecca shook her head and spoke softly. “No.”
Her mother smiled, though it didn’t quite make it to her eyes. “It was a Christmas dance at the community center. I wore this beautiful red velvet dress. The crushed kind, you know? It shimmered when I moved and fit me like a glove.” Lila winked at her daughter. “I was quite the looker back in the day.”
Rebecca smiled. “I don’t doubt that you were a hottie. Still are.”
Lila squeezed Rebecca’s hand as a smile stole over her face. “I was there with another man. One of the Bradley boys. Can’t remember which one.” She chuckled. “I dated both of them.”
“Mom.” Rebecca was shocked and giggled. “You tart.”
“I had my moments.” She seemed lost in thought for a few seconds. “I knew who your father was, of course. He was the most handsome man in Crystal Lake. All the girls were crazy about him. But he only dated older women, and I’d never been alone with him.” Her voice trailed off, and she got a faraway look in her eye. “Until that night. I got in a fight with whichever Bradley boy I was there with. Hank, maybe? He wanted to leave and go somewhere to do something I had no interest in doing.”
By the look in her mother’s eyes, Rebecca had a pretty good idea what that something was.
“I left and went outside for a smoke.” Her mother shrugged at the look on her daughter’s face. “I know, honey. But back then, everyone smoked. Anyway, your father followed me outside. He walked right up to me and, without saying a word, held up the tiniest piece of mistletoe you’ve ever seen. I remember he pointed to the cigarette in my hand, and I tossed it in the snow. He took another step closer, and good Lord, but he was so handsome. He held the mistletoe above my head and said I had to kiss him. I was shocked. I told him I was there with another man, and he just looked at me and said…” She lowered her voice and mimicked a man’s baritone, “‘Not anymore. Now kiss me.’”
Her mother blew out a long, shaky breath. “And I did.”
The grandfather clock chimed just then, and both women jumped in their seats. It was loud and startling, and her mother started to giggle. Which made Rebecca start to giggle. And before too long, both of them were doubled over. When their laughter finally subsided, Lila sat back in her chair, and almost immediately, a fresh batch of tears filled her pale green eyes. She swiped at them.
“I’m a silly woman. Look at me. Blubbering like an idiot.”
“Mom. It’s okay. The holidays are emotional for a lot of reasons.”
“I need to say something.” Lila’s fingers worried the edge of her tissue. “I know your father isn’t a good person. He’s selfish and mean. He’s a lousy husband, and he wasn’t good to you kids.” She glanced up, and the look in her mother’s eyes broke Rebecca’s heart.
“But I need you to know he wasn’t always like that.” She shook her head. “He wasn’t. I don’t know when he changed or why, but he did. I tried to leave him once. You were a baby.”
Shocked, Rebecca was silent.
“I made it a week without him, and then I came back. I just…can’t give him up. I made mistakes. A lot of them. And I’m sorry. I wish I’d been stronger for you kids. But that saying, love is blind, is so true. In spite of Ben’s faults, and there are many, I love him. And I know people think I’m crazy sticking by a man who…” Lila’s chin trembled, and a knot formed in Rebecca’s throat.
“A man who did the awful things that he did. But I won’t abandon him. I can’t.”
“It’s okay, Mom.” Rebecca didn’t understand that kind of love, one that was so lopsided, but after all the things she’d been through, who was she to judge?
“I need you to know something, Becca. I never wanted that for you.”
That damn knot was bigger now, and Rebecca clutched at her mother’s hands.
“I was never as proud of you as I was the day you left David. As a young mother to strike out on your own like that, well, that’s some kind of strength. That takes guts. More guts than I ever had.” She cupped Rebecca’s face and pressed a kiss to her cheek, her breath warm against Rebecca’s suddenly cold skin.
“You are my princess, and I want you to have it all. I want you to have what I never did because you are strong and deserve it.”
Rebecca opened her mouth, but her mother shushed her with a finger.
“I believe that one day, your father will get better, and the man I met so long ago that night at the Christmas dance, well, I believe he’ll come back to me.” A tear slipped down her face. “I have to believe that.”
Rebecca hugged her mother tightly. “I love you,” she said.
“I know, honey.” A pause. “Hudson is deserving of your love. I’ve seen that over these past weeks.” She smiled softly. “That’s one gift I’ll treasure this Christmas.”
Rebecca gave her mother another hug and a kiss. “Mackenzie will pick you up around six thirty.” She glanced back toward the kitchen. “Don’t forget the shortbread.”
Rebecca headed home. She cranked the tunes in her car and sang “Jingle Bell Rock” as loud as she could. What a feeling she had inside. It was big and strong and filled her right up. It was love, anticipation, and joy. There’d been darkness in her past, but the future sure as heck looked bright. And while David had nothing whatsoever to do with his son, other than making sure his support payments were deposited each month, she hoped one day, things would change.
She thought of her mother. That was the thing about life. There was always hope.