Christmas Traditions I'll Never Do Again

eight: at it again

On the day after Christmas, the Brewards pack up to go home. I notice Eloise and Caiden exchanging phone numbers, but I don't say anything.

The house is unusually quiet afterward and things are kind of awkward.

I teach Jemma and Dusty some made-up Ju-Jitsu moves that I learned from watching Mr. Bean back in the '90s and then drink enough coffee to send myself into a coma.

The next day, however, we go for a day skiing trip, where I nearly fall off the face of a mountain and get called an "uncoordinated cheese bag" by a charming old lady from Wisconsin.

Dusty gets run over twice after she keeps hiding in the snow. Jemma surprises us all when it turns out that she's the best skier out of the three of us.

And then, like magic, Aimee and I start chatting. It begins by making fun of people (especially all of the college kids dressed in bizarre onesies at the ski lodge), then small comments here and there, and then it just grows more comfortable after that.

It's true that Aimee and I haven't always been there for each other. It's also true that she kinda dumped her kids on me for a few months. But, as with most things in my life nowadays, there's room for new beginnings.

And I feel that with Aimee now. It's rocky, sure, but we do have something in common.

Our new love for Christmas, for example.

The days fly by in a blur and I find myself wishing we lived closer.

Well, almost.

I'm sitting on the couch with Aimee after the girls have gone to bed. The Christmas tree is still on, even though it's the day before New Year's Eve and we've just finished watching a movie.

I tell Aimee about how some of the PTO moms at Percival want to abolish anyone's child from using hair ties because they use them to make "rude symbols".

"So what're they gonna use to tie their hair?" I ask. "It's not like you can just twist-tie a ponytail like a sack of bread."

Aimee laughs and takes a sip of her coffee. "Maybe they'll come around once they realize that." She suddenly sits up. "Oh! So I have this idea..."

I raise my eyebrows.

She grins excitedly. "For tomorrow, I was thinking we could do some sort of theme. It might be a little late now, but...."

"Wait, a theme for what?" I ask.

"For the New Year's Eve party. All of my friends are coming and I thought you'd want to meet them."

I blink. "Say what now?"

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Happy New Year! This has been a fun little adventure, hasn't it? I hope you guys enjoyed getting a visit from Bev and the gang during the holidays ^_^

Since we're at the end of the year (I know it's been a tough one)--what's one "good thing" that happened to you? 

What was your favorite part of the story?

Thank you all again for reading! The "Good Things I'll Never Do Again" community (are we a community? Can I say that? XD) always makes my heart so full! Seeing that other people care about these characters just as much as I do makes all fo the hard writing days much brighter =)

And if you're interested, I'm almost done with my current Wattpad WIP "The Sisters of Nowhere". You should check it out! =D

Xx

Nichole <3